Black Rice and Edamame Bean Salad

Miraval Spa's new cookbook Mindful Eating only arrived on my doorstep a few hours ago, but after briefly flipping through this fabulous book, I know I'll be trying most everything in here.  It's a book full of healthy recipes that also sound delicious.  While browsing through, I also came across a little tidbit of information that I did not know.  Miraval is owned by AOL founder Steve Case, who also happens to be Chairman of Exclusive Resorts (of which I am a member) and as a member of ER, we have access to Miraval......of which I am yet to take advantage.  That shizzle is gonna change!  I can't believe I haven't dragged hubs there for a few days of self exploration, life betterment, and "making sure our physical, emotional, spiritual, social and intellectual components are in balance".  HA!  Screw that.  I'm totally going for the food.  (Plus I've seen the "villas" on ER's website and they ROCK!)

So as I'm leafing through the book I'm looking to see if there is anything in here I can make to go with the salmon I have in the fridge that I need to make for dinner.  Lo and behold I come across this Black Rice and Edamame Bean Salad recipe.  I only had brown rice in the pantry, but I had the mushrooms and I had some already boiled edamame in the fridge leftover from last night's salad and enough of the rest of the ingredients to wing it.  Perfect.

This paired perfectly with the salmon, but will also be great on it's own for lunch tomorrow.  I've never had black rice, but I can't wait to try it the next time.  I also didn't have any green onions on hand, but I had plenty of chives growing in the herb garden so I used those.  I also subbed toasted sesame oil for the sesame oil called for because I love the flavor.  I was tempted to add salt to the separate components as I was putting this together but held off.....(I need to cut back on sodium anyway)...and was glad I did.  The low-sodium soy sauce in the dressing is the perfect amount.

Here's the recipe:

Black Bean and Edamame Bean Salad

adapted from Mindful Eating, Miraval

(Makes 4 half-cup servings)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 cup black rice  (I used brown rice and cooked according to package instructions)
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen edamame beans
1/2 tsp Miraval Oil Blend (this blend is made by combining 3/4 cup canola oil and 1/4 cup cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil)
1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, tops only (I used chives)
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp agave syrup or honey
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil)

Directions:
Place the water and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add the rice, cover, and cook uncovered until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender but still al dente, 20 minutes.  Drain well in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear and the rice is cooled, 1 to 2 minutes.  Drain well.

Bring a small pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add the beans and lightly blanch, 1 minute.  Drain the beans well, reserving 2 tbsp of the cooking water, and rinse the beans under cold running water.  Drain the beans well, transfer to a large bowl, and set aside.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the oil, mushrooms, and pepper, stir well to combine and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the reserved cooking water and cook until the mushrooms start to wilt but retain their shape, 1 to 2 minutes.  Place the mushrooms in the bowl with the beans and add the drained rice, green onions and cilantro.

To make the dressing, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, agave syrup and sesame oil in a small bowl.  Add the dressing to the rice mixture and stir well to combine.  Serve immediately.

Calories:  200
Total Fat:  3.5 grams
Carbohydrates:  40 grams
Dietary Fiber:  4 grams
Protein:  7 grams

Greek Pasta

We have "garbage pasta" night at least once a week around here.  Not a very appetizing name, right?  I'm not sure why I started calling it that because it's not like I get shit out of the garbage, add some pasta and call it dinner.  No.  It happens either when I haven't been to the grocery story in a few days (and am too lazy to go before dinner) or there are leftover bits and pieces from several different dinners that need to be used up.  There is always something in your fridge that can be made into a pasta dish.

This particular night was one of those lazy nights, so I looked around the kitchen and found a few tomatoes on the counter and a package of spinach and a container of crumbled feta in the fridge.  Perfect.  I boiled a box of whole wheat corkscrew pasta, chopped the tomatoes and tossed those into a bowl with the feta.  I snipped some fresh oregano from the garden and added that to the mix, along with the juice from 1/2 a lemon (I always have lemons and limes because you need to buy limes for the Corona and the lemons are always right next to the limes, so......)  When the pasta is ready, I drain it and immediately put it back into the pan along with the fresh spinach.  Add a few tablespoons of olive oil and toss until the heat from the pasta starts to wilt the spinach.  Add the pasta and spinach to the tomato mix and season to taste with sat, pepper and red pepper flakes for a little kick.  Toss it all together and call it dinner.  But you might not want to call it "garbage pasta" in front of your family!