If you frequent sushi restaurants, you’ve probably eaten a fair amount of edamame, where it is often served as an appetizer:  still in the pod, steaming hot and sprinkled with kosher salt.  Sushi places must keep giant vats of edamame ready for service each day because it almost always comes to your table about 2 minutes after you order it (my favorite kind of appetizer.)  If you’ve never had it, edamame refers to green (as in not yet ripe) soybeans that have a mild, slightly nutty flavor that belies their high nutritional value.  These little beans are packed with fiber, protein, iron and vitamins A and C.  Any food this good for you ought to be consumed more often than the occasional sushi outing.  So we found and adapted this recipe, for a fresh and tangy side dish that pairs especially well with most Asian main courses.

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We are fortunate in this great country of ours to have an abundance of basic produce available year-round.  We can find tomatoes, citrus, apples and other fruits, as well as a variety of greens and other vegetables at local grocery stores whenever we want.  But there is something to be said about eating vegetables and other produce when they are in season.  They arguably taste best that way and they definitely are less expensive during the peak of their seasons.  Although generally available throughout the year, the prime time for acorn squash is fall and winter.  We’re all for eating seasonal (and local) food where possible, and wanted to find an acorn squash recipe that we really like for the colder months.  We tried this one, but thought it was a little too sweet for our taste, especially since acorn squash tastes pretty sweet on its own.  For our next acorn squash experiment, we adapted this recipe, which incorporates a bit more spice, and adds a little Mediterranean flair, while complementing the inherent sweetness of the squash.  And just like that, we have a new favorite side dish.  This acorn squash is easy to make — roast it while basting with a combination of olive oil, cumin, garlic and green onions, then finish with red pepper flakes and a sauce made with lemon juice, tahini and olive oil — and it’s fun to serve as a savory and filling side complete with its own, homegrown, bowl.

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The regular football season has come to an end, and therefore so has the Steeler Opponent-City Challenge.  It has been a successful season (more so for Foodie Lawyer than the Steelers), and we’ve enjoyed trying new dishes from so many cities and learning about their origins (the most colorful of which was probably Nashville Hot Chicken.)  Some of the dishes were better than expected (Cincinnati Chili for example), others were so good that we’ll definitely make them again (hello, Crab Cakes), and a few were enjoyable, but not worth the effort (looking at you, Polish Boy Sandwiches.)  Speaking of Polish food (and terrible segues), pierogi are pretty popular in the Cleveland area, so we were told by one of Dan’s friends who lives there.  The Steelers’ second game against the Cleveland Browns this season gave us an opportunity to try making homemade pierogi for the S.O.C.C., and gave the Steelers a chance to redeem themselves from the turnover debacle that was their earlier game against the Browns.  The Steelers were redeemed and the pierogi were successful, which brings the final S.O.C.C. tally to:  Steelers: 8-8, Foodie Lawyer: 13-2.  Better luck to the Steelers next season, and a healthy, happy and delicious 2013 to us all!

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Okra is still in season around here — at least in our garden.  If you can get fresh okra where you live, this side dish is a great way to use it.  And bonus if you also have garden-fresh tomatoes.  As much as we love the simple saute method of cooking okra, we adapted this recipe to beef it up a bit with the added texture and flavor from the tomatoes, along with a sauce made with a base of sauteed onion, celery, jalapeno and garlic, simmered in a mixture of tomato paste, chicken broth, red wine vinegar and fresh thyme.  The hearty result could be served over rice for a light lunch, and makes for a nice accompaniment to a fish, pork or chicken main course that needs a little extra zing.

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Breaking out of the usual green-salad-side rut can sometimes be a challenge.  Often the answer is to leave the leafy ingredient out of the dish altogether and feature one of the lesser, component-type ingredients as the star.  Kind of like accessorizing a white t-shirt with a big statement necklace for a dressed-up look, instead of wearing a dress.  We have previously tried (and loved) salads featuring components such as celery, avocado and cucumber as the main ingredients, so when we found a recipe combining these 3, we knew it would be a winner.  Season with ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, sugar, lime juice and a little grapeseed (or olive) oil, and garnish with chopped cilantro and basil for a fresh, spicy/savory side dish that is anything but ordinary.

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Summer is an excellent time for grilling experiments.  Although we previously had nearly zero experience grilling fruit at home, we ate grilled grapes once at Ad Hoc (which is one of our all-time favorite restaurants.  We live halfway across the country from that place, but Dan still occasionally, wistfully stalks their Facebook page to find out what they are serving that night for dinner.)  Inspired by those grapes and a pineapple and jalapeno salsa that we recently served over grilled pork, we created a side salad with grilled fruit, and added chopped fresh jalapeno, crumbled goat cheese and a drizzle of balsamic reduction to balance out the sweetness of the fruit.  The outcome of our little experiment?  Successfully delicious!

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We have a few go-to Asian recipes in our weekly menu rotation (Korean Chicken and Asian Pork Tenderloin for example), but sometimes struggle to find a good veggie side to round out an Asian meal.  Sauteed snow peas are good, but get pretty boring after the fifth or sixth time you serve them.  We were excited to try this recipe, which kicks up plain old green beans with Asian flavor subtle enough to complement the main course without overpowering it.  What makes these beans so good is the sauce (of sorts) made with green onions, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and oyster sauce.  Add some sliced roasted red pepper and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and scallions, and the green beans are anything but boring.  Come to think of it, these same ingredients could take the snow pea to a whole new level as well.

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Summer is here and vegetables such as zucchini and squash are in season.  Summer is also a time when we try to cook more meals and side dishes that require little, if any, use of the oven, stove or grill.  It’s hot here in the summer, is what I’m saying.  So the less slaving over hot cooking methods, the better.  Coleslaw is a good cold side dish and we’ve tried several different varieties (including celery and hot & sour), so we were intrigued by this recipe, which uses zucchini and squash instead of cabbage.  Other ingredients include carrots, green onions, red bell pepper and parsley, as well as white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for the dressing.  Although we adapted the dressing recipe a bit to make it more suitable to our tastes (less sweet), we liked how easy it was to make, and that it’s an interesting take on traditional slaw and unusual use of zucchini and squash (raw instead of cooked.)  Most refreshing of all, it’s a lightly tangy and spicy side dish that requires zero heat to prepare.

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Something about “refrigerator pickles” says “summer” to us.  Maybe it’s the name — “refrigerator” makes one think of grabbing a cool, crisp snack out of the fridge on a hot day.  Or perhaps it’s because pickles go so well with summertime foods like hot dogs and hamburgers, consumed at backyard barbeques and gatherings. Could be because cucumbers are in season this time of year (our cucumber plants WERE at least, until they succumbed to the heat.) Whatever the reason, we’ve already made several batches of refrigerator pickles this summer, and they could not be easier or more delicious. All you need are cucumbers (small, pickling cucumbers work best), garlic, peppercorns, dill, white vinegar, water, salt and sugar. And patience to wait about 4 days for the ingredients to pickle. Continue reading “Refrigerator Pickles”