Everyday Potato Salad

easy everyday potato salad

This potato salad is easy and quick for a weekday meal in the height of summer heat. It makes the starch component of your meal even lighter, with the addition of more anti-oxidant vegetables. Sample accompaniments might be pan-cooked salmon steak marinated with lime and lemon zest, with roasted fennel with tomatoes.

You can use your imagination to modify this with any vegetables that go well with potatoes: the trick is to add one flavor that adds a surprising “snap.” Here olives are added, but capers, mustard, sardines, sun-dried tomato, or bacon would work equally well.

This recipe can be made a day or two ahead of time or eaten at once. Its flavors are enhanced when still slightly warm.

 

 

Ingredients, serves 2
6 small red potatoes
3 stalks celery
½ onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp tikka masala- you could use garam masala, or substitute with more curry powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1 T grapeseed oil
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
splash of apple cider vinegar
8 pitted olives, coarsely chopped

Preparation:
Boil potatoes in saucepan, about 20 minutes or until done.

In a heated a skillet, add olive oil and stir in the onions until golden and on the verge of becoming brown. Add the spices and stir one minute, then add the celery stirring occasionally three minutes or until the celery turns a bright green. Turn the heat off, and cover the pan.

quick stir-fry of onions, spices, and celery

When the potatoes are cooked, remove them to a cutting board and slice into quarters. Place in a mixing bowl, add onion and celery mixture, olives, salt and pepper to taste, and grapeseed oil and vinegar. Turn ingredients with a large spoon once or twice to gently blend together.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/everyday-potato-salad

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice in two New York City locations: Flatiron & Greenwich Village.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

 

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde

There’s nothing in the world quite like freshly-made green salsa, and once you make this, you’ll never want to spend a fortune on the jarred version again. It’s also super-easy to assemble.

Green Salsa Verde

Green Salsa Verde

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs of tomatillos- look for small and uniform size to make broiling easier
1-2 jalapeno peppers finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup of chopped cilantro, or 1 teaspoon dried
Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Pre-heat the broiler. Slice the tomatillos in half and place in roasting pan (see photo). Broil 4-7 minutes (depends on your broiler).

2. Put all the ingredients in a blender and puree. Voila!

Green salsa will last about a week in the fridge stored in a sealed glass container, and
can be used in a burrito or on top, as a dip with chips, and as an accent flavor with fish, pork, and stir-fry’s.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/salsa-verde

—————————–
At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice in two New York City locations: Flatiron & Greenwich Village.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

 

Black Bean Burritos

burritosIt’s burrito night! If you need a healthy, light, yet satisfying meal that can be put together quickly, this is a great one. Beans and rice are a great source of B vitamins and create a complete plant-sourced protein.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, refried black beans, or cooked beans (we use a slow cooker and freeze portions in batches)
1 small onion, finely diced
4 T red salsa
4 T green salsa and ½ cup as a garnish
2 cups of frozen or ½ bunch fresh spinach
1/2 cup uncooked basmati or white rice
1 cup water
4 burrito shells of your choice (corn, whole wheat, multigrain, spinach)
8 T guacamole
4 T sour cream (vegans can use Tofutti, a soy based sour cream)
Shredded cheddar cheese (vegans can use a soy or rice-based cheese)

Preparation:
1. Mix rice and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce heat until the water has absorbed, about 10 minutes.

2. While the rice is cooking, add oil to a heated skillet, sauté onions until golden, add the beans and red and green salsas and stir to blend. Once heated, add the spinach and allow another 5 minutes of heating to blend the ingredient flavors.

3. In separate skillet, heat the burrito shells on both side until hot- no oil necessary for this step!

4. Place the shells on a plate, scooping a quarter of the cooked rice in a line along the center of the shell. Add a quarter of the burrito mixture on top of the rice, and sprinkle on the cheese you’re using, and add 2 T of guacamole and 1 T of sour cream to top it off, then gently fold each side to overlap and form the burrito.

5. Add salsa verde to taste.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/black-bean-burritos

—————————–
At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice in two New York City locations: Flatiron & Greenwich Village.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

 

 

Perfect, Evenly-Done Asparagus

The hardest part of making this recipe is remembering to get it started ahead of everything else.

Derived from a NYT recipe, the slow bake in stapled parchment yields full-stalk, full asparagus flavor. It is quick to put together, and tolerates variations beautifully.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 75-90 minutes

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
2 portobello mushrooms, 1/4 “ slices, chopped in 2” pieces, or button or cremini mushrooms, 1 cup sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
A swizzle of extra virgin olive oil, to taste (we like less, and the mushrooms throw off liquid to steam the asparagus)
A splash of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste
optional: fresh lemon juice to taste, after cooking, to blend the flavors of the asparagus and the mushrooms
optional: culinary herbs

asparagus_2

To add color, a handful of halved grape tomatoes contribute more fluid juiciness, or red pepper chopped into small pieces blends well with the other flavors.

Temperature: pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
Preparation:
1. Toss the ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Make packets(s):
a) Begin with one 2-foot length of parchment paper, place a mini “log pile” of vegetables in the middle of the sheet.
b) Pull up the long sides and fold them together once or twice, so that you can staple them along the length a few times, then do each short end.
c) Place the packet(s) in an oven pan or on a cookie sheet and set the timer.

asparagus_1

Cooking Time:
a) Check for doneness at 75 minutes, by opening a packet and piercing a stalk with a fork, and add 15 minutes if you find resistance.
b) Remove from oven, open packet(s) carefully, and serve.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/perfect-evenly-done-asparagus

—————————–
At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice in two New York City locations: Flatiron & Greenwich Village.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

 

Miso-Tahini Spread

miso-tahini-spreadThis is a tasty substitute for butter or margarine on toast, mustard on a sandwich, or as a vegetable dip. Miso is a fermented paste of legume, bean, and grain, and tahini is a paste made from roasted and crushed sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are rich in minerals (iron, magnesium, manganese, copper, and calcium), and is a good plant source of protein and healthy fats.

Ingredients:
6 T tahini
4 T barley or lightly-colored miso, which has less salt
2 tsp minced fresh ginger*
4 cloves minced garlic*
2 T water
2 T fresh lemon juice

Directions:
Whip all the ingredients together until you have a creamy smooth consistency. You may need to add more water to the spread get the right consistency, but it should be so dense a spoon will stand up straight in it.

If you like a stronger flavor, use a darker, redder miso, which will be richer and contain more sodium.

The miso-tahini spread will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

*Ginger and garlic are important plants in Chinese medicine’s Materia Medica. Each contains identified plant compounds, gingerol and allicin, respectively. Gingerol has been studied and shown to be a digestive aid, and studies on allicin are currently underway. Besides their health benefits, the ginger and garlic adds a distinctively chewy texture to the spread.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/miso-tahini-spread

—————————–
At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice in two New York City locations: Flatiron & Greenwich Village.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.