Wow, I have had SO much fun using the new cookbook I got for Christmas! It's called Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and has SO much good stuff in it! (And no, I'm still not vegetarian, I'm just generally too cheap to buy much meat.) I'm actually not as big a fan of the main dishes, but it has a whole central section that lists each vegetable, descriptions of how to cook it, several recipes with it, and then it lists various sauces, toppings, etc. that the vegetable is good with (which are listed in a different section of the book). This is amazingly helpful for me with side dishes, since I generally have no ideas for side dishes. (I'm usually too focused on the main dish and dessert :-))
An example of the above (this type of list is given for practically every veggie you can think of):
"Good partners for summer squash:
-olive oil, butter, yogurt, parmesan, gruyere, goat cheese, garlic, parsley, basil, marjoram, thyme, dill, mint, lemon, walnuts, pine nuts, tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplant, chiles"
"Sauces and seasonings for summer squash: (there are recipes available for all of the below in the book)
-Olive Rosemary Butter, Salsa Verde, Chermoula, Cilantro Salsa, Pesto, Parsley-Caper Sauce, Lemon Vinaigrette, Yogurt Sauces (with cayenne and dill, with tahini, with cucumber and spices, with mint, etc.) Walnut Sauce, Fresh Tomato Sauce, Tarator Sauce
So, when my sister visited last week, we tried out one of the 700+ pages of recipes last week. We had a marvelous time, and were thrilled at the yumminess of this corny, quinoa-y, side dish :-)
Quinoa and Fresh Corn with Scallions
2 c. sweet corn
2 c. broth (any kind)
1 c. quinoa, uncooked
salt and pepper
1 T. butter or oil
1/2 c. scallions
1/3 c. crumbled feta cheese or cheddar cheese
Boil the broth, then add the quinoa, and 1/2 t. salt. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Melt the butter in a small skillet, add the scallions, and corn, and cook over medium-high heat until the scallions are bright green, about 3 minutes. Toss them with the quinoa. Season with pepper and serve, garnished with the crumbled cheese.
