WE were watching an old episode of The Simpsons a few days ago. At the opening of the show, with the family around the dinner table, Lisa laments the cycle of meat that makes up the family's weekly menu. Each night has its designate -- meat loaf, pork chops, chicken...
Ahhh, television. Is there anything it doesn't know? That's exactly where the trick to dinner lies. It's the old "if it's Tuesday this must be pork chops." Coming up with a main dish is not that difficult. Just pick one for each night of the week and you're done. The side dishes, however, are another story.
The Tuesday night pork chops would be all right if there was something besides mashed potatoes and green peas. It's easy to get stuck on potatoes or rice and the same salad or corn. And then there are those days that you're not so much stuck -- you're just too tired or rushed, and your imagination has decided to flake out on the couch while you try to get something on the table before soccer practice.
If you're familiar with the Company's Coming series (and really, if you are a Canadian, you can't help but notice those little books with the white plastic comb bindings in nearly every retail outlet you walk into) you'll know that there's an edition dedicated to nearly every category of food that might appear on your menu. (I'm still waiting for 152 Ways With Toast.) Jean Pare and company have just released Company's Coming Choosing Sides: 146 Great Side Dishes. This should pretty much put an end to the "pork chops and what?" question.
The Company's Coming Series is reliable. It's good basic "mom-cooking." As always, this latest edition uses the things that you probably already have in the cupboard. There are recipes for dishes that you are familiar with but have forgotten about, and for the most part they're going to be easy to put together.
A good selection of side dishes is about more than eliminating boredom at the table, though. It's the chance to balance out the meal and maybe broaden the kids' horizons a bit, even if you're preparing familiar vegetables in a different way. Make a point to choose dishes with some colour, like the sweet peppers and almonds below. The more colour you have on your plate, the more likely you are to be getting the variety of vegetables you need to get your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals.
A side can also be an opportunity to boost your fibre intake. The white bean gazpacho salad adds a serving of beans to the meal and is a flavourful change from potatoes or rice. The speedy summer shell salad is very, very basic and tastes great on its own, but feel free to add a little grated carrot or diced cucumber if you have it.
The May long weekend is the kickoff for early summer barbecues (and you'll need side dishes to go along with those burgers.) It can also mean the beginning of the wedding bells season and the showers that come along with it. If you're putting together a kitchen gift basket, Choosing Sides is a good basic cookbook for a couple of novice householders to have on hand. You can check out the Company's Coming website at www.companyscoming.com.
The three recipes that follow all come from Jean Par ©'s Choosing Sides (Company's Coming Publishing, $15.99).
White bean gazpacho salad
This is such a bright and colourful salad and the fresh cilantro tastes great. If you have leftovers, this recipe could be stretched by serving it over cold rice. For a hot lunch, leave out the English cucumber, warm the salad and serve it over hot rice or even elbow macaroni.
540 ml (19 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained
540 ml (19 oz) can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
250 ml (1 cup) diced English cucumber (with peel)
250 ml (1 cup) diced yellow pepper
125 ml (1/2 cup) finely diced onion
60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
30 ml (2 tbsp) red wine vinegar
15 ml (1 tbsp) liquid honey
10 ml (2 tsp) chopped fresh cilantro
10 ml (2 tsp) lemon juice
5 ml (1 tsp) dried basil
5 ml (1 tsp) ground cumin
1 ml (1/4 tsp) garlic powder
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper
1. Combine first five ingredients in medium bowl.
2.Whisk remaining 10 ingredients in a small bowl. Add to bean mixture. Toss. Chill, covered, for 1 hour, tossing occasionally to blend flavours. Makes about (1.25 l) 5 cups.
Speedy summer shell salad
Here is a very simple salad if you are in a hurry or don't have much in the fridge. A little diced celery or red peppers would also work nicely with this dish. As simple as it is, the coarse ground pepper really pulls all the flavours together in this one.
2 L (8 cups) water
5 ml (1 tsp) salt
500 ml (2 cups) medium shell pasta
250 ml (1 cup) chopped fresh spinach, lightly packed
250 ml (1 cup) chopped fresh tomato
60 ml (1/4 cup) ranch dressing
Coarsely ground pepper
1. Combine water and salt in large saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Add pasta. Boil, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but firm. Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl.
2. Add next three ingredients. Toss. Sprinkle with pepper. Makes about 1 L (4 cups).
A Note on Pasta Salads:
If, in the unlikely event, you find you have leftover pasta salad, you may notice the dressing tends to be absorbed over time and loses some of its flavour. To help prevent this, lightly toss the pasta (before adding anything else) with some Italian-style dressing. This coats the pasta so it won't stick together and it lets the main dressing stay on the surface. The operative word is "lightly." You don't want to overdress the salad. The other thing you can do is to prepare everything, toss the vegetables into the pasta and just add the dressing one serving bowl at a time. This trick is also good for potato salad. You can always turn a pasta salad side into a main dish by adding tuna or salmon, or cooked, left-over diced meats or poultry.
Sweet peppers and almonds
You know this is going to be tasty the minute the balsamic vinegar hits the hot pan. These peppers are a great side for any barbecued meat but they would also be fabulous tucked into a tortilla with strips of beef or chicken. They would also be great in a hamburger with a little Monterey Jack cheese. Another interesting variation to this recipe would be to add some sliced mushrooms when all the rest is just about cooked.
Saut ©ing the onions and then adding the vinegar and onions help the onions to caramelize. Just be careful not to have the heat too high, or the sugar will burn and the onions will crisp. Leave the peppers slightly crunchy. To lightly toast the almond slices, heat a skillet, add the almonds and toss for just a minute or two. Then turn off the heat and let the almonds sit in the pan for about 1 minute, toss again and wait another minute. The residual heat from the pan should be enough to toast them. When they are golden, transfer them to a bowl so they don't burn.
15 ml (1 tbsp) cooking oil
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) thinly sliced onion
30 ml (2 tbsp) balsamic vinegar
30 ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar, packed
250 ml (1 cup) sliced green pepper
250 ml (1 cup) sliced red pepper
250 ml (1 cup) sliced yellow pepper
125 ml (1/2 cup) sliced natural almonds, toasted
1. Heat cooking oil in large frying pan on medium. Add onion. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelized.
Add vinegar and brown sugar. Heat and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
2. Add next 3 ingredients. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until peppers are tender-crisp.
3. Add almonds. Stir. Makes about 625 ml (2 1/2 cups).
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