Tabbouleh Recipe with Quinoa

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup red quinoa 

2 cups water

¼ teaspoon salt   

2 cups cubed tomatoes  

3 cups chopped parsley or kale

1 cup chopped mint if available

3 green onions (scallions)

The zest from ½ lemon

Dressing

1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil (olive oil will do)

1/3 cup of lemon juice

• Rinse quinoa with cold water in a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clear.
• Add water to medium saucepan and bring to boil.
• Add quinoa then cover and reduce heat to medium low and simmer approximately 15 minutes.
• Taste test quinoa at this point it should be andante with a little bit of firmness to it. For the purpose of this dish the quinoa should be just under done. This salad is best with that texture. If it’s too firm put the lid on it and let rest for 5 minutes.
• When quinoa reaches the desired texture put the entire pan in a container with cold water. Be careful not to get any of the water in the quinoa. The cold water bath will prevent it from cooking further. You could also spread the cooked quinoa out on a cookie sheet and it will cool faster.
• Once the quinoa is cool place in large bowl and add tomatoes, parsley or kale, green onions, mint, cucumber and dressing. 
• Add Dressing and the Zest of ½ lemon rind and mix well.

Discussion

Tabbouleh is a middle eastern salad. A traditional Tabbouleh is made with bulgur, which is a wheat product. I started making it with red quinoa for it’s nutritional value and it’s the flavor and texture works great in this salad.

Quinoa (ki-nwa) is a fairly new grain in the American kitchen, but other cultures have been enjoying the benefits of this high protein grain product for literally thousands of years. Quinoa is considered a complete protein and is high in phosphorus, magnesium and iron. It’s a good source of dietary fiber and is gluten free.

I’ve grown it and it’s a fairly hardy plant. I used the leaves and soft stems for smoothies, as they have excellent nutritional value. They also have a nice flavor and can be used in salads. The seeds have a bitter coating, which is taken off during processing, so I didn’t use the seeds.

Prime Rib Recipe

2014 Christmas Prime Rib at Joe and Ann's.

Prime Rib Recipe

Served with Horseradish Cream Sauce
(see horseradish sauce recipe at end of post)

The prime rib roast comes from the center of the rib section, which is an area that gets very little exercise in a living cow. This leaves the meat very fatty and tender. There is a layer of fat around the eye of the meat and the muscle itself is beautifully marbled.

My brother-in-law Gail Klopp gives a prime rib roast to his son and son-in-law for Christmas. He has been known to get the roasts wrapped in fat at the butcher shop.  Prime rib is an over-the-top cut of meat that when properly done will leave you feeling pampered and loved.

I used to cook them on the rotisserie at work and I’ve done them in the oven as well, but the one I look forward to is the Christmas Day prime rib at Joe and Ann Dupuis' house.

Joe is my nephew, and like the men before him in my family – he cooks. Our family is well peppered with foodies, and we’ve come out of it with some excellent cooks, and Joe and Ann are among them. Ann’s crab cakes are a Christmas ritual, and on the beach trip I can usually be found at the Dupuis house for breakfast, where Joe will be fixing crêpes for what is usually a pretty large group. 

Joe does the Christmas roast on the BBQ. I believe he has previously cooked it on a Webber, but lately he’s doing it in a Traeger Pellet Grill. The benefit of this grill is the indirect heat, the somewhat smoky flavor it imparts, and I noticed Joe seemed to have advantageous control of the heat, which is important.

Prime Rib Recipe

Heat Covered BBQ to 425 degrees.

Table 1: What size Roast to Purchase

Table 1: Roast Size, Cooking Times and Number of People Served

Number of Ribs	Cook in Beginning at 425°	Finish Cooking at 250	Number of People Served
3 Ribs 7 to 8 pounds	20 minutes	1 ¼ to 1 ½  hours. Check often, as times are not exact.	Six people
4 to 5 Ribs 9 to 13 pounds	20 minutes	1 ½ to 2 ½ hours. Check often, as times are not exact.	Eight to ten people
6 to 8 ribs 14 to 18 pounds	40 minutes	2 ¾ hour to 3 ¾ hours. Check often, as times are not exact.	Twelve to fourteen people

Preparing and Cooking The Roast

Cut the ribs back away from the roast leaving a flange of connective tissue to hold the ribs to the roast (your butcher will do this as well.)

Joe's Wet Rub

Thyme                2 Tablespoons

Rosemary           2 Tablespoons

Tarragon             2 Tablespoons

Kosher Salt         1 to 2 Tablespoons

Cracked Pepper  2 Tablespoons

10 to 12 chopped garlic cloves

½ to 3/4 Cup Olive oil

• Apply rub to roast by spreading a portion of the rub between roast and the ribs that have been cut away from the roast. Lay the rib bones back on the roast and tie the ribs in place with kitchen string. Rub the rest of the roast with remaining rub.
• Place roast in refrigerator for about 4 hours to marinate.
• Remove roast and bring it back to room temperature. This is an important step. If the bones are cold the meat around them will not cook at the same rate as the rest of the roast.
• Place roast on BBQ grill with bone side down.
• Invest in a good meat thermometer. The best one for this application is a thermometer with a probe that has a digital read out box on the outside of the BBQ. They are either connected by a wire, or they are wireless and some models will transmit to your cell phone so you don't have to go outside to check your roast. The lid to the BBQ stays closed and you can set the digital read out box on the outside of the BBQ.
  
• Cook at 425 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. The smaller the roast, the less time you will need at this high heat (see table 1).
• Reduce heat to 225 degrees and cook until thermometer reads 130 degrees for a rare to medium rare roast (12 to 15 minutes per pound). See table 2 for cooking times on a medium or well done roast. ---Regardless of what this recipe calls for, check the thermometer often and watch the roast carefully. The cooking times will varry, and you don't want to overcook the roast.
• When the roast has reached desired 130 degrees for a rare to medium rare roast (see table 2), remove roast from heat source and let stand covered on cutting board for 30 minutes. Devise a foil tent to put over the roast. Do not set roast in front of open window or in a drafty area. The roast will continue to cook after it is removed from the heat (aproximatly 10°), and it should cook to the desired temperature of 140°.

Temperature Guide / Table 2

When checking the temperature of the roast, place the thermometer tip in the thickest part of the roast. Make sure you’re not touching the bone with the thermometer.

*Meat will continue to cook when removed from the oven. The temperature will raise about 10 degrees, so remove roast from oven 10 degrees lower than desired level of doneness.

Table 2:

Level of doneness	Remove roast from oven at this temperature	Finished Temp.	Visual
Rare	120° to 125°	130° 135°	Bright red center and pinkish toward edge
Medium Rare	130°	140°	Very pink center light pink surround
Medium	135°	145°	Lt pink center W/brown surround
Medium Well	140	150°	Not pink / lightish brown with some moisture left in meat
Well Done (why would you do this)	150 to 170	160 +	Meat uniformly brown with the texture of shoe leather and no moisture

Horseradish Cream Sauce

 ½  cup cold heavy cream

2 Tablespoons of sherry vinegar

¼ to 1/3 cup of prepared horseradish

Salt and pepper to taste

In Conclusion:

As I said, this is an over-the-top cut of meat and is perfect for a special occasion. I look forward to the Christmas prime rib because Joe has perfected this recipe over the years, so its excellent, but its also made with love and shared with family and friends. Our holiday traditions are in transition. Our children are getting older and the family is spreading out and getting bigger. It seems to grow exponentially, but no matter how it changes we take the love with us. By recording family recipes we take a piece of our history into the future to share with the next generation. There are more holiday recipes to come. I encourage you to record and share your family recipes. There is no better time than the present. From my family to yours, happy holidays.

Uncle Gail’s Christmas Eve spaghetti and sauce with Brian Klopp’s BBQ Ribs.

Ann’s Crab cakes.

Grandma Altringer's sugar cookie recipe skillfully brought into this generation by Gabrielle.

Helen Klopp (left), 

Ruth Dupuis (center) 

and Diane Miller (right)

Two of my sisters and I, Christmas 2013.

Sauerkraut Recipe

Makes approximately 4 quarts:

The store bought canned product isn’t as user friendly as fermented product. I encourage you to try you homemade product uncooked. It’s great with pomegranate seeds as a salad, and of course it can be served in its more traditional application as a garnish for Charcuterie. It's also amazing to cook with, but you should be aware if sauerkraut is cooked the probiotic benefit is be lost. If possible, I try and just warm it when I use it in a cooked dish.

Pacific Rim Kitchen assumes no responsibility or liability for any consequences resulting directly or indirectly from any action or inaction taken as a result of following information contained on this site or in any linked materials. Diane Miller is not a qualified health care professional. The information contained on this site is her opinions based on research and personal experience unless otherwise noted. Health related information is in no way intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any medical or other condition. 

Sauerkraut:

5 pounds of cabbage

2 tablespoons of salt

Brine as needed:

1 teaspoon of salt

1 Quart of water

Cut Cabbage as shown in photo at about 1/8^th of an inch or less. A food processor works great for this step.

Place cut cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle salt in mixing it thoroughly.

Let the cabbage sit out for a several hours pressing it down and compacting it to release the water. The sauerkraut makes it own brine. 

Pack the cabbage mixture into a large jar or crock, and do not drain off the juice. The cabbage mixture should be covered with juice.

If the cabbage mixture is not covered with juice then make brine to cover. Pour brine over it until the water is just above the cabbage. See photo above. 

Put 1 ½ quarts of brine (see above) in a gallon zip lock bag, push the air out of it and 

close the bag. Put that zip lock bag inside another zip lock bag and push the air out of it and 

close that bag.

Place the bag of brine in the jar or crock and completely cover the cabbage mixture. The bag of brine will serve as a weight and it keeps the air out of the sauerkraut. You could just put water in the bag, but I use brine in case the bag leaks. Water would ruin the sauerkraut, but the brine would not compromise the product. 

Let sauerkraut sit in a cool dry place for four weeks to ferment. After fermentation process refrigerate the product. I keep mine for four to six weeks after the initial four-week fermentation process.

This is usually what mine looks like when it’s done. Some recipes will advise you to take the mold off of the top 

during the fermenting process. I’ve never had a lot of trouble with that. I remove the discolored product before I put this in 

jars and refrigerate it.

Discussion

My background is predominantly German and French. My Grandfather was second generation German, and my Grandmother came from Alsace-Lorraine, France. Both the German and the Alsatian cultures had a fermented cabbage dish they served with preserved meats. My mother cooked with sauerkraut, but the sauerkraut I grew up with was nothing like the fermented product I make now. My mother purchased the canned product in the store. I would guess the product she grew up on the farm with would have been home made, but she didn’t make when I was growing up.

Many ethnic groups have a fermented or pickled product before a meal, which helps with digestion. The Japanese have Miso soup, the Italians serve an antipasti and if you’ve ever been to a Korean restaurant you were probably served kimchi and/or an assortment of fermented products to go with your meal. Pickles were always served with a meal at our home, but the canned products from the grocery store had lost their probiotic value. Serving canned fermented foods is a bit like muscle memory, as it’s a vestige of an activity that used to mean something. It’s a learned activity that was passed down to us through our family or culture, but its benefit has been lost to us.

The process of canning, in which we heat the product for a period of time, destroys microbes and bacteria that would cause spoilage. Really, that’s the point. Canning is a safe way to save product over an extended period of time.  Once my sauerkraut comes out of the fermenting process, I only keep it for four to six weeks in the refrigerator. If I were to put that product through the canning process I could keep it safely for over a year, but it would lose its probiotic value, which is something we need. Probiotic supplementation used to be something you would get from your naturopath, but it’s very mainstream now.

As it turns out our gastrointestinal system is host to a large population of good bacteria that keeps our digestive system healthy, boosts our immune system and balances alkalinity and acidity in the system. There are a number of ways gut flora impacts one’s health, and it’s worth looking into. Sauerkraut is one of the fermented foods that helps to keep the gut flora healthy, so enjoy this product as a healthy addition to your diet.