Green Bean & Tomato Salad with Ginger-Wasabi Vinaigrette

Today is Day 2 of Salad Week here at CEK and I couldn't wait to share this Green Bean & Tomato Salad with Ginger-Wasabi Vinaigrette with you. Especially since in a short time, all of those fresh garden vegetables you planted will be coming to fruition. 

I've mentioned before that I hail from the Garden State and one of our most famous crops are tomatoes. I love all types of tomatoes, but my absolute favorite would have to be the Heirloom variety. They come in a multitude of colors and are so sweet and hearty, I could eat them all by themselves. For this salad, I combined my favorite Heirloom tomatoes with some hearty Beefsteak tomatoes, shallots and fresh green beans; then tossed them in a light ginger-wasabi vinaigrette to give my salad a little zesty Asian flair. This salad was incredibly tasty and would make a perfect accompaniment to any picnic or as a stand alone meal; especially on a warm summer day. 

Green Bean & Tomato Salad with Ginger-Wasabi Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 20 minutes                                       Yield: 10

Cook Time: 10 minutes                                       Serving: 1/2 cup

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
For the Green Bean & Tomato Salad

• 2 c. Fresh Green Beans or Haricot Verts, steamed al dente
• 3 c. Tomatoes (I used Heirloom and Beefsteak tomatoes), sliced
• 1 Shallot, thinly sliced
• Prepared Ginger-Wasabi Vinaigrette, see below

For the Ginger-Wasabi Vinaigrette

• 2 1/2 tbsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tsp. Wasabi Paste
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• 1/4 c. Canola Oil
• 1/2 tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt

Directions
For the Green Bean & Tomato Salad

1. Add the green beans, tomatoes and shallots to a large bowl; then add the prepared ginger-wasabi vinaigrette. 
2. Mix well and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 

For the Ginger-Wasabi Vinaigrette

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Makes 1/2 cup. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories 74 , Carbs 4.8g, Fat 6.3g, Protein .9g, Fiber 1.3g, Sugar .6g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate. 

Enjoy! 

Lemon-Ginger Grilled Pork Chops

Happy Monday~I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! This past Friday I attended a Food Blogger conference called TECHMunch and had a great day learning some tips from some of the industry's best, as well as meeting some of my favorite food and lifestyle bloggers. All in all it was an informative day filled with lots of laughs and good food. Who could ask for anything more? 

On another note, I was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol but not high enough to be put on medication, which I'm happy about. But, I do have to start watching what I eat,  exercise more frequently, and find foods that help lower cholesterol like Ginger. Here are some health benefits of Ginger I found on eHow.com

1. Look for whole ginger root that is light brown and knobby in appearance.


2. Store the ginger wrapped in a paper towel and sealed in a plastic bag. Keep this bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator.

3. Peel fresh ginger before you use it. Instead of peeling the whole root, only peel the portion that you cut off to use.


4. Look for recipes that call for ginger (like this Lemon-Grilled Pork Chops I have listed below!)
5. Add ginger to a variety of foods to lower your cholesterol. Use ginger that is grated, minced or chopped in homemade ice cream, soups, salads, marinades and vegetable dishes.


6. 
Take ginger root juice to treat high cholesterol. Insert ginger into your juicer or add the juice to a vegetable-juice cocktail.



Tips & Warnings
1. Do not confuse ginger, or ginger root, with ginseng, a plant that grows above ground.
2. Despite the benefits of ginger, it can have unpleasant side effects, such as bloating, heartburn, burping, gas and nausea. 

3. Ginger that isn't chewed or broken down properly can block the intestines.

4. Avoid using ginger as the sole treatment for high cholesterol. Ginger should be used as a supplement to other treatments, such as exercise and diet.

5. It may be tempting to freeze ginger to keep it from going bad, but freezing it will result in lost flavor.

I made these pork chops last week and didn't even realize the benefits of ginger lowering my cholesterol until now, so I was pleasantly surprised. These were deliciously light and citrusy and were a huge hit for dinner.

Lemon-Ginger Grilled Pork Chops
4 (4-6oz.) Pork Chops, boneless, center cut
1 Lemon, juice only
1 tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated
1 tsp. Honey
2 tbsp. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Sesame Oil
2 tbsp. Canola Oil

In a bowl, add the lemon juice, ginger, honey, soy sauce, sesame and canola oils and whisk together. Trim any fat from your pork chops and add them to a resealable plastic bag along with the marinade. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove the bag from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to grilling to bring the meat to room temperature so the meat cooks evenly. Cook until proper internal temperature. Serves 4. 

Enjoy!

Shared at Thursday's Treasures on 5/24/12

Creamy Asian Root Vegetable Soup

Turnips. Another vegetable I have never eaten before. The most common are the white turnip and according to Wikipedia, the turnip was a well-established crop in Hellenistic and Roman times. The root is high in Vitamin C and is only 34 calories. 

I had purchased some during my fruit and vegetable run last week, but since I haven't been feeling well, I had forgotten they were there and found them buried in the bottom of my vegetable drawer. I started to think about what it was I was going to make when I opened my Facebook page, and there was my inspriation. Nisreen from Green Cuisine List had posted a picture of her Roasted Vegetable Soup on my wall (since I love roasting veggies!) which got me thinking about how good a nice hot bowl of soup would taste. So I did my weekly "refrigerator cleanout" to make room for next weeks fresh fruits and veggies and found some carrots, celery, a sweet potato, garlic, a piece of ginger root and of course these two small turnips. All the makings for a nice soup. It was creamy and oh so flavorful!

Creamy Asian Root Vegetable Soup
1 c. Carrots, chopped
2 Stalks Celery, chopped
2 White Turnips, peeled and chopped
1 Small Sweet Potato, peeled and chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 c. Scallions, chopped
2 tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated
2 tbsp. Stir Fry Oil
2 tbsp. All Purpose Flour
1/4 c. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
4 c. Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (or you can use chicken broth)
2 c. Water
1/2 c. Heavy Cream
1/2 c. 2% Milk

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil then add in the carrots, celery, turnips, sweet potato, garlic, scallions, and ginger. Saute for about 5-10 minutes then add flour and mix well. Next, add the soy sauce, broth and water and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat then let simmer for 45 minutes or until all of the vegetables have softened. In a separate saucepan, heat the cream and milk. Use your immersion blender* to blend all of the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped scallions. Makes 8 cups.

*If you do not have an immersion blender, simply pour the mixture into a regular blender and puree until smooth. Just be very careful not to fill it too much to the top as it will be extremely hot and you don't want to pop the lid off of your blender.


Enjoy!

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Shared on Amee's Savory Dish 1/27/12


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Ginger Soy Marinated Strip Steaks

Ginger. Another item I've had many times before but never cooked with it until now. It adds a great depth of flavor to marinades, salads and prepared meals. Fresh ginger has a very thin, light brown skin that must be removed before using. Simply cut off as much as you think you will need from the root, then peel off the skin using a thin teaspoon or knife. Fresh ginger will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator or several months in the freezer. I marinated these steaks that we received from Omaha Steaks last week and let the flavors combine for about 4 hours before grilling them.  These steaks were juicy and tender and since they were so large (at least for us), I only used three of them and still had some left over to top salads with afterwards. 

Ginger Soy Marinated Strip Steaks
3-4 Strip Steaks, fat trimmed

Ginger Soy Marinade
1/2 c. Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1/2 c. Honey
1 tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated
1/4 c. Canola Oil
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper


Whisk all ingredients together until well blended. Add the marinade and steaks to a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove steaks, discard the marinade and grill until desired doneness. 


Don't forget! If you haven't done so already, there is still time to enter the Giveaway. Entries close at midnight on Tuesday, January 17th.