Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese and Arugula

From: http://www.marthastewart.com/

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 pound gemelli or other short pasta
• 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese (3 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 bunch arugula (8 ounces), torn
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water. In a large bowl, toss pasta with beans and goat cheese.
2. Make dressing: In a bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and mustard and season with salt and pepper. (To store, refrigerate pasta mixture and dressing separately, up to 1 day.) To serve, toss pasta mixture with dressing, arugula, and onion.

Very Green Lentil Soup

From www.eatingwell.com

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons plus 4 cups water, divided
• 1 cup French green (Le Puy) or brown lentils
• 8 large green chard leaves
• 1 medium Yukon Gold potato, scrubbed
• 12 cups gently packed spinach (about 10 ounces), any tough stems trimmed
• 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 cups vegetable broth, store-bought or homemade
• 2 cups chopped broccoli
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
• Crumbled feta cheese for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add 2 tablespoons water and cover. Cook, stirring frequently until the pan cools down, and then occasionally, always covering the pan again, until the onions are greatly reduced and have a deep caramel color, 25 to 35 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, rinse lentils and pick out any small stones; combine the lentils with the remaining 4 cups water in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Trim the white ribs out of the chard; chop the greens and slice the ribs (keep in separate piles). Cut potato into 1/2 -inch dice. Chop spinach; set aside.
3. When the lentils have cooked for 20 minutes, stir in the chard ribs, potato, scallions, broth and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt; return to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Stir in the chard leaves, broccoli, cumin and coriander. When the onions are caramelized, stir a little of the simmering liquid into them; add them to the soup. Return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in the reserved spinach, cilantro, mint, jalapeño and pepper; return to a simmer, cover and cook until the spinach is tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes more. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or pepper, if desired. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of olive oil and crumbled feta cheese.

Chicken and Rice Salad with Pesto Yogurt Dressing

From www.foodandwine.com

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup store-bought or homemade pesto
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 roasted chicken, bones and skin removed (about 1 pound meat), meat torn into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups)

1. Cook rice.
   
2. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the yogurt, pesto, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken and the rice and toss to combine.

Brown Rice

From http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/03/how-to-cook-brown-rice/

1. Put brown rice and water together in a pot with a lid. Use the ratio of 1.5 cups water to 1 cup rice. I normally make 3c rice with 4.5c water for a single batch.
2. Set the heat to maximum, and bring the rice/water to a boil uncovered. Then put the lid on the pot, and reduce the heat to low/simmer. If your lid has a steam valve, keep it closed. Let the rice simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat, and let the rice sit in the covered pot for another 10 minutes. It’s OK if you let the rice sit longer than 10 minutes (20 or 30 minutes is fine too), but don’t let it go any less. I prefer my rice to be slightly chewy, not mushy, so I usually remove the lid after 10 minutes.
4. Eat and enjoy. Be careful when you remove the lid, since a lot of steam may escape when you do.