side dish | two coast kitchen

August 20, 2014
by Laura Leave a comment

Corn with Miso Butter

Before moving to New Jersey, many told us we were moving to the land of tomatoes and corn. So far, they have been right.

Here is a quick, easy dish that takes advantage of all the delicious fresh corn out there. We had corn last night for dinner and I had one ear leftover. This recipe can be made with one ear for a single serving or a big bunch of corn for a large group. The corn can be boiled, steamed, or grilled.

Corn with Miso Butter

(measurements for 1 ear of corn)

1/2 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon miso paste (I used white)

1 tablespoon water

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground mustard

1 cooked ear of corn – kernels cut off of cob

1 tablespoon chives – chopped

salt and pepper

In a small pan over medium heat, melt butter, miso, and water. Add ginger and mustard. Once mixture begins to bubble, add corn. Toss to coat and to heat through. Add almost all of the chives, save some for garnish. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Once corn is heated through, remove from heat and pour into bowl. Top with extra chives and serve. This dish is good hot or at room temp. Enjoy!

July 17, 2014
by Laura 3 Comments

Grilled Peach, Arugula & Goat Cheese Salad

Listen up everyone. Grill fruit. Trust me. It’s AMAZING!

This salad came together super quickly and with stone fruit coming into season this would be good with nectarines or plums too. Other veggies can be added if you like, but I decided to keep it simple so the sweetness of the peaches and the bitter and peppery flavors of the fresh arugula would be the star. And who ever said no to goat cheese? I know I never have.

Gathered up the ingredients. Some quick pickled onions would also add a nice zing.

Before putting the peaches on the grill, brush them with a mix of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Then put it all together. Tip: dress the the arugula first, then top with peaches, goat cheese and sunflower seeds. Serve with extra dressing on the side. Continue reading →

May 22, 2014
by Laura 6 Comments

Mediterranean Cauliflower Couscous

Over the past few months, I have seen cauliflower couscous pop up here and there on different food blogs I follow. I always kind of shook my head thinking “cauliflower can’t replace couscous, I mean, how can a veggie taste like a pasta!?” Then I made it last week. Like the saying goes, don’t knock it til you try it. It was SO GOOD. Totally hit the spot. I served it along side some lemony herb roasted chicken. Perfect spring dinner.

I recommend starting the chickpeas first as they take the most time. While they are cooking, prepare the cauliflower, make the dressing, and chop up all the veggies.

All the salad ingredients ready to go (minus the roasted red peppers, they were hiding when I took the photo).

Cauliflower starts out looking like this…

And ends up like this! Cauliflower resembles couscous more in texture than in flavor. However, adding a delicious dressing will make both regular couscous and the cauliflower version sing. I recommend you pick up a head of cauliflower and make this recipe ASAP.

Veggies ready to go.
Continue reading →

March 30, 2014
by Laura 2 Comments

Farro with Roasted Veggies

Something I aim to have in our fridge at all times are lunch options. We both work at a University, so not having to spend money every day buying lunch adds up quickly. Even though there are only two of us in the house, it is rare when I cook just enough food for two people for dinner. Usually I make enough for four so we will have leftovers for lunch the next day. It also makes the morning routine go smoothly since we aren’t worried about preparing ourselves lunch. It’s already packed up from the night before.

Every now and then I do only make enough food for dinner. For example we didn’t have leftovers from the steak salad – all that steak got snatched up. For those days when no dinner leftovers are to be found, I try to have another option ready to go. I have found making big batches of grain salads really hit the spot. They are so versatile, I can throw any combination of veggies, beans, dressing, etc, into them and voila, I have a healthy, filling lunch option. Grain salads are an amazing vegetarian option. They can also be used as a side dish for dinner, and served hot, room temp, or cold. Did you grill up some chicken last night and have some leftover? Throw that on top. It is hard to go wrong here.

Continue reading →

March 3, 2014
by Laura Leave a comment

Lightened Up Potato Salad

For those of you who love potato salad (me!) or really any type of side that can go along with bbq, things off the grill, etc. (me!) but don’t always love all the calories that come along with mayo based dressing (ooh, me!) then this is the recipe for you.

taters ready to go!

Instead of using mayo to bind this potato salad together, I used plain nonfat Greek yogurt. If you don’t already know the substitution powers that plain Greek yogurt has, I recommend you pick some up next time you shop. It can replace mayo or sour cream in pretty much any dish.

A few tips for this potato salad: I recommend making this dish the night before or the morning of. The longer the salad gets to sit with the dressing, the more the flavors meld together. Also, adding the dressing while the potatoes are still warm allows the potatoes to soak in the dressing flavors. Continue reading →

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