Stuffed Pablanos and Spinach Salad

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I was very bad this weekend.  I sort of went on strike.  I do that occasionally, when I’m feeling overwhelmed, overworked and under appreciated.  I take a couple of days off and let everyone pretty much fend for themselves.  My children are at an age where they can fix themselves a frozen pizza, or a can of soup, or a sandwich, so don’t worry about them. They didn’t starve.

On Sunday, Jim was off and we realized that I had a refrigerator full of produce and a pick up the next day, so I really needed to make room in there!  What ensued was the most elegant “clean out the fridge” meal I’ve ever had!  Here’s what we used:

For the salad:
2 bags of baby spinach
2 kirby cucumbers
3 tomatoes
1 red onion
strawberries
raspberries
small bag of chopped walnuts

Assemble and toss in a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate.

For the dressing:
1 part pomegranate red wine vinegar (whatever red vin. you have is fine)
2 parts extra virgin olive oil
1 heaping spoonful of strawberry preserves (we love Polaner All Fruit)

I always keep an empty screw lid jar handy for dressings.  Put all the ingredients in, cover tightly and shake till combined.  Sometimes, when you use preserves, they take a little work to break up.  I use a whisk to break it up, then cover and shake.  Set aside – this will keep fine on the counter for a couple of hours.

For the peppers:
5 poblano peppers, halved and cleaned
mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
cilantro a nice big handful, chopped
shredded cheese (we had Cracker Barrel sharp cheddar)
Rice (a big pot prepared according to package directions – we used Jasmati rice, 2 cups dry)

Prepare the rice.Here’s the trick to great rice:
Chop a large white onion and a couple of cloves of garlic.  Heat a heavy bottomed pot (that has a lid!), when it’s hot, add some olive oil to the pan, when it ribbons add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is glossy.  Add the rice and stir, when it looks a little like pearls, add your liquid.  I use stock or broth instead of water whenever possible. Let it come to a boil, stir once and lower to simmer, cover and leave it alone!  Seriously, no peeking, no moving, no stirring, nothing.   Follow the timing direction on the package.  That’s it, the big secret to perfect rice every time.

Add the cheese, mushrooms and cliantro to the rice and stir gently till it’s completely combined.  Scoop the rice mixture into the peppers and cook in a preheated oven at 350 till the peppers are a little wrinkled and the rice mixture is a little brown in places.

The peppers were spicier than I expected, but it was a great compliment to the cheesy rice and the fruit in the salad.

Dinner was delicious, and I had a refrigerator with room for Monday’s share of produce!

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