Last week, a friend brought the most amazing lunch over.  We had delicious Multigrain Pilaf accompanied by even yummier conversation.  I feel so happy, grateful, peaceful and simultaneously decadent eating outside. With a friend. At home. On a weekday.

Everything about our lunch was a Silver Lining.

Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I do!

Multigrain Pilaf – Chef Edie Robertson

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups, multi grain blend, cooked as instructed on the box (from Whole Foods).
• 1/4 purple onion, finely diced
• 1/4 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1//4 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 12 large mint leaves, thinly sliced (chiffonade*)
• 6 large basil leaves, thinly sliced (chiffonade)
• 1/4-cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

Dressing:

• 3/4-cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 limes juiced
• 1/4-cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. salt, more or less to taste
• 1 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:

• In bowl, mix all ingredients, served hot or chilled.  Top with shaved Parmesan.

 

* If you’re like me, you have no idea what on earth chiffonade means.  No clue. Sounds to me like it is the fabric of a beautiful dress. Oh, wait, that’s Chiffon.  And this is a recipe for Multigrain Pilaf.  Please allow me to save you the trouble of looking up Chiffonade: a French term referring to a cooking technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables are cut into long, thin strips.

 

 

Because I’m now obsessed with chiffon iterations, did you know that Chiffon was one of the first soft tub-style margarine products? It was developed in the 1970s and became famous when television ads featured  actress Dena Dietrich as Mother Nature.

Do you remember those ads?  They were fabulous!

An off screen narrator gives Mother Nature some Chiffon to taste and she thinks it is butter. The narrator then tells her

That’s Chiffon margarine, not butter.

An annoyed  Mother Nature responds with her trademarked line:

It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.