summer in a glass

Lemon Strawberry Zazzle

4 lemons

12 oz (about cup and a half) strawberries

1/3 - 1/2 cup honey

Juice lemons, remove greens from strawberries, slice in half. Place lemon juice, strawberries and honey in blender and liquify until smooth. This recipe makes a small pitcher of lemon strawberry mix. In a shaker over ice, shake half 2 shots tequila with 2 shots strawberry mix. Pour over ice in salt or sugar-rimmed glass and float a bit of club soda on top. This cocktail is delicious and the club soda lightens it up. You could also mix with vodka or rum. Or for a great strawberry lemonade, take the blended mix and stir in some chilled flat or sparkling water.

summer bounty

watermelon, basil, tomato - all fresh and for the eating in July! Tonight I made a tasty new beverage - the watermelon-basil fizz.

Liquify a watermelon quarter with about 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil and 2 pinches of Kosher salt. Over ice, fill the glass half way with watermelon basil mixture and top with club soda, garnish with a basil leaf. This beverage is refreshing and makes a great snack - it has a bit of weight to it. This recipe makes enough for 2-3 beverages.  Clearly, this would be delicious with some vodka too.

store bought or home-made pizza dough ball

3/4 cup spinach (I used frozen/thawed/drained)

2 Italian sausage links, cooked out of casing and crumbled

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

S&P to taste

1-2 tablespoons EVOO

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons cream cheese

1 tablespoon tomato paste

6 ounces (bit less than a cup) shredded mozzarella cheese

flour and corn meal for dusting

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with pizza stone inside. When stone is hot, remove from oven and sprinkle with corn meal. Roll out the dough over some flour and assemble on stone. Lightly coat the pizza crust with a bit of EVOO. Mix cream cheese and tomato paste together and spread all over crust. Toss tomatoes with balsamic and S&P and layer spinach, dressed tomatoes, basil leaves, shredded mozzarella and crumbled sausage. Baked in the oven for about 12 minutes until crust is golden. Enjoy!

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July at our friends Jill and Ethan's house. They made delicious turkey burgers, sausage 'n peppers, and coleslaw. I brought pasta salad that has a bit of zip to it.

box of tricolor pasta

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 and 1/2 cans black beans, rinsed

1 cup corn (frozen/thawed or fresh/blanched)

2 poblano peppers, seeded and diced

1 (rather large or two small) avocado, cubed

1/2 sweet onion, diced and lightly sauteed until soft

1 small cucumber, diced

Dressing

3 teaspoons lime zest

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoon cider vinegar

4 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil 

2 cloved garlic, minced garlic

1-2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Cook pasta according to directions (about 11 minutes) and set aside to cool. Whisk zest, juice, vinegar, EVOO, garlic, S&P, and cilantro and set aside. When pasta is cool, add vegetables, onions and beans - toss lightly. Drizzle dressing over pasta (try about half at first). This recipe may make a little more than you need, but it's nice to have some extra to toss in just before you serve. You may wish to wait to add the avocado until just before serving so it doesn't brown. This pasta salad has a little kick from the poblanos. With some grilled chicken or shrimp this would make a great summer dinner.

New favorite beverage alert! Watermelon lime margarita.

For a pitcher of watermelon lime juice you will need about half a small/medium watermelon, half cup fresh lime juice and 1/4 cup simple syrup. Scoop out the watermelon (removing seeds) and place in blender. Puree watermelon and drain over a mesh colander. Place the juice in a pitcher and add lime and syrup. This mix is light and refreshing and makes a great margarita (especially with some salt on the rim) or you could add white rum or vodka. 

Hope your 4th of July was great!

keen-wha

In preparation for an upcoming busy fall, I'm filling our freezer. I wanted to make a healthy soup without pasta so instead I used quinoa.

10 cups chicken stock

2 cups raw quinoa
4 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, diced

2 medium zucchini, diced

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

3/4 teaspoon chili flakes

2 clove garlic chopped

2 cans chopped tomatoes with juice

about 2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped

16-20 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 cup chopped parsley

2-3 teaspoons salt  

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

Put the stock in a large pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly. Add the quinoa and keep the broth at a simmer. In the meantime, heat a medium skillet to medium heat. Drizzle some EVOO and add the onions, saute for about 3 minutes, transfer the onions into the broth. Add a bit more EVOO if needed, then add the zucchini to the skillet along with the oregano and chili flakes, continue frying for 2 minutes, and then add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, stirring regularly, it should be about 3 more minutes. Transfer this to the broth as well.

Once the quinoa has been cooking for at about 15 minutes, add in the tomatoes.  Add the chicken, spinach, parsley.  Simmer everything together for 10 minutes. Add salt and freshly ground pepper and taste for seasoning. 

This recipe makes A LOT so feel free to half it!

basil anxiety

I got hit with a bout of anxiety Saturday afternoon at the sight of my basil plant. The big leaves needed some serious harvesting. I love having fresh herbs, but when the growth really takes off it can be a bit stressful to use the plant before it dries up or gets attacked by insects or some other likely threat. I took about 2 cups of leaves and pureed them with some white wine, olive oil and salt pepper. This quick basil base will be frozen and when thawed, I can add some Parmesan cheese, garlic, sun dried tomato puree, etc.

My other dish was an almond & lemon pesto. We had roasted salmon with this nutty citrus spread. The pesto recipe makes quite a large amount (enough for about 6 people). Pesto is great thing to stick in the freezer.

3/4 cup toasted almonds

1 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 juice from a lemon

1/2 zest from a lemon

3/4 cup EVOO

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

In the food processor, pulse the almonds until they make a medium meal. Add the basil, garlic, juice, zest and salt and pulse. While processing, slowly add the EVOO - taking a break after a few seconds to see how it is incorporating. This pesto will be quite thick, so if you like it thinner, add a bit more EVOO.

I prepared our salmon (about 3/4 pound fillet for 2 people) in a tin foil pouch in the toaster oven (trying to keep the kitchen from over heating by not using the big oven!). Set the temperature to 425 degrees. Rinse and dry the salmon, coat foil with a drizzle of oil. Assemble salmon, pesto sauce and a few slices of tomato, squash or zucchini on top. Fold the foil over the fish, making the seams tight. Roast fish in foil for 15 minutes on a metal tray. Remove from oven and rest for 3 minutes. 

This fish is light and delicious! We enjoyed it with Parmesan and parsley cous cous and a salad. Enjoy!

vegan-lite

In summer, I always seem to be cooking lots of vegetables. With all the farmer's markets, road-side stands and low grocery prices, I have been preparing kale, tomatoes and eggplant this past week. This blog is to display my vegan-love. Vance and I would have a hell of a time adhering to the vegan life-style (hello cheese...I love you), but I have great respect for my friends who do! These recipes are 'vegan-lite' because they have one dairy or protein in each. With a little adaption, I think my veges friends would enjoy.

kale salad

Finely shredded kale salad makes me feel like I am falling in love all over again. My work-friends (who are actually just friends, who I happen to work with) and I love the kale salad at Tavern, a local eatery we frequent for lunch. Jill nailed this recipe a few weeks ago and I gave it a whirl tonight.

1 bunch fresh kale, washed/dried and torn into small pieces

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 toasted nuts, crushed in the food processor (I used almonds)

1/3 cup EVOO

zest of a small lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan

lots of S&P to taste

Place batches of torn kale in food processor and pulse until a fine shred. This took about 2 batches. Place kale in a large bowl. Assemble dressing (EVOO, lemon zest and juice) separately and whisk well. Add raisins and nuts to kale. Dress the salad and add Parmesan - toss very well and add S&P. If the salad seems too dry, add a bit of EVOO. The dressing will absorb into the kale so taste as you go! Oh jeez - it. is. so. good.

eggplant & white bean burger

1 eggplant
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, diced
1-3 tablespoons EVOO
1/3 cup whole wheat seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon flax seed (optional)
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can canneloni beans rinsed and drained
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Peel about 1/2 half of the eggplant and slice into 1/4 inch pieces, transfer to a greased baking sheet. Drizzle eggplant with a bit EVOO and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Roast the eggplant for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. While the eggplant is roasting, dice onion and heat up a bit of EVOO in a pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. When the onion is done, add the eggplant, breadcrumbs, white beans and egg to your food processor and blend until smooth. Then add the onion, garlic and flax and blend until well combined. If necessary, stir the mixture as well. Chill for a minimum of an hour then assemble into patties. Baked, on greased pan, at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes (flipping half way through).
We enjoyed our burgers on a whole grain bun with cheddar cheese, lettuce and an heirloom tomato.
Enjoy these veggie specials!

vidalia & basil season

On Sunday morning, I made a Vidalia Onion and Sweet Basil tomato sauce. My mom suggested I pick up a few Pomi tomato boxes for the base. These tomatoes are delicious and I had a few coupons so it was quite a deal!
1 large Vidalia sweet onion
3/4 cup (big handful) fresh basil, chopped
2 boxes Pomi Chopped Tomatoes
1 box Pomi Strained Tomatoes
2 tablespoons EVOO
3 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 teaspoon crushed red chile pepper
2-3 teaspoon dried oregano
3 teaspoon Kosher salt
1-2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Dice the onion and sautee until soft in EVOO (about 8 to 10 minutes over medium/high heat), stirring so onion doesn't burn. Lower heat to medium/low and add garlic and one box of chopped tomatoes. Stir well, add strained tomatoes and chile pepper, oregano, kosher salt and pepper. Turn off heat, add final box of chopped tomatoes and fresh basil. Stir well and taste for seasoning balance.

This recipe made about 2 quarts and a pint. Top with a bit of plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn,  and freeze until you are ready to enjoy! We are going to have some later this week with meatballs & pasta.
Happy Sunday all!