Tomato Salad

Tomato Salad

The farmer's market had some great looking tomatoes on Saturday, so I picked up some to take to the lake.  They disappeared!  David said they may have been his favorite food that he ate at the dinner!

I made a vinaigrette by whisking together olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, and fresh basil. I added a little sea salt and pepper.

 

I cut red, orange, and yellow tomatoes into 8 wedges in and tossed with the vinaigrette.

I let it chill until we were ready to eat.



 

Once we were ready to eat, I tossed the tomatoes again, drained off the excess vinaigrette, and added some more fresh basil and parsley.

 

Then I topped it off with feta cheese crumbles, and we served it with dinner.

 

(no need to drain the excess vinaigrette if not adding feta)

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Enjoy!

 

Endive Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Endive Avocado Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

 

So first off I have to ask - what is a salad dressing that is made from herbs, citrus, & oil but contains no vinegar?  Is it still a Vinaigrette?  Let's go with that for now, OK?

 

I saw this delicious salad on Andie's blog Can You Stay for Dinner? 

 

And because I had most of the ingredients on hand, I decided to make it to go with pasta and basil marinara I was already planning last night.

 

It was so, so good, and fresh.

And a very simple recipe, perfect for the spring with all the great produce out.

 

Whisk up the Vinaigrette of fresh lemon juice, a minced garlic clove, olive oil, shredded Parmesan, salt, & pepper.  Then toss the lettuce with the dressing and plate it for each person.  I used endive because it's what I had and was tired of romaine.  Andie's original recipe calls for arugula.  Your pick!

 

Top with halved cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado and a sprinkling of Sea Salt and black pepper.

 

I had a big avocado so we all got generous portions of sliced avocado.  Win-win.

 

Brennan and David felt like it might be a little too lemon-y so you can play with the flavor as you're making up your dressing. 

 

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Enjoy!

 

Mediterranean Grain Salad

Mediterranean Grain Salad

I really love the versatility of a grain salad.  This version comes from Sandy who taught me the yumminess of this kind of dish.  It's great as a side dish, a main dish, to take to a pot luck, and keeps for a couple of days easily in the fridge.  This version was especially yummy!

 

You start with 6 cups of cooked grains - whatever you might have on hand.

I had made couscous (not actually a grain) and brown Basmati rice before and froze them to use later.  So I pulled out some of each and defrosted them.

 

But you could use any grain, or combination of grains including rice, quinoa, barley, couscous, etc.

 

Once I was ready to make this dish, I heated the rice and couscous in the microwave for a couple of minutes to take the chill off and combined them in my large mixing bowl. 

 

To my mixed grains I added a can of chickpeas (rinsed & drained), a jar of Kalamata olives (drained), chopped scallions, a chopped cucumber and fresh basil.  I mixed it all up together and seasoned with garlic powder, Kosher salt, and black pepper.

 

Because I wanted the boys to eat this dish as well, I didn't add tomatoes to the dish, but halved some cherry tomatoes for David and me to top ours with.  If you have tomato lovers at your house, you can incorporate the fresh or sun-dried tomatoes in your grains with the other ingredients.

 

Then I added bottled Balsamic vinaigrette, tossed the salad together, and served it alongside my other dishes for dinner.

 

The grain/vegetable/herbs/vinaigrette combinations are endless, but I liked this Mediterranean flair.

 

If you wanted to, you could also add any additional protein like other beans, meat, cheese, tofu, fish, or shrimp.

 

 

 

 

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Enjoy!

Classic Israeli Salad

Classic Israeli Salad

 

This is a delicious summer salad that comes from the June 2012 Vegetarian Times. 

I would like to tell you that it tastes great served the next day, but we ate it all in one meal, so I just don't know. 

 

I loved the freshness and flavors of this salad. 

You could serve it as a side dish, or even as a salad topping on a sandwich.

 

And it couldn't be easier. 

I used small Persian cucumbers.  If you're going to use a large one, you may only need 1/2.  The recipe calls for 4 small Roma tomatoes, but I only had 3.

 

Toss chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow pepper, and lots of parsley together.  Season with chopped green onion, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and salt & pepper if needed.

 

Fresh and delicious!

 

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בתיאבון

(Hebrew for Bon Appetit!)

 

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Tuscan White Bean Soup

I saw this recipe for Ribollita, or Tuscan White Bean Soup, in several places.
I combined them all together and made my own.

I took this soup to a brunch last week and it was a big hit.
I served it with warm bread.

I sauteed celery, onion, and carrots in olive oil until they were tender, about 5 minutes.  Then I added in crushed garlic and let it cook for another minute.

I then added in tomato paste, vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes and seasonings and brought the soup to a boil.  I added in rinsed, drained beans and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

I stirred in fresh basil right before serving.

All of the recipes I had were fairly similar. 

Other additions to this soup could be cooked elbow pasta, finely chopped leafy greens like spinach or kale,  and homemade croutons to top.

I just served it with extra red pepper flakes and warm, crusty Artisan bread.

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Buon Appetito!

Rice Salad Primavera

Rice Salad Primavera

This great summer garden recipe comes from the August 2012 Vegetarian Times Farmers' Market Cookbook.

David and I really liked this dish and came up with several ways to modify her even more.

I personally think the secret is in the vinaigrette that holds the dish together at the end.

This is made by whisking together wine vinegar (I used White Wine Vinegar although the original recipe calls for Red Wine Vinegar), Dijon mustard, and olive oil.

Cook a cup of brown long-grain, short-grain, or brown Basmati rice so that you have 2 cups of cooked rice.  I had short-grain brown rice leftover in the fridge so I warmed up 2 cups for this dish.

Then slice your vegetables.

The original recipe calls for cherry tomatoes, green onions, orange bell pepper, a peeled cucumber, and yellow squash. 

I think the possibilities are endless!

Bake 1 package of tofu - I baked mine the same way I did for Sandy's Tofu Bites.  I cut my pieces smaller though so they would cook faster.

Toss the warmed rice, the diced baked tofu, and the vegetables together.

Combine with the vinaigrette and serve!

Mmmm.

And it was great warmed up the next day!

I think topping the dish with some chopped fresh herbs would be wonderful too.

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Enjoy!

Ziti with Fresh Tomatoes and Olives

Ziti with Fresh Tomatoes and Olives

Last night the evening Book Club that I am in, the Litwits, did something completely different.

Our July hosts, Sam and Alexa, are caterers and chefs.  They suggested we all make a dish from a favorite cookbook, bring copies of the recipe, and we could have a meal together and discuss.

I was introduced to a number of yummy cookbooks last night.

And the food was incredible!

We had a great time sharing our dishes, our cookbooks, and catching up on a beautiful summer evening.

I had planned to take a crawfish etouffe last night, but this week is pretty crazy with contractors in and out of the house, lots of activities and appointments with the boys, and trying to get the house in good shape for our visitors arriving tomorrow!

So, I went with something much quicker - and a dish I thought sounded great for summer.

I must say - I fully intended to use ziti, but couldn't find it anywhere!  Who knew?  Trips to two great grocery stores in town and no ziti at all - so we used penne.  Turns out - our chef friends also use penne when ziti isn't available.  What's up with no ziti in town??

This is a very simple dish, and I loved it.  I will be modifying it slightly from the original recipe in one of my favorite go-to cookbooks

I like this dish because it can be served warm or cold.

I started by combining chopped fresh tomatoes, oil-cured black olives sliced in half, olive oil, lots of fresh basil and parsley, minced garlic, Kosher salt, and hot red pepper flakes. 

I mixed it up and let it sit together for half an hour or so while I cooked the pasta.

Once the pasta was cooked and drained I mixed the tomato sauce and pasta together.  I added a little seasoning and covered it to serve later at the Litwits.

I felt the dish was too pasta-heavy going with the original recipe.

So next time I will cut the amount and let the tomatoes be the star.

The modified recipe is below.

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Buon Appetito!



Brown Rice with Creole Sauce

Brown Rice with Creole Sauce

Don't let the long list of ingredients (mostly seasonings) discourage you from trying this recipe.  It's an easy, quick, versatile dish that is great for rice, and I think would work really well over fish, chicken, or other grains.

I found this recipe in the Fire & Spice cookbook that I reference so often.  I like many of the recipes, organized by region of the world.

David especially liked this creole sauce.

Thomas did as well.

There was a strong flavor that I wasn't terribly fond of - but I liked the idea of this dish.

I think I'll play with the ingredients and try it again.

While your rice is cooking, you saute green bell pepper, onion, celery, a seeded jalapeno pepper, and garlic in some olive oil.  I covered it and let the vegetables soften for about 10 minutes.

Then you add an undrained can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, file powder, brown sugar, lemon juice, cider vinegar, mustard, cayenne, and salt & pepper to the sauteed vegetables. I stirred it, and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.

At this point the kitchen smelled fantastic, but I knew that my kids wouldn't be thrilled with the chunks of tomatoes and peppers, so I decided to use the blender and turn it into a thicker sauce.

We served it over the rice, which was a great complement and helped cut the heat in the sauce.



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Enjoy!

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh

David requested Tabbouleh this week, so I went to my folder full of recipes and found two that looked like great, basic Tabbouleh recipes.

I made Mexican Tabbouleh and shared it previously.  It was really good. 

This is the traditional Middle Eastern version that is customizable. 

My recipe below is combination of  epicurious.com's recipe and The Barefoot Contessa Parties cookbook recipe, along with my own likes and pantry items on hand.

Tabbouleh comes from the Arabic word for "seasoning" because in the Middle Ages Middle Eastern cultures began eating edible herbs with most of their dishes.  I like this salad because it has a nice fresh taste due to the lemon, fresh vegetables, and fresh herbs.

I cooked a cup of bulgur wheat, which just takes minutes.

While it was doing its thing, I chopped my cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, scallions, parsley, and mint.

Some recommend peeling the cucumbers, others say not to.  I left the peel on this time and seeded them.  Not sure it makes a huge difference.

I love the colors in this dish!

When the bulgur had soaked up all the water, I added the lemon juice, olive oil, and more sea salt.

Then I tossed the bulgur with the herbs and vegetables.

Some Tabboulehs have a lot more parsley and mint than I ended up with, so you could easily add more. 

I really like this salad the next day too. 

I eat it after it's been out of the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so, but not heated.

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بالهنا والشفا

(Arabic for Bon Appetit!)

A great side dish that is easy to make and versatile!

Slow-Roasted Tomato Quarters

Slow-Roasted Tomato Quarters

I found this recipe in the June 2012 Vegetarian Times and clipped it for its simplicity.

You simply quarter plum tomatoes and place a slice of garlic on top of each.

Then sprinkle with Herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning and Kosher salt.

Drizzle olive oil on top and roast for an hour.

This is a great, simple side dish in the summer!

I find it hard to drizzle olive oil without dousing food with too much.

So next time I will toss the tomatoes in a little bit of oil before lining them up on the baking sheet and sprinkling on the herbs and salt.

The original recipe calls for Herbes de Provence which I did not have on hand, so I improvised with Italian seasoning and no one was the wiser!

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Enjoy!

 

Homemade Marinara

Sandy's Homemade Marinara

Pasta with a delicious sauce is such a great dinner, and requires little prep if I have sauce on hand.

The issue is that the boys (who avoid chunky tomatoes and peppers at all costs), don't really care for most of the jarred sauces out there.

I've strained jarred sauces, and I've blended jarred sauces in order to get rid of the chunkiness (I clearly love my children dearly).  It works OK, but I'd rather have a sauce that we all really like, that isn't full of sugar (which the jarred brands are), and is much more delicious.



This recipe comes from Sandy Thomas, Holistic Health Coach (www.zenchoice.com).   In the final healthy cooking class I took with Sandy last month, we made this sauce and enjoyed it with our lunch that day and it was delicious!  I knew I'd make it often.  Sandy recommends keeping one container of the sauce in the fridge and the rest in the freezer to pull out when needed.  If you are local and want more information about Sandy's services, please give me a call!

 

Brennan prepared this sauce mid-morning, and after errands that afternoon, rushed home to stir and taste test.  We seasoned and finished off the sauce that evening while I was making the pan roasted cherry tomatoes. 

 

My recipe is slightly modified from Sandy's original.  This is an easily customizable recipe to your family's tastes.  And because it cooks in the crock pot - it couldn't be easier!

 

We started by sauteing a diced onion in olive oil until tender and translucent (~5 minutes).  Then we added crushed garlic for another minute.

 

We transferred the sauteed vegetables, the cans of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, dried Italian seasonings, and fennel seeds to the crock pot.  Stirred, and set it to cook on low for 6 hours.

 

 

That evening we tasted it and Brennan thought it needed sweetness.  Per Sandy's recipe we added a tablespoon of honey.  Then we added about 2 tsp of Kosher salt, some fresh black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder.  Because the sauce was a little took chunky for my family, Brennan used the "soup puree-er" to smooth it out. (see photo above)

 

 

 

We chopped about 1/4 c of fresh basil, and served the pasta over penne.

 

 

Then I divvied up the remaining sauce into 4 containers for the fridge and freezer.  It's so great to have a delicious sauce on hand!

 

Funny Story - the mason who will be repairing our chimney this summer stopped by mid-day.  He was at the front door and I could tell he was kind of distracted.  Finally he said - what are you cooking?  I told him marinara and offered to put some in a container for him to take home.  He shyly turned me down, but I could tell it was hard to do.  The house smelled wonderful all day!

 

Thank you, Sandy, for another delicious recipe!

 

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Buon Appetito!

Pan Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

London Reid's

Pan Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I saw this recipe on the London Reid blog a couple of weeks ago and decided to try it out.

I was making a new marinara sauce for dinner last night, and thought this would be great as another topping for pasta.

I knew the boys wouldn't eat it, so I only made enough pan roasted tomatoes for David and me, and maybe some lunch leftovers - but no chance.  They were all gone.

I had all the ingredients on hand, and the dish was delicious, and so so simple!

I placed a mixture of cherry tomatoes that I had on hand in a skillet and drizzled them with olive oil.

I heated the tomatoes on medium for a couple of minutes.

Then I added minced garlic, Kosher salt, and some julienned fresh basil leaves.

Sorry for the blurry photos.  Perhaps too many things going on at once in the kitchen...

After about 12 minutes, the tomatoes were softened and starting to burst a little, so I knew the were ready.  I added a little extra basil and transferred them to a serving dish.

This looks like too much basil, but is there such a thing??

The tomatoes were really, really good on the penne!

And the smell of olive oil, garlic, and basil cooking in the kitchen was Heavenly!!

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Buon appetito!



Fire Roasted Tomato and Pineapple Salsa

Sandy's Fire Roasted Tomato and Pineapple Salsa

I have a 10 year old who loves to be in the kitchen.

It is his personality to design his own recipes, and sees it as an utter lack of creativity to follow one created by someone else.

While sweet and cute and adorable, his need to always do it his way doesn't always serve him well in the kitchen.

But sometimes it does.  He actually has good cooking instincts.

This summer I'm asking him to practice following recipes, and then tweak them to make them his own.

I asked him to make this Salsa for me last night while I worked on dinner.  After resigning himself to the uncreative-task-at-hand, he got busy and loved every minute of it.

This is an absolutely fantastic salsa recipe.

I'll never buy jarred salsa again - unless I'm in a pinch.

This recipe comes from Sandy Thomas, Holistic Health Coach (www.zenchoice.com).  Many of you locals have heard me rave about Sandy's cooking classes I recently finished.  If you want more information on Sandy's services, please let me know!

Brennan only tweaked this recipe in one way - he added garlic.  I had jotted this down on the recipe during class - Sandy offered it as a good addition to her original recipe.  Brennan saw this as his opportunity to "tweak", and it worked beautifully.

Brennan started by chopping pineapple and then measuring out 1 cup of cilantro, showing lots of patience pulling the leaves off the stems (a few stems are OK since this will be blended).

Then he zested a lime (don't worry, I showed him how to flip the microplane over after this photo), and juiced it.  He then added salt, cumin, and garlic powder and blended it for 10 seconds.

Brennan then added a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and a can of mild Rotel. 

If you like a milder salsa you can use two cans of fire-roasted tomatoes instead of the Rotel. 

If you like it hotter, you can use the hot version of Rotel.

He pulsed the salsa 6 times to get it to the consistency he likes, and was ready to transfer it to a bowl.

Gorgeous!

Because the boys aren't tomato fans, they tend not to like salsas - what with the chunky tomatoes and all.  This salsa though - Brennan absolutely loved!

We decided to follow Sandy's advice and let the flavors "marry" overnight in the fridge.

Tonight we ate chips and salsa while playing a serious game of Apples to Apples (David stomped us).

The salsa was fantastic - and I watched (slightly amazed) that Thomas and Brennan gobbled it up.

I'm proud of Brennan for his creation, and I'm happy to have a delicious salsa recipe!

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Buen Provecho!