Summer on a Plate

There's not much to say about the simplicity of a Caprese Salad. When I've just finished a hard workout, and I hate making a huge dinner.  When it's too hot outside to turn on the over, stove, or stand next to the grill.  Caprese Salad is perfect for so many different reasons.  It's my favorite summer dinner.  It's one of those meals that makes me feel better for having eaten it.  It's like doing yoga, it centers you.  I wish there was more to say, but Caprese Salad is my food yoga.  period.

More Fun with Cucumbers...

whoa, that was dirty...sorry.  Here is one of the simplest, most delicious, fresh tasting recipes I've ever made.  If you're wondering what to do with this sauce, marinade chicken in some and toss it on the grill. Use it in place of ranch dressing for a seriously better for you dip/dressing.  Dip pita bread into it.  Drizzle it over grilled chicken.  Make a pasta salad by combining chopped cucumbers, chopped kalamata olives, thinly sliced red onion, chopped tomato, crumbled feta cheese, and rotini pasta; pour some tzatziki over the salad and nom...

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups Greek yogurt (I used one of the regular sized containers of Fage)

1 cucumber, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove

2 Tbs fresh mint

1 Tbs lemon juice

Instructions

Dump the yogurt into a bowl.  In a magic bullet (or food processor if you're dignified...), throw in the cucumber, garlic clove, fresh mint, and lemon juice.  If you're feeling extra fancy, add a bit of dill; I didn't have any.  Process the cucumber mixture until everything is finely minced.  Pour the cucumber mixture into the yogurt and whisk to combine.

It's a Tomato & Cucumber kind of day!

 One of the upsides of running a non-profit for kids is that the kids get served meals from the local food bank! Let's be honest though, this isn't an upside. There are too many times I serve something that even I can't recognize.  When the kids ask me what it is, I have to tell them,
"It's a Sloppy Joe??"  Yesterday, however, some local farmers donated a bunch of fresh vegetables to the food bank, which means we got to serve it to the kids, which means I got to take home the left overs!  Which means I have a TON of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers!

I actually have two pans of the cucumbers... fresh pickles anyone?

So now my conundrum is what exactly to do with all these?! 

First, I made some fresh Pico de Gallo, which is one of the recipes in a cookbook I just read cover to cover like a novel.  In case you're in need of a good read, check out her website www.pioneerwoman.com.  She's become my new hero.  Here's the recipe...

Pico de Gallo

Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo

Ingredients

1 Red Onion, chopped

Tomatoes (to equal the amount of chopped onion)

Cilantro, a whole bunch - about 1 1/2 cups

1 Jalapeno, chopped

Juice from 1/2 a lime

Salt to taste

Instructions

Chop the red onion as finely as you're comfortable eating raw, and dump into a big bowl.  Chop an equal amount of tomatoes, and dump into the bowl.  Roughly chop a bunch of cilantro.  ...not a bunch as in a ton, a bunch as in one of the bundles the grocery store packages.  Dump that into the bowl as well.  Chop the jalapeno finely, but first get rid of the ribs and seeds.  If you like it really really hot, chop two jalapenos.  Squeeze the juice from half a lime into the bowl with all the other ingredients and stir it all together.  Add salt to taste.  Pioneer Woman suggested tasting with a tortilla chip to get the correct amount of salt... so I did. Pioneer Woman did not fail me! It's delicious!

Problem was, though, that I still had two pans of cucumbers left and two thirds of a pan of tomatoes.  Gazpacho it is!

Gazpacho

Disclaimer: I pretty much made this one up, with the help of a ton of different foodnetwork.com recipes to help me get a basis.  I'd never made gazpacho before this...

Ingredients

2 cups Cucumber (or one whole cucumber)

2 cups Tomatoes (or two whole tomatoes, I don't know what kind....)

1 Sweet Red Pepper

1/2 Red Onion

2 cloves garlic

3 Cups V8 Juice

Juice from 1/2 a lime

1/4 cup Vinegar (any kind, I used apple cider vinegar)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 Tbl Kosher Salt and as much cracked black pepper as you like

Instructions

Slice the cucumber and put it in a food processor.  I used my Magic Bullet, since I don't have a food processor.  Process it until it's chopped finely and looks soupy.  Like this....

Pour the cucumbers into a large bowl.  Quarter the tomatoes and process them to the same consistency and pour them into the same bowl.  Repeat the process with the red onion and red pepper.  Press the garlic, or mince on a microplane and add it to the soup mixture.  Pour the V8, vinegar, and olive oil into the bowl, and stir everything together.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.  According to all the Food Network recipes, it's best to let it refrigerate for 24 hours before serving, to let all the flavors meld.  But I had to taste anyways since I've never made or eaten gazpacho before.  Bad News: I hated it.  So I did the  best thing my father taught me... Doctor the Shit out of it.  I actually put it on the stove and brought it to a slow boil, added some sugar (about 2 tea), Penzey's Greek seasoning, and thyme.  WAY better.  I'll cool it down and eat it cold, like a gazpacho, but now it's got much more of a tomato soup flavor as opposed to rabbit food flavored.

Let me know if you make either one!  And if you have any ideas for an extreme over-abundance of cucumbers!

Month One: Day 3!

Although it's been way too hot here to even think about turning my oven on and try the Cauliflower Poppers, I did go out and buy a head of cauliflower yesterday.  I am promising myself that it wont just sit in the crisper...

However, I got a beautiful little email this morning from one of my favorite e-newsletters (gotta love Martha Stewart) that was entitled Zucchini Bonanza!  It has over 65 zucchini recipes for all different seasons.  A ton of grilled zucchini recipes and baked/gratin recipes!

The problem with zucchini is that it just doesn't have any taste.  In order to make it palatable, you have to saute it in butter, coat it in cheese and bake it in a crust.  Which reminds me- I'll post the most amazing zucchini pie recipe here in a bit :-)

There is one zucchini recipe that I've loved for quite a while.  It has eggs and cheese in it, but only feta, so it's fairly low in fat and calories.  Since they have eggs in them, I love to eat them in the morning for breakfast.  It makes me feel like I'm blowing one of my daily veggie servings out of the way without even trying!

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini

1 tsp salt

8 oz feta cheese

2 scallions, minced

2 Tbs fresh dill (or 2 tsp dried)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Olive Oil for cooking

Instructions

Shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater (or in the food processor).  Toss the zucchini with the salt and let it sit for a few minutes (about 5).  Put the shredded zucchini in a tea towel and squeeze until all excess liquid from the zucchini has been drained.  Think of this step the same way as you drain the water from spinach.

In a bowl, stir together the drained zucchini, feta, scallions, dill, eggs, garlic, and pepper.  Once combined, sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir until the flour is incorporated.  Heat some olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Drop 2-tablespoon-sized portions (about the size of a cookie dough ball) into the hot skillet and flatten out into the shape of a pancake with a spatula.  Fry until golden brown on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side.  

Note: If you don't drain the zucchini in the first step, the fritters will fall apart in the skillet and will become very wet and sloppy.

Will keep in the fridge for quite a few days.  Like I said, I like to save them, and eat them for a savory breakfast.  They also work very well as a side dish to grilled chicken or fish!

Cauliflower Poppers

I haven't tried this recipe, but Myssa has.  She told me that I could put just about any seasoning on them and they'll be good.  A definite tried and true recipe for her no matter the seasoning.  Preston and I buy a TON of Penzey's seasonings everytime we're in Portland (more on that later...) so she suggested I try some of his favorite seasonings on it, and perhaps he'll be inclined to try them!  I think I may just have to stop at Sprouts on my way home tomorrow night and pick up some cauliflower.  There's absolutely no way I'm going out tonight to get some, season finale of The Bachelorette is on and I can't be bothered....

Ingredients

Cooking Spray
1 Medium Head of Cauliflower
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder, or more to taste
pinch of salt and peper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F.  Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Cut cauliflower florets into bite sized pieces.  Dump cauliflower into a large bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Toss well to coat.

Spread cauliflower into a single layer on the baking sheet and bake until florets are tender, but not mushy, stirring halfway through, about 10 minutes.

The Actual Cauliflower Popper Recipe (c/o Weight Watchers)