Easy Veggie And Hummus Sammich

Remember that raw hummus recipe from yesterday? I hope so, since it was only yesterday.

ANYWAY, here's me using that hummus in a easy-breezy veggie sandwich why btw? Totally tasted awesome. I had to make seconds for everybody which is kind of amazing when you realize that it was HEALTHY.

Out In The Garden

Snapshots from today in the garden.
I was very excited to get in there and get my hands dirty.

I wear this outfit nearly every time I garden, and have for years.
Because I'm a farmer and all.

***

The garden was overgrown and dry.
Still, the Greek oregano managed to come back
like gang busters, as did the sage.


***
Getting my hands dirty. Gardening is actually hard work, yo.
After hours of this kind of squatting as well as all the shoveling and angling,
my body aches. It's a good ache, though.


***
Final result. I prioritized this year, only planting the things I knew I would use.

It's been a good day.

Summer Garden

The sunshine does wonders for me.

I dropped the top and drove around all day, ultimately landing at the garden store. Produce is ridonkulously expensive these days and I prefer to grow my own anyway, where I can. This midwest soil is bananas-good. And so I went and picked up my flats of Roma tomatoes, my sweet basil, my spinach, my (one, for the love of God) cucumber. I'll plant them tomorrow and within weeks will be eating my own harvest. I have to say, there's very little quite so satisfying. I make my own hummus and garnish it with my own cucumbers and tomatoes. I make mounds of bruschetta. I use the basil and Roma tomatoes, add mozzarella and then make tasty paninis . The spinach is new this year (I failed miserably with it last year) and if any of you know me, you know how I love spinach salads. So it's good. It feels and tastes very good.

Sunshine? Also good. You out there reading this? Probably totally vitamin D deficient. Don't feel bad because most of us are. But vitamin D acts as a well-being hormone within us; it actually has the ability to make us feel better, lighter, calmer. Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to a variety of maladies/conditions. So get your fifteen minutes, people, or supplement if you need to. And eat those veggies. And eat that fruit!

Meanwhile I'll take pictures of my garden and the things I make with my harvest.

Stay tuned.

Rice with Pecans and Dried Cranberries

I know, I know, I just recently posted a rice recipe good for just about any occasion, but now I have another. Believe me, you'll thank me, it's that good. This one is adapted from the Whole Foods Cookbook and has a bit more crunch than the other, I'd say, mainly due to the raw vegetables. It's just as delicious and versatile (think lunch, dinner, potluck, debauched face-smothering).

And did I mention easy? Because easy is the best part. My grade: A

Rice with Pecans and Dried Cranberries

Ingredients:

Dressing:

6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons raspberry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 - 2 tsp sugar

Salad:

1 cup rice (I use calrose because I'm a Hawaii girl and addicted to calrose, but wild would probably be even better and you could also use brown)
water, enough to cook rice (see instructions according to rice used)
1 cup pecan halves, toasted
1/2 red onion, diced
1 yellow or orange pepper, seeded and diced
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup minced parsley
8 green onions, chopped

Directions:

For dressing, combine vinegars, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper and mix well. A blender is good for this.

For salad, cook rice according to specifications and reserve. Let cool.

Once rice is cool, add pecan halves, pepper, cranberries, parsley and green onions. Other nice bits for this salad might be celery and carrot. Combine the dressing with salad ingredients, starting with a quarter of the dressing and increasing until you are comfortable with the taste. For example, I do not use all the dressing called for this recipe -- probably about 3/4ths, actually.

Chill before serving.


Difficulty: Easy
Prep/Cook: 45 minutes for rice, 20 minutes for chopping/dressing -- 1 hr 5 min, all in

Wild Rice Salad

I came across this mouth-watering recipe on Simply Recipes, a site I really enjoy and also highly recommend. I knew I had to try it; the sesame oil, wild rice and cranberries seemed bound to be delightful. And they were; all of it was. I made a pig of myself with this dish, seriously. I did modify the it a bit to suit my particular tastes, which the recipe here will reflect. Feel free to do the same. Get creative. My grade: A+

Wild Rice Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1 cup wild rice
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 8 green onions, sliced
• 2 cups thawed frozen peas
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• Salt and pepper

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil

Directions

1 Put the vegetable broth in a medium sized saucepan. Add the rice and wild rice, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover. Let cook for 40 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool completely. (I used calrose rice for this, and made both rices in a rice pot. Worked out nicely.)

2 Heat a small skillet on medium high heat. Add the almonds. (If you like, lightly coat the bottom of the skillet with oil.) Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted. Remove almonds from pan and let cool.

3 Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil.

4 In a large bowl gently mix together the cooled cooked rice, green onions, peas, dried cranberries, almonds, and dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Chill completely before serving. Serves 8-10.

Difficulty: Easy

Oven Roasted Tomato Bruschetta (on Focaccia)

Surprisingly we're still doing the vegetarian thing, though now we're calling it the "no red meat thing", because every once in awhile (usually on Sundays, for barbecuing) we eat chicken. I don't miss it though, especially when there are so many fabulous tasting meatless meals to enjoy.

This bruschetta is a perfect example. Not like typical bruschetta, which is made with raw tomatoes and usually served on a more crusty bread, this bruschetta is made with "candied" tomatoes piled high on soft, toasted focaccia with mozzarella and fresh basil from the garden. It's a nice twist on the old standard. Additionally, these tomatoes would be fabulous in paninis, and for that reason I'll indicate their preparation separately from the entire dish. My grade for the bruschetta: B+

Oven Roasted Tomatoes
Several ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and cored
Good balsamic vinegar
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Take the prepared tomatoes and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle as liberally as you like with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.

When finished, chill and then set aside. Reserve some if you like for a jar. These last awhile in your fridge.

Oven Roasted Tomato Bruschetta (on focaccia)
One loaf store-bought focaccia (I use Trader Joe's)
Butter
Olive oil
Reserved oven roasted tomatoes (chilled)
12 - 15 leaves fresh sweet basil
Buffalo mozzarella, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced

I realize I don't have exact measurements here, and that's because I like a lot of basil and a little less mozzarella. I often omit the butter (though I like the taste it imparts). Prepare according to your proclivities.

Slice focaccia about 1/2 inch in thickness. Lay on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Add a little bit of butter to each slide if you like. Broil on hi for approximately 5 minutes. Watch closely; they toast quickly and can burn. When finished, set aside.

Grab your oven-roasted tomatoes, now chilled, and if you like, add some garlic. If they need some more balsamic, add conservatively. Slice sweet basil in long thin strips. Arrange mozzarella on top of toasted focaccia, and then add tomato mixture and basil. Serve immediately.

The Best Hummus, Tabbouleh and Tzatziki you'll ever put in your big vegetarian mouth

This week we're being vegetarians.

I personally am doing this for spiritual reasons; the rest of my family, however, is doing it because I have to do it. Not to make it sound harsh or draconian; it's actually been pretty lovely eating this way. Vegetarian food doesn't have to suck, come to find out. In fact it can really be great, especially with recipes I'll be giving you today.

My husband loves hummus. I always thought it looked a bit like toddler poop and so was never really game to eat it. Until about four years ago, when I finally tried it slathered on pita bread and topped with tzatziki and tabbouleh which my husband insisted I try. Now, you won't hear me admitting this often, but my husband? He's been absolutely right, all along!

Here are three recipes for these dishes that are both easy and delish. They'd be great as an appetizer, but we enjoy them for dinner and no one is left unsatisfied. Enjoy! My grade: A+

Easy and Delicious Hummus (Hummous) (as adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine)

Ingredients:

2 16 oz cans chick peas (garbanzo beans)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4th cup olive oil
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions

Add all ingredients into food processor and puree. I'm serious. It's that easy. Add more or less oil to get the consistency you prefer. If you don't want to use too much oil, warm water works well, too. Always taste during the process so the spices are just right. You can add olive oil and additional lemon juice on top of the hummus upon serving. I usually just do the oil, though, because the lemon used is adequate.

For a nice variation, add sun-dried tomatoes and/or roasted garlic.

Tabbouleh (as adapted from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook by Diana Shaw)

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgur wheat
1 1/2 cup water, boiled
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 cucumber, seeded, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, minced
2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced
2 scallions, minced, white part only (I also use shallots)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt to taste

Directions:

Bring water to a boil. Add bulgur wheat and remove from heat. Let sit for a 1/2 - 1 hour. In this time the bulgur wheat will soak up the water, enlarging. At the end of allotted time drain bulgur through sieve, making sure to remove all water. Transfer to bowl.

To bulgur wheat add add chopped cucumber and tomato, parsley, garlic, mint, olive oil and lemon juice, mixing thoroughly. Serve room temperature or refrigerate up to 3 hours.

Tzatziki (Cucumber-Yogurt Dip) (as adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine)

1 1/2 cups plain whole milk yogurt (I like Greek)
1 cucumber, seeded, diced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons minced fresh mint
2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
Kosher salt to taste
Fresh mint for garnish

Mix yogurt, salt and garlic. Add to this the diced cucumber (making sure to drain all excess water from cucumber), vinegar, mint, dill and olive oil. Stir to blend and season with more salt if needed. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.


Serve all three on whole grain pita bread. I like to layer first with the hummus and then atop that add razor-thin slices of cucumber and tomato. Atop that I add the tzatziki and then tabbouleh. Brilliant!

Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4 people well

Spicy Tomato, Orange and Cucumber Salad

I like to make it a point to serve a side salad with nearly every meal, not simply because it's nutritious, but also because I love salads of all types. I also want to teach my child to love them as much as I do, and although it's been a long road to hoe with her, it seems we've finally hit a nice stride.

Case in point is this recipe, which was provided to me by the ever lovely Amy D. My daughter loved it (we served it with the Red Chile Grilled Chicken below, which she also loved), probably because of the orange slices and lime juice. Doesn't matter, though. It's nutritious and I'll take it! My grade: A

Spicy Tomato, Orange and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 large orange, peeled and without pith, chopped
1/2 - 1 cucumber, peeled if you prefer, chopped
1 lime, juice of
1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

Chop all vegetables and fruits. Squeeze lime juice over mixture and add chili powder; toss. Add or increase lime as you prefer; same with the chili. A bit more orange in this might be nice, too.

Serve right away (if you let sit, the tomato and orange will devolve into a vinaigrette) with grilled meats.

Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 3 - 4, modest (side) portions

Roasted Vegetable Menagerie

Vegetables all ways are just fine by me (except maybe out of a can and then boiled), but hands down I prefer to roast vegetables if I at all can. It doesn't matter what they are, either; usually whatever I have on hand that can stand a hot oven and blend well with potatoes, goes onto the pan. I eat roasted vegetables as an entire meal, too; usually with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. My husband likes to add some rice, which I think is superfluous because really, veggies can fill you up just fine. Veggies can make you healthy, too. And veggies always give me the big wide happy face!

Last night for my roasted vegetable concoction I included asparagus, brussels sprouts, parsnips, carrots, red potatoes, russet potatoes, garlic, shallots and red onions. I know, crazy, isn't it? And the thing about these veggies is that they cannot all be fired at the same time; you have to stagger it. And so for this particular menagerie, I put the potatoes, carrots, minced garlic and parsnips in first (if I were using whole cloves of garlic I'd probably add them at the 30 minute mark), then 20 minutes later added brussels sprouts, then ten minutes after that I added onions and shallots and then eight minutes after that, the asparagus. I cooked the whole thing for an hour.

To break it down, that's:

• 1 hr for potatoes, parsnips, minced garlic and carrots
• 40 minutes for brussels sprouts
• 30 minutes for onions and shallots, and;
• 18 minutes for the asparagus

I cooked the whole thing at 375 and tossed all veggies liberally with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary (be conservative, it's a strong spice) and thyme.

Oh behave! The results? My grade: A+

Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1 hr 15 minutes (15 minutes prep)
Serves: 4 - 6 (depending on how piggish you are -- I am quite piggish)

Green Beans with Garlic and Shallots

This is a perfect side dish recipe. I love it with all roasts, all casseroles, even by itself. I use fresh green beans only because frozen or canned are not from Jesus. Add some crispy fried pancetta to the mixture too, if you're looking for something different and are feeling like Giada. Note too that my shallots are pretty dang caramelized, but that's because that's how I like them. If you like them less golden, by all means, YOU DO YOU.

Green Beans with Garlic and Shallots

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and washed
3 large shallots, sliced or chopped, depending on size desired
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Blanch green beans by boiling in water for approximately 1 - 3 minutes. Remove immediately and plunge into ice bath (a bowl filled with ice and water, which will stop the cooking process immediately). Leave in ice bath for a minute or so and then drain and reserve. (Blanching preserves texture, color and flavor of vegetables and is a preferred method of preparation.)

In pan heat up olive oil, adding sliced shallots and cooking until caramelized, about 5 - 10 minutes. Toward last two minutes of cooking add minced garlic and incorporate. When finished remove shallots and garlic from pan and place into bowl. Reserve.

Add one more tablespoon olive oil to pan and heat up. Add green beans and saute for four minutes. Add salt and saute another 1 - 2 minutes. Remove from heat and combine garlic and onions with green beans, mixing. Serve hot.

Difficulty: Easy
Prep/Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Spinach Salad with Orange Honey Vinaigrette and Gorgonzola

Sometimes you just can't beat a good salad. I typically subscribe to the KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple, Stupid), opting for dark greens instead of light, and less ingredients rather than more. Yes, less is more, as evidenced in this favorite of mine. All you need is fresh spinach, crumbled Gorgonzola for garnish and the following homemade dressing:

Orange Honey Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

With food processor running, drop garlic and parsley down feed tube and let process until garlic is minced.

Turn off machine and remove cover, add all remaining ingredients except salt and pepper, replace cover and process for several seconds until well blended.

Taste and add more honey if you wish, and salt and pepper to taste.

Keep bottled in the fridge and shake well before using.

My grade: A (it's now my favorite vinaigrette, hands down.)

Thanksk to Lennie from RecipeZaar for this recipe.

Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and Gorgonzola

What a weekend. I went on a mini-road trip, only to return home to a typical family whirlwind. Four hours of intense labor later, I collapsed into a ball of wahwah and promptly checked out. Today was a bit better. Still busy, however, I was at least able to throw together a simple and rustic family favorite. The meal, coupled with a well timed bottle of pinot noir, was just what I needed. My grade: A-

Chicken with Roasted Vegetables and Gorgonzola
Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper, cut per preference
1 orange red pepper, cut per preference
4 large red potatoes, cubed
3 - 4 large shallots, cut per preference
5 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (about 2 sprigs)
4 - 6 sprigs thyme
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp coarse black pepper (or to taste)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/8 cup quality olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
3 chicken breasts
Gorgonzola to garnish, about a tablespoon per serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mince garlic, rosemary and thyme, reserve. Cube potatoes; slice shallots and bell peppers. Combine on large cookie sheet with kosher salt, black pepper, butter and olive oil. Mix with hands to distribute herbs and oil/butter evenly. When done, place in oven, roasting anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how you prefer the tenderness of your vegetables.

Approximately 20 minutes before vegetables are finished roasting, heat 1/8 cup olive oil in frying pan. When hot, put in chicken breasts (I keep the breasts whole and then cube when still hot, but you can cube ahead of time and saute in oil, if you prefer), cooking approximately 4 - 8 minutes per side, depending on thickness of breast. (Make sure not to overcook, which will make the chicken dry.) Take chicken breasts from the oil just moments before they are fully done.

Pull vegetables from oven when chicken is done; you should have about ten minutes left, total, to your roasting time. Add chicken with the rest of vegetables, mixing well. You may like to add a bit more olive oil here if needed. Finish roasting, making sure chicken is fully cooked (but not overcooked!) before taking cookie sheet from oven.

Garnish with Gorgonzola while still hot. Serve with Spinach Salad with Orange Honey Vinaigrette and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Bisque.

Serves 4 heartily