Mexi-Hippie Chow

I love mexican food, but it doesn't always fit into my green and lean lifestyle - what with all the fried chips, flour tortillas, and loads of cheese. But today I have discovered a way to enjoy the flavors of mexican food without the guilt or massive calories.

I have no idea what to name this meal. I don't even know if I can call it a salad. It's sort of like beans and rice, and it sort of like a fresh salsa, and it's sort of like a corn and tomato salad. Except that it's not really like any of those things at all because it's SO much better.

I started with a craving for fresh sweet corn and local tomatoes. Then I got in my usual kitchen frenzy and started adding spices and leftovers from the fridge (yeah, those grilled carrots and pattypan squash that were used in a sandwich and frittata are FINALLY all used up).

Here's what the first version of my dinner looked like.

It tasted delicious - I can't even describe how crisp and sweet the corn is right now. Combined with perfectly ripened Minnesota-grown tomatoes it was a great combination. It's also got the veggies, black beans, onion, lime juice, cumin, and chili powder. But it felt like eating salsa with a fork and it just seemed kind of...incomplete.

So I cooked up some Inca Red Quinoa and added diced avocado and it made all the difference in the world. The final result was so fabulous I couldn't believe I made it myself. It had all the flavors I love - spicy from the serrano, sweet from the corn, tangy from the lime, earthy from the beans, and a nice crunchy pop from the quinoa. The only problem is that it doesn't look all that pretty in the bowl so I figured a name like Mexi-Hippie Chow was suitable.

Mexi-Hippie Chow

1 ear fresh sweet corn, kernels cut from ear

1 large fresh tomato, diced

1 can black beans, rinsed

1/4 red onion, diced finely

leftover grilled veggies

1 serrano chile (I left all the seeds in)

juice of 1 big lime

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper

tiny drizzle olive oil

Mix all the above ingredients together and serve over cooked quinoa (use directions on package) and top with diced avocado. Enjoy guilt-free!

Grilled Vegetable Frittata with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Some people do extreme things for good reasons. For example, over 2,000 people will be walking 60 miles for breast cancer over the next 3 days. One of those people is my friend Jill. We needed to load her up with heart healthy vitamins, minerals, and proteins for her big walk so we made this great dinner tonight.

I've posted before about my love of frittatas. I think they are fabulous and versatile, while also being a very lean dinner. This version was made with farm fresh eggs that Alicia had obtained. The egg whites were completely clear and the yolks were almost neon orange...that is a fresh egg. And you could taste the difference in the final product.

Once again, I used a hodgepodge of leftovers to make this meal (that's the best part about frittatas!) but the extra something special was the tomato sauce. Since we were doing this frittata Italian-style (with veggies, basil/oregano, and mozzarella), it seemed a tomato sauce was an appropriate condiment. Plus, tomatoes are in season and delicious right now!

Frittata

1/2 small yellow onion, minced

any vegetables, diced (I used fresh asparagus and leftover grilled zucchini, pattypan squash, and carrots)

8-10 large fresh eggs

3/4 cup water

1 large rounded tablespoon garlic scape pesto (if you happen to have it on hand) Or, any fresh or dried herbs you may have.

salt and pepper

cheese, any kind (I used diced fresh mozzarella and finely shredded parmesan)

Sweat the onion over medium heat until soft in a large oven-safe skillet. Add vegetables and cook until soft (or if they were pre-cooked like mine, just until heated through). Meanwhile, crack eggs into a bowl, add water, garlic scape pesto or herbs, salt, and pepper and whip until bubbly. Add to skillet. Cook over medium-low heat until halfway done (bottom done, top still runny). Add cheeses to top and pop in the oven until done, or until it doesn't wiggle when you shake the pan. You may need to broil it for a couple minutes at the end to brown the top of the frittata. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting a piece. If you do it right, the frittata puffs up so it's almost like a souffle, light and fluffy. If you're feeling sassy, serve with fresh tomato sauce (recipe follows), a nice green salad with balsamic vinaigrette, good bread, champagne, red wine, and girl talk.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

1/2 small yellow onion, minced

1 large clove garlic, minced

4 large fresh roma tomatoes, diced

olive oil

salt, pepper, and any fresh or dried herbs

Sweat the onion in the oil over medium heat until soft (about 5 minutes), add garlic and cook another minute. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and dried herbs (if using fresh, wait until the very end to add them). Cook over medium-low heat for approximately 20 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and most liquid has cooked out.

This sauce is great on pasta, pizza, eggs, or even just plain bread.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

There was a tornado today that touched down a few blocks from my house. How exciting! Thankfully nobody was hurt, but it caused lots of damage on Portland Avenue and my drive home was...interesting. Most of the streets were closed so I had several extra blocks to drive. During this extended commute, I was racking my brain for ways to use up the rest of the veggies in my fridge. These are the final veggies left over from Marney and Colin's CSA box I got last Friday. I of course didn't want to start the oven so that left grilling on my grill pan as the best option.

I cut all the veggies in planks, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled until there were beautiful char marks on both sides. Here are the pattypan squash, zucchini, and white and orange carrots post grilling.

What to do with these beautiful veggies? My first thought was to make a sandwich so I decided to use the veggies that way. I grilled a thick slice of ciabatta, added a layer of leftover garlic scape pesto and the grilled veggies then topped with fresh mozzarella and avocado. Leave it on the grill for a few minutes with the heat turned off and some tinfoil or a lid to melt the cheese.

It was fantastic all together and it made me wonder why it's so hard to find sandwiches like this in restaurants. It's not difficult, it's not expensive, and it tastes great. It's the kind of sandwich that requires a knife and fork (therefore making it appropriate for dinner - not lunch).

On the side, I shredded up a beautiful little red cabbage that came in the CSA box and used this Bobby Flay recipe for red cabbage slaw which was a perfect companion to my grilled veggie sandwich.

Just looking at the photo of this sandwich makes me want another one right now.

Quick Zucchini Saute

Hello there. I'm feeling pretty repetitive lately because I re-made the Mustard-Dill Fish recipe again this week, but with salmon. So, my recipe below should be modified to say it will work with ANY fish, not just white fish. Because the salmon was pretty fricking good with the tomatoes and mustard and dill.

The real story here, however, is the quick zucchini saute that I served on the side. It was pretty fantastic, and just about the easiest thing to make. Ever. I have a cheapo mandoline that I got at Target for $10 so I was able to make very cute matchstick julienne pieces of zucchini. But it would work just as well with a box grater or food processor with grater attachment, or even just slicing really small.

Quick Zucchini Saute

1 fresh zucchini, julienned or grated

1 fresh yellow squash, julienned or grated

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 handful slivered almonds

salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the almonds and toast until golden. Add the zucchini and yellow squash and cook for 60 seconds. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I made this side dish again this morning to bring to work for lunch - and, instead of cooking the zucchini for a minute, I just ate it raw (and substituted roasted/salted sunflower seeds for the almonds). And it was STILL delicious. I'm sure it's due to the quality of the fresh local zucchini that makes it taste so good. Only for a limited time will zucchini be this good in MN so I will be eating this constantly for the next week or two!

Mustard Dill Fish

Someone recently told me this was her favorite thing I'd ever cooked. I've only ever made it twice before and I don't know why I don't make it more often because it's so simple yet fancy enough for entertaining.

Marney and Colin came over last night for dinner (it had been much much too long since the last time I'd had them over) and I whipped up this dish. It would work with any firm white fish - the original recipe called for catfish but I've used cod and wolfish (similar to cod), and I think it would be excellent with halibut. Another reason it tasted so good I think is the farmer's market cherry tomatoes that were at the peak of their ripeness.

We were so excited to eat this meal that I forgot to take a nicely presented photo. So, I was nearly done eating when this photo was snapped.

Mustard Dill Fish

any firm white fish filets

1/4 cup dijon mustard

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 Tbsp fresh dill

1 container cherry tomatoes

Season the fish with salt and pepper. Mix dijon with 1 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp dill. Brush half of mixture on top of fish. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat on the stove.

Cut tomatoes in half, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp dill, and salt and pepper. Set aside.

When skillet is hot, add fish mustard-side down. Salt and pepper the other side of the fish and brush on the rest of the mustard mixture. Cook approx 4 minutes on each side and remove to plate covered with tinfoil to keep hot.

Add tomatoes to the same skillet and cook on high heat for 1 minute. The tomato liquid will mix with the mustard in the skillet and make a delicious sauce to serve over the fish.

Serve with a crisp green salad and great wine.

Raw Beet Salad

If colorful food is healthier, I've been doing very well recently. From that big green dinner to the gazpacho, I've been consuming a freaking rainbow this week. Today's salad is no exception.

I found this recipe for a raw beet salad from Chocolate and Zucchini and was excited to use my Farmer's Market goodies in it. I added fresh dill and flat leaf parsley and topped it with crumbled goat cheese. I normally think of cooked beets as similar to potatoes (filling and kind of starchy) but raw beets are light, fresh, and crunchy. I liked it, but do miss the sweetness and depth of flavor you get from roasting or boiling beets.

It's hard to tell how vibrantly purple this salad is from my poor photography, but I can assure you that it was stunning.

I plan to use the leftovers to saute for a minute or two in some olive oil and have a warm shredded beet side dish with fish later this week.

Summer Gazpacho

The very best part of summer, culinarily speaking, is tomatoes. Fresh in-season tomatoes taste a zillion times better than the junk you get in the grocery store mid-winter. My favorite way to eat them right now is in the form of gazpacho - that cold tomato soup that tastes like sunshine in a bowl. My recipe is made up, just things dumped together with no real measurements. Each time I make it the ingredients are different depending what I have in the kitchen - I might use scallions or add red bell pepper or red onion. It's fun to enjoy the different tastes each time.

Summer Gazpacho

Updated August 4, 2012:  I love this recipe and make it a lot every summer.  This recipe is super easy to whip up in a food processor or blender.  Sometimes I even use cherry or grape tomatoes because it's even sweeter.  And I've added the red wine vinegar to the ingredient list - it adds a lot to the final flavor.

4 large in-season tomatoes, diced (I used a combo of local regular red, yellow, and heirloom tomatoes)

1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced

1 medium shallot, diced very finely

1 clove garlic, minced finely or grated on a microplane

Juice of 1/2 lemon

6 large fresh basil leaves, minced

Small bunch of chives, minced

1 teaspoon hot sauce
1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all this together - and, if you want to go no further, you have a great bruchetta topping or fresh sauce for pasta or pizza or grilled fish. But, if you dare, you can add vegetable juice to turn it into gazpacho. I like Bolthouse Farms brand Vedge juice. I added just enough to have a good soup consistency.

Served alongside hunks of crusty baguette and local sharp cheddar cheese and this is a summertime lunch to be thankful for.