Feeling Saucy

Mango-peach salsa with marinated chicken

Summer is officially in season when fresh produce such as ripe, juicy peaches and fresh mangoes start appearing in the market.  When the produce is good, dinner is a cinch.

To make this meal, start by tuning in to a good salsa radio station online or maybe you already own a nice salsa CD you can pop in.  Trust me, the mood in preparing the food is a very important ingredient.  It might also be wise to make a margarita or mojito to enhance your saucy-type mood.

Now that you're ready, consider what type of meat you'd like to skewer up for grilling.  I chose chicken, but you can pick anything you'd like from scallops, to shrimp, to pork or even beef.  Marinate it for 30 minutes or so in some soy sauce, sesame oil and grated ginger.  Just before tossing it on the grill, brush with a bit of honey and lime juice.  Yum!

Dance around the room a bit.

The salsa can be made well in advance as long as you refrigerate it, see the recipe below.  The best part about the salsa is having some leftover (I know, it will take a certain amount of self-control not to finish it all in one sitting, but try).  The next day I chopped up an avocado and mixed in a sizable amount of the salsa- what a delicious take on guacamole!  The only question left is, what are you still doing at your computer?  Go get saucy!

Sushi Salad

Here's a salad for all of you who are interested in trying sushi but haven't quite made it past the raw fish yet.  Use this to help transition your taste buds into the flavors of the sushi world...okay, so authentic sushi chefs would probably strongly disagree, but I stand by it.  One of the key ingredients is nori sheets, a type of sea vegetable that is rich in beta carotene, chlorophyll, amino acids, fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals.  Look for brands that source their products from certified clean waters.

I use brown rice as a base for this salad rather than the white sticky rice found in most types of sushi preparations because I prefer the nutritional boost you get from brown rice.  Cook the brown rice according to package directions in advance and then cool to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.  Add in vegetables that you like, such as avocado, shredded carrots, green onions, julienned cucumbers, and sprouts or shoots (if you've never tried pea shoots, I recommend those).  Toss in some toasted sesame seeds, both the blonde and black varieties for visual interest.  Mix in some dressing, I whisked together sesame oil, rice vinegar and soy sauce in equal amounts with a quarter-sized piece of ginger, grated.  Once the salad is ready, cut the nori sheets with scissors down to bite-sized strips and add to the salad.  You're ready to eat!

Reinvention

Some readers may remember that I am a huge fan of Lidia Matticchio Bastianich; when watching her prepare food on PBS or reading her cookbooks I feel like my grandmother is present.  Lately, however, I haven't been going to her pages for recipe inspiration because I've been trying to avoid processed foods that contain white flour and refined sugars, of which pasta is guilty on all counts.  But the memory of my utter taste-delight after eating one of her dishes called, Cavatelli with Bread Crumbs, Pancetta and Cauliflower, kept popping up in my mind, telling me I had to revisit it in some way.

While perusing the recipe's ingredient list, I looked at the innocent-sounding bread crumbs.  I've used them hundreds of times before in recipes, but today I hesitated.  As I read the Nutrition Facts, I was startled to find that 1/4 cup of plain bread crumbs contain 400mg of sodium!  The Italian-style bread crumbs contain 450mg in the same 1/4 cup.  Yikes.  I knew an alternative was in order...and preparing fresh bread crumbs on the spot is not always feasible.  As I meandered the aisles at the supermarket I found an alternative: baked brown rice crumbs.  There is only one ingredient listed on the box (versus around 20 or so ingredients listed on the bread crumb can, many of which are too lengthy to pronounce).  The baked brown rice crumbs can be used in all the same preparations one might need bread crumbs, and only contain about 10mg of sodium in a 1/4 cup serving.  That sounded much more reasonable to me, so I bought a box.

The remainder of the recipe's ingredients are not entirely innocuous, but fresh cauliflower and onions are nice, and I added in a can of chick peas because I think they taste good.  Instead of serving the sauce over pasta, I used cooked farro, a grain of wheat species typically grown in the Garfagnana region of Tuscany.  Since Lida's recipes bring a taste of Italy to our homes, I felt farro was in the right spirit.  As it turns out, when I added the farro to the sauce and allowed it to simmer a bit for the flavors to get to know each other, no crumbs were needed at all.  Farro did the job of absorbing liquid and thickening the sauce.  And my taste buds were happily satisfied because the new version of the recipe was just as mouth-watering as my memory of the original.

A shout-out goes to Mom for the gift of this DREAMY pan!

Better Than Granola Bar

Yum.  I did a little, "hip-hip-hooray!" cheer for Julie Morris, the author of the Superfood Kitchen cookbook, when I made these scrumptious bars.  They certainly are not your parents' granola bars!  These treats are packed with dates, almond milk, chia seeds, rolled oats, hemp seeds and my personal favorite, dark chocolate.  Though the wet ingredients threatened to fly out of my food processor the first time I hit the pulse button, preparation was fairly simple.  Even better, the wait during their time in the oven wasn't too long.  Fortunately I restrained myself a little so there were some bars available for the photograph.

You may be wondering what hemp seed is doing in the ingredient list.  For starters, it is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which play an important role in reducing inflammation throughout the body.  It is also an excellent source of fiber and some minerals, such as zinc, iron, magnesium and potassium.  Morris indicates that, "hemp's high saturation of protein is of premium quality, as well- an easily digestible, plant-based, complete protein boasting all essential amino acids."  What's not to love?

What makes me happy about eating these, well aside from the delicious taste, is the boost of energy they give me.  Today I hopped in the pool for a swim and was so grateful to have this energy-restoring treat awaiting me at the end.  Maybe I won't mind training so much...maybe I'll even forgive myself for signing up for a sprint triathlon at the end of the summer (What was I thinking?!).  

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Quinoa salads are one of the easiest foods to prepare.  Well, there may be tons of foods that are easier to prepare, but for your effort in making a quinoa salad you get a meal that is balanced in nutrition and also incredibly delicious!  I find it refreshing on a hot evening because there isn't much cooking involved.  It doesn't make you feel hot after eating it either, because your body isn't in overdrive trying to digest a super heavy meal.  The other bonus is that this salad contains almost all of my favorite foods...quinoa, avocado, spinach, tomatoes and lemon.  While it may not contain chocolate, my absolute favorite food, it still ranks pretty high on my list.  

Feel free to adjust ingredient amounts depending on your personal taste.  If the fresh spinach is looking really enticing to me on a given day, I might use well more than 3/4 cup.  Experiment to find the combination that works best for you!

Soup's On

A recent issue of Delicious Living magazine, available at The Heritage Natural Market, contained a recipe for Jasmine Rice Soup with Cannellini and Rosemary.  Everything about that sounds delicious to me, so I brought a copy home.  I'm always excited when I have an excuse to snip a stalk of wonderfully fragrant rosemary off the plant I have growing in the garden.  Rosemary is such a sensory delight!

As with most recipes, I tend to view them as loose guidelines and end up following my own train of thought.  The preparation of this soup was no exception.  For starters, I have a rice blend with brown and red basmati rice, rye berries and pearl barley which I felt was a lot more interesting for the soup than just jasmine rice.  I also used both cannellini and kidney beans for more color and variety.  The soup gets a velvety taste from stirring balsamic vinegar into simmering onions, garlic and crushed red pepper before adding in the tomatoes, broth and rice.  Another surprise flavor comes from the addition of a freshly roasted red bell pepper toward the end of cooking.  It gets a healthy dose of fresh baby spinach toward the end of cooking as well, making this soup a powerhouse of nutrition.  The final touch of freshly chopped rosemary and freshly ground black pepper just before serving sends a beautiful aroma wafting through the kitchen.  Thanks to my sister's baking experiment, I enjoyed some fresh foccacia along with my soup.  Delicious!

Muffin Top

Stave off your hunger with these tasty muffins without packing on the pounds.  This recipe, another hit from Gwyneth's cookbook, It's All Good, does not sacrifice on flavor at all.

Lately, rather than pondering what interesting preparation I can do to my food, I've been wondering what my food can do for me.  While this is not revolutionary thinking by any means, it is a question worth asking.  Let's take flour for starters.  Flour is a powder made by grinding cereal grains, or other items such as seeds or roots.  White flour is basically the ground internal wheat kernel (without the germ or bran) and is usually enriched with iron and B vitamins. Though enriched white flour does sound healthier, it still lacks many of the nutrients contained in whole grain varieties such as vitamin E, natural fiber and trace minerals (like selenium and potassium).  Beyond wheat-based flours is an amazing variety, such as amaranth flour, buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, potato flour, almond flour and even chick pea flour, each with its own list of healthy dietary benefits.

So, in the spirit of enriching my nutrition, these muffins are made with a flour blend that contains potato, sorghum, tapioca, chick pea and fava bean flours.  Experiment, if you dare, or buy a mix that is designed for all-purpose baking and then add in all the wonderful ingredients that make muffins so delicious!  These contain bananas, dates and pumpkin seeds, as well as maple syrup to add a delicate touch of sweetness.  Drop me a line if you want more specific "how-to" instructions.

Wrap It Up

Dinner to go means different things to different people.  Some days time is incredibly scarce, but that doesn't stop your stomach from letting you know it wants food.  In these moments we often head out the door to pick up something "to go" or grab something pre-made and easy.  The unfortunate side-effect is that these quick foods do little to satisfy us or provide the nourishment we need to keep going about our busy day/evening.
I came across a very interesting food blog called, Thug Kitchen, which posted a delicious recipe for black bean wraps with cilantro pesto.  (For the recipe, check out the site http://thugkitchen.com)  It's an incredibly simple way to create some fast food at home without sacrificing nutrition. It does not take long to prepare, and it's ideal for the heat of summer because there is no cooking involved.  I whipped up a batch of the cilantro pesto, which smells incredibly delicious by the way, in about four minutes.  I then mixed some of the pesto into the black beans and spread it out on a warm tortilla.  I added cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, avocado and more fresh cilantro on top and rolled it up for a wonderful dinner to go.
The pesto makes more than what you'll need for the wrap, so bottle it in the refrigerator.  I shared some  with my sister who said she loved it on beef carnitas in warm corn tortillas.  I used it to flavor some tilapia- I think I could eat tilapia coated in cilantro pesto every single day.  It's so amazing!  The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination.

Black Bean Wrap

Cilantro Pesto

Tortellini

Marinating vegetables

Tortellini salad is a delicious meal that is incredibly simple to prepare.  It's especially lovely in the summer when fresh vegetables and herbs can be picked directly from your garden.  Today my salad was graced with some fresh basil from my friend Robert's garden- thanks Robert!

All ingredient amounts really depend upon your personal taste, so experiment to find what works for you.  I got the salad started by allowing my veggies and herbs to marinate for a bit prior to adding in the cooked tortellini.  I start with some extra virgin olive oil in the bowl, maybe a tablespoon or so, and then add in a few minced garlic cloves.  Stir the garlic into the oil, it smells wonderful already!  Slice approximately half a pint of grape tomatoes in half, then add to the bowl and stir.  Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.  Grate the zest of half a lemon into the bowl next, and then add in the juice.  Slice up half a yellow pepper to a size that you like and add it to the bowl, stirring the contents.  Next goes in fresh parsley and basil.  I left the parsley leaves whole and sliced the basil into ribbons.  The final ingredient for this aromatic bowl is slivers of salami, though you can leave that out if you're not a fan of salami.  I think it adds a delicious saltiness to the dish and gives the flavor a bit more depth.

Finished tortellini salad

Cook the tortellini according to package directions and drain (I used cheese tortellini, but you should experiment with whatever type you like).  Toss the warm tortellini with olive oil, the juice of the other half of your lemon and a pinch of sea salt.  Let the tortellini sit until it cools off slightly, then stir into your marinated veggies.  Make sure all the ingredients have a chance to get to know each other in the bowl.  This salad really is a treat for your senses and your taste buds!  Pair it with a nice glass of wine.  It's the perfect ending to a gorgeous day spent outside in the sun.

Bummer

When she isn't appearing in awesome blockbuster movies like the Ironman series, Gwyneth Paltrow is grooving in the kitchen.  I recently purchased her latest cookbook, It's All Good.  The concept for the book is making nutritious food that is both delicious and easy.  Once I got the book home I did what every normal person in possession of a new cookbook does, I read it cover to cover.  Seriously.  It's interesting and many of the recipes appealed to me, particularly because everything is made from scratch using wholesome ingredients.

Today was a busy day and included a run in the heat and humidity that drained my energy.  Even though I recharged with a healthy lunch, an afternoon snack was in order so I decided to try out the recipe for Bummer Bars from the new cookbook.  This tasty snack is anything but a bummer!   These bars are loaded with healthy ingredients such as quinoa flakes, ground flaxseed, maple syrup, dried apricots and walnuts.  I decided they needed almonds too.  (Maybe next time I'll also add in some dried blueberries or cranberries.)  The bars are baked in the oven and easily pop out of the pan that is cleverly lined with parchment paper.  Cutting the large bar into rectangles is no trouble at all.  I will be sad when I finally get down to the last Bummer Bar because they are really good, much better than any packaged granola bar I've ever reached for.  Perhaps that is where the name comes from?

A Bummer contains a base of dry ingredients: quinoa flakes and ground flaxseed (if you cannot find quinoa flakes, substitute rolled oats).  Then some spices are added for flavor: cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger (you can put in any spices that you like however!).  The wet ingredients that bind everything together are: olive oil, maple syrup and brown rice syrup.  Then the fun additions come in: nuts and dried fruit (use any combination that makes your mouth happy).