My favorite soup

Posted on July 19, 2018 by melsmosaic

Summer means cold refreshing food. That means I can load up on my favorite soup…Gazpacho. The best recipe I have found for it comes from a chef from Food Network. It’s so quick, easy and delicious, I can’t get enough of it.

Macho Gazpacho

Ingredients

2 (32-ounce) cans diced tomatoes in puree
1/4 cup cayenne pepper sauce (for mild heat use 2 tablespoons) — aka Tabasco, Cholula, etc. — I’m a heat wimp, so I only use a couple splashes
1/2 European seedless cucumber, cut into chunks
1 small red onion, cut into chunks — I use whatever I have on hand
2 jalapenos or serranos, seeded and coarsely chopped — again, I’m a heat wimp so I don’t even use these
2 ribs celery, from the heart of the bunch, chunked
Handful fresh cilantro leaves
1 lemon or lime, juiced
Coarse salt and black pepper
Lemon or lime wedges, for garnish

Directions

Working in batches, combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse grind into a thick soup. Adjust seasonings. Pour soup into a thermos and chill until ready to serve. Serve in chilled glasses with wedges of lime or lemon for garnish.

So quick, so easy, so good. Sometimes I add more or less of some of the veggies. It makes a good amount of soup, too. I can easily cut the recipe in half, or I know I get several days out of it. It’s great served with some grilled fish.

A New Halibut Ceviche

Posted on October 13, 2016 by melsmosaic

Ceviche is one of my favorite dishes, and halibut is a great fish to use in it (oddly — and when I want to splurge). I have one recipe I love to use and then came across another I thought I would try — Halibut Ceviche with Tomato and Cucumber.

Ingredients
Servings: 6

1 garlic clove, finely grated
¾ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons tequila blanco (used the (gold) Cuervo I had)
1 teaspoon agave nectar
¼ small pineapple, cut into ½-inch pieces (about ½ cup)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
½ jalapeño, thinly sliced
6 ounces halibut fillet, skin, bones, and bloodline removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 avocado, cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
¼ cup finely chopped mint
Kosher salt
*I don’t see cucumber anywhere in the ingredient list, even though it’s in the title of the recipe, so they either forgot it in the list or put it incorrectly in the title

Preparation

Mix garlic, lime juice, tequila, and agave nectar in a large bowl. Add pineapple, tomato, onion, radishes, jalapeño, and halibut and toss to coat. Fold in avocado, cilantro, and mint; season with salt.
Chill 10 minutes before serving.

It was good, but not great. There was something off about it. Maybe the pineapple was the wrong texture? Not saying I wouldn’t eat it, but not my favorite ceviche. I think my favorite it the Green Ceviche.

New veggie salad

Posted on July 12, 2016 by melsmosaic

Found a new recipe to try from a recent issue of Health magazine, Tomato, Cucumber and Green Bean Salad with Walnut Dressing. Sounded perfect for these hot days.

Ingredients

1/3 cup broken walnut pieces
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed, cut into 1-in. lengths (grabbed the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s)
Salt
6 ounces grape tomatoes, halved (that quantity seemed low, almost doubled it)
1/2 cup thinly sliced (lengthwise) red onion
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, halved lengthwise and cut into 1⁄4-in. slices (added more)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (I accidentally grabbed flat leaf parsley)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

Preparation

1. Combine walnuts, garlic and salt in a food processor and blend until finely ground. (If preferred, walnuts, garlic and salt can be pounded into a paste with a mortar and pestle.) Combine walnut mixture, oil and vinegar in a salad bowl and whisk until blended. — I ended up with a nice paste.

2. Cook green beans in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain well, rinse with cold water, spread on a dish towel and pat dry.

3. Add green beans, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, cilantro, dill and mint to walnut dressing and toss to blend.

Very refreshing. As mentioned, I grabbed parsley instead of cilantro, so it can likely taste even better than it did. Nice for hot summer days.

You can shave more than just legs or seconds off your race time…

Posted on August 2, 2015 by melsmosaic

…and what are you thinking? Well, I have zucchini and yellow squash in my mind! Saw another great recipe in Bon Appetit that I had to make recently…Shaved Zucchini Salad with Macadamia Nuts.

Ingredients (with some other speedbumps)

-1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I forgot to get a lemon so didn’t have the prior, but had to backup of Penzey’s dried stuff)
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
-1 teaspoon honey
-1 teaspoon soy sauce
-Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
-1½ pounds mixed zucchini and summer squash, thinly sliced
-2 cups baby sorrel leaves or other small greens (Whole Foods had no sorrel so I went for arugula, which I LOVE anyway. And after I bought the bag of arugula vs the plastic box that I normally get, the next day I noticed there is no nutritional info on there. On the same size packaging at Trader Joe’s they have the info. Pure curiosity, what dictates fresh packaged produced needing that labeling? I couldn’t find an easy answer on the FDA website)
-3 tablespoons unsalted, roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
-½ ounce Parmesan, finely grated (I cut this out because of my lactose intolerance)
-⅓ cup unsalted, roasted macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped (Whole Foods didn’t have a macadamia nut in sight. I opted for pine nuts)

Directions

Whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, mustard, honey, and soy sauce in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add zucchini and squash, sorrel, and pumpkin seeds and toss to combine. Serve salad topped with Parmesan, macadamia nuts, and more pepper.

Another great recipe. Lots of flavor, the pine nuts definitely delivered and the arugula delivered a punch, too. Bring on salad!

Asparagus Salad with Manchego and Almonds

Posted on June 26, 2014 by melsmosaic

As I continue going through some Cooking Light recipes, the next one I tried was an awesome asparagus salad. The proper title — Shaved Asparagus Salad with Manchego and Almonds. What was unique about this is that the asparagus is raw. I can count on less than one hand the amount of times I’ve eaten un-cooked asparagus. Game on! When I made this, I did not add the egg because of everything else I was making for dinner, I didn’t need that extra bit of protein/food.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar (I used tarragon vinegar because I didn’t want to buy a fresh bottle of sherry vinegar just for this and that’s what I had on hand)
1 1/2 teaspoons walnut oil (again, didn’t want to buy something new, so used some sesame oil)
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic (of course I used more than that!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound large asparagus
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
8 cups water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
1 ounce Manchego cheese, shaved (about 1/4 cup)

Directions

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Using a sharp peeler, thinly peel asparagus to equal 3 cups asparagus ribbons. Add asparagus and parsley to bowl; toss gently to coat. *They make this sound SO easy. Not so much. With a carrot, yet, but with a smaller asparagus spear/stalk, not so much. After awhile on each one, I’d stop and just throw a larger piece in the bowl.
*THIS IS THE PART I DIDN’T DO* Combine 8 cups water and white vinegar in a large skillet; bring to a simmer. Break each egg into a custard cup, and pour each gently into pan. Cook 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove eggs from pan using a slotted spoon.
Place about 2/3 cup asparagus mixture on each of 4 plates. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons almonds; top each serving with 1 egg. Sprinkle evenly with Manchego cheese. *I don’t get this fancy. I tossed everything in a bowl.

It was DELICIOUS! Crisp, fresh and some nice tang with all the flavors. Highly recommend it! I can’t decide if next time I’m going to try cutting the asparagus with a mandolin or V-slicer or cutting them in half and using the food processor with the proper blade. I just need to hope the hit the blade horizontally to slice properly. Though, I guess even if not, they’ll taste the same!

Arugula, Green Beans and Oranges…oh my!

Posted on June 24, 2014 by melsmosaic

Quick, easy, and tasty…that’s what I want, not only during the summer, but a lot of the time. Cooking Light had a bunch of great, quick & simple recipes in one of their recent issues and I have been trying several of them. They are good! One that I made recently had my favorite lettuce — ARUGULA! Then, green beans and oranges. I also threw some grapefruit in there. The official name of the recipe is Green Bean, Arugula, and Clementine Toss.

Ingredients

2 (8-ounce) packages ready-to-cook fresh haricot verts (aka green beans)
3 cups arugula
2 clementines (I couldn’t find them loose — vs buying a whole box, which is why I used a ‘regular’ orange and then a grapefruit)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
(I added pepper, too)

Directions

Steam haricot verts in the microwave according to package directions; halve beans crosswise. Or, steam them on the stove. I also forgot to cut them afterwards.

Cool 5 minutes; toss with arugula, clementine segments, olive oil, vinegar, and salt.

So good and perfect for summer weather! And, gluten and dairy free.

Carrot Salad with Coriander and Pistachios

Posted on May 13, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was flipping through my Bon Appetit magazine the other day and came across a great sounding recipe that I had to test last Sunday. It was their Carrot Salad with Coriander Vinaigrette and Pistachios from the recent May issue. Perfect for a sunny day!

Ingredients:

¼ cup unsalted, shelled raw pistachios
¾ teaspoon coriander seeds (thought I had seeds and realized too late I didn’t, went ground)
½ garlic clove, finely grated (only half a clove?!?! — yeah right!)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
⅓ cup olive oil
Kosher salt
1 pound carrots, peeled, julienned or coarsely grated (totally use the food processor with the right blade)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems (didn’t keep much of the stems on and chopped it a bit)

For ease, take those carrots to the food processor. Throw them down the tube and get them shredded quickly.

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop. Note: I normally just toast them on the stove, easier. And, second note, I had roasted ones to begin with so didn’t have to do anything — saved a step!

Toast coriander in a small dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Let cool; coarsely chop. — this is where I just threw some ground coriander in the pan and toasted it, worked just as well!
Whisk garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and coriander in a large bowl, then whisk in oil; season with salt. Add carrots, toss, and let sit at least 30 minutes. I sort of threw all those ingredients on top of the carrots and stirred — it worked.

Toss with cilantro and pistachios just before serving.

(DO AHEAD: Salad (without cilantro and nuts) can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)

This was absolutely delicious! So quick and easy to make. Will be a great recipe for the summer for cookouts, BBQs, etc! And, it’s gluten and lactose free and vegetarian, so will work for many people.

Veggies, grains, fish and nuts

Posted on July 23, 2013 by melsmosaic

I continue to enjoy little-to-no-cook meals, and my next great chance came when my friend gave me some cucumbers from her garden the other day. Can’t let those go to waste. So I debated what to do with them. Normally I like to cover them in hummus but decided I could expand my horizons. I decided to go for a simple quinoa and veggie salad.

Quinoa is just a powerhouse for us, if you hadn’t heard. Need a quick cheat sheet? Check it out here. It’s also great for those who are gluten intolerant. My favorite one is the Tri-Color Quinoa from Trader Joe’s. I cooked that first (the nice 15 minutes, including boiling time). While that was underway, I cut my cucumbers into big chunks and found the other ingredients I wanted to throw into the salad. I opted for grape tomatoes, canned tuna, some walnuts and just a simple oil & vinegar dressing, oh, and S&P.

This was perfect! So refreshing, healthy and very filling. There are so many variations you can make to it, too. Any veggie, any meat, any nut. So, what are you making for dinner tonight?

No-Cook Delicious Meal

Posted on July 22, 2013 by melsmosaic

Well, it’s still nice and hot here in DC. That makes turning on anything in the kitchen unappealing. For the last week I’ve been craving gazpacho and finally got it done today. My favorite recipe is beyond simple. It barely requires a knife. Though it’s not from my favorite chef, I’ll give ’em dibs on the amazing recipe. It’s called Macho Gazpacho.

I add garlic to the recipe because that’s just essential to life and this kind of soup, and I cheat with Tabasco vs. jalapenos. I also didn’t use the entire amount of cayenne and used a regular vs. English cucumber (just cleaned out the middle/seeds).

You just cut some of the ingredients into smaller pieces, throw everything in the food processor, blend, eat. Before the actual eating part, I added some pre-cooked shrimp.

I served this with Stacy’s Pita Chips, olives from the olive bar at Wegman’s (ahhh, bliss…), some hummus and a new wine that the two sommeliers at Wegman’s recommended…a nice, crisp white from Spain, the Valminor Albarino.

Despite the heat, my friend and I sat outside to enjoy the meal and watched a thunderstorm roll in. It was a perfect meal and nice way to wrap up a weekend. Cheers until next time.