Came across a new nut mix when I was shopping recently. It’s Bobbysue’s Nuts‘ Nuts Over Olives. There was a sample of them out and I totally had to pick a pack of them up. Nice flavor and a little kick, too!
What’s also great is that the company donates a portion of their net profits to needy animals, the SPCA of Westchester to be specific. Bobbysue’s has a variety of other flavor of nuts and per their site you can find them at various locations across the country and can order online.
I love seafood, I love cilantro, I love avocados, I love olives. What does one do when they all come together? Melt, find their happy place, eat way too much and then just share — oh not the food, just the recipe.
I found this Ceviche Verde Recipe in Bon Appetit several years ago and just can’t get enough of it. It’s almost a Green Staple to me. So many things in it that I just love. When halibut is sort of affordable (Costco, I love you) it’s amazing, but using another, affordable fish is just as good. It might not look super eye appealing but it is appealing to the taste buds!
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh Pacific halibut or other firm-fleshed fish
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
3/4 cup green olives, sliced
1/2 cup tomatillos, diced
1/4 cup onion, very finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Tostadas or tortilla chips
Directions:
Chop fish into 1/2″ cubes; place in medium bowl. Add kosher salt; toss to coat. Add lime juice; toss to coat. Marinate until the edges of the cubes begin to turn opaque, tossing occasionally, about 30 minutes.
Dice avocados; add to bowl along with green olives, tomatillos, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño Add olive oil and season to taste with salt.
Serve over tostadas or with tortilla chips for dipping.
![IMG_4975[1]](https://melsmosaic.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/img_49751.jpg?w=347&h=472)
Last Saturday was just cold, snowy and blah here in DC and all I wanted was some great pasta sauce. Why buy the stuff? Decided to grab a bunch of stuff and see what I could put together based on the rough research I did on cooking the stuff. Came up with the following ingredients (don’t have exact measurements on any of these):
-canned tomatoes
-onions
-olives
-garlic
-spices
-bay leaves
-fennel seed (almost forgot that one)
-red wine
-S&P
-olive oil
![IMG_2237[1]](https://melsmosaic.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_22371.jpg)
![IMG_2240[1]](https://melsmosaic.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_22401.jpg)
Threw them all in a pot and brought them to a boil then simmered them over medium heat for about 30+ minutes.
![IMG_2314[1]](https://melsmosaic.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_23141.jpg)
Final result was a delicious, chunky sauce with tons of flavor.
![IMG_2264[1]](https://melsmosaic.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_22641.jpg)
Served it over spaghetti squash with some seared shrimp.
![IMG_2266[1]](https://melsmosaic.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/img_22661.jpg)
It’s summer, which means it’s melon time! Bon Appetit came a couple weeks ago and I was flipping through it, of course, and there was a recipe with honeydew. I haven’t seen many recipes with honeydew in them. The most I’ve ever done with it is either (1) cut and eat or (2) the aforementioned topped with prosciutto. So, this recipe was game! This delectable food-bearing treat I keep mentioning is Shaved Honeydew, Fennel, and Olive Salad. The last two key ingredient are some of my favorite foods! It’s a no-cook (in the sense of no heat) recipe which is great this time of year. And, gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian.
Ingredients
Directions
Zest the orange (and then make sure you don’t add this to the dressing!!!). I carefully took it out of the bowl after I more carefully read the directions. Why should you read ahead, right?
Whisk orange juice, lemon juice, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.
Shave the honeydew…hmmm….what’s the best way to take the skin off the melon? Carrot peeler, not that great, knife ended up being the best bet. Then I quartered the melon and it took awhile.
Next, you do the same thing to the fennel. Much easier to prep/cut!
Add melon, shaved fennel, and olives to vinaigrette and toss to coat. Top salad with orange zest and fennel fronds, drizzle with more oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Final product (VERY green!)
It was very light and refreshing, though it seems like it was missing something and I can’t tell if it was lemon juice or S&P. I did add more S&P at the table so don’t know if it was the lemon. But overall, very nice. Perfect for summer! Was served with scallops and some delicious grains. Would highly recommend it.
Summer is finally here (temperature-wise) which means quick, refreshing salads are what the menu calls for. Found a great one in a recent edition of Cooking Light that was super simple and delicious!
It was Cucumber, (Black) Olive and Mint Salad. I put Black in parentheses because the recipe calls for Greek olives which are a totally different taste from black olives!
Ingredients:
The prep is real tough. Slice the cuke.
Then combine cucumber, olives, mint, lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper.
It tasted even better after it sat for a bit. It was served with pork tenderloin and quinoa. Would also be very nice for brunch paired with smoked salmon/lox.
Was roaming around Whole Foods the other night looking for something to make for dinner and came across something I hadn’t seen before — Calamari Steak. I’ve had rings and thin calamari tubes, but this stuff was amazing. About 1/2″ thick and 1/2lb per steak. Had to give it a try.
Unfortunately neither of the guys at the seafood counter had any idea how to cook it so did a little research while waiting in line to check out. I found info that said season and pan sear for about 1 minute per side. That sounds easy enough. I just used for garlic salt and Florida Seasoning from Penzey’s for seasoning.
To pair with this, I also sauteed some kale and mushrooms in sesame oil.
When I was at Whole Foods I also came across some Manchego that was on sale. Love Manchego because I can actually eat it because it’s made with sheep’s milk vs. cow’s milk. Lactose intolerant folks can bear it!
So, with all said and done, enjoyed a great meal of calamari steak — which was a bit chewy, in a cool way, kale & mushrooms, manchego and olives. Not too shabby, at all.
Checked out this new place (to me) in Cleveland Park (a DC neighborhood, if you’re not from around here) last night and it was quite nice! From cocktails to wine to menu, you can’t get bored. The name — Ripple, hence the name of the post. Side note, there are quite a few meanings of Ripple Effect. Check them out of you want some good conversations pieces to either draw people in or get them away during upcoming holiday parties.
They have quite the cocktail, wine and beer selection and after watching the bartender add some type of liquid to a glass from ‘something’ that looked like it could have been a funky whipped cream container, I come to find out they make their own juices and soda and have these cool, funky pressurized, carbonated container, vessel things. Good terminology on my side, right? The key point was that I had to try something. After some debate, I opted for the Herbivores Delight — chamomile vodka, grapefruit-thyme soda. The sage leaf on top brought it all in!
Now, jumping forward awhile, while the bartender was prepping that, the folks next to me were trying some wine. They had a taste so I had to inquire. I had a sip as well. That was my pre-planned round 2! When I see wines I’ve not tasted, bring it on. I have now added to my shopping list Donkey and Goat 2012 Carignane from Mendocino. Of course when you go to the website you find it’s Limited Edition, but hey, it’s just new a new winery to explore!
Food-wise, for some reason I flipped to the cheese menu and saw they offer sheep’s milk cheese, aka lactose free! Opted for the ossau iraty. Also ordered some prosicutto and olives. They serve the cheese and meat on a nice board and complement it with house-made mustard and honey. Then, they throw their bread crisps in there. Ahhh….heaven.
(had already eaten most of these)
So, if you’re in DC, check this place out. And this was just part of the menu. So much more to explore!
Mel's Mosaic 