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.

Addictive Watermelon Salad

Posted on July 19, 2018 by melsmosaic

Was going to a potluck event a couple weeks ago. Wanted to take something different than normal. People tend to bring hummus, guac, etc. It’s summer so watermelon popped into my head. I also didn’t want it to be just basic watermelon. So I started googling some recipes and many came up. I’d had some with balsamic before but wanted a change. Then I found a perfect one for a warm summer afternoon.

Watermelon Feta Salad with Mint

Ingredients (serves 8)

8 lb. whole seedless watermelon, chilled (about 12 cups of cubed fruit)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 whole limes, juiced — used bottled
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese (sheep’s milk feta preferred) — I used crumbled goat because it’s what I found when shopping

InstructionsNote: This salad is best made just prior to serving. Prepare one hour or less before your meal.

1) Cut rind from watermelon, then chop the fruit into 1 inch chunks. Place chunks in a colander to drain as you chop.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, fresh lime juice, salt, and black pepper to create a dressing.

3) Place watermelon in a large salad bowl. Pour dressing and chopped mint over the watermelon and toss gently to coat. Pour the crumbled feta into the salad bowl and stir gently to integrate the cheese into the salad. Serve.

This was delicious. I have made this 5 times in 3 weeks already. So refreshing, light and easy to make. Definitely a keeper.

Romano Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette and Walnuts

Posted on May 24, 2018 by melsmosaic

Another new recipe! This one came from Bon Appetit’s May Issue. The first one I have tried (several others on the list) is the Romano Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette and Walnuts. One thing I’m glad I noticed before getting started is that the recipe serves 8. I cut it in half because I was making it for 2.

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts
3 lb. Romano beans or green beans, trimmed — used a bag of the frozen green beans from Trader Joe’s
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
½ lemon
¾ cup very coarsely chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

Recipe Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. — I always just do this in a small frying pan on the stove, so much faster

Cook Romano beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and tender, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl of ice water and let cool. Drain and pat dry.

Meanwhile, mix vinegar, mustard, garlic, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl to combine. Let sit 10 minutes for flavors to come together.

Add walnuts and Romano beans to dressing. Finely zest lemon over beans and add parsley. Season with salt and lots of pepper and toss to coat. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with more oil.

What I loved about this recipe is that pretty much all of it can be prepped. Then you can toss everything together 5 minutes before it’s ready to be served. I cooked my beans in the afternoon and toasted my walnuts while that was happening. I mixed the ‘dressing’ in a jar and just let that sit. Then I served everything as a salad vs on a platter.

It needed a bit more lemon ‘zest’ than what the recipe calls for, so I added some juice to the leftovers. This was served with the Turmeric and Coriander Chicken. Another great summer recipe.

Terre de Marco Prosecco

Posted on May 19, 2017 by melsmosaic

Found a new Prosecco at a tasting last week — the Terre di Marca. Fairly dry with a unique sweetness that’s not overkill. Has some apples and pears to it and a tiny bit of honey. Great to enjoy during the summer. And the bottle is unique, sort of stubby, vs. the traditional bottle. Was in the low-mid teens, price-point wise.

Wheat, grapefruit…and beer

Posted on June 21, 2015 by melsmosaic

I love wheat beer, I love grapefruit. But putting them together, I wasn’t sure about. I am also never sure about low ABV stuff. So while roaming around Rodman’s last week I came across a tasting that changed my mind about all of these. There was a sampling of Schofferhofer Grapefruit. On these hot summer days that have hit us, this could not be a more perfect brew. It has that hefe background with that refreshing grapefruit taste. And, it’s only 3.2% ABV. The guy doing the demo says he uses it to refuel after a workout. Hey, each one to their own right? Would be perfect after yard work, for picnics, basically for anything on a hot summer day!

Honey See, Honeydew

Posted on August 10, 2014 by melsmosaic

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

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 ½ pounds honeydew melon, rind and seeds removed, shaved on a mandoline
½ fennel bulb, shaved on a mandoline, plus 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fennel fronds
¼ cup brined green olives,  such as Castelvetrano, pitted,  very coarsely chopped

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.

Fruit Heaven!

Posted on July 17, 2014 by melsmosaic

I just went to the grocery store to pick up some fresh fruit for dessert at a friend’s place tonight. I was thinking maybe strawberries or a watermelon. I walked through the door and it was information overload! Sales left and right on prime fruit!!! #1 — RAINIER CHERRIES! Heaven on earth at a great price. Then, the personal/small/baby watermelons on sale. Berries — raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, all on what felt like a blowout. Pineapples all screaming ‘pick me, pick me.’ I barely knew what to do!

I had to control myself. For dessert for two people, I left with a small watermelon, cherries, blackberries and raspberries. Sure, it’s a lot, but it’s fruit! I had to be very good and not eat to many while rinsing/prepping. Now, we have to get through dinner!

Summer is such a great season to take advantage of everything we can, from fresh fruit to fresh veggies and enjoy their flavors as much as much as possible. Bon appetit!

Kale Mary!

Posted on June 26, 2013 by melsmosaic

Summer is here, temps are high, so cooking extreme meals isn’t really the most appealing thing to do. I love kale chips but right now don’t feel like turning on the oven so was looking for something else to do with that health-benefit-bearing kale. Though I don’t really enjoy it raw when it’s in large pieces, I learned a couple years ago to take it to the food processor!

Was trying to clear out some stuff from my kitchen and came up with the following combo based on my mood:

-kale
-frozen mangoes (chunks — love the ones from Trader Joe’s)
-peanuts
-basic seasoning of garlic, onion powder, lemon juice, S&P, olive oil

So, I just put the kale (stems removed) in the food processor bit by bit to get it to the texture I like. Then I threw the frozen mango chunk in there and just pulsed a couple times and it got them into smaller, yet still good size pieces. Threw the spices in and perfect. Removed it from the food processor and stirred the peanuts in. Then tossed in some canned tuna. So good, very filling and healthy.

What’s great about this quick recipe is that there are so many options. You just need the base of kale and can change the rest around:

-Any fruit, fresh or dried (have used apricots and cherries before)
-Any nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc)
-So many spices!
-So many meats, if you even want them. How about a nice grilled chicken breast or seared tuna steak to serve on the side?