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.

Nom Nom…tomatoes and eggplant

Posted on October 14, 2016 by melsmosaic

Found another recipe recently that I had to try from Food & Wine — Marinated Eggplant and Tomato Salad with Buffalo Mozzarella. What sounded unique about it is that the eggplant is never cooked, it just marinates for a heck of a long time. Hey, think about it as veggie ceviche, right?

Ingredients

1 pound small or medium Italian eggplants, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick, slices scored on both sides at 1/4-inch intervals — I just picked up the first eggplant I saw
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 basil sprigs, plus basil leaves for garnish
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 pounds heirloom tomatoes, coarsely chopped
8 ounces buffalo mozzarella, coarsely torn or chopped (I used a goat gouda)

Directions
-In a colander set over a large bowl, toss the eggplant slices with 1 1/2 teaspoons  of salt. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, tossing occasionally. — I actually let that sit for a few hours while I was out

-Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, basil sprigs, oregano and crushed red pepper; season lightly with salt and black pepper.

-Squeeze all of the water from the eggplants and pat dry. Chop into bite-size pieces. Add to the marinade and let stand for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. — then once this was done I put it in the fridge overnight — was REALLY glad I actually read this recipe thoroughly several times

-Add the tomatoes to the eggplant mixture and toss to coat; discard the basil sprigs and garlic. Transfer to a serving platter and top with the mozzarella and basil leaves.

Make Ahead
The recipe can be prepared through Step 3 and refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

This was pretty good, quite unique. It also looks quite Chrismas-y. I think it got even better the next day. And actually, the next day, used it more as a bruschetta and also tossed it in salad. Can’t complain!

Throw it together

Posted on August 4, 2016 by melsmosaic

I got handed all this stuff from friends from various farmers’ markets (not the stuff I had) and had to put it together. So I also had all the fresh veggies I purchased that I (still) needed to use. What did I make? Delicious salad!

Ingredients:

-(Huge) tomatoes
-Peaches
-Avocados
-Red onion
-Garlic Salt (some form of garlic belongs in near everything)
-Pepper
-Lemon juice

So fresh, so good. I’m surprised I have leftovers. That’s what I’m eating tonight.

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.

Marinated Mushroom, Manchego and Vodka Tomato Skewers

Posted on May 3, 2015 by melsmosaic

Was going tailgating recently and was asked to bring fingerfoods. Went through various recipes and put a few together to come up with something that ended up way too good. I made mini skewers (used toothpicks) of marinated mushrooms, squares of manchego, and vodka-spiked tomatoes. Delicious! Then, with the leftovers that I didn’t skewer, combined everything and it made a delicious salad(tossed it with mixed greens, too).

Marinated Mushrooms

1 lb mushrooms
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
(some) garlic — you can never have too much (I was in another kitchen and had to use dry stuff)
S&P
paprika
2-3 bay leaves

Slice mushroom. Mix all other ingredients together. Mix in mushrooms. Let sit 30 minutes-overnight in fridge.

Vodka Spiked Tomatoes

Ingredients

3 pints firm small red and yellow cherry tomatoes – I use(d) grape ones
1/2 cup vodka
3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon superfine granulated sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

Preparation

-Cut a small X in skin of blossom end of each tomato. ** I just sliced a bit into each one — I don’t have the patience to make an X into a cherry tomato, make a bigger slice.

-Blanch tomatoes, 5 at a time, in a saucepan of boiling water 3 seconds and immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking. **I did them all at once in a huge pan, much easier.

-Drain and peel, transferring to a large shallow dish. **Did not peel, don’t have the patience because I tried it once and it takes forever. Make a bigger cut in step one. And, no you don’t get as much vodka taste, but it still works.

-Stir together vodka, vinegar, sugar, and zest until sugar is dissolved, then pour over tomatoes, gently tossing to coat. Marinate, covered and chilled, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

When the mushroom and tomatoes were ready, I ‘skewered’ them with cubed Manchego onto toothpicks. It made for the perfect size for tailgaiting. Will definitely make them again!

Eggplant & Porcini ‘Meatballs’

Posted on September 30, 2013 by melsmosaic

I love trying new recipes and not long ago I made one that made me remember that I:

-do love cooking

-appreciate that I love cooking

-understand why some people detest cooking

-need to remember to always read the entire recipe before making it for the first time

-will always always always love the kitchen

The recipe was for Eggplant and Porcini ‘meatballs’. Took awhile to track down dried porcini from stores having them out of stock, to others not carrying them to being in sticker shock.

I started making this at 9am and finally finished around 4pm (no, it was not continuous, and I did make a double batch). I was lucky to be using and AMAZING kitchen while doing this.

Some of the basic overviews:

-Roasting the eggplant for about an hour — end result below

-Dried Porcini

-Soak ’em for half an hour.

-You eventually get to chop them, and some onions.

-You sautee those onions with some garlic…ahh, the kitchen smells so good.

-Throw some canned tomatoes in the blender to make them nice and smooth.

-Add those tomatoes to the onions and garlic.

-Throw in some parsley.

-This simmers for awhile. While this is happening you can go back to the eggplant which has had a lot happen to it.

-Shape into ‘meatballs’.

-Whip out the pan to cook them.

-And in the end, you add them to the tomato sauce for a final product…

These were good. I think I’m not saying amazing because they took more effort than I was expecting but everybody whowas had them loved them so that’s all I needed to hear.

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.