Green Bean Summer Salad

Adapted from Marie Simmons Fresh and Fast Vegetarian (this is a great cookbook and you should get it!)

This may be the best time of year for those of us who try to eat locally and thus with the seasons. Tomatoes are finally here! This along with everything fresh, bright, and crunchy that makes you think of summer (I'm looking at you corn!). This almost absurdly simple salad looked too boring to be delicious, but I was wrong! It really reminded me of an episode of the a Chef's Life on PBS in which Chef Vivian Howard opts to simplify her dishes in the spirit of letting the ingredients shine. There is something really beautiful about that concept and this salad is a great way to celebrate it.

Green Bean Summer Salad
1 pound green beans split into 1 inch pieces  (wax beans work here too!)
2 ears of corn, kernals cut off the cob
2 medium sized tomatoes, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1/4 cup basil, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste (don't hold back!)

Combine all ingredients vegetables in a bowl and sprinkle liberally with salt. Make sure that the toss has spread out the basil thoroughly since it's the heart of the flavor profile Combine olive oil and lemon juice and give them a good stir before pouring it over the salad. The freshness of the ingredients is key here, so consider this a good option to make as soon as you get home from the Farmer's Market or store.

Healthy 5 Layer Dip

This post is probably a little late in the game since outdoor bbq season is largely over, but this dip is really appropriate for any kind of gathering and I've never brought leftovers home with me. It has all of the texture and richness of a traditional 7 layer dip, but with a very light bean dip and greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Black Bean Dip

1 medium red pepper, diced

1/2 cup onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsps Chalula sauce

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsps salt

1 can black beans

2 tsp olive oil

Add 1 tsp olive oil to the pan and sautee onions and red peppers with a pinch of salt. When the onions are translucent and soft, add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, then add the can of beans with Chalula and cayenne pepper. Cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly before adding it to blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Pico de Gallo

4 ripe tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup onions, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, diced

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp jalapeno, diced (more if you like more heat)

Combine all ingredients.

Guacamole

2 ripe avocadoes, diced

1/4 cup onions, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1.5 tbsps salt

Combine all ingredients and continue to stir until consistency is as smooth as desired. 

Five Layer Dip

2 cups black bean dip

2 cups pico de gallo

1.5 cups guacamole

1 cup greek yogurt

1 cup cheddar cheese

Set aside 1/4 cup of pico de gallo to save for the very top. Begin layering the bottom of the bowl with the black bean dip and don't be shy! Top that with a layer of greek yogurt, followed by cheddar cheese, guacamole, and lastly pico de gallo. Repeat until you run out (this will vary based on the size of the dish). Whatever winds up on top, finish with the reserve pico de gallo for an attractive top layer. Serve with tortilla chips or celery sticks, enjoy!

Lunch on the Go - Kale Wraps

Sometimes it's time to bite the bullet and go uber healthy. For example, you spent the end of your summer eating and drinking your way from Charleston to Hilton Head and back and it's time to reel it in and make some responsible dietary choices for a while. This is my favorite delicious lunch that is loaded with tons of vegetables, proteins, but super low-carb. Wrapping them up tightly and storing them in a small tupperware with no extra room as you see above is the key to making to work with them still in tact. I also think using the delicate lacinto/dino kale instead of the curly leafy varieties really cuts out that bitter raw kale taste. If you prefer a different combination of vegetables to tomato, cucumber, carrot, scallion, and avocado feel free to mix and match. The only limit is how much you can stuff in that kale leaf. They are so tasty you won't even notice you're eating something so healthy.

Kale Wraps

3 leaves of lacinto (dino) kale in tact with bottom stem removed

1/2 avocado

1/2 medium sized tomato, sliced and then divide each slice into quarters

1/4 cup carrot shavings (use a vegetable peeler to shave off slivers)

1/4 cup cucumber, sliced and then divide each slice into quarters

1 tablespoon spring onions, diced

1/4 cup hummus

Start by preparing everything as listed above so you're ready to just assembly line this task. I recommend making each wrap one at a time and placing them into the tupperware as they are rolled up. Spread a tablespoon and a half or so of hummus onto the kale leaf. It should cover the whole thing. Start arranging your veggies. I prefer slicing the avocado on the bottom layer, then drizzling in tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and scallions. Start rolling from the bottom end where the stem was removed and then immediately place in tupperware. Repeat that process for remaining two wraps and pack them up very tightly! If this all falls apart, you can always mix it all up into a salad when you are ready to eat it. It's all still delicious in whatever form it winds up in, but there's something nice about the wrap shape if you can achieve it.

Summer Salad with Potatoes and Avocado Dill Dressing

Adapted from Marie Simmons Fresh & Fast Vegetarian

Going with the creamy, but not-too-rich theme of the month, I want to share my new most favorite salad dressing in the world. Behold the wonder of Marie Simmons Avocado Dill dressing. It's in the same vein as tatziki, in that it's not overly heavy and would be a great dip for vegetables or a side sauce or drizzled on any protein. I discovered it as the dressing in her recipe for this beautiful summer salad that has enough potatoes to be a full meal by itself. It's not a quick throw together at the last minute type of deal, but look at how pretty it is! It's just as elegant an experience to eat it and peel through the layers with that amazing creamy dill dressing in every bite.

Summer Salad with Potatoes and Avocado Dill Dressing
Dressing:
1/2 avocado
3 tablespoons cup greek yogurt
1.5 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup dill, chopped
1/4 cup cucumbers, roughly chopped, seeds removed
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salad:
The rest of that cucumber, sliced
2 tomatoes sliced
1/2 pound potatoes (I used a combination of gold and purple yukons, which added some nice color)
1/4 cup onions sliced thin with a mandolin if available
1/4 cup radishes, sliced thin with a mandolin, again, if available
1/2 pound greens of your choice

Boil a pot of water and toss the potatoes in there to start cooking and then start making the dressing. Toss avocado, greek yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, and 1/4 cup of rough chopped cucumbers, and salt into food processor and blend until very creamy. Scoop it into a bowl and cover before setting in the fridge to chill. After the potatoes have softened (probably about 20 minutes of boiling depending on size), set them aside to cool as you prepare additional vegetables. Slice tomatoes and cucumbers into 1/2 slices and sprinkle with a hit of salt. Mandolin the onions and radishes, but make sure to leave the onions separate. The pretty presentation depends on the onions resting daintily on top.

After potatoes have cooled, slice them into 1/4 inch slices and set aside. Grab plates and you can start layering. Start spooning the dressing onto the plate and swirl in circles until it's about a inch away from the edges. Place the potatoes down directly in the dressing arranged in a circle before layering the tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes on top. Drizzle with a little more dressing before topping with the greens and thinly sliced onions and yet another drizzle of dressing. Serve immediately.

Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous with Goat Cheese

Sometimes accident is the mother of invention. I've been making a version of this dish for years with polenta that is a wram and comforting winter dish. I was spacing out as I poured the cous cous into the pot and by the time it started boiling I figured it wouldn't come out that different. To my pleasant surprise, I think I actually like this version better. This cous cous is lighter and makes for a refreshing more summery meal.

Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous with Goat Cheese
2 cups cous cous
2 ears of corn
8 cherry tomatoes
2 crowns of broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup goat cheese (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Shuck corn, wash broccoli and tomatoes. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables until a golden brown color shades them (approximately 15 minutes). Set the vegetables aside to cool while you cook your cous cous. After veggies have cooled, cut the corn kernals off the corn and mix into cooked cous cous. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and mix them in along with the broccoli. Add goat cheese if desired and serve in bowls.

Succotash with Kale and Garlic Scapes

Forgive the photo. You know by now that the recipes taste better than I photograph them. This was the brain child of one of those nights when I open my fridge and try to come up with something that will use as much produce as possible before leaving town for the weekend and risking it goes bad. I had 1 ear of leftover corn from a party this weekend, kale, and some garlic scapes from the farmers market...hmm what to do? I know it's not really late enough in the summer for a corn and tomato dish, but I had the corn and the last of my jarred summer tomatoes were looking ready to go, so I went for it. I think it came out pretty great! It's super healthy, packed with nutrients, vegan and gluten free! If I weren't making an intentionally super healthy weekday meal, I might be so inclined to sprinkle this with Parmesan cheese. If you try it, let me know how it goes!

Succotash with Kale and Garlic Scapes

1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into bite sized leaves

1 ear of corn, cut from the ear

1 jar of tomatoes (canned if you don't have jarred)

1 garlic scape, diced

1.5 tablespoons coconut oil

salt and pepper to taste

Start by trimming your kale. I think you can't get those pieces too small. I had few bites that were full mouthfuls of kale and they were much less appetizing. To remove the stem, I typically grab it from the bottom with one hand and pinch either side with the other before running that hand up to the top, stripping the stem in a clean motion. If that makes no sense, just pull each kale bit off the stem. Cut the corn kernals off the ear and set aside. Dice the scapes and place the coconut oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the

garlic scapes first to get some of that garlic flavor permeated through the oil then add kale and corn and stir until kale has cooked down to half the size it was (about 8 minutes). Pour the jar of tomatoes over the top and add salt and pepper before turning down the heat to let it simmer another 5 minutes. Serve with a spoon, enjoy!

Mango Shrimp Salad with Avocado

I'm eating the leftovers as we speak and it is so delicious, you guys! This blog hasn't been updated in a while since I was on vacation in Portugal and southern Spain. Every thing I ate was insane and I am so in tapas mode. I will probably spend the next several weeks, if not months, copying all of the things I loved there and the first up is this wonderful salad. I something very similar at a tapas bar in Cordoba and let me tell you that the better quality shrimps there make a huge difference. This was made with whole foods wild caught pink frozen shrimp and it just wasn't the same. That being said, it's still a refreshing summer salad and the perfect thing to eat on a hot day.

Mango Shrimp Salad with Avocado
12 - 15 shrimp depending on size (the fresher the better!), cooked and sliced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 mango, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 scallion, diced (white and green parts)
1/2 of one small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste, I used a pinch of pepper and a generous 3 tablespoons of salt
slices of 1/4 of an avocado, as garnish

Cook the shrimp and leave in the fridge to chill. Combine all ingredients except avocado in a bowl and mix. Add avocado to the top and sprinkle with a touch more salt. Enjoy!

Leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup

As you can tell from the recipes on this blog, I eat a primarily vegetarian diet. It is a choice I make for both my health and the good of the environment, and try to keep the exceptions few and far between. There are several local farmers that sell their sustainably raised meat at my farmers market and once in a while I will indulge. This indulgence usually involves buying a whole chicken and enjoying a week's worth of meals for two, since meat works best in small portions that serve as the principle flavor source. A whole chicken was purchased a few weeks ago and after following Thomas Keller's killer roasted chicken recipe, my boyfriend and I sat down to a delicious roasted chicken dinner on a Sunday. Then the fun really begins working with the leftovers all week. He made a great mexican rice and beans dish and I used the rest to make my favorite tortilla soup.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (serves 4)

2 tablespoons coconut oil (can use olive oil instead)
1 cup roasted chicken (use whatever bits are left!)
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced with seeds removed
1 green pepper, diced
1 jar of tomatoes (can or box works too)
1 cup cooked rice
3/4 cup corn (I used frozen, organic / non-gmo, obvs)
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons) salt
5 cups water
1 teaspoon chili pepper (optional)
1 avocado for garnish, sliced
Tortilla chips for garnish (optional)

Begin by sauteing the onions in the coconut oil for 2 minutes, then add celery, jalapeno, and green pepper with a tablespoon of salt and stir for another 2 minutes, or until vegetables have all started to soften. Add the chicken bits and don't be afraid of including the skin and continue to saute another 5 minutes before adding the tomato and water with the remaining 4 tablespoons of salt and chili pepper if including it. Let all ingredients simmer for 20 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in cooked rice. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sliced avocados and tortilla chips, if desired. Enjoy!

Lunch on the Go - Taco Salad with a twist

Let's face it. Lunch salads packed in tupperware can get real boring, real fast. Yes the idea of eating a variety of raw vegetables at lunch every day is a health conscious ideal, but we've got to keep it interesting. If you're like me, that craving for crunch will lead me straight to something I'll regret in the potato chip aisle if I can't really enjoy my lunch. A great option to keep salads really creative and interesting is to add a sweet taste with some kind of fruit. There are standard favorites like a roquefort salad that has grapes or pears with dark greens, walnuts, and cheese, but this concept can be applied to all different styles of salads. When I was in Mexico City, I discovered the amazing treat that is diced pineapple sprinkled on tacos. It's usually paired with a lot of cilantro and onions and the sweetness pairs beautifully with the fat of a rich meat. This same concept can be applied to a basic taco salad for a sweet and spicy kick that will keep your palette interested and satisfied.

Pineapple Taco Salad
For 2 large lunch time salads:
4 cups salad greens of your choice
1/2 lime
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed
1 medium avocado, diced
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/4 orange/red/yellow pepper, diced
1/4 green pepper, diced
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons onion, diced
1/4 cup pineapple, diced (canned works fine!)
1 tablespoon greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)

Wash greens with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and water. Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss. Split into two travel containers. Slice 1/2 into 2 quarter size wedges and place one in each container. Add optional greek yogurt if desired (I find it's best to mix this in right before eating). Squeeze 1/4 lime over the whole salad before you enjoy.
Add a handful of tortilla chips if you aren't counting the calories and want more crunch!