Fresh Berries! Get 'em while they're still cheap!

Homemade Raspberry Vinegar ~ making your own flavored vinegar is so easy & it allows you to really get creative with different fruit/herb flavors.  Check out how easy it is to make raspberry vinegar ~ here.  The post has lots of pictures, recipes for using the raspberry vinegar, as well as gift tags to download.  How cool it that?  :) 

Our local markets have been competing against each other & have been having a lot of good sales in the produce department lately ~ featuring tons of different fruits.  Woo-hoo!

I've been buying many different kinds.  Besides enjoying the fruit simply cut-up or just eating them out of hand, here are some other ways we have been enjoying them...

Strawberry Tofu Mousse ~  It's so cool how tofu can transform into a mousse.  It's an easy non-dairy, lower fat way to enjoy a mousse... & did I already mention it's easy?  :)   Check out this simple recipe.

Easy No-Bake Blueberry Pie ~ I always like the sound of that, especially when the weather is REALLY hot, like it's been here for most of the summer.  Check out the simple recipe ~ here.

Fresh Raspberries ~ We love eating raspberries; plain, with a little sugar or sometimes I just pour a little fat-free half & half or French Vanilla coffee creamer over the berries. Yummy!

Strawberries Marinated in Madeira ~ such an easy & elegant way to serve strawberries for dessert.  Check out the recipe over at Downton Abbey Cooks.  If you're a fan of the TV show, you will LOVE Pamela's site.  It's awesome!

Hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy all of the great end-of-summer prices, too!  Cheers!

Trio of Broccoli Salads ~ Pick the one that tickles your taste buds!

Broccoli Floret Salad with Bacon, Cashews & Cranberries ~ I was inspired to make this broccoli salad when I was reading the vegetarian cookbook, Peas & Thank You.  I was feeling the broccoli vibe...but, also the bacon vibe.  There is something about broccoli & bacon, the two together are magical.  So, since I was looking for a recipe with bacon, I surfed around some food blogs & found this wonderful recipe.  I tweaked it a bit, using dried cranberries instead of raisins/red peppers (I was all out of raisins/peppers) & used regular jarred bacon bits (I can't have real bacon in the house, Roy is uncontrollable around bacon :). I cut the broccoli up into little florets & only let it sit for about 30 minutes. Roy & I both LOVED it!  Check out the recipe, over at the blog, Foodess.

'Cheesy' Broccoli Bowl ~ This is a vegan recipe made with nutritional yeast instead of cheese. It can be heated or served uncooked, as a 'raw food' dish.  It tasted good, but it doesn't really have a cheesy flavor, more of an oriental taste. Tasty enough to make again. The recipe is at the end of the post.

Simple Broccoli & Radish Salad ~ I was feeling a little 'crunchy' the day I made this salad.  I was missing Colorado ~ Boulder, Summit County, the mountains... So, I decided to make something like I would have ordered at one of my (long gone) favorite shops ~ Alfalfa's Market...who was bought out by Wild Oats Market...who got bought out by Whole Foods Market. (isn't that just the way it goes...little fish, getting eaten by bigger fish)  A little bit of chopping, shaking, tossing and.... Ahh, tastes just like the deli counter back home.  Crunch, crunch.  heehee  :)

Simply Perfect Broccoli & Radish Salad

serves 2

2 cups     broccoli, cut into small florets
1 cup       thin sliced celery
1 bunch   radishes, sliced
1/3 cup    chopped parsley

basic salad dressing  (double if you like more dressing)
2 Tbsp      olive oil  
1 Tbsp      cider vinegar
1 Tbsp      water
1 tsp         lemon juice
~               salt & pepper, to taste
~               your favorite spice blend, to taste

1)   toss first 4 ingredients in a large bowl

2)   place olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, water & salt/pepper/spice blend
      in a jar w/lid ~ shake until well blended

3)   pour dressing over veggies & toss all together, check for seasoning
      & adjust as necessary

Enjoy!

    

Spinach Pesto & Spinach Strawberry Salad~Meatless Monday

Spinach Pesto

Spinach Pesto ~ One word ~ YUMMY! This is an excellent dish.  The vibrant green color is amazing.  J loves it!   He really enjoys eating his spinach & this dinner always disappears quick.  I love it when it's so easy to get him to eat his veggies.  I use whatever pasta I have handy.  Try this wonderful recipe over at Real Simple. I have to throw in a little bit of dried basil, along with the spinach.  It just isn't pesto (to me, anyway) without some basil.

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette ~ What an easy way to eat your spinach. I don't know why strawberries with spinach trips my trigger so, but it does.  I guess it reminds me of the salads I used to make when I lived in Los Angeles.  I remember driving past large plots of strawberries & being able to just pull over on the side of the road to buy flats of fresh strawberries ~ still warm from being picked from the field.  Of course, that was in the late 80's/early 90's.  I'm sure all those fields, that were tucked in between housing developments, sprinkled here & there, in & among the foothills of L.A., are all long gone...OK, enough strolling down memory lane.  Let's eat!  :) 

I cheated with the salad dressing ~ I just added some strawberry jam to the bottled Italian dressing to make the 'Strawberry Vinaigrette'.  I say ~ Why not?  It makes this salad so very quick & easy to throw together.  It's also the easiest way to change up a salad dressing to suit whatever fruit you're using.  Use this 'doctored-up' dressing in any salad you're making ~ spinach, any other salad greens, pasta or grains.  It's especially good for when the different fruits come into season.  (I also like any excuse to keep different jams in the fridge. heehee)  Just change the fruit jam you are using to match the fresh fruit you are putting in the salad.  ~  Use blueberry jam with fresh blueberries, orange marmalade with oranges...you get the drift.  If I use a fat free Italian dressing, it even makes it diet friendly.  Gotta love that!

Spinach Strawberry Salad

with Easy Strawberry Vinaigrette

serves 2-3 (or one very hungry person, that would be me!)


1 bag                baby spinach, prewashed
1 1/2 cups        sliced strawberries
1/2 cup             walnuts, toasted & chopped
1/4 cup             Parmesan cheese, grated


1/4 cup             your favorite bottled Italian dressing (regular, fat free, lowfat)
1 tbsp               strawberry jam

~                      salt & pepper, to taste



Toss first 4 ingredients in salad bowl 

Blend Italian salad dressing with strawberry jam in small jar ~ Shake up until well blended 

Add dressing to spinach salad & toss to coat. Salt & pepper, to taste.

Enjoy!

Kale Caesar Salad ~ All Hail the King of Salads!

Hail Caesar!   The King of Salads ~ for the Ides of March       ~Kale Caesar Salad~

Today is March 15th, also known as The Ides of March.   Caesar really should have paid more attention to that seer, don't you agree?  I always feel the need to make a Caesar Salad on the 15th & since I make a really good, basic Caesar Salad ~ starring kale instead of romaine ~ I thought I'd share the recipe. 

I don't know about you, but I believe kale is a superfood that has gotten a bad rap.  A lot of people don't think it is very tasty & say it's hard to use in recipes.  I've found it to be very versatile, either when cooked (steamed, braised, sauteed or simmered in soups) or eaten raw, in salads.  I always use the regular curly kale, since I can always find it at the market ~ but the Dinosaur Kale does sound interesting.  I'm up for giving that kind a try, if I ever find it at our local market.  Not sure if it is necessary, but I soak the curly kale for a couple of hours in ice water (so it gets really clean & crispy), spin it dry & then use it in recipes.  I've never had any problems using the regular curly kale that way, I think it must mellow it out.  I sometimes use garbanzo beans when making my Kale Caesar Salad, instead of croutons, to keep the salad low carb.

I love any kind of salad, but I really enjoy a good Caesar Salad.  Et tu, Brute?

Hail to the Kale! Caesar Salad

serves 1-2

5 cups           kale ~ soaked, spun dry & crisped in fridge
                      chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup         garbanzo beans ~ if you want the salad lower carb
                      or use croutons if you want it more traditional
2-3 tbsp        grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
~                    salt & pepper, to taste

Caesar Salad Dressing ~ adapted from Vegetarian Times recipe

4 tbsp            plain yogurt
1 tbsp            lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp     low fat mayo (I'll only use Hellman's/Best Foods)
1 tsp              Dijon mustard
1 tsp              Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp            grated Parmesan cheese  
2 tbsp            sardines, drained & mashed OR tuna, drained & mashed
                      (optional)                   
~                    black pepper, to taste  (I use a fair amount, I really like pepper)

1)     blend all ingredients for the Caesar dressing & set aside

2)     toss the chilled, chopped kale with the Caesar dressing & either the
         garbanzo beans or croutons (depending on which you are using)

3)     plate it up & sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the salad,
        salt & pepper to taste

                                                                 Enjoy!

Vegetarian Mock Fish Cakes ~ Meatless Monday

Vegetarian Mock Fish Cakes - Meatless Monday has never been so tasty!  I used a vegetarian 'Mock Tuna Salad' recipe as my base, tweaked it a little bit & turned it into Vegetarian Mock Fish Cakes. 

I've gotten on the Meatless Monday bandwagon.  These Vegetarian Mock Fish Cakes are a quick and tasty way to enjoy your Meatless Monday without feeling like you are missing out on a satisfying meal.  You can add a beaten egg if you like the texture a bit firmer. If you choose not to add a beaten egg, this dish would be Vegan Mock Fish Cakes.

We love any type of  fish cakes around here, so I thought I could tweak my basic recipe for salmon or crab cakes & turn it vegetarian.  It was a success!  I used the Mock Tuna Salad recipe from over at Happy Herbivore as my starting off point & then added a few things from my own fish cake recipe. 

To make these I add a few ingredients to the original salad ~ a little Dijon mustard, breadcrumbs, dill, smoked paprika & form the mixture into flat, round patties. I press the formed Mock Fish Cakes into more breadcrumbs & cook them in a skillet with a little EVOO, until golden.  We like to top them with a little sour cream, plain yogurt or buttermilk ranch dressing.  If you want your Mock Fish Cakes to be a bit firmer, add one beaten egg to the Mock Tuna Salad before forming the Mock Fish Cakes.  These become a ~ golden on the outside, savory on the inside ~ little bundle of YUM!

Tomato & Cucumber Salad with Vinaigrette

When I make any type of fish cake for dinner, I like to add a simple salad of Tomatoes & Cucumbers.  I'm fond of Red Wine Vinaigrette, but a Buttermilk Ranch Dressing would be good on this, too.  To round out the meal, I usually serve the Vegetarian Mock Fish Cakes with some rice & steamed veggies.

 

I have become a big fan of garbanzo/chickpeas.  They really give this dish a wonderful taste & texture.  I think I shall have to explore more ways to create meals using this savory, little bean.

Since this meal isn't heavy, we might splurge a bit on dessert.  Just because it's Meatless Monday, it doesn't mean you can't spoil yourself a little.   :)