Apple and Sharp Cheddar Grilled Cheese Monte Cristo with Maple Mustard

It is done. There is snow on the ground in here, probably never to melt again before Spring. *sigh*. I'm not ready. I was outside 2 days ago, soaking up the warm autumn light, admiring trees with yellow leaves and bushes with red berries and it was so bittersweet because I knew what the weather forecast said. I knew a storm was coming. The next day I awoke to gray clouds and overcast skies with rain coming later in the day and lasting into the night. This morning I woke up to a white haze and a blanket of snow across the whole valley. There was enough for my kids to make a respectable snowman outside, who they named "Jolly" and while it was cute indeed, I just don't think I'm ready for this.

I like the snow, don't get me wrong. I just wish It wouldn't fly until after Halloween every year and then abruptly stop after New Years. Instead, it usually starts in the beginning on October and doesn't begin to thaw until April, and even then, isn't officially gone until June. we have long winters in the mountains. We are blessed with more than our share of bluebird days (where the sky is bright blue, the sun is shining, the snow is crisp and clean and the air bitter cold), which gets us through. The other thing that gets me through is having an arsenal of comforting meals that are hearty on a cold day. When it's nasty out, I like to cook, and cook and cook, so it works out. It gives me something to do with purpose, while you wouldn't want to be outside anyway. I am homebound, so I might as well make the most of it, ya know? On days like today I love making soup and stews, chili's and the like while I also like to braise things, slow bake and therefore draw out the process. I love it. The world just seems like a better place when you have something bubbling away on the stove for dinner, hot chocolate heating up for the kids when they come stomping in from the cold, teeth chattering and noses red. And, a little hot lunch. Again, something hearty, warm and out of the ordinary does the trick on days like today. This apple, sharp cheddar and grilled cheese monte cristo with maple mustard...yes, you heard it right people, this sandwich is ridiculous...is perfect and takes little effort for big results. I use the honey crisp apples because they are sweet and crunchy and in peak season this time of year. They are also a perfect match for sharp cheddar.

In the picture I took of the sandwich It looks chock full of apples. It would probably be better with only one layer of them, but I love apples, so what can I say? This is a monte cristo, not just a grilled cheese, because after you have assembled your sandwich you roll the whole outside in some egg, thinned out with a little milk and spiced with a bit of cinnamon, like you would french toast. Then you cook it in a skillet until the egg is cooked through in the bread and becomes custardy and then cheese is melted inside. The result? Perfection.

Apple and Sharp Cheddar Grilled Cheese Monte Cristo with Maple Mustard

adapted from Rachael Ray

Yield: 2 sandwiches, or 8 appetizer bites/snacks

4 1/2-inch thick slices good quality bread

2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

2 teaspoons dark amber pure maple syrup

8 slices sharp cheddar cheese

Honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced (McIntosh or Gala work too)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup half-and-half or whole milk

freshly grated nutmeg

a generous pinch of cinnamon

butter

Combine the mustard and maple syrup together and stir to combine. Build 2 cheese and apple sandwiches. I used enough cheese to cover the bottom of the bread, with a layer of apples and more cheese on top with a layer of the maple mustard on one half.

heat a griddle pan over medium-low heat.

beat the eggs with the half-and-half or milk and season with nutmeg and cinnamon. Turn the sandwiches in the egg and cook in butter melted on the hot griddle pan. Grill the sandwiches until deeply golden and the cheese has melted.

Cut sandwiches into triangles or four square pieces to serve.

If you are not much into the maple mustard, you can substitute for prepared fig spread. The sweetness compliments this just as well. Well, I'm off to finish the rest of my day doing exactly what I have suggested here. I going to make us a big pot of chili, brew some peppermint tea and let the good times roll!

Gruyere-Zucchini Sandwiches with Smokey Pesto

I made this sandwich a while ago actually, maybe in late July. I have been wanting to blog about it ever since but around that time I was up to my ears in food I wanted to talk about so alas, it got pushed to the back of the pile. It's not because it wasn't delicious, it was. It was just one of those oversight things.

I made this one afternoon at lunch for my friend Danielle and me. We ate it under my pergola with some mint iced tea. Twas a fine day.

Theres a couple of things you should know about this sandwich. 1) It's kind-of a lot of prep for a sandwich. You have to make the pesto (which you could do in advance) then grill the zucchini, then finally assemble the sandwich. 2) It's not that big a deal and it's totally worth it. My grill wasn't working that day so I just cooked my zucchini in a little olive oil in a skillet until it was soft and done. Either way works, but grilling would impart a better flavor. The bread is crucial to this sandwich. It will make the difference of it being good or fantastic. Make sure you choose a crusty hearty bread. I used a hearty 9 grain from my local farmers market. The original recipe actually calls for an english muffin, which would be fine, but in my opinion a hearty bread, ciabatta or focaccia might be better. I used a magic bullet to make my pesto and it was wonderful to not have a big mess. If you don't have one, you should consider buying it.

Grilled Gruyere and Zucchini Sandwiches with Smokey Pesto

adapted from Food & Wine magazine, June 2009

4 generous servings

1 cup packed basil leaves

1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon hot smoked paprika

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

salt

2-3 zucchini, cut into rounds, or if small, lengthwise slices

8 slices of hearty bread of 4 english muffins, split

4 ounces Gruyere or Appenzeller cheese, cut into thin slices (I used a little more)

In a mini food processor (or magic bullet) combine the basil, garlic and paprika and process until finely chopped. With the machine on, gradually pour in the 3 tablespoons of olive oil until blended. (If you are using the magic bullet, just add the oil in and blend to combine.) Season the pesto with plenty of salt, to taste.

Light a grill. brush the zucchini slices with olive oil and season with salt. Grill over high heat until nicely charred and just tender, about 2 minutes per side. Cut each zucchini to fit the sandwich, if necessary.

If using english muffins: grill cut side down over low heat, until just soft, about 30 seconds. turn and grill until the muffins start to brown, about minute. Spread the cut sides of the muffins with the pesto. Layer some cheese, zucchini pieces and more cheese on top. Close the sandwiches and brush the tops and bottoms with olive oil. grill the sandwiches over low heat, turning, until they're crisp on the outside and the cheese is melted, about 4 minutes total. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve right away. If you don;t want to grill these, see another method down below.

If using another type of bread: You can use the grilling method above, but I feel it's much simpler to assemble the sandwiches with the pesto, cheese and zucchini, making sure cheese is both on the top and bottom of the sandwich, not brushing them with oil (I prefer a dry sandwich), and pressing them in a panini press until melty. If you don't own a panini press, you could also cook them a' la grilled cheese style, in a skillet.

If I were you I wouldn't leave the smoked paprika out in the pesto. It's what carries the flavors in the sandwich and makes it so appealing with it's smokiness. Even if you just buy it to make these sandwiches, the $4.00 purchase is worth it.

Anything herby or vegetabley is usually great with Sauvignon Blanc, so if you are serving this sandwich for dinner (with maybe a little tomato soup? or a great salad?) drink that.

Radicchio Pizza with White Truffle Oil

note: cheese is optional. If you leave it off, it is vegan

OK, this is seriously good. We went to a BBQ at my in laws for Memorial Day and it was one of those deals where you bring your meat, or whatever it is you want to grill and a side dish or appetizer to share. Danielle, my friend thankfully brought this. It's not so much a "pizza" as it is like whole wheat pita bread with spread on top, even though, I'm pretty sure she used whole wheat pizza dough. Whatever it was, it was delicious and easy and you could pretty much put this topping on anything (crusty bread anyone?) and it would be fabulous. As for me, I brought an arugula, watermelon and feta salad that I was planning on blogging about originally, but it fell short. I think it needed more mint mixed in with the greens and balsamic instead of the citrus based dressing I used, and besides, after one bite of this pizza I knew that this would have to be what I wrote about and nothing else. Want to hear the crazy part? It was vegan until Danielle put the Parmesan cheese on top, which I do recommend because it adds a great salty bite. It could easily be an appetizer, cut into squares instead of wedges, or a healthy dinner, take your pick. Let's just face it, anything with white truffle oil tastes good so why not give this one a try?

Radicchio Pizza with White Truffle Oil

adapted from The Kind Diet, Alicia Silverstone

1 large head radicchio

olive oil

fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

white truffle oil, to taste (Danielle said she used the littlest bit)

1 fresh pizza crust (preferably a healthy, whole grain variety

freshly shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat the oven to 415 degrees

Cut the radicchio in half, then slice each half crosswise into thin ribbons (as thin as possible). Dress with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few dashes of white truffle oil to taste.

Toast the pizza crust in the oven for 7 minutes or until it is heated through and slightly golden but not crunchy.

Scatter the dressed radicchio over the pizza crust and return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes, until the radicchio is warm and starting to wilt. Top with Parmesan cheese shavings and serve immediately.

I love recipes like this. Ones that take all of 5 minutes, dirties 1 bowl and taste stellar. Danielle added some spinach to the radicchio mix and thats why you can see green in the picture. Feel free to do so yourself if you have some. By the way, you don't have to serve this hot. The wedge I ate was room temperature and look how I have raved. I can only imagine what it is like hot and fresh out of the oven. I couldn't even really eat the pizza crust because my cleanse is on going, although I did indulge in the cheese on top (you can't win them all and honestly I have been so good up until this last week...sigh) and still it was THAT good. Jeremy thinks, and I agree, that I have a way of going on and on about things, especially food, when I get excited about it and so I end up ruining it. I'm sorry if I talk things up. I try to be conscious of it. I just can't help it sometimes. :)

Quinoa with Red Peppers, Avocado and toasted Pine Nuts

Well guys, I'm up to my ears in cake. Literally. I think I might have made more cakes in the last 2 weeks than In my entire life, and that's saying a lot. I'm happy though because I've found a few winner recipes! What I have not been making a whole lot of, are dinners. I mean, we still eat but it's mostly tacos/tostadas and soups and a white chicken chili, sans chicken, that I have already told you about. The other thing we have had like 3 times already is this quinoa recipe. It's the simplest of recipes but it's still really, really good and fast. I think it's the toppings that make it most special. It's basically some sauteed leeks and red bell pepper that you add quinoa to, directly into the saute pan, add veggie stock and some salt and cover. Then you let it simmer away for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. When it's done you put a mound in your dish and top it with a fair amount of fresh chunks of avocado, toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and voila! It's a casual dish that we just took up a notch, that's all, not to mention how healthy it is for you. You could play around forever with this recipe. Don't have leeks? use onions. Have left over zucchini? Saute it up with the onions, you really can't go wrong. If you are really hungry, serve this as a side dish along with grilled salmon or chicken, although this dish is substantial enough to stand alone in my family as long as there is plenty of avocado to go around!

Quinoa with Roasted Peppers, Avocado and toasted Pine Nuts

2 bell pepper, chopped into small dice
2 leeks, chopped, white and green parts only
olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt
2 cups quinoa, rinsed in the sink with a mesh strainer
4 cups vegetable stock (or 1 box)
1/3 cup pine nuts toasted (put them in the oven at 350 for 8-10 minutes)
3 avocados, chunked

saute the bell pepper with the leeks in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft, but not cooked all the way through, about 3 minutes. Add in the quinoa, the vegetable stock and a hearty pinch or two or salt. Bring the pan up to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes. When liquid is almost totally absorbed, the quinoa is cooked. Mound into the center of shallow bowls and top with chucks from half and avocado per person, a palm full of toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Serves 6

For those of you who are not familiar with quinoa, it's crucial that you rinse the grain under cold running water before you use it. Just sort of rinse it off like it was dirty for about 20 seconds or so. It helps so it won't have a bitter after taste. this meal come together in 30 minutes from start to finish although I imagine some people are faster than me and it could be cooked sooner than that. OK, now I must leave you to focus on what else? Cake. I baked a Butter Pecan Cake today, now it's time to test Chocolate Mocha Cake! I hope I can get it done before we head to the carnival with the kids tonight. Fun times, fun times.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I'm not all health all the time, I'm really not. I eat my fair share of ice cream ( like the chocolate malt I had with my kids last night at Jonny B Goods) peanut butter cookies (like the two I put away last week and then again another two this week) and let's not forget about the carmel corn (like the huge bag I ate after lunches during the course of this whole week). My point is, I have a sweet tooth. And a bad one at that. However, I feel much better eating said sweets and more free to do so if I nurish my body properly with whole foods the rest of the time. Which is why today for lunch I am making quinoa stuffed peppers. I don't know much about quinoa except it's a whole grain, and I should definitely be eating more of it. The problem is I once had quinoa plain, served like rice would be on the side of my plate and was not impressed. It had a neutral if not an ever so slight bitter after taste. If I was going to be eating quinoa it was going to have to taste good. Period. So, I present to you today this recipe that packs so much nutritional punch and yet still doesn't taste like "health food" just good fresh food.

I like to consume lots of fresh wholesome foods like healthful salads, tabbouleh's, fresh fruit, smoothies, sauteed spinach and the like. If you are trying to add healthy good for you foods to your diet, I recommend you actually try to like the food you are eating or it's not going to work. So you hate quinoa plain? Find a way you do like it, perhaps in this stuffed pepper recipe. Your vegetarian tacos are boring and bland? Figure out how to spice it up. What could you add in? What flavors could you introduce to make it taste awesome? That's mostly what I do. I try and figure out ways to eat healthy and still love it. However, every now and then you need to eat filet of beef au poivre or lemon chicken with croutons, oh, and creamy chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. And I will be posting those recipes, I promise. But for now, quinoa stuffed peppers sounds and smells pretty fantastic.

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers
adapted from Vegetarian Times

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 TBS olive oil
2 ribs celery. finely chopped
1 TBS ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 10-oz pkg. frozen spinach, thawde and squeezed dry
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 15-oz can black beans
3/4 cup quinoa, uncooked
3 large carrots, grated
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese, divided
4 large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs and seeds removed

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and saute 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup of cheese. Season with salt and peper, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour liquid from the tomatoes in the bottom of a baking dish.

Fill each bell pepper half with a heaping 3/4 cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tbs remaining cheese. Bake for 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates and drizzle with pan juices, if desired.

serves 6-8

Ok, That was the actual recipe. My version of this was a hot mess, given that I used the recipe merely as a guidline. The real way sounds delicious, but I already had cooked quinoa, so I had to improvise.

Basically I sauteed the onions and celery as directed. Then I added the garlic and cumin as directed. Then, instead of cooking the spinach seperately and adding it in, I just dumped the box of frozen spinach into the saute pan with the onions and celery and added about 1/4 cup of water, to help thaw the spinach out. Once it was thawed, I added in the black beans, tomatoes and carrots (you could also buy pre shredded carrots if you don't want to grate them yourself). Then I added in the cooked quinoa and seasoned everything with garlic salt and stuffed it in the bell peppers. I omitted the cheese in the filling, but I did top the peppers with cheese towards the end. It really seems to need more salt than the recipe calls for. Maybe if I would have put in the cheese it called for I wouldn't have needed it. Cheddar would work well if you don't like pepper jack.

If you don't read your recipe well and accidentially don't save your tomato liquid and you realize you need it for the bottom of your pan, don't fret. Just add about a cup of water to the bottom of your dish instead. All the juice is really doing is helping to steam and cook your peppers in the oven.

Also, this make A LOT of filling! bascially almost double what you need. Again, don't fret. This is actually excellent because the filling freezes very well. Just cool leftover filling and stick it in a freezer ziplock bag, freeze it, and then thaw it out when you need it for a quick dinner down the road.

Rice, Black Bean and Mango Salsa Bowl

So, I made this recipe up. I saw a facebook post about black beans and mango salsa a few days ago and it got me thinking...The weather has been beautiful here lately and any time it warms up to 50 degrees, it has all of us thinking about Spring, beloved Spring! Spring equals warmer weather and lighter food which, for me, always includes Cuban. I had decided that I would make brown rice and season it up with some lime juice, cilantro and salt once cooked. Then I would saute up a load of garlic (5 ginormous cloves!) in a wee bit of olive oil and add a couple cans of black beans with their juice and let it simmer for a while to reduce. Then I would squeeze in fresh lime juice and add some garlic salt and chile powder. Then I would dish up the rice in a shallow bowl and top it with a ladel or two of beans, whose juice would drip down and flavor the rice. Then, I would top the whole thing with fresh mango salsa. You could probably make the dish just fine from the description above seeing as how it's rustic, but I'm going to provide the recipe below. It was really, really good.

Jeremy loved it, which is no surprise since it's basically a vegetarians dream dish. The fresh salsa paired so well with the earthiness of the beans and the sweet tart combination along with the garlic was divine. A snap to make too, by the way, and oh, so satisfying.

So get this. I was actually all geared up to make this dinner last night, but I had a showing on my house around 3pm and had to leave. I went to Danielle's house and never left. We ended up having dinner there, but it was kind of funny because she was making black bean patties with a mango rice. I don't know whether it was in the air or what, but black beans and mangos were popular in Steamboat this week. The dinner last night was delicious as well, but I figure I'd better ration out my black bean posts so as not to cause a revolt. Besides, I will be making Danielle's dinner again and will share the recipe at that time. Until then, make this...

Rice, Black Bean and Mango Salsa Bowl

serves 4

2 cans black beans, left undrained

whole grain rice or white rice (enough for 4 people according to package)

5 fat garlic cloves (or 7-8 smaller ones) minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 juicy limes, each cut in half
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 mango, chopped into bite sized chunks
2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
1 cup cilantro, chopped, divided
Kosher salt

Black pepper

For the rice:

Cook enough rice for 4 people according to the package directions. (I usually need enough rice for 6 people to feed 4).

For the mango salsa:
While the rice is cooking, make the mango salsa. Mix the chopped mango, red onion, half of the cilantro, with the juice of half a lime and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Set aside until ready to use.

For the black beans:
While the rice is cooking, set a saute pan over medium low heat and add the olive oil and garlic. Cook for garlic for a minute or two, then add the cans of black beans with their juice. Turn the heat up to medium high and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat back down to medium to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 12-15 minutes until some of the beans juices have evaporated away and it is a bit thicker. Don't boil away all the juice because that is what will flavor the rice when you dish it up. Add the chili powder, salt and the juice from 1 whole lime and stir to combine.

When the rice is done cooking, squeeze in the juice of the remaining half a lime and add a generous pinch of salt and the remaining cilantro. Stir to combine. Cover to keep warm.

To serve: Scoop a portion of the seasoned rice on the bottom of your bowl and top with beans with its sauce, then top with mango salsa. Dig in!

You can make the mango salsa up to a day in advance. It re-heats beautifully too! I would make this for company. Just serve an appetizer like cucumber spears with lime juice, salt and chili powder, pass the mojitos or coronas and you are golden. Flan with toasted coconut flakes for dessert wouldn't hurt you either. Oh, my, I'm hurting for Summer!

Tuna Salad with Apple, Pepper Jack and Red Onion

I first started to eat tuna salad when I lived with my Grandparents for a time after high school here in Colorado. I never really ate it before then except maybe a tuna melt or two at Carrows with my friend Jessica. The whole fish from a can thing creeped me out too much to be able to make it myself at home. However, if somebody else made it I could manage. That was lucky for me becuase at the time I was living with them, my Grandpa Grillo made tuna salad reguarly. Well, that and hot dogs that he would boil and wrap up in a lonely piece of bread. I didn't like those, unless I was absolutely starving, but let's get back to the tuna. I liked his tuna becuase he would put lots of vinegary, spicy inredients into it. I love vinegary, spicy ingredients. My Grandma made it too, but usually she would make it "old school" with diced onions and celery with fresh lemon juice, a little mayo and lawrys salt and pepper. She and my Grandpa both added in dill pickles whenever we had them and, let me tell you, that for me anyway, took it up another notch. Soon, when Grandpa would made his version he started to add diced dill pickels, and diced pickled jalapenos to the tuna along with fresh lemon juice, lawrys salt and just enough mayonnaise to bind it.

Heres a note: When you are around my Grandpa, make sure you really pronounce the word mayonnaise correctly. Most of the time, I would refer to it as "man-naise". As soon as you made the mistake, you knew it was coming. He would say "You know Krysta, it's not "man-naise" it's "May-o-naise". Yes, Grandpa, I know.

The tuna salad with the jalapenos and pickles was officially my favorite. We always ate it the same way. Either in a cold sandwich between two pieces of bread, or open faced, baked in the oven with cheese on top, otherwise known as a tuna melt. I had made tuna this same way for over 5 years when I went to my friend Melissas house one day.

She had made tuna salad. It was not prepared like the tuna salads I was used to, and furthermore she served hers with crackers instead of bread. It was surprisingly delicious and unlike anything I had ever seen before (which makes me snicker now. I must have been new to the possibilities of food). She had mixed the tuna with mayonaise, lemon juice, garlic salt, cubes of cheddar cheese, red onion and halved green grapes. I know, it sounds a little odd right? It was really good. She said she made it that way becuase her husband Shawn liked it and that was the way his mother made it. She said sometimes she used grapes and smetimes she used chopped apple. I liked the idea of the crunchiness of the apple.

Then, after a while I had tuna salad yet again at her house. This time with the apple instead of the grapes and pepper jack instead of cheddar. I had hit the mother load! This tuna was nothing short of awesome. The pepper jack brought in the spicy taste I so love, and the apple provided this beautiful sweetness that complimented the lemon juice and galric salt in lovely ways. I can't say for sure that It's my absolute favorite way to eat tuna becuase it just depend on the mood im in. But I can say that for the past year and a half, I have only made tuna this way and served it with water crackers, no bread. You just dip the crunchy cracker in and scoop out a heaping potion of tuna and bite. Oh, my gosh, you won't go back.

Tuna Salad with Apples, Pepper Jack and Red Onion

1 big can of solid white albacore tuna (or two smaller cans)
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonaise
a quarter of a red onion, chopped
1/2 of a big apple, chopped in cubes (or 1 whole smaller apple)
1 1/2 inches from a block of pepper jack cheese, cut into small bite sized cubes
garlic salt to taste
juice from half a lemon

Mix together and enjoy with thin water crackers (carrs cracked pepper are my fav)

Make sure you have solid white albacore and not chunk light. There is a huge difference. I can't even really eat this if it's not with solid white albacore. I like the Starkist brand. Cut all the ingredients in relatively same size. I make sure to add in a good amount of galric salt to this. I don't like it salty, but I like to be able to taste it. It brings all the other flavors together.

I just ate this last week with Melissa. Shawn says you can add some diced up pickled jalapenos to it if you want some more kick. Oh, yes Shawn. You don't have to tell me twice.

Mediterranean Tabbouleh

Today is a goregous warm blue bird day here in Steamboat Springs. My Husband is spring skiing with Isabella and Jeremiah and I am at home with sweet baby Olivia, who is currently napping. On days like today when you get a taste of Spring in the air I start to crave light fresh food. The kind of food you eat in summertime. And today, even though I have already eaten lunch myself, I wish I had had this Greek style salad becuase it's so dang good! So even though it is too late for me, maybe it is not for you. In which case I suggest you get yourself to a store pronto becuase this recipe is too good to pass up.

This creation is kind of my own taken from two different recipes and put together to create something so delicious it's ridiculas. The first recipe I ran across in the smitten kitchen website. It was for a "Mediterranean Pepper Salad" and becuase of the name (I don't know why I didn't care for the name) I almost passed it up, but then I saw the picture. The picture of this salad was goregous with every color of the rainbow. You eat first with your eyes, it's true. The recipe was especially intriguing to me becuase once I started to read it I saw that you sort of pickle the red onions in a red wine vinager mixture while you prep the other ingredients and it helps to flavor them and also soften their blow. It's genius if you ask me and makes all the difference.

I decided to pair this salad with bulger wheat to make it a tabbouleh. Tabbouleh, for any of you who are not familliar is bulger wheat, which is a grain cooked and mixed with any variety of vegetables and herbs to create a salad. I cook my bulger wheat the same way Ina Garten does with water, lemon juice, olive oil and salt for lots of good flavor. If you have never seen or heard of bulger wheat before it's a whole grain and it kind of looks like cous cous...kind of. It's in the normal grocery store and you have probably just passed it by. Sad thing becuase it's delicious and nutritious once you know what to do with it. Paired with this pepper sald it's flavor its outta this world. Pardon me if I just sounded like Paula Deen.


Mediterranean Tabbouleh Salad

for the bulger wheat:

1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup bulger wheat
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

In a heat proof bowl (preferably just big enough to hold the bulger wheat and water becuase if you use a big bowl it doesn't cook all the way because it can't hold it's heat) pour the boiling water over the bulger wheat. Add the lemon juice, olive oil and salt. let stand at room temperature for about an hour.

For the Mediterranean Pepper Salad

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 a red onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
3 bell peppers, your choice of colors (I use one red, orange and yellow)
1 cucumber, preferably English, cut into quarters lengthwise and diced
1/4 pound firm feta cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup pitted kalmata olives, cut in half
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half (optional)I personally like this without
1/4 cup olive oil ( I use less)
salt and peper to taste

Swish together the red wine vinegar , water, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the red onion and set it aside.

Meanwhile, time to practice your knife skills. Core and seed your bell peppers and chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. Chop the cucumber and feta into similarly-sized chunks. Put your peppers, cucumber, feta and olives in a large bowl.

By now your onions will have lightly pickled, both sweetening and softening their blow. Drain them and add them to the other vegetables in the large bowl, but reserve the vinegar mixtire. Pour a quarter cup of the vinegar mixture over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil. Add your cooked tabbouleh and toss together, taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve at once, or let the flavors muddle together in the fridge for a few hours. This salad gets better and better. It's as great the third day as it is the first.

I don't love tomatoes. Actually I loathe tomatoes for the most part and that is why I don't add them in. Let me explain. When I was little I used to eat raw sliced tomatoes with garlic salt on them. One day I got sick after eating them and the rest is history. The mealy texture of most tomaotes are enough to send me over the edge. My hatred only extends to raw tomatoes in their purist form. Cooked, roasted or tomato sauce do not bother me at all. Love tomatoes? Add them in!

By the way. I didn't finish this blog yesterday when I originally started writting it, so guess what I am making right now as I type? That's right, Iv'e got my onions pickeling and am going to enjoy this salad for lunch. I can't wait!

Tex Mex Quesadillas and Cucumber Salad

When Jeremy and I were dating, we spent a lot of time at his parents house. We would eat dinner over there a couple nights a week and what I remember is lots and lots of quesadilla's. Before that time quesadilla's, for me anyway, were not considered a dinner. Maybe a lunch and a boring one at that. To me it meant cheese and a tortilla and not much appeal. But when we made them over at his parents house they would pack that tortilla full of any variety of different things and it became more like a sandwich. They were awesome and simple. They basically just threw in whatever they had on hand; cheese, chicken strips, diced onion, chopped tomato or avocado slices and salsa. They were always really, really good.

All that being said, after that chunk of time had passed and Jeremy and I got married and I fell more and more in love with cooking, we kind of left quesadilla's in the dust, until recently. You see, Jeremy started coming home for lunch from work recently and so I needed to have lunch stuff on hand. That sounds simple but I rarely ever have good lunch stuff on hand unless I have prepared for it. Some days I grab something while I'm out. Sometimes I just have a lean cuisine or leftovers or make tuna salad with crackers, you know usual stuff. But since Jeremy has been coming home and bringing his love for fresh and lighter lunch foods with him (think salads...everyday) I have had to get creative. I would love salads for lunch everyday too if I could eat out. For some reason salads at home are so much less satisfying then when you get them out. Anyone? I make a great side salad but they are not something I want to have for a main course, unless it is a taco salad because those are always good from home. When he first started to come home I made things like the taco salad mentioned above, and also a celery root salad with arugula and a half a sandwich. Then there was the eggplant parmigiana that was baked, not fried, with mixed baby greens. Ratatouille another day, and eggplant panini's on wheat pita with cambozola blue cheese and arugula. The problem was, it was getting expensive. I was basically making dinners for lunch, which is kinda how I roll if I'm going to make lunch, but I needed to tone it down a bit. Then I remembered the quesadilla's. My very favorite quesadilla has a lot of black beans, very little cheese, with lots of salsa,  avocado, cilantro and a dash of salt and garlic powder or garlic salt if you have it (salt is crucial!) all melted in a crisp whole wheat tortilla. It's so good and satisfying and makes the perfect lunch. Especially if you serve it along side a cucumber salad.

The cucumber salad makes it a good casual dinner option as well. The cucumbers are basically just tossed with lemon or lime juice, salt and chili powder. It is genuine Mexican and we used to get stuff like that at the swap meets in California when I was growing up. Sometimes the cucumbers would be combined with either jicama or mango and served in a white Styrofoam cup. My Mom used to make cucumbers like this except she would cut them up in rounds, spread them out on a plate and we would eat them as a snack.

A note about the quesadilla's- It seems ludicrous to write a recipe for quesadilla's but I think part of the reason why these taste to good is the ratios of ingredients. I put about as many beans to cheese and I use less cheese than usual. I think it tastes better with only enough cheese to hold it together, but you can use as much as you want. The same goes for the rest of the ingredients. You can also sprinkle a little taco seasoning over to spice the quesadilla up if you want.

Tex Mex Quesadilla's
makes 1 quesadilla 
serves 1-2



2 whole wheat tortillas
shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup black beans
3-4 spoonfuls of you favorite salsa
1/2 an avocado, sliced
a handful of cilantro, chopped (optional)
a good pinch of salt or garlic salt
garlic powder


Heat up a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat and put one of the tortillas in it while it heats up. Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese over the surface, then pile the rest of the ingredients on top and sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Place a second very thin layer of cheese on top so the top tortilla will have something to stick to.  Place another tortilla on top of the cheese. Give it a minute or two to heat through and for the bottom tortilla to crisp up, then press the top tortilla down with your hand so it stays together when you flip it. Flip it with a spatula and let it warm through and crisp up on the other side for a minute or two. Remove from the pan and let cool for one minute. Cut into 4 equal wedges




Cucumber Salad

1 hothouse or English cucumber

1/2 lemon 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

I cut my cucumber in half lengthwise then I take a spoon and scrape out all of the seeds. Then I slice the cucumber halves across to make half moon shaped slices. Obviously you can cut them any way you want, this just makes for very pretty presentation. Toss the cucumber pieces with the lime juice, salt and chili powder. Let it sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. You can peel the cucumber if you wish, but I prefer to leave half of the skin on. I just take a peeler and peel every other half inch or so around.

I don't usually measure the cucumber salad ingredients, so use your own judgement. There needs to be enough salt or else you won't really taste the chili powder. Taste it and decide if you need more. I consider this a nice, well balanced, and flavorful lunch. My husband however doesn't seem to agree. He is in the kitchen right now as I type this, after just having finished his quesadilla, and making an arugula, watermelon and goat cheese salad with salt and a balsamic drizzle (balsamic, upon my urging when I saw he was about to put Italian on it...LOL) No doubt he is eating it for "more health". He is funny like that. 

Healthy Lifestyle Talk/Salad Ideas, grrr

I'm just going to get right down to it. there is no need to preface the information I am about to give you. Just know that it is shocking and you will probably be mad. I was. Heck, I still am. Mad that I didn't know this before and also mad that I do know it now (Ignorace is bliss!) One thing to note is that the things I am talking about today when I use the word "healthy" are used in terms of wellness. Cancer free, heart disease free sort of healthy NOT just weight loss. The following is the truth:
1) Not all oatmeal is good for you
In fact you must buy the steel cut oats, irish oatmeal or the quaker kind that take absolutely forever to cook for it to be healthy. Most instant oatmeal's are so refined that it's same as eating white bread. Worse, if you buy the instant packets, the kind with the flavoring and all that there is so much sugar and bad carbs that you might as well eat chocolate cake for breakfast. No lie. Your body processes pasta and white bread and the bad oatmeal the same way it does baked goods. It turns into pure sugar and carb. I don't know about you, but if I am going to get fat I'd much rather be eating chocolate cake than oatmeal.

2) All animal protein (meat and dairy, INCLUDING FISH) is not very good for you
I know, I know, fish? It depends on where it comes from. Long Island has one of the densest breast cancer problems and they think it is becuase they eat all the fresh seafood, which is actually farmed and/or the water is polluted or something like that and in turn becomes toxic. It actually helps build up bad cells in your body that promote cancer growth. Now, I am not suggesting all fish is bad, just know where it comes from. Wild Alaska Salmon is awesome. Know your facts about your fish. Chicken and turkey are just as bad for you as red meat as far as cancer (breast, prostate, skin, stomach...etc) and heart disease are concerned. Broccoli has WAY, WAY WAY more protein than steak. Dairy makes you fat. And since they are animal based those foods, again, do nothing to help your body ward off disease and actually aid in it's breeding.

3) Every calorie you consume come from either carbohydrate, protein or fat.
your body needs carbohydrates and fat, but from a good source (avacado, corn, etc) Obvisiously you want to pack as many nutrients into every calorie consumed. that only come from eating healthily. Bad fat from refined sugar (pasta, white bread and rice included) butter and oil get stored/deposited on the body minutes after consuming them. they can actaully take a biopsy of fat from your thigh and tell you where it came from, be it oil or what. That is scary and gross.

4)We need to STUFF ourselves with health, literally
Did you know that we should be consuming 2 HUGE salads a day at least? Romaine and spinach and other leafy greeens eaten raw are the BEST protection from cancer and heart attacks. they only help significantly if we are consuming them in huge quantities. In fact, you should strive to eat a whole head of romaine accompanied with veggies and preferably beans when you eat a salad. There is no such thing as eating to many vegeatbles or fruits. Hogwash is what I say to people who clamin our bodies can only absorb a certain amount of nutrients at a time. Where are they getting this information? Many of the tests they use to back those theorys are up are medically ridiculous. Know where and how those studies were done and by whom. The american cancer association and doctors and scientists and everyone for that matter agree on a couple things. Eating mass amounts of vegetables daily (fresh or lightly cooked or frozen...not canned) and fruit of all kinds, even if you are not vegetarian or dairy free is the number one way to prevent cancer and heart disease. Eat at least 3 fruits a day (it's really not that hard) and try to eat salad as often as possible (with minimal dressing) Cancer and heart disease is 99% preventable by what we put into our bodies. It doiesn't even matter if you are predisposed or not genetically.

5) Olive oil is NOT good for you. period.
Olive oil is fat. plain and simple. in fact olive oil contains more calories per volume than butter. I know, shocker huh? 1 tablespoon of olive oil is 120 calories. (calories from pure fat!) The average american eats about 4 leaves of lettuce in a salad and dumps about 3-4 tablespoons of dressing on it. (I don't do this, sounds pretty excessive if you ask me, but this is the statistic) That's 360-480 calories from fat on your salad, with basically minimal nutrition from the salad itself. Might as well j ust ditch the greens and drink straight from the salad dressing bottle. I would still use olive oil for sauteing, but not as much as before, believe me!

6)The USDA originally was financed by the meat and dairy industry and backed by nutritional scientists on the payroll the meat and dairy industry as well. Nuff said. How many times did you mother tell you to drink a full glass of milk at dinner because it was "healthy". Not so much. Lots o' fat and sugar though, and cancer promoting for that matter. It's not their fault though. This was drilled into them over and over back in the day.

7) Lots of your predisposition to certain cancers has to do with how fast you matured as a girl.
Back in the 1800's, the average age for a girl to get her period was 18 years old. It steadily declined over time to get to the age of 12 as in modern day. Why? A woman matures faster when she is eating a diet rich in processed, fatty foods. The faster you mature, the faster your body begins to die. The healthier you eat, the slower your body matures.


Ok so enough of all of that, I could go on and if you want to learn more about these truths I reccommend you read "Eat to live" by Joel Fuhrman MD. Fascinating stuff. Fascinating but frusterating!!! I'll just tell you, last night I had a seared tuna salad with dressing on the side and today after my breakfast of steel cut oatmeal with almonds, cinnamon, strawberries a touch of brown sugar and SOY MILK instead of my beloved cream, I ordered a "vegetarian" taco salad from qdoba with extra black beans, no cheese, no sour cream, instead of my usual chicken version WITH cheese and sour cream. Damn you Dr. Fuhrman, damn you vegetarians of the world, damn you scientists and cancer and heart disease!!!!! damn, damn, damn. Why can't you just keeps your traps shut and let us believe that meat and scrambled eggs make you strong! I could go on and on becuase I am truly hot pissed. I am a foodie, dang it, not a hippie! If you know me very well, then you know what my answer to what my biggest pet peeeve is...vegetarians. I hate them but have learned to tolerate them. Vegans on the other hand make me sick. Don't they know that the best thing in the entire world worth experiencing could very well be a perfect roasted prime rib with au jus and Piave cheese as a starter with processed brioche bread pudding for dessert? As dumb as they are for missing out on that deliciousness, I have to say that now I actually, dare I say, understand them. Maybe even appreciate them. Maybe. I will never eat the same, that's for sure. Once you acquire this information, how could you? Fear not friends, I am not going to become a looney tunes veggie (sorry Kaylee, Cristina, Brittany, Luanne and Jeremy) But, I most likely will stuff myself with fresh fruit, salad and beans. I will probably make at least 2 vegetarian meals a week, skip the cream and take the soy milk with my oats and pass on the crumbles of blue cheese and or bacon on my salad. Eat more seafood (not the toxic kind, hopefully) cook more collards and spinach, eat less dessert and excersize more. I will probably have a salad night once a week where we gorge on the stuff with healthy dressing. I will also most likely develop healthier versions of the things I already love to eat. However, I will NOT compromise flavor. And, I will still enjoy chunks of my beloved piave cheese, a great ribeye, and pasta. Just not as often. This is progress for me. And progress is good. It might even give me a little side project as there are some pretty nasty healthy foods out there.

I just read about a dressing they want us to put on salads in an effort to be healthier, it consists of frozen blueberries, blended with dates and raspberry vinegar. It might be fine, but it sounds wrong. too bland...too, something. Unless of course it was being served on top of frisee with blackberries, walnuts and either goat cheese or smoked gouda, in that case it might be divine. I think for the salads I usually make though, I would prefer a mashed up avacado with tons of lemon juice and some salt, or maybe I could throw in some of a good seasons italian dressing seasoning packet; salad does need flavor. Or I could whisk up lots of lemon juice, a bit of honey, dijon mustard and lots of salt, like my Aunt Kellie does to put over a garden romaine. Or I could add a touch of oil to a basic balsamic with some s&p. I think plain lemon juice works as a dressing if you have enough of it, let it sit for at least few minutes after dressing it and you season the salad well with lots of vegetables (carrot, celery, jicama, cherry tomato, avacado, cucumber, beets and sprouts) and seasoning like fresh cilantro, sesame seeds, sea salt, pepper, dried dill, dried minced garlic and the like. Those are the types of salad I love and wouldn't mind eating HUGE gigantic, enormous amounts of for my health.