Delights from the Garden

Can you see them??? We have two baby tomatoes on our tomato plants. They are taking FOREVER to grow larger and ripen. I know, I should be patient, but the best part of summer is homegrown tomatoes! There are other things as well in our little garden... herbs! We've got sweet basil, spicy basil, oregano, rosemary, mint and lavender. I used some of the sweet basil and oregano in a marinara sauce that I made for lunch today. .. what freshness and zing fresh herbs bring to a dish. The mint is looking very good, perhaps I'll make mojitos tonight...

I Heart Coffee

There is nothing better in the morning than a hot, freshly brewed cup of coffee. I drink mine black... enjoying all the earthiness of the brew. Recently, a friend told me about a website - uroastem.com where you can purchase your very own green coffee beans and roast them yourself. Considering the freshness that freshly roasted beans would bring to my morning cup of joe, in addition to the cost savings of doing it myself, I just couldn't pass up trying it. I ordered up a pound of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Fair Trade Organic Guatamala Genuine Antigua and Sumatra Mandheling Fair Trade Organic. So far I have tried the Ethiopian and Guatamala and they are just out of this world! The roasting process is so easy and the results are well worth the time.

More salad...

As I posted previously... I totally believe that the ultimate summer food is salad. Today I made another of my pasta salads.

Awesome Pasta Salad II
1/2 pound whole wheat rotini pasta - cooked
1 lb shrimp - peeled and deveined, sauteed in Greek salad dressing
15 kalamata olives - pitted and shopped
3 small cucumbers - peeled, seeded and chopped
10 cherry tomatoes - quartered
1/2 red onion - quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese - crumbled
1/3 cup roasted red peppers - chopped
1 Tbs oregano
1 jar pepperocinis
Greek salad dressing - enough to coat

Toss all ingredients together and enjoy!

Spa Cuisine

Tonight we had a very healthy, inventive and fresh dinner. It all started out with a tasty salad that I had found from the PETA vegetarian cooking blog. Intrigued by hearts of palm, I had been searching for a recipe so that I could try them. This one sounded fantastic and tasted equally as good. Check out the Hearts of Palm, Avocado and Orange recipe here. We rounded out the meal with sweet mango marinated mahi mahi (found at Sam's Club), roasted asparagus with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and brown rice pilaf. We felt so healthy, we HAD to eat cake and a fudge bar!

In search of the perfect salsa

Tonight was Taco Burger night. One of the key ingredients for Taco Burgers or Taco Salad is a good salsa. Sadly, I have yet to find one that I'm wild about in the jarred salsa section at the store. Here in Texas, there are a few more options than I could find in Kansas, but to my dismay... they still don't have the freshness and punch that I like in a salsa. Several years ago I came up with a blender salsa that was similar to the salsa served in my favorite Mexican restaurants.

Vic's Blender Salsa
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 - 3 jalapenos
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, quartered
1/4 cup cilantro leaves

Combine above ingredients and puree until smooth.

Refreshing Cool Down

Every now and again, I crave a tropical drink. This weekend, the temperature was in the mid-90s and it seemed like a perfect time to recreate a favorite beverage of mine - the MJB. I'm really not sure what MJB stands for... someone suggested that it is short for More Jamaican Babies. Whatever the acronym means, the drink is a great way to cool down.

MJB
2 cups ice
1 cup pineapple juice
1 shot glass coconut rum
1/2 shot glass peach schnapps
1/2 frozen banana

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Summer is Really For Salads

Summer seemed to start a little early this year... at least it did in Houston. It has been in the mid-90's for at least the past two weeks. I'm loving the weather, but don't really feel like cooking or eating anything warm. When that feeling strikes, it is best to have a few homemade salads on hand. The tuna salad is a recent creation... I made it this way when the relish and miracle whip amounts I thought I had on hand had been depleated (I hear it was the cats). I created Awesome Pasta Salad several years ago, when I was helping my sister out with her newborn twins HD and RN. Not knowing anything about caring for kids... I put myself on kitchen duty.

Vic's Tuna Salad
2 7oz pouches white albacore tuna
10-12 slices sweet and hot pickles, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, diced
2 TBS Thousand Island dressing
1/4 cup miracle whip light, or more for desired consistency
garlic powder, to taste
pepper, to taste

Mix all the above and serve.

Awesome Pasta Salad
1/2 box whole wheat rotini, cooked, drained
2 cups broccoli florets, cooked with pasta during last minute of cooking
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can ripe olives, drained
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
4 green onions, slivered
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup red peppers, julienned
1 jar pepperocini peppers (whole)
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz mozzarella cheese
balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Combine the above ingredients in large bowl and mix. Best chilled overnight.