Tabouli with Mango?

I love tabouli!  Especially when it is made with quinoa to make it more nutritious.  So I was feeling like some tabouli, but I had no tomatoes, parsley or mint, which to me are essentials in a classic tabouli.  So I decided to improvise and make tabouli with mango in place of the tomatoes and basil in place of the mint and parsley.  I threw in a few pine nuts as well...since this was becoming a non-traditional tabouli anyhow.  What resulted from my throw together tabouli was a super refreshing summery salad which I will definately be making again until the cool weather comes back in the fall.  Try it out if you would like a little different take on the classic grain salad!

Mango Basil Quinoa Tabouli Salad

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 large mango, diced small
1 large cucumber peeled, seeded and diced small
2 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, minced
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 large garlic clove, minced
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed about 15 minutes, or when all the grains have turned from white to transparent, and the spiral-like germ has separated. Drain, and let cool. When quinoa is cool, combine with the mango, cucumber, basil, scallions, and pine nuts. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Toss dressing with salad, and chill.

Drunken Strawberries

What could be more refreshing on a warm day than a fruity little drink?  A fruity tall drink!  When I got home from work today I decided that I needed a fruity tall  drink, so I decided to create one.  Since strawberries are in season right now where I live in Minnesota, and I have been buying them by the case, I thought they would be perfect in a drink!  I combined them with a bit of tequila, and framboise as well as some lemon for tartness and vanilla and agave nectar for sweetness.  I served it on the rocks and topped it off with a bit of fizz for fun!  This drink is a great cure for a long day at work!

Strawberry Smash

1 cup strawberries, hulled and halved

2 oz silver tequilla
2 oz Framboise
juice of one lemon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp agave nectar
ice cubes
sparkling water
strawberry for garnish
 
Combine Strawberries, tequila, framboise, lemon juice, vanilla, and agave nectar in a blender and process until strawberries are liquified and all ingredients are well combined.  In a large tall glass, place a few ice cubes, and pour strawberry mixture over.  Top off with a bit of sparkling water and garnish with a strawberry...enjoy!

Feta Lemon Dressed Butter Lettuce Salad with Little Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives and Zucchini

When it gets to above 70 degrees, I hate to heat up my house with the oven...so sometimes I feel like non-cook items for dinner. This was the case tonight, so I thought a nice cool and crisp salad would be just the thing. I had some feta in the fridge that needed to find a home, so I came up with a dressing combining it with lemon and olive oil to dress my salad. Since this dinner was taking on a Mediterranean direction, I thought some cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives needed to join the party...as well as some zucchini for variety. Butter lettuce was my green of choice, and I sprinkled a little alfalfa sprouts on top of the finished salad because I love them! The salad was refreshing and perfect alongside a piece of grilled fish!


Feta Lemon Dressed Butter Lettuce Salad with Little Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives and Zucchini
Serves 4

1/2 cup crumbled feta, divided
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried dill
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

2 heads butter lettuce washed, dried well and torn into bite sized pieces
2 cups cherry tomatoes
2 small zucchini, thinly sliced into half moons
1 cup Kalamata olives
a few alfalfa sprouts

To make dressing, combine 1/4 cup feta, lemon juice, olive oil, dill, and salt and pepper to taste in a food processor, and process until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, and olives and toss with enough dressing to coat. Divide salad between 4 plates, and sprinkle a Tbsp of feta and a few alfalfa sprouts on top of each.

My kind of burgers...

For some reason, I decided that burgers sounded good for dinner tonight. Not ones with beef...or turkey...ones with beans, nuts and cheese! I love a good non-meat burger. These are not tveggie burgers however, since they are mostly made of proteins, but they sure were satisfying! The burgers I came up with were a clean out the fridge composition of ingredients. I had some leftover white beans, some roquefort, and some toasted walnuts, so I thought they would be good as the base of my burger. I also threw in some flour and eggs for a binder, as well as some garlic and basil for flavor...no breadcrumbs surprisingly, since I don't have any bread on hand at the moment. I had a few cherry tomatoes and basil so I thought I would roast the tomatoes and top them with basil as a nice compliment beside the burgers. The burgers baked up wonderfully, and were super easy to make. I don't think I will ever miss meat burgers...especially with ones like these instead!


White Bean Walnut Roquefort Burgers with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

1 cup cherry tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans
1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
4 oz crumbled Roquefort cheese
1/4 cup flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

2 Tbsp fresh basil, cut into chiffonade

1/2 cup vegannaise
1 Tbsp dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Toss cherry tomatoes with 1 Tbsp olive oil, and spread out on one of the sheets. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until tomatoes have burst and are soft. Remove from oven, place in a bowl, and sprinkle with sea salt, and freshly ground pepper as well as 1 Tbsp balsamic vineger. Meanwhile, puree 1/2 cup beans in food processor. Add bean puree to bowl along with remaining beans, walnuts, roquefort, flour, garlic, egg, basil, sea salt, and pepper, and mix until well blended. Make the mixture into 4 patties, and place on other prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly brown. Meanwhile, mix vegannaise with dijon and set aside. To serve place burger on a plate, and spoon some tomatoes over the top, with a little basil on top. Spoon a dallop of the dijon mayo on the side, and serve!

Chili Lime Yam and Black Bean Hummus

I am in a southwestern food kind of a mood right now, so when deciding what type of flavor to give my hummus today I went for the black beans, limes, and chili powder.  I happened to have some leftover yam puree, so I decided to throw that in as well, since I love to add extra veggies to my hummus.  I didn't really feel like using tahini, so I grabbed the almond butter instead...as well as the almond oil instead of regular old olive.  Some cilantro and garlic joined the party in the food processor as well as some cumin...this was turning out to be anything but the usual hummus...but when it was all blended together the taste test would be the final say in whether or not this was a recipe worth sharing.  I scooped up a huge dallop with a tortilla chip, and it was wonderful!  It was unlike any boring black bean dip I have had...tons of flavor!  This hummus would be wonderful on a southwestern wrap...and I have to warn you it is very addictive with chips!

Chili Lime Yam and Black Bean Hummus

3 cups cooked black beans (canned is fine)

1 cups yam or sweet potato puree

1/2 cup fresh cilantro
juice of 3 limes
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup almond oil
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried chipotle pepper or cayenne (depending on how spicy you like it)
3 garlic cloves

In a food processor, combine all ingredients and process until smooth. Serve with chips or veggies for dipping!

Garlic Hummus and Feta Pizzas with Little Tomatoes, Carmelized Onions, Summer Squash, and Olives

I had leftover pizza crusts in my fridge from the pizza I had made last night, so I thought I would make some more tonight.  I guess you could call this pizza the smorgasboard pizza...because I was basically using the leftover ingredients from the week's dinners.  I had some garlic hummus, some olives, zucchini, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes...all a perfect combination for a pizza with Mediterranean flavors!  Although I usually skip the sauce or spreads on my pizzas below the toppings, I decided that the hummus I would allow tonight, in favor of it's garlicy goodness...and it wasn't spread on too thick afterall.  The pizza turned out marvelously and was devoured very quickly!  If you have hummus, you should try it on a pizza! 

Garlic Hummus and Feta Pizzas with Little Tomatoes, Carmelized Onions, Summer Squash, and Olives


Makes 2 10 inch pizzas
2 whole wheat pizza crusts (see my recipe in previous blog post)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus more for crust
1 small red onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup garlic hummus, home made or store bought

1 zucchini, sliced
about 20 cherry tomatoes, halved and insides blotted dry with paper towel
10 kalamata olives, sliced
5 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

4 oz crumbled feta cheese

a bit of fresh oregano, chopped

To make the perfect pizza, you need a good quality pizza stone. Place the stone on the highest rack in the oven, then crank up the heat as high as possible (500 degrees) at least an hour before baking the pizza. Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and onions. Saute until very soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to coat onions. Remove from heat and set aside. To assemble pizzas, place the dough on a piece of parchment paper, spray rolling pin with non-stick spray and roll out as thin as possible (about 10 inches is best) repeat with other crust. Brush the crusts with a small amount of olive oil, over the entire surface.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over crust, spread hummus thinly over each, then scatter onions, zucchini and olives over crust, followed by the mozzarella and feta. Scatter the tomatoes over the top. Using a pizza peel, or an upside down sheet pan, carefully slide the dough (keeping it on the parchment) into the oven. Bake for about 3-5 minutes, or until crust is starting to brown and cheese is bubbling. Carefully slide the parchment onto a sheet pan or pizza peel to remove from oven. Scatter the oregano over the pizza and serve!

My favorite pizza...

One of my favorite things to make at home is pizza.  Ever since I recieved a pizza stone for Christmas about 5 years ago, I have been experimenting with pizzas and their toppings. Pizza stones give you that amazingly crisp crust that you get from restaurants. I am from the school of cracker thin crusts that serve to showcase the toppings...with no sauce and lots of veg and sparing amounts of cheese.  Most Americans would not consider my pizza to be a pizza...I guess you could say it is in it's own class.  I guess where I got the idea to make my pizzas as they are is from a restaurant that is now closed, but which used to have fabulous upscale food in Minneapolis, Auriga.  They used to serve pizzas with grapes combined with roasted peppers and pecorino romano and interesting toppings like that.  So I thought I would create my own combinations of ingredients and see how they turned out on a pizza.  This also became a way for me to sample new cheeses...since I made pizza every week, and tried to change it up every time. I always use a bit of mozzarella though, as a base cheese, because I feel that it serves as a blank canvas that melts the flavor of the other chosen cheese and toppings together.  I have used everything vegetarian imaginable on my pizzas...mangoes, beets, fennel, leeks, squash, every kind of nut and cheese...with some successes and some failure.  The failure mostly coming from discovering which cheeses don't melt, or which veggies emit too much water.  My favorite combination of toppings though has to be the strawberry and carmelized onions with toasted walnuts, roquefort and mozzarella cheeses.  I thought I would share the recipe so you all can enjoy the deliciousness that is this pizza.  Even skeptics that I have served this to have been won over...

Amy's Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Makes 8 10 inch crusts

Crust:
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp Salt
2 Pkgs rapid-rise yeast
2 cups warm water

To make the dough, in a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center, pour in the water and then dissolve the yeast in the water. Gradually stir the flour into the water mixture, until the dough comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface, then knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Oil a large bowl with olive oil, then place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area, such as near the oven, and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk. When dough has risen, punch down and divide into 8 pieces. You can either freeze the dough in individual portions (just place in ziplock bags and take out the night before you want to use it, then it will be ready to use the next day), or set aside to use right away.  If making the recipe below, you will need two crusts.

Strawberry and Carmelized Onion Pizzas with Toasted Walnuts, Roquefort and Mozzarella Cheeses

Makes 2 10 inch pizzas

2 whole wheat pizza crusts (see my recipe above)

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sea salt

freshly ground pepper
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and broken into large pieces
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz crumbled roquefort cheese
about 4 fresh large basil leaves

To make the perfect pizza, you need a good quality pizza stone. Place the stone on the highest rack in the oven, then crank up the heat as high as possible at least an hour before baking the pizza. Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and onions.  Saute until very soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to coat onions.  Remove from heat and set aside. 

To assemble pizzas, place one piece of the dough on a piece of parchment paper, spray rolling pin with non-stick spray and roll out as thin as possible (about 10 inches is best)Repeat with other piece of dough using another sheet of parchment. Sprinkle salt and pepper over crust, then scatter over the strawberries, onions, walnuts and then the mozzarella and roquefort. Using a pizza peel, or an upside down sheet pan, carefully slide the dough (keeping it on the parchment) into the oven. Bake for about 3-5 minutes, or until crust is starting to brown and cheese is bubbling. Carefully slide the parchment onto a sheet pan or pizza peel to remove from oven.  Scatter the basil over the pizza and serve!

Corn Crepes with Lime Honey Chevre and Strawberry Mango Compote

Sometimes I just feel like something a little sweet for dinner...which was the case tonight.  I could have gone with the usual pancakes with fruit, or belgian waffles, but I decided I wanted something a bit on the lighter side, but with plenty of creamy filling.  Crepes came to mind...the wonderful little french creations with endless filling possibilities.  I wanted to go the non traditional route however, so I decided on corn crepes instead of the usual flour. I used a mixture of corn flour and corn meal, so that the batter would remain light. Tonight I decided that a bit of chevre filling would be nice in the crepes...so I guess these are similar to blintzes in that sense.  I spiked the chevre with a bit of honey and lime since lime loves corn.  Not being one to leave fruits or vegetables out of any meal...I had to make a fruit compote that complimented the crepes...and strawberries and mango seemed like a wise choice.  Since the fruit was perfectly ripe, it hardly needed to be sweeened, so I simply added a touch of honey, and some lemon juice to keep the flavor bright.  They were wonderful...the creamy tangy chevre married well with the sweetness of the corn in the crepes and fruits...heavenly!  Try these if you feel like a treat for dinner...and you won't need any dessert! 

Corn Crepes with Lime Honey Chevre and Strawberry Mango Compote

Serves 3 (9 filled crepes)

1 medium organic mango, diced
1 1/2 cups sliced organic strawberries
juice of one lemon
1 Tbsp honey

12 oz chevre
juice and zest of 1 large lime
3 Tbsp honey
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 large organic egg
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup corn flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp maple sugar
butter or non-stick spray

To make sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until fruit is just starting to soften. Remove from heat. To make filling, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well until completely blended, then set aside in the fridge. To make crepes, combine all batter ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth. Let rest 15 minutes. Heat a non-stick 8 inch pan over medium heat and melt a small amount of butter in it (or use non-stick spray if you are not a butter fan). When hot, add about 1/4 cup batter and swirl to spread out batter a little. Let cook until the surface is dry, then loosen edges with a spatula and carefully flip to the other side, and cook 30 seconds more. Place on a plate. Repeat with remaining batter using more butter or spray if necessary and stack crepes on the plate. To assemble, place about 2 Tbsp of the chevre filling on each crepe in a line down the center, then roll up. Repeat with remaining crepes, and place 3 on a plate spooning the fruit compote over.

Eggs in Puttanesca

Occasionally I get a craving for something with Italian flare!  Which was the case last night...however, I did not want pasta, it seemed a bit too heavy.  I was tired from work and not wanting to make anything too complicated.  A puttanesca sauce sounded good...the type laced with capers, olives and mushrooms...and a splash of wine as well as some Italian herbs.  A sauce so good, you could eat it simply with some toasted bread for dipping...but of course, it would need a protein source as well!  Since I don't eat chicken or beef and didn't have any seafood on hand...eggs would be my protein!  I thought I would poach some eggs, and serve them in the sauce with a bit of pecorino and some toasted bread for a delicious meal.  It ended up being just what I needed after feeling a bit snarky from being busy at work all day...nothing like some comfort food to boost your mood!  Try this the next time you are craving something Italian, but a little different! 

Eggs in Puttanesca

Serves 2

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp red wine
1 Tbsp capers
6 kalamata olives, sliced
1 15 oz can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp fennel seed
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
water
6 cups water
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
4 large organic eggs

1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
4 baguette sliced, toasted


In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms, and saute a few minutes untl garlic is fragrant, then add wine, capers, olives, tomatoes, pepper flakes, herbs, fennel, and sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Let the mixture simmer on lower heat for about 20-25 minutes. Meanwhile, when sauce is nearly done cooking, to poach eggs, heat water to a simmer in a medium saucepan with the vinegar and salt. Crack an egg into a ramakin. Stir water with a spoon to swirl, and carefully pour egg into it. Let cook for 3-4 minutes or preferred doneness, and remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate, and cover with a bowl to keep warm. Repeat with other 3 eggs. When eggs are done, sprinkle a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper over each (if desired), spoon tomato sauce mixture into 2 bowls, dividing evenly. Top each with 2 eggs, then sprinkle with the romano and serve with the baguette slices!

Roasted Allium and White Bean Hummus

There are the people in this world that love garlic and onions who could care less if they reek of them...and there are the onion/garlic phobes who fear smelling of the alliums and pick them out of just about everything...I am the first!  I am always fitting garlic and onions into most savory dishes I make.  I love roasted garlic the most...all soft and mellow, but with wonderful garlic flavor!  Roasted garlic is wonderful just simply spread on bread, but I also love it pureed into dressings and sauces!  I recently made some hummus, and decided that it must have roasted garlic and onions included, since I had an overabundance of them on my counter, not to mention that they are delicious!  I used white beans as the base, and almond butter instead of the traditional tahini.  A bit of lemon and time found their way into the mix as well, to make the flavor more interesting. You could use any mix of alliums if you have them.  Although I feel that this recipe must contain the garlic, feel free to substitute shallots or spring onions for the onions, or even leeks.  They would all taste wonderful in this recipe! 

Roasted Allium and White Bean Hummus


Makes about 4 1/2 cups

1 head garlic
1 large red onion, sliced
1 bunch scallions, cut into 1 inch lengths
3 cups cooked navy beans (canned is fine)
juice of 3 lemons
1/2 cup almond butter (roasted unsalted)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 Tbsp sea salt
2 tsp thyme
freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wrap garlic in foil, and roast for about 45-55 minutes until very soft inside. Remove from oven and let cool. In the meantime, you can roast the onions at the same time. Line a baking sheet with foil. Toss onions and scallions with olive oil, spread out on baking sheet and roast for about 15-20 minutes, or until starting to brown and soften. Remove from oven. Squeeze garlic out of it's papery covering place in a food processor, along with onions and shallots as well as all remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Serve with chips or veggies for dipping!

Roasted Garlic Lemon Penne with Toasted Almond Breadcrumbs

I walked out of work today, and was immediately hit with cold rain...brrr!  I cranked up the heat in my car as I drove home.  It is 45 degrees today, in Minnesota, and rather dreary, which made me decide to make something warming and comforting for dinner, like a casserole.  I like to heat up the oven and the stove when it is cold in the house, and eat something warming! I had a head of garlic on my counter and some lemons, so I thought I would incorporate them into a pasta dish!  Mac and cheese sounded good, but not wanting to mess with a roux and melting cheeses I thought I would use neufchatel to make the dish creamy.  I roasted the garlic in the oven, which mellows it and gives it a wonderful flavor, and pureed it in the blender with the lemon, as well as the neufchatel and some pecorino romano for some saltiness.  I felt that the dish was needing some veg, so I threw in some spinach for color.  I could have left it as was, just simply creamy, but I wanted a contrast to the creamy, so I added an almond breadcrumb topping.  As the dish immerged from the oven, a wonderful aroma filled the air, and not even waiting for it to cool a minute I had to dive in!  The dish was warming, comforting and delicious!  Just what I needed on a cold rainy day like today!  Give it a try the next time the cold rain hits, or when you feel like some delicious pasta!

Roasted Garlic Lemon Penne with Toasted Almond Breadcrumbs


1 head garlic, unpeeled

sea salt
water
6 oz dried penne pasta
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

8 oz neufchatel or cream cheese
3/4 cup shredded pecorino romano
juice and zest of 2 lemons
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup sliced almonds broken up slightly
1/4 cup shredded pecorino romano
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wrap garlic in foil, and rost until very soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool until managable, then squeeze the cloves out of the papery part and set aside. Lower oven temp to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to salted water and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and drain pasta. Place pasta in a large bowl with spinach. Place garlic in food processor, along with neufchatel, lemon juice and zest, 3/4 cup pecorino romano and salt and pepper to taste and enough extra pasta water to make a creamy sauce. Pour the sauce over the pasta and spinach and toss to coat. Pour into a medium sized ovenproof casserole dish. In another bowl, mix together the panko, almonds,1/4 cup pecorino romano and olive oil. Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the pasta. Place in the oven and bake about 10-15 minutes, or until hot and breadcrumbs are lightly brown.

Mother's Day Salad

My Mom and I are both fans of strawberries and rhubarb, and since Mother's Day falls in the spring, when they are both plentiful, I thought it might be a good idea to incorporate them in my Mother's Day dinner menu.  I was not using strawberries or rhubarb in the dessert course, so I thought they might go well in a salad!  So strawberry rhubarb salad it would be!  Since rhubarb cannot be eaten raw, I roasted it along with some maple sugar until it was caramelized...to bring out its wonderful flavor.  The srawberries I left uncooked, but I decided to puree a few in the dressing along with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil to distribute their flavor throughout the salad.  I decided on spinach for my greens, since it looked the most beautiful when I was walking through the produce section at the store, and it pairs well with the berries.  Although I could have left the salad as was, simply veggies and fruits, I decided to go ahead and add some spiced almonds and chevre as well to make it more substantial and vary the textures and flavors a bit.  The salad ended up being a hit with my Mom who told me that this was one of the best salads I have ever made for her...which says a lot, since I am a salad girl and make them often!  It might end up being one of my favorites as well, and I am sure it will need to be made a few more times before the rhubarb is used up!  If you are a fan of the strawberry rhubarb combo, you must try it as well!

Strawberry Rhubarb Salad

Serves 4
3 cups thin stalks rhubarb, sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 Tbsp maple sugar
3/4 cup blanched almonds
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp maple sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 large strawberries
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced thinly
5 cups spinach
2 oz chevre, crumbled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with foil, and spray each with non-stick spray. In a bowl, toss rhubarb with sugar, and spread out on one baking sheet. In another bowl, toss almonds with maple syrup, maple sugar, sea salt, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, and chipotle until well coated. Spread out onto other baking sheet. Roast for about 10 minutes, until rhubarb is carmelized and browning, and nuts are toasted and fragrant. Remove from oven and let cool.
In a food processor, combine balsamic, oil, 4 strawberries, and sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Puree until smooth. In a large bowl, combine strawberries, spinach, and rhubarb, and toss with the dressing, being sure to coat evenly. Divide the salad between 4 serving plates, and top each with almonds and crumbled chevre.

Cherimoya Lemon Margaritas

So yesterday was Cinco De Mayo...and of course after one of THOSE days at work, and it being the holiday, I decided that I simply had to have a margarita when I got home.  Although I had all the ingredients for a classic margarita, I decided to think outside the box, and make a non-traditional one.  I had a few over ripe cherimoyas sitting on my counter...so the puree of the delicious fruits found its way into my post work stress relieving drink.  I also decided to veer away from the traditional lime juice and orange liqueur and use lemon juice and honey as well as some vanilla extract.  Now that I look back on it the only thing traditional about this drink was the tequila!  But what the heck...the end result was delicious, stress relieving and I can still call it a margarita because it contains tequila right?  It actually ended up reminding me of a pina colada sort of flavor with the cherimoya puree...but better!  You don't need a holiday to whip up a batch of these...so go ahead and make one...relieve some post work stress and enjoy a delicious drink!

Cherimoya Lemon Margaritas

1 cup cherimoya puree

juice of 2 lemons
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 oz tequila of your choice, I used 1800 Silver Tequila
a few ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a martini shaker, and give about 15-20 good shakes. Pour into margerita glass and enjoy!

Southwest Black Bean and Vegetable Wraps

So, I had an avocado, a jicama, and some black beans....hmmm, what to make?  A salad of course!  I suppose I could have made some salsa, but no, a salad sounded better!  I was in a southwestern sort of mood, so I made a chili spiced creamy dressing for my salad (using vegannaise, since I much prefer it to mayo) and threw in a carrot and some scallions as well!  But simply a salad was sort of boring to me...so I decided that it needed to be wrapped in a whole grain tortitlla to make it a more substantial meal, since I was very hungry!  If you are very hungry, or craving something southwestern, try these wraps! 

Southwest Black Bean and Vegetable Wraps

Serves 4
Dressing:
1/2 cup vegannaise
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 tsp honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
Salad:
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/2 cup jicama, cut julienne
1/2 cup carrots, cut julienne
1 avocado, diced
2 Tbsp toasted pepitoes
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
4 whole grain 10 inch tortillas
4 romaine lettuce leaves

In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. In a large bowl, combine beans, scallions, jicama, carrots, avocado, pepitoes, and cilantro and toss with dressing. To assemble wraps, place 1 lettuce leaf on the upper 1/3 of each tortilla, then top each with the salad, dividing evenly between the four. roll up tightly and secure with a toothpick if desired.