Why didn't I think of that sooner?

The other night, we grilled kabobs, and I had the brilliant idea to use some leftover tabbouli to dress the grilled veggies as they came off the grill.

This was a stroke of genius -- SO good!

Summer Salad Season

I don't know about you, but this warmer weather has me itching to make healthy dinner-sized salads. But here's the thing. I generally look at recipe books and use them as inspiration for what I really wind up making. It isn't too often that I actually follow the instructions. So here's some general guidance on making one of my favorite summer salads (which serves two).

Heat oven to 400˚F

Into a plastic zipper bag, combine the following:
Half a loaf of ciabatta bread sliced into small pieces for croutons
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1T dried Italian spices
2 heaping teaspoons of finely diced garlic
About 2-3T olive oil

Shake and spread onto a cookie sheet, bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the following:
1 drained can of white canellini beans
1-2 avocados (depending on size and your preference)
1 bell pepper, yellow or orange
1/2 a large cucumber
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 heaping teaspoon of petite capers, drained (I use 2 because my daughter loves them)
1 heaping teaspoon of finely diced garlic

To this, add 2T chopped basil. I had an "AHA!" moment chopping my basil this week. Why not chop fresh spices using a pizza cutter? It worked like a charm.

And to top it all off, mix with the world's easiest tomato vinaigrette:
1/2 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Add in those homemade croutons (I'll never use store bought again) and mix all the ingredients together.

Enjoy!!

Holy Guacamole!

As promised, here's my basic recipe for guacamole, perfect for any cookout!

You'll need the following ingredients:

4 large ripe avocados

2 roma tomatoes

1 medium onion

1 medium lemon or 3 small limes

jalepeños (optional)

seasoned salt, to taste

Unsure how to pick a really perfect avocado? When you select one, give it a gentle squeeze. It should have just a little bit of give, similar to how a stick of butter feels after it's been at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Too soft, and you'll have brown spots inside, and the avocado will taste slightly sour. Too hard, and the avocado will be nearly impossible to mash.

Also, to easily remove the pit, cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Twist the two hemispheres apart from each other. Holding the side of the avocado with the pit firmly in your left hand, and with your right hand, use a medium heavy chopping knife to chop into the pit, purposefully getting the knife stuck. Hold the avocado still in that left hand and turn the knife from 3 o'clock to 12 o'clock. It should loosen up easily. Then take the knife with the pit to the garbage can and strike the handle to the side of the trash can so that the pit un-sticks itself and falls into the trash. 

But make sure you retain one pit to put into your finished guacamole, to help it keep its color!

After you've pitted all the avocados, scoop out the flesh and put it into a bowl. Dice the tomatoes and onion. If you want to add a little heat, also finely dice some jalepeños (fresh or canned work fine, depending on your taste).

Squeeze the juice of one lemon (or 3 limes) on top.

To get more juice out of your citrus, put it into the microwave for 15 seconds and then roll it on the countertop. You'll get nearly twice the juice out that way!

Sprinkle seasoned salt to taste.

Use a potato masher (the zig-zag shaped kind) to blend all the ingredients, but make sure you leave it a little lumpy! Add that pit you set aside back into the bowl to help the guacamole keep its bright green color.

If you're traveling and planning to take this with you, take a piece of plastic wrap and press it into the surface of the guacamole, pressing out as many bubbles as you can. When you arrive at your destination, remove the plastic wrap and give the guacamole a quick stir.

Enjoy!!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone is having a relaxing and fun Memorial Day, and taking a little time to consider what today is all about. I'm very thankful to know people and live in a country with people who are willing to put themselves in harm's way to ensure that the average citizen doesn't have to.

 I hope everyone is enjoying good weather and getting outside and grilling this weekend--I know we are!! To me, Memorial Day food always includes the basics, like Hamburgers and hotdogs, but it also includes a few of my favorite barbecue foods, like Kebabs and guacamole.

I kept these Kebabs pretty simple by marinating pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes in a tangy soy sauce (it's an Indonesian soy sauce called Ketjap Manis) for about 30 minutes. I also soaked the skewers in water as the meat marinated. Then I threaded whatever veggies I had on hand onto the skewers along with a few pieces of meat and drizzled the whole thing with a little olive oil.


I sparked up the grill, and once the heat hit about 350 degrees, I put them on the grill and didn't touch them again until the temperature of the grill registered between 350 and 400 degrees. I kept working this way, turning and waiting for the temperature to come back up, until the kebabs were nice and caramelized. They didn't need salt or pepper, and we ate them as they were still a little warm. YUM!

The guacamole recipe will come a little later. Until then, have a great weekend!