easy gazpacho

It’s finally hot in Chicago after a year of San Francisco like weather. As luck would have it, my favorite meal of all time tastes best in hot weather! In my brain, nothing is better than BLT served with a big savory bowl of gazpacho. I’ve been eating my mom’s gazpacho since before I can remember. I’ve never followed a recipe, so I decided to write one down. The best thing about this recipe is that it is extra-easy so you have more time for riding bikes, going to the beach, and finding secret ice cream hang outs.

I find using canned tomatoes to be the best/easiest this time of year, but once good tomatoes are able to be purchased at the market, go for it!

Ingredients:
2 cans Italian plum tomatoes (if using fresh, concasse those suckers and use about 2 lbs)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 TBS high quality olive oil
3 TBS hot sauce
1/4 cup vinegar (depending on what kind you have, I used a hot spicy but have used Balsamic before and it’s also good)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small Spanish onion
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1 large bell pepper, seeded and diced
ANY OTHER FRESH VEGGIES you like, I added diced radishes this time
1 small Spanish onion
Salt, TT
Freshly Ground Pepper, TT
1 avocado, sliced (for garnish)

Recipe:
1. Blend the tomatoes so they are pureed.
2. Add all the liquid ingredients, blend.
3. Add the chopped garlic and onion, blend.
4. Add all the other vegetables, don’t blend, you want it to be chunky!
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Put in storage container and let sit in fridge, at least 4 hours (the flavors marry better this way)
7. Put in bowls and garnish with sliced avocado.
8. This will keep for about two-three days and will taste AWESOME for lunch tomorrow.

Apologize for the bad photo, getting the camera situation worked out. GO OUTSIDE!

hello!

The housewarming happened: 2×2 gallon containers of beverages (white sangria & watermelon margaritas) made it fun.

One of the best parts about having a new house is coming home and eating meals with my main man at our dining table.

Our first real meal (with chairs) was buckwheat pancakes topped with maple butter & homemade apricot preserves. The meal wouldn’t have been possible without our pals- maple butter from Danielle’s Montreal Trip, apricots for the jam from Annie’s back yard, and Cava for mimosas from Brendan & Rosie.

I went to the farmer’s market and bought this stuff

I made a healthy dinner of patty pan squash & quinoa fritatta with crimson carrot, fennel, & italian onion salad.

Dessert, sour cherry juleps

followed by a few rounds of card games.

And the view from our front room

Greek Veggie Burgers

Hi Friends. Sorry I’ve been MIA. As previously mentioned, I’m starting to post again. So, drumroll… Here we go.

This morning, my friend Jodie gave me part of her bumper crop of tarragon (along with rosemary and some chives)… Thanks Jodie, Have fun in CA!

I was particularly excited to receive such a wonderful surprise, since I had already decided to make veggie burgers for lunch, and needed some fresh herbs. The restaurant where I am a server has a fantastic house-made veggie burger. I’m a dedicated carnivore, and sometimes I still crave it. The basis of the burger is quinoa, which I’ve talked about on this blog before. I’m always looking for new ways to do old things, so when I had some left over quinoa yesterday, I knew what I’d be making today. Also, I’ve recently become obsessed with all things that fall into the category of Greek/Middle Eastern Food. Now, I know that’s a HUGE category, and I’m not strictly following recipes, but the things I’ve been making lately are definitely influenced by a Grecian sensibility- olive oil, feta, red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers; what’s not to like? As the weather gets warmer, refreshing food becomes a top priority and the Greeks seem to have figured it out pretty well.

Ingredients
1 & 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (I used red, but brown will work too)
1 can garbanzo beans
3/4 cup cracked buckwheat (you can use Bulgar wheat too, I’m just trying to stay gluten free)
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh oregano to taste ( I used 1/4 cup)
Fresh tarragon to taste ( I used 1/4 cup)

Supplies
Food processor (an immersion or regular blender would work too)
Sheet tray
Parchment Paper (BEST STUFF EVER!!!)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut parchment paper to size and place on top of sheet tray.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is combined. It should be thick but pliable and definitely not dripping wet.

3. Once the mixture is to your desired texture, stop pulsing it and remove it from the bowl.
4. Form into patties place on parchmented (? is that a word) sheet tray and cook for 25 minutes, opening oven to flip the burgers half-way through the cooking time.

5. Remove patties from the oven and serve on a bun if you like. I served mine on a bed of spinach with chopped cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. Iced green tea with lemon and ginger as well as Greek yogurt w/ honey helped to round out the meal.

*This will make much more than one serving. It freezes very well, just make sure you form it into individual patties before you freeze it.

**Also, it’s good to be back.

***Also, ginger, lemon, green tea is good.

back

The good news is, I received a new camera for Christmas. The bad news is, I haven’t posted in almost 2 months! I’m back, with a camera, so prepare to eat. So far, the winter has proven to be extra chilly and pretty productive. I’ve been working a lot, the end goal being a trip to visit my brother in Mérida, Mexico, playing a lot of board games, getting financial stuff worked out for culinary school in the fall (it’s really happening!), and the thrill of thrills- growing out my hair.

Thus far, the best recipes of this winter have been tomato jam and various soups. After a scary encounter with a scale at a Superbowl Party (uh, probably not the best time to step on a scale), I’ve decided that I need to eat more vegetables and less bacon. I won’t call it a “diet”, but I also won’t call it “eating whatever I want to eat.” Working at a restaurant with one of the best burgers in the city hasn’t helped with the bacon intake, and the kitchen has put me on a bacon embargo… We’ll see how that works out when I work a double next Saturday.

Eating more healthfully, but not less deliciously, involves a little more thought than sticking butter and starch in the oven. Today I’ve made Quinoa and Roasted Cauliflower Salad (I didn’t turn into a hippie, I promise). Quinoa is quite the superfood, according to my extensive Wikipedia research. Regardless of its nutritional properties and rich history, quinoa is pretty damn tasty. It has a nutty taste, kind of like brown rice, but better, and less chewy. At said Superbowl Crisis Party my friend was talking about how you shouldn’t cook with garlic and onions at the same time. I don’t know if I agree 100%, but today I tried just using garlic, and I was pleased with the results. The garlic paired especially well with the nuttiness of the quinoa and the sweetness of the roasted cauliflower.

Also, a slice or 4 of crispy fried proscuitto on the top would take this recipe to the next level on my tongue and hips, but you know, the bacon embargo makes that kind of impossible.

Ingredients
1 cup dried quinoa, prepared as directed (it’s nice in the salad warm; this will also leave you with three cooked cups)
1 head cauliflower
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup small tomatoes, chopped in half
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt, divided into two 1/2 teaspoons (I use Kosher)
As much freshly ground black pepper as you like
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

Recipe
1. Preheat your oven to 350. Clean and chop your cauliflower so there are no greens. Place in roasting pan. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oiland one 1/2 teaspoon salt on the cauliflower and mix up with your hands. Cover in pepper. Roast at 350 for abut 45 minutes.

2. Wait a few minutes, check your email or twitter or facebook or read a book. Relax! Now, stop relaxing and start your quinoa. Using a 1/2 quart sized saucepan, put one cup of dried quinoa in the saucepan with two cups of water. **You should rinse the quinoa before you cook it. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is at a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer until all the water is absorbed.

3. While all this is happening, you should saute the remaining veggies in the olive oil. Add the garlic after a few minutes; when it is aromatic, add the balsamic vinegar. It should be sizzling. Reduce the heat so that nothing gets burnt.

4. Remove your cauliflower from the oven. You’ll only need half of it for a LARGE single serving. Put the cauliflower in the bowl you feel like eating out of. Remove your veggies from the heat and add them to the bowl too. Put your spinach on top of that, and then top it off with a healthy serving of cooked quinoa and not as much Parmesan as you would like.

5. Add salt and pepper,stir up, and eat! The heat from the roasted cauliflower and the cooked vegetables will wilt the spinach and melt the cheese. You do not need any extra dressing for this recipe because the vegetables are cooked in what is essentially a dressing. It’s a pretty healthy lunch and if you follow these directions you’ll have enough for a cold salad tomorrow!

variation

so in case you were wondering, i haven’t had a cigarette in a whole month. the month that includes halloween and the last gasp of summer. i started doing bikram yoga and got a new phat helmut, after i got doored.

anyways, we had some ingredients left over and g came up with the idea of mexican caprese salad. genius!

the ingredients are
tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, ripe avocado, olive oil, salt, limes, and cilantro.

it is really great! i haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all day. we used these uglyripe tomatoes. which were really good. i don’t know too much about them, but i remember hearing something about how they were not allowed to cross statelines or something last year. enlightenment is appreciated, if you know anything i’d like to too!

Hump Day

Yesterday evening a successful experiment took place. I made what I have named Italian Macaroni. I didn’t feel like grocery shopping, so I just took what was around the house and whipped something up, domesticity can be fun…

Ingredients:

1 cup Pacific Foods Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
2 1/2 cups of Shredded Mozarella Cheese
1 cup Parmesan Romano cheese mix
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup skim milk
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons dry basil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups Italian Corn Fusilli Pasta

Cooking Directions

1. Have ingredients ready to go. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Prepare Corn Fusilli Pasta as directed on Package. Drain and Rinse. Let sit.

3. Chop garlic.

4. In a saucepan over low heat, heat olive oil. When hissing, add garlic.

5. Let the garlic saute a bit, then add 1/4 cup skim milk and butter.

6. When hot, add 1/2 cup of Parmesan Romano Mix.

7. When this cheese melts, add 1/2 cup Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato soup.

8. Once heated, add 1 1/4 cup of shredded mozarella cheese.

9. Let this boil and melt together, so it is creamy.

10. Add the remaining roasted red pepper and tomato soup, parmesan romano mix, and mozarella in that order, waiting until each ingredient is blended to add the next ingredient.

11. Taste it to see if it’s good.

12. Add the mustard and basil. Salt and pepper according to taste (sometimes it’s good to let your other eaters salt their own dishes)

13. Let simmer for 15 minutes, not burning it. Make sure it is creamy!

14. While the cheese sauce is simmering, seperate the fusilli into three different individual size bread loaf pans, so each pan is 3/4 full.

15. Pour the cheese sauce over each pan of fusilli. It should be covered, but not swimming.

16. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

17. Take out of oven, and flip each serving onto a plate. Let it cool a little bit. Dig in!

It also freezes quite nicely.

This is an awesome recipe because it’s easy, and surprising. When you look at this macaroni, it looks like regular cheddar cheese macaroni because of its orange color. However, when you eat it, it’s this awesome blend of roasted red pepper, tomato, garlic, basil, and parmesean.

I’m at work right now, more later.