A Loaded Grilled Cheese

I'm not a big sandwich person, but when I crave one. . .all I want is a really good grilled cheese! This one was made on my favorite bread - Aldi's Everything Bagel Sourdough. I used 1 slice each of Swiss and American, 3 thin slices of deli roast beef, spread the inside with homemade pesto, added thin sliced tomato and onion.

I fried it fast in EVOO in a hot pan then took it off the heat after flipping, covered and let it finish doing it's melting thing.  The peppers and cucumbers were a nice fresh addition. . .Lin

Buckwheat Tabouli

Did you know that buckwheat is gluten free? I sure didn't, and wouldn't have guessed that of something called buckWHEAT! 

As I've stated before, Tabouli is one of my absolute favorite salads. I've been making it ever since first discovering it in Mollie Katzen's 'Moosewood Cookbook' back in the 1970's, but with lots of changes over the years.

Tabouli is a cold Lebanese salad usually made with bulgar wheat, but I love substituting other grains. Sorghum, Quinoa, Buckwheat, are all good gluten free options. Farro is another I've used, which is not gluten free. I'd like to try making it with rice, as well as an interesting combination of bulgar wheat and toasted vermicelli, popular in Palestine, that I discovered at an international market in the cities.

1c buckwheat

2c fresh cold water

Simmer this over low heat until all the liquid is absorbed. Gently stir in a couple tablespoons of a good single source EVOO to keep it from clumping.

Chop then put all the vegetables in a large glass bowl with the remaining ingredients.

5 tiny cucumbers

3 cloves of garlic

3 mini orange peppers

1 lg. Vidalia onion

1 lg. tomato

1/2 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley

1-2T Swad Coriander Chutney

~ (omit if you don't like cilantro)

Lowry's Garlic Salt and finely ground black pepper

1 can garbanzo beans - drained and rinsed

1 can black beans - drained and rinsed

1 can of corn - drained

Make a dressing with EVOO, lemon juice and a garlic vinaigrette. Pour over everything, add the cooled buckwheat and toss gently. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. . .Lin

Yet Another Red Bean-Quinoa Tabouli 😃

3/4c dry quinoa 

1c small dry red beans

Cook those according to directions then combine them in a big glass bowl with the following:

1/2 bunch - 1 bunch Italian flat leaf -or- curly parsley

1/2 - 1 med. rough peeled cucumber

2 grated carrots

3 big garlic cloves

4 green onions

2 ripe tomatoes

1/2 - 3/4c EVOO

1/4c white wine vinegar

zest and juice of 1 lemon

a little fresh snipped Genovese basil 

fresh ground black pepper

cayenne pepper

garlic salt

Chop, slice all of the above. Combine and let stand an hour or so to blend the flavors. Serve with chopped-sliced Kalamata olives, sliced avocado and crumbled feta cheese.

This is one of THE healthiest salads you can ever serve the people you love! Make it often! . .Lin

A Quick Cucumber-Tomato Salad

This is another...ongoing...modification of my wonderful Mother-In-Law's amazing Cucumber Tomato Salad, which was SO good, yet not very healthy.  It was WAY too sweet with a cup of sugar, and I think a cup of vegetable oil and also a big amount of white vinegar. . .I'm always on a quest to recreate, yet perfect, what the feel and love from this recipe impressed upon me. I've healthied-it-up a bit with the following modifications. . .

3T± of turbinado sugar

1-1/2c white vinegar

~ white Balsamic might also be good

1/2c cold fresh water

2T± whole cloves

2-3 bay leaves

3/4c single source EVOO

several tablespoons of dry dill

lots of fresh ground black pepper

1-2 cloves finely minced garlic

1 small sliced onion

1-2T dry tarragon

Boil all this for a few minutes, stirring to melt the sugar and hydrate the spices. Pour it over sliced mini English cucumbers and chopped, peeled ripe tomatoes. Toss and let stand for an hour or so before serving. Chill if you'd like it cold.

Any dressing left can be strained and refrigerated for Future Marinated Vegetable Adventures. .😉. .Lin

A Cucumber Salad UPDATE!

As much as I've always loved this salad, (scroll down) for me, it's just not one that keeps well.  It's more of a one-shot serve-it-now-and-be-done kinda thing.  Leftovers are usually a favorite of mine, but in regard to raw foods and salads, they aren't always very good, even just the next day.  I had quite a bit still in the 'fridge today.  Decided to jazz it up - with a little bean protein!  For this, garbanzos (chick peas) are my hands-down preference!

Rinse and drain, then put in a medium sized bowl bowl.  If you still have this dressing leftover, pour it over the beans.  Warm this just a touch in the microwave, toss it with the original salad, add some gorganzola crumbles just before serving.  Be Creative - Happy Cooking Everyone! . . .Lin

Gazpacho

13oz. crushed tomatoes
~ or 3-4 fresh ripe tomatoes ~

1T coriander (cilantro) chutney

3-4c chopped onion, carrot, celery

1 lg. clove of garlic

1c mild Ajvar sauce

2c diced cucumbers

2T balsamic vinegar

⅓c extra virgin olive oil

½-1t sugar

½t Rosemary Seasoning *

½t Little's Chili Lime Seasoning

I woke up at 4:30 this morning thinking ''Gazpacho!''  Gazpacho is a cold, flavorful raw vegetable soup, indigenous to Spain and Portugal.  The first time I ever tried it was in a tapas restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin.  One of the women I was with immediately pronounced it "bad" and pushed it away.  I thought it was spectacular!  I asked the Chef about ingredients, and he reluctantly filled me in and corrected my wrong guesses.  I was able to duplicate it almost perfectly, but somehow lost my notes.  This turned out different, but I really like it!  I'll need to shop soon, since my fresh vegetables have dwindled to almost nothing, but as a grocery list began to formulate, I realized I had everything I needed for what seemed like an interesting gazpacho recipe.  So here I am at 4:45am, typing it up!

As you chop the ingredients you can put them right into your food processor, then empty it into a big bowl, or assemble everything into that big bowl then blend the ingredients in small batches and transfer to another big bowl or pot to store in the refrigerator.  What you don't eat, or give away, would make a great vegetable soup base, or add some tomato sauce for a spicy interesting pasta sauce.  You could use it for that now, or freeze for another time.

Serve fresh, with a dab of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt and some croutons.

Mmmm!  Today. . .it's Gazpacho For Breakfast 😃. . .Lin

2018 Summer Gazpacho

The first time I ever had Gazpacho was in a Spanish restaurant, south of Madison, Wisconsin called La Paella, which has since closed.  We had ordered only wine and several different tapas, one of which being the Gazpacho.  The other gal I was dining with as well as our husbands, tried it, pushed it to center of the table and declared it to be "bad" gazpacho.  Well, naturally, I had to try it, and just loved it!  I finished every bit and practically licked the bowl!  Afterward, I asked to speak to the Chef who had made it.  He would not give me the recipe, but verified each ingredient I guessed, and finally set me straight on all those I hadn't mentioned, but wouldn't give me amounts.  I went home and was able to recreate the recipe almost perfectly!  Mmmmm-Gazpacho-Awesomeness!  Sadly, I either wrote it down and lost it, or never took the time to write it down.  A year later, toward the end of summer, I had ingredients, but no recipe.  I made something good, but not like my La Paella experience.  This continued to experiment and try my hand at this for several years.  Then. . . as fate would have it. . .I was in Madison, many years later, while working for our local police department, for a 3 day seminar.  After the final lecture, which ended way early, I decided to drive back to La Paella and get a big container of that great Gazpacho.  They sold me a HUGE plastic container of it. . .possibly a 1 gallon ice cream bucket, or even larger.  I couldn't WAIT to get home and have some.  Sadly, it was just awful.  WAY too much oil and salt and the flavor was way off.  I couldn't taste the carrot, and I've since determined the carrot is what really sets it apart from other Gazpachos.  Since then, I'm always on the path to create The Perfect Gazpacho!  It's an OCD Quest I'm afraid!  This is my 2018 Summer Harvest Version. . .

6 pickling cucumbers

2 med. garlic cloves

1 lg. purple shallot

½ lg. green pepper

⅓ stalk of celery

1 sm.-med. beet*

3 ripe tomatoes

2 big carrots

2t garlic salt

2t black pepper

½c Tuscan olive oil

3T white balsamic vinegar

tomato juice if needed to thin while blending

Ohh, so interesting!  This turned out well, but nothing like the La Paella version.  I like it, but it wouldn't be everyone's favorite, since the beet really dominated.

*The beet is optional, it's flavor is very aggressive, and without it, the color of the soup would be more green and orange.  I used my blender this time, and it's the consistency of baby food.  I didn't need any of the tomato juice.  If you use a food processor, it'll be chunkier.

Today I had it, as shown, with a squeeze of a sour cream sauce I made.  Sour cream with a little half and half to thin it, then seasoned with fresh ground black pepper, garlic salt, dill - then shake like crazy in a plastic squeeze bottle.  The kind used for catsup and mustard at hot dog stands.  Well. . .stay tuned and do a 'search' here for Gazpacho in a couple weeks, I have another idea for a simpler one, if I can find the right cucumbers! . . . Lin

Simple Cucumber-Shallot Salad

4-6 lg. pickling cucumbers

1 lg. purple shallot

salt and pepper

½c± mild salad oil

½c± Heinz Salad Vinegar

1-2T natural raw sugar

If the cucumbers are really fresh, don't peel.  Scrub, dry and slice into a medium bowl along with the sliced shallot.  Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  In another small bowl, combine oil, vinegar and sugar.  I used a blend of sunflower and liquid coconut oil.  Microwave for half a minute and whisk to dissolve the sugar.  Pour over the cucumbers and shallot.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, stirring and moving them around frequently during that time.

This adds a nice, fresh touch to a lunch or dinner.  You could also add really thin cross-sections of carrot for added texture, flavor and color. . .Lin  

Millie's Tomato-Cucumber Salad

~ 1c white vinegar

~ 1c white sugar

~ 1/4c light vegetable oil

~ salt and pepper

1 Vidalia onion

2 med. red tomatoes

5 pickling cucumbers

3 Genovese basil leaves

My mother-in-law, Millie, used to make this regularly and I loved it!  I often make a variation, but almost never exactly follow her dressing recipe since it's so high in sugar.

Once in a while however. . .Such as a Family Dinner for my Daughter's Birthday. . .I'll make an exception.  😊

Combine the dressing ingredients ~ in a pint mason jar and shake well.  Partially peel the cucumbers, thin-slice the onion, tomatoes and cucumbers into a bowl, add basil, sliced very thin, (optional).  Pour dressing over the salad, toss several times during the first hour and refrigerate until time to serve. 😋

Another Lettuce Mix for 5-Ingredient Salad

I talk about and publish variations of this all the time. :o) When we find or create a good thing, we need to keep it in the forefront of our minds.

1 Romaine lettuce

1 mini green Frisee lettuce

1 mini red Boston (butter) lettuce

Slice Frisee, Boston and Romaine lengthwise-twice into quartered heads, leaving attached at the stem end. Turn and slice crosswise into the strainer basket of a salad spinner. Rinse and spin several times.

2 mini English cucumbers

1/3 of a large head of red cabbage

2 sm.-med. Vidalia onions

Scrub cucumbers and take a little of the stem-end peel if you want. Slice into cross sections and add to the spun-dry lettuce mix. Slice-cube the cabbage, half and slice the onions. Toss into the lettuce mix. Cover and store in refrigerator. Keeps for 2-5 days.

This salad travels well. Wherever you are, when it's Salad Time, put a big handful of lettuce mix in a bowl, slice tomatoes and avocados on top. Toss, dress and serve. . .Lin