Monthly Archives: May 2009

gazpacho

Gazpacho Recipe

by lunch, produce, recipes, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

Gazpacho is a cool, delicious summer soup.  Originally from the Andalusia region of Spain, it's a chilled version of summer salad in soup form. I've even seen it referred to as liquid salad. That term always struck me as a bit silly. It's either a soup or it's a salad. Except, as it turns out, if it's gazpacho. Then it's sort of both.

The original version calls for bread cubes, preferably a little stale, however I don't think they're necessary. There are also versions that include chopped ham but, again, I don't think you really need that. I love gazpacho with just the vegetables. It's so easy to make, very refreshing, and a great way to get a heaping serving of veggies into your day.

This version came about when my daughter and I were trying to figure out what to make for lunch one hot Texas summer day. Rummaging through the fridge we realized that we had all of the ingredients on hand to make gazpacho.  With the temperatures rising into the 90's this cool, flavorful soup was a great idea. 

The texture of gazpacho is rather a personal preference. My daughter prefers it extra chunky, I prefer a smaller dice.  You can also lightly blend all of the ingredients together to make a smoother style soup.  Additionally, traditional recipes call for you to remove some of the vegetables and puree them to make it the soup-y bit. We chose to use the shortcut method and simply added some tomato juice. Any way you make it it's delicious.

gazpacho

Gazpacho

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • 1 small vidalia onion
  • 1 sweet bell pepper
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 1 zucchini or yellow squash
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 1/4 C. red wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Diced avocado
  • chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • Dice all vegetables through zucchini
  • Add garlic, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper
  • Cover with:
    tomato juice (we didn't measure - just poured until it covered the veggies)
    place in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours
  • To serve:
    Ladle into a bowl
    Drizzle with olive oil
    Garnish with diced avocado and chopped cilantro
    Enjoy!

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Quinoa Stuffed Eight-ball Squash

Quinoa-Stuffed Eight-Ball Squash: A Farm Share Recipe

by gluten free, grains, recipes, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

Our farm share included some neat vegetables I hadn't seen before like eight-ball squash.  They are a type of round zucchini. Fun to cook with and delicious.

 
 As I've mentioned in a previous post zucchini are great and have a lot of health benefits.  They are also a versatile vegetable and can be served a number of different ways.  The eight-balls seem ideal for stuffing because who would want to cut them up and cook them, destroying that cute shape?  Having some leftover quinoa from when I last made quinoa taboule (I always double quinoa when I cook it because we eat so much of it) I decided to create a quinoa stuffing to fill these little beauties.   This turned out to be so delicious that we can't wait to get more of these squash to make it again.

If you don't have eightball squash you can substitute acorn squash. The recipe will still be delicious.

Quinoa Stuffed Eight-ball Squash

Quinoa Stuffed Eight-ball Squash

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Ingredients
  

  • 4 eight-ball squash, washed
  • 2 C. cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 C. roasted tomatoes in oil, diced
  • 2 scallions, diced
  • 1 clove garlic diced
  • 2 T. chopped basil
  • 1 t. salt
  • 2 T. olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 F
  • Cut tops off of squash and set aside
  • Scoop out inside of squash being sure to leave a layer of flesh to maintain the shape
  • Place hollowed out squash into oven proof dish
  • Roughly chop squash 
  • Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan
  • Add squash to pan and saute until starting to soften
  • Add tomatoes, scallions, garlic, and basil and saute 2 minutes
  • Add quinoa and toss to mix well
  • Add salt and toss again
  • Turn off heat, fill squash with mixture
  • Place tops back on squash and place in oven
  • Bake 20 minutes

 
frittata omelette delicious eggs

Fabulous Frittata

by eggs, recipes, vegetarian

I recently had lunch with a friend and we enjoyed a wonderful frittata as part of our meal.  Frittatas are such a great dish to serve; they are easy to make, delicious and take very little time to put together.  We had a spinach, red onion, red pepper, oregano, and parmesan frittata.  Frittatas come together so quickly and are so versatile that you can't miss when you make one.  

Eggs are not only delicious, but they are also a great food to have in your diet.  A protein powerhouse, two eggs contain 12 grams of protein. They also provide iron, calcium, and vitamin A.  One of the best things about eggs is that they're so versatile. Eggs can be served a wide variety of ways; you can serve them poached, hard cooked, soft boiled, fried, over easy, scrambled, as an omelette, the list goes on.
 
This Simple Summer Frittata is one of my quick and easy favorites. It comes together very quickly for a fuss-free, easy meal. And leftovers, if there are any, are just as delicious as the first time you serve them. Add this to your repertoire for quick summer cooking and you'll always have a go-to lunch or dinner that's sure to please.
 
Simple Summer Frittata
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Ingredients
  1. 6 eggs
  2. 1/4 cup cottage cheese
  3. 1 cup leafy greens, washed and cut into ribbons
  4. 1 cup diced red onion
  5. 1 red bell pepper, large dice
  6. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  7. 4-5 mushrooms, sliced
  8. 1/2 tsp fresh oregano
  9. 3-4 fresh basil leaves, torn
  10. 2 tbsp fresh grated parmesan
  11. salta nd pepper to taste
  12. 2-3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
  1. preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
  2. lightly oil an oven proof pan
  3. saute red onion, bell pepper mushrooms and garlic
  4. set veggies aside
  5. wilt the leafy greens and set aside
  6. whisk together the eggs and cottage cheese
  7. re-oil the pan, turn to medium heat and pour in the eggs
  8. as soon as the bottom of the frittata starts to set turn the heat down to med-low
  9. sprinkle the cooked ingredients on the setting egg mixture
  10. top wit herbs, salt, and pepper
  11. when the bottom appears to be fully set sprinkle frittata with parmesan
  12. remove pan from stove top and place in over
  13. bake approximately 10 minutes until frittata is slightly puffy
  14. remove from over, cut and serve
The Ingredient Guru, Mira Dessy https://theingredientguru.com/