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8/31/15

Summer Gazpacho With Muir Glen Tomatoes


According to the Russian rules, today is the last day of Summer. September 1st is the start of Autumn. If only the weather reflected this!

One of my favorite types of summer dinners is grilled corn with a salad, a sandwich or a soup. Of course when I say "grilled," I actually mean charred: I don't have a grill (or outdoor space), so I char the corn directly on the flame of my stove.

Last week I realized that I haven't made gazpacho a single time this summer. Same goes for ice cream. One of those things was easier to fix than the other ;)

Unfortunately, I was all out of tomatoes. HORROR! Fortunately, I almost always have canned tomatoes at home, and decided to use those.

The brand of tomatoes I buy is Muir Glen. This is not a sponsored post or anything like that: I just like their product!

Summer Gazpacho With Muir Glen Tomatoes
Serves 1-2 ;)

Ingredients
1 can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted tomatoes
1 cucumber, skin removed, cut into a few pieces {save some of the cucumber and dice it for the garnish}
1/4 small white onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
chili oil
dill

Directions
1. Put the fire roasted tomatoes, cucumber, onion and olive oil into a blender. Puree till smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Pour gazpacho into a bowl (or bowls) and garnish with diced cucumber, a drizzle of chili oil and fresh dill.


8/27/15

Salmon Cakes With Summer Corn, Peppers & Spicy Mayonnaise



Are you looking for a quick dinner, an appetizer or a snack? Well, you are in luck! My Salmon Cakes With Summer Corn, Peppers & Spicy Mayonnaise perfectly fit the bill.

Although I usually have a few cans of tuna in my refrigerator for a fast dinner of tuna salad, occasionally I pick up a can of salmon at the store. I only choose the boneless skinless variety. Canned salmon can be added to pasta, salads or turned into cakes. Salmon cakes.

The recipe below is for 8 little cakes but you can also turn it into 2-4 patties. Make sure to use fresh corn while it's still sweet and tender. In the winter time, feel free to use defrosted corn.

Salmon Cakes With Summer Corn, Peppers & Spicy Mayonnaise
8 mini cakes

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for cooking the cakes
1/4 cup corn kernels
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced pepper
salt & pepper to taste
5 ounce can skinless boneless pink salmon, drained
1 egg
5 basil leaves chopped
3 tablespoons bread crumbs

spicy mayonnaise = mayonnaise + sriracha ;)


Directions
1. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add corn, onion and pepper and season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables get a bit golden.
2. While the vegetables are cooling, mix together the salmon, egg, basil and bread crumbs. Incorporate the cooled vegetables and form the mixture into 8 mini cakes.
3. Refrigerate the cakes for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the cakes from the refrigerator and sauté in a bit of olive oil in a heated skillet for 3 minutes on each side.
5. Serve with a drizzle of spicy mayonnaise.



These cakes were great on top of a simple arugula salad and also served as a super snack cold straight out of the refrigerator the next day!

Have you cooked with canned salmon? What did you make?

8/24/15

Asian Cucumber And Hearts Of Palm Salad Perfect For A Hot Summer Day


It feels like I've been MIA for a long time. In fact, it's only been two weeks. Of course I did a bit of cooking while visiting my family in Seattle and have fed myself since coming back to DC a week ago. I just did not really feel like taking proper photographs of what I've been cooking. I knew I had to change this ;)

Last week I saw an instagram photo of a cucumber salad on Washington Green Grocer's account and was inspired to make my own version.

This salad is incredibly easy to make and requires no precise measurements, but I'll let you know my suggestions just in case. I added one of my favorite ingredients, hearts of palm, but you can experiment with peppers, red onions, or a combination of both. This salad would be great for a picnic or as a topping on grilled fish or even in tacos!

Asian Cucumber And Hearts Of Palm Salad Perfect For A Hot Summer Day
Ingredients
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup thinly sliced hearts of palm
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
sriracha to taste
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds



Directions
1. Place cucumber slices in a bowl and cover with rice vinegar. Refrigerate for an hour.
2. Drain the cucumbers and combine with toasted sesame seed oil, a pinch or two of sugar, sliced hearts of palm and cilantro.
3. Garnish each salad bowl with sriracha and black sesame seeds.



I bet this salad would be great with dill or basil. Of course it's completely fine to eat the salad with a fork, but I dare you to try it out with chopsticks!


8/7/15

See You Later!


It's Friday! I'm flying to Seattle to visit my family and friends. I wish you a wonderful weekend and a week to come. Make sure to follow me on instagram for all of my travel adventures. See you soon!


8/5/15

Boozy Mango Smoothie: Cheer Up! It's Summer!


It's Wednesday! We are that much closer to the weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, this past Sunday I took a very ripe mango and turned it into a Boozy Mango Smoothie. Four ingredients. No exact proportions. One awesome drink.

Boozy Mango Smoothie for 1
1 mango, cubed (obviously remove the skin and the seed)
1-2 cups crushed ice (use crushed ice to make it easier on your blender)
splash or 2 or 3 of bourbon
drizzle or 2 or 3 of ginger syrup

Add all the ingredients to a blender. Blend away.

How pretty is this drink?

 
There were no leftovers ;)
 

8/3/15

Purple Pepper Confetti Salad: Eat The Rainbow!


How is it already Monday!?!? Why aren't weekends longer?

Over the weekend I overindulged a bit and compensated by making a vegan (not on purpose!) Purple Pepper Confetti Salad. This salad is perfect for today's Meatless Monday and can be served as a side or piled on top of tacos or eaten as salsa.

The salad started with gorgeous purple peppers. I wasn't sure whether they'd keep their color if I cooked them and decided to keep them raw. The rest of the vegetables were the ones that I had in my refrigerator. The key is to make sure that all the produce is about the same size: that's what makes it confetti in my mind ;)



Purple Pepper Confetti Salad: Eat The Rainbow!
Serves 1-2

Ingredients
1 corn, charred, kernels removed
1 purple pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
10 green beans, blanched, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
dressing: equal parts olive oil, lemon juice, stone ground mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a bowl combine the first five ingredients.
2. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing and season with salt and pepper. I used the mustard container because there was only a bit of mustard left: perfect for one portion of the salad.
3. Add the dressing to the salad. Mix well.


Doesn't this look pretty?

How's your Monday?