Red, White, and Blue Dinner

Love this simple dish to celebrate the 4th (how many red, white, and blue meals can there be?), AND I didn't have to turn on the heat producers in my kitchen, AND my husband thanked me for not only a great meal, but also minimal kitchen clean-up. Set yourself up for a yummy holiday with this one!


Ingredients
Couple of peaches, skin removed or a healthy chunk of watermelon, seeds removed
A vine ripe, luscious tomato, diced
A sprinkling of blueberries
A bunch of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped (this is the key ingredient--don't skimp)
1 can of chunk, white tuna, drained
Olive oil and rice vinegar to taste
Sea salt to taste
Salad greens (optional)


Directions

1. Combine everything in a bowl (NOTE: I cut peaches over the bowl to be sure to catch all the sweet juice).
2. Toss to coat. 
3. Taste.
4. Adjust seasoning.
5. Enjoy (cue patriotic music and fireworks)!

Tomato, Cucumber, Kohlrabi salad with Cilantro Pesto

The Easter Bunny was good to us this year bringing several little pots of herbs. One in particular has done extremely well--cilantro. So glad this one decided to be the herb of choice, because it's one of my favorites. I decided to use a chunk of our harvest to make pesto to serve as the dressing for the veggies multiplying in my fridge. It turned out so yummy I had to distract my four year old with a homemade popsicle to keep him from eating all the pesto on crackers (our preferred taste-test method). Hope it's a winner at your house, too!

Ingredients
1-2 garlic cloves
2 cups cilantro, washed*
1/2-1 cup parsley leaves*
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4-1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
sea salt to taste
Veggies that need eating--couple of tomatoes, cucumber, summer squash, kohlrabi, etc.
a little feta cheese ('cause feta makes everything betta!)
*I decided not to get anxious about the stems of the cilantro or parsley, because it was quite a lot of leaves to pull. Didn't seem to make a difference in the final product, so pull the leaves away from the main stem, but do it several leaves at a time to keep it simple. Also, small hands can help here!

Directions

1. Add garlic to bowl of food processor or blender and chop.
2. Add cilantro and parsley to garlic, chop, then add pumpkin seeds and chop.
3. With the blade running, add olive oil and sea salt.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings.
5. Combine chopped up veggies and feta and toss with pesto to coat well.
6. Enjoy!

Simple Summer Snack

This is easy to make and keep on hand for a high protein, high calcium snack.

Ingredients
1-2 cloves garlic
Handful (maybe 1/4 cup?) of fresh, flat leaf parsley
juice of one lime (or lemon)
1 15oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In the bowl of a food processor combine first 3 ingredients and process. Scrape down sides.
2. Add beans, salt, and pepper and process. With the blade running, add olive oil.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. Enjoy with fresh from the garden veggies (cucumber, squash, carrots, kohlrabi, etc.)

Quick Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers are one of those summer crops that can quickly overtake your fridge, which helps me understand why someone came up with the pickling option. Today, I found a simple way to enjoy cucumbers as a side dish (i.e. use up several at once!), leave the oven in the "OFF" position, and give thanks for cucumber's ability to keep me cool.

Ingredients
2-3 small to medium size cucumbers, washed and quarter chopped* (remove skin if you'd like)
1/2 small red onion, chopped
Fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Rice wine vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

*I removed skin from some, cut in half, placed flat side down, and cut in half again. Then chopped into smaller pieces.

Directions

1. Combine cucumbers, onion, and parsley leaves.
2. Drizzle vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Cool off and enjoy!