Lemony Zucchini, Chickpea, and Lima Bean Salad

We made this delicious salad as a side on Father's Day. I recently discovered that I do like lima beans and so I have been anxious to try them in more recipes.

On a side note- I also discovered that I can grill a steak. We went shopping at Publix the day before Father's Day and the woman was grilling steak in the front of the store. She made it look so easy that I bought my husband a steak and grilled it to perfection. This goes to prove that there really is a first for everything!

Anyway, back to the recipe at hand. This salad is delicious. It combines some great ingredients, like raw zucchini and chickpeas and it very easy to mix together. It was a big hit and almost a show stopper.
If you have zucchini that you need to use, try this!

Here is the recipe for Lemony Zucchini, Chickpea, and Lima Bean Salad

* I used more romaine lettuce than the recipe called for because I had an entire head of it that needed to be used

Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup

Asparagus is a family favorite around here. We love it roasted, blanched, steamed, stir-fried- really, we love it anyway it is prepared.
I saw this soup and thought it would be an interesting way to find out if we like asparagus pureed.

The verdict- we do!

This soup is quick and easy to make and it is very filling. Cannellini beans and a little bit of plain greek yogurt are the secrets to getting that thick and creamy texture without the added fat.

I don't particularly like bacon or cooking it, but I have come to appreciate the crispness and flavor it can add to a dish in small amounts. As the garnish here with the asparagus tips, it is wonderful.

This soup just screams Spring to me. It's beautiful color and light flavor really hit the spot.

Here is the recipe for Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup
* I added the juice of 1 lemon to the soup, since I added some lemon zest
* I didn't add the cayenne to the soup, I sprinkled it on top of the adult portions
* I added a garnish of lemon zest on top

Asparagus Salad

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
We always celebrate this day with as many green foods as possible. Last year we made the best Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream ever, these Mint Chocolate Cupcakes are always popular, and every year that I can remember we have had some form of green eggs and ham (last year it was a biscuit sandwich).

This year I am trying to stay away from the green food coloring as much as I can, (although I will use it to make our eggs green this morning), and we are going to enjoy green foods that are really green because they grow that way.

This is the perfect one to start off the green food celebration. This is a simple way to serve asparagus. It is briefly cooked, along with broccolini, for about 2-3 minutes, so it is crisp tender.
Then it is tossed with a lemon juice-olive oil-shallot dressing, and topped with pepitas, thinly sliced radishes and lemon zest. If you can think of anything more delicious or perfect, please feel free to suggest it, because this was pretty amazing. It's interesting how something so quick and easy can truly be so flavorful and delightful to eat.

Here is the recipe for Asparagus Salad from 101 Cookbooks
* I omitted the parmesan cheese
* I used pepitas instead of pine nuts
* I went ahead and cooked the broccolini stems

Quinoa and Parsley Salad

I enjoy eating salad, but I find that I need lots of variety with my salads so that I don't get bored.
This salad was just about perfect in every way. Quinoa is the star of the show, or in this case, the star of the salad. Celery adds a nice crunch, as do the pepitas. The dried apricots add just the perfect amount of chewiness and sweet. I actually omitted the honey from the dressing because of the dried apricots. If there is one thing I can't handle in a salad, it is too much sweetness. I prefer the savory-ness to win out. There is lots of parsley, which adds so much freshness and flavor. Green onions add a little bit of spice/heat.
The dressing is nice and simple, just the way I like it- olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.

I actually served this over romaine and it was a great combination. The next day I fried an egg in a tiny amount of olive oil and had it with the leftovers. Delicious.

I also shared this recipe with my mom a couple of weeks ago when she called to ask me for some meal ideas and she report back that they loved it too!
Recipe for Quinoa and Parsley Salad

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup unsalted pumpkinseed kernels, toasted

Preparation

1. 1. Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Spoon into a bowl; fluff with a fork. Add parsley, celery, onions, and apricots.
2. 2. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt, and black pepper. Add to quinoa mixture, and toss well. Top with seeds.

* I omitted the honey from the dressing
* I used red quinoa

Fennel and Pepper Salad

Okay, so we are on Day 2 of Snow, Ice and Cold Weather Cancels everything. Not that I am complaining. I would rather have my kids and husband home with me than have them off at work or school. How are we celebrating? Well, we stayed up late watching the NCAA football championship game, slept in this morning and now we are eating frozen yogurt sundaes for breakfast, in our pajamas, while watching cartoons. Good times!

This recipe from Rachael Ray's Look and Cook Cookbook is not something that you could whip up after being cooped up in your house for a few days, unless you always keep radicchio and fennel on hand. Maybe you do keep this things in your fridge at all times. I had to make a trip to the store, and quite a few grocery stores at that, to get my hands on some fennel.

I actually made this dish for a family dinner that we had before Christmas. It couldn't be easier to mix together, once you have all the ingredients on hand. The fennel, radicchio and bell peppers make a nice crunchy, flavorful combination. If you haven't had radicchio before, it can be a little bitter and spicy, but I think it has a really great flavor, especially when combined with these other ingredients. This recipe can be found in multiple places on the internet as well.

Recipe for Fennel and Pepper Salad
* I used a little less olive oil than called for to dress this salad

Greek Night- 2 dips, soup, salad, appetizer, main dish, drink and dessert

A couple of weeks ago my son studied Ancient Greece at school. He had multiple options for his final project and we decided to have a "Greek Cafe" as part of the experience.

When I was a kid, I used to love to do restaurants to surprise my dad when he would come home from work, so I knew this would be really fun for all of us.
The kids dressed up and placed all the appropriate signs annoucing our cafe. The cutest part was how they thought that someone driving down our street might just be hungry and stop in to join us.
My son made the signs and came up with the name for our cafe. I asked for his input on the menu and spent the afternoon getting all the dishes ready for our Greek Night.

We started with a drink called "The Greek Lantern". I have absolutely no idea if it is really a Greek drink, but it sounded really interesting, combining a large amount of fresh parsley leaves, lime juice, lime zest, club soda, water and ice. It actually was quite refreshing and surprisingly yummy.
Next we had a Roasted Red Pepper with Feta dip and Lemony-Garlic Hummus with homemade pita chips. Both of these were really good, although the red pepper one was deemed "spicy" by my youngest child.

Then we had mini spanakopita, which were really delicious and not as time consuming as I thought they would be.
The soup was everybody's favorite. I have had it at Greek restaurants before and it was very simple to recreate at home. It is called Avgolemono Soup- which just means Egg, Lemon and Rice soup. You have to temper eggs to make it, but boy was it delicious. My kids loved it.
I made a light version of Baklava that I found from Cooking Light. It was also much easier than I thought it was going to be to make. It turned out good, but was quite sweet, so could only be enjoyed in small portions. I actually had some leftover baklava mixed into this lemon ice cream a few days later and that was an amazing dessert.

What Greek menu would be complete without some sort of Greek salad? I actually made 2 versions of this salad since we have two people in our house who don't like tomatoes. The second version I made with chopped red pepper to replace the tomato. These leftovers were delicious on a green salad and also in a pita sandwich.
We had Chicken Souvlaki skewers, which my son loved. The Tzatziki sauce that went along with this was my youngest child's favorite thing. She was eating it plain and dipping all sorts of veggies in it.

Here's a closer look at the Baklava. We had lots of fun on Greek Night!

The Greek Lantern

Ingredients

• 1 cup (packed) Parsley Sprigs
• ½ tsp Lime Zest, grated
• 1 cup Cold Water
• ½ cup Fresh Lime Juice
• ½ cup Sugar
• 1 (10 ounce) bottle Club Soda

Instructions

• Blend all the ingredients, except club soda, in a blender, for about one minute.
• Take a large glass measure and strain the preparation through a fine-mesh sieve.
• Put ice into tall glasses and pour the prepared drink.
• Top with club soda and serve

Lemony-Garlic Hummus

Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

2 16 oz cans of chickpeas (Bush’s is my canned bean of choice!)
1/2 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
juice and zest from 3 lemons
3 TB tahini
4 cloves garlic, crushed
big pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
5 TB olive oil

Combine first 6 ingredients into bowl of food processor. Blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Slowly stream in olive oil until combined and smooth. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Serve with fresh cut veggies, crackers, chips, pita chips or crostini for a nice appetizer platter.

Note: this recipe makes a large batch. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to a week.

Recipe for Roasted Red Pepper with Feta Dip


Recipe for Greek Salad
* I drastically reduced the amount of olive oil and feta cheese that this recipe called for. I just drizzled the mixture with a little olive oil and then used more lemon juice. I only added a couple of oz of feta cheese.


Recipe for Mini-Spanakopitas
* the egg white/olive oil mixture they said to brush the phyllo dough with, didn't work for me.
I used cooking spray instead.

Recipe for Avgolemono Soupo (Egg, Lemon, and Rice Soup)

Recipe for Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce
* I used greek yogurt

Recipe for Baklava with Wildflower Honey
* I used orange blossom honey

Lemon Ice Cream with Lemon Curd Swirl and Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies

It seems like I always have either leftover egg whites or egg yolks that I need to do something with. The whites usually go in the freezer until I accumulate lots of them because then I can make angel food cake.
I use the yolks within a few days and ice cream or pastry cream seem to be the easiest way to use them up.
I had some leftover lemon curd that I had made for some mini cupcakes and since I really don't like to waste things like that, I was hoping I could incorporate it into whatever ice cream I decided to make. I also had tons of lemons, so lemon ice cream won out.
This recipe makes a deliciously tart and bright lemon ice cream. The lemon juice, zest and sugar are combined first and chilled. Then the egg yolks are tempered with the hot milk. After both of those components are thoroughly chilled, they are combined with the cream. The technique makes for a very smooth finished product. I swirled my leftover lemon curd into the ice cream base, after it was done churning.
I thought this ice cream would be great for an ice cream sandwich so I searched until I found a chewy cookie that I thought would make a good base. I found this recipe on My Baking Addiction and Jamie said herself that she liked the lime version of this cookie better than the lemon, but I was willing to take my chances.
These cookies were perfect for the ice cream.

My son could hardly wait for the pictures to be taken because he really wanted to eat this ice cream sandwich.
He begged me to take some photos of him "posing" with the dessert, so I did.

He was not disappointed by this dessert in the least!

Ultimate Lemon Ice Cream from Tartlette
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar or 2/3 cup agave nectar
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream

In a non-reactive bowl, mix the lemon zest, juice and sugar (or agave nectar). Refrigerate one to two hours to blend flavors.

In a large bowl, slightly beat the egg yolks to break them up. Heat milk to barely boiling in a large heavy saucepan.
Whisk 1/4 of the milk into the egg yolks to temper them and then whisk in the rest of the milk. Return the combined mixture to the saucepan and gently heat (do not boil) until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Combine milk mixture with heavy cream and lemon mixture. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies as seen on My Baking Addiction

adapted from Rock Recipes

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lemon, finely minced
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy.
4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
5. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Makes approximately 24-30 cookies depending on size

Soba Salad with Feta and Peas

I came across this recipe somehow, when I was looking at one of my favorite blogs, The Way the Cookie Crumbles. I kept it in the back of my mind for a night that would require a fast dinner.
We enjoyed this when my sister was here visiting with her kids. I threw it together after a long day of swimming and playing and all the kids were really happy about eating it.

I didn't get a great picture, but once again, with that many hungry mouths to feed it makes doing so very difficult.

I don't use frozen peas very often, but they went really well with the soba noodles in this dish. The soba noodles are dressed with a simple lemon juice & olive oil mixture, that also contains a dash of soy sauce. It makes for a great combination.

The best thing about this recipe was how quickly it came together and at the same time, it was very flavorful and delicious.
Recipe for Soba Salad with Feta and Peas
* I used less olive oil than the recipe called for

Fig Giveaway! and Fresh Fig Ice Cream

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Cristina, who asked me if I was interested in receiving a shipment of figs from the California Fig Advisory Board.
I thought it was very interesting that she contacted me just 1 day after my father-in-law left some fresh figs from his backyard at my house and the same day that I had used some of them in this delicious Oatmeal Breakfast Bread. That was my first experience baking with fresh figs.

I jumped at the chance to receive more figs and was excited when they arrived in the mail last week.
I had spotted a recipe for Fresh Fig Ice Cream in David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop and that was the first thing on my list to make with my figs.
It couldn't have been easier to make either. I just cut up some figs, put them in a saucepan with a little water, let them get tender, added a little sugar, then let the mixture become soft and jam-like. Then you let the fig mixture cool a little bit, put it in the food processor with a little cream and lemon juice, puree and the only thing left to do is let it cool and churn it in your ice cream maker.
Because figs have such a beautiful color and flavor, this ice cream is unbelievably delicious. I think it is my new favorite.

We have been eating them fresh, adding them to salads, pairing them with a little cheese and enjoying them quite a bit. I even received some dried figs, which I can't wait to use.
I have been given the chance to giveaway a case of fresh figs!
If you are interested just leave a comment on this post, making sure to leave a way for me to contact you. This giveaway will close on Saturday, August 28th at 12 am, midnight.

Here are some interesting "Fig Facts".

Did you know?

· There are five varieties of California figs; each with distinct flavor profiles.

· The fig tree is the symbol of abundance, fertility, and sweetness.

· Figs provide more fiber than any other common fruit or vegetable.

· Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself.

· Figs contain natural humectants – properties that extend freshness and moistness in baked products.

· Figs are fat-, sodium- and cholesterol-free.

· California fig growers produce 100 percent of the nation’s dried figs and 98 percent of the country’s fresh figs.

To learn more about California fresh and dried figs, visit www.calfreshfigs.com or www.californiafigs.com.

Fresh Fig Ice Cream
From David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

2 lbs fresh figs (about 20)
1/2 cup of water
1 lemon, preferably unsprayed
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of freshly squeezed, lemon juice, or more to taste (I added the juice of 1/2 lemon)

Remove the hard stem ends from the figs, then cut each fig into 8 pieces. Put the figs in a medium, nonreactive suacepan with the water, and zest the lemon directly into the saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-1o minutes until the figs are tender.

Remove the lid, add the sugar and continue to cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Blend together with cream and lemon juice, chill in the fridge and then put in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

Roasted Eggplant Salad

My sister was here visiting this past week and we were able to share some dinners together.
We both love eggplant, so I saved these recipes that I had spotted a couple of weeks earlier, for her visit.

Preparing dinner for starving children doesn't provide the best opportunity for taking photos, so excuse the bad picture of this one. Don't let it stop you from trying this recipe.

This particular night, we had this delicious eggplant salad over quinoa and steamed broccoli and cauliflower on the side.
We had 6 hungry kids between the 2 of us and everyone enjoyed this yummy salad.

Eggplant is one of my favorite things to roast in the oven. It takes on whatever flavor you want it too and it becomes brown, crunchy on the edges and melt-in-your-mouth smooth, all at the same time.

There were three salad variations that went along with the basic roasted eggplant and this time we went with the chickpea & feta version. I threw in some halved cherry tomatoes because tomatoes go well with the other ingredients and then I snipped some fresh herbs from outside my front door and added them to the mix.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Recipe for Basic Roasted Eggplant
* I used less oil

Recipe for Eggplant Salad with Chickpeas and Feta
* I used less oil and less feta than the recipe called for
* I added halved cherry tomatoes
* I added equal amounts of Italian parsley, mint and basil

Summer Veggie Salsa

First of all the winner of the TERRA Chip giveaway- comment #21- Gabrielle, who says they eat TERRA Chips with hummus. yummy!

Here are the results-

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 29
Result: 21
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Now on to today's recipe. I saw this recipe for Summer Veggie Salsa on Playing House
and all the veggies just looked so delicious. I added some chopped jicama and green bell pepper just because I was cutting them up anyway and I love the crunch that jicama gives to things.
I made a great big bowl of this salsa and it was really great with baked tortilla chips.

I also topped salad greens with this salsa and loved it that way. This was so fresh and delicious.
I am going to make it again while it is still nice and hot outside.


Recipe for Summer Veggie Salsa
* I added some jicama and green bell pepper
* I used cherry tomatoes

Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake

This is a horrible picture of a wonderfully delicious cake that got rave reviews.
My mother-in-law asked me to make a couple of treats for her work party that could be made ahead of time. I was thinking summer flavors and this blueberry lemon combination won over all the other ideas.
I made it the night before, glazed it, and then she kept it covered until the next night.
Bundt cakes usually do well when they sit overnight, so I took my chances and it worked with this cake.

I only had 1/2 cup of sour cream in my fridge, so I used 1/2 cup of low-fat buttermilk to make the full cup of dairy for this cake.
I also used a glaze of fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar that was shown when this cake was made in the video included with the recipe.
I also used more lemon zest than it called for because sometimes I get carried away with my zesting.

I wish I would have gotten a better picture of this cake since it was such a hit.
Everyone requested the recipe- I wish I could have tried a slice!


Recipe for Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake
* I used 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk for 1/2 cup of the sour cream



Don't forget to enter the giveaway I posted yesterday!

Roasted Shrimp with Lemon, Garlic, & Parsley

This is another dish that we had for our Father's Day dinner that I made because I knew my kids and husband would love it. I used the same basic recipe for roasting the shrimp that I used a few months ago. I just added some different flavors this time around.

My friend that was visiting with us doesn't like shrimp, but she was intrigued by the fact that I roasted the shrimp, so she decided to try one. She loved it! She said it was the best shrimp and that roasting it completely changes the texture and makes it firm and delicious.

We also made this when we went to DC for our visit and it was loved by my sister and her family as well.

Roasted Shrimp with Lemon, Garlic and Parsley- technique from Ina Garten

1-2 pds shrimp with tails, peeled and deveined (thawed if frozen)
1-2 Tbls olive oil
juice of 1/2-1 lemon (or more)
1-2 garlic clove, minced
salt
pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the shrimp on a sheet pan. Drizzle them with olive oil and lemon juice. Add the minced garlic, chopped parsley, and season with salt & pepper. Toss together with your fingers and arrange the shrimp in a single layer.

Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through.

Serve immediately, with lemon wedges.

Fresh Bean Salad

I found the most gorgeous green, yellow, and purple beans at the Farmer's Market.

I wanted to really showcase the fresh flavor and keep them as crisp as possible, so I found this recipe that just quickly blanches the beans and then dresses them with a very simple dressing made of shallots, fresh lemon juice, dijon mustard, and olive oil.

The key to making this dish so delicious is making sure that you do not overcook the beans. Here are more detailed instructions about how to properly blanch green beans.
If done properly, the beans will be nice and crisp and delicious.

I was a little bit sad that my beautiful purple beans lost most of their color due to the 3 minutes in boiling water. The taste was wonderful though.

This is the my favorite recipe for fresh green beans.

Recipe for Fresh Bean Salad