Grilled Nectarine Summer Salad

When summer comes around, there is a lot of talk about grilling. I love it. There's nothing like a fresh meal that has been cooked outside in the open air. BUT...grills are for boys. BIG tools, BIG fire, and BIG slabs of meat. So, my feminine touch on grilling ironically involves a very masculine man...George Foreman. The George Foreman grill is perfect for small bites. Easy clean up. And you can use it year-round. This recipe, of course, can also be done outside--a great option if you're already heating up that fire-breathing bad boy.

INGREDIENTS:

(for the dressing--adapted from organicauthority.com):

1 nectarine, peeled and pitted

3 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (slightly less if you have a mild palette)

(for the salad):

6-10 oz. fresh greens (spinach, spring mix, or butter lettuce would all work well)

1-2 oz. fresh goat cheese (or fresh feta cheese)

2 firm, but ripe, nectarines, pitted

1-2 Tablespoons pine nuts (can also substitute almonds or pistachios)

DIRECTIONS:

Make the dressing. Blend all dressing ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Pour into a serving dish, cover, and let chill in refrigerator.

Prepare the salad ingredients. Slice each nectarine into 8 pieces. On a well-oiled grill (or George Foreman ;) ), place the nectarine slices. Let cook for about 2 minutes and flip, using tongs. Cook about one more minute. Set aside on a plate and let cool. 

Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add pine nuts. Let sit for a minute and stir around. Once toasted, remove pine nuts from heat and let cool.

Once pine nuts and nectarines are cool, mix all ingredients together and let the summer sizzling begin!

SERVING SUGGESTION:

For a more filling alternative, serve with sliced grilled chicken or blackened chicken on top.

Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese

Sometimes Almost always, simple is better. The other day, I read something on CuisineNie about simple and whole foods that rings so true. I think this is one of the best bits of advice for anyone who wants to cook good food.

"It’s amazing how little one can do to screw up good foods in their whole form. For example it’s nice to behold each spoonful or forkful as it makes its way to my palate and be able to say, 'this is a beet because it looks just like it did when Jane plucked it out of the garden'."

With that, I give you a dish that is delicious because of the way these ingredients come out of the earth (or goat?). Read on.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint cherry tomatoes 

2-3 oz. goat cheese

Olive oil to taste (very little)

Balsamic vinegar to taste (very little)

DIRECTIONS:

Slice cherry tomatoes in half with a serrated knife. Place in a bowl and crumble goat cheese over the top. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and an even tinier bit of balsamic vinegar. Mix gently and enjoy.

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Lay 4-6 slices of sourdough bread on a baking sheet. Lightly butter the slices and sprinkle with garlic and parmesan cheese. Toast in a 350 degree until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Serve tomato and goat cheese mixture as a spread on the toast. Mmmmm.....

Mango, Black Bean, and Goat Cheese Enchiladas

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Mexican food and the Spanish language are two loves of mine. I'll never forget the moment that speaking Spanish finally felt natural for me. After seven years of studying the language, at the ripe age of 20, I found myself sitting on a folding chair in front of the Seville Cathedral in Sevilla, Spain, waiting for a performance about the life of Christopher Columbus to begin. Behind me sat a man from Puerto Rico who muttered a simple, "¡Hola!". We proceeded to speak for about 40 minutes and not once did I need to pause to think of a word or resort to 'Spanglish'. It was one of the greatest feelings and one I hope to repeat in a couple more languages (Arabic and French, please). Thanks to the deep Mexican heritage in Southern California, I am still able to be surrounded by Spanish speakers on a daily basis. I'm very grateful for that.

About the food, this California-ized Mexican dish is just delightful. The combination of sweet, juicy mangoes with rich, creamy goat cheese makes my mouth water.  

 I'm not gonna lie, this recipe took a little more effort than I anticipated, but that was because I actually made the sauce from scratch, instead of just buying green enchilada sauce. While the homemade sauce was delicious, I've revised this recipe to include an either/or option. 

*adapted from quickbeanrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can black beans

1 cup diced mango

4 stalks scallions, thinly sliced

1 8 oz. can corn

4-6 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

8-10 small corn tortillas or 4-5 larger flour tortillas - I used whole wheat flour tortillas

mozzarella cheese (optional)

salt to taste

cilantro for garnish

(for the sauce):

8-10 tomatillos, husked, seeded and minced

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small onion, minced

OR

1 can green enchilada sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

For the sauce (if making), cook tomatillos in chicken broth with garlic and onions over medium heat for about ten minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer tomatillo mixture to a food processor or blender and blitz to get a smooth, creamy texture. Add salt as desired.

For enchilada filling, cook black beans, mango, scallions, and corn until heated through. Take out from heat and stir in goat cheese.

Over medium heat and using cooking spray, warm tortillas on both sides until lightly browned.

Spread half of the green sauce evenly at the bottom of a cooking dish. One by one, fill each tortilla with filling and roll into an enchilada shape, then place in cooking dish seam side down. Pour remaining green sauce over the enchiladas. Top with any remaining mango/goat cheese filling. If desired, top with mozzarella cheese as well. 

Cook in the oven for 10 minutes until tortillas are nicely charred and cheese is melted. Top with cilantro for garnish. 

Serve with rice and beans, put on your sombrero, and sing "Ayayayay!"

Spanikopita!

Like, Couscous, this is another really fun word to say... SPANIKOPITA! Thank you Greece, for your delicious food, fun words, healthy diets, and amazing gathering traditions ("OPA!"). In San Pedro, CA, there once existed a beautiful, delicious Greek restaurant called Papadakis Taverna. Sadly, sadly, after 37 years of wonderful dining experiences, this family-owned restaurant closed in January of this year. One of my memories of eating at Papadakis as a young child includes chomping on a delicious Phyllo dough appetizer called spanikopita.

*Adapted from Closet Cooking

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds spinach (steamed, squeezed, drained, and chopped) or 1 package of frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled (I prefer the block cheese to the pre-crumbled cheese -- pre-crumbled feta is very dried out)

1/2 to 1 cup goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup dill, chopped (I didn't have this so I substituted with about 2 Tablespoons Oregano and Italian Seasoning)

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

2 eggs, lightly beaten

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

phyllo dough

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onion and garlic with 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until onions are browned.

Mix browned onions and garlic with the spinach, feta, goat cheese, dill, parsley, eggs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.

Brush the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish or pie plate with olive oil. Place a sheet of phyllo dough in the pan and brush with olive oil. (You may have to cut the phyllo dough to fit the pan... I used a pizza cutter for that.) Repeat until you have 6-10 layers.

Spoon the spinach mixture on top of the phyllo dough. Pat down gently to make level.

Place another sheet of phyllo dough and brush with olive oil. Repeat until you have another 6-10 layers. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown on top, about 30-40 minutes.

Let cool and cut into diagonals.

"Opa!!!"