get your yummy back

musings from a health supportive culinary artist

Pluots+Toasted Pistachios+Feta=New Summer Salad! July 27, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 7:48 pm
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Pluots are a hybrid of plums and apricots resulting in a variety of colors and flavors. Some pluots are deep red, others black, and some a mottled green. Their flesh ranges in color from magenta to pale yellow. No matter how you slice them – they’re delicious!

Savory Pluot Salad is a refreshing way to use them in a dish suitable for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The combination of fruit with toasted nuts, feta cheese, onions, and tomatoes is surprising and delightful. For best results, choose fruit on the firm side, suitable for chopping.

Of course, pluots are a delicious snack on their own. And once you’ve entered the land of pluots, you are bound to encounter apriums, peacotums, plumcots, and many other fun varieties to try. These fruits also make a nice and healthy addition to Stone Fruit Salad. Enjoy!

 

Warm Corn Salad July 22, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 10:09 pm
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Sweet summer corn. It’s back! This makes me very happy. I saw a recipe in Food and Wine for Warm Corn Chowder Salad with Bacon and Cider Vinegar. A few tweaks to ingredients and process made it my own Warm Corn Salad – and a new addition to my summer salad repertoire!

Using fresh corn is preferred, but if you don’t have access to it, or if it’s off-season, you can substitute frozen corn kernels. I regularly use Canadian bacon as a lean alternative to bacon-bacon and am happy to report that it works here. I also like the simple dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and crushed red pepper. This salad is reminiscent of Edamame Succotash. Best served warm or at room temperature, it’s a great addition to your next barbecue. Enjoy!

 

 

Pesto! Pistou! July 13, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 9:23 am
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Traditionally made with fresh basil, garlic, nuts, cheese, and olive oil, pesto is an amazing thing. Once you’ve got a basic recipe to work with, the world is your…um…pesto palace! Different combinations of herbs and nuts produce delicious results. Try parsley and pepitas, arugula and pecans, a combination of mint and cilantro with pine nuts, or a combination of fresh dill and green onions with pistachio nuts. Oh my. If you want to skip the nuts altogether, you will end up with a pistou, a French variant traditionally added to soups, but delightful in many ways.

Use pesto top grilled pizza or salmon, as a dipping sauce for grilled vegetables, or as a flavor bomb in turkey meatballs. It is also delicious as a dip when pureed with low-fat cottage cheese, served as a topping on crostini with roasted red pepper, tossed as a dressing for new potato salad, or stirred into a vinaigrette.

You can freeze pesto in an ice-cube container, pop the frozen pesto cubes into a freezer bag, and keep your stash for several weeks. Simply thaw it when you need it. How yummy is that?

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to hit the farmer’s market this weekend and try something new with pesto! Would love it if you reported back…

 

Super-Quick and Fantastic Tomato Sauce July 7, 2011

Filed under: how to make it — chezdesblog @ 11:33 pm
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How can I resist a recipe that claims to be ”super-quick” and ”fantastic”? Having tried it, I would add to those claims ”healthy” and “a great way to use all those tomatoes in the garden.” This recipe for Pim’s Super-Quick and Fantastic Tomato Sauce tastes like summer on spaghetti. Simple ingredients such as olive oil, salt, garlic, basil, chili flakes, and balsamic vinegar make the tomatoes sing. It would also be delicious as a topper for Grilled Rosemary-crusted Pizza

In other news, getyouryummyback is celebrating its second anniversary! For two years now, I have been sending weekly recipes and cooking tips to over 100 subscribers who continue to be a source of inspiration for healthy cooking, joyous eating, and other creative culinary pursuits. I am very thankful for this community!

 

 
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