A Salad for Everyone

Wow, this is an ambitious article from Mark Bittman:

The Minimalist - Recipes for 101 Simple Salads for the Season - NYTimes.com

Look it over and just try not to be tempted to make at least one of them!

I love salads in the summer for a few different reasons - they let you avoid cooking, they are nice and cool (I live in the desert, so this is important), and they are a great way to get in some fruits and vegetables. But, it is so easy to get in a salad rut. In the summer, we have so many fresh ingredients available to us to yummy up a salad. One of my favorites is to add summer fruit to a fresh salad, like nectarines or plums.

As I've probably said before on this blog, one of the best ways to eat better is to concentrate on trying to eat more fruits and vegetables. Remember, beans can count as a veggie! I think I'll try Mr. Bittman's suggestion for summer cherries, since I still have a good bunch in my frig:

" Pit and halve cherries (or halve and pit cherries), then cook gently with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar until they break down. Toss with chopped radicchio, endive, escarole or a combination, some toasted hazelnuts and more oil and vinegar, if necessary." Yummy! Which one will you try?

My favorite magazine....

I don't think you can find a single Dietitian out there who does not gush over Cooking Light magazine. I am one of them, and here goes -

Cooking Light magazine really manages to capture the happy side of being healthy; after a few issues, you really start to get the feel for a balanced way of living, without any of those pesky "should's" and "shouldn'ts". It is never preachy, and doesn't fall for the latest fad diet - it simply celebrates good food and good living.

They also have a great website with a search engine for recipes (free!). I love the reader's comments and rating, too - they help when trying to choose a recipe. (the search engine switches over to Myrecipes.com, but it will tell you where each recipe originally came from, including the issue it came from).

I'm going to try this five-star rated recipe for Classic Potato Salad this week (my husband and I both grabbed bags of potatoes on our individual shopping trips, so we're up to our eyeballs in taters). What will you make next?

Go Arizona Cardinals!

I'm going to be on Arizona Midday today making a couple of healthy dips you can take to your Super B...oops, I mean Big Game parties - here they are!

Arizona Cardinal’s Red Pepper Hummus

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (4 ounce) jar roasted red peppers
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 ½ Tbs tahini
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp salt

Puree all ingredients in an electric blender or food processor until smooth and fluffy. Serve immediately, or store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Pittsburgh Steeler’s Black Bean and Mango Salsa

1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups mango, diced
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
¼ cup lime juice
1 Tbs olive oil
Hot sauce to taste

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Toss and serve.

Lentils that a 3-year old will eat

Have I mentioned that my 3-year old is one of the pickiest eaters I have met? I actually suspect that he may be a supertaster, but I'll write about that later. I do want to share an easy, yummy, and healthy recipe that he has actually eaten more than once. I got it out of one of my favorite cookbooks, which I bought on a whim while at a car wash:

Hamburger and Lentil soup

Throw all of this into a crockpot and cook it all day - yum!

1 pound lean hamburger, chopped onions, diced carrots, 2 cups (or one package) lentils, 1 quart tomato juice, 2 to 3 cups water, minced garlic, 1/2 tsp marjoram, 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Pumpkin muffins

I had a can of pumpkin leftover from Thanksgiving, because I meant to make the pumpkin pie, but traveling to the grocery store at 7pm the night before Thanksgiving means you may not be able to find any pie crusts.... so, Marie Callendar made the pie for me, and I needed to find another use for canned pumpkin.

Anyway, here's the recipe, and it's a hit with the short people in my house! I used half whole wheat flour, and I didn't have any molasses, so I used blue agave syrup; I used a little less butter and sugar than the recipe calls for, and, per the request of the resident 6-year old, I added some chocolate chips. Yummy!