Grilled Vegetable Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold, tomato-based soup that was popularized in the Andalusian area of Spain. It is now synonymous with Spanish cuisine. I love gazpacho and we gobble tons of it up in the summer months. I decided to try my hand at a grilled veggie version and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Grilling the vegetables adds a certain sweetness (from the caramelization) to the soup. It has a more delicate bouquet.

1 medium onion sliced -- not too thinly!

1 red pepper, sliced

1 orange pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

4 tomatoes, *blanched, peeled and quartered

1 English cucumber (or 2 regular cucumbers) peeled and cut into chunks

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves of garlic, minced

sea salt, to taste

crushed red pepper, a couple shakes!

* Place onions on grill (this also works well on a good nonstick fry pan with a little non-stick cooking spray) and cook until lightly browned. When sufficiently browned set aside in a bowl.

* Repeat above with all the peppers.

* Meanwhile, make a small X in the bottom of each tomato and place in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, remove and peel skin. (You will see the skin start to pull away where you have made your X. This process of quickly steeping the tomatoes in boiling water is called blanching.) Cut the tomatoes in to large cubes or quarters, and place in food processor

* Place cucumber, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt and red pepper in food processor.

* As grilled veggies start to cool down place in food processor. Once all the ingredients have been placed in the food processor start to blend until you reach your desired consistency.

Chill for at least an hour before serving. Water will separate and this is totally normal. Just carefully stir the soup. Garnish with sour cream and a cilantro leave or fresh croutons. This is a great soup to have if you are minding your mid section!

(Forgive me for not posting a photo of the soup but I had accidentally deleted the two I took with the camera and unfortunately did this the day after we made the soup and there was nary a drop left to be found anywhere!)

Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad

I kind of made this up as I went and you can do the same too! I needed something that was healthy, filling, quick to eat and easy to make. Don's been upstairs painting Rebecca's room all day long and I know he is going to come down any minute as hungry as can be. Somehow tossing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his direction and saying "here's dinner!" doesn't seem fair. (I'll do that tomorrow night!) I am eating a bowl right now and am quite pleased with the results. This would be a great dish to eat hot, warm or cold -- would be a great side dish to bring to a pot luck or have this summer while the burgers are sizzling on the grill!

1 box of any shape pasta (I used gremeli)
1 red pepper, seeded, halved
1 yellow pepper, seeded, halved
1 green pepper, seeded, halved
1 orange pepper, seeded, halved
3 fat slices of onion
1 cup of fresh basil, trimmed
4 cloves of garlic
1 container small mozzarella balls, marinated in olive oil and basil if possible, quartered
crushed red pepper to taste
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste

Cook pasta per directions on box

On a stove top griddle or grill place veggies face side down and cook until you see dark, visible grill marks. Turn over using tongs and repeat on the other side. As the vegetables cook you will see the grill marks and cook as long as you like til you achieve desired consistency. (I cooked the veggies until they were supple to the touch.)

While the pasta and vegetables are cooking julienne the basil and crush or mince the garlic. Place together in a bowl with a little bit of the sea salt. Add some of the oil from the marinated mozzerella balls. Mix well to incorporate all the flavors. Let sit. Quarter the mozzarella balls.

When the pasta is ready, drain and pour in to a large bowl. When the vegetables are all done cut them into small pieces, adding them into the pasta. When all the vegetables have been added add the cheese mix well and add some more sea salt to taste, followed by the pepper and crushed red pepper -- all to taste. To this add the basil and garlic mixture, mix well and serve immediately if desired.

Note: I had no squash, but next time I will grill two squashes, slice them and toss them in as well!

Edamame as a side

In their pods they look like giant peas, when shelled they look like lima beans. But they are so much better both in consistency and in flavor. Edamame are soy beans and used very frequently in Asian cuisine. We discovered them not too long ago and love them. You can find them fresh or frozen, and both in their pods and loose in a bag.

Yesterday I decided to saute some up with a scant amount of olive oil (a couple of teaspoons) some freshly ground sea salt and a very generous amount of garlic powder. Fresh garlic can be used but I love the flavor and consistency of the garlic and salt as it forms a shell of sorts on the edamame.

I poured my oil in to a non stick pan and heated it up. When the pan was hot I added the shelled edamames*, salt and garlic powder. I seasoned to taste. I let the edamame cook in the hot pan for about 5 minutes until they were nice and brown (not too dark!) on the outside. Serve immediately. (A nice Jasmine or Arborio rice would be a nice accompaniment along with a meat, poultry or fish.)


*Prior to being sauteed I had parboiled the edamame in boiling water.

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

A different twist to an ordinary veggie. Cut cauliflower into small pieces, trimming the ends slightly and toss in a bowl with olive oil, about 3 or 4 tbs, 3 or 4 thinly sliced garlic cloves, and salt and pepper. Mix well then place on a baking sheet and bake in 375 degree oven about 20 minutes. Depending on your oven you may want to cook them longer. Pieces should be brown and soft when poked with a fork. The garlic and the cauliflower carmelize for the perfect taste.

This vegetable is lovely with a nice tenderloin or London Broil.

Ratatouille

This really is a vegetable dish and not the name of an animated Disney movie! My mother made it a lot when I was a child and I loved it with a nice buttered baked potato. A good vegetarian meal for you Kimmy!

4 Tbs olive oil
2 (or more!) cloves of minced garlic
2 zucchini, cubed
1 sm. eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 bay leaf
2 green peppers, cubed (I suppose if you do not like green you could substitute red, yellow or green)
6 tomatoes peeled and cubed
1 tbs. parsley
a dash of thyme
salt and pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan add oil and brown onions and garlic, add veggies and seasoning. Cook 20 to 60 minutes.

Serves 6

Sauteed Summer Squash and Zucchini

A nice healthy veggie dish for my friend Debra's husband Chris!

Ingredients:

3 yellow summer squash, thinly sliced

3 green zucchini (courgette), thinly sliced

1 clove crushed garlic

olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Pour olive oil into a saute pan or skillet, lightly cover the bottom, about 3 tbs.

Add garlic and sautee until lightly golden brown, add in squash, sautee till translucent then lightly golden at the edges, and season with salt and pepper. You may want to add a couple more tbs. of olive oil if your veggies aren't browning well. (If your pan seems like it will be too small, brown the veggies in small batches and then toss all together in the end to reheat)

I love these with mashed potatoes... actually there is not much I do not love with mashed potatoes!

Baked Carrot Fries

These "fries" are the anti-vegetable, and a one pound bag of carrots will not feed a family of five. Or perhaps they will, but don't expect any leftovers!

Wash, peel and cut one pound of carrots in half, then slice lengthwise -- as though you are cutting carrot sticks. (From the narrower part of the carrot you'll get two to four slices, from the top, wider end about 6)

In a large bowl pour enough olive oil to lightly coat the carrots -- but not so much that they are swimming in it.

Place the carrots on a baking sheet, try not to overlap. Sprinkle salt and garlic powder over the top of the carrots and place them in a preheated 425 degree oven.

Bake about 20 minutes and check for browning, the browner the better, if you have any black carrots do not discard them. They are not burnt, but deliciously caramelized. (Naturally sweetened without any added sugar.)Flip the carrots over as well as you can and bake another 10 minutes or so. (You may want to test one of the larger strips as they will take longer.) Carrots should be soft inside, life a fry.

These are the perfect accompaniment to the Savory Baked Fried Chicken!