Summer Salad

A refreshing and simple salad that is super easy and quick to make!

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
2 small tomatoes
1/2 small cucumber
shredded Parmesan cheese (or soy cheese)
Choice of favorite dressing (mine is Amy's Goddess which has Tahini in it)
Black pepper

Directions:
Slice avocado into small strips. Chop tomatoes into small triangles. Slice cucumber about 1/4 inch thick then stack and chop into 4, making 4 triangles each with a rounded side. Add shredded cheese, black pepper to taste and dressing!

Asparagus, Snap Pea, and Avocado Pasta

Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

Ingredients:
Course salt and ground pepper
1 lb. asparagus ends trimmed and cut into 2 inch lengths
1 lb. sugar snap peas (strings removed)
1 lb. bow tie pasta (farfalle)
4 Tbsp butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ripe avocado halved, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 Peccorino cheese plus more for serving, if desired

Directions:
In a large pasta pot of boiling salted water cook asparagus and snap peas until bright green. Be sure to not overcook! I made the mistake of not watching the pot closely. Do not cook more than 2 minutes! With a slotted spoon or spatula, scoop out vegetables and transfer to a bowl.

Return water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente. Meaning not soft, but not uncooked! My trick is to keep tasting it until I think it's cooked enough. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Set pasta aside in colander.

In pasta pot, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add asparagus, snap peas, and garlic: season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Although if you accidentally over cooked your veggies the first time around, don't bother cooking again. Just toss everything in! Add remaining 2 Tbsp butter, cooked pasta, avocado, herbs, cheese and reserved pasta water. Toss to combine, season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with additional cheese, if desired.

Dr. Praeger Would Be Proud

Once in awhile when I'm browsing the frozen aisle at Trader Joe's I'll pick-up a box of Dr. Praeger's Veggie Burgers. They're yummy and pretty healthy to boot. If you're curious the list of ingredients are: Carrot, Onion, Stringbeans, Soybeans, Zucchini, Oat Bran, Peas, Spinach, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Broccoli, Textured Soy Flour, Corn, Oat Fiber, Red Pepper, Arrowroot, Corn Meal, Corn Starch, Garlic, Salt, Parsley, Black Pepper, All Natural Vegetable Gum. As you see, the only real unknown ingredient is 'vegetable gum.'

With the veggie burger patty, I made a Mexican style sandwich with just a few key ingredients.

Ingredients
Toasted Sour dough bread (or whichever kind you prefer)
Dr. Praeger's California Veggie Burger
Guacamole
Cilantro
Mexican Cheese or Soy Cheese (there's a mixed kind you can get at TJ's)

See instructions on how to cook the burger from the box. I used the guacomole as a spread and loaded it with cilantro. Use it like you would lettuce :) It's really that easy.

Stuffed Mushroom and Carrots

Pictured here are some julienned carrots and a stuffed portobello mushroom. Thank you guest chef Steve for making the yummy carrots!

Julienned Carrots
Required: Carrots, Spinach, Canola Oil, Sugar, Salt, Soy Sauce, Black pepper

First you'll want to take your desired amount of carrots. We used baby carrots so it was easier to cut them. Julienne basically means to cut into long thin strips. Steve prepared this, by cutting the carrots first. Mix 1 1/2 of Tbsp of oil, 1 Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, salt, black pepper in a separate bowl. Make sure the pan is heated for a few seconds before placing the mix in. Place the carrots in the pan. Use high heat. The carrots should caramelize a little. Stir. Once the carrots look nearly blackened on one side, you'll want to put in some spinach. Carrots should be crunchy on the inside and sweet on the outside. Spinach goes into the pan last since it cooks very quickly. Add salt to taste.

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom
Required: Broccoli, Tofu, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Onions, Black pepper, Salt, Olive Oil, Garlic, Cayenne Pepper

For this dish, you'll need to preheat your oven at 350 degrees. Make sure you have a small oven tray or baking sheet to place the stuffed mushroom on. You could also use aluminum foil if you don't have either.

Prepare a mushroom or two by chopping off the stem and boiling for a little bit in a pot. For the stuffing, take a few pieces of broccoli and mince. You'll want to do the same to the onion. Use about half of a block of tofu. Smoosh with fork in a bowl. Oil your pan. Throw in the onions and a small clove of garlic. Stir. Cook onions until soft. Next throw in broccoli. Finally toss in the tofu. Continue stirring. Add some cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt for taste. I like it spicy so I put in a little more cayenne pepper than usual. Keep stirring.

Once your mushroom is cooked, place it on the baking sheet. Spoon in some stuffing. Top it off with a lot of cheddar cheese. It's better if you use more than you think you'll need. Take your baking sheet and place it in the oven. Cook until cheese is fully melted. I would give it a good 10-15 minutes depending on how quickly your oven cooks.

It sounds complicated, but this stuffed mushroom is really not hard to make at all. It does take a bit more preparation and it's a small and light meal. Don't expect to be very full after having one mushroom. Personally, I had a fun time making it and it was super yummy!

Spicy Italian Salad

Los Angeles was in the 80's yesterday (re: weather) and I couldn't bring myself to stand in front of my hot gas stove for the sake of cooked food. So the capers I bought at the store inspired me to make an Italian based salad.

Required: Spinach, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Capers, Black Pepper, Oregano, Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar

If your spinach is not pre-washed please wash before eating and mixing. Slice mushrooms. Cut tomatoes into triangular chunks (I used Roma tomatoes so they were easy to cut.) Take 2-4 Tbsp of capers and dice them. Throw the washed and dried spinach in a bowl. Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Top off with capers, Parmesan cheese and spices. The black pepper and cayenne pepper make this salad spicy. Put in less than you think you can handle.

Mix olive oil and Balsamic vinegar in a bowl. Spoon dressing over salad. Buon appetito!