Archive for the ‘summer’ Category

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Basil, Sweet Basil, My Love

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

There is nothing that I love more in the summer months than fresh basil.

Legend and lore have surrounded basil for centuries.

In Romania, if a boy accepts a sprig of basil from a girl, it means they are engaged to be married. In Italy, young maidens would wear a sprig of basil in their hair to profess their availability. In modern Greece, basil is used in certain religious rituals as a symbol of fertility.

Of course basil has a dark side as well. In Greek mythology basil was considered to be a cure against the bite of the basilisk. ( a part dragon, part lizard creature) Basil was long thought to be the cure for any venomous bite.

I think that basil is the most refreshing, stimulating and delicious of all the herbs. I use it every time that I am given the chance. I love it torn up in salads, simmered in a good red sauce, eaten as a refreshment between other stronger flavors (like pickled ginger when you eat sushi) and I especially love it thrown in my bathtub. I find it just as soothing as lavender.

This time around I used my fresh basil in a quick pasta salad.

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The salad is a very simple one. Extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar are drizzled over cooked pasta. Then fresh torn basil and sliced campari tomatoes are added to the pasta. The salad is finished up with sliced English cucumbers, fresh chopped oregano, Bocconcini and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.

Simplicity at it’s best. I love making these simple salads. They let the beauty of the fresh herbs shine through.

Of course I wasn’t satisfied with just having a fresh basil salad. I had to make a batch of sweet basil soap too.

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You can find out more about my basil soap over at Funky Chunks and you can enter to win a Funky Chunks gift basket (containing a Chunk of sweet basil soap) over at Elle’s New England Kitchen!

What are your favorite herbs of Summer?

Posted in Enter To Win, favorites, giveaway, salads, summer, winner | 12 Comments »

The Meals of Summer

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

 

During the Summer I swear that I loose all of my creativity in the kitchen.

Summer meals tend to be quick, light and not very blog worthy. The past weekend was a little different. I was at Wegmans picking up a few basics. Coffee, cream, chocolate (yes, chocolate is a basic need!) and a loaf of olive bread to make sandwiches with. (after all it is way too hot to bake bread in our tiny apartment)

Something caught my eye on a quick trip through the produce section…

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Lovely, lovely beet greens! They were so vibrant and fresh that I had to pick up several handfuls. Then I passed by some adorable baby zucchinis and baby bella mushrooms…picked both of those up too!

I wanted to keep the flavors of the greens and vegetables vibrant. The only extra ingredients I used were a fresh lemon, chopped garlic and the best extra virgin olive oil in the pantry. I know that all of those so called “experts” tell you not to cook with the good stuff, but when the total cook time is around seven minutes I think that their advice is hogwash.  The fruity olive oil takes these simple ingredients to the top.

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I sautéed the greens in the oil and garlic for about 3 minutes and then added the zucchini and mushrooms and sautéed for another 3 to 4 minutes. After removing from the pan I topped everything off with fresh lemon juice and grey sea salt.

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Served along side lemon and herb chicken this was a perfect Summer meal! So maybe there was a little creativity left in me after all.

Posted in Uncategorized, lemon, quick meals, summer, vegetables | 3 Comments »

I am baaaaaack! Bringing you a Quick Salad

Friday, May 15th, 2009

 

The good news is that Life, Lightly Salted has survived a change in platforms and a change in hosting companies. The bad news is that in the process Feedburner managed to lose all of my subscribers. So if you normally read Life, Lightly Salted in an RSS reader, you will need to re-subscribe. Sorry for the pain in the rear…but it was a small casualty to deal with to get such an awesome new home an fresh look for the blog!

A little update on the home front…as well as this blog I have started my own business. I am now in the business of soap making. If you haven’t had the chance to check out my store or new blog here are the links for you to go take a look.

Funky Chunks Handmade Soaps and More

Funky Chunks Blog

While I have been working on the start up end of Funky Chunks, our dinners have been quick, painless and mostly grilled meats and salads. I had a flopped batch of scones in there somewhere and a lot of take away meals.(our local Chinese takeaway doesn’t even ask for our address for delivery anymore!) Now that things have calmed down quite a bit I can get back to the cooking! Today I would like to share one of my favorite quick salads. The beauty of this salad is that you can use most any fruit and veg combination. I make this salad on the nights that I need to clean out the produce bins. It’s very forgiving, you can use fresh vegetables, thawed frozen vegetables and even left over steamed veggies.

Mustard and Dill Salad

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For the salad…

Thinly slice up a few of your favorite vegetables and fruits. The combination that I use together most often is cucumbers, red onions, red delicious apples and grapes that have been sliced in half. This time around instead of the grapes I used this beautiful organic carrot that I came across at Wegmans. The little bugger was as big around as the apples in this salad. They really added to the presentation of the dish.

 

For the dressing…

1/4 cup malt or cider vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 heaping tablespoon of whole grain mustard

a generous addition of Daregal fresh frozen dill

Mix all of the dressing ingredients together. Play around with them to get the flavor that you like. I prefer mine to be heavy on the vinegar and herbs with very little oil. You can even throw in a little sour cream to make the dressing a little smoother. The important ingredients here are the whole grain mustard and fresh herbs. Everything else is up for adaptation.

Add the dressing to your sliced veg and fruits. This salad can be refrigerated, but I recommend bringing it to room temperature before serving. It really brightens up the flavors. This is best made the same day that you are going to serve. It doesn’t keep well. Only because the juices from the fruits and vegetables will dilute your dressing.

This salad pairs beautifully with grilled chicken and fish. We’ve even been known to eat it alone for dinner with a nice hard roll on the side.

Hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend! Summer is just around the corner!!

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Posted in Uncategorized, cheap eats, salads, summer, vegetables | 6 Comments »

Simple Pasta Salad with Lemon Dressing

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

** Winners of the Banana Nut Cheerios  gift basket giveaway are listed at the end of the post.**

We all have days when we don’t feel like spending any time at all in the kitchen. Yet we still need to make something fresh and tasteful for dinner. On those nights it’s good to have a simple, tried and true dish in your back pocket. A quick pasta salad is that dish for me. Pasta salads appeal to me because you can use just about any vegetable that you have in fridge and the dressing combinations are endless. The dressing can be cream, citrus or vinegar based. They can be hot or cold. The pasta salad can be served alone as a light meal or you can add grilled meat or fish making them great for dinner.

Here’s a simple pasta salad that you can have on the table in 20 minutes. It’s light, full of flavor and perfect for a busy evening. The tomatoes and spinach bring a ton of flavor and the lemon and oregano brighten  up the salad and make it extra special.

Why wait for summer to make pasta salads? They are quick, easy and perfect for any season.

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Simple Pasta Salad with Lemon Dressing

serves 2

3 ounces of any small pasta
handful of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/3 of an English cucumber, sliced thin
large handful of fresh spinach, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced

Dressing:

1 egg
1/2 of a lemon
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup vegetable stock
3 tablespoons sour cream
freshly ground pepper
salt

Cook pasta al dente. Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.

To make the dressing:

Warm up the vegetable broth in the microwave.
Whisk together egg, lemon juice,lemon zest and garlic.
Pour egg mixture into a small saucepan on low heat.
Whisk in the warmed broth gradually.
Stir constantly until the dressing thickens. (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon)
Set aside to cool.

Place pasta in a bowl. Add in vegetables and oregano. Toss to mix.

Once dressing has cooled whisk in the sour cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Can be served right away or refrigerated for a few hours before serving.

What is your “on the table in a flash” meal?

Winners of the Cheerios gift basket giveaway are….

Karin, Leslie and Diva

Ladies…please e-mail me your addresses so that Blog Spark can get your baskets out to you.

Posted in pasta, quick meals, salads, summer | 7 Comments »

Where did the Week Go?

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

I know that is already Thursday and I’m just getting around to telling you about my Labor Day weekend. Where has this week went? The first week of September is one of the busiest for me at work and this entire week has been a blur.

We celebrated the end of summer in our own special way. Starting off on Friday with the best Italian Ice ever. Strollo’s

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Phil got the “Blue” flavor and picked out the fresh Pear for me.

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The pear ice was fabulous. The taste and texture was very close to eating a fresh pear.

Dinner was pure man food. Pot roast and honey wheat bread. The pot roast will never win a beauty contest, but it was very delicious none the less. I think that I have a new entry for my ugly food category. I never use a recipe. I fire up the crockpot and clean out the veggie bins. I always add whatever left over wine we have and at least 8 cloves of garlic. Then slow cook it for 8 hours. It tastes different every time.

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Saturday was a trip to the Dollar Tree. Or as we affectionately call it… The $40 Store. Only because I spend that much every time I walk through the doors. To read about a trip to the dollar store please visit Dave over at Dave’s Cupboard. He did a great post on dollar store food finds. Our funky food find was….

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Sunday we spent the day at New Jersey Motor Sports Park

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Yummy nutritious race food….

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The fries were batter dipped and crunchy. The burger was unexpectedly good. It was made from fresh beef and grilled then served on an egg bun.

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We got home about 6 in the evening and crashed out on the sofa from heat stroke and exhaustion. I’m still trying to get caught up on my sleep and energy.

I’ll be sure to share my honey wheat bread in my next post.

Posted in NJMP, summer, ugly food | 7 Comments »

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