Ok, let’s take a really healthy salad and cover it in a not so healthy salad dressing. Truthfully, I don’t make this salad often but every time I do I just love it. I don’t even feel guilty when I eat it because it’s so delicious! Sweet and tart, with the flavor of bacon. I mean, I’m buying the healthy bacon ~ no nitrates. That surely must count for something. Also, I didn’t add this into the recipe but I really like to put a dollop of chunky blue cheese dressing (homemade of course) right in the middle. Yep, I’m bad, but there’s something about the creamy cold blue cheese dressing and the hot bacon dressing. Ok, now I may be feeling a little guilty… nothing that an hour walk can’t cure!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
For Hot Bacon Dressing:
1 lb. Raw Bacon, diced
2 Onions, diced small
2 1/2 cups Cold Water
3/4 cup of Sugar
3 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/4 tsp Pepper
3/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
4 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 tsp Salt

For Salad:
1 lb. of Baby Spinach, washed and patted dry
8 large Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 Eggs, hardboiled, shelled and sliced
4 thin slices of Red onion
20 Cherry Tomatoes

METHOD
For Hot Bacon Dressing:
Brown the bacon until well done; add onions.
Saute until the onions are translucent.
Incorporate the cornstarch into the sugar (you are doing this so the cornstarch doesn’t get lumpy when added to the pan).
Add all the remaining ingredients into the bacon and onions, bring to a boil.
Lower heat to medium low and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, or until somewhat thick.
Makes about 4 cups of dressing.
Be sure to refrigerate the leftover dressing and warm before using again.

For Salad:
Divide the spinach equally onto 4 plates.
Top each salad with 2 sliced mushrooms, 1 hard boiled egg, sliced, one slice of red onion, separated into rings, and 5 tomatoes.
Drizzle with the hot bacon dressing, to taste, and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

I love sauces and thought I’d share my recipe for a delicious sauce, dip, spread, whatever you wanna call it… it’s an incredible Garlic Sauce made with raw garlic! We all know how healthy garlic is for you, especially when you consume it raw. Of course, it keeps away vampires, but I’m hoping it will also keep away some mosquitos and pesky gnats.

I LOVE garlic and usually have homemade garlic sauce in the fridge. It’s great all by itself on crostini or crackers, or to dip some veggies into.  It’s perfect to use as a condiment on sandwiches, add to dips, soups, other sauces, dressings, marinades, etc.  Need some extra kick in your macaroni salad this weekend? Try a little garlic sauce. Basically anywhere you would use garlic you can easily add the garlic sauce. And it makes incredible garlic bread, topped with Parmesan.

I have different styles of garlic sauce that I make, but here’s a favorite!

INGREDIENTS
2 slices of Sourdough bread
1 large Potato, baked and peeled
1/2 cup Almonds
10 to 12 cloves of Garlic
1/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/3 cup of Water
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I used fat-free)
Salt, to taste

METHOD
Place the bread, potato, almonds and garlic in the food processor and pulse until everything is in very small pieces.
Add the vinegar and water, processing until smooth.
Add the olive oil and yogurt.
Blend until creamy.
Add more water if you would like the sauce to have a thinner consistency.
Taste and season with salt, as desired.
Enjoy!

I love all foods, especially Middle Eastern. Sometimes I get a really strong craving for Falafel that must be answered. The flavors that are combined in these Falafels are so delicious. I really like the crispy outside and the flavorful soft inside. I made them with garbanzo beans/chickpeas, but you can also make them with Fava Beans.

For my recipe I fried the Falafel. Yes, you can bake them – but they are no where near as good. I’ve tried and the enjoyment level went way down. On the upside of healthy, they are a great alternative to meat, as the garbanzo beans are a great source of protein, (providing 7 grams of protein per 1/2 cup).

Serving the falafel with Tahini Sauce is a must for me, along with a side salad and fresh warm pita bread. I usually pop the pita open and put a little bit of everything inside and top it with a generous drizzle of Tahini Sauce.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry Garbanzo Beans, soaked overnight
1 small Onion, coarsely chopped
¼ cup fresh Parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
4 cloves Garlic
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Baking Powder
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Flour
1 3/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Ground Coriander
½ tsp Black Pepper
¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

METHOD
Place the garbanzo beans in a large bowl and cover with water, about 2 inches over the top of them.
Place in refrigerator for about 12 to 18 hours.
The garbanzo beans will more than double in size and you will end up with about 2 to 3 cups of beans.
Drain the beans of any excess water and place them into your food processor.
Add in the onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, baking soda and baking powder.
Pulse the ingredients until you get a rough moist texture (you do not want it smooth).
Place in a large bowl and mix in the egg, flour, salt, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Heat about 1½ inches of vegetable oil in a medium frying pan, on medium low heat.
Wet your hands and form falafel mixture into little balls or patties.
Fry in small batches, until nicely browned on all sides, turning as necessary.
Remove from frying pan and drain on a paper towel.
I served mine with fresh Tahini Sauce (recipe below), lettuce, tomato, sliced onion and warm pita bread.
Enjoy!

Tahini Sauce

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 Lemon, juiced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
Pinch Salt
Pinch Paprika
½ to 3/4 cup Water

METHOD
Place Tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt and paprika in a medium bowl.
Whisk in the water, a little at a time, until you have reached the consistence similar to cream.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired.
Serve with falafels.

In case you’re wondering… that’s a bowl of fresh Hummus in the center of the table. I’ll post a recipe for that soon.  

A really good salad is hard to beat. I didn’t share a recipe for the salad above, but the ingredients are: spinach, hard-boiled egg, cucumber, sliced carrots, kidney beans, and fresh uncooked corn. My focus today is on the salad dressing.

I have never been a fan of bottled salad dressings. I’m sure there may be some good ones available, but it’s so easy to make your own, fresh, at home! My #1 favorite salad dressing is actually just extra virgin olive oil, lemon, sea salt and pepper. I love the clean flavor. However, this Sweet & Sour Celery Seed Salad Dressing is right up there with all my favorites like Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing, and Sesame Dressing. I think what I like most about this salad dressing is the flavor of the celery seeds. The flavor is so prominent that I felt I had to put them in the title of the dressing. I’m a big lover of celery seeds and use them whenever I can; in my egg salad, potato salad, deviled eggs, soups, etc. They are so flavorful. Are you familiar with celery seeds? If not, I hope you’ll get some and give my salad dressing a try.  

Makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup to 3/4 cup of Sugar (Honey or Agave work, too)
1 Tbsp Celery Seed
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Dry Mustard
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Olive Oil

METHOD
In a large bowl mix together the sugar, celery seed, paprika, dry mustard, and salt.
Add in the apple cider vinegar and still until the sugar is dissolved.
Using a whisk add the olive oil a little at a time, whisking continuously until it emulsifies.
Delicious served over spinach salad, or any fresh green salad.

NOTES:
I have listed the sugar as 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup, depending upon how sweet or tart you like your dressing. You can start with less sugar, and add more as desired.

Refrigerate dressing – lasts up to 3 weeks.

CousCous & Tuna Steak topped with Avocado Mango Salsa

Avocados & Mangos were on sale at the market 10 for $10.00. Two of my favorites for only a buck each! I only bought 3 of each, but if I had room in my freezer I’d buy lots more avocados; halve, peel and freeze them. They freeze perfectly and then you can have guacamole anytime. But alas, my freezer is jammed! (A second fridge is on the list of things to buy.)

Anyway, this refreshing salsa is a perfect topper for seafood. I marinated these beautiful fresh tuna steaks in a sesame ginger dressing for about half an hour, meanwhile I prepared the Avocado Mango Salsa. I served it all with CousCous that I seasoned with Cumin, Ginger & Garlic. Since CousCous takes 5 minutes to cook, and I only cooked the Tuna Steaks for about 2 minutes per side, the whole meal came together in a matter of minutes! I topped it off with a little sprinkling of toasted black sesame seeds. It was so good, I can’t wait to have it again… I’m thinking Crab Cakes.  

This recipes serves 2 to 4.

INGREDIENTS
1 Avocado, peeled and cubed
1 Mango, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup Red Onion, diced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Cilantro, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

METHOD
Add all the ingredients into a medium bowl.
Combine gently.
Taste and adjust seasonings, as desired.

Flank Steak with Roasted Jalapenos

Flank steak is an inexpensive meat that, with proper handling, can be incredibly delicious and tender.

There are basically 4 things that are crucial. If you do this it will be hard to fail.

1)  It’s important to marinate the flank steak for at least 5 hours. I just change up the marinade flavors, depending on what I’m making.

2) Cook the meat over high heat. It’s best grilled, but you can fry it up in a pan (preferably cast iron), or broil it.  It cooks up fast, typically 8 minutes per side.

3) Be sure to allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

4) Cut the meat against the grain, as this will further insure a delicious, melt in your mouth quality.

Here are two great marinades to try and they work just as well with chicken as they do with beef!

Asian  Marinade

Mexican Marinade

Do you have a great marinade recipe or a grilling tip for flank steak? If so, please share it with me in the comments!

INGREDIENTS
4 lbs. of the meat of your choice (steak or chicken)
4 cloves Garlic, crushed
Juice of 3 limes
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 tsp Oregano
a little Fresh Ground Black Pepper

METHOD
Add all the ingredients into a gallon size plastic baggie.
Mix together and add the steak or chicken.
Seal the baggie and place in the fridge to marinate (at least 5 hours).