Spontaneous Mediterranean Meal

I had a whole bunch of veggies from our CSA and didn't really have a meal already planned. I started searching the internet and came across a lamb kabob and couscous recipe via Williams-Sanoma and just improvised. I didn't have lamb, but chicken. I had the red onion and squash but didn't ironically have red pepper (I always have red pepper) and of course I buy couscous in bulk because it is my go to summer side dish staple. Here is what I came up with...
1. I roasted the broccoli with olive oil, salt & pepper and a little garlic powder in a baking dish on the BBQ.
2. On the cast iron grill plate I did the squash and red pepper, that had olive oil, salt & pepper, and some cumin.
3. Skewered the chicken tenders and seasoned with olive oil, salt& pepper, and cumin.
4. Traditional couscous recipe: chicken stock, pinch of salt, olive oil, garlic powder, cumin, parsley.

It was extremely delicious, I find that chicken tenders are perfect for kabobs if not for anything else other than ease of use. And yes it was all a little one note (cumin, salt and pepper olive oil to be specific) which critics might laugh at, but for a family dinner at home it was simply delicious and just the right amount of spices for everyone to enjoy. We will have it again.

Easy Summer Pasta

Clearly I love Ina Garten and I was watching her show two weeks ago and she made, what looked like a really delicious, summer pasta salad. Click here for the original recipe! I made half the amount that she did, and we still had a lot of left overs for lunch the next day. But this was super fantastic, the entire family LOVED it! And when you have a garden, or CSA (especially later on in the summer) this is the perfect meal to use up a lot of those cherry tomatoes!

Summer Pasta Salad
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
6-9 fresh basil leaves, julienned
*small pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp crushed black pepper, or more to taste (I liked this with a lot of black pepper but you can always add that at the end before you dig in!)
1/2 lb Angle Hair Pasta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
*Shaved Parmesan for Garnish
1. Put tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper into a bowl mix together thoroughly and cover with plastic wrap leave on the counter to mingle/marinate for up to 4 hours - the longer the better!
2. Cook pasta according to package directions but it should take less than 5 minutes. Angle hair is perfect for in the summer because it cooks quick and anything that won't heat up your house is a bonus!
3. On top of tomatoes add Parmesan and then noodles, tossing well to have everything combine, serve with shaved Parmesan on top for garnish. (buy a big wedge of Parmegiano Regiano it keeps forever in the fridge and then get out your carrot peeler and make a dish like a pro!)
*Don't forget to add a little more freshly cracked black pepper before serving too if so desired, super good!



Iced Coffee Anyone?

So I saw the blog post over at Pioneer Woman for the Perfect Iced Coffee and the pictures were so enticing I had to try it myself. I went to target, that saucy minx (does she seduce you into buying things you don't need every time you step through those doors like she does me?), anyway I bought an iced tea container for $6 and preceded to make a batch.

You are basically making a super concentrated mix, and I think it is important that you figure out how to make it taste to your liking. Over many a cups I have found that if I use my little insulated cup full of ice, I put in about 1/4 of the coffee concentrate, a couple tablespoons of water (it is powerful stuff!) 2 tsp of sugar free hazelnut syrup, and then top it with some milk. It is great every time, especially on hot summer days on my way to swimming lessons with Molly.

At first the original recipe says that it lasts Ree a couple of weeks, but when I first made it I was thinking there is no way I was downing it! Then I ran out of milk so I haven't had any for awhile but it is seriously very tasty. Highly recommended!

Roasted Broccoli... on the BBQ?

As I was telling everyone on FB yesterday I had a religious experience with my broccoli last night, I had received a huge head of broccoli in my CSA last week and I needed/wanted to use it; however I don't have AC in my house. For those of you wondering why that should matter I have to get creative in my cooking during the summer so as not to heat up my house. I basically use things like my microwave (I also used to use an electric kettle often as well, but that now has a permanent home in my camper), toaster oven, and BBQ like they are going out of style. Think of it this way, anything you do in an oven can basically be done on your BBQ (just use baking sheets or grill pans for the small stuff). The toaster oven also works for smaller things and takes way less energy and heat to cook what you are doing. And my go to side dish for the summer is couscous, which is easily done in the microwave vs. burner on the stove!

Anyway as I was staring at this head of broccoli, I was stumped! Because how do we all cook broccoli? We steam the crap out of it! Well, my house was already 77 degrees and it was mid 80's outside I didn't want the thermometer to keep going up. So I thought in my head, you can roast it can't you? So I pulled out my i phone and checked my How to Cook Everything App (which if you have a smart phone, love to cook, and don't have this app what are you thinking? GET IT! Worth every penny! I check it all the time just for quick reference! You can of course by the big ol' tome too but still...) any surprisingly there wasn't anything in that app for roasted broccoli besides a gratin which I didn't want to do. However I have been cooking out of the recent cook book from Ina Garten Back to Basics, and low and behold she totally had a recipe in there for roasted broccoli - probably why it came to my mind in the first place, since I have been perusing it so much. Anyway I modified the recipe a tid to suit my needs and family's taste buds and voila (insert church choir hymns and all that) it was freaking amazing! I couldn't stop moaning my appreciation as I was eating it. I will have to tell my CSA provider today how it changed my life, seriously, I can't see eating broccoli a different way ever again!

Roasted Broccoli (on the BBQ)
(serves 4) or 3 greedy people!-like my family
1 good sized head of broccoli
Olive Oil to coat
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Garlic Powder
**Need a baking sheet or grill pan for BBQ
1. Leave the broccoli florets good sized so they don't burn on the grill, coat in olive oil (2-4 tbsp depending on the amount of broccoli) you want it to look like it has a slight glaze on it but not drenched, I usually do this on a cookie sheet/baking sheet.
2. Few pinches of salt (I always use Kosher salt, if you haven't switched yet what are you waiting for?) and fresh ground pepper all over each one. Then about 1 tsp of garlic powder again sprinkled evenly over each floret. Then toss with your hands to make sure it is all well coated.
3. Put on grill pan, or straight into BBQ with cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally.
NOTE: they will get a little dark/burnt looking and crunchy, this gives it a sweet nutty flavor, trust me!

Served with microwaved couscous, and grilled steak with cilantro/lime compound butter.