Too colorful: Summer Tomato Salad

 Here is saying adios to the summer season with this ruby red and golden cherry tomato salad! I found these juicy and beautiful bombs at the farmer’s market last weekend. No recipe, really. I cut the tomatoes in half and tossed them with torn basil leaves, a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground pepper, salt and a tiny pinch of sugar. If you have fresh mozzarella on hand, dice them into cubes and add to the salad along with a dash of balsamic vinegar for a delightful chopped Caprese.

Buh-bye  Summer L

 

Hot, Cool and Funny: Watermelon Salsa

What’s so funny about Salsa? Seinfeld’s episode about Salsa! That’s what’s funny. Ever since I watched the “The Pitch” episode, the word Salsa (say salsaaaa like Jerry does) is always uttered accompanied by a giggle! Here is the salsa excerpt of the script from that episode (http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/ThePitch.htm):

“GEORGE: Why don’t they have salsa on the table?
JERRY: What do you need salsa for?
GEORGE: Salsa is now the number one condiment in America.
JERRY: You know why? Because people like to say “salsa.” “Excuse me, do you have salsa?” “We need more salsa.” “Where is the salsa? No salsa?”
GEORGE: You know it must be impossible for a Spanish person to order seltzer and not get salsa. (Angry) “I wanted seltzer, not salsa.”
JERRY: “Don’t you know the difference between seltzer and salsa?? You have the seltzer after the salsa!”“

Are you a Seinfeld fan too?

 Now let’s move on to the hot and cool part of it. Honestly, I have never messed around with adding flavors, or mixing and matching watermelon with anything. Never felt the need to. This sweet, juicy pulpy melon is so darn good by itself. But the blogosphere is dressing up watermelon, so I thought I’d jump in and send in my experimental entry to Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi. They are hosting “A Fruit A Month” event this month. This is the first time I am participating in this event; must be the watermelon! 

I still haven’t gotten to the hot and cool part of it. So watermelon salsa it is! There is really no recipe for this. To about a cup or cup and half of cool chopped watermelon, add about ½ cup of diced cucumber, 2-3 chopped hot jalapenos, 2-3 tbsp minced red onion, 1 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro, 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Toss well and serve immediately with baked pita chips or crackers. Or just eat like chopped salad. Or eat a big wedge of watermelon just by itself J It gives you as much as 9 oz of water! 

I served the salsa on some organic whole wheat crackers, like so:

 

 

More egg free baking: Whole wheat pumpkin ginger muffins

I have been hooked to Prevention magazine for a couple of years now. They do a pretty good job of covering the latest, research backed health, food and fitness trends. And, no I don’t work for them! I probably would if they asked me nicely J 

In one of their recent editions, I came across a recipe for these ginger pumpkin muffins. The original recipe called for eggs, which I had to leave out.  I had talked about how my baking is now completely egg free in this post.  While I was at it, I also made a couple of other modifications to the recipe. The end result was not disappointing at all; I think I will be baking these quite often.  You can find the original recipe here.

 You’ll need:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ½ cup pure pureed pumpkin (I used a canned organic variety)
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 cup low fat milk (can substitute with rice, almond or soy milk) 

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degree F. Line a muffin tin with paper lining and spritz generously with non stick spray
• Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl
• Whisk the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl
• Dump the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix gently. Do not over work this dough
• Scoop into the muffin tins, filling each cup to about 3/4^th
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the toothpick test works
• Cool and eat! You can top these muffins with pumpkin seeds for added crunch.

These don’t last too long if you don’t put them in the refrigerator. So, let them cool, eat some and store the rest in the fridge. They taste pretty good reheated in the microwave for a few seconds.