Asian Veggie Wraps

The CSA box included some beautiful Bibb lettuce and I decided to use them as wraps. 

Soak rice noodles and add the following:

Thinly sliced red and green peppers

Green onions sliced diagonally

Shaved carrot, broccoli, and cabbage

Cilantro

Toss it all with a little of “The Sauce” saving some for adding at the table.

The Sauce:

Thin soy sauce

Rice vinegar

Sesame oil

Srirachi sauce

Lime juice

A little sugar

Put it all on the table with lime wedges to top it all off.

Hot Cow!

I planted cowhorn peppers this summer. The guide said that they were 'medium hot'. I LOVE hot food and was afraid I would be disappointed by the milder cowhorns. Oh man, was I wrong! The best hot sauce I've made:

8-10 pineapple sage leaves
¼ cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic
¾ cup diced tomatoes
¾ T EVOO
2 cowhorn peppers
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
¾ t salt
¾ t white sugar

1. In a saucepan, heat EVOO. Add red onion, cowhorn peppers, and garlic. Let it go for about 3 or 4 minutes.
2. Reduce heat. Add vinegar, tomatoes, salt and sugar. Let that simmer for about 5 more minutes.
3. Add pineapple sage leaves and simmer another minute or two.
4. Put it all in a blender and whir until pureed.
5. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.
6. Let cool and then pour into a small glass container.
7. Taste it and comment that it's not too hot.
8. Wait 20 seconds.
9. Comment on how it's got a little zing.
10. Wait 15 seconds.
11. Say, "Oh man, that's a nice burn!"
12. Cover and refrigerate.

I would not have come up with this on my own...

Thanks to Jamie Oliver for the inspiration. Once again, I've taken an existing recipe and made it my own. This was one of the tastiest things I've eaten in ages!

Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad

Carrots
Avocado
Spring mix of greens
Chili peppers
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds
Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Garlic
EVOO
Red wine vinegar
An orange and a lemon 

Cut carrots to even sizes and par boil until barely tender.

While carrots are boiling, pull out your mortar and pestle (or whatever is around that you can mush things up in).

Grind 2 chili peppers, about six cumin seeds, salt, pepper, a couple stems of thyme, and about five coriander seeds. Then add a clove of garlic and mash more. Add enough EVOO to cover and a splash of red wine vinegar. Grind some more.

Drain carrots and coat with marinade. Spread them out on a roasting pan. Cut an orange and a lemon, and place each, cut side down, on top of the carrots. Roast in oven at 325 for about 25 minutes.

Dressing:  Remove the orange and lemon and carefully squeeze them into a bowl. I used tongs to hold them and a strainer to catch the seeds. To the orange/lemon juice, add any leftover drippings from the roasting pan. Whisk in EVOO and a splash of red wine vinegar. 

Cut avocado into slices.

Load plate with a mix of spring greens. Top with carrots and avocado. Drizzle dressing over it all.

Enjoy!

BBQ and Crazy No Cabbage Slaw-like Thing

I picked up some pre-cooked carnitas from Trader Joe's and needed to do something with it. I decided to make a BBQ sandwich by dressing the pork with a friend's special, award winning sauce (Russ & Frank's Sassy BBQ Sauce http://www.russandfranks.com/).

I wanted a cool slaw to go with it but didn't have any cabbage. Having spent over an hour commuting home from work, I didn't want to go out again so I concocted a mock-slaw from the following:

Grated carrots, radishes, and granny smith apples, thinly sliced red onion and green pepper -- and a dressing made of mayo, mustard, rice vinegar, agave (to sweeten), salt & pepper, and a dash of Pete's Hot Sauce. I served it over a bed of fresh greens and topped with a few mini heirloom tomatoes. Whole wheat rolls because my doc says so. It was yummy but in my heart, slaw needs cole (cabbage) and I'll include that next time.