Thursday, April 23, 2009

grapefruit and romaine

I pretty much eat the same things every week. Whats fresh and whats on sale are often the same through a month, and contribute to how I pick my food. Grapefruit(first bright red in January and dulled down to the whitish kind now) have been 5 for $2. I eat them right out of the peel like an orange.

This evening called for something different. I wanted to finish off the morning's half grapefruit and get some salad in me before my basketball game. The following simple salad pleased and refreshed in a modern way:

1 grapefruit, quartered, peel sliced off, and roughly chopped
6 big leaves off romaine lettuce
1 tablespoon flax seed meal
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 drizzles of olive oil

Put everything in a bowl and toss! Feeds 2. If you can cut up the grapefruit in you hands over the bowl, your salad will benefit from the juicy drippings.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Pink and Pickeled

A mini-dinner party this month highlighted a new winning side dish. Pickled onions! Easy, pretty and tasty. I didn't have to even explain to guests how to eatem. They were devoured. I've been topping salads and beans with the leftover pickling juice. Incredible.

Make em this way:

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 jalapeno pepper, quartered length-wise, use seeds for a super kick, or leave out
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Put all the ingredients in a glass jar. Close tightly with lid. Shake vigorously. Place in fridge at least 12 hours before serving. Serve!

The onions should keep for a few weeks. I used them as an accompaniment to kabobs. The pickled gems would be good with anything. Try: on a sandwich or burger, next to pork, on top of steamed veggies, with your rice and beans, garnishing a dip, in some slaw, or 1000s of undiscovered places.