Clean Out the Fridge Ratatouille

A trip to our local market usually (okay, always) leaves me lugging more bags onto the bus than I expect. A few weeks ago, I was smitten with the gorgeous zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, and peppers, not to mention the strawberries, tomatoes, radishes, peaches, and cucumbers. Sigh. What can I say, I'm a sucker for summer produce -- about the only thing I actually like about the summertime, by the way.

Now, the other inevitability that comes from farmer's market shopping, is that the week's stress and schedule gets in the way of my farm-to-table dreams. By Friday, I look into the fridge and am guilt-stricken. My once-beautiful zucchini are looking a bit sad, eggplant's got about two days to live, and those poor peppers... so wrinkly. Of course, there are about a zillion ways to remedy food waste guilt. My method: chop up a bunch of crap, put it in a pan, and call it ratatouille.

Clean Out The Fridge Corn Salad



Steven Depolo



Nothing says summer more than Fourth of July Weekend at the beach.  A whole group of us went to my family's beach house and spent three glorious days eating, drinking, sunning, playing.  It was wonderful and wonderfully exhausting.  On the last night, we had a fridge full of leftovers and very little energy to cook.  So I declared it "Clean Out The Fridge Night" and barred the use of the stove.  But what to do with all the random ingredients?  Yes, we could all have the leftover potato salad, cole slaw and hot dogs but wouldn't it be nice to have one new thing? 

So keeping the "no stove" rule in mind, I tossed together all the remnant goodies from the weekend's cooking and come up with a delicious and fresh tasting salad that livened up the leftovers.  The main ingredient, grilled corn, is one of my favorite summertime treats.  The grilling (especially over charcoal) imparts a delicious smokey, buttery flavor that complements the fresh veggies that you'll add to the salad.  If you didn't grill corn, regular corn on the cob or even canned corn could be used.  I've listed the ingredients I used but dig around in the fridge and I'm sure you could come up with a hundred variations.

Clean Out the Fridge Corn Salad
Serves 6 as a side

Taco Salad: Guilty Pleasure

Who said you can't have Doritos for dinner?? I found a way to make it possible and acceptable, with the help of a dear friend named Pete. It's his staple to bring to a summer BBQ, but I've made some simple changes to his already simple recipe. This recipe is super quick, packed with protein, and is quite the crowd pleaser. OK, so maybe Doritos aren't actually nutritious, but a healthy diet is all about giving in to your deep desires every once in a while, in moderation. If you are serving kids, what better way to get them to eat black beans & soy than to throw in some cheesy, crispy, crunchy treats. I know a lot of kids that would eat just about anything if you told them the recipe included something that came out of a vending machine. For the non-Doritos fans, you can surely substitute your run of the mill corn chip, but I'd certainly add some shredded cheddar to get the cheese effect. And what the heck, maybe add the shredded cheese anyway! Also, as I modified some of the ingredient's from Pete's original recipe, there is so much you can do to this to make it your own or play into your family's favorite tex-mex ingredients. My recipe is actually vegetarian, but if you are die-hard meat eaters, you could substitute 1 lb of ground beef or turkey. I'm definitely a meat lover, but find the veggie option makes me feel less guilty for the Doritos indulgence, and it's quite delicious. I didn't use olives this time, but that could be a great addition. In stead of straight tomatoes, mix it up with fresh pico de gallo. Add some jalapenos or chipotles in adobo for some spice. The options are endless, but I'm just going to start with the simplest version. In about 20 minutes, you can serve an army if you need to!

I should also add, that for grown ups, this dish is best served with a fresh, cold margarita while sitting on the deck. For kids or designated drivers, lemonade is a perfect match. Enjoy!

1 bag of pre-chopped Romaine lettuce

1 can of black beans

1 can of sweet kernel corn

2-3 tomatoes (or 8-10 cherry tomatoes would work as well), chopped

1 12 oz. bag of veggie crumbles (I use Morning Star Grillers found w/ frozen foods)

1 package Taco seasoning

Catalina salad dressing, to taste

Large bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos

Toss the veggie crumbles in a fry pan and cook as directed on the package; add the taco seasoning like you would to make any taco meat (usually 1 package per 1lb of meat/12 oz veggie crumbles). If you are using real meat, brown it. Let the crumbles cool - if you're in a crunch, throw them in the fridge for a bit after cooking.

Drain the beans & corn well, and chop the tomatoes to your desired bite size. Combine the lettuce, beans, corn, tomatoes, and crumbles in a big bowl, then toss with the Catalina dressing. As you portion it out, grab a hefty handful of Doritos (oh yeah!), gently crumble them in your hands, and toss them on top of each dish.

Serves 4-6, depending on appetites ... enjoy!

*Tip...If you are planning to have leftovers and enjoy it again tomorrow, add the dressing and Doritos individually on each serving rather than mixing them in with everything.

Penne with Summer Squash, Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Ricotta

I may not have children, but I am the new owner of one very hungry husband, and as far as I'm concerned, that's pretty much the same thing. He gets cranky when he's hungry, near-tears, even. (Okay, that's an exaggeration, but my point is, when I need to get dinner on the table, it's got to get there. Fast.)

As a newlywed, I was completely shocked to discover that our evenings after the ol' 9-5 (or 9-9, as the case may be) were all but lost to thank-you cards, calls to family and friends, and sometimes a little narcissistic photo viewing. By the time dinner even enters our minds, it's 8:00, and out of desperation we ordered out nearly every night for two weeks. Pizza, Thai, Chinese, Pizza. Woof. Needless to say, we were in desperate need of a satisfying meal that showcased the best of seasonal produce, as well as my mad skills in the kitchen.

Enter: the quick, delicious, and dare I say -- healthy -- meal in a pinch!

Penne with Summer Squash, Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Ricotta
Serves 4; Total time, 30 mins

Vermont Maple Salmon

I used to really dislike salmon.  When your only experiences eating it were in hotel ballrooms where it's mass cooked and over-heated, it tends to give you a negative impression.  But everyone loves salmon right?  It's so good for you, packed with good brain fats, and protein and omega something or others. A few better experiences and I realized salmon is pretty darn good when  it's cooked with a little TLC. 

This recipe made salmon go from "not so bad" to "Um Wow!" 

So maybe salmon doesn't come from Vermont.  After a taste of this dish though, you'd swear it swam around maple trees instead of up rivers.  The sweet maple syrup combined with the salty soy sauce makes this meaty fish really shine.  Practically speaking, it also helps the salmon to keep from drying out which is the cardinal sin of cooking salmon as far as I'm concerned. The delicious marinade and glaze works well in the oven or grilled.

Vermont Maple Salmon
Serves 2-3

Orange Teriyaki Rice Noodle Saute

My daughters have been really into Asian food lately so I figured I'd try something that was inspired by the East that doesn't come in a take-out container.  However, as a busy mom, I realize that not every single thing can come from scratch, it's just not possible.  If I had that kind of time....well, let's just say I don't have that kind of time.  So what's the middle ground? 

Borrowing my good "friend" Sandra Lee's "Semi-Homemade" concept, I used store bought Teriyaki sauce/marinade and added fresh ingredients to make this dish entirely my own.  You'll notice that the recipe is ripe with substitutions.  That's just because you can really use whatever meat/tofu or veggies you might have on hand. It's a great meal to throw together when you've forgotten to plan dinner....but who does that, right? 

Orange Teriyaki Rice Noodle Saute

Easy-Peasy Hummus

My Daddy-O is your basic traditional Arab guy. And, being raised in granola-crunchy California, we ate a lot of Mediterranean foods... Suffering from intense wanderlust, I tend to be away from home - alot. So, to battle that homesick feeling, I seek out comfort food - Arabic foods! This is ridiculously easy, quick hummus recipe... and always reminds me of home!

This is the easiest recipe ever - you just eye ball, taste, and adjust to your liking...


Easy-Peasy Humus

Farmers Market Pizza

Thursdays from March to November are Farmers Market days.  I love Thursdays.  This past Thursday, I made out like a bandit at my local Farmers Market.  Summertime brings a bounty of fresh veggies to the market and my cook's creativity gets moving.

I came up with this take on a margherita pizza using only ingredients from my farmers market - with the exception of the pizza dough, oregano, and the Italian cheese blend.  I somehow managed to sweet talk the guy at the corner pizza shop into selling me some pizza dough.  If you don't have a generous corner pizza shop, use a pre-made crust or dough from your grocery store's deli section.  If you're using raw dough, I would recomend baking it for 4-5 minutes before adding your toppings.  This pizza doesn't need to cook long and you'll want to make sure your dough isn't....well, doughy.

We served this pizza with a fresh salad (also from the market) and Syd's Sweet Squash (see post).

Farmer's Market Pizza

Syd's Sweet Squash

My pre-teen daughter accompanied me on a trip to our local farmer's market.  Unlike my son, my daughters have adventurous palates and both love fresh veggies so the farmers market is full of exciting prospects.  We got our usual tomatoes, some green beans, cucumbers, fresh mozzarella and some lettuce.  As we were turning to leave, her eyes caught something that really got her excited....squash. 

There's a long-standing joke in my house about my aversion to zucchini and squash.   Try as I might, the flavors just are not for me.  My kids, however, have come to love both.  Admittedly, the squash at the market looked great - bright yellow and healthy....bursting with all the nutrition I was denying my children if I turned down Sydney's request.  Darn you, squash!  So I agreed to get them (two for a dollar, not bad) if she agreed to cook them.  Her eyes lit up and we brainstormed on the way home about how to prepare her finds.

All three of the kids loved it and my darling Syd was beaming with pride at her culinary creation.  It also sparked an idea.  Every week, I plan to bring one of the kids with me to the market.  They'll be responsible for choosing one vegetable and preparing it.  It might be a hard sell with my son but then again, it might be a good way to get him to expand his horizons.

Syd's Sweet Squash

Sweet Apple Cole Slaw

Given any option in the world, employing any of his darling mother's culinary skills, my son requested Popeye's Fried Chicken for his 8th grade graduation party.  Sigh.  Oh well.

So we bought a boatload of chicken and I made some sides.  Pasta salad, roasted potatoes (his one homemade request) and cole slaw.  I looked online for a simple cole slaw recipe and threw one together based on a few different ideas I found as well as my family's preferences.  I prefer my cole slaw sweet and this one is as good as dessert.  Confession: I just had the leftovers for breakfast.   

Sweet Apple Cole Slaw