Colorado Melon Caprese

It just wouldn't be Summer without a little caprese in my life, but who says you have to make it with tomatoes?  The Italians?  Well, probably...  but I think this version, using some of those sweet, late-summer Colorado melons that are widely available this time of year, is a delicious and beautiful alternative!

This version, pictured, was made as little hors d'oeuvres on lovely metal cocktail skewers (*see note below for skewer directions).  You can also just combine all the ingredients in a big bowl and serve it family style, just don't use all of your oil and balsamic.  I used a marvelous Etnia Spanish olive oil with merquen (a Spanish smoked chile and cumin spice mix) to make this dish more interesting and flavorful, but a basil-infused olive oil, garlic oil, or even just regular olive oil with work fine.


Colorado Melon Caprese

1 medium (or 2 small) heirloom melon, washed
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1 bunch green basil
1 bunch purple basil
1 8-oz. container fresh mozzarella ciliegine (the small, bite-sized balls)
about 1/4 cup olive oil with merquen (or your favorite infused olive oil)
about 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.  Using a melon baller, scoop out little bite-sized balls of melon until no more flesh remains.  Place melon balls in a bowl and gently toss with lemon juice.  Tear the larger basil leaves into small, 1" pieces and leave smaller leaves whole.  Add mozzarella and basil and toss ingredients to mix.  Drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Gently toss and serve immediately.

*To assemble skewers:  make individual caprese bites using reusable metal cocktail skewers.  First, spear a melon ball, followed by a purple basil leaf and then a green basil leaf.  Follow with a piece of mozarella, then drizzle each skewer with oil and balsamic and lightly season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Beet Latkes and Dill Creme Fraiche with Grilled Corn and Salmon Salad with Dill Butter

One thing that's definitely abundant this time of year is beets.  We've been getting them from our CSA in copious amounts, and I see them on the shelves at the grocery store in lots of beautiful, colorful varieties.  I happen to love these sweet, earthy root vegetables, but this meal is a great way to convince somebody who thinks they don't like beets (far too many people) that they can, in fact, enjoy eating them!  When mixed with potatoes and fried until crispy, they add an extra depth of flavor to latkes without being too over-powering.  I topped them off with a rich and flavorful dilled creme fraiche to make these simple root vegetable cakes into something special.

The salad makes a light, crunchy and delicious accompaniment to the latkes.  I grilled some rich Coho salmon and sweet Colorado corn together and mixed them with a generous helping of melted butter with lots of fresh dill.  The salad has even more fresh dill, parsley, and a hint of champagne vinegar to add a little tang.  For a lighter meal, the salad would be delicious on it's own, or perhaps with some grilled zucchini slices added.
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Beet Latkes with Dill Creme Fraiche topping
makes 12-14

Latkes:
5 medium beets, grated (about 4 cups)
2 large yukon gold potatoes, grated (about 4 cups)
1/2 large yellow onion, grated
1/2 cup matzoh meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt and pepper, to taste
vegetable oil

Topping:
1 7.5 oz package creme fraiche (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 T whole milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Place a large cookie sheet in the oven and heat to 200 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix beets, potatoes, onion, matzoh and eggs until well combined.  In a large, shallow pan, add about 3 T oil over medium-high heat.  Form beet mixture into patties by hand and place in hot oil.  Fry until each side is crispy and golden-brown, about 5 minutes per side, adding a splash more oil if the pan gets dry.  Once cooked, allow latkes to drain on a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.  Place on the baking sheet in the oven while you fry the rest of the latkes and keep warm until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, make topping.  Combine ingredients in a small bowl and mix until combined.  Serve latkes hot with a dollop of the topping.


Grilled Corn and Salmon Salad with Dill Butter
serves 4

1 lb. salmon 
2 T olive oil
4 ears of corn, shucked and washed
3 T salted butter, melted
1/4 cup dill, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 head leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
1 T champagne vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat grill to medium-high.  Drizzle salmon and corn with olive oil.  Place salmon on grill, skin side-down.  Arrange corn on grill.  Cover grill and cook salmon for about 10-12 minutes, flipping over after about 5-6 minutes or until the skin becomes crispy.  Grill corn until lightly charred on both sides, about 7-9 minutes per side.  Remove salmon and corn from grill and season with salt and pepper.  Allow to cool, slightly, then cut corn kernels from cob.  In a medium bowl, flake salmon meat into bite-sized pieces and add corn kernels.  In a small bowl, whisk the melted butter with 2 T of the chopped dill and drizzle over the salmon and corn.  Mix well to combine. 

In a large bowl, combine remaining dill, parsley, chopped lettuce, and vinegar and toss well to combine.  Add half of the salmon and corn mixture and toss again.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Dish out the salad servings and top each with more of the salmon and corn mixture.  Serve salad on its own or alongside Beet Latkes.

Black Bean, Zucchini and Roasted Garlic Cakes

We've all had them before.  Just about anybody who has ever eaten more than a few vegetarian meals has probably eaten a black bean burger.  I've always been quite fond of the protein-packed patties, but most of the store-bought versions really fail to satisfy.  Even the all-natural black bean burgers usually have an ingredient list that is far too long for me to feel good about (and often has a lot of unnecessary soy or corn-based fillers), not to mention the texture is usually dry and over-firm.

These black bean, zucchini and roasted garlic cakes, on the other hand, might become your new favorite meat alternative!  They are perfectly moist, thanks to the addition of shredded zucchini and the roasted garlic gives them a wonderfully savory aroma and flavor.  They have a nice, soft texture on the inside but get a crispy coating of panko to give them some crunch.  I served mine with Romaine and Radish Slaw and Cilantro-Lime dressing to make for a really fresh, crunchy and tasty meal.  The recipe can easily be doubled and the leftovers frozen, which makes for a super-quick and easy meal later on in the week. 

Black Bean, Zucchini and Roasted Garlic Cakes
makes 8 cakes

1 garlic bulb
2 T olive oil
4 cups black beans, soft-cooked
1 1/2 cups zucchini, shredded and blotted dry with a towel (about 1 medium zucchini)
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 egg
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Slice about 1/4 inch from the top of the garlic bulb so that a little bit of each bulb is exposed.  Add olive oil to a small ramekin and place the garlic bulb, cut side-down, in the ramekin.  Roast garlic until it becomes fragrant and soft, about 30-40 minutes.  Leave oven on and allow bulb to cool for at least 15 minutes.  Once cooled, squeeze garlic bulb from the bottom so the garlic cloves pop out of their skins.  Mash garlic with a fork to make a paste.

Next, assemble your cakes.  Add beans, garlic paste, zucchini, 1/2 a cup of the bread crumbs and spices to a large bowl.  Using your hands or a potato masher, mash the ingredients together until combined.  Season with salt and pepper and taste.  Adjust seasoning, if desired.  Lightly beat the egg with a fork then add to your bean mixture.  Mix well and set aside.
Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil and heat in the oven for at least 5 minutes.  Place remaining 1 cup of bread crumbs on a medium-sized plate.  Divide bean mixture into 8 balls.  Taking one ball at a time, flatten into a patty and coat each side with bread crumbs.  Place each patty on the heated baking sheet and place in the 450-degree oven.  Bake until the bottom of the cake becomes golden and crispy, about 12-15 minutes.  Flip the cakes and bake another 10-13 minutes.  Allow to cool, slightly, then serve atop the slaw (recipe below) with an extra drizzle of dressing, if desired.

Radish and Romaine Slaw with Tangy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Summertime is slaw time!  I just love a cool, crunchy slaw on a hot summer day.  There's something so refreshing about lots of crispy, thinly shredded vegetables tossed with a light and tangy dressing.  This salad is full of good stuff like spicy radishes and mellow, sweet Romaine lettuce with a hit of stringent cilantro.  

Although mayonnaise is synonymous with slaw dressing I like to use it sparingly, if at all.  This recipe uses just enough to give the dressing that signature mayo tang but without the heavy, oily weight of it.  I used light coconut milk (no pantry should be without it!) to thin the dressing out but keep it creamy, and lime juice adds a hint of sweet and sour.  I had this salad along with some Black Bean, Zucchini and Roasted Garlic Cakes and used the extra dressing to drizzle over the top. 

Radish and Romaine Slaw with Tangy Cilantro-Lime Dressing
serves 4-6


Slaw:
1 large head of Romaine lettuce
1 cup radishes, shredded (1 small bunch)
2 cups red cabbage, shredded (1/2 a small head)
1/3 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro leaves

Dressing:
1/4 cup good-quality mayonnaise
1/4 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup cilantro (leaves and stems)
juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper, to taste


First, prep your Romaine.  Slice off the bottom core and soak leaves in a clean sink full of tepid water, stirring the leaves occasionally, until the dirt settles to the bottom - about 15 minutes.  Use a salad spinner to dry leaves, then slice them into thin shreds.  In a large bowl, mix Romaine with remaining ingredients and set aside.


Add dressing ingredients to a blender and puree until the cilantro is well-incorporated.  Add anywhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of the dressing to salad, reserving the rest for drizzling on top of the black bean cakes or reserving for another purpose*.  Serve immediately.


*If you are making enough for leftovers, only dress the amount of salad you will be eating right away.  Keep the dressing and slaw ingredients separate until ready to serve.

Refried Bean Pizza and Romaine Salad, part deux

The fabulous thing about home-made pizza dough is that once you have all the elements (cheese, beans, salad fix-ins) it becomes the quickest dinner ever!  Heat your oven up nice and hot, roll out the dough, spread out the toppings and dinner is done in twenty minutes.  Boom.

This version has some extra elements of awesomeness with the addition of Haystack Mt. chile jack cheese (a tangy, spicy goat jack that's well worth the high cost!) and some fresh chorizo sausage from Marczyk's.  The only difference between this salad and last night's is that it's heavier on the lettuce and gains an extra depth of flavor from grilled garlic scapes and grilled corn.  It's a little more refined and quite delicious!

Refried Bean Pizza and Romaine Salad, part deux
serves 4

Pizza:
1/2 batch fresh pizza dough (or one large store-bought pizza crust)
2 fresh chorizo sausages
2 cups refried beans (homemade is preferable)
1/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled
1/2 cup Haystack Mt. Chile Jack cheese, shredded

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
1 bunch breakfast radishes (about 8-10 very small radishes), thinly sliced
1 red pepper, grilled and chopped
1 green pepper, grilled and chopped
2 ears of corn, shucked and grilled
1 garlic scape, grilled and sliced
1 avocado
juice of 4-6 limes
2-3 T champagne vinegar (or other white vinegar)
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large pan over medium-high.  Remove chorizo from casings and add in small pieces to the hot pan.  Fry until lightly browned and cooked through, about ten minutes.  Remove chorizo with a slotted spoon and reserve fat.

Place a baking stone into the oven and heat to 500 degrees.  Meanwhile, roll out your fresh pizza dough on a lightly floured surface until crust is about 1/4-inch thick.  Slide dough onto a large, lightly-floured cutting board.  Brush the crust with chorizo fat and spread on the beans in an even layer.  Top with queso fresco and chile jack and finish with chorizo pieces.  Slide pizza from the cutting board onto the baking stone in the oven and cook until crust is crisp and lightly browned, about 8-11 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, then slice.

Meanwhile, assemble your salad.  Slice corn kernals off the cob.  In a large bowl, combine romaine, radishes, corn, garlic scape, and peppers.  In a blender, combine the avocado with lime juice and blend.  Add just enough vinegar to loosen the dressing (it will be very thick).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss salad with about 5 T of the dressing.  Serve salad alongside the pizza.