Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato is a great alternative if you are trying to avoid high starchy food like potatoes.
Time to cook: 35min

Ingredients:
• Sweet potato 4potatoes
• Olive oil (2tbls)
• Chicken broth 1cup
• 1 twig of thyme
• 3 cloves of garlic
• Salt &peper

Directions
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• Clean and cut the potatoes in cubes
• Add potatoes, chicken broth, S&P, thyme, and minced garlic to oven safe caserol dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 25 min
• Remove the foil, drain the remaining liquid, sprinkle olive oil and bake for 10 more min
 

Tomate Roasted Eggplant

One of my favorite eggplant dishes, is the Tomato Roasted Eggplant. It's a really easy dish to make and is perfect for as a "make-ahead" dish.

Time to prepare: 1.5 hours (including prep time)

Ingredients:

• 2 eggplants
• 2 cans of diced tomato
• 2 tbls ketchup
• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbls olive oil
• S&P

Directions:

• Pre-heat over at 350 degrees. Wash the eggplants and poke them with a fork all around. Please note, if you do not poke the eggplants, they might explode in the oven. Roast the eggplants on a cooking sheet for 45 min.
• Take the roasted eggplants, and take off the skin and chop into cubes.
• In a food processor combine, 1 onion, 1 green pepper, and the eggplant
• In a deep pot, heat the olive oil. Add the mixture from the food processor. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes.
• Stir, all of the ingredients in the pot. After about 10 minutes, add ketchup, salt and pepper, dill. For additional spice, add some red chili sauce (1 tsp)
• Cook for about 40 minutes on medium temperature. Stir occasionally. Let it cool down, prior to serving

The Zesty Pickle Salsa

You may ask, why would one combine pickles with salsa, well pickles add the sweetness to this spicy recipe that give this salsa recipe a bit a kick

Time to prepare: 20min

Ingridients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 serrano chiles, with seeds sliced
• 1 cup of thingly sliced white onion
• 1 tsp of garam masala
• 2 medium tomato, chopped
• 2 tbls of lime juice
• S&P
• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
• 4 kosher pickles, chopped

Directions

• In a large skillet, heat the oil until smoky. Add the chile and onion and stir-fry over high heat for 30 seconds. Add the garam masala and stir-fry until the onion is crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Toss in 1 tomato and lime juice.
• Transfer to a bowl and add 1 tomato, pickles, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cilantro. Serve hot or at room temperature

Stuffed mushrooms with goat cheese

Time to prepare: 30 min

Ingredients:

• 16 oz mushrooms
• 4oz goat cheese
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• rosemary
• salt & pepper
• olive oil

Direction

• pre-heat oven at 400 degrees
• toss mushroom tops with rosemary and 1tbl of olive oil, add salt & pepper (I use very little s&p)
• place mushrooms opening end up on a baking sheet
• bake for 15-20min. you want the mushrooms to be brown
• in a bowl combine goat cheese, remainder of the rosemary, minced garlic
• when mushroom are ready remove from the oven
• use a paper towel and dab the extra oils from the mushrooms
• use a spoon and stuff the mushrooms

Heirloom salad

This salad is one of my summer favorites. As soon as I see some heirloom tomatoes at the store, you're bound to find this salad at my house.

Time to prepare: 10 min

Ingredients:

• 3 heirloom tomatoes
• 1 clove of elephant garlic
• 1 mozzarella ball
• basil

Directions:

• Chop up the tomatoes in half circles
• Slice the mozzarella ball thingly
• Mince the 1 clove of garlic
• Chop up the basil
• Salt&Pepper
• Add some olive oil

The Perfect Caesar

Caesar salad is one of my all time favorites. Please note, since I am all about healthy cooking, I try to avoid using croutons when I cook.

Time to prepare: 10 min
Ingredients:

• romaine lettuce
• green onion (1 bunch)
• chicken breast (or deli meat)

Dressing:

• 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp mayo
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1tbls olive oil
• salt/pepper
• 1tsp white wine vinegrate
• anchovies
• 2 cloves of minced garlic

Directions

• combine all greens
• add chicken (if you would like the meat version)
• squeeze the lemon
• in a bowl, squish the anchovies, combine olive oil/dijon/white vinegrate/mayo and mix together
• add salt/pepper/minced garlic
• mix dressing with salad

Roasted Asparagus

Time to prepare: 10min
Ingredients: Asparagus/lemon/almond oil

Directions

• Wash and chop off the bottoms of the asparagus
• Place asparagus on the grill
• As the asparagus is grilling brush over with almond oil
• Turn the asparagus and brush over again
• Salt and pepper while on the grill
• Roast asparagus for roughly 5-7min
• Once removed from grill sprinkle is fresh squeezed lemon or wine vinegrate

This is a very basic and easy recipe. It is one of my all time summer favorites.

Spicy Grean Beans

Time to prepare: 15 min

Ingredients:
• 4 cups of greens beans
• 1 chopped small onion
• 1.5 tsp of olive oil
• 2 tbs of soy sauce
• 1 tsp red chili sauce
• 2 clove of garlic
• handful of cilantro
• salt pepper
• lemon juice

Directions:
• mince onion/garlic/cilantro
• heat oil on skillet
• add onion and green beans
• saute for 5-7min
• mix sauce (soy sauce, red chili, lemon juice)
• add to dish
• add cilantro and garlic
• salt/pepper to taste