In the bay area we like to call this time of year our Indian summer. September and all the way to the end of October tends to be really hot. June and July are really just an extension of spring out here. Hot days and warm nights have been the norm so this salad is a great way to cool off after a long days work. Paired with a simple grilled chicken breast and your dinner is a breeze. The feta cheese is a crucial component in this salad. It lends a slight saltiness to the sweet watermelon and the sharp red onions. I like a brand that I find at T.J’s called Pastures of Eden. Imported from Israel, it’s the real deal. Made from sheep’s milk so if you are lactose intolerant you have nothing to worry about. Sheep and goat milk cheese are naturally lactose free. I happen to suffer from this to the extreme so when I found this little fact out it opened a whole new world in my love of cheese. This classic paring of watermelon and feta will delight your sense.

Baby Watermelon Salad

I love to use a crisp green lettuce head for this salad. For a bitter background try baby arugula sometime. Add this salad to your next BBQ. It will be a sure win.

Ingredients:
Salad greens of your choice
1/2 baby watermelon cut in medium cubes
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 cup Feta cheese, cubed
1 small cucumber peeled and seeded. Cut in small cubes
10 basil leaves, torn
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Vinegar of your choice

Method:
In a large salad bowl arrange the salad greens as a bed. Top the bed with the watermelon, then red onions. Continue layering with the feta cheese and next the cucumber. Garnish with the torn basil leaves. Right before serving sprinkle desired amount of the following, salt and pepper, then drizzle olive oil and vinegar over the top. Toss to coat gently.

Serves 4-6

The farmers market is filled with late summer stone fruit these days. The plums are available in all varieties. I just love the rainbow of colors. This is a great dessert for entertaining. Minimal work, less ingredients and really flexible. I like to have the plums ready in the baking dishes before the guests arrive, than once your oven is free, bake them and as the directions state, leave them in the oven turned off with the door just open until serving time. That way they cool just enough to come to a nice warm temperature. Their flavor is at it’s fullest. I used an almond biscotti I had on hand but I really like the graham cracker version the best, so that is what I listed in the ingredients. It works really well with the brown sugar. I found that the biscotti browned a bit faster than the graham cracker so I just covered the dishes lightly with a loose piece of foil near the end of baking. This is a great trick when your baked goods still need oven time but the top is getting too brown. Just do not cover all the way tight or steam will build and that will change your results.

Roasted Plums with Greek Yogurt

This would work well with any type of stone fruit, apples or pears. Adding berries would also be nice. Just be conscience of the cooking times. You could also bake the servings in one large baking dish.

Per person:
Butter, softened
2 firm plums
1Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 piece graham cracker, lightly crushed
Greek yogurt
Honey to drizzle

Preheat oven, 425 degrees F.
Using an 8 oz. ramekin, take a teaspoon of the softened butter and smear it on the bottom and sides of the ramekin. Set aside.
Cut each plum in half, remove the pit and toss the halves in a bowl with the brown sugar.
Place the plums into the ramekin and top with the graham cracker crumbs.
Bake the ramekins on a bake sheet for 20-30 minuets. Turn the oven off and let the roasted plums sit in the oven with the door just open a bit for another 30 minuets. The plums should collapse. Top with 2 tablespoons of the Greek yogurt and drizzle with honey. Enjoy!

This is a quick and healthy lunch I turn to when I am hungry but don’t have time to really cook. As you know by now Trader Joe’s is my favorite grocery store. I find that I buy less junk there so I rarely go to the others, except for Whole Foods about once a month. They have some products I can’t find anywhere else but if I shopped there regularly I would have to find another job. The Trader Joe’s frozen food section is a great place to find quick foods that are wholesome and healthy. I love these Gorditas, Mexican corn filled with cheese and beans. I lightly oil my pan, microwave for a minute and then heat them slowly until they are light golden crispy on the outside and soft and steamy on the inside. You don’t have to use the microwave at all, I just find that it quickens the process. Add some extra cheese on top, I use a sliced yogurt cheese with jalapeno. Shred some lettuce as a bed then top the gordita with fresh chopped tomatoes, red onions, radish and avocado. I drizzle plain yogurt and hot sauce to add a kick. You could use sour cream if you prefer but I don’t always have it on hand and I find that you don’t even miss it, yogurt tastes just as good. Your favorite salsa would also be a great addition.

If you do not have a Trader Joe’s near you can always use a bean and cheese burrito,

Amy’s Organic ones are really good. Even a chicken breast grilled would be a nice option. Be creative!

Ingredients:

1 Trader Joe’s frozen gordita
1 slice Trader Joe’s sliced yogurt jalapeno cheese or your choice
3 romaine leaves, shredded
1 tomato, chopper
2 radish, chopped
Handful red onion, chopped
½ avocado, chopped
2-3 tablespoons plain yogurt or sour cream
Hot sauce or salsa

Method:

On a microwave safe plate, heat the gordita for 1 minuet. Next drizzle 1-teaspoon of oil in a skillet and heat to medium. Add the gordita to the skillet and heat on each side until golden brown and crispy and the middle starts to puff up, this indicates that enough steam has built up and it is fully cooked. Next add the cheese and melt. I place it in the oven under the broiler until it is melted but you can always cover it with a lid on the skillet and it will melt just fine. To assemble the dish add the shredded lettuce to the plate, top with the cheese covered gordita, add the tomato, red onion, radish, and avocado then drizzle with the yogurt and hot sauce. Enjoy!

Serves 1

Summer has hit and the berries this year have been super sweet. I like to buy them in large containers and toss them all together. Strawberries are the only ones you need to slice then add blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Simplicity sometimes is overlooked. Keep them in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap and enjoy the taste of summer unadorned.

My daughter is in the 6th grade. She will be graduating elementary school next week and entering Junior High in September. She is my third child to graduate this school and even though my youngest son will not even start elementary for another 5 years it blows my mind that the original three have all passed this stage. Where did the time go? My husband and I go for walks in the neighborhood and regularly pass the school as the kids study the morning away, how many times I looked into the playground trying to catch a glimpse of one of my children and wave as they played during recess and thought about this day coming. I tend to do that a lot, look into the future. Not a recommended practice if you ask me, but it is somewhat of a habit. All three of my children were fortunate to get the same 6th grade teacher. I have really enjoyed the pleasure of experiencing what a great teacher can be. We have had a few gems throughout this school experience and she is one of them. During my middle sons’ 6th grade year the City of Fremont hosted a Pen Pal program that linked elementary school children to elderly citizens. They would exchange letters throughout the school year and at the end of the year they would meet at a city sponsored luncheon for a meet and greet and honor all of the hard work it took to put the program together. This year the program fell victim to budget cuts. What a loss to the community, but our teacher decided to keep with the spirit of the idea and with the help of her teacher aid found such loving and caring elders to participate. My daughter would come home with her letter and read each one to me with such excitement. So when I got an email to help out the day of their meet and greet I could not refuse. I wanted to make it extra special. My daughter and I planned out the menu and she decided to make chocolate covered pretzel sticks with sprinkles for the kids and I decided one of the offerings would be a healthy cookie I turn to often from the first food blog I stumbled upon years ago and still one of my favorites. 101 Cookbooks is the creation of Heidi Swanson, the cookbook author of “Super Natural Cooking” and her new addition, “Super Natural Everyday”. She lives in San Francisco and focuses on natural, whole foods and ingredients - vegetarian recipes that are good for you, with the occasional sweet treat as she describes in her introduction. You should visit her site, I am sure you will also become a fan. This cookie recipe is so easy to make and is dairy, egg and flour free plus it has no processed sugar in it. The sweetness comes from the bananas. Genius! A friend of Heidi’s shared this recipe with her. My kids love these cookies. I thought it was a good fit so with my baba strapped to my chest we made our way to the school cafeteria with all of our goodies and with the help of a good friend and mother of my daughters classmate, laid everything out for the party. What a wonderful time it was. I loved seeing everyone connect and enjoy each other’s company. I once went on a fieldtrip to a rest home for the elderly in 3rd grade and it made a lifelong impact on how I treat and respect our community elders. They are the true gems amongst us. I highly recommend reaching out to someone near you who may or may not need some extra company. In the end you will be richly rewarded with a priceless friendship and bringing some yummy, healthy cookies along could never hurt.

Step by Step Process

Before Bake After Bake

Nikki's Healthy Cookie Recipe

Courtesy of 101Cookbooks.com

Ingredients:

3 large, ripe bananas, well mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil, barely warm - so it isn't solid (or alternately, olive oil)
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup almond meal
1/3 cup coconut, finely shredded & unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 - 7 ounces chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, racks in the top third.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, vanilla extract, and coconut oil. Set aside. In another bowl whisk together the oats, almond meal, shredded coconut, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips.The dough is a bit looser than a standard cookie dough, don't worry about it. Drop dollops of the dough, each about 2 teaspoons in size, an inch apart, onto a parchment (or Silpat) lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. I baked these as long as possible without burning the bottoms and they were perfect - just shy of 15 minutes seems to be about right in my oven.

Makes about 3 dozen bite-sized cookies.

You could use any other green leafy vegetable here, kale being the new favorite these days would work nice or spinach is always a winner. I love to have this in a big bowl for lunch.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon oil
6 small or 3 large sweet potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon red chili
1 teaspoon salt
1 yellow onion, sliced lengthwise
3 cloves garlic
1 20 oz can chickpeas
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
½ teaspoon turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds mustard greens, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
½ juice of a lemon

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and toss your sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the oil, cumin, red chili powder and salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through and light brown. Set aside.

In a large sauté pan add the rest of the oil and the onion and sauté until it is just soft. Next add the garlic and cook a few seconds then add the chickpeas and add the red chili flakes, turmeric, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minuets on medium heat. Now start adding the mustard greens and add as they wilt to fit them all. Once they are all in and wilted, cook them until they are tender. Now add the roasted chopped tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and the fresh lemon juice and fold gently to combine. Serve hot or cold.

Serves 6

OTTOLENGHI

THE COOKBOOK

When I found this cookbook reviewed a few years ago on the Internet I knew I had to have it. The only problem was that it had only released in the UK at that time so I was going to have to wait, but then a friend of mine was heading off to London and I asked if he could help find the book. He did and was so kind that he found an autographed copy that he picked up in one of their restaurants. It was his first visit to their restaurant and he was very impressed. I love the idea behind the concept. Large platters of fresh made intriguing salads, simple pastries, hot dishes, different breads all beautifully prepared and laid out on large white counters and a back drop of shiny white walls making the food jump out at you, beckoning you to come and enjoy. They have a straightforward approach to their food, simply prepared, allowing the ingredients to speak for themselves. Allowing the consumer to build a closer bond between the food, the chef and its story. They have minimal refrigeration which they say is key to keeping the food at it’s optimal quality, the chill of the refrigerator kills most flavor, so for that they sell out the platters quickly, a salad would tell it’s own story if it were left out without refrigeration for long and no one can hide that. I have seen this a lot in Europe especially at lunch spots. I do not think it is allowed in America, all cold items must be kept at 40 degrees and all hot items must be kept at 160 degrees. So sad, I don’t understand why we Americans must have too much of everything all wrapped up in plastic, a false security that it is “fresh”. I have never read of wide spread food poisoning in Europe. We have a lot to learn when it comes to our relationship with our food. Sorry for the diversion, this topic makes me crazy. Back to the book, the authors Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi were born in West and East Jerusalem. Yotam came from a backround of German and Italian blood and Sami a Palestinian Arab. Both are inspired by their childhood food memories. The foods they create have no boarders, the focus ranges from Persia to California as they state in the book cover. I just love all of it and cook from this book often. I am sharing a family favorite that can be used as an appetizer, side dish or used in pita bread for a sandwich like Sami’s mother did in his youth. It is reminiscent of an Indian Pakora but I find that it has silky custard like texture beneath the crispy crust. Yotam Ottolenghi has a new vegetarian cookbook out, “Plenty” and the team behind Ottolenghi, which now has four locations through out London just opened NOPI, a high-end brasserie with a twist. If I ever find myself in London I am making a trip to OTTOLENGHI for sure.

Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Yoghurt

Ottolenghi The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

I added a ½ teaspoon of baking powder to the batter, I liked the lightness it added to the crunch. I do not like cinnamon so I changed it out with crushed coriander and added a teaspoon of crushed red chili for some spice. I also substituted lemon for the lime in the sauce and it worked just fine. You could also play around with the vegetable here, any soft cooked veggie could possibly work.

Ingredients:

For the fritters:

1 small cauliflower (about 320g)
120g plain flour or ½ cup
3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley plus a few extra leaves to garnish
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 free range eggs
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
500ml sunflower oil for frying or about 2 1/4 cups

For the lime yogurt:

300g Greek yogurt or 1 1/3 cup
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander with a couple of leaves reserved to garnish
grated zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Taste-looking for a vibrant, tart, citrusy flavour-and adjust the seasoning. Chill or leave out for up to an hour.
2. To prepare the cauliflower, trim off any leaves and use a small knife to divide the cauliflower into little florets. Add them to a large pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 15 minutes or until very soft. Drain into a colander.
3. While the cauliflower is cooking, put the flour, chopped parsley, garlic, shallots, eggs, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together well to make a batter. When the mixture is smooth and homogenous, add the warm cauliflower. Mix to break down the cauliflower into the batter.
4. Pour the sunflower oil into a wide pan to the depth of 1.5 cm and heat up. When it is very hot, carefully spoon in generous portions of the cauliflower mixture, 3 tablespoons per fritter. Take care with the hot oil! Space the fritters apart making sure they are not too crowded. Fry in small batches, controlling the oil temperature so the fritters cook but don’t burn. They should take 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Remove from the pan and drain well on a few layers of kitchen paper. Serve with the sauce on the side.

Serves 4