Cucumber Salad Recipe

Here is the recipe for the delicious cucumber salad I made mention of last week. This is my recipe; modify as needed.


Ingredients
2 japanese cucumbers
1 vine ripe tomato
1/2 green bell pepper
3-4 tablespoons goat cheese (or as much as you like for taste)
3 mini sweet red peppers
garlic wine vinegar
oregano
basil
ground black pepper

Directions

1. Peel cucumbers and cut into chunks. I quartered them and then sliced up the quarters.
2. Cut green pepper and tomato into chunks.
3. Slice red pepper and halve each slice (red bell pepper will work as well, cut into chunks just like the other veggies).
4. Place goat cheese in a microwave safe bowl and heat just enough to soften; about 10-15 seconds.
5. Sprinkle oregano, basil and ground pepper into the goat cheese. I didn't measure, I just taste-tested as I went.
6. Add a splash of the vinegar to the cheese mixture and stir immediately to avoid curdling.
7. Combine the cucumber, bell pepper and tomato in a bowl and stir in the cheese mixture until everything is coated. Use more cheese or vinegar if you desire a stronger taste.
8. Enjoy!

Mango Pear Salad

This salad was absolutely delicious, super simple, and perfect for a hot summer evening. I was able to make it with what I had laying around (mangoes are in season and falling off the tree in our yard. Yes, it's ok to be jealous.

I wish I could take credit for this salad's creation, but alas, I cannot. I'm just going to post the link to the recipe. My only modifications were that I left out the grapes because it was so delicious without them, and I used salt even though my pears weren't super sweet. I also added a little extra mango juice and pulp left over from the slicing.

Recipe: Mango Pear Salad

And for those who don't normally work with mangoes, a tip.

None of the pictures came out very well, but the salad did

Grilled Cheese!

I don't have any photos to back this up, but we had an epic grilled cheese experience on Sunday evening. When I show you the menu you will understand why this was so exciting. After a day of sunning poolside (thanks, Maria!) we negotiated with Ray an exchange of his grilled cheese ingredients for ours. That's where it all began.

Here is what the options were on the menu:

Bread Choices
Wheat
Sourdough


Meat Choices
Chicken
Ham
BACON


Cheese Selection
Sharp Cheddar
Goat cheese
Colby jack
Mozzarella
Brie

Also available: tomato slices, macaroni salad (though not on the sandwich)

After taking orders, I had them clipped to the hood of the stove, short-order cook style, and the cooking began! Here are what a couple of the creations consisted of:

• Sourdough, bacon, goat cheese, sharp cheddar, tomato
• Wheat, sharp cheddar, tomato, bacon
• Sourdough, tomato, brie
• Wheat, chicken, bacon, goat cheese, mozzarella
• Sourdough, sharp cheddar, mozzarella

That's not a complete list, but the four of us (Joe, Meg, Ray and me) had a great time building our creations. Go ahead, try one for yourself.

Light Summer Salads

Not every night in Hawaii is as temperate as I'd like it to be, especially if down in our little valley we aren't getting a breeze though our apartment. Last night was one of those nights, and we were having company (Hi, Elise!) so I decided that a sampling of cool summer salads would be a good idea. I haven't done a recipe post in a while, so I thought I'd share some of the goodies with you over my next few posts (don't worry, I'll get a hiking post in there somewhere, too, for you view junkies out there).

Here is what our dinner and dessert spread looked like:

Mmm...cheesecake and cookies for dessert with iced coffee!

The menu was Caesar salad, potato salad and garlic bread from Elise, and I made edamame salad, macaroni salad (my Grandma's recipe), cucumber goat cheese salad, and a pear and mango salad. I'm back on a new recipe kick, so I'll try to share as I find or create fun new food combinations. Happy cooking!

Mmm...bananas!

This stunning photograph is of banana pancakes and fresh fruit, which I served with honey. Delicious! The pancake mix was a Christmas gift from Meg and Kei, the bananas were fresh from Grandad's yard, and the starfruit was from the tree in our front yard. Thanks, Hawaii, for ono fresh food!

Yummy Chicken Marinade

Here is a yummy chicken marinade I came up with over the weekend. Sorry about the lack of definite quantities.

Lani's Chicken Marinade:

1/2 cup olive oil
splash of soy sauce
sprinkle black pepper
sprinkle sea salt
double splash of lemon juice
sprinkle oregano
sprinkle basil

Combine ingredients in a freezer bag, add chicken and seal bag. Mix chicken around so that it is evenly coated. Place bag on plate in refrigerator. Check every 30-45 minutes and rotate. I used chicken cut into small peices (about stir-fry size). For whole chicken breast you may want to use more marinade and soak overnight. For the smaller pieces I marinated the chicken for about 1 1/2 hrs and it came out very tasty.

Enjoy!

Recipes to Share

Here are some more recipes we've been enjoying since we started our $5/day challenge. These are the versions I've been using. I'm not good at using a recipe without modifying, so what you are getting is how I am actually making and eating these things. They are delicious!

Edamame Salad

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (1 pound) package frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans)

3 cups frozen corn kernels

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 lb dry black beans, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

1. In a large serving bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt and garlic. Set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the soybeans and boil for 3 minutes. Add corn to the boiling water and continue cooking for 1 more minute. Drain very well, and pour into the bowl with the dressing. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes and black beans. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to chill and blend the flavors.

 

  Green Bean and Feta salad

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
• 1 sweet onion, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• splash balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 dash hot sauce
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Thinly slice the onion and place into a colander over the sink. Add the cleaned green beans to a large pot of boiling water and boil until crisp tender (about 4 minutes). When the beans are done, drain the water into the colander to slightly cook the onions. Immediately rinse all in cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. For the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Add beans, onions and cheese and stir until combined. Place in a nonreactive container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Enjoy!

$5/day Recipe: Chickpea salad

This is my favorite new recipe I discovered while eating on $5 a day. We are continuing the challenge but allowing ourselves on meal out each week as a treat so we don't go crazy while we adjust. But here is my version of the chickpea salad recipe:

Ingredients

• ½ lb dry chickpeas, cooked according to package directions, then chilled –OR- 2 cans (15oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• A few ribs celery, chopped 

• 3 oz cherry tomatoes, quartered

 

• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, ground into a paste with salt
   

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and ground black pepper

 

Directions

Combine chick peas with tomatoes, celery, garlic paste, and ground cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. 

Dress salad with vinegar and oil, salt and pepper to taste

Total prep time: 10 minutes (not including cooking time for chickpeas, which is about 90 minutes start to finish—I like to cook the beans in advance and have them in the fridge for when I’m ready to use them for something. Using canned beans cuts down on prep time, but then you should also cut some salt because the canned beans are MUCH saltier. I suggest sticking with dry beans and cooking them.)

Servings: 8

Price per serving: $.57 (I did not calculate the salt or pepper which I already owned)