Lighter mexican salad

The winter is getting to me, so i thought it would be nice to make a colourful salad full of "fresh" ingredients to help perk me up. This one's base was canned corn and black beans - i know not exactly fresh, but corn is a total reminder of summer, and i had both in my pantry.

Ingredients Chopped up

I mixed the corn and black beans with seasoning, including some lime zest.

I added all the veggies - except the romaine lettuce and toss it with a little sour cream and lime juice mix - its a nice low fat dressing that seems decadent, but isn't.

Steak and Corn - Simplicity on the Grill

I just had my computer give me the blue screen of death - i needed another one, so i must go shopping. The next few enteries will be brief until i can rescue all my pics and get a new computer so bear with me.

Steak and Eggplant

It really wouldn't be a trip to the cottage if i didn't eat red meat. We hadn't picked anything up in advance, but the grocery store had a couple of nice tenderloins that looked like the good basis of a meal.

I let them get to room temperature, rubbed them with olive oil and my special meat rub that i make. (pretty much every spice at the cottage)

I also made this awesome eggplant recipe that my mother does. Its great for vegetarians, its done on the bbq and makes a great healthy side. You simply slice eggplant, lightly oil and bbq both sides. When you're meal is almost ready but back on the grill, add a slice of tomato (ideally one the same side as the eggplant, a couple rings of red onion and top with a dollop of goat cheese. (again, try to make the amount sort of match the size of the eggplant).

Here is everything on the grill
(in the packet is small potatoes)

The sides

Simcoe Sunday Part Two

Well i did say that the Simcoe Sunday meal was pretty extravagent - and from all these pics you can see. Victor made a mixed berry pie - yum!

This was my plate full of goodies

(corn, salmon, burger, veggies, salad)

Victor's contraversal cheese technique

Grilled veggies

Salads

The salmon all cooked

The table

Jarred's Jerk Pork Loin

Jarred didn't just step up for breakfast, but he also made a fabulous dinner featuring a jerk/curry pork loin. I assisted Jarred in the kitchen, making the salad, bruschetta (my personal fav), grilled veggies and of course some bbq'd corn.

The whole meal brought up the ways to bbq corn - the different methods and our memories of it. I personally like to bbq corn with the husk on. The key is to soak the corn so the husks don't burn and the water that is trapped in there will help steam it. I had always just used water, but when i was putting them in the containers Jarred added a teaspoon of SUGAR! I had never seen that before - can't say i noticed a massive change, but it was my first corn of the season.

Pork Loins on the grill

These were marinated for a few hours in a jerk sauce

The Spread

Salad and Corn

Grilled Veggies

Waiting for the grill

Corn - almost ready

Soaking Corn

Weekday Healthy Taco Salad

A few days ago while i was running on the treadmill at the gym i switched the channel over to the food network. I was so sick of the Olympics, and i actually really enjoy watching cooking shows while i run - for some reason i find it inspirational. Well this was some show where they were making healthy versions of restaurant favorites. The one that really caught my eye was the taco salad. There is a great restaurant in Mississauga i often get the taco salad topped with salmon, but it certainly isn't healthy!!!

What really interested me was the way that they did the actual taco - they took a whole wheat flour taco and lightly brushed it with seasoned olive oil and formed it into a small baking dish. I thought i would give it a try, and it was really tasty, and although perhaps my pictures don't show, it was quite attractive.

I also decided what would make the dish a bit more interesting, was to make smokey black beans, which is a very easy recipe, that makes them a lot tastier.


Smokey Black Beans

One drained and rinsed can of black beans
Half a cup of veggie stock
1/4 cup of sliced red onions
one or two chipotles chopped

Bring the stock to a boil with the onions and chipotle, boil until soft
Add the black beans and bring to a simmer
Simmer until the liquid is mainly gone.

There you go.

As for the taco salad, i just chopped some lettuce, and made a fresh salsa of tomatoes, red onions, hot peppers, and avocados dressed with just lime juice. I also drained a low-sodium can of corn.

To assemble it, i put the taco bowl on the side, added the lettuce and topped it with the salsa, corn and black beans. You could dress this with a sour cream-lime dressing (equal amounts of both) but i found the beans to be moist enough to keep the salad from being dry.

It was a great dinner, and i had enough leftover for a good lunch the next day, which is always a bonus.

Above:

The taco salad
The ingredients
Taco bowl necessities
Making the bowls
The toppings