Taco Salad That Won't Kill You

Yes, salad can be bad for you. That's been a recent item in the news, although how it's news when your floppy greens arrive in an oil-slicked taco basket, smeared with sour cream and piled high with queso, I'm not quite sure. But all that discussion of unhealthy salads sure did make me hungry for a version of my own.

So with one of Mr. Lemon's more practical Iron Chef game purchases (ground chicken), the leftover tomato puree from paella-fest and some onions, garlic and pepper from the CSA, well, it was spicy spicy taco time. I could have held back a little on the tomato to make this more like taco filling, but I figured the extra veggie couldn't hurt the ol' healthy eating effort.

Also on deck: tomato and raw corn salsa. Just a little PA Dutch dose of apple cider vinegar and sugar softened the corn's starchiness and brought out the sweetness of the tomato. And the leftover tomato-vinegar-sugar juice make a light dressing for the lettuce to boot.

Spicy Spicy (and healthy) Taco Salad

1 head of iceberg (yes, you need it's refreshing wateriness)

1 big garden rip tomato

1 ear corn

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar

Olive oil

1/2 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium red pepper, diced

1/2 lb. ground chicken

14 oz tomato puree

1 heaping teaspoon cumin (heaping = throw it in!)

1 heaping teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (gives it the extra "spicy")

Salt and ground pepper

Cilantro, a handful washed and torn

Itty bit of cheddar cheese (optional)

In a larger saute pan, cook the onion, garlic and pepper until soft-ish in some olive oil over high heat. Push the veg. to the side and add your ground chicken. Salt and pepper heavily and cook, breaking it up as it gets firmer, until white through and through.

Add the tomato puree and all the spices. Bring to a boil and turn back the heat to let this simmer.

Meanwhile, get the salad and salsa ready: shred the iceberg and pile it high on the plate. Combine the chopped tomato and all its juices with the corn, sliced off the cob. (Save the cob for soup!) Add the vinegar and sugar (equal portions is the key), and let it meld together. I also added salt and pepper to help bring the flavors out. The corn will still be crunchy, though, so this is your greasy-taco-shell substitute.

Pile it high: iceberg + chili + salsa + torn cilantro + itty bits of cheddar.

Done.

Tally:

Fast and easy dinner

Spicy chicken chili is filling and flavorful without being greasy

Thriftier then going to Applebee's

Lunch, The Sequel

I'm a big fan of previews. Before a tv show is even over, I'm already excited for the "Scenes from Next Week," anticipating the next plot twist. (I'm also one of those people who actually likeswatching all those trailers at the movies. I know, weird.) In the same way, lunch leftovers can often get me excited about new recipes that offer their own plot twist. Rather than eat the same-old same-old each day, I try to incorporate leftovers into my lunch plans, usually as a salad, or better yet to make a dish that can transform into something entirely new the next time lunch comes around.

So today when I opened a trusty can of chickpeas, I thought not only about the immediate plan for a salad with "chim-me-churri" dressing, but about what I'll do with the leftovers. Can you guess? Stay tuned to find out. No spoilers here!

And in the meantime, here's a quick, flavorful and healthy lunch option for a hot day.

Chimichurri, Chickpea and Radish Salad

Chimichurri is a South American sauce that usually includes cilantro as well as the parsley featured here. I had a lot of parsley to use up from our CSA shipment, so I skipped the cilantro. If you want to add it in, use about 3:1 parsley to cilantro. While it's usually eaten with grilled meats, I think I'll eat just about anything with chimichurri and chickpeas can always use a flavor-packed boost.

1 scallion (or 1 small onion)

1 c. parsley

1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Salt and Pepper

1 can chickpeas

Romaine lettuce

2-3 small radishes

In a mini-Cuisinart, pulse until well mixed the scallion, parsley, garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine this mixture with the drained chickpeas.

Wash and tear romaine lettuce. Sliced radishes into thin disks. Dress salad with olive oil and lemon juice.

Scatter half of the chickpeas on top of salad mixture.

Reserve the other half of the chickpea mixture.

To be continued...

Tally:

Healthy lunch in minutes

Heat-less cooking for a steamy day

Chickpeas offer great protein at a low price

Chimichurri...best.topping.ever.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Hello, my name is Lady Lemon and I am a vegetable shopaholic.

I was just minding my own business (honest!), running out for some more yogurt, when I was blindsided by vegetable deals. So last night, the fridge overstuffed with green perishables, turned into a veggie night.

I'm a big meat eater, so veggies usually can't compete.What I like about the occasional veggie night is that I find I pay more attention to making our green friends more interesting. So here's the menu from last night:

Citrus-Celery Salad: grapefruit and orange sections + 1/2 small onion + celery hearts/leaves + olive oil + ground pepper + 1 teaspoon mustard + 1 T. rice wine vinegar (champagne vinegar would be great, too.) Refreshing and tangy. Tarragon or thyme would be a nice addition.

French (Bean) Fries: slim French green beans + salt & pepper + 1 T. olive oil + 1 T. water; 400F for 12 minutes on a foil-lined baking sheet; they will wrinkle and get brown and go slightly nutty.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I always look for good stuffed mushroom recipes, and they seem to inevitably include a lot of ingredients that I don't have. That's how this recipe came about because I prefer to stick with what's on hand. If you have red pepper, breadcrumbs, other herbs, cheese, etc -- all would be good to add.

Makes 10-12 mushrooms

1 package white mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 T. olive oil

1/2 rib celery heart, finely chopped

1 T. parsley, chopped

3 stems thyme

1 T. flour

1/4 c. whole milk

Salt & Pepper

Wipe mushrooms and stems with a damp towel. Remove stems and mince (as small as you can cut them!). Reserve caps.

Heat olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat and add chopped mushroom stems. Add garlic and celery and cook until vegetables soften and begin to look translucent. Add parsley and thyme and cook for a minute or two more.

Sprinkle mixture with flour and let cook 1 minute. The flour will start to absorb some of the moisture from the vegetables.

Pour in milk while stirring mixture. Add the milk a little at a time so it can be absorbed. The flour and milk combine to bind the mixture together. You will not have a white sauce -- just a sticky veggie mixture which is what you want to hold together in the mushroom.

Stuff the mushrooms with the mixture and place on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet for 20 minutes in a 375F oven.

The mushrooms will still be juicy and the stuffing is garlicky. If you want something less messy, add breadcrumbs.

Once again, my photography doesn't do the colors of this justice, so you'll have to take my word that this is a bright pretty plateful of green goodness.

Tally:

Satisfying meal that's low in fat

Lots of variety with mostly on-hand ingredients

More veggies than I can count