Thursday, September 29, 2005

 

Out-Of-This World Cucumber Sandwich

I've got a little story to tell you about this cucumber sandwich. It's truly awesome. You might be thinking "How can anyone get this excited about a vegetable sandwich?" I didn't get this excited either... till I tried it.

Earlier in September I invited some friends to join our family in attending an Italian Picnic. My husband belongs to the Colombo Club which has an annual picnic where we eat, listen to Italian music, eat some more, throw the potato at the hanging salami and just plain have fun. I did win a salami by the way. I have a pretty good arm if I say so myself.

Anyway, my friend Jeanne decided to bring along a few items to make this cucumber sandwich. So while we were busy chatting away, she put together this big ol sandwich.

She started with this big French bread, Semi Freddi's Ciabatta. She cut it in half, length wise and then added this brown mixture to the bread. Jeanne pretty much covered this bread with the mixture. She said something about it containing balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Next out came her traveling cutting board and knife which she used to slice radishes, cucumber, red bell peppers, red onion, tomato, fresh mozzarella cheese and roasted garlic. She layered these vegetables on the bread and then added spinach topped with more balsamic dressing. The thing was huge and I wondered who was going to eat it all. I knew my family wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

Honestly, I watched this sandwich being made and thought, "I don't think I'm going to be too crazy about this. I don't even like radishes". Of course I didn't want to offend Jeanne, especially after all the work she went to to make it. I'd have to at least try it.

When Jeanne was done she asked if I wanted to try it. "Sure" I responded. "But just a small piece" I added.

She warned me that it would be kind of messy. "You might have olive oil dripping down your arms and that's how we eat it!" Jeanne said with proud voice.

So I took my first bite and couldn't believe it. It tasted wonderfully incredible. I had no idea a sandwich full of vegetables could taste this good. I don't know if calling this a cucumber sandwich does it justice. It is incredibly messy but it's worth all the napkins you use.

I believe the success of this sandwich lies with two key ingredients. The bread and the balsamic vinaigrette dressing. They both have to be exceptional. You can put a bunch of vegetables in some white bread and call it a sandwich but you won't get the satisfaction that this sandwich brings. It's always about a great sauce.

After that picnic I made that sandwich at home for the next 5 days in a row. I couldn't get enough of it. Then my 12 year old son asked for a bite on one of those days. Then he wanted another bite and soon he asked me to make it for his lunch at school. Unbelievable. He would never eat those radishes or onions let alone a tomato in his salad. Yet he would eat and rave on about this sandwich at school.

So all I can say is, "you gotta try it".

Here is the recipe. You can make one huge sandwich like Jeanne did or slice a 4 inch slice off the loaf and make an individual sandwich.

This is for an individual cucumber sandwich:



Directions:

Cut off a 4 inch piece of French bread and slice in half for sandwich. Pour a tablespoon and 1/2 into a bowl and add a teaspoon or two of EVOO, extra virgin olive oil. Stir with a spoon.

Drizzle fairly liberally the dressing on one half of the bread and then layer the radishes, garlic, bell pepper, mozzarella cheese, cucumber, tomato, red onion, and spinach leaves.

Drizzle more dressing on top and on the other half of the bread. It's going to look very huge. Stuff is going to fall out when you take a bite. So go ahead, use your hands and have lots of napkins available.

You are going to love this cucumber sandwich. Leave me a comment and let me know how you like it. Sure is a great way to get some veggies in your diet.

Have a great day,
Robin

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

 

A Healthy Breakfast

You've heard this before, "Don't skip breakfast, it's the most important meal of the day." And I think that's true. It gets your metabolizing going. Today I won't be talking about mexican food recipes. Love 'em as I do.

Today I want to talk about this healthy drink (it's really a little thick to drink but you can) called Kefir. You can find it in health food stores.

I read about it somewhere and decided to give it a try. They say it's really healthy stuff.

So here is what I have been eating for breakfast. Have you ever heard of Kefir? It's a cultured milk loaded with enzymes that are filled with friendly mirco organisms. Kefir also contains minerals and essential amino acids that aid in healing.

So if you have any type of stomach problems or you have taken antibiotics recently, you might want to consider this little drink. You can read more about kefir's health benefits here.

Here is how I eat kefir because I don't like the plain flavor. It's an aquired taste. Reminds me of plain yogurt or buttermilk.

I have been eating this concoction for the past week and it really does seem to give me more energy and my stomach doesn't have as many problems. In fact I've been feeling great. Better than I have in quite a while.

Here is my recipe:



Add the first two ingredients in a blender and mix till berrys are pureed.
In a coffee grinder add the flaxseed till it's all ground up. Add the flaxseed to the kefir and stir it in. Then add the sliced almonds and stir that in as well.

This breakfast will fill you up and sustain you till lunch. I have no cravings till lunch.

The flaxseeds in this meal are rich in fiber and omega 3 fatty acids, a great addition to anyones diet. I don't always include them but they sure help keep the sysem moving if you know what I mean.

But I really think the Kefir is awesome. Try it out for a week and see what you think. I would like to hear your comments.

Hope your day is rockin,
Robin

P.S. Even though I didn't talk about Mexican food today, I did add a couple of recipes to my site you might want to check out. And they are not mexican either.
They are desserts like warm apple crisp and 1st Place Blackberry Pie. Who can resist dessert?

 

Mouth Watering Apple Crisp Recipe

Greetings. I just made this apple crisp recipe two days ago and my kids devoured it. It was pretty simple to make and boy did it make the house smell good. It sent me back to my childhood for a moment.

I think I should have taken the picture with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Don't you think? A la mode is how I like to eat this dish.

Anyway I'm not going to print the recipe here as I just uploaded it to my recipe site. So if you are interested you can get the apple crisp recipe there. It's only one click away.

Till next time,
Robin

P.S. Later this week I'm going to share with you what I eat for breakfast that's really healthy, so if you are into health check back.

Monday, September 26, 2005

 

Results On 2 Week Old Guacamole

I'm finally back to give you the update on the guacamole lifespan from a previous post. Well it didn't last two weeks. I hope you aren't surprised because I wasn't. But I kept an open mind.

I opened the container of guacamole, took a picture and ate some. Then I put the remaining back in the fridge. The next day it was only slightly brown and still tasted good. I was impressed. But by the third day it was history. It had turned an awful brown and tasted terrible.

What does all this mean? By adding a little orange juice and a little cucumber and lemon juice, you can preserve it over night and that's it.

Still I don't like lemon or lime juice in my guacamole so I made some with the addition of cucumber and orange juice but left out the lemon and lime. You know what? It keeps over night. Good enough for me.

So here is my recipe for overnight guacamole:

Directions:

Cut avocados in half, remove the seed and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. On a cutting board, slice the tomato and add the chile ortegas, onion and chop till pretty fine.

Add this mixture to the avocado and mash. Add the orange juice, cucumber, salt and garlic and stir. Then add your favorite hot sauce to give it some zing.

You will love this guacamole and it probably will last you till the next day, if you have any left over.

I you really like Mexican food check out more recipes on my site.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

 

Chicken Fajita Recipe



I just have a quick post today about my newest recipe on my Mexican recipe site. It's a sizzling chicken fajita recipe.

This chicken fajita recipe comes with all the instructions from marinating the chicken to what kind of pan to use. You can grill them on the barbecue or cook them on the stove. I'll even explain how to get that sizzle for a great presentation.

Don't you just love to order these in a Mexican Restaurant and have that sizzling pan delivered to your table? Now you can do it at home and invite your friends. I've got all the Mexican recipes you will need for a nice fiesta.

So if you are looking for an easy, healthy and delicious meal, check it out.

Thanks for stopping by,
Rockin Robin

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

 

Guacamole Dip Will Last 2 Weeks?



I was shopping at Whole Foods Grocery yesterday and saw a young lady trying to sell guacamole dip. She had a table set up with samples for anyone to try.

When I went up to taste her guacamole dip she proceded to tell me that it would last two weeks in the refrigerator. My jaw dropped open. I'm lucky, real lucky if I can eat it after two days let alone two weeks.

So I had to ask the question. "What do you put in it to last that long?" Her reply was as I expected "lemon juice".

I still don't believe that it will last two weeks. Sorry I'm not convinced. But then she added another ingredient that surprised me. Cucumber. Now that sounds interesting because I like cucumber and I think it would be good in guacamole dip. But would it really help to preserve it? Maybe.

The guacamole sample she gave me tasted pretty good although I still like my guac without lemon juice. So I bought a container just to see if it really would last two weeks. If it doesn't, do I get a refund? Just kidding.

I decided to read the ingredient list on the container and found yet another ingredient that I have never seen in a guacamole recipe. It was orange juice. Mmmm. I didn't taste any orange juice in the guac but maybe the orange citrus also helps in preserving it.

Now I am really intriqued. I am going to have to experiment with a new guacamole dip recipe and use cucumber and orange juice in my new recipe. I will be most curious to see if this will increase its' shelf life.

For now if you are really hungry for a very delicious guacamole dip recipe, I have one on my mexican recipe site. I believe it is one of the best you will ever taste.

After I experiement with my new recipe, I will share it with you. It would be nice if guacamole lasted longer than a day.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

 

Taco Salad Recipe

Here is an easy taco salad recipe you might want to try out.

Ingredients:
Tortilla shells
1 pound of ground beef
1 tbs. chili powder
1 med. onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, drained
1 medium head lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
2 medium tomatioes, coursely chopped
1 medium avocado, thinly sliced or guacamole
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup water
Sour cream
2/3 cup sliced ripe olives

Cook beef in a frying pan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until done. Drain.
Add the water, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, red pepper, and beans.

Heat to a boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir occaisionally. Cool for 10 minutes.

In another bowl mix the lettuce, cheese, olives, tomatoes, and onion. Add your favorite Thousand Island Dressing or my special mexican food salad dressing, apple cider vinegar dressing and toss.

Garnish with sliced avocado or guacamole and sour cream.

Makes about 8 servings about 2 cups each.

If you enjoyed this taco salad recipe and would like to find more delicious mexican food recipes, check out my site here

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