Grilled Eggplant with Basil Tomato Salad

Our basil is out of control this year - which we really don’t mind, but we are always having to find new ways of using it! We were trying to come up with a twist on a Caprese Salad, and we think this did the trick...

We started out by making the salad so that it had at least 30 minutes to chill out in the fridge. Diced 2 medium tomatoes, added 1 16oz can of garbanzo beans, a couple tbsp capers, the juice of 1 lemon, some salt, white pepper, olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. Then, out to the deck to harvest about 12 BIG basil leaves which I chopped up and added to my salad. Into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better!

Now on to the base of this dish. We sliced 1 medium eggplant into half inch thick rounds and brushed those rounds with olive oil, and just put some salt on for seasoning. We grilled the eggplant over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side. At the last moment, I placed some sliced fresh mozzarella onto each eggplant round just to get it melting slightly... then off the grill.

A scoop of the tomato salad onto the eggplant and mozz finishes this super simple and yummy sidedish. Personally, I don’t eat the skin of the eggplant, but I keep it on while grilling to hold it together. It’s easy to remove after you have it on your plate - the eggplant "meat" comes right out!

Now we're trying to find ideas for the next basil recipe!

Mojitos... and Fish Tacos

Summertime is in full swing... how about a delicious, refreshing beverage and a light, coastal meal?

I really do love the concept of fresh herbs in drinks... whether you make lemonade with some lemon thyme in it, or perhaps a basil bloody mary martini. This time for me it was the mojito that was calling my name. I really didn’t want to use all that sugar in my drink though since I’m supposed to be following somewhat of a low-carb diet right now. So I just used Splenda instead, and I was quite happy with the results. 1 teaspoon of Splenda, 2 wedges of limes and several mint leaves (more than you think) into a glass which I quasi-muddled with a wooden spoon. I then added ice, some Bacardi and a few splashes of raspberry lime club soda (that’s all I had). It came out refreshing, light and truly summery!



After that, we went for an EASY fish taco salad. Last time we had fish tacos, we included tortillas and beans - this time we decided to go REALLY light and just go with fish and veggies. We marinated a fresh fillet of cod in white wine, lemon pepper seasoning (which includes lemon zest, pepper, salt), and chives for ~30 minutes... then added the fish to a hot grill pan. Maybe 3 minutes on side A, then flipped and after 2 more minutes on side B we were ready to go.

A bed of iceberg lettuce, chopped very ripe tomatoes, and sliced black olives... a couple of BIG chunks of that delicious cod... and top it with our fish taco sauce: 1/2 tartar sauce mixed with 1/2 medium taco sauce.

Delicious! Happy Summer!

Summer Chicken and Basil Soup

“Soup?!?! But it’s 75 degrees outside!” M says. I said trust me, this will be a nice light brothy soup with a lilt of herbal delight. We had grilled up several split chicken breasts the other night and had plenty of tender white meat leftover. Chilling out in the crisper were 3 little zucchinis that would also star in the show.

Half a thinly sliced onion went into the pan to sautee with some olive oil for a few minutes. I quartered the zucchini, chopped up about 10 baby carrots and then threw them all in for a quick sautee with the onion. After that went in 2 cloves of minced garlic, and shortly thereafter 5-6 cups of chicken stock. After that came up to a slow boil, I added in my chopped up chicken from the other day along with some black pepper.

After letting that get happy for 20 minutes, I took out about ¾ cup of the zucchini with some stock and pureed that in my blender. CAUTION! When putting hot stuff in a blender, take care to hold down the lid as it expands and splatters! Pour blend back into the pot. I really wish I would have pureed twice that amount to give the soup more of a potage feel, but that will be for next time!

After another 5 minutes, I added about 15 basil leaves that I had chopped up, let that simmer for another 5 minutes, et voila, a light chicken soup avec zucchini et basil!

Grilled Pork Chops and Roasted Asparagus

This plate of meat dedicated to Martin!

We made a marinade (not a brine) for these bone-in shoulder blade pork chops consisting of: olive oil, white wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, smoked paprika, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. Into the freezer bag and squished around to evenly distribute that delicious sauce, then the pork chops spent a relaxing day in the fridge getting to know their new flavor.

When we were ready to go, we preheated the grill to medium-high AND the oven to 425. We chopped a bunch of asparagus (asparagi?) into 2-inch long pieces, added them to a baking dish, and combined them with the juice of an orange, soy sauce, chopped scallions, garlic powder, salt, and some crushed red pepper. Those asparagi would take a total of 15 minutes roasting time...



These pork chops were maybe 3/4" thick, so we pre-set a time of 6 minutes on the first side, 5 on the other. Chops on, 1/4 spin after 3 minutes, flipped after another 3, and back off after 5. Sit and rest, done and done.

And they came out wonderfully... a very flavorful marinade that - for once - didn't impart "too much!" of anything (salt, pepper, hot sauce are the usual culprits). Very tender - perfectly cooked. And that meat right on the bone??? Yum!

Tangy, still-slightly-crunchy asparagus and some whole wheat mac-and-cheese made for great accompaniment. Plus.... leftovers!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!