It's Still Summer + Tomato and Beet Salad

School has started and Labor Day weekend came and went... sounds like summer is over.

Except, it is not.  Don't let those shiny, new backpacks and rules about not wearing white fool you.  Summer is alive and well, and I intend to celebrate it a little more.  

It only comes around once a year, after all, and really is the best season. (Ok, maybe it is tied with spring. I sure do enjoy spring as well...)

If you look at a calendar or at the daily weather forecast, you will see that it actually is still summer, at least until September 22.  So I plan on rounding up, to October.  I will start celebrating fall in October.  Which means unlike the other blogs you are seeing out there, you won't see pumpkin and apple recipes popping up yet.  They will come, trust me, but for now I will enjoy the bountiful harvest of tomatoes, bell peppers, and summer squash.  I hope you enjoy them with me.

Long live summer!

PS -- How did I live this long without knowing how DELICIOUS roasted beets are?  They taste nothing like their might-as-well-be-eating-dirt raw/slightly cooked selves.  Expect to see more of these popping up in my recipes!

TOMATO & ROASTED BEET SALAD

From Everyday Food, July/August 2012

SERVES 4  •  PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME:  85 MINUTES

ingredients

• 1 pound scrubbed small beets
• 2 pounds tomatoes, preferably heirloom
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• ¼ cup crumbled feta
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Seal beets in a foil packet.  Roast on a rimmed baking sheet until tender, 75 minutes.  When cool, rub beets with a paper towel to remove skins; slice.
2. Slice large tomatoes, and halve cherry tomatoes, then arrange with beets on a platter.  Top with feta, cilantro, and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

COST: $6.75      COST PER SERVING (4): $1.69

Spinach & Feta Phyllo Roll

Phyllo Dough: must be Greek for 'ingredient from Hell'

Seriously.  After tearing my tenth sheet of it and having it crumble under my fingers, I just about cried.  Cooking was supposed to be fun, and this was anything but.  Stupid phyllo dough.

I wasn't even supposed to have it to begin with.  I accidentally grabbed the box for it out of the freezer section while trying to get puff pastry.  They were side by side, and somehow I didn't even notice that I had the wrong one. But instead of taking it back I decided to do something with it.  With a little help from Google and Martha, I knew what I wanted to do.

If only I knew how tricky it was!

Sheet after sheet broke in my fingertips.  I used the damp towel, I thawed according to instructions... but I could not get the hang of it.  So I did what we all do these days: I whined and complained on Facebook.

And because of that whining and complaining I now have a date with a Greek grandma who knows her phyllo business!

Besides, when it was all said and done, the tears I almost shed out of frustration were for naught.  I thought I was going to have a botched recipe, but this dough had other plans and two delicious spinach & feta rolls emerged.

I guess we could say the ingredient from Hell yielded a dish from Heaven... Hallelujah!

** I have heard that it isn't always this hard, so please do not avoid using it because of me.  I know I have not made a strong case for using Phyllo dough, but the end result is more than worth any frustration to be had!

SPINACH & FETA PHYLLO ROLL

Recipe straight from EverydayFood, June 2009

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 packages (20 ounces each) baby spinach
• 1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 20 sheets frozen phyllo dough (from an 8-ounce package), thawed and cut to 8 by 12 inches

Directions

1. In a medium pan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Return pan to heat. Working in batches, cook spinach, tossing, until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain spinach and let cool. Press out excess moisture, then roughly chop. Add spinach, feta, and raisins to bowl with onion and season filling with salt and pepper. (To store, refrigerate, up to 2 days.)
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll phyllo. Place 1 sheet on a work surface (keep remaining sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel to prevent drying); brush with oil. Lay another sheet on top and brush with oil. Repeat until you have 10 layers of phyllo. Spread half of filling lengthwise down middle of phyllo stack. Roll into a log, brushing the seam with oil before sealing. Brush log with oil. Using a small sharp knife, make 8 diagonal cuts on top. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling.
4. Place logs, seam side down, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until deep golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cut into slices along slashes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Note

When you unroll your phyllo, check to see if the stack measures 8 by 12 inches. If not, cut the phyllo to size. If serving the pie as a main course, double the recipe.

COST: $7.30  
COST PER SERVING (16 little pieces):$0.46
COST PER SERVING (4 large pieces): $1.83 

Not Barefoot in the Kitchen -- Kale Quesadillas

Did you know that green is my favorite color?  Well, it is.  I like a lot of colors, but my absolute most favorite is green.  Which is one of the reasons I like Spring so much.  St. Patrick's Day is never a really big deal to me but I do appreciate the fact that everything gets to be green on that day. 

Look at my smile.  There is no denying my love for this color of life that is surrounding me!  That's because good things come in green: grassy fields, palm trees, money... see? 

And kale.  Kale comes in green, too.

That makes it a perfect ingredient for St. Patrick's Day food. 

I know a lot people don't really like it, but in Brazil they looooove kale.  I have never met a Brazilian who doesn't like it.  In fact, I never even knew what it was until I was there and had lots of couve served to me.  For all I knew it was a vegetable native to that land of plenty.  It wasn't until my husband desperately needed some (or so he said) that I searched around and found out that it was sitting in my local grocery store all along.  Silly me.

Something else that is green that I am loving is this top.  I have had it for about a year now, but it is still one of my favorites.  And the belt... the best part is that the it came with the shirt.  For $17 at Love Culture I got not only a cute top but an incredibly useful and sassy belt, too.  Then I was able to save some green ;)

Belts have become all the rage lately.  Well, I guess not just lately, they come and go as all fashion does, but right now they are quite popular.  I don't own all that many, three actually, but these three have served me well. 

My first was this one:

Yes, I call it the Santa belt because, as you might be able to see, it looks like the belt Santa wears around his bowl-full-of-jelly-belly. 

Then I got the one you see in today's pictures.

My everything belt.  It has found a prominent place in my wardrobe.

And last, but definitely not least, is my favorite:

Yeah, I name my belts... but you must admit, this one is kind of Madonna-ish with it's little studs and all.  I got it at H&M, and Madonna is actually one of their designers, so who knows... it might actually be a "Madonna Belt".

The thing I like about belts is this: they are one simple thing you can do that make your outfit go "almost there" to "complete".  I must thank my friend and colleague Patricia for encouraging me to start using them in my attire.  She has a great eye for accessories, one that I am trying to develop.  But I am learning.  Like with this headband.  It is something that is so simple, yet makes a big difference.  And it was only $5 at Charlotte Russe.  What a steal!

So back to that other green... the kale.  I was flipping through the latest issue of Everyday Food and saw this little header:  "More ways to give kale kid appeal" and under it were some great ideas:

1. Tear, toss with oil, and bake for crisp chips                (check!  Did that last October.  Yum.)
2. Replace some basil with blanched kale when making pesto
3. Add sauteed kale to grilled cheese or quesadilla

I didn't even need to go on.  Sure, the list had a few more, but I honed in on what I wanted: kale quesadillas.

We rarely have tortillas in the house, but I did have lavash bread.  Kale and cheese were already in the fridge, as well.  In fact, all of the ingredients were in that "now what do I do with them?" phase that food goes through when you have more than you need for a recipe but no good idea of how to get rid of them. 

BINGO! 

I knew exactly how to get rid of them...

By Jove, we have a winner!  I just added a little Feta (also in that limbo stage that food lives in sometimes) and man oh man, it was good.  So good that we had it two days in a row.  And then right now as my husband asked what I was working on and I showed him he said, "Oh.... *drool*  that's GOOD!"

Kid appeal?  Shoot, this had adult appeal. 

There you have it folks, Kale Quesadillas.  An unexpected turn of events, but a highly welcomed one.  And green, perfect for this time of year.  Enjoy!


INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 pack lavash bread
• 1/2 bunch fresh kale
• Cheese -- your favorite
• 1/2 cup of Feta
• Spreadable butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Chop the kale in to small sections.  Over medium heat, put the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet.  When warm, add kale and a dash of salt.  Stir occasionally until sauteed, about 5 minutes.  When finished, set kale aside and clean out skillet. 
2. Using lavash bread, kale, cheese, and feta, make quesadillas.  Put butter on the sides of the bread that will touch the pan to help grill.  At this point I am going to assume you know what to do... so go for it! :)

Cost: $5.68                   Cost Per Serving (4) $1.42

Add a salad on the side for a complete meal, and it is still under $2 per serving.