I bought these colorful carrots at the Farmers Market few weeks ago.  I served them with cheese ravioli.
The second photo shows them cut up so you can see the color was different on the inside.

I Google-d “chick pea salad” and found a great recipe over at Smitten Kitchen.  I had all of the ingredients in the house.  Unfortunately, for the second time in a row, the dog ate the whole grain farmers market bread, so I had to scrounge crusts from the store bought.

I served the chick pea salad on the toasted crusts and over fresh local lettuce, garnished with diced fresh, local bright red and yellow peppers and more black olives.  It was very tasty and DH was still hungry afterwards.  We finished up by eating local cranberry-walnut bread and some fresh, delicious summer peaches.

You can find the recipe and photos here:

Smitten Kitchen’s “Smashed Chickpea Salad”

First, I would exhort you to make these from scratch.  Jiffy mix and Bisquick are convenient, sure, but that box of miscellaneous baking mix that’s been sitting in your cupboard for months isn’t going to give you the best results.  Besides, if you’re going to spend the calories on something tasty, doesn’t it make sense to put some love into it?  Making your own batter also ensures that you know exactly what you’re eating.  Plus, it’s just really simple to do.

Ingredients:

1 c flour, unbleached all-purpose
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 c soy or skim milk
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 whole egg
1/4 tsp cinnamon, fresh ground if possible
1 c blueberries, fresh or frozen, rinsed & drained

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon.

In a 16-oz. Pyrex measuring cup, or small bowl, combine milk, oil, and egg.  Beat lightly until combined.

Pour wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined, but still slightly lumpy.  Let batter stand for 5 minutes, then briefly mix again.

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat until hot.  Lightly wipe or brush with vegetable oil, and add 1/4 cup of batter to pan for each pancake.  Add blueberries to the top of pancakes once in the pan while the batter is still liquid, before flipping.  Cook first side until golden brown, flip, and cook until done.  Remove finished pancakes to a plate in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Makes about 8 pancakes.  Each pancake is about 125 kcal, most of it from the starch in the flour, before you add any butter, syrup, or honey.  There’s really no way to make these “light” – cutting the oil in half only saves you about 20 kcal per pancake.  But, honestly, a little powdered sugar might be all you want for these guys.  They’re moist, fluffy, and fruity all on their own.

I’m sitting here with a small plate in front of me.  On this plate is a sandwich.  The sandwich consists of two slices of artisan-made rosemary Italian bread, lightly spread with mayo.  Between this bread are slices of tomato, from a ripe Roma tomato still warm from the summer sun.  There is a bit of salt and pepper.

There are currently three bites out of this sandwich.

I’m about ready to pass out from joy.

Here’s an easy one – almost every community has a local or regional dairy, and farmers’ markets explode with fresh herbs and summer vegetables.  The Caprese Salad of tomato, mozzarella cheese, and basil with a vinaigrette dressing is a fantastic starter for a meal or side dish for a picnic.  If your farmers’ market has someone who’s selling a boutique buffalo mozzarella, grab it!

More refined versions of this dish call for olive oil only, and layers of sliced Roma tomato, cheese, and whole basil leaves.  This more rustic version is heartier and packs a bigger flavor wallop.  This salad is vegetarian, but not vegan.

Ingredients:

1 lb. assorted cherry tomatoes (red, orange, yellow, purple varieties)
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese (part skim)
10-12 leaves fresh basil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Halve the cherry tomatoes.  If they’re large and/or oblong, cut them into pieces no more than 1/2 inch.

Slice the mozzarella 1/2 inch thick, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Rinse the basil leaves (BTW – they’re best picked from the pot you’ve got growing on the patio) and shake dry.  Pinch off the stem ends, stack, and roll into a tight little “cigar.”  Very thinly slice this cigar of basil cross-ways so that you get very fine ribbons.  Gently separate the ribbons with your fingers.  Congrats, you’ve just learned how to “chiffonade“, a valuable knife skill for leafy herbs.

Combine the tomatoes, cheese, and basil in a chilled glass (or ceramic) bowl.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add oil and vinegar, and toss to combine.  Cover and refrigerate at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Very Simple.  Very fast.  Very Tasty.  Serves four.

Nutritional breakdown:

Tomatoes are very low calorie, and the tablespoon of olive oil is never completely consumed – about a third to half of it ends up left behind in the bowl.  The biggest “sin” here is the cheese, and there’s only two ounces per serving.  Plus, mozzarella’s a fresh cheese with a high water content.  Let’s break down what we’ve got in a bowl of the stuff (one quarter of the total recipe).

• 4 oz tomatoes: 20 kcal, vitamin A, vitamin C
• 1 1/2 tsp (maybe) of olive oil: 30 kcal, vitamin E, vitamin K, omega-6 fatty acids
• 2 oz mozzarella cheese: 142 kcal (168 for whole milk or buffalo), complete proteins, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B12, calcium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium

Total calories: 192 for a 6 oz. serving.  Not bad.

This basic Thai-style vegetable curry takes about 45 minutes from start to the table, mostly because of the number of ingredients that must be assembled.  Don’t be intimidated – it’s a lot of stuff, but it’s prepared very simply.

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes
8 oz. frozen, cut okra
10-12 large leafs kale
3 cups prepared vegetable stock
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
2 cups plain non-fat (or low-fat) yogurt
2 shallots, minced fine
1 1″x1″ knob of fresh ginger, grated fine
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp. ground cumin seed
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. grated nutmeg (fresh, if possible)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Salt
Limes

Peel the sweet potatoes, rinse, and cut into 1″ cubes.  Rinse and drain the kale, then remove the center stems and roughly chop.  You should end up with about 4 cups of chopped kale.

Combine all dry spices together and set aside.  Place a 5-quart pot over med-hi heat and add the olive oil.  When the oil begins to look shimmery on the surface, add the ginger and shallot.  Allow to cook for about a minute – do not allow to brown, and add the dried spices to the oil.  Stir immediately for 15-20 seconds, and the spices will become very aromatic.  The mixture will likely stick to the bottom of the pot – this is OK.

Add the veg. broth and coconut milk and stir to combine.  Salt to taste.  Add the okra and sweet potatoes, stir again, cover, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes.

Test the potatoes with a paring knife – if the blade goes all the way through with no resistance, they’re done.  Taste the sauce.  Add salt if necessary, then add the kale, stir, re-cover, and simmer for another five minutes.  Lightly whip the yogurt with a whisk to reduce curdling.  Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.  Serve over rice (preferably jasmine or basmati) with a wedge of lime for squeezing.  Provide chili sauce (Sriracha is widely available in the international section of your supermarket).

The most expensive thing about this meal is the spices, and you should have many of these on hand to start with*.  The vegetables are dirt cheap – $1.50 worth of sweet potatoes, less than a buck for kale, $1.60 for a pound of frozen okra, 79¢ worth of shallots, and 59¢ of ginger.  The coconut milk’s about $1.69, and vegetable broth is about 89¢ for 14 oz.

If, however, you can’t get away with serving this minus some protein, substituting 3-4 large carrots for the sweet potato and adding a pound’s worth of firm-fleshed white fish such as cod, halibut, or grouper yields a decent fish curry.  Other optional additions – whole Thai basil leaves, lemongrass, 2-3 dried red chiles, spinach or mustard greens instead of kale.

With plenty of vitamin A, folic acid, fiber, and complex carbohydrates, this mostly one-pot meal (minus the rice) really brings the flavor.

* We’ll be talking about how to outfit your spice rack in another article.