Farmers Market Monday: Pico de Gallo & Black Beans

One of my favorite things to do during the summer is visit all the Farmers Markets as much as possible. A few summers ago I took it to another level, I challenged myself to shop exclusively at the Farmers Markets and not the local grocery store.  I was able to do it for about 3 months, but living in Chicago we don't have a wide variety of produce all year round and I wasn't about to try to survive on root vegetables and acorn squash! I'm going to try to do a series for the remainder of the summer featuring produce found at the farmers market.  I'm lucky to work a block away from one of they weekly markets, I run over on my lunch to buy my produce for the week.  This week I was craving Mexican so I got as much as I could from the market to make some Pico de Gallo, and my version of re fried black beans.

Pico De Gallo is pretty straight forward and you can adjust the flavor to your liking.  Here is what I did:

3 Tomatoes, diced

1 Jalapeno, finely chopped

1/2 of a small white onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic minced

1 T. chopped fresh cilantro 

1 lime juiced

salt to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together and that's it! I let mine sit for about 30 minutes before serving. 

Black Beans

1 can of black beans, do not rinse

1/2 of small white onion

1 jalapeno

1 or 2 slices of chopped bacon, or bacon fat

In a pan, cook the chopped bacon or heat a tablespoon of bacon fat.  I prefer to use fresh bacon, but I was working with what I had so I used the fat. Once the bacon is cooked, and you have hot oil in your pan toss in the onion and jalapeno until they are cooked through.  Add the beans about 1/3 of the can at a time, let them heat up slightly then use your spoon to mash them in the pan.  I do a half mash, I don't like them to be complete mush, but do what you prefer. 

When you get the consistency you like, you're done! 

Another perk of shopping at the farmers market is all of the fresh flowers!! 

-Michelle

Baked Feta with Tomatoes

Finally, summer has arrived!! Chicago has really taken it's time this year to warm up, I had to wear a jacket on July 1st, it's beyond frustrating.  This weekend was just like a Chicago summer weekend should be, hot and humid!  I spent my weekend at the beach, dining al fresco with friends and the highlight, going to the Counting Crows and Wallflowers concert. I know, we're lame and have terrible taste in music, but i'm ok with it! With the weather getting warmer, it helps me stay on my detox diet (cocktails don't count, right?) not only because it's swimsuit season, but also because I crave bright, fresh meals. I went to my go to, Smitten Kitchen, to find a seasonal recipe to highlight the best produce the summer has to offer.  I opted to go with baked feta covered in a tomato salad.  It was delicious, but the key to getting the most flavor is to make a perfect bite each time with all the ingredients in each bite.  It's a really fresh, colorful and most importantly, delicious, side dish.

1 C. cherry tomatoes, halved (I used mini heirloom tomatoes)

1/3 C. chopped kalamata olives 

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 C. thinly sliced red onion (I used less than this)

2 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. EVOO

Fresh ground black pepper

1 8 to 10 ounce block of feta

Pre-heat the oven to 400.

Combine the tomatoes, olives, onions, garlic, half of the parsley, oregano, EVOO and some pepper, set to the side. 

Place the block of feta in baking dish and cover with the tomato mixture, bake for 15 minutes.  I baked the feta by itself and added the tomato mixture for the last 3 minutes.  I wanted the tomatoes warm, but not too soggy, i'm not a huge fan of baked tomatoes.  When finished sprinkle with the remaining parsley.  Serve with sliced bread, or thin crackers.  

P.S. Just for fun, here is a photo of me and my gal pals at the concert. It was like being in 8th grade all over again, only this time my parents didn't have to chaperone! 

A Tourist in My Own City

Recently, I moved to a much different area of the city, for me.  I used to be a neighborhood girl, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Old Town.  I now live in The New East Side, which is downtown, and tourist central.  One thing I have realized since moving here, is how many wonderful things there are to do in this city.  Every Monday night the city does a series of concerts in Millennium Park, Concert in the Park.  So far this year, the terrible Chicago weather has not been favorable to Mondays and this was the first one we were able to go to.  

We stopped by a local cheese shop, Pastoral, and picked up one of their picnic baskets and grabbed a bottle of wine from home and we were set! 

We were fancy with our red solo cups, a new trend i'm noticing lately is people drinking out of small tupperware containers - no lie - I have seen it twice this week alone! 

Speaking of tourists, I took this photo of my parents today in the Lurie Garden.  They were also digging being tourists again, after living here for over 30 years. How cute are they?

Michelle

Detox

I am in serious need of a detox after the weekend I had.  It started with some of these

Followed by a LOT of these

A breakfast the next day of this

You get the idea.  It went on like that throughout the entire weekend. After brunch on Sunday I had to draw the line and start a detox until the next weekends festivities.  I decided to keep it light and fresh with veggie & pork kebabs and a greek salad.  The secret is all in the marinade, which i use on the meat and mushrooms.  You can use whatever assortment of veggies you prefer, I used zucchini, yellow squash, red & orange bell pepper, onion and mushroom.  For the salad I did a mix of kalamata olives,  tomato, cucumber, romaine lettuce and fresh feta. 

Marinade:

1/2 C. oil

1/3 C. soy sauce

1/4 C. red wine vinegar

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 T. worcestershire sauce

1 t. dry yellow mustard

1 clove garlic

salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients together, cover meat and mushrooms with marinade.  Save 1/2 C. of marinade to baste the kebabs with while cooking. 

To assemble the kebobs, I like to do all veggies on one skewer and all meat on the other, it allows the skewers to cook evenly.  

Salad Dressing: 

1 t. dijon mustard

1/2 lemon juiced

1 T. red wine vinegar

Oil, salt & pepper to taste

Hello

 

 

Welcome! I had a blog, now i'm starting a new one. Thanks for visiting!!

 

-Michelle