Yes, Mom... it's National I Love Food Day!

Are you like me... there's just too many to list!

The following are my favs, and in no specific order...

1.  See's dark chocolate scotchmallows

2.  Hot cinnamon rolls with raisins (Fred's has the best!)

3.  Toast with something savory and something sweet (cottage cheese and fruit or honey)

4.  Onion rings (well done, of course)

5.  Grilled salmon where it's crispy on the outside

6.  A yummy veggie salad with a little drizzle of olive oil, lemon & salt

7.  A deliciously BBQ'd hamburger, rare

8.  Tropical fruits

9.  Delicious tomatoes, red onions, basil, israeli feta and herbs

10.  Melon with cottage cheese

11.  Ice cold, crispy fresh veggies

12.  A white pizza with extremely thin and well-done crust (pref. Pizzeria Mozza)

Yes, i do love food!

Now please tell me... what are your favorites?

Bon Appetit!

Mom's Cucumber & Onion Salad

I picked up a couple pounds of meyer lemons and was planning on making lemon bars or lemon & rosemary jam.  Unfortunately, i just haven't felt like cooking.  But i have felt like some of my mom's delicious cucumber & onion salad.  It's similar to Factor's, but it's even better because we use the persian cucumbers and slice them paper thin.   Plus, i use Splenda sugar instead of the real thing, so at least i don't have to feel guilty when i eat a cucumber salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of white vinegar
• 1 cup of sugar (or splenda)
• 1-1/2 cups of water
• 1 sweet onion
• Dill
• 12 Persian cucumbers.

Heat the vinegar, water and sugar in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves.
(To make it super easy, i just add all 3 ingredients to a 4 cup pyrex measuring bowl and then heat it in the microwave for 5 minutes.)
Let the mixture cool, either in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Slice the cucumbers and onion as thin as paper.  I use a mandolin which does the job perfectly and in a flash!
After the mixture has cooled, pour over the cucumber and onions. 
Add the dill.

Buon appetito!

Indian Carrot Salad

A girlfriend brought me a bunch of beautiful Indian carrots at the farmers' market.  I had never seen such beautiful carrots.  They remind me of all the beautiful colors you see in both red and golden beets.

Indian carrots

I wasn't quite sure what to do with them, and most recipes i found were geared towards Indian cuisine.  I do love Indian food, but i've never made it and i wasn't about to try cooking Indian dishes on a school night.  With that said, i decided the easiest thing to do would be to turn them into a beautiful salad.  And beautiful & delicious it was!

Indians and Persians make a great duo.

Juicy pomegrantes

Ingredients --

• 1 bunch Indian carrots (actually, any kind of carrot will work just fine)
• 2 persian cucumbers
• 3 Tablespoons of pomegranate seeds
• 3 slivered scallions
• 3 Tablespoons of dried cranberries or Craisins

Grate the carrots and cucumber.
Add finely sliced scallions, pomegranate seeds and dried cranberries.
I had planned to use just a splash of olive oil, but decided it needed more of a pop, so i threw together the following vinaigrette, but i have no idea what the measurements were --