CSA Week 9 / Fun With Melons…and Salsa!

You know the drill. Gruber Farm CSA time!! As each week goes by, I become more and more obsessed with having a weekly box of produce. The convenience. The variety. The freshness. Need I say more?

Week 9 contents:

• jalapeno peppers
• tomatoes
• green peppers
• green beans
• corn
• mini watermelons!!

How cute are the watermelons? Boding and I couldn’t get over them.

We kissed them.

We loved on them.

We cradled them like babies.

Then we tossed them up in the air with joy. (I’m not ready for children.)

And then we put them away so we could use the other goodies to make SALSA!

Xtina’s Sweet & Spicy Salsa

Ingredients:

• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 2 small jalapeno peppers, diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp. honey (secret ingredient!)
• 1 tsp. salt
• juice of 1 lime

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Pulse until desired consistency is reached.

When I finished making the salsa, I had my roommate do a blind test with my salsa versus Publix’s salsa. She preferred mine! I was so excited. I felt like a younger, prettier, less pretentious Martha Stewart.

After our silliness with the watermelon and salsa, we made a seriously simple dinner:

Cumin-roasted chicken topped with salsa and sliced avocado, corn on the cob, and Trader Joe's spicy soy & flaxseed tortilla chips.

These chips have 6 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and 500 mg of omega 3’s per serving. They’re definitely a better alternative – no perservatives either!

How do you like your salsa?

Chunky? Pureed well? Spicy? Fruity?

Cilantro: love it or leave it?

New Favorite Foods

I love updating you guys on new foods that I’ve scouted out or become a fan of.

I ended a sentence in a preposition. Sorry! It would have sounded awkward otherwise, and though I usually epitomize the word awkward, I try to keep my writing a little less, um, weird. Onto the food!

1. Blue Diamond Salt ‘N Vinegar almonds.

Not only will these satisfy your salty craving, you get a dose of protein and fiber. They’re very delicious without being a sodium overload.

2. Publix all natural salsas.

Rachel and I picked up a tub of the medium salsa on Saturday. It’s really good! The ingredient list is clean, it’s got a great flavor, and isn’t too chunky. Chunky salsa is nasty.

3. La Croix Peach-Pear sparkling water.

They now sell this canned at Target! It’s definitely  my new favorite La Croix flavor. On another note, I’m still not over how awful the Coconut flavor was. Blech.

Let me tell you a secret: Sometimes if I don’t like a bottle of wine, I add a bit of sparkling water to it. Then bam! I’ve got a tastier, more refreshing glass of happiness.

4. Fiber One 90 Calorie Chocolate Chip Cookies

They’re soft, pack 5 grams of fiber, and contain only 8 grams of sugar. It’s a treat! I highly suggest nuking one in the microwave for about 15 seconds. Mmm!

5. Tropicana Trop50 Raspberry with Green Tea.

Amanda and I used this to mix with our vodka on the boat the other day. It’s only 50 calories per 8 ounces – a great mixer for a lower calorie beverage. Oh, and say hello to Svedka, my favorite vodka. It’s fairly inexpensive and very smooth.

6. Zone Perfect Perfectly Simple nutrition bars.

I was recently sent some samples of these bars and am so grateful! Upon opening the wrapper of the first bar I tried, I thought they looked just like Larabars. They’re SO much better. They’re quite dense, but more nutty and flavorful, with a short list of ingredients.  My favorite was the Cranberry Almond.

7. Buddy Fruits.

Ok, ok. this is definitely glorified fruit puree, but I can be a sucker for cute branding/packaging. I’m every marketer’s dream come true. But hey, moms! Don’t you think your kiddos would much rather get their fruit and vegetable requirements through these? Adorbs.

For the record, the only reason I tried these was because you can get the applesauce packets in the kids meals at Chick-fil-A. True story.

8. Jazz Apples.

These aren’t a new find, but more of a re-discovery thanks to Boding. We found these at Target of all places. They’re the best apples! Gotta love one of God’s most precious gifts to us – fresh fruit!

What new food products have you recently discovered?

Tell me your favorite a)packaged good and b)fresh fruit or vegetable.

Southwest Meatloaf and Half Marathon Plans

Don’t be scared when you see a meatloaf recipe. Chances are, it’s not like the meatloaf you shuddered at in the cafeteria line. There are so many variations to this classic dish that you’d be surprised to find a modern-day recipe that’s anything like what those hairnet-donning women were serving you in grade school. Did you just shudder? I did.

Southwest Meatloaf

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. angus ground beef, 96/4 extra lean
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 4 oz. can fire-roasted diced green chiles
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing lightly. Add meat mixture to a greased loaf pan and press down to smooth top. Crumble goat cheese atop loaf. Bake for 55 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165*. Let rest for 20 minutes until slicing. Makes 4 servings.

Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
• 1 15.5 oz. can of no salt added black beans, drained
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• chopped cilantro, if desired

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing well. Serve along with meatloaf.

Hot damn, that did not photograph well. But let me tell you, it was delicious! If you make this, be sure to let it rest before slicing or else you will make a huge mess. I wonder who did that? Hmmmm.

…

In my very first post of the year, I mentioned that 2012 is the year I complete a half marathon. My grandfather immediately suggested that he and I run the Clemson Easter Bunny Run in April. Racing around Clemson in bunny ears? Sure! The course starts at the South Carolina Botanical gardens and goes around the University with views of Lake Hartwell and the surrounding community.

With that said, I looked up some training courses and found a 12-week schedule. This meant I had to start, like, today. I took one look at the schedule and found it extremely boring. Instead of following the schedule, I set out to run in the gorgeous 70 degree weather to see what I could handle.

10 miles later it was dark and I had to stop. Apparently I can run almost a half without training. Who knew?

It may not have been my smartest move to run that far, but as I do run on a regular basis, my body wasn’t going to go in complete shock, right? Or maybe I am just Superwoman.

Needless to say, when I got home, I wanted to eat everything in sight. I refueled with coconut water, almonds, walnuts, cranberries, Greek yogurt, and a big bowl of vegetables. Honest to goodness, I don’t even know what I’m doing, so if you have any tips, let me know. Just please don’t tell me that I’m going to break my body or something because that will make me sad.

I know I have to be smart, so I will follow the rest of the “schedule”, but the competitive side of me took over during that 10-mile run. I couldn’t help it.

Tips on running your first half marathon – give them to me! Seriously, tell me everything you know. Write me a book in the comment section, send me an email, sing me a song. Goooooooooo!

Restaurant Review: Uno Más

Last week when I was at the Mustard Seed for dinner, the owner, Sal Parco, asked if I’d like to review one of his other restaurant’s new menu. Of course I was happy to oblige!

Monday night, Matt and I met Sal at Uno Más, the Dine With Sal Restaurant Group’s Mexican-themed restaurant. Uno Más’s menu contains some traditional Mexican items and other South of the Border dishes with a twist. Like all of the Dine With Sal restaurants, the menu relies heavily on fresh, local ingredients. Another positive aspect of Uno Más’ menu that differs from your average Mexican restaurant is the addition of lighter options, including several salads and vegetarian items.

In my opinion, one of the most important things a good Mexican restaurant must have is good guacamole. Good guacamole must use fresh avocadoes, not be over salted, and be a bit chunky, with a hint of lime juice. This guacamole epitomizes my perfect recipe. It is hands down the best guacamole I’ve had. I could have easily eaten it work a fork. Matt agreed that it was also the best he’s had. The portion, served in an authentic Mexican mortar is huge, to boot!

We also had a side of Queso fundido: Chihuahua cheese, fire-roasted peppers, and onion, served with tortillas. This was incredibly rich and creamy.

A lighter appetizer option is the Uno Más Salad – avocado, tomatoes, red onion, fresh cilantro, lime, and sea salt. Again, the avocado was very fresh, as was the sliced tomato. I’d be happy with this as a meal!

One of my favorite items on the menu is the Grilled Shrimp Quesadilla with cilantro pesto, arugula, cheese, tomato, and avocado. I loved the arugula on top – there’s a nice twist! The shrimp, which were seared perfectly, were delicious. Qué sabor!

The next entrée we sampled was a new addition to the menu. Here are the Carnitas: slow-roasted pork, cilantro, and onions served on corn tortillas with guacamole, tomato salsa, and salsa verde.

My favorite entrée of the evening was the Spicy Coconut Shrimp: red onions, tomatoes, cilantro, chilies, an shrimp, simmered in a coconut milk over a crispy cheese grit cake. I thought the grit cake gave this dish a bit of Southern flair. We Southerners love our grits!

Don’t think for a second that we didn’t take advantage of the excellent happy hour specials. What else would we wash all this food down with? The Happy Hour menu features $4 appetizer specials—your choice of  guacamole, queso fundido, nachos, or veggie taquitos. The drink specials are bottles of beer for $2 and margaritas for $3-6 depending on the liquor.

We decided to try two cocktails. Shown below are the Cactus Pear: cactus juice, fresh lime juice, and a house made citrus blend and the Mojito Anejo: Bacardi 8 year, fresh mint, and soda. Guess who ordered the pink drink?

Matt did! How pretty is this cocktail?

I, on the other hand, ordered the less frilly, but still delicious Mojito. Rest assured that the lethargic look on my face was due to intoxication by delicious food, not the beverage. Please also be amazed by the fact that there are no stains on my white shirt! I made it through the entire meal without spilling on myself. This is quite an achievement.

Our very helpful and attentive server insisted that we not leave without trying dessert. Per her recommendation, we tried the Churros topped with whipped cream and dulce de leche. Um, yum. They were very crispy and sugary! And cinnamon all over? Of course I loved it.

And because my heart flutters when I see a dessert with bananas, I had to try the Banana Walnut Torte with crispy tortillas, whipped cream, and honey. I immediately dug out all of the banana slices – you can’t see them, but there were a bunch in there!

If you are still reading (thank you!), I insist you give Uno Más a try. I suggest you skip on over after work for Happy Hour. The food and drink specials will take all your workday stresses away. And for your vegetarians out there, be sure to check out the Vegetable Quesadilla or the Spinach & Mushroom Enchiladas.

Thanks for having us, Sal! Big thank you to our server and manager as well! You guys were awesome.