Tomato, Cucumber and Onion Salad

The farmer's markets have so much beautiful, fresh produce right now that I wanted to do a simple salad to go with lunch today. My pictures are blurry today, sorry bout that, but the dish is delicious and fresh.

•  2 large tomatoes
• 1 large cucumber
• 1/2 large sweet onion
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Peel and remove seeds from cucumber. Slice in half and then cut each half into halves (it's quartered lengthwise), then slice into 1/4 inch thick or a little thicker slices.

In a small bowl mix the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar.

Into a large bowl dice tomato then slice and pull into sections the onions. Add cucumber and stir well. Toss in the dressing and let marinate in the frig for about an hour before serving.

Again, the pics suck today, but the dish is delicious!

Stuffed Jalapenos

lOur jalapeno plants are doing great. Here is a  basket of peppers I picked on Saturday.

I pickled 4 jars of peppers to go with Mexican dishes (we actually eat them on everything!) Then, I decided to put a tray of them on the grill. We love stuffed peppers. I didn't get step by step photos but TRUST me, you want to make these.

• jalapenos (the number needed will depend on size)
• 1 container Toffuti Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup Diaya cheddar cheese shreds
• maybe a dash of garlic powder and/or onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix everything EXCEPT for the jalapenos in a bowl until mixed well. Spoon into a sandwich bag, snip the corner off one end so you have a piping bag.

Be sure to wear gloves when messing around with hot peppers. Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and membranes.

I put my peppers on a wire rack and place that rack on the grill so I can add and remove all of them at once.

Cook on grill (medium heat) until the cheese starts to bubble and the peppers soften. I cooked mine for about 8 minutes total. Remove rack from grill and let cool slightly. (You have to be patient because you want to dive right in.)

Enjoy!

Chick'n and Snow Peas Stir-Fry

This recipe was adapted from MyKitchenAddiction website I made it vegan by substituting Bragg's for the soy sauce, Morning Star Farm's Chik'n Strips for the chicken tenders and used Rice Sticks because that is what was in the pantry :-)  This sauce is awesome!!! I would recommend doubling it and maybe only using 1/2 to start with, but then you will have more if you like a wetter stir-fry. The first time I made this I used all Chik'n Strips. However I only had about a 1/2 of a package and 2/3 of a package of tofu. So, I used what I had on hand and the ingredients listed reflect that (you can use whatever chicken/tofu/etc product you want that would be the equivalent of about 1 pound of chicken. Enough talking, lets get cooking.

• 2 tablespoons Braggs
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili and garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 package MorningStar Farms Chik'n Strips
• 2/3 package firm tofu, pressed, then cubed
• 2 tablespoons ginger, grated
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 6 ounces snow peas, trimmed and cut in half
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Rice sticks

Put water on to boil for the noodles.

Combine the Braggs,  corn starch, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and chili and garlic paste in a small bowl.  Whisk until smooth. (Remember you may want to double this part of the recipe)

Heat oil a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the pressed tofu (I tossed mine in a little corn starch) and cook til a nice brown color on the outside.

Add the chik'n strips and cook for about 3-4 more minutes.

Remove tofu and chik'n mixture to a bowl and add the snow peas and sliced onion, and continue to stir fry until the vegetables are slightly tender.

Add the tofu/chik'n mixture, garlic and ginger to the skillet and cook for a few minutes.

Check to see how long your noodles/sticks need to cook and add to the boiling water at the appropriate time so that the stir-fry and noodles are ready at the same time. Add the sauce to the skillet and continue to cook for a minute or two, until slightly thickened.

Drain the rice sticks.

Serve stir-fry over rice sticks and garnish with the sliced green onions. Pour a glass of wine and enjoy.