Kick and Dinner

Veggies

All asparagus avocado Broccoli Broccolini Brussels Sprouts Cauliflower Corn Cucumbers Fennel Green Beans Kale Mushrooms Mushrooms Peppers Poblano Peppers Spaghetti Squash Spinach Squash Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Tomatoes Zoodles Zucchini
Shrimp and Mango Flatbread Foldovers

Shrimp and Mango Flatbread Fold-overs

Shrimp and Mango Flatbread Foldover

I live in south Florida, where we get to live with the obnoxious oppression of sauna-like weather conditions for the better part of half of any given year. Consistently over 90 soggy degrees Every. Single. Day, it’s humid, it’s sticky, and you can pretty much forget about perfect eyeliner or cute hair. Stepping outside in the summer here is only slightly better than stepping into a giant, warm, wet, slightly moldy kitchen sponge.

But probably not by much.

So we grouse and we complain and without fail the first thing anyone says around here is, “It is SO hot, isn’t it? It is just so hot“, like this is the FIRST TIME EVER, and of course everyone nods and agrees and it’s just one big fat complaint fest. Because, well, you know, it IS really so freaking hot. And as with anything in life…..along with the good comes the bad and the bad with the good; so in the midst of all this torrid smarmy heat (“bad”), if you are paying attention, and if you are really, really lucky……

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Raw Tomato Sauce

Healthy, Gorgeous, Raw Tomato Sauce

Raw Tomato Sauce

I thought about calling this: Amazingly Simple and Delicious, Garlic Infused, Basil Tainted, Healthy, Fresh, Whip This Together And Feel Good About What You’re Eating over Zucchini Noodles Topped with Goat Cheese. Sauce.

That didn’t exactly fit on the line.

But this will definitely fit into your schedule.

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Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad

Roasted Cauliflower Chickpea Salad

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad

Super substantial, slightly exotic and even a little unusual, this salad is truly perfect.

( Kind of like YOU, right? I know . . . ME too! )

Roasted cauliflower chickpea perfection……this hefty, so much clout you can serve it up and call it a meal – salad’s salad has got it all. Believe me when I tell you;

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Cucumber Salad with Smashed Garlic and Ginger

Cucumber Salad with Smashed Garlic and Ginger

Cucumber Salad with Smashed Garlic and Ginger

Back in the day when I first discovered sushi (that epicurean wonder of the world), you would find me (feeling very internationally cultured), piling a mountain of pickled ginger (aka: gari) up all over my (fancy and adventurous) California roll; dipping it into a pool of soy sauce (carefully combined with a dab of that pale green wasabi paste…no lumps allowed!!), and then shoving the whole thing ever so delicately into my face. Mmmphhfffffffp.

Hopefully I have learned a few things about proper sushi etiquette since then and one of my most obvious faux pas of the past (you already know … I know you do) was the fact that I was seriously abusing the gari! Like…wait, this is meant to be a palate cleanser? As in, between bites of sushi…not ON TOP of? Seriously?

Dang. I sure don’t want to offend anyone (or embarrass myself for that matter) but I really do like that stuff. Now that I know better I can’t bring myself to treat it like it’s ketchup – at least not in public. Doesn’t mean I don’t still want to.

So…If your favorite thing about going out for sushi is nibbling on that crazy, pungency packing pickled ginger that comes in a pretty pink pile on the plate, then this clean and crunchy mix of taste-bud tingling happiness is for you.

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Raw & Ready Chopped Salad

Raw and Ready Chopped Salad

Raw and Ready CHopped Salad

Seems kind of redundant to include the word raw in the name of a salad. I mean, isn’t the definition of a salad, you know….lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, dressing, what-have-you…a culinary state of perpetual raw-ness?

As in: uncooked…..au naturel…..untouched by any source of heat………?

Ha! Sure, Bunny. You know as well as I do that any sort of salad is a good one (the notable exception being anything congealed together by Jello, yuk) but really, what defines a salad? Is it just any old conglomeration of random ingredients that aren’t called soup or dessert or a casserole; like this (Spicy Steak Salad with quinoa and black beans), or this (Roasted Broccoli and white bean salad)? Does it count as salad if it’s mostly cooked?

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Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki Sauce

Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki Sauce

Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki Sauce

I am no gardener (more of a Plant Slayer, admittedly) but I do have an absolute fascination with the whole concept of growing stuff.

Like, in the dirt. With just some water. And a little time, maybe? The right conditions?

Cos if you are lucky…

It gives you food. Really healthy food. For FREE, even (well, sorta).

Seriously, when you think about it, how cool is that?

It is with this recipe in mind that I went and purchased a wee-baby zucchini plant at my local nursery, along with the hopes of a bumper crop of those famously prolific green gourds. Because if things go well and I have my way, I’ll be able to eat these masterfully fried fritters – every single day.

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Orange and avocado salad with spicy honey broiled shrimp

Orange and Avocado Salad with Spicy Honey Broiled Shrimp

Avocado and Orange Salad with Spicy Honey Broiled Shrimp

Have you ever pulled out an orange (at work, perhaps?) and asked anyone if they would like a piece? Chances are you won’t get much response. Hey, you were just trying to be polite, right? Fine, good, more for you, or so you might think; let me tell you the minute you dig your thumb into that rind and peel it back and that first whiff of sunshine scented diffusion sprays through the air – Oh yeah! Noses perk right up and heads pop over and next thing you know,

you could use another orange. Hmmm.

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Marinated Mushroom veggie Salad

Marinated Mushroom Veggie Salad

Marinated Mushroom veggie Salad

I don’t know about you, but I can almost actually feel my vitamin D levels going up….just by looking at this bright and beautiful bowl of bodily benevolent bounty.

Earthy mushrooms, juicy grape tomatoes, sweet red bell pepper and crunchy cubed zucchini come together in raw and ready solidarity, held up (and held together) by a gutsy, garlicky, feta-cheese-a-fied marinade/dressing.

No sissy pants of a side dish; this bodacious babe brings the goods when it comes to a super delicious, sinfully simple salad.

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Mushroom Sausage and Orzo Comfort Bowl

Mushroom Sausage and Orzo Comfort Bowl

Mushroom Sausage and Orzo Comfort Bowl

As most anyone who knows me knows, I broke up with pasta a while ago. It was ugly. There were accusations; probably some tears. And although it has been an overall positive decision (semolina flour, you know you’re just no good for me) I have to admit that even after all this time…we still get together in that sneaky, culpable way.

And man, is it ever good when it happens. So easy and familiar, just like old times.

Is that so terrible?

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