Some Do Not Like It Hot

          I don’t know about where you live, but our weather has been so hot. It got the point that I turned on the air conditioning in my house for the first time since it was installed 12 years ago. With all the heat we have not felt much like eating. Our dinner these days has become a fruit smoothie.

Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup Fat Free Plain Yogurt

Note: Soy and lactose free yogurts are available in stores as a replacement for regular yogurt.

1 cup Orange Juice

Enough Fresh and/or Frozen Fruit to fill blender carafe

Note: The fruit can be any variety you like. Every time I make a smoothie the fruit combination is different. Some of our favorites are pineapple, strawberries, and frozen tropical blends.

1. Put Yogurt and Orange Juice in blender carafe.

2. Add fruit until it fills to about an inch below the top edge of the carafe. 

3. Blend until smooth and serve.  With a 5 cup carafe I am able to fill around four 12 oz. glasses.

Simple Lunch

       This is one of my favorite lunches to take to work. It is a combination of brown rice, edamame, and Italian Import Tuna in oil. I know this may sound weird to use Asian ingredients and Italian tuna but it gives you carbs, vegetables, and protein.

Ingredients

2 cups brown rice
Note: If you do not like the deeper flavor of just brown rice, use one cup of white and one cup of brown.
4 cups water
¼ cup frozen shelled edamame
3 oz Italian Import Tuna in Oil
2 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp chili oil or sprinkle of chili flakes (optional)
1 Tbsp Sun Flower Seeds or Chopped Peanuts (optional)

1. Put rice and water in a covered casserole dish so the rice can steam at the end of the cycle. Place in the microwave and cook using the Rice button.
2. Once the rice is cooked, fluff it. Then add the Rice Wine Vinegar and Sesame Oil by fluffing it into the rice. If you would like a spicier version of this meal, add the optional chili oil or flakes.

                    This is how I construct my lunch
1. Take 1-1/2 cups of the rice and put together with the edamame in a microwaveable container. The remaining rice can be stored for later use. Put tuna in a separate container.
2. Heat the rice and edamame for 1-1/2 minutes.
3. Put the room temperature tuna on top of the heated rice and edamame to make a good contrast.
4. If you want a little crunch, use the Sun Flower Seeds of Chopped Peanuts.

             I hope you like my lunch suggestion.

Cooking Tip #1

Rice Wine Vinegar

         There appears to be two types of Rice Wine Vinegar.  The regular version contains a large amount of salt while the low sodium has significantly less.  If you have to watch your salt intake as I do, here is a mixture I created to lessen the salt, including the taste.

¾ of a bottle of Low Sodium Rice Wine Vinegar

¼ of a bottle of Regular Rice Wine Vinegar

Note: Make sure bottles are the same size. 

1.       Mix the two vinegars together to get the flavor you like without the salt you don’t.

Baking Tip #1

Toasting Nuts

                Previously I used the standard 350 degrees when toasting nuts.  I have found using 325 degrees gives me a better overall toasted flavor.  With one cup of nuts, I put them in the oven for two intervals of three minutes.  Between the two intervals I toss and shift the nuts around to prevent burning.     

Summer Salad

           If you are looking for a refreshing summer salad, I want to tell you about my Pineapple Salad.  It’s a combination of the fruits pineapple and apple along with toasted walnuts.

                                                                     

 Pineapple Salad

Ingredients

1 Cored Fresh Pineapple cut into small chunks (Save the juice)

2 Firm Apples cored and diced

Note: I prefer Braeburn Apples for their tartness which makes a good contrast to the sweet pineapple.

1 cup Toasted Walnuts chopped

1 tsp Mayonnaise

1.       Put pineapple juice and mayonnaise into a small bowl and blend together to create a dressing.

2.       Place the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl and coat with the pineapple juice and mayo dressing.

Note: If you find you would like the salad creamier add one or two more teaspoons of mayonnaise and mix it in.

3.       Chill for one hour and serve.

This is a great dish to take to your next pot luck dinner.