Greens aux Gratin

This is a great way to use up any greens – kale, spinach, radish or turnip greens, whatever. It’s also a way to get rid of excess cheese you may have lying around.

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 Sautee the greens (destemmed if using kale) in oil or butter over high heat with a little chopped onion or garlic. Cook until just wilted – 2 or 3 minutes. Set aside.

 Make a roux over medium heat, using 3 T butter and 3 T flour. Wisk in 1 cup of milk and stir until thickened.

 In a shallow baking pan, layer greens, roux and any cheese – we like a mixture of Monterrey Jack and a hard, salty Italian cheese. A little blue cheese is also great in there. Some thin slices of buttered wheat bread on top will add a nice crunch.

 Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly.

Tomatillo Corn Salsa

Tomatillos
Tomatoes
Corn
Serrano and hungarian peppers
red onion

Husk and wash the tomatillos. Boil the tomatillos and corn in water for 5 minutes. Let cool. Chop onions and tomatoes. Put tomatillos and peppers into a food processor. Pulse until a nice chunky consistency is made. Take corn off of the cob. Add all ingredients to a bowl and ENJOY! NOM!

Corn, Zucchini and Chevre Salad

Zucchini
Corn
Chevre
Basil
Lemon
Salt and Pepper

Grill the corn (we leave it in the husks), then remove the kernels. Slice zucchini lengthwise. Lightly coat with olive oil and salt and pepper. Grill lightly. Chop into bite size pieces. 

Combine the corn and zucchini. Squeeze in juice from 1/2 a lemon. Chiffonade the basil. Add it to the corn and zucchini. Spoon chèvre over the top.

Houston Style Green Salsa

  • 1 lb fresh tomatillos
  • 1 large avocado
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1-2 serrano peppers, seeds removed (or left in!)
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • Salt, to taste
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  1. Remove the husks from the tomatillos and drop them whole into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes to soften them. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer them from the pot to the blender.
  2. Remove the pit and scoop out the avocado flesh. Add it to the blender along with the garlic, onion, peppers, lime juice, and sour cream.
  3. Blend until you reach desired consistency.
  4. Add cilantro, cayenne, and a large pinch of salt, pulsing once or twice to combine.
  5. Leftovers will keep several days in the fridge. Yields 2 cups.

BOTofu: Bacon, Onion, Tomato, Tofu

one block tofu - we used organic silken tofu
♥ 2 Tbs grated ginger
♥ 1/4 cup sesame sauce - we used gomadare, a Japanese dipping sauce (substitute: tahini)
♥ tiny dash or mirin - optional
♥ one small red onion
♥ 2 strips of cottage bacon(substitute: 4 strips regular bacon or 2 slices ham)
♥ 3 tomatoes

directions
♥ Slice the tofu into 4 flat rectangles. Drain the excess water out of the tofu.
♥ While the tofu drains, make the tofu marinade: combine ginger, sesame sauce, dash of mirin.
♥ Marinate the tofu. I marinated it for an hour. I recommend at least 15 minutes for good flavor penetration.
♥ Grill tofu. (Or pan sear it.)
♥ Grill the bacon. (Or pan sear it.)
♥ Slice the onions and tomatoes. Chop the bacon into strips.
♥ Arrange on a plate - we did tofu on the bottom, then bacon, with tomatoes on top. The onion went on the side; we weren't sure if our dinner guests wanted to eat raw onions.

tips
♥ on draining tofu: I like to wrap the sliced tofu in a tea towel, put it on a plate, and put another plate on top - 10 minutes. Or you can drain it for 30+ minutes in a colander. Or wrap it in paper towels and nuke at 70% power for 1 minute.
♥ on grilling tofu: put the tofu slices on non-stick foil and put the foil on the grill. Eliminates sticking and it won't fall into the ashes that way! Even with the foil barrier you'll still get a good char and smoky grill flavor.
♥ on onions: we used young baby onions so they didn't have much of a sharp bite. If yours do, you can grill them lightly before slicing. Or, you can slice them and throw them into cold salted water for 10-15 minutes. It'll take out the sting and lightly pickle them.