Cucumber Tapa

I tried these at AFIT recipe club. They were AMAZING!

serves 4

Ingredients:

    2 seedless cucumbers (about 1 lb each), peeled if waxy
     2 T extra-virgin olive oil
    1 tsp sherry vinegar
    2 oz. feta cheese, diced
    ¼ tsp kosher salt
     Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
     1 T fresh oregano leaves, chopped

Directions:

1.     Slice the cucumbers lengthwise, and remove any small seeds.  Cut 1 cucumber half into ¼-inch dice and transfer to a small bowl.  Add the olive oil, vinegar, feta cheese, salt, and pepper, and toss well to combine.  Add the oregano, and toss again.

2.     Use a vegetable peeler to remove 1 or 2 long strips of the peel (if the cucumber is already peeled, remove a strip of the flesh) from the underside of each of the remaining 3 cucumber halves so they will sit without tipping.  Spoon the cucumber-and-feta mixture into the long trough of each half.

3.     Slice cucumbers crosswise on a slight diagonal into 1½-inch pieces, and serve immediately.

Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad

from my friend Lindsay

Ingredients
12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed
1/4 cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella
12 fresh basil leaves, julienned
Directions
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than 1/2-inch thick. If the slices of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut the mozzarella slices in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

Granola Loving Hippy

Because let's face it, I am one. I got these recipes from my friend, Kathy

Granola with dried fruit
3 c. Oats
1/2 c. Ground flax
1/4 c. Brown sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 c. Pepitas [lightly salted
1/2 c. Sunflower seeds (lightly salted)
1/2 c. Sliced almonds.

Mix well.

In another bowl mix (1) 12oz apple juice concentrate, tsp vanilla, 2 1/2 TBL safflower oil.

Stir and add it to the oatmeal mixture. Bake at 300*F for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 min or so. Add 2 cups of chopped dried fruit (craisins, prunes) bake for five more min. Allow to cool. It will still be soft until it cools. Then it gets really crunchy.

Chocolate granola
3 c. Oats
1 c quinoa
1/3 c ground flax seed
1/3 c of each, pepitas, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds
Sea salt 1/4-1/2 tsp
2/3 c cocoa powder
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c juice [apple, pear, peach, etc]
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 TBL safflower oil

Mix the dry ingredients, then the wets, then combine. Taste a pinch and adjust the sweetness. Before adding more sugar though, try adding a bit more salt. It brings out the sweetness and flavors. Add chocolate chips after it cools if you want.
Bake at 250* for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The lower temp is to avoid burning the chocolate.