Fire Roasted Relish

Relish? Salsa? Salad?  Whatever you call it, that's the kind of mood I've been in lately.  I've been making all kinds of veggie/beans mixtures and topping everything with it.  I've made omelets (shown above), topped salad greens with it, as well as topped grilled pork chops with it. It's a very versatile side dish and it's good hot or cold.  It's a perfect summertime addition to your menus, so I'm sharing the recipe! 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 tsp mustard

1 tsp sugar*

celery seed, salt* and pepper, to taste

2 celery stalks, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 small cucumbers, seeded and chopped

cilantro

2 cups frozen fire roasted corn, cooked (I like Trader Joe's)

2 cups black eyed peas*, cooked

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, celery seed, salt & pepper and cilantro.  Add the chopped vegetables, corn and black eyed peas.  Toss gently to coat and mix well.  Serve at room temperature or refrigerate a couple of hours. 

Notes:

*Sugar & *salt, I omitted.  We're reducing sodium and sugar intakes around here, and the dish was just fine without them.  Also, my *black eyed peas were dried in the bag, so I first had to rapid boil, soak overnight, and cook.  It's a little bit of work and takes quite a bit of prep, but worth it as a healthier option.

Linked this one up here: 

 

Bruschetta-Topped Garlic Bread


Loaf of bakery-style bread, pre-sliced
**I go for pre-sliced and purchase directly from the supermarket bakery section. Experiment with french, sourdough, ciabiatta, etc.

For Garlic Butter:
1 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 cup smart balance butter softened to spreadable consistency, 2 T. grated parmesan cheese, 1 T. Italian seasoning blend, 1 T. chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

In a bowl, mix all ingredients for the garlic butter until well blended. Spread a thin layer of garlic butter onto each slice of bread.

For Bruschetta:
4 roma tomatoes seeded & diced, 1 T. olive oil, 1 T. basil, 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes chopped, 3 T. freshly shredded parmesan cheese, sea salt & cracked black pepper.

In a bowl, mix all salsa ingredients together. Spoon onto slices of bread.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until heated throughout. Sprinkle with in additional shredded parmesan before serving.

I saw a more complicated version of this in the Family Circle magazine (www.familycircle.com)
from July 2009. It was called Jimmy's Favorite Garlic Bread (*I'm still wondering who "Jimmy" is???)I think the recipe was actually by Guy Fieri, a Food Network star? I'm not sure...don't watch it, but I did find these links http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jimmys-favorite-garlic-bread-recipe/index.html or http://www.foodnetwork.com/guys-big-bite/index.html
Anyway, the picture looked good, but his recipe seemed extremely complicated and time consuming. So, as usual, I adapted! I guess if some of you are inclined to slave over a stove for 1 hour just to roast garlic, give it a shot and try his version as well. Then, someone out there, let me know how much worse mine is....??? In my life, time is everything, so most days I'll be sticking with fast & easy!