Corn Salad with Green beans and Tomatoes.

July is the best time at the farmer’s market. There are so many kinds of fresh vegetables and fruits there, so every week when I go to the farmer’s market, I have the most difficult choice: I want to buy everything at once, but then I have to think what dishes I will make with all these foods before they go bad. That’s why I am trying to keep myself in control and buy something else every week. This rule doesn’t work for fruits: There is never too many fruits in our house, especially now when Sophia goes to summer camp, she always has at least 3 containers of fruits packed in her lunch box.

Last week when I saw corn at the farmer’s market for the first time in this season, I grabbed 5 and decided to make something special with it, not just grill or boil it.

The idea came the next night when I was making dinner: salad.  This recipe is very easy to make. It’s a great complement to any outdoor party. Fresh, juice and delicious.

Corn Salad with Green Beans and Tomatoes.

 

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 ears corn, grilled or boiled
1 pound green beans, blanched and cooled
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup basil leaves, thinly shredded

Prepare vinaigrette by whisking together mustard, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Cut kernels off corn cobs and put in a large bowl. Add beans, tomatoes, onion and basil. Drizzle vinaigrette over and toss to combine. Serve.

Strawberry Cupcakes. Gluten Free.

My daughter’s favorite kind of berries is strawberry. She can eat everything with strawberries in it: ice cream, cupcakes, tarts etc.

One of her favorite dessert is a cupcake. I don’t make them a lot, because it should be a special occasion for this, but sometimes you just want to make a little surprise for your loving ones. I knew my daughter would love the idea to have a strawberry cupcake with no reason for it, so I made these gluten free, refined sugar free strawberry cupcakes.

This cupcake is perfectly moist with just the right amount of sweetness. There’s fresh strawberries in both the batter and the frosting, so you taste the berries with every bite.Using a blender to mix the ingredients ensures that the almond flour is blended into an extremely fine grind, making the cake smooth and light. A little lemon juice in the batter and frosting makes the tart strawberries sing.

 

Strawberry Cupcakes. Gluten free.

Ingredients:

2½ cups blanched almond flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon sea salt

⅔ cup maple syrup

⅓ cup coconut oil, melted

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon lemon zest

½ cup finely chopped strawberries

Frosting:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked before

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 cup chopped strawberries

1 tbs. lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with baking cups. Combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest in the jar of a blender.Puree on medium speed for 20 seconds or until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and blend on high for 30-45 seconds. The batter should be very smooth and contain no lumps. If needed, scrape down the sides with a spatula and blend again for a few seconds until all of the dry mixture is incorporated. Gently fold the chopped strawberries in by hand. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin, filling about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick can be inserted into the middle and comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely on the counter before frosting.

For the frosting mix all the ingredients in the high speed blender until smooth.

Decorate the cupcakes with frosting and fresh strawberries.

 

 

Zucchini Noodles With Cilantro Avocado Dressing.

Zucchini noodles is a great alternative to the regular grain pasta, especially when you love pasta and ready to eat it every day.

When I first tried to make zucchini noodles, I served them raw, and it upset my stomach, so I didn’t cook them for a while. But now when it’s summer and you can get organic zucchini pretty easily at any grocery store, I decided to give it the other try.This time I cooked them with a sauce in the pan for a few minutes and it made a huge difference. They taste better, and digest very easy not giving me any discomfort.

The easiest recipe for me is to have zucchini noodles with marinara sauce, a little garlic and basil. I can eat them every single day and still crave them the next day.

Today I decided to try something else. Because I have some cilantro in my fridge and a half of avocado, I tried to make an avocado cilantro sauce, which worked great with zucchini noodles.

I didn’t add any salt, but feel free to add some.

Zucchini Noodles With Cilantro Avocado Dressing.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup mashed avocado (I used 1/2 whole avocado)
3/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove
3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. Put all of the ingredients in a blender (or food processor) and process until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if desired.

2. Make zucchini noodles and heat them up with a little water in the pan or just serve them raw. I like mine cooked a little bit.

3. Serve the dressing over zucchini pasta, spoon a few tablespoons over spiralized zucchini and mix well. Add more dressing and fresh ground pepper to taste.