Frozen Blueberries - A Healthy Summer Snack

Frozen blueberries are a healthy snack on a hot summer day. I like to buy fresh, raw blueberries when they are in season and put some in the freezer for snacks. Half a cup of blueberries contains about 40 calories.

• Blueberries are very low in fat and sodium, and high in dietary fiber.
• 1/2 a cup of blueberries contains 8% of your daily value of fiber.
• Blueberries are a source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and folate.

Composition of a blueberry:

• Water 84.61%
• Protein 0.67%
• Ash 0.21%
• Lipids 0.38%
• Carbohydrates 14.13%

Blueberries are packed with an antioxidant called anthocyanidins which neutralize free radicals in your body which can damage the collagen matrix of cells and tissues that can lead to diseases like cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer.

Asparagus & Bell Pepper Quiche

Several people have commented that they might try to make my crustless quiche recipe, so I thought I would post another variation of my crustless quiche here today. This one features grilled asparagus and slices of a small red bell pepper.

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 1/3 pint of half & half
• 1 medium size onion
• grilled asparagus tips (from Trader Joe's frozen food section)
• 1 small red bell pepper
• white cheese (mozzarella or monterey jack)
• sea salt
• pepper
• olive oil

Sauteed a medium white, red or yellow onion in a small skillet with a little olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. You can sweat the onions until they are soft or cook longer to get a little brown carmelization -- your preference.

Break the eggs into a bowl and add the half & half. Whisk well and add the sauteed onions.

Prepare a glass pie dish by spraying the bottom and sides with olive oil. Layer the bottom of the dish with slices of cheese until the bottom surface of the dish is completely covered. When the quiche cooks, the melted cheese on the bottom creates a natural crust. Pour the egg and onion mixture over the top of the cheese.

As you will see in the photo above, I then floated spears of grilled asparagus in a cartwheel pattern around the top of the egg mixture, the thick end of the spears toward the center of the pie. I spaced the spears approximately to the size of each slice of quiche. I like to use the pre-grilled asparagus spears that you can find in the frozen foods section at Trader Joe's. I removed from the freezer what I needed for my quiche beforehand so the spears could thaw out before adding to the quiche.

If you don't have pre-grilled frozen asparagus spears in your freezer, you can always use fresh asparagus, but you will need to cook the beforehand so they are now completely raw. You could grill them, saute them in a small skillet or blanch them in boiling water. Don't over-cook them, because they will continue to cook in the quiche.

The final touch is adding slices of a small bell pepper in a circular pattern around the top of the quiche between the asparagus spears. I found a package of small baby bell peppers at Trader Joe's. I used a red one, but you could also use a green or yellow one -- your choice. If you like your eggs jazzed up, you could also use a spicy pepper like a jalapeno.

Sprinkle the top of the quiche mixture with grated cheese and then bake in a pre-heated over at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until slightly brown on top. While cooking, the quiche will appear to rise above the rim of the pie dish -- don't be alarmed -- it will settle down again once it is cooked and you remove it from the oven.

You can tell if the quiche is done if you stick a toothpick in the center and nothing sticks to it.

I served the quiche with slices of avocado and a fresh fruit salad.

You can throw together a fruit salad with just about any combination of fruit that you have on hand or whatever you prefer. I used mango, raspberries, grapes and watermelon.

Carnitas and Roasted Veggies

It should never be suggested that I cook everything from scratch. I'm all about taking advantage of modern conveniences when it can make life -- and cooking -- a little easier. Especially when it's 100-degrees outside, who wants to be stuck in a hot kitchen all day?

Okay, so I cheated a little on the pork shoulder and went to Costco for the pre-cooked carnitas. All you have to do is throw it in the oven to warm it up before serving. I also threw in some onions, garlic, and baby carrots, so by the time the meat was warmed through we also had some nice roasted veggies to go with it. Be sure to put some water or broth in the bottom of the pan or glass caserole dish, and cover with foil if the meat starts to get too brown. Season with salt and pepper and you're good to go.

With the carnitas I served a green salad with a light oil and vinegar dressing. I used white balsamic vinegar, added some juice from a lime (not too much), and seasoned with salt and pepper. I used the extra lime to squeeze on the carnitas.

I also sliced up an avacado and served it with a big scoop of homemade pico de gallo that I threw together with diced roma tomatoes, diced red onion, crushed fresh garlic and chopped cilantro. It's good to let the juices marinate in a closed container in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.

Roma tomatoes are best for pico de gallo because they aren't as juicy as most tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are plentiful in the summer, so take advantage of them. There is a local market in North Hollywood called Vallarta Supermarket, and they've had truck loads of roma tomatoes -- 3 lbs. for $1.

If you do find that your pico de gallo is too juicy, here's a little something I've discovered which Deb loves: I drain off the excess juice from the pico de gallo which is a lovely combination of tomato, onion, garlic and cilantro flavors, then I save it in a glass jar in the refrigerator to make salad dressings. Just add a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to your excess pico de gallo juice and it makes for a nice, light salad dressing. You don't need to much balsamic vinegar because you already have the acid from the tomato juice. Shake well and serve.

Welcome to My Food & Cooking Blog!

My friends know that I love to cook and I love to travel. Frequently one inspires the other. Recently Debra and I moved to Burbank. When we decided to move back to Southern California, we made a commitment to living more sustainably -- eating heathly, living close to jobs, eating out less, saving money, and spending less time in cars.

We've been pretty successful in our goals so far and I've really enjoyed shopping for fresh produce at the local farmer's market and cooking fresh foods at home. I love to cook, but we've downsized from the very large kitchen in Eugene, where we rarely cooked, to a very tiny kitchen in Burbank where I cook quite frequently.

I figured if I can do it, anybody can do it! And since all of my friends (especially my Facebook friends) know that I love to over-share... well, I've decided to start this food & cooking blog so I can share my love of food, cooking and the travel experiences that inspire both!

Pictured above: My kitchen in Burbank where I love to keep fresh herbs on hand -- like cilantro, parsley and basil -- as well as fresh citrus like lemons and limes. I use all of these ingredients frequently in my cooking.

I don't use cookbooks or recipes -- but I do love to watch the Food channel and read the food and cooking blogs of my friends -- some of which are listed on the right. I'll be adding more over time. I'd like to thank Michelle Fabio and Christina Denninghoff for inspiring me to start this blog. Christina and I went to high school together in Eugene, Oregon, and she lives with her family in Germany. It's been many, many moons since I visited Christina in Germany. Michelle I've never met -- or at least not in person. She's an expat living in Italy who inspires people like me to their own dreams with her wonderful blog. Thanks to the Internet, Blogs and Facebook, Michelle and Christina and just two of my global neighbors and friends.

One last thing: As an over-sharer, I love feedback and interaction with people who might be looking at my blog. So please feel free to post comments or ask questions -- or share your own inspirations and experiences!

Stuffed Bell Peppers & Grilled Asparagus

Bell peppers stuffed with chicken, wild rice, onions, celery, mushrooms and golden raisins -- served with a lemon-cilantro sauce; grilled asparagus spears (from the frozen food section at Trader Joe's!) and cucumber slices with dill-cream cheese and heirloom tomato wedges.

Eric's Crustless Quiche

This is my crustless quiche made with onions, mushrooms and grilled asparagus tips.

I don't really cook by recipe, but this one involved the following ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 1/3 pint of half & half
• 1 medium size white onion
• 2 or 3 green onions
• mushrooms
• grilled asparagus tips (from Trader Joe's frozen food section)
• white cheese (mozzarella or montery jack)
• red chili flakes
• sea salt
• ground pepper
• olive oil

I sauteed some white onion, green onion, mushrooms and asparagus tips in a skillet with a little olive oil seasoned with sea salt and course ground black pepper.

I sprayed a glass pie dish with organic olive oil spray, then layered the bottom of the dish with white cheese (your choice: mozzarella, monterey jack), then layered the grilled veggies on top of the cheese.

I whisked the 5 eggs and half & half in a seperate bowl and added a few red chili flakes and salt & pepper then poured it over the cheese and veggies in the pie dish. I sprinkled shredded Italian white cheese blend over the top then baked in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until slightly brown on top.

Stick a toothpick in the center and if nothing sticks, then it is done.

Chicken Kabobs & Corn on the Cobb

This was my experiment with making chicken kebobs on my stove-top grill. The kabob ingredients included:

• 2 large chicken breasts
• small tomatoes
• pearl onions
• olive oil
• orange muscat champagne vinegar (from Trader Joe's)
• sea salt
• ground pepper
• red chili flakes

I cut the chicken into large pieces and skewered them with a bamboo spear, seperating each piece of meat with a pearl onion (peeled) or a small tomato.

I made a marinade using olive oil and orange muscat champagne vinegar and seasoned with salt and pepper and just a pinch of red chili flakes to add a little pop. I placed the chicken and marinade in a covered dish in the fridge for a couple hours before cooking.

When it was time to cook, I grilled the kebobs on my stove-top grill, turning frequently, until the chicken was completely cooked to the center. You could also do this on an outdoor grill if you have the luxury.

I served the kabobs with fresh corn on the cobb from the local farmer's market and a tomato/basil bruschetta I threw together and served on slices of a toasted garlic loaf I picked up at Fresh & Easy -- one of those partially baked fresh bread loaves that you throw in the oven and bake an additional 15-17 minutes until the crust is slightly brown and crispy.