Goodbye Gut Contest: The Runner Up!

Our runner up submission in the Goodbye Gut Contest was from Erin F. who got extra points for including bacon in her recipe. This one is great for summer as beets are in season and easy to find. I know people who have been trying to give the ones in their garden away...so if you are gifted some beets, here's an easy thing to make with them.

Another highlight of this recipe is how little hands-on time there is. So if it's hot-hot-hot in your house, this guy uses only a bit of power from the stove so as not to heat things up too much in there.

Erin F. writes, "Goat cheese is another optional addition." Maybe in her mind, but in mine it's necessary.

Beets N' Bacon Salad
--2 red beets, cubed

--2 golden beets, cubed

--4 slices of bacon

--1/2 cup pecans, chopped

--4 cups mixed greens

--2 TBSP olive oil

--2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
--4 oz. goat cheese (optional)

Steam the beets and place them in fridge to cool. (I steamed mine in the microwave for faster steaming time).

Cook the bacon until crisp, retaining the drippings. Dice the bacon and set it aside.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, and 2 TBSP of the bacon drippings. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Toss the dressing with mixed greens in large bowl. Erin F. warns, "You may not use all of the dressing, so add it slowly." This is great advice and a way to make sure the salad stays on the healthy side of things by not going overboard with dousing on the dressing.

Divide the salad into 4 portions. Top each salad with 1/4 of the beets and add pecans to each; if you're using it, add 1 oz of goat cheese to each salad. Serve!

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 12 minutes
Serves: 4
Calories: 271 per salad

Summer Slaw

In making this slaw, I used the Catholic method of cooking--more commonly known as the "Pour & Pray."

Pause for the terrible joke to sink in... and... moving on!

Seriously though, I'm terrible at measuring things like this so the amounts of the liquids listed below are my best guess of what amounts of each dressing item was mixed together. Generally speaking I really do just pour stuff together and then pray it tastes good. My suggestion for you: Start with a little and add little bits of each of the items used to make the dressing. That way you'll end up with a combination that you like, befitting your tastes (more or less vinegar-y or soy-tastic).

Today's recipe is perfect to take to summer barbecues or potlucks. I made a big batch of this and then forced it upon my coworkers. It's not exactly vegetarian due to the soy sauce and the worcestershire, but you can make it vegetarian (or even vegan) by using fish-free substitutes. Okay, okay, this Asian thing is getting out of hand, I realize! But, uh, it's oh so tasty so how can I stop myself? It was made even more delicious by the fact that all my veggies came out of the garden of the house I was housesitting at!


Asian-Style Summer Slaw
--1 head of cabbage, roughly chopped
--1 large carrot, grated
--1 small sweet onion, vertically sliced
--1 bell pepper, chopped
--fresh cilantro, chopped
--fresh mint, chopped
--1 package uncooked ramen noodles (no flavor packet, noodles only)
--fresh ginger, grated
--fresh garlic, grated
--juice of 1/2 a lemon
--1/4 cup rice vinegar
--3 TBSP soy sauce
--1 TBSP olive oil
--1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients through the garlic.  In a separate container, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, Worcestershire and olive oil. Vary the amounts of the liquids depending upon your tastes. Pour over the slaw mixture and stir to combine.




Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 20 minutes
Serves: ???
Calories: There are about 1000 calories in the whole salad

One Hot Mess Of Veggies

As I said earlier this week, making salads can be a lot like making soup or pastas--you can throw together just about anything that tastes good!  There's pasta salad, and fruit salad, and a bevy of options when it comes to any greens-based salad. But I have to admit that even I hadn't thought of mixing in roasted vegetables until I ate a salad at a restaurant called the The Oven.

Their delightful mix of seasonal vegetables on organic greens inspired me to make my own roasted vegetable salad, with some of my favorite additions to add color, texture, and flavor. This salad is hearty enough to be served as it's own meal, but is also a great addition as a side dish as I learned when I made it for a family gathering featuring BBQ pulled pork...

Also, time is running out for our Operation Goodbye Gut contest. Be sure to email your recipe by Tuesday, June 15th to be entered to win our BIGS™prize packs!

Roasted Vegetable Salad
--Handful of raw almonds (about 50 or so)
--1 small onion, chopped
--1 medium zucchini, washed and sliced into thin slices
--1 head broccoli, stems removed and cut into florets
--1/2 bunch of kale, ribs removed and chopped or torn into pieces.
--2 TBSP olive oil
--salt & pepper
--6 medium strawberries, stems removed and sliced
--1 pear, cored and chopped into bite-sized pieces
--1 head of red leaf or romaine lettuce, torn into salad pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the almonds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 5 minutes, removing once to shake/turn them for even roasting. Once roasted, remove from oven and set aside.

Coat the onion, zucchini, broccoli, and kale with olive oil. An easy way of doing this is to place all the veggies into a plastic bag, pouring the olive oil over top, adding some salt and pepper, and shaking the heck out of it until the veggies are evenly coated.  Spread the veggies out on a cookie sheet and roast, turning once, until the vegetables are cooked and begin to crisp.

Once the vegetables are crispy, remove them from the oven.  Combine the lettuce, veggies, fruit, and almonds and serve!

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4 as a meal; more as a side dish
Calories: 235 per serving (as a meal)

Sure It's A Salad, But It Has Bacon Too!

I have no air conditioning.  The house I live in is a tiny place that was made for nuns. (Yes, really). It's made of bricks and windows (thankfully). So in the summer, "cooking" takes on a whole new meaning for me--it means getting in and out of the kitchen without having to slave over a hot stove!

Enter the salad, whose tag-line should be, "Not just for rabbits anymore!".  You'll see a lot more salads on this site in the next few months, because salads are the soups of summer.  Seriously. You can throw just about anything together and call it a salad, no lettuce required.  Today's recipe is a pretty traditional salad recipe that is packed full of protein (and delicious, clearly) from the bacon, roasted chicken, and goat cheese. Bonus prize: it's fast and oh so easy to make!

Summer Pear Protein Salad With Warm Sesame Dressing

--2 slices of bacon, cut in half to make 4 pieces

--1 carrot, peeled and sliced into 1/8" rounds

--2 pears, cored and sliced

--1/4 cup roast chicken (or rotisserie)
--2 cups red leaf lettuce, washed and hand ripped or cut into bite-sized pieces
--2 TBSP (1 oz) of goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 of a 4oz. log)

Dressing (makes about 3 TBSP of dressing)
--1/4 tsp sesame seeds

--2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

--1 tsp vegetable oil

--1/4 tsp sesame oil

--black pepper

Salad:
In a small frying pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until desired crispness.  Remove the bacon from heat and drain on paper towels.  Pour the bacon grease into your handy grease jar but a small trace amount will remain in the frying pan to add a little flavor to the dressing.

While the bacon cooks, add the carrots, pears, chicken, and lettuce in a large bowl.  When the bacon is done and patted down with paper towels, rip or slice into bite-sized pieces and add to the salad bowl.  Mix the salad together and set aside.

Once the dressing is done, portion the salad and add the goat cheese to the top.  Drizzle with the dressing.

Dressing:
In the same frying pan you used for the bacon, add the sesame seeds.  Toast over medium heat for about a minute, stirring consistently.  Add the other dressing ingredients and stir with a fork or whisk to mix.  Heat for about 2 minutes before removing from heat.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2
Approximate Calories: 381 per serving (Salad: 223 per serving; Dressing: 158 per serving)