Colorful Meals (with a few recipes)

In the past few days we’ve had vegetable-bean soup made with Moro beans from Rancho Gordo, fresh tomatoes on toast made from Simple Kneads’s sourdough bread, tossed green salads with peppers and radishes, pickled red onions, fresh guacamole, orange-grapefruit salad sprinkled with pistachios, green grapes, cherry tomatoes, and fresh blueberries. And there is almost always homemade bread made from my husband’s hands with King Arthur’s whole wheat flour. 

Our meals do not exactly have a theme, but they always have a lot going for them. It’s all about vegetables, and fruits, and color. On a regular basis we make our way through red, green (light, medium, and dark), white, yellow, brown, orange, purple and blue produce. That’s a lot of colors. And, as my mom taught me, the more colors at a meal, the better. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Gazpacho!

If your counter looks anything like mine, it’s probably that time of year when you gather up your haul of tomatoes and turn them into soup. Tomatoes are best stored and eaten warm, so you’ll probably be starting with tomatoes at room temperature. Plan on making this recipe early enough in the day that it has time to cool thoroughly. It will be worth it, especially on these hot, humid, late summer days. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Watermelon Gazpacho

Beautiful color, beautiful flavor, beautiful summer food. Something different and delicious…

8 cups watermelon (peeled from rind, seeded, and chopped)
3 pickling cucumbers (approx 6 inches long), diced
1 red bell pepper (cored, seeded, and diced)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. green onions, chopped
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt

Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Measure two cups of the ingredients into a blender or food processor, and pulse until chunky (not smooth). Collect the blended ingredients in a pitcher.

Continue to blend one small batch at a time until just 1/2 cup of the unblended mixture remains. Add this to the pitcher without processing, and stir. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs, and serve chilled. Garnish as desired with more basil or parsley. 

Yield: 6+ cups