Animal, Vegetable, Mineral II

Meet Ricki the mini labrador.  Or something.  He is part lab part, part terrier maybe?  We are not sure.  He came from a high kill shelter in Kentucky to a no-kill shelter in Minneapolis, to us.  The first 10 days we had him, he was the laziest dog ever.  He was on antibiotics for a cough.  He rode in the wagon.  Now that he is off the meds and healthy, he is a blur and doesn't slow down for a photo.  Except for the hours of 4am -7am where after his wee hours wee-wee he firmly entrenches himself between me and the mister, a little black wall.  




Vegetable: Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas with Corn Relish

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grates
• 4 ears corn (husks and silks removed), or 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 bunch scallions, half of bunch thinly sliced, other half cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 flour tortillas (10-inch)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 ounces)
• 1 yellow squash, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 orange bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced

Directions

1. Heat grill to low; lightly oil grates. Cut off tip of each cob. One at a time, stand each ear in a large wide bowl; with a sharp knife, carefully slice downward to release the kernels (you should have about 2 cups). Discard cobs.
2. Add sliced scallions, lime juice, and oil to bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Set corn relish aside.
3. Place tortillas on a work surface. Dividing evenly, sprinkle half the cheese on bottom half of each tortilla. Top with squash, bell pepper, scallion pieces, and remaining cheese; season with salt and pepper. Fold top half of tortillas over filling to close.
4. Grill quesadillas, turning once, until browned in spots and cheese has melted, 6 to 8 minutes. Cut into wedges; serve immediately with corn relish.

from marthastewart.com

Mineral


Today's mineral is Potassium.  Important to replace when you sweat.  It is Africa hot here.  I don't like bananas.  So I get my potassium from this:

 

Gatorade has calories.  Powerade Zero has artifcial sweetners.  Supplements are expensive, so if you have a long workout in the heat, a 1/2 tsp of this, in 4oz of water has 10x the potassium of gatorade.  Of course you will need to drink more than 4 oz of water.  Just do a shot of the salt water then drink the rest of your water plain.  Or sprinkle this on your oatmeal or whatever.  It is a little more bitter than table salt, from the potassium. Medical disclaimer: ask you doctor if you have blood pressure issues or other $hit wrong with you.  I'm not respsonsible for you.

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral Update

In today's edition of Animal, Vegetable, Mineral,  I give you the the Grizzly Bears at the Minnesota Zoo.  Every time we have gone to see the much touted, state of the art exhibit, complete with geysers, bubbling mud pits and a real trout stream, those bears were sleeping on the sand.  But not this time!  They were wrestling each other in the pond right in front of us.  It was awesome.

She especially thought so.

Your vegetable today is Haricots Vert.  Otherwise known as green beans.  I'm a big fan of things you can serve at room temperature and this recipe from Martha doesn't disappoint on a picnic or at a cookout.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard
• 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt
• 1 1/2 pounds haricot verts, trimmed
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together mustards and the vinegar. Whisking constantly, add the oil in a steady stream; continue whisking until mixture is smooth and emulsified.
2. Prepare an ice bath; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Add beans, and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; drain. Transfer beans to an ice bath to stop cooking; drain well.
3. Toss beans with onion and vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

And finally, the mineral I like and therefore you will too is from Stella and Dot.  My girlfriend had it on the other night at dinner and it was stunning.

Belle Fleur Ring -- Gold And it's $49.00

In case you can't see the ring, I added a link.