Grilled Veggie Tacos with Black Bean Salsa

Grilled Veggie Tacos with Black Bean & Corn Salsa

A recent meal at Islands restaurant on Claremont Mesa in San Diego inspired this new recipe. I think it will work great with whatever vegetables are seasonal at the time you decide to make it.

I used zucchini, summer squash, red bell pepper and yellow bell peppers as the base in this batch. All vegetables were cut into fairly chunky pieces for grilling and rubbed with olive oil and a little taco seasoning.Veggies were lightly grilled, maintaining firm texture, but gaining nice hot grill marks. Once done grilling, slice out nice taco-sized strips from each piece.

The salsa is pretty easy to make. Just mix:

1 can of black beans (canned, well rinsed and drained)
1 cup of frozen corn (thawed) or a couple fresh, grilled ears of corn
juice of one lime
2 ripe tomatoes (finely chopped)
half a red onion (finely chopped)
1 large fistful of fresh cilantro (finely chopped, with most stems removed)
1 fire roasted Serrano chili pepper (finely chopped, stems and ribs removed), or substitute a jalapeno pepper
Salt & pepper to taste...it will need a fair amount of salt, but go a little at a time and test. 

World's Healthiest Foods

Lately I've been very interested to know what nutrients I'm getting from the foods I eat. Actually, I can thank Dr. Oz for this and my desire for a healthier lifestyle overall. But anyway, my Web searches eventually led me to this wonderful resource: the World's Healthiest Foods (http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php).

It lists what The George Mateljan Foundation believe to be the best 130 foods for good health, based on numerous scientific studies which are identified throughout its many informative pages. For easy searching on the list, food items are grouped according to type, such as vegetables, seafood and beans. Then, each item has a link to another page with a slew of information about health benefits, nutritional profile, history of its origin, how to select and store and much more. If you are interested in the potential power of food to prevent disease, this is the resource for you!

Check it out sometime to discover more about your favorite foods and others you don't know much about!

Veggie Pizza--Soggy again

A pizza craving was upon us (again) today, so we got takeout from Fillipi's Pizza Grotto on Kearny Villa Road in San Diego. We had heard good things from some of the locals, so our hopes were high.

Well, I'm sure the pizza would be great if it wasn't all soggy from the water content of the veggies that seeps out during bake time. This is an ongoing problem with a lot of pizza joints, in my experience. My suggestion is to roast the vegetables separately first, therefore extracting some of the natural liquids while adding some additional flavor. Who doesn't love a roasted pepper or onion?  And the simple extra step will greatly improve the texture of the whole pie.

City Deli--San Diego

I'm going to try to include more restaurant reviews in my blog, starting here.

Today, we visited the City Deli on University Ave in San Diego, after I researched local deli options. I had a hankering for a sandwich on rye with a good sour pickle. Sure enough, the restaurant kept a bucket of whole sour pickles on every table to help yourself. My 2 year old and I enjoyed one right away. We were sat in a cute half-circle booth and promptly had glasses of water and coloring materials for my son.

I ordered a patty melt on rye with Swiss cheese and a side of cole slaw. My husband got the grilled Reuben with slaw and fries. We both had giant unsweetened iced teas. We ordered mac and cheese for my son, with a side of sliced tomato. To kill time while waiting the 10 minutes for our food, we strolled by the pastry counter to consider dessert. There were many choices, from cakes and pies to creme brulee and cannolis. My husband later chose the lemon/coconut cake, which he said was a huge slab of sugary goodness, and my son got a frosted cookie. We all enjoyed what we had for lunch, and my deli craving was satisfied.

The City Diner is a nice little city joint, with friendly and attentive service. The food seemed a little over priced, but the quality was decent enough. I imagine making many items in house carries its extra cost so I didn't mind paying the extra bucks. I'm not sure I would rush back for more, but I'm glad I experienced the City Diner firsthand.

Pineapple Salsa

This is a great side dish with fish or chicken, and it's super simple to make. The ingredients are 1 diced sweet red pepper, 1 diced jalapeno pepper (seeds and ribbing removed), 1 small bunch of cilantro (chopped well) and 1 can of pineapple chunks, with each chunk sliced into about 4 pieces. Combine all ingredients, including pineapple juice, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving to allow time for all flavors to combine. For a little more kick and color, add a small amount of red onion, finely chopped.

How to select an avocado

I'm often disgusted by the selection of avocados at the supermarket. They are usually over priced and over ripe, and people squeeze them constantly to determine ripeness, leaving them bruised and brown inside.

If you want to pick a perfectly ripe avocado, don't squeeze it. Look for the little stem stub on one end. If it's still in place, flick it off and look at the color of the hole underneath. If it's still a little green, the avocado is green on the inside and ripe. If the hole is brown and all dried out, so is the avocado.

San Diego-Little Italy Mercato

If you are ever in San Diego on a Saturday, don't miss the Mercato, a gathering of 90 street vendors selling a huge variety of items produced locally, including fruits & veggies, dates, goat cheese, chocolate, nuts, sea salt, fish, bread, dips, jellies, pottery, jewelry, teas, spices, flowers and much more. Most vendors offer samples of their goods, so it can be like a giant buffet. There are also prepared food vendors selling regional cuisines. My favorites are fish tacos with grilled mahi mahi, grilled sardines on a stick, freshly pressed panini sandwiches and wide selection of European sweets.

If you go to the mercato, try to bring small denominations of cash to ease sales transactions and having your own re-usable shopping bag is a big plus. Plan to spend at least an hour meandering among the booths.