Roasted Green Beans and Tomatoes with Basil

Green Beans
Cherry or grape tomatoes
Fresh Basil

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2.  Boil green beans in water until partially cooked, about 3 minutes.  Drain
3.  Toss beans and tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast beans and cherry tomatoes on a sheet pan until tomatoes start to burst, about 10 minutes.
4.  Remove from oven and toss with chopped fresh basil.

Skillet Corn and Avocado Salsa

3 ears fresh corn
1 large ripe avocado- cubed
1/2 small red onion - diced
1 jalapeno - minced
1/2 bunch cilantro - chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp salt

1.  Cut the kernels off the corn cobs.  Saute in a dry skillet over medium/low heat until corn is slightly caramelized, 5-7 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
2.  Mix corn with remaining ingredients.
3.  Serve with Tostitos.
4.  If mixture is too dry after it sits, drizzle with a bit of olive oil.

Smashed Potatoes

Small red or white potatoes (about 1-2 inches in diameter)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

1.  Boil your potatoes until fork tender about 10 minutes (depending on size).  Drain in a colander and place a dry towel over top.  Allow to steam for 1-2 minutes.
2.  In the meantime, drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan and preheat your oven to 450 degrees with the top rack in the top third of the oven.
3.  Once the potatoes are cooked, use a flat bottomed rocks glass to smash the potatoes.  Gently press the potato until you hear the skin "break".
4.  Place on the baking sheet, drizzle the tops with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake on the top rack for 25-30+ minutes, turning once after 15 minutes.  Brown to desired crispiness.
5.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, as you would french fries.

Spicy Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

4-6 Jalapenos
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoons Tahini
6 tablespoons lime juice
2 cans garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 cloves garlic - minced

1.  Roast the jalapenos.  I adore heat and made mine with 6 rather large jalapenos.  It was way way spicy.  I would start with 4 large and adjust from there.  Broil your jalapenos until black and blistered on all sides.  Place them in a plastic bag after roasting and steam for 10 minutes.
2.  Remove the skin and seed the jalapenos.  Remove all the seeds, as roasting the peppers brings out their heat.
3.  Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy.


*** Black Bean Variation

Use 3 cans black beans instead of garbonzo, drained and rinsed.
Add 1/2 bunch cilantro
Omit Garlic

If the beans are too sticky then add a drizzle of olive oil.

Gnocchi with Sausage and Kale

1 17oz package Gnocchi (whole wheat or white)
2 Spicy Italian Sausages (Pork, turkey or chicken)
1/2 yellow onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1-2 heads curly kale, stems removed and roughly torn
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/3 cup pasta water
Olive oil
salt and pepper

1.  Remove sausage from casings and crumble into a large pan over medium heat.  Brown sausage.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Wipe residual oil from pan.
2.  In the meantime boil water for gnocchi.  Gnocchi will take about 3 minutes to cook.  After it is finished cooking, drain gnocchi, reserving 1/3 cup of the starchy pasta water.
3.  Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion until clear, about 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute a minute or so more.
4.  Add the kale, wine and red pepper flakes and cook down until kale is wilted.  Add back reserved sausage.
5.  Add 1/3 cup of starchy pasta water to mixture and stir, creating a thin sauce.
6.  Off the heat, stir in the cheese and season with pepper (i rarely add salt, parmesan is salty enough).
7.  Serve, garnished with more parmesan.