What I Really Think

Made this soup today in the crock pot. Sorry no picture. Could not be easier and though the recipe said 5 hours on high, mine took about 3 - 3.5 in a 6 qt crock pot. I'm finding it a tad spicy so might reduce the crushed red pepper a bit. Also, I'm thinking for lunch sometime, I could add 1/2 cup of chick peas for 1 point and this could have some filling umph to it.

10 oz spinach, baby leaves
2 medium carrot(s), chopped
2 medium celery, ribs, chopped
1 large onion(s), chopped
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
4 cup(s) vegetable broth
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
2 piece(s) bay leaf
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed

Throw it all in a crock pot. And cook. Makes about eight 1cup servings.

Still in my quest to get caught up with our Sunday Slow Sides, I made Week Five's selection, Tomatoes, with the recipe supplied by Nancy of A Wine Lover's Wanderings. Really, Nancy gave us a description more than a recipe which is cool, and will taste good - as long as you great ingredients (i.e., fresh local or home grown tomatoes) and taste it to make sure you like the flavor combinations - if it needs something to satisfy your taste, don't be afraid to add.

Sample of our garden's tomatoes and basil this year

Me, I went with the basic description Nancy provided.

Fresh Uncooked Tomato Sauce

• Ripe Homegrown or Locally Grown Tomatoes, chopped - Nancy recommends using heirlooms - I had a bunch of different on hand so I went with a Lemon Boy, Rutgers, some odd green/reddish one from my CSA, sunbursts (I think that's what they're called - little yellow ones) and some sweet 100s, oh and two Romas (also from the CSA).
  
• Sweet Mild Onion (like Vidalia), chopped
  
• Garlic, minced
  
• Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil - I only used 1 teaspoon but you can use more.
  
• Basil, chopped coarsely

Combine all of the above and let them blend at room temperature. Serve over hot pasta with Parmesan cheese. Also good cold the next day.

Okay - I varied there a bit - I've been promising Sammi gnocchi, so I served mine over the gnocchi with a bit of grated pecorino atop.

Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce

I will definitely make it again. It's so incredibly easy and I only wish I had more tomatoes!

I've been hankering for a long weekend in Boston this summer but we just can't seem to work out the dates. So instead, I decided to make one of our favorite Boston treats, lobster rolls, for dinner at home (and luckily the weather gods cooperated and we got a beautiful night on the deck in which to enjoy it). As usual, got this recipe from Cooking Light, well actually, their recipe site (for all their publications), My Recipes. It's really an easy to put together recipe (well, other than de-meating the lobster), when you're local grocer/fish monger steams the lobsters for you ahead of time. We had 3 1.3 lb lobsters and were probably shy of the quantity of meat required.

Lobster Rolls

4 cups cooked lobster meat, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped celery
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash hot sauce
4 hot dog buns (we prefer ours toasted, either in the toaster oven, or on the grill, if already lit)

Combine first 7 ingredients. Spoon 3/4 cup salad into each bun.

This comes in at 8 Weight Watchers PPV.

Lobster Roll w/ Korean Cucumber Salad - apologies for iPhone picture quality

Korean Cucumber Salad

To go along with the lobster, I used one of our plethora of cucumbers to make this dish. Again, easy peasy to come together, can be made ahead, and really great for a hot summer evening. The recipe calls for an English Cucumber but I used our regular garden variety, slit in half, with the seeds scooped out. It's got a bit of a kick, so be careful.

Korean Cucumber Salad

3 1/2 cups (1/16-inch-thick) slices English cucumber (about 1 large - see note above about cucumber)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons minced green onions
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Combine cucumber and salt, tossing well. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry.
Combine cucumber, onions, rice vinegar, sugar, crushed red pepper, and sesame oil. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Honestly, I didn't bother counting even 1 Weight Watcher PPV for this, but you probably could/should count it as 1 because of the sugar/oil.