Kale, Bacon, and Cheese Breakfast Casserole Recipe

It doesn't take a lot of bacon to add amazing flavor to this Kale, Bacon, and Cheese Breakfast Casserole.

(Updated with photos and recipe improvements August 2011.) I'm guessing that some of you faithful South Beach Dieters who subscribe to my blog might wrinkle up your forehead when you see the word "bacon" in the title of this Kale, Bacon, and Cheese Breakfast Casserole. Yes, I do know that bacon isn't really allowed on South Beach, and if you're one of those people who believes in following the absolute letter of the law you should use Canadian bacon or turkey bacon to make this dish.  But it only took four slices of pre-cooked bacon to make this taste delightfully bacon flavored, and I microwaved the bacon and blotted off every possible bit of the bacon fat that I could.  Definitely this would be what I call a "once-in-a-while-treat" but truly I'd have a hard time sticking to an eating plan where I couldn't eat bacon again for the rest of my life.  And there is a huge amount of uber-nutritous kale in the recipe, so I hope I can get a few points for that!

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Recipe for Colorful Tomato Salad with Hearts of Palm, Mint, and Spicy Thai Dressing

The spicy Thai dressing and hearts of palm make this colorful tomato salad something special.

It's no secret that I love, love, love Green Zebra tomatoes. I also love Brandywines, which are the other type of tomato I used in this colorful salad along with hearts of palm, mint, and a spicy Thai-inspired dressing.  If you don't happen to have those tomato varieties, you can make this with any type of flavorful fresh tomatoes, but the salad will be prettier if you can get at least two different colors.  Now that my garden tomatoes are finally starting to get ripe I've been looking for new recipes using fresh tomatoes.  The idea for a tomato salad with Asian flavors came from Melissa Clark and I think her salad sounds delightful, but I went off in a slightly different direction when I ended up trying it.  If you like the way Thai foods are a blend of many different flavors, I'm guessing you'll like the spicy dressing on this salad.

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Recipe for Sauteed Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Peppers, Capers, Mint, and Sumac

It's the Sumac that really makes this Chickpea Salad something special!

I'm hoping that when you read that title "Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Peppers, Capers, Mint, and Sumac" it's the word Sumac that jumps out at you.  If you're not familiar with it, Sumac is a middle eastern spice made from the dried berry-like fruit of some species of the Sumac plant.  (Don't confuse it with the invasive Sumac that grows wild in some places and causes a skin reaction similar to poison ivy; this is a different variety of Sumac.)  I had known about Sumac for years, but when a reader sent me a great recipe for Fattoush a few years ago I learned the trick of mixing Sumac into the dressing for a flavor boost that's really delightful, and I've been using it that way ever since.  (Sumac is also an ingredient in Za'atar, and you could substitute that in this recipe if you have it.)

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Friday Night Photos: Frida Bistro in Salt Lake City

Fresh Swordfish Ceviche from Frida Bistro is a nice way to start a meal.

Salt Lake City's Frida Bistro is named for Frida Kahlo, and this charming eatery located in Salt Lake's warehouse district and specializing in "sophisticated Mexican Food" is as colorful as Ms. Kahlo's famous works of art.  When I went there for the first time about a month ago I could tell immediately that the food here was going to be worth photographing.  I enjoyed it so much that a few days ago I went there again with another Utah blogger, and once again the meal was colorful and delicious.  Here are some of the delightful dishes we sampled at Friday Bistro.

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Recipe for Savory Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins with Green Chiles and Cheese

After quite a few tries, these Savory Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins with Chiles and Cheese are a winner!

If you have a garden or you get zucchini in your CSA box, by now you may have made grilled zucchini, stuffed zucchini, cheesy zucchini, zucchini salad, or even left some zucchini on your neighbor's porch!  When I'm overloaded with zucchini and I've tried all the recipes I can think of, I start making zucchini bread.  I've made quite a few variations of sweet zucchini breads and muffins for the blog, but this time I wanted a savory zucchini muffin.  I wanted a muffin that included cheese and a fair amount of zucchini, and it took me seven tries to get a recipe I was satisfied with, but the happy result was these Savory Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins with Green Chiles and Cheese.  I'm glad I persisted until I had a winner because I loved the muffins warm with a bit of my favorite yogurt spread. 

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Grilled Mahi Mahi Recipe with Lemon and Capers

Mahi Mahi is a perfect fish to cook on the grill, because it's firm and doesn't dry out.

(Updated with new photos and better instructions August 2011.)  I think Mahi Mahi is a greatly under-used fish, and it's one of my favorite types of fish to use for cooking on the grill.  This recipe is one I first made back in the days when I was grilling fish on a houseboat at Lake Powell, long before anyone thought about sustainable seafood, but the wild-caught Mahi Mahi I get from Costco is classified as a good choice, (and Mahi Mahi is not dolphin, in case anyone is wondering.)  You may not think of capers as being an ingredient that goes with fish, but I love the tang they add to this recipe.   I think this flavorful marinade with lemon juice, lemon zest, capers, Dijon, and just a touch of onion and garlic flavor would be good on just about any type of fish.  (Edit:  For someone who asked in the comments, the salad served with the Mahi Mahi in this photo is Sauteed Chickpea Salad with Roasted Red Peppers, Capers, Mint, and Sumac.)

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Friday Favorites: Ten Favorite Tomato Salads with Garden Tomatoes

Choosing just ten favorite salads with garden tomatoes was a challenge, but here are my picks!

As I write this post celebrating my ten favorite salads with garden tomatoes, I'm eating a Green Zebra Tomato sandwich for my breakfast!  After a very rainy start to summer in Utah, I'm so glad the tomatoes in my garden are finally starting to ripen.  By the time you read this I will have spent the last few days cleaning out my father's house, an experience I'm sure is going to be pretty emotional.  I'm grateful that I have nine wonderful siblings to share this rite of passage with, and I'm guessing more tomato sandwiches will be consumed for comfort food over the next few days.

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Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe with Cilantro and Vidalia Onions

This Asian Cucumber Salad with Cilantro and Vidalia Onions is something I've been making for years!

(Updated with new photos and better instructions and added to Recipe Favorites in August 2011.)  This favorite cucumber salad was inspired by those thinly sliced cucumbers marinated in rice vinegar that are sometimes served with sushi.  If the weather has been a bit hot where you live, cucumbers are a great summer food, and this is the kind of light and refreshing salad that is perfect for days when it's really scorching outside.  That's just one of the reasons I used to make it when I was cooking on houseboats at Utah's Lake Powell, where summer days can often get up to 100F.   I made this for years with Splenda, but when I was making it recently on a hot Utah I used Stevia In the Raw Granular Sweetener, a relatively new product that I've really been liking.  You can tell I think cilantro is an essential component in the salad by the way I listed it in the title, but if you're a cilantro hater I think mint would be a good substitute.

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Recipe for Tapas Salad with Grilled Bell Peppers, Olives, and Capers

This Tapas Salad with Grilled Bell Peppers, Olives, and Capers is a great summer side dish.

Even if you're not that familiar with Spanish cuisine, chances are good that you've heard of tapas, a wide variety of small-plate appetizers that are served as snacks in bars in Spain.  In 2008 I visited Boston and ate at a wonderful tapas bar called Estragon with my blogging friend Lydia and her husband Ted.  The next day we passed a bookstore where I spotted The Tapas Cookbook on a bargain table for $5.99 and bought it as a fun souvenir of the trip.  This Grilled Bell Pepper Tapas Salad with Olives and Capers was adapted from a recipe that book, and it's a perfect little small-plate salad to accompany light summer meals.  Another plus for this as a late-summer salad is that bell peppers of all colors are usually plentiful and inexpensive at farmers markets this time of year.  And please don't be intimidated by the idea of grilling bell peppers; roasting red bell peppers on a barbecue grill couldn't be easier! 

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Friday Night Photos: Tomatoes, Veggies, and Purslane! (2011 Garden Update #7)

Herbs and vegetables are flourishing in the garden, and it's a good thing I love purslane!

The farther we get into summer, the more I am loving my new garden system of drip sprinklers and raised beds surrounded by cloth/gravel for weed control.  Actually, the system may be working a little too well, because it's turning me into a lazy gardener, now that I don't have to do much weeding at all to keep the weeds in control.  Last weekend I was in San Diego (attending BlogHer11, where I'm sorry to report I didn't take many photos) and when I got home the garden had exploded with produce, even though I had people pick things when I was gone.  I love this time of year when my biggest worry is what to make next with my garden produce, and I don't even mind the weeds when they're a tasty edible weed like Purslane, shown above growing next to my rosemary.  (If you have purslane growing in your garden, I recommend eating it in a salad.)

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Recipe for Pasta with Hot Italian Sausage, Kale, Garlic, and Red Pepper Flakes

This pasta dish might be the tastiest thing I've ever made with kale (so far!)

I couldn't stop eating this pasta with hot Italian sausage, kale, garlic, and just a touch of red pepper flakes, so I'm posting the recipe right away as a Public Service Announcement for anyone who has kale in their garden or CSA box.  I devoured this for lunch two days in a row, and I'm pretty sure I would have eaten it again the next day but my brother Rand stopped by and I gave him the leftovers.  The recipe started as nothing more than an idea inspired by a huge bunch of kale I trimmed from my plants and some Colosimos Hot Italian Sausage leftover from a party that needed to be used.  I looked at a few recipes that with kale and Italian sausage before deciding to make pasta, and then just made up the recipe as I went along.  If you don't have kale I think you could also make this with spinach or chard, but the way the kale became tender and sweet in this dish will probably make a kale convert out of you if you're not sure whether you like it!

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Kalyn's Kitchen Picks: 100% Whole Wheat Orzo Pasta

I'm crazy over whole wheat orzo, which I think is perfect for pasta salads!

Are you familiar with orzo?  It's a very small pasta shape that resembles grains of rice.   Orzo is often used in pilafs or soups, and it's popular in Greece or other Mediterranean countries.  I've been an orzo fan for many years, but when I became committed to low-glycemic eating I gave it up because I had only seen white flour orzo.  Then last summer I spotted a recipe for whole wheat orzo and after searching a little I found it in Whole Foods.   So far I've only posted two recipes using whole wheat orzo, but I'm so excited about it that I'm officially making it one of my Kalyn's Kitchen Picks, which are products I spotlight because I'd happily buy them over and over.

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Recipe for Kale and Feta Breakfast Casserole

This is one of the simplest breakfast casseroles ever, but the combo of kale and Feta is a winner!

This time of year I wonder if I should apologize to readers who don't have a vegetable garden, because when my garden is producing certain veggies in abundance, it's hard for me to think about cooking anything else.  Right now it's all about green beans, cucumbers, zucchini and kale, although eggplant and tomatoes are coming soon.   Kale is a vegetable I didn't have much appreciation for until I started growing it myself, but now I love this ultra-nutritious vegetable.   When I thought of using kale and Feta in an egg casserole, I wasn't sure how those two strong flavors would work together, but the combination was definitely a winner.  If you like kale but aren't a fan of feta, you could use a blend of milder white cheeses like I did in Red Kale and Cheese Omelet for Two.

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Recipe for Cucumber, Jicama, and Pineapple Salad with Spicy Sriracha Dressing

Cucumber, jicama, and fresh pineapple with a spicy Sriracha vinaigrette all make this salad special.

Right on the heels of all those favorite cucumber salads, here's a brand new cucumber salad that I think is also going to become a favorite of mine.  Not only does it have Sriracha Sauce (which I think makes just about anything taste better), but the salad includes jicama and fresh pineapple, two ingredients I don't get to use nearly often enough. When I tested this recipe we absolutely could not stop eating it.  In fact, the only thing was that it didn't keep well in the fridge overnight; the next day the spicy flavor just overwhelmed everything else.  No worries though; if you're making more than can be eaten right away just put the dressing on part of the salad and store the extra dressing and cut-up cucumber, jicama, and pineapple separately in the fridge.  Then the next day you can combine the leftovers and have this spicy, fruity, refreshing salad a second time!

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Recipe for Spicy Sichuan Style Green Beans

This tasty recipe for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans will help me use my garden beans!

Last year I planted way too many green beans and found it hard to keep them picked and eaten.  This year I planted just three short rows of green bean seeds, which gave me enough plants to produce plenty of beans.  I've only grown beans the last few years, but each year I've found some favorite recipes using them.  (If you're growing beans and need ideas, you can't go wrong with World's Easiest Garlicky Green Bean Stir Fry or Lemony Green Beans.)  The day I tested this recipe for Spicy Sichuan Green Beans I shared them with a friend and we ate every single one in about five minutes, so I think it's a safe bet that this recipe will become another favorite.

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Recipe for Barley Pilaf with Dried and Fresh Mushrooms

I loved this Barley Pilaf with Dried and Fresh Mushrooms; a unique and tasty side dish.

(Updated with better photos and instructions, July 2011.)  I'm still working on that huge jar of dried mushrooms, so it seemed like a good time to update this Barley Pilaf recipe from back in 2006.  Many people don't think much about barley, but actually  barley is a major food crop, fourth in the world of cereal crops, according to Wikipedia.   Barley is used as a grain, and is a major ingredient in several hot drinks used as a coffee substitute, especially in Europe.  I loved this dish which is a type of barley pilaf where the barley is sauteed and then cooked in hot stock.  Adding both dried and fresh mushrooms and using some of the the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms to cook the barley made this a very flavorful side dish.

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South Beach Diet Phase One Recipes Round-Up for July 2011 (Low-Glycemic Recipes)

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake is Kalyn's favorite Phase One Recipe from July 2011.

The calendar has flipped over to August, which makes me want to scream "NO" when it happens every year.  If I ever had a lot of money I know I'd buy a little cottage or condo somewhere that has hot weather when Utah starts having snow, but for now I always try try to stretch out the summer as long as I can.  This latest addition to the Phase One Recipes Round-ups will help me with that, because all during July I kept finding tasty summer salads, veggie dishes, and cold appetizers.  A few months ago I decided to start focusing on unique Phase One dishes (things that haven't been previously featured on my blog or in the Phase One Round-Ups) and even if you're not doing Phase One, I think you'll really like some of the recipe ideas in this post.

(You can use the label Low-Glycemic Recipe Round-Ups to see all the posts like this one.)

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