Arugula, Peach & Piquillo Pepper Salad with Goat Cheese

This time of year, just walking by the peaches at the market is enough to get my mouth watering, their sweet scent wafting yards away. Their flesh is tender -- almost too tender, you can't pack them away- and their juice is sweeter than pie. My favorite peaches are those grown on the Western Slope of Colorado. Palisade Peaches are worth every penny and the wait all summer for their peak season. 

Have you heard the saying "what grows together goes together?" This salad is further proof it's true: peppers are also a late-summer crop, and in this salad piquillo peppers are a perfect "pop" of flavor. Piquillo peppers are a little bit sweet but with a smokey, spicy edge. They match the brightness of peaches, with out overshadowing them. 

The combination of peaches and sweet peppers is pretty much begging for a bed of arugula. Arugula is a tad bitter, which balances out the other sweet ingredients. It keeps this salad from getting too sweet. It's delicate and leafy.

The final touch is goat cheese, which adds a streak of richness that makes this salad oh so satisfying. It's soft enough that it just barely begins to melt away as you pour the dressing in, emulsifying and cream-ify-ing the entire thing. It also cuts through the pepperiness of the arugula, and is the ingredient in this salad that brings it all together. 

Arugula, Peach & Piquillo Pepper Salad with Goat Cheese

Published August 24, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

---

Ingredients:

1 pound baby arugula

2 ripe peaches, sliced thin

1/2 cup roasted piquillo peppers, diced (find these with the olives & pickles in the store)

1/3 cup soft goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup red onion, finely diced

Creamy Balsamic Dressing (try this recipe)

Directions:

1. In a large salad, bowl, combine arugula, sliced peaches, peppers, and onion. Sprinkle goat cheese over top.
2. Just before serving, drizzle with balsamic dressing to taste.

Sun Dried Tomato & Sausage "Zasta"

View fullsize

Note to self: When using the spiralizer, keep your your hands on the handle. In fact, keep your hands as far from the blades as possible. Especially the day before a climbing trip. 

Some lessons, you just have to learn the hard way! This dish was actually not the dish I was making when I sliced my finger, but just thinking about the spiralizer right now has me curling my fingers. It's okay--I'm still going to force my fingers to type out this post, because this recipe is just that delicious. What is it about those long strings that make dinner so much fun?! 

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Sun Dried Tomato & Sausage Zasta

Published July 29, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2-3   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

---

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large zucchini

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon coconut oil

2-3 Hot Italian Sausages

1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained

1/2 cup artichoke hearts, quartered and drained

Sprinkle dried oregano

Sprinkle of red chili flakes

2 sprigs fresh basil, minced

Salt & Pepper to taste

Optional, for serving: grated parmesan

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the sausages and cook until done through. Remove from pan, and set aside for later.
2. Meanwhile, spiralize the zucchini (I use this Spiralizer) (affiliate link!). Add the zucchini to the pan, along with oregano, red pepper flakes, and basil.
3. Slice the sausages into bite-sized pieces, and return them to the pan. Place lid on pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the zoodles are soft.
4. Season with salt & pepper to taste, and serve hot topped with parmesan.

Chilean-Style Ceviche

View fullsize

When my plane touched down in Santiago, I let out a gasp of air. It had taken several essays, two planes, and a long visa-application process to get there. The first plane had performed an emergency landing, and by some stroke of luck the customer service rep that answered my plea for another plane ride got me on the next direct flight out of Denver. That first flight took it's toll on me though- it wasn't until I was actually in Santiago that I felt like I could breath again. Despite everything, I made it to Chile just in time to catch a ride with the other students that had flown in that day. 

The first days are all a blur now, but it when I first met my host family, I was both relieved and completely nervous at the same time. I had no idea what it was like to live with siblings, and I had no idea where their house was (or where I was) in relation to everything else in the city. I had a map, tucked into my "Intro to Study Abroad" packet, but the actual roads clearly did not line up with those found on it. The one constant was rolling hills with inconsistently marked intersections. 

View fullsize

That would all change over the course of the next three months. Not the intersections, but my feelings about them, and my ability to navigate Viña del Mar, Valparaiso, and the gap between them. I would know the sound of the fish seller trucking up and down the street to sell the catch of the day, and I would know the smell of baking hallulla at the bakery three doors down. I even got used to the hill-top view of the beach, which rolled seamlessly from city skyline in the south to dusty sand dunes in the north, though it never loss it's power to awe me, especially when the light was right. 

After only a few months, even my cooking style had changed, influenced by Mamá Sandra (my host mom) and the long days we would spend crammed into her tiny kitchen, talking about food and the differences between Chilean cuisine and North American cuisine. I didn't get to cook much- in classic Chilean fashion, Mamá Sandra made breakfast, lunch, dinner, and once (tea time) everyday, for everyone in the house.

View fullsize

With out fail, once a week Sandra would flag down the fisherman as he made his rounds through the neighborhood (or rather, he would flag her down, knowing she would pay a fair price). That night, she'd either bake the fish over onions or dice it up and toss it in lemon juice, making ceviche. 

There's a certain intimidation factor that comes with ceviche, at least for someone that's live land locked their entire life. For some reason, until I lived with Sandra, it was an untouchable dish to be made only by pros (and my dad, who was never daunted by the intimidation factor of a dish). Three months of living in Viña del Mar cleared that up for me. I learned that classic Chilean Ceviche is pretty much a fool-proof dish, as long as you can buy fresh fish. Requirement for making this ceviche = eight ingredients, 15 minutes, and a stroke of confidence. 

View fullsize

This recipe was shared on Real Food Fridays #97.

Chilean-Style Ceviche

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free,    |   Caitlin Sherwood   |   

A classic South American style ceviche.

Serves: 4 for dinner, 10 as an appetizer   |    Total Time: 15 minutes

---

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh white fish (I use tilapia)
• Juice from 1 large lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• 2 bell peppers, finely diced (I like to use 2 different colors)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
• Salt & Pepper
• Dash of cayenne

Directions:

1. Dice the fish into 1-cm cubes. Place in serving bowl, and drizzle with lemon juice. Cover with saran wrap and place in fridge. Allow to sit for 1 hour.
2. Add the garlic, onion, bell peppers, and cilantro. Toss until incorporated.
3. Season with salt & pepper, and add a dash of cayenne. Toss to distribute. Allow the fish to marinate for 30 more minutes. The fish should being to turn opaque and white (it may not be completely opaque). Serve immediately.
4. Serving tip: ceviche is usually served with small pieces of toast (here’s a paleo recipe), crackers, chips, or toastones, but I often serve it on a piece of lettuce, like a lettuce wrap.