Recipe #66 - Gado Gado Salad

The flavors of peanut and coconut were meant to go together. This Indonesian-inspired salad from Mark and Sheri' DuMond is one that can be changed depending on what you have on hand. We didn't include tofu, bean sprouts or cucumbers, but you certainly could.

Mesclun salad greens
1/2 cup soybeans, boiled, drained and cooled
1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup snow peas

1 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1 tsp. red curry paste
1 tsp. sriracha hot chili sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

To make the dressing, put the ingredients from coconut milk through soy sauce in a blender and buzz until smooth. Add soy sauce, lime or whatever to get the flavor you desire.

Arrange on salad plates the greens, soybeans, chickpeas, egg, tomatoes and snow peas. Serve the salad with the dressing separate.

Recipe #65 - Beet Salad with Bleu Cheese & Hazelnuts

We've been doing variations on this classic for years.

Makes four servings.

1 large or 2 medium red beets

2 Tbsp. high quality aged balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

8 cups mesclun salad greens
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted hazelnuts
2/3 cup crumbled bleu or gorgonzola cheese

Roast the beet(s) in a preheated 400 degree oven until cooked through to the point a sharp knife slips easily in and out. Remove the beets and allow to cool enough to handle. Remove all peel and cut the beets into small batons.

Add the balsamic vinegar to a small mixing bowl and slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble, dress the greens with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Place a pile of greens on each of four chilled salad plates. Place some beet pieces evenly around the salad. Sprinkle each salad with chopped hazelnuts and crumbled bleu cheese and serve

Recipe #64 - Lime Cilantro Salad Dressing

It's summertime, and we usually lean toward recipes for cool things and salad. We concocted this dressing to have with some homemade Mexican food, but it's good any time.

This is an easy and refreshing dressing for a green salad. You could also use it for inclusion in a tostada creation.

Makes about a cup and a half of dressing.

1.5 cups fresh cilantro leaves
Juice of one lime
1 cup low fat sour cream
3 Tbsp. low fat milk
Salt & pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a small blender or processor and buzz until well blended. Scrape the sides as needed to ensure all the cilantro gets evenly buzzed into the dressing. Add a little more milk if it's too thick.

Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.

Recipe #63 - Peach Salsa

We had a 4th of July BBQ with our next-door neighbors, and strived for something a bit different. We grilled some fresh salmon and served it with a little goat cheese and this peach salsa. It was interesting, with the mix of sweet/spicy, tart/earthy, and smoky grilled fish.

Makes a couple of cups of salsa.

5 fresh ripe peaches
1 red onion, peeled and finely diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeds and pith removed, finely diced
Juice of one fresh lime
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. chipotle Tabasco sauce

Make sure the peaches are fully ripe. Slip each peach into boiling water for about 10 seconds, which will allow you to slip the peels off by hand much easier. Dice the peach flesh and place in a large mixing bowl.

Saute the diced onion in the olive oil until cooked through but not browned. Add to diced peaches.

Add the diced bell pepper, jalapenos, lime juice, salt and Tabasco sauce and mix the salsa gently but completely.

Season to taste with additional salt, pepper and/or Tabasco and store in a bowl covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Check out "Twins in the Kitchen" for More Great Recipes and Stuff

For more recipes and ideas, check out the site that Mark and Ace DuMond are doing with a bunch of family and friends. The URL is http://twinsinthekitchen.blogspot.com, or you can just click here to check it out.

The site was created as a result of an idea that came about at a mini-reunion in western Idaho in early October. (Read about it here.) So far, friends and family from as far away as Alaska and England have contributed recipes to the blog. A few of the recipes are repeats of those which appear here, and vice versa.

Check it out ... and if you have any recipes you'd like to share on the site, email them to Mark DuMond (cafedumond@comcast.net).

Recipe #62 - Homemade Veggie Burgers

We've been enjoying prepackaged veggie burgers for years, but recently tried coming up with our own version. We'll continue tweaking it but this recipe turned out to be moist and flavorful.

Makes about six burgers.

1 large portobello mushroom, stemmed, wiped clean and coarsely chopped
1 cup canned black beans, drained and thoroughly rinsed
1/3 cup canned diced green chiles
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg

1 cup cooked brown rice
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 small zucchini, shredded
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 cup cooked brown rice

2 Tbsp. canola oil

Put chopped mushroom in a food processor and pulse into fine pieces.. Add the beans, chiles, Worcestershire, chili powder, salt, breadcrumbs and egg, and process until well combined.

Stir in the brown rice, corn, zucchini, carrot and onion. Form six burger patties. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add canola oil. Place the burger patties into the pan and grill for about five minutes per side until crispy and heated through.

Serve the veggie burgers on whole wheat buns with sliced tomatoes, sliced avocado, lettuce and a lemon-garlic aioli.

Recipe #61 - Avgolemono Soup

This is by no means an original recipe. After all, the Greeks have been making variations of this soup for centuries. But this is our version of a classic.

Previously, we published a recipe for avgolemono pasta with veggies. But this is a more traditional avgolemono as a soup, with the base of eggs, lemon and rice.

Try it with a greek salad (easy to make with kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, artichoke hearts, greens, feta cheese and a lemon-feta-olive oil dressing) and some warm ciabatta bread.

1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
4 egg yolks
6 cups rich vegetable stock
1/2 cup long grain white rice
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup frish lemon juice
Zest of 1 fresh lemon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Stir the milk and cornstarch together. Whisk in the egg yolks until well beaten and mixed with the milk-cornstarch.

Put the veggie stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the rice and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes.

Using a soup ladle, put 1/2 cup of hot broth into the egg-milk mixture, whisking the entire time. Add a few more ladles of broth, continually whisking.

Pour the egg-milk mixture into the broth pot very slowly, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low simmer and add the butter, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Warm over very low heat.

Serve with salad and bread. A good wine match would be a soft chilled rose or pinot grigio.