Summer Vegetable Wrap - recipe?

Summer might be winding down for most of us, but summer vegetables are still in abundance. YAY!

While I have many recipes that I turn to in the summer months that make GREAT use of summer veggies, this is a quick treatment of those veggies that is almost a non-recipe. And with school starting up soon, I know many of us appreciate QUICK meals. This is one of those.

Ingredients
Flatbread or tortilla
and
Any combination of the following:
Carrots, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber, sweet bell peppers, onion, tomato, avocado
lettuce

Special Sauce (optional) (amounts to taste)
Rice wine vinegar
garlic chili sauce
peanut butter


Technique
Julienne, Slice, Chop, or Shred the vegetables
Place on flatbread
Whisk sauce ingredients in a small bowl, drizzle over veggies
Roll

ENJOY!

So colorful! 

SO delicious!

SO very healthy!

and so versatile too. 

You can swap out veggies. You can change the sauce (try ranch dressing for your kids). You can add feta cheese. (or your cheese of choice)

One tip: I tend to enjoy this wrap the most when the vegetables are julienned very thin. This seems to help everything hold together very well. But really - there is no wrong way to make this ! 

ENJOY!

Written by: Janice of Doxallo Designs Studio

Recipe: Banana Drop Cookies

If you're a banana bread lover like myself, try a new take on this classic quick bread and make them into delicious, travel-friendly drop cookies! This recipe from Haniela's guest spot on A Little Bit of Everything blog is sure to please both kids and adults. : )

 Ingredients
 1/2 cup canola oil or extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Turbinado/raw sugar, if you can’t find any, use brown sugar instead
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana(about 2 large very ripe bananas)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2cup +2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp peanut butter chips, roughly chopped (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions
 Preheat oven to 350F, line 2 baking sheet with parchment paper In a bowl of you mixer beat oil with sugars for 5 minutes. Add egg and beat until foamy and doubled in volume. While you eggs are beating, sift together flour,cinnamon, and salt, set aside In a small dish combine mash bananas with baking soda and let sit for 2 minutes. On low speed, alternatively add flour and mashed banana into the egg mixture, fold in chopped nuts and peanut butter chips. Using a small cookie scoop drop the dough onto the baking sheet, bake at 350F for 9-12 minutes, until golden brown. Store layer between wax paper.These also freeze well, again when freezing layer them with wax paper to prevent sticking

Written by: Rachael Kondylas from Open Eyes Press

Art To Dine For 2010

Image courtesy of JKonig

The Creative Alliance's annual series of arty soirees for foodies has begun again! 33 parties at the homes of notable Baltimoreans in the art and food worlds will be held between September 11th and December 14th.

The parties range from seated dinner to brunch to nibbles, and will feature tours of local estates and art collections, activities like scarf dying or wreath making, and live music.

For a full list of parties - and links to buy tickets - click here.

Written by Jamaila of Anapurna

Artscape Eats

Artscape is coming! The nation's largest open air arts festival is coming to our hometown. You'll need to plan for a full day or two halves if you want to make an effort at seeing all (or nearly all) of the great artists presenting this year.

Which means, your body's furnace is going to need fuel! I have two suggestions - both of which are more than four blocks south on North Charles Street from the main part of the festival. There are literally dozens of restaurants within a block of the festival proper, but I can tell you, they're going to be packed! So you may get hot and sticky on your 4-6 block walk to the restaurants, but when you get there you'll at least have some breathing room.


Image from citypaper.com

First up - Minato Sushi Bar - 1013 No. Charles Street - on the East side of the street, this is a great place to go if you happen to be there for the show on Friday. For lunch they have a reasonably priced, bento lunch special with good portions. Friday night happy hour offers several good half-price rolls.)

Next - my favourite place in a three-block radius: ThaIrish 804 No. Charles Street - actually my favourite Thai in Baltimore. ThaIrish isn't open until 4pm on Saturday, but it's worth the wait. Don't ask for extra spicy unless you really like extra spicy - I recommend the vegetarian pad thai. It's a tiny place - if it's too crowded inside, take your dinner to go and eat on a bench in the shadow of the monument.

And if you're at ThaIrish Saturday night, I just might see you there!

Post written by Tarabu

Cap'n Crunch Seared Tuna

I have been called Martha Stewart, more then once. I used to cringe, but then I realized that it was a huge compliment. So, today, I decided to share a "Martha Moment" with you by posting this Cap'n Crunch seared tuna recipe. I recently saw this on the Today Show, and instantly got in my car and went to the grocery store, I hope you do the same.

INGREDIENTS
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Thai Chili Sauce
• 2 cups regular Cap'n Crunch
• Olive oil
• 1 pound fresh tuna
• salt and pepper
• green onion (scallion)

DIRECTIONS
• Mix mayo and chili sauce — set aside.
• Put the cereal in a large plastic zip bag and crush it really well using a roling pin, you want it like dust
• Lightly oil the tuna, season it with salt and pepper, then press down into the cereal, making sure it’s covered on all sides.
• Heat a nonstick pan really well first and then add about a tablespoon of oil.
• When it just starts to smoke, add the tuna and sear quickly on all sides until lightly browned — if it’s hot enough, probably no more than about 15 seconds a side.
•Slice and op with Thai Mayonnaise and chopped green onion (I forgot to slice and to add green onions in my photo, oops!)
•Enjoy served with baked handamde crab wontons and salad.