I like improvising when cooking and I try to use what I have on hand as much as possible, so I ended up making a Grilled Avocado with Tomato and Corn Salsa. It’s sort of fun to force yourself to work with whatever ingredients you have in the kitchen without running to the grocery store! It makes it more of a challenge

Here’s what I used:

• 1/2 of a ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
• 2 ears of fresh corn, kernels removed from cob
• 3 grape tomatoes, diced
• dash of cumin
• finely diced red onion (use your discretion, add as much or as little as you like!)
• squirt of fresh lime juice
• Athenos Feta
• salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what I did:

• In a grill pan, I added a bit of olive oil, the corn, onion, and cumin and let that cook until the corn was nicely browned.

• Added the diced tomatoes and a spritz of fresh lime juice to the mix and refrigerated while I prepared the avocado.

• I drizzled some olive oil directly on the flat side of the avocado and grilled it for about 3 minutes on one side and rotated the avocado to create a cross-hatch grill mark for an additional minute.

• Once the avocado was grilled, I topped it with the tomato and corn salsa and a generous amount Athenos Feta.

The thing I like best about avocados is how substantial they are. I had this for lunch along with a handful of peanuts and I’m definitely thinking this will hold me over nicely until dinner time. The smoothness from the avocado and the fresh Summery crunch from the corn mixed with the crumbly traditional Athenos feta was music to my taste buds! This one is a keeper!

What’s the best thing you’ve created using ONLY what you’ve had in your kitchen?

[Chels]

When he asked me if WANM had a “killer” guacamole recipe, I said “mayyybe” in an effort to see what he was getting at. He told us about an event he was throwing called Guacaholics Anonymous. And would we like to participate by making our own guacamole? We obviously said yes without hesitation.

And then we started freaking out a bit. After all, it was guacamole for 100 people! 100! But after learning a serving was simply a chip-full, we calmed down a bit. The event consisted of Boston restaurants (like our favorite Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake!) and some local “amateurs” making their own guacamole. Oh, and a whole lot of people eating it. All of the money raised (tickets were only $10) went to Lovin’ Spoonfuls, Share our Strength, and Community Servings; 3 fabulous organizations.

So, what did Chels and I make? Come on, you know us. We made a bacon guacamole! It was a pretty traditional guac consisting of avocados (obviously), chopped tomato, finely diced red onion, lime, salt and pepper, and red chili flakes. Then we chopped up some bacon and stirred it in.

Neither of us have ever had bacon in our guacamole before, but we knew it HAD to be good. We also decided to leave our guac pretty chunky since neither of us really love super pureed guacamole. We tested it before tonight’s event and decided it was a definite go.

We got a really awesome response to our guacamole and lots of people even told us it was the best they had. Yay! Of course, we really have to thank bacon. Because bacon can do no wrong (unless you’re a vegetarian, of course). But this was definitely a guacamole we’ll be making for events in the future!

The turn-out for the event was great and the Fenway Cantina was the perfect space to hold it.

We wore our aprons, of course

Another decision we made was to prep all our fixings at home and then make the actual guacamole when we arrived; right before the event started. We wanted it to be as fresh as possible! And we kind of felt like we were preparing a dish on TopChef while we were doing it!

A HUGE thank you to Aaron of @EatBoston for asking us to participate in Guacaholics Anonymous and for throwing another amazing event.

He also informed us that he has lots of fun food event planned for the future, so definitely stay tuned

I don’t know why that made us so sad… Also, I was sure I looked super sad in this photo; but I really just look weird.

Oh, you’re probably wondering about the feta, right? While we seriously considered adding feta to our guacamole (it’s kinda close to cotija, right?!), we decided not to. Though I have a feeling it could have been awesome.

But for lunch I made a tuna salad with feta. I actually made the tuna with simply Greek yogurt and Athenos feta cheese. No mayo! And really, you couldn’t even tell there was no mayo.

I toasted some bread and made an open-faced sandwich with it, putting the tuna on top of some tomato. Greek yogurt and feta may be my two new tuna salad go-to ingredients! And of course, I put celery in the salad too, for a little crunch.

Oh, and for anyone who met me at Guacaholics Anonymous and thought, “wow, that’s not what I pictured her to sound like,” I swear I usually don’t sound like an 80-year-old smoker (or Lindsay Lohan as Chris so kindly told me later this evening). I came down with an awful cold (obviously on the week I’m moving!) and woke up this morning with no voice. I rested it all day and managed to have it working albeit in a super raspy way for tonight’s event.

I definitely talked too much (and too loudly) all evening long, so I need to finish my hot tea and head to bed. Here’s to hoping I’m all better by Friday!

Don’t forget, you can still enter our giveaway for a Gap jeans gift certificate (up to a $69.50) value through Friday! I could use any last minute moving tips you have up your sleeves

Do you have a favorite guacamole add-in?

[Sues]

A while back when we interviewed Bethenny Frankel, I got her book The Skinnygirl Dish. Sues and I have both made a couple of Bethenny’s recipes (here and here) and I’ve found her book to be a really great source for simple and practical recipes that won’t break the bank and are definitely healthier options that won’t leave you feeling like you weigh ten tons.

I recently made Bethenny’s Not-So-Red-Velvet Cupcakes which turned out to be an extremely moist and delicious cupcake. The recipe is filled with healthier alternatives to what we’re used to seeing in most baked goods. The cupcakes aren’t exactly red (hence the name) because Bethenny isn’t a fan of artificial coloring, and neither am I, so instead she uses beet juice as a coloring agent and to add some more nutrients. The thing is, the beet juice makes a really pretty pinkish batter but once you put them in the oven the color goes away.

Here’s what you need, for about 24 cupcakes (I purchased all of the specialty items at Whole Foods):

• 2 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1 1/2 cups raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons beet juice (from a can of beet juice)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Here’s what you do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in a cupcake or muffin pan. Make in batches if you don’t have enough pans for the full amount.

• In a large bowl sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

• In a different bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, beet juice, vinegar, and vanilla extract. The color of this was stunning! Too bad it didn’t stay!

• Mix the flour and oil mixtures and beat with an electric mixer until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes. The batter is pretty thin so be careful when you pour it in the liners!

• When the cupcakes cool completely, frost them with the Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe immediately following.

Cream Cheese Frosting (which is to die for, by the way! I licked it off the mixing paddle of my Kitchen-Aid so much that when I was cleaning up the kitchen I thought I had already washed it, eeeek! )

Here’s what you need:

• 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup nondairy butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (it’s worth buying if you don’t have it, just to make this frosting!)
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

• Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes if frosting isn’t firm enough. Once I took it out of the refrigerator it was a bit too firm for such a delicate cupcake so I left it out at room temperature for a handful of minutes to get it to the right consistency.

Since the cupcakes don’t exactly come out red, I just sprinkled a few colored Jimmies on to give some color. Like I mentioned, these cupcakes are really delicate, I’m assuming because of the oat flour? Although I have no idea because I’m not a big baker. But I think it’s worth making and eating a dessert that’s so tasty but at the same time not horrible for the waistline. That’s definitely one of my favorite things about Bethenny’s book. All of the recipes swap out “regular” ingredients for more healthy ingredients without compromising the flavor at all.

——-

To completely change the subject! More feta! For dinner tonight, I made a lemon spinach couscous salad with diced cucumbers and tomatoes topped with a thin chicken breast that I stuffed with Athenos lemon oregano feta cheese. YUMMMM is all I have to say about this. Simple, quick, and flavorful dinner!

Now pardon me while I go devour two Not-So-Red Velvet cupcakes

[Chels]

———–

The Feta Friday Giveaway winner is: Katie who said: “I’m stealing this story from my husband: one time he ran out of cranberry juice for his famous BB sauce and used Mountain Dew instead. The ribs were unbelievable!” Congratulations, Katie! We’ll be in touch with you to get your information

I did make a few changes to the recipe… I used more cucumber than it called for. And I kept the peel on and seeds in, since a cucumber is not a cucumber without (at least to me). But like David recommended, I served the salad with some baked pita chips.

Enjoy the recipe, but also make sure you read to the end of this post to see a fun, Gap giveaway!

Cucumber and Feta Salad:

• 2 medium cucumbers, diced into pea-sized pieces
• Coarse salt
• 8 oz. Athenos feta cheese (I used half cracked black pepper and half traditional)
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 2-3 T freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 T water
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely-diced
• 1 T fresh mint
• 1 T fresh parsley
• 1 T fresh dill

After chopping my cucumbers, I put them in a colander with some salt and let them drain for about 30 minutes, shaking the colander from time to time.

I crumbled the feta in a medium bowl and mixed together with olive oil, lemon juice, water, and some black pepper.

Then mixed in the onion and herbs.

And the cucumber, too!

And mixed it all together.

I kept the salad in the fridge, while I baked my pita chips. I simply cut whole wheat pita bread into triangles, brushed some olive oil on them, sprinkled salt on them, and baked them for about 8 minutes at 375 degrees.

Perfection!

I served the salad in a smaller bowl.

With the pita chips.

And piled a bit of the cucumber feta salad on some of the pita chips.

This would be a great little hors d’oeuvres for a party.

Or you could just serve the salad and pita chips separately and let guests dip the chips themselves.

Chels came over to enjoy the salad (she’s not sick of feta salads either!). And then we headed out to see our friends’ band at the Middle East in Cambridge. They band is called The Timberfakes and they’re a Justin Timberlake cover band!

They’re pretty awesome and you should definitely check them out at their upcoming shows.

We had a blast… The Timberfakes sold out the Middle East, which is absolutely amazing!!

And now for the giveaway! Remember when I had that Gap Born to Fit party last year? Well I’m still a Gap brand enthusiast and I still get lovely presents from them and Brand About Town in the mail every so often. They recently sent me this super cute faded denim jacket. I never ever ever thought I would be a fan of faded denim (especially in jacket form), but I love this!

It’s super lightweight and perfect to throw on over a summer outfit. But could also actually be worn as a button-up shirt.

Anyway, since they sent me this cute jacket, I wanted to do something for you guys, too! They also gave me a gift certificate for a free pair of Gap jeans! And I’m, of course, giving it to one of you lucky readers.

Want a chance to win? All you have to do is give me your best moving tip. I’m moving this Friday, for the first time in 5 years, and I’m welcoming all moving advice.

You have until Friday, July 30, at 11:59 p.m. to enter. And you can get extra entries by tweeting about the giveaway and referencing @wearenotmartha and/or blogging about it.

Good luck!! And wish me luck on a super crazy busy week, during which I also have to finish packing my life up!

[Sues]

Here’s what you need for one serving (I mostly eyeballed my measurements but you can find a more exact recipe here):

• 1/2 of a large zucchini, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I used panko since that’s what I had on hand, you could also use seasoned bread crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg (I used the entire egg, you can also use just the egg white)

Here’s what you do:

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

• In a small bowl mix bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

• Place the egg in a separate bowl, dip the zucchini slices in egg, then coat with the bread crumb mixture.

• Place all slices on a greased baking sheet. I sprayed mine with a bit of olive oil.

• Bake for 5 minutes then flip each slice and bake for another 7-10 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

The taste and flavor were definitely there but this is definitely a work in progress. I think next time I’d like to cut the slices just a tad thinner because they brown a bit better than the thicker slices. They’re more “chip-like” and crispy when they’re thin, too!

After the chips were done baking I realized I hadn’t eaten any lunch so I topped a bed of spinach with some fresh sweet corn, Athenos Tomato and Basil Feta, and the zucchini chips. And I quickly whipped up a dressing that consisted of plain Greek yogurt, fresh parsley, red onion, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, cumin, and tomato which worked really well and was just the right consistency with the zucchini chips!

And now it’s Feta Friday Giveaway Time! Making a change for the Feta one giveaway at a time

The prize pack includes:

• Free Athenos Feta coupon
• 1-month gym membership to LifeTime Fitness
• Athenos water bottle
• Athenos Feta recipe booklet
• Salad shaker travel container (great for picnics or taking your lunch to work!)
• Reusable lunch bag

Just like I created zucchini chips completely unplanned, share with us your best accident turned “this is a keeper recipe”! Leave a comment on this post with your story by Tuesday, July 27 11:59pm EST for your chance to win the prize pack! We’ll randomly select a winner and announce it next week

Happy weekend, friends!

[Chels]

My dad told me that shrimp and feta is one of his favorite combinations and after checking out tons of recipes, i decided tomatoes and orzo would be the perfect complements. Negative points for my grocery store not having orzo. Argh! But instead I got a whole wheat pilaf with orzo mixed in. Not perfect, but it worked. Actually, it worked quite well because this was delicious!

Shrimp and Feta Orzo Salad (serves 4):

• 1.5 C orzo
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
• Salt and pepper
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 3 oz. Athenos feta (I used the black peppercorn variety)
• A couple sprigs of thyme

First, get your orzo cooking, according to the directions.

Then, put the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then put your shrimp in and cook for 3-5 minutes, until shrimp turn opaque. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, too.

Get your tomatoes all chopped up.

Then add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook until heated through, about 30 seconds.

Put the orzo and shrimp and tomatoes in a bowl. And toss with the feta and thyme.

And that is literally ALL YOU DO. I told you, easiest thing ever. But still, quite impressive, right?

It was light and perfect for another hot summer night. Have I mentioned how excited I am to move into an apartment with AC in 9 days?? No? Well, I am! It won’t make turning the oven on so tough, either.

Which means I’ll probably be making a ton more baked goods! But for now, I certainly can’t complain about dishes like this one!

What’s your favorite way to prepare shrimp?

[Sues]

Speaking of spices, a little side story. For as long as I can remember my mom has had her spices alphabetized in our pantry. And since I’m a total scatter brain I never really thought alphabetizing my spices would be something I’d do. So fast forward, through my entire life, up until a couple months ago. I was on vacation and my roommate sends me a text saying she was cleaning out her shelves in the pantry and asked if it was okay if she alphabetized my spices. I was all “uhhh, sure? I mean, if you really want to?” thinking it would last all of a day once I came home and messed them up. I was also thinking I’d never offer to alphabetize anything for anyone since I still recite the alphabet out loud to figure out which letter comes next. You do it too… don’t kid yourself. Let me just say this now, besides organizing your jewelry in a really cool way, alphabetizing spices is probably the best way to make your life easier. It’s been months and I can’t imagine how I ever cooked with them all scattered about.

Back to the chickpeas…

Here’s what you need:

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Moroccan Spice Mix (to follow)
• salt to taste

Moroccan Spice Mix
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (which I didn’t have)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper  

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain the beans in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Let the beans drain for about 5-10 minutes then pat dry.

While you’re waiting for the beans to dry mix together your spices to create the Moroccan Spice Mix.

Spread the beans in a single layer on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, Moroccan Spice Mix, and salt.

Roast for 30-40 minutes or until slightly browned and as Kayln says “until they make a rattling sound when you shake the baking sheet”. Serve fresh out of the oven or let them cool a bit.

As someone with a nut allergy these are the perfect substitution… The texture and consistency actually reminded me a bit of a roasted peanut. I was also thinking they’d be the perfect little snack to serve at a party. All of the warm flavors from the spices reminded me a bit of Fall too!

For dinner dessert this evening I made a spinach salad with grilled salmon, roasted red peppers, Athenos feta cheese, and I tossed on a handful of the Crispy Roasted Chickpeas with a squirt of lemon juice!

You’re probably wondering why a salad was my dessert. It’s because my real dinner was this:

Key lime pie frozen yogurt, graham cracker crust topping, and raspberries from Red Mango. Obviously the best dinner known to mankind.

And it’s obviously Summer

Do you alphabetize your spices?

Or do you eat dessert for dinner and dinner for dessert?

[Chels]

So, while this salad did have plenty of veggie-goodness, it wasn’t exactly totally healthy. But like I said, it’s Monday, and we have to ease into this week slowly. So, yes, there are corn and tomatoes. But yes, there is also butter. The good news? I got my salad inspiration from this recipe on the Food Channel website, but I changed it a bit. And cut way down on the butter it called for. And the olive oil too (though there’s nothing I hate more than people who bash olive oil. In moderation, it’s SO good for you!!).

Pan-Roasted Corn Salad with Tomatoes and Feta:

• 4 ears of corn, husks and silks removed and shucked off cob (about 3.5 C of kernels)
• 1.5 T unsalted butter
• 2.5 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 t thyme, freshly chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 C halved cherry tomatoes
• 4 oz. Athenos feta cheese, crumbled (I used Athenos Roasted Bell Pepper and Garlic. OMG!)
• Juice from 1/2 lime
• 2 T basil, slivered

To be honest, I am not a huge lover of corn on the cob. Never have been. I LOVE corn, especially in the summer, but I just HATE eating it on the cob. My dad has always removed it from the cob for me, or else I just plain ignore it on the dinner table. Sad because when it’s in season, it’s so, so awesome. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to make this recipe so badly. I get to eat fresh corn on the cob, but off the cob!! Now where was my dad when I was cutting it off??

I shucked all the cobs and used a knife to cut all the corn off (myself!).

Then I heated about 3/4 T of butter and 1 T of EVOO in a nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. I warmed it until it was almost smoking and then added half my minced garlic, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds. Use as much butter and EVOO as you feel is necessary, but this amount seemed to work for me.

Then I added in half the corn and stirred occasionally until tender, about 4 minutes.

Then I added in half the green onion and half the thyme and sautéed for another minute before seasoning with salt and pepper.

I removed the corn mixture to a big bowl and repeated the whole process with the other half of the ingredients.

Add the second batch of corn to the bowl and let cool to room temperature (stirring occasionally) for about 30 mins. I put mine in the fridge.

I chopped all my cherry tomatoes. On that note, can someone tell me WHY I can never take a good photo of tomatoes? Ugh. It’s just awful.

Anyway, then add the feta cheese. You can obviously use whatever kind you want, but I was SO excited when Athenos sent me the Roasted Bell Pepper and Garlic variety. I didn’t even know it existed and figured it would go perfectly with the tomatoes and corn!

Can’t you just see the amazing flavors? I also threw in 1/2 T of the EVOO and some pepper (I didn’t think it would need any more salt). I put this in the fridge while the corn was cooling, too.

When the corn was cooled, I added the tomato/feta mixture to it. Plus I added in the basil and lime juice.

It’s one of those salads, that not only looks delicious, but it looks beautiful too! I LOVE bright summer salads.

Of course, I had a serving right away. And. This is exactly what I expect summer to taste like. I mean, come on, corn, tomatoes, basil? Does it get more summery than that? Oh, and the lime juice was a really awesome complement too.

I thought the flavored feta was the perfect touch. Though plain feta would have been totally fine.

Can you seriously blame me for not being sick of these feta salads yet? Even though I had this for lunch, I’ll probably have another serving later on. I’m planning on making tacos for dinner and think this salad will be the best side ever!

I really can’t think of any way this salad could have been any better. Unless I was sitting at a pool eating it… With a large glass of sangria in my hand. But I’m trying to be realistic here.

How do you like your corn on the cob? On the cob or off?

[Sues]

And since I have a pretty packed rest of the week (my best friend from college is getting married this weekend and I’m in the wedding!! So so so excited!!), I figured this dish would be good as leftovers for a quick bite to eat when we’re on the go. I knew I wanted to make a pasta with chicken sausage and feta and then I figured olives and broccoli would be nice additions. And lucky for my stomach, I was right!

Mediterranean Pasta with Chicken Sausage, Olives, Broccoli, and Feta (Serves 6-8)

• 1 lb. penne (whole wheat or not!)
• 1 head broccoli
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 links chicken sausage (I used sundried tomato)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 pound kalamata olives, or any olives of your choosing
• 1 C Athenos Feta ( I used the sundried tomato and basil variety)
• Freshly ground pepper

First things first, boil your pasta according to directions or your favorite way to do it. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot to set aside.

Now, you need cut the stems off your broccoli florets. Put about 1/2 C water in a large pan over medium heat. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes. When done, drain water and set aside.

While the broccoli was steaming, I chopped up all my other ingredients– the garlic, olives, and sausage.

Put the olive oil in a pan over medium and saute the garlic for about 2 minutes before adding your sausage. If you haven’t tried Al Fresco’s chicken sausage, you must! It’s amazing. And they sell it at Trader Joe’s AND my local Star Market grocery store. It’s already fully cooked, so I just made sure it was heated through and pretty golden-looking.

Once the sausage is good, throw the olives and broccoli into the pan, too. Stir together and make sure everything is heated nicely.

Now, throw the mixture into your pot of pasta. If you want, you can drizzle a little more olive oil to mix in. Put freshly ground pepper on top, too.

And serve! These were some of my favorite foods all sitting together in one delightful dish. For some reason, my olives were super salty (more so than usual), so I definitely didn’t need any added salt (side note. Is there an olive tasting class I can take? I need to learn more about olives!).

I ate a nice big bowl, but kind of wished I had either used less pasta or more of the other ingredients. No biggie though because I can just make sure to scoop more goodies for my next serving. Which is going to be in about 5 minutes. For lunch.

The chicken sausage/feta combo was sooo good!

Also? It was my first time eating the Tomato Basil Athenos Feta and I loved it! Dangerous though because it was totally the kind of thing I’ll find myself eating on its own. Not that I don’t do that with plain feta already.

Do you love chicken sausage? What’s your favorite kind?

Athenos Feta Friday Giveaway Winner!

The winner of our second Athenos Feta Friday Giveaway Winner is Kathy!! We’ll email you soon to get your info for the awesome feta gift pack! Congrats

[Sues]

Here’s what you need:

• 19 oz. of chickpeas
• 4 lemons, juiced
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup tahini
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup of olive oil to smooth (I actually forgot to put the olive oil in, because I’m brilliant and get distracted like a 3 year old, but it still tasted great!)

Here’s what you do:

The directions are very simple… Just blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth!

With the refreshing citrus hints from the lemons this is the perfect appetizer to bring to a Summer party or if you’re entertaining at home. I mean, we already know it’s a huge hit

Thanks for the recipe Mark! It’s definitely a keeper!

(Also, pardon the “ghost” in my pictures… looks like some steam or something is on my lens? Not having the best of luck with technology this past week!)

[Chels]