corn and avocado watermelon salad

dice 1/4 red onion,
remove kernels from 1 cob boiled corn,
 dice 2 avocados
and 1/4 watermelon (or apples actually),
add 1/2 bundle mint (3 tb)chopped and /or basil
toss with 3 tb lime juice
1 tsp chile powder
and 1 tsp salt
-nom!

mussel gazpacho

Given the cost fresh seafood this is a special meal but mussels are cheaper than lots of seafood and less environmentally problematic. Also since Rabbit is Veg.... this is clearly not Rabbit approved. Just get them in an R month or use frozen in summer. Serve with a green salad and sorghum quick bread or other crusty bread.

Cook your mussels first

1lb fresh mussels.Fresh mussels will close when you tap them. Clean mussels first by taking a sprinkle handful of polenta in a bowl of water over the tops of the mussels. This will cause them to eat the corn and eject sand and other debris. Wait 10 minutes. De beard and scrub.

Put cleaned mussels in pot with 1 chopped and cleaned leek and

12 oz  white wine or ale of choice (gf if desired but the white wine works better here) into a pot
with 2 cups seafood stock or veggie broth
cover and turn heat to medium
they should be done after 15 minutes. If done the shells will open and meat will take on cooked appearance. These suckers are easy to overcook.
pour into bowel over ice or refrigerate until cool . Leave the shells in.

Veg mixture to chop and put in blender
1 slice bread(again gf if needed or you can skip)
4 tomatoes
1 red onion
16 oz water
salt and pepper to taste
2 red peppers (I buy ancient reds when they go on for 69cents a lb , wash and freeze them.)
1large and two small cucumbers
4 stalks celery
1/2 head garlic
small handful parsley
2 shots wine or apple cider vinegar
blend until mostly smooth....

refrigerate until the mussels are cool

Mix  both bowls together and serve cold.
mmmm

Laziest dinner ever. mushroom pizza

1. Wash a Portabella mushroom
2. You know that partial container of spaghetti sauce in the back of the fridge?
Check for ick and if not icky pour a few tb in the mushroom cavity
3. fill cavity with other tasty noms and top with cheese if desired. Put on a cookie sheet.
4.bake 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees or on a grill
5.You will need a knife and fork.Eat with salad....If you have the energy, otherwise just grab the carrot sticks.

watermelon, feta, mint salad gf (vegan options)

Watermelon is a cheap sweet delicious source of fiber, hydration and flavour as well as being very cooling. So you get an enormous one because it's 29 cents a lb or something and you're not partial to beverages with chunks. (Not a problem for me but even then we have leftovers.)What will you do with the remaining half melon? Mint is under utilised in urban centers mostly because so many people don't realise how easy it is to grow. Feta packs a punch and is cheap mostly because of how little is actually used here (1$ for 1/4 lb of bulgarian feta) and because feta is cheap here. The silent workers here are parsley (flat leaf if you can...the texture makes a difference) and a lime. These both add lots of nutrients. I get my mint from the community garden we're in and parsley is 59 cents a bunch.(Note:mint stored in the freezer after rinsing is fine here). This also takes almost no time of effort and looks pretty. Thinking about bringing it to a wedding pot luck soon, in fact. The key is in the proportions.Do not store for more than a day or two as the results are mushy and gross after a weekend.

Cut 1/2 of a large watermelon into 1inch chunks (approximately). Save the rinds for pickles or if you are me remove the skin and add the grated white to the salad (time permitting).
Wash 5-6 sprigs of mint and 1/2 large bunch of parsley. Cut into tiny pieces with a pair of scissors. Kids can help with this. Put these in the bowl with your melon.
Add the juice of 1/2 a lime. Toss. Crumble 1/3 of that 1/4 brick of feta on your  salad. Toss again. Chill on ice for buffets and the like.
 You can also skip the feta if you are vegan or dairy intolerant. Cashew Parm also tastes good here.

sesame spinach ( and other greens) gf if needed

You just roasted some tofu and made some rice
You need edible greens...

Take 1 lb leaves wash em'. Remove woody parts.
Please don't be skittish about ingesting a variety of edible greens. Use what's in season, you can grow it and will be ok cooked. Eating what's available encourages biodviersity, your health and can save you money. (For ex right now in may spinach is tres expensive but the kale is coming up, and so is arugula and dandelion greens. Last month cress was cheap...and if the strawberry spinach would grow it should have shown up then..alas.
Pour 1 tb off the top of your tahini or direct from a bottle of sesame oil
add 1 tb lemon juice and 3 cloves garlic, if desired grate in 1/2 inch fresh ginger.
Heat and allow greens to wilt . Add 3 tb soy sauce (gf if needed) and a small handful of sesame or sesame and flax seeds. Serve hot or chilled. Some greens freeze well, some do not.

Cook until most of the liquid is dissolved and evaporated and your greens are bright green.
options:
add 1 tsp honey or maple syrup if sweetness is desired with the soysauce
add 1/4 tsp thai or korean chili powder with the soysauce.
This is good packed with a protein and rice balls for lunch, as part of bibimbap, sushi filling, as a sandwich topping or omlette filling and along side bbq tempeh or pulled jackfruit bbq.

Strawberry balsamic dressing

Makes a bottle so I hope you have one clean.

put all ingredients

1 c frozen (or fresh) strawberries

1/2 tsp dried mint

4 or 5 grinds pepper

1 tb honey

1 cup water

pinch salt

1 clove minced garlic

1 tb olive oil

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer a cover.

Stir occasionally until volume is reduced to 1 cup. Allow to cool before bottling as hot liquid makes glass break.Keep in the fridge. Should be a bit syrupy. Leave out the garlic and oil if using this as an icecream or custard topping.

Sucking Chest Wound Salad (simple and gf when made with gf stuff) 15 minutes max

10 or so years ago I thought I hated beets unless they were in borscht. Everyone else in my family loved beets including he tinny or syrupy pickled harvard beets that besmirch all beet kind. I still hate them. Then I had straight beet juice and recognised it's delicious and inherent borschty, earthy, sweet but not syrupy goodness. So I played it against sour stuff and I made borscht, and torschi and finally I discovered the best thing of all ....sliced raw beets. I couldn't be stopped. Sure it will look like a five year old used lip tint on you, but who cares...it's delicious.mmm beets.

Sucking Chest Wound Salad
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(So named because of the color of goat cheese when mixed with raw beets)
1 lb greens
I use what's around but soft buttery greens and peppery ones seem to work best. Sometimes it's little beet greens, arugula, some ' spring mix' , wrinkled cress and other I grab a dozen carrot tops and some dill from the garden; go at them with scissors and call it a day. Anyway, you need 1 lb of salad greens in a big bowl.
add 1/2 oz of sunflower seeds
and 1 oz goat cheese or other sharp flavoured soft white cheese like feta or farmer cheese. now you can be all presentation-y and slice it neatly with dental floss but I usually pinch off a bunch of little  pieces  and throw them in between layers of greenery
you could leave out the 1/4 of a thin sliced red onion but wheres the fun there?
and if it's needing to be used you could add sliced cucumbers or some leftover cooked quinoa or chickpeas
(and clearly, as usual, I digress)
The important part is that you have 2  or 3 well scrubbed raw beets at hand. Speaking of hands you can use some rubber gloves if you don't want to look like Lady Macbeth. Personally I don't bother unless I have an interview or something. Also don't wear anything you might care about getting stained,and um.. if you are squeamish about pink cutting boards either scrub immediately(no guarantees) or protect your board with a layer of wax paper (still no guarantees but a greater success rate) Slice thin or julienne...just remember the smaller the piece the more blood (um I mean juice). Add the beets and juices to your salad bowl. Now for dressing. Drizzle on some lemon or balsamic vinegar (really gory looking and complements your beets sweetness) and maybe some salt and or olive oil. I like pepper but Rabbit doesn't. Toss carefully. Eat.