I’ve written swooningly about fleur de sel before, but the truth is that I adore nearly all types of natural salt, not just the premium-quality French “flowers”. Yes, I said “natural” salt- not regular table salt, which is prepared thusly:

mined, heat blasted, chemically treated, and then anti-caking agents and iodine added to it (source)

Seriously, who needs all that? Natural sea salt is readily available almost everywhere now, in nearly all colors of the rainbow, from grey to pink to sparkling white…

Which brings me to the point of today’s post. It’s the height of summer where I live right now, and in this heat my strongest food cravings are for fresh, local ingredients: bright green lettuce, crunchy carrots, crispy jicama. Served raw… with nothing more than a sprinkling of good salt.

Our dinner last night, for example, was this: four large, juicy organic tomatoes. I washed them, sliced them thick, drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled with Japanese sea salt, and served with a hunk of toasted sourdough bread. Perfect with a chilled bottle of Pinot Noir. It was one of the best meals we’d had in a long time.

What are your favorite simple meals?

The husband and I love to entertain at home, and while the usual fare is something simple but comfortingly delicious like roast chicken or something on the barbecue, we have quite a few vegetarian friends- and this, one of our favorite things to serve them, is always a winner.

For these rolls, you must use Vietnamese rice paper, which is very affordable, and readily available at your local Asian food store- or online at Amazon!

Vietnamese Fresh Rolls
1/2 cup fresh beansprouts, washed and dried
1/4 Chinese cabbage (wombok), shredded finely
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, washed and dried
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
12 Vietnamese rice paper rounds
1 cup shredded cooked chicken (optional)
Dipping sauce (recipe follows)

We like to serve everything in separate bowls, allowing guests to take what they like for their rolls. The chicken here is optional- if going vegetarian, omit it.
You’ll need a large, flat plate or platter into which you pour some warm water. And here’s how to assemble:

For each roll, take a rice paper round, immerse it in the warm water for a few seconds- until it’s slightly soft, but not falling apart. Transfer to another plate, fill with the vegetables and/or herbs (and chicken if using) of your choice. Roll, tucking ends in. Dip in dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/8 cup sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla or patis)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 dried red chili, minced

Combine all ingredients together. Mix well, and serve on the side as a dipping sauce.

I’m a little ashamed to say that the very first time I used a juicer was exactly one week ago. That’s right, I’ve never owned a proper juicer before- why bother, I thought, when I had a blender?

This was a gift, handed down by my mother, who is a juice freak and juices all sorts of things- romaine lettuce, bitter melon, you name it- every day of her life. It was an extra one she had in storage, brand new, never used.

With the juicer came a bagful of ripe, organic tomatoes she had picked up for me at the local farmer’s market. So I thought- why not tomato juice? I loved Bloody Maries, after all. And some of the tomatoes were so ripe, they were almost bursting with juice.

Well. Since then, we must have had fresh tomato juice about five or six times. I love the stuff. It’s perfect for breakfast, and is filling enough as a little midday snack.

Fresh Tomato Juice

Fresh, ripe, organic tomatoes
honey to taste

Using your juicer, juice the tomatoes. Add honey to taste, and serve.
If you don’t have a juicer, cut up the tomatoes, put them into your blender, add a cup or two of water (depending on the consistency you prefer) and whizz. Add honey and blend again. Serve.

A revelation, that’s what they were.

See, my husband and I are blessed with the best relatives ever – our family members like to send us fresh fruit and vegetables regularly, and recently we received a particularly large bag of eggplant. After two (delicious) dinners of Eggplant Parmigiana, as well as a couple of stir-fries involving eggplant, we decided we might as well try throwing them on the grill when we were firing up some hotdogs yesterday.

Well. No one told us how eggplant, when roasted over hot coals, magically transforms into one of the most delicious, indescribable vegetables ever. Needless to say, we barely touched our hotdogs, swooning instead over our hot barbecued eggplants like they were caviar and foie gras.

If you haven’t tried roasting your eggplants over an outdoor grill, please please do. It’s really simple. Here’s what you need:

4 medium-sized eggplants
extra virgin olive oil
barbecue skewers or sticks
kosher salt

Fire up your grill until the coals are hot. Salt and thoroughly dry the eggplants. Insert on skewers, and brush with extra virgin olive oil. Grill over hot coals until soft and cooked through.

Peel and enjoy the soft, smooth, amazing flesh.

The husband and I are back doing low-carb, which means that our vegetable bin is full of cauliflower again. When rice is so much a part of your culture, as it is with us, finding a good rice substitute when you’re low-carbing is essential. And cauliflower, which is perfectly creamy and bland, contains only 14 grams of carbs for a medium-sized head.

I’ve made it like couscous, grating raw cauliflower then lightly sauteing it, but lately it’s been far too hot to spend time in front of a stove, so we’ve been oven-roasting our cauliflower. Here’s how:

Oven Baked Cauliflower

1 medium head of cauliflower
3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Salt & Pepper
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring some water to a boil.

Prepare cauliflower by cutting into florets, blanching for 5 minutes in boiling water, and straining.

Lay cauliflower in a baking dish. In the dish, add garlic, lemon juice, and about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss together, and sprinkle with salt and pepper and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until very light brown.

Delicious with roast chicken or pork chops- or any other low-carb dish of your choice.