Move Over Tom Colicchio...

Okay, that was a joke. I actually L-O-V-E Tom Colicchio and his sandwich shop 'Wichcraft. I'm obsessed. That obsession has made me a little cash poor these days. With a new apartment looming over head it's important that I take a better look at the money I spend on eating out. Because of that, I've had to come up with my own version of 'Wichcraft's marinated chick peas. I'm not saying that it's the same-it's not. I don't even know what Tom puts in his garbanzos. This is my recipe for

Three Beans;Marinated (like the name?)

oh, Tom-If you read this by some strange stretch, let me know what you think. And again. I love you.

For this Recipe You Will Need

1 Can of Garbanzo Beans

1/2 Cup of Edamame

1/4 Cup Fava Beans

1-2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 Tomato-seeded and chopped

1/2 Hot Pepper (I used the variety from my garden-it's about the size of a ping pong ball)

Cumin

Celery Seed

Salt and Pepper

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-In a Large bowl mix the beans and vegetables together.

-In a separate bowl whisk the Cumin, Celery Seed, Lemon, and Olive oil until ingredients are incorporated.

-Pour the vinaigrette over the Bean mixture and stir so that all of the ingredients are coated with the vinaigrette.

-Cover the container and put in the refrigerator for at least one hour. (I made mine last night and tasted it today and it was amazing.) Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Here's to Simple Salads!

Enjoy!

Green Bean and Tomato Salad

Green Bean and Tomato Salad.

This salad is incredibly easy and quick to make. I have a feeling it will taste more full of spice after a day in the fridge but it was great tonight. I purchased all of my veggies at the local farmer's market. I blanched the green beans this morning before work and put them in a bowl of cold water in the fridge all day. I made it as a quick dinner for Mirs tonight.

For this Recipe You Will Need

About a half pound of Green Beans with ends Trimmed

2 Vine Ripe Tomatoes-Seeded

1/2 Small-Medium Red Onion

1/2 Medium-Large Green Pepper

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Juice of half Lemon

After you've Blanched the Green Beans and allowed them to cool place them in a large bowl.

Roughly chop the Tomatoes and put in bowl with Green Beans

Chop Onion and Green Pepper and put in bowl

In Separate Bowl Whisk 1/4 Cup of Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil

8 Twists each of Salt and Pepper from a Grinder

About 1/4 Teaspoon of Cumin

Whisk ingredients together while squeezing the juice of one half Lemon.

Pour Vinaigrette over Tomato and Green Bean Mixture and Stir.

Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

My Garden

My girlfriend and I started gardening in our back yard early in the spring. We killed three heirloom tomato plants partially we purchased them too early in the season, partially because we purchased them from growers who didn't care.

We've since found great growers who are knowledgeable and quick to answer questions via e-mail or when we hound them at the Farmer's Market in Union Square. We've learned a lot by reading books like Garden Anywhere and the Urban Homestead. Mirs is an internet maven and I'll often come home to something great she's learned about tomatoes or eggplants.

Last week we welcomed 1000 composting worms into our home and I feel a lot better about feeding kitchen scraps and coffee grounds to our hungry little compost makers than to just throw them out to be put in a landfill.

There are recipes to follow this post, believe me. I made a really yummy broccoli salad with carrots and radishes as well as an amazing orzo caprese salad. For now, I hope you've enjoyed the pictures of our garden.