Not in the mood for hot soup this summer? Try this gazpacho recipe for a refreshing and nutrient packed treat!

You will need:

6 plum tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 lrg cucumber
1 lrg leek
1 green serano chile
1 red chile
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
Handful cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup tomato sauce/strained or pureed tomatoes*
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth*
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sriracha
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

Roughly dice all the veggies and quickly pulse them separately in a blender or food processor. Don’t blend too long or they will turn mushy. You want a nice crunchy texture. In a large bowl, combine veggies and remaining ingredients. Refridgerate. Best if left overnight to marinate.

Serve chilled. Can garnish with sour cream, avocado, or a splash of good olive oil.

Enjoy! I did

When it comes to grocery shopping, knowing what’s in season can really make a difference when selecting produce.  Not only does eating seasonally ensure you’re getting the freshest and tastiest produce, but in season food is usually cheaper, too! Most people don’t think they know much about the seasonality of produce, but chances are you know more than you think.

When you first consider the seasons for foods, turn to your personal experiences. When you think of watermelon, for instance, you are most likely to associate that with Summer- and you’d be right! Watermelon and Cantelope Melons (and most fruits for that matter) are best when harvested in the summer. Pumpkin, on the other hand, is most commonly associated with the Fall, which corresponds to the fact that pumpkins along with most gourds and squashes are best when harvested in the Fall. While these are pretty obvious examples, it’s a jumping off point for understanding the seasonality of food.

Here are some basic guidelines:

Spring/Summer: Most Fruits and Veggies.  Think leafy and refreshing.
Fall/Winter: Some veggies and few fruits. Think hearty with warm colors.

Spring:
For the most part, Spring serves up some delicious root and leafy veggies.  Artichokes, spinach, parsley, and onions make up some of the list.  Raspberries start to be in season, but that about sums it up for Spring fruits.

Summer:
A majority of the fruits are in season during the Summer. Berries, melons, and most of the pitted fruit are best during the hot months. Eggplants, all bean varieties, corn and tomatoes  make up some of the vegetables, along with zucchini and cucumbers.

Fall:
Apple is the star fruit for Fall, along with Figs, Pears and Grapes. For veggies, think orange, as pumpkin, carrots, and sweet potatoes are some of the fall bloomers.

Winter:
Pears and tangerines are the main fruits… Think about the boxes of fruit people always send as gifts in Winter. Cabbage and root veggies such as daikon, turnips, leeks and shallots make up most of Winter’s produce.

Makes sense why people used to can things in preparation for the Winter, considering a majority of the produce was harvested in the warmer seasons, they had to come up with a method of preservation. Hmm…

Dark leafy greens… Let me tell ya, those Southerners were on to something.

There are collard, turnip, mustard, and beet greens (use the beets and keep the greens!), spinach, artichokes, cabbage, bok choy, arugula, escarole, kale… and tons more. What’s so great about them? Leafy greens are chock-full of vital nutrients that benefit many different aspects of our body. Calorie for calorie they pack the most nutrients of almost anything you can eat.

Low in fat and calories. High in minerals like Iron, Calcium, Potassium and Magnesium. High in Folic Acid (related to fertility- essential for women in their 20’s). Great source of Vitamins K (helps prevent blood clotting and bone problems), C, E, and B. They also contain important Phytonutrients like beta-carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein that help protect our cells and eyes from damage over time.

The USDA recommends that we get at least 3 cups of dark leafy greens every week, but I try and eat them every day.

The softer greens like salad greens (i.e. arugula and spinach) work great raw in salads. Throw in some tomatoes, avocados, chick peas and green onion with a little olive oil and lemon juice and you have a healthy, nutrient rich lunch. The tougher greens (i.e. collards, kale, cabbage) usually require a little heat. You can steam them or saute them with garlic, a little acid (lemon juice or vinegar), chiles, onions, etc and you have a yummy side dish.

By ensuring you are getting all the necessary nutrients into your body… you’re not only going to feel better, but help your body run most efficiently.

I put Cayenne pepper on just about everything. Eggs, salad, fruit, soups, chicken, nuts, avocados- you name it, it gets a dash of this magical dust. In my kitchen I have Salt, Cayenne, Black Pepper and Balsamic Vinegar next to my stove (the Balsamic is only there because it’s too tall for the cabinet.) I use those three spices more than any others when I cook…the Cayenne especially.

Yesterday, I had some vanilla yogurt and sliced up a nice ripe cantelope (the guy at the farmers market hand picked by it to be ripe Tuesday) and sprinkled on a tiny bit of sea salt and dusted it with a healthy amount of Cayenne and lemon juice. I learned that trick from the fruit stand guys…(Tangent: For those of you who are unfamiliar, the fruit stand guys in Los Angeles are THE best. You give them $3 or however much you want to spend and they will cut up a variety of ripe melons, mangos, papaya, guava etc and then top the bag with Cayenne, lime juice, salt, and a few other mysterious seasonings. They usually stand in the sketchiest parking lots, but that doesn’t stop you from busting a U at the instant you see one). I then made an avocado/gucamole type spread with Cayenne and minced red chiles. I used the spread on my lunch with this delicious Country Farmer bread from the FM (Farmers Market) guy… it has carrots and raisins and grits and all kinds of grains and things. I topped that with a fried egg and some FM tomatoes, salt, pepper and (surprise!) Cayenne. Then for dinner I had a big bowl of the chix veggie soup I made earlier in the week that had a good few teaspoons of Cayenne in the batch. Wow…even I’m impressed with yesterday’s Cayenne pull.

What can I say?? I love spicy food. A little kick adds a nice note to almost everything you can eat, not to mention Cayenne has added health benefits. I initially started upping my Cayenne intake about 3 years ago when I heard it was good for your metabolism and circulatory system. Now, considering my hands are freezing most of the time… I can use the circulatory help. I’m also a huge fan of anything related to your metabolism because I happen to think having a healthy digestive system is one of the best things for staying healthy and in shape. I just can’t get enough! Don’t worry if you aren’t a spicy food fan, I am very considerate when cooking for other people

I don’t think there’s anywhere I’m more at home than a Farmer’s Market.

Lately I have been hitting up the Hollywood Market every Sunday morning to get my produce for the week.¬† The great thing about LA is that no one is up until at least 10, so if you can head out around 9, you’ll beat the crowds.

What I love about a farmer’s market is that they are universal. For instance, the picture I used for today’s post could represent a farmer’s market 1,000’s of miles away and wouldn’t necessarily shout LA, yet the sticky rice is delish. And thanks to the fertile CA soil, we have much of the same produce, as well.

A typical week’s pull would consist of: Green onions with bulbs the size of shallots, Carrots (for juicing), cabbage, beets (for juicing), ginger (again, juicing), apricots and peaches, cherries, grapefruits, some herbs and nuts, loaf of bread (this dude has THE best sourdough- the first week I tried the garlic variety with whole cloves baked in that you could spread once toasted!!!!), some kind of leafy green ala kale or chard, lemons, garlic, eggs, fresh seafood (learned how to properly shuck an oyster), flowers, heirloom tomatoes… And I could go on and on.

The Farmer’s Market has also sparked my interest in putting in some time at the local organic farms. I love nothing more than fresh food, but picking it right out of the ground? The freshest freshest.

Which brings me to my next point: Juicers are the coolest.

I acquired a juicer when I moved houses in LA. I always wanted one, but it seemed superfluous… Finally, I got one and started to use it and am here to tell you it’s THE greatest. While it is a pain in the ass to clean, it’s totally worth it when you have fresh juice ALL THE TIME! As opposed to take a bunch of vitamins where you have to trust the box, with a juicer you know what’s going into it and the outcome is delicious Toss in a few carrots, grapefruit, apples, beets, oranges and ginger… Now that’s a complete breakfast!

It also does wonders for my liver which has taken quite a beating over the years… Couple stalks of sugar cane + huge piece of ginger + 2 lemons + tsp of cayenne = Heaven for my liver and Hell for my acid reflux.

See photos we took here:

Hollywood Farmers Market