Santa Fe Veggie Wraps

This is my favorite summertime meal. Easy to prepare, no extra heat in the kitchen (well, minimal extra heat in the kitchen), colorful and fresh ingredients, and most importantly light and delicious!

Santa Fe Veggie Wraps

by: Jessica Krohn, a Texas friend who should now be a Utah friend since we both live here. I should call her.

Serves 2

2 whole wheat tortillas (you lucky devils in Texas who can get fresh wheat tortillas from HEB....)
1 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
3 leaves red or green leaf lettuce ( we used spinach tonight)
4 slices pepper jack cheese
4 thin slices tomato
1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
4 thin slices red onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced jicama
1/4 cup fresh or frozen and thawed sweet corn
1/2 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

Spread cream cheese on tortilla. Layer other ingredients on top and roll up tightly. Serve.
Notes: One day I will be awesome and make my own whole wheat tortillas, but today was not that day and I used white tortillas (the cook yourself kind, mmm). I've made this countless times and again, improvisation is key. I rarely have jicama. I did tonight and it was a nice touch (you can use your leftover jicama from when you make these). We really enjoy these wraps. Especially me. I could eat them every day in the sweet, sweet, summertime.

P.S. Dear Winter, I packed away our winter coats today in good faith that you are going to GO AWAY. It's June. Give up already, please.

Broccoli and Bowties

If I had to choose one dish, and only one dish, to eat for the rest of my life this would certainly be it. I mean sure, I'd probably rather choose lobster, but that is so rich it might get old after a week (or two). This dish is light and flavorful. I just feel downright healthy when I eat it (I can hear all you anti-gluten peeps sneering!).

When we were living in Texas and I was great with child, a dear neighbor and friend brought this dish to me, and it was perfect. At the time, everything, was making me very sick. I couldn't keep anything down (as per usual when I am pregnant). This just tasted so fresh and good, and I kept it down! Since then we've probably had this dish on average about once a week. We never get sick of it, the kids love it, and it comes together quickly. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Broccoli and Bowties

by: Cheryl, awesome neighbor in Texas

8 cups broccoli florets
kosher salt
1 lb farfalle (bow tie) pasta (or as you can see here, penne works just fine too)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 lemon, zested (buying a microplane was probably the best decision I ever made)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted pignolis (pine nuts)
freshly grated parmesan

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Boil the broccoli for five minutes. Remove broccoli with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl, set aside. In the same water, cook the bow-tie pasta according to package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain well and add to broccoli.

Meanwhile in a small saute pan, heat the butter and oil and cook the garlic and lemon zest over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Off of the heat, add 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper and the lemon juice and pour this over the broccoli and pasta. Toss well. Season to taste, sprinkle with pignolis and cheese, serve.

*Kristi's notes: Pine nuts can cost their weight in gold it seems. The best place I have found to purchase them is from www.nuttyguys.com. Over the last several months there have been lots of groupons available for nuttyguys where you can get $25 worth of product for $10, they also offer free pick-up at their warehouse in Salt Lake if you are local.

To toast your pine nuts place them in a dry saute pan over medium low heat and cook, tossing often until they start to turn brown. Don't walk away - trust me. There is nothing worse than over-toasting your pine nuts, unless as Janssen says, you like the salty taste of tears in your pasta.

Also, I have a motto in our house "lemon is good, but more lemon is better" and therefore I am very generous with both the lemon zest and lemon juice when I make this recipe, usually almost doubling those ingredients. I also have been known to sprinkle generously with lemon pepper seasoning.