Hearts of Palm & Olives

Prep time: 10 to 15 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

A few years ago, while standing in the canned vegetables aisle of a supermarket, I picked up a can of hearts of palm, looked at it and thought, “I know I ate these somewhere, but they looked boring and tasted bland. Maybe tonight I can turn these 'palmitos' into an exciting dish". Later that day, as I prepared dinner for my friends, I cut the hearts of palm into bite-size pieces and tossed them with olives, lemon, and other ingredients I had on hand.

My novelty appetizer-salad not only looked fresh and inviting, but my guests were amazed at how hearts of palm could become such a colorful and exquisite appetizer. That night, the Hearts of Palm & Olives must have been an instant hit because I never had a chance to put any on my plate.

One 14-ounce can Roland’s® Hearts of Palm, drained and rinsed
½ cup Spanish olives
2 tablespoons chopped red onion, rinsed in cold water (excess water squeezed out of onion)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh, Italian flat-leaf parsley and 1 sprig (for garnish)
1 celery stalk, peeled and chopped into ¼-inch pieces
Juice of ½ lime
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients (except the sprig of parsley) and gently toss together. Taste and adjust oil and/or seasonings. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and garnish with the parsley sprig.

Serve immediately as an appetizer, accompanied by cheese, bread, your favorite wine, friends and music.

Note: "Palmitos" is Spanish for "hearts of palm". The country with the largest production of palmitos is Costa Rica.

Text & Photograph © Nancy Real 2011

Columbus Day Corn Bread

Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 25 to 30 minutes
Serves: 12 to 14

When I eat a food too often and made in the same manner, I lose interest in it. Lately, I've been trying to reinvent our cornbread, an American food that is made in the Fall and Winter. I thought of our October holiday honoring Christopher Columbus who arrived in America in 1492. As he stepped off his ship with his customs and foods, he encountered an indigenous culture and new culinary delights - some made with corn or "maize". This idea inspired me to kick up our usual cornbread recipe with different ingredients. Unsure as to whether my new recipe would be a hit or not, I recently brought it to work and set it on our kitchen counter. Everyone seemed to like it because it disappeared in under an hour - and this happened twice in a week!

Ingredients:
1 small zucchini, cut in chunks
1 small carrot, cut in chunks
1/2 red bell pepper, cut in chunks
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1-1/4 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
1-1/2 tablespoons baking powder
2 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk (whole or 2% milk fat)

Heat oven to 400˚F. Grease and flour a 9-inch spring form pan or regular cake pan; set aside.

In a food processor, pulse-blend the zucchini, carrot and bell pepper chunks until chopped but not mashed; set aside.

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons oil and stir fry the chopped vegetables on medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, transfer the vegetables to a plate and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, cornmeal, flour and baking powder; set aside.

In a 4-quart mixing bowl, with a wire whisk, mix the eggs and sugar until uniform. Stir in the oil and milk. With a wooden spoon, add the combined dry ingredients and mix until blended - do not overmix. Gently stir in the cooled vegetables.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake on a rack positioned in center of oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, check doneness by inserting a pointed knife in center of cornbread - knife should come out clean. If knife has wet batter around it, bake an additional 5 minutes.

Remove cornbread from oven and set on a counter to cool. When it is warm, loosen and remove spring form pan sides and slice the cornbread. If using a regular cake pan, loosen sides of cornbread with a knife and flip onto a flat plate. Slice and serve.

Enjoy the warm cornbread with soups, stews or chili.

Text and Photographs © Nancy Real 2010

Greek Lamb Kabobs

Prep time: 25 to 30 minutes
Inactive prep time: 8 hours (marinating)
Serves: 4 to 6


During my high school senior year in Massachusetts, my friendship with a Greek family magically transported me to a new and exotic land - Greece. Later on, my studies of Greek art history and culture left me in awe of what this unique land has given the world (democracy, philosophers, architecture, amazing art, lively music and a delicious cuisine). Flanked by the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean seas, eighty percent of Greece's terrain is mountainous - a perfect environment for sheep. And for millennia, the peoples of Greece have relied on sheep to sustain them with milk, cheese and meat. Clearly, some of the best lamb kabobs I have ever tasted in my life have been those served to me by my Greek friends!

The instructions for this recipe look long, but they are deceiving - after marinating, these delicious kabobs are made on the spot!

For marinating the lamb:
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Juice from 3 lemons or limes
2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano or mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 pounds lean lamb steaks (bone removed and meat cut into 2-inch chunks)

Mix the first four ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. Place lamb chunks in a large glass bowl; pour the marinade over lamb and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Ingredients for the kabobs:
1 green bell pepper, halved lengthwise, seeds and stem discarded
1 red bell pepper, halved lengthwise, seeds and stem discarded
1 large red onion, peeled and quartered
2 large vine-ripened tomatoes, quartered and pulp discarded
6 to 8 wooden skewers (10 to 12-inch length)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cut green and red bell peppers into 2-inch squares; set aside.
Pull onion quarters apart to yield 12 to 16 pieces
Cut each tomato quarter in half; set aside.

Assembling the kabobs:
Put 1 onion section on skewer followed by 1 lamb chunk, 1 green bell pepper square, 1 tomato section, 1 red bell pepper square. Repeat until skewer is full, ending with an onion section. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; set aside while assembling remaining kabobs.

Grill kabobs on an outdoor barbeque or indoors in an oven.

For oven grilling - place kabobs on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Place baking sheet with kabobs on an oven rack set 6 inches away from top oven broiler/grill. Grill 9 to 10 minutes per side, turning once.

Serve Greek Lamb Kabobs immediately with rice, a green salad or both.

Red wine pairing: Barolo, Malbec, or Cabernet Sauvignon.

Text © Nancy Real 2010
Kabob and Rice Photograph only © Nancy Real 2010