Pip's Plate

I’m not quite sure what to call this salad other than the ingredients in it. It was inspired by a salad on the menu at Bovolo in Healdsburg, CA.

1 small watermelon, cubed

1/2 cup pistachios

1 bag arugula

8 oz sheep’s or goat’s milk feta, crumbled

6 slices proscuitto, torn

Balsamic vinegar

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a salad bowl and drizzle balsamic vinegar over it. Enjoy- this is a perfect summer salad and excellent for picnics or a backyard get-together.

If you haven’t noticed, I love tacos. They’re so versatile and I rarely make them the same way twice. Last night I was inspired by ground buffalo. This turned out to be quite delicious and just a tad spicy.

Serves 4

1 1/2 T olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped

1/2 T adobo sauce (from the canned chipotles)

1 t dried oregano

1 t salt

1# organic ground buffalo

1 head organic romaine, shredded

1 large organic tomato, diced

1 organic avocado, diced

1 cup shredded cheese (I like goat cheddar- Carr Valley is quite good)

1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained

sour cream (I prefer Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream as a non-dairy alternative)

12 6″ corn tortillas

Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Wrap the tortillas in foil and heat for 15-20 minutes in the oven.

In a medium sautee pan, heat the olive oil over med-low heat. Add the onions and garlic, sautee for 5 min. (NOTE: the lower the heat, the sweeter and fuller the flavor of the onions and garlic will be, plus they won’t burn, so be patient with this step- it pays off.)

Add the chipotles, adobo sauce, oregano, and salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until flavors are combined.

Add the buffalo meat and continue to cook until done.

Take the tortillas out of the oven and start to assemble the tacos. I prefer to assemble in this order:

sour cream (this way I can spread it out over the tortilla)

cheese

buffalo meat (this way the meat directly melts the cheese)

tomatoes

avocado

beans

lettuce

If you like a spicier version, add another chipotle. This version isn’t too spicy (probably a 2 on a scale of 1-5), but the dairy helps cool it off.

And of course if you can’t handle the spice, a Mexican beer is always a good fire-mouth-putter-outer.