This is one of my favorite method to “roast” sweet mini peppers. It is super easy and fast…it’s lightly caramelized and perfect on bread, crackers or salad.

I love the colors of the sweet pepper, so summery and refreshing.  Many times we just eat them raw…crunchy and sweet, but sometimes I like to enhance the sweetness of the peppers by roasting…

I used to roast mini peppers in the oven…but since I got the air-fryer, this is my preferred way to “roast” almost anything…I love how even and caramelized the sweet peppers turned out in the air-fryer.  All the excess liquid, either from the washing or the pepper itself just drains out of the basket.

This recipe is very versatile, you can air-fry only the mini peppers or mix and match it with all kind of vegetables, I decided to go with zucchini and onion as I had them handy, but feel free to use whatever vegetable you have available such as carrots, eggplant, yellow squash…

Once the vegetables are air fried and seasoned you can keep them in the refrigerator for a few days and serve cold, which I love during warm weather.

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet pepper

1-2 zucchinis

1 medium size onion

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat air fryer to 400F.

Wash and slice in half the sweet peppers and remove the seed. Slice the zucchini and the onion.

In a large bowl place the sweet mini peppers and drizzle with olive oil.

Carefully place the sweet peppers in the air fryer basket and let is cook for approximately 15 minutes. Make sure to shake the basket in between. Remove from the basket and place in a large bowl.

Do the same with the onion and zucchini. Once the onion and zucchini are done place them together with the sweet peppers.

Add salt and pepper and drizzle balsamic vinegar to taste.  Toss gently.

Serve warm or cold.

I hope you enjoy this simple method of roasting mini sweet peppers…for more air-fryer recipes, please check HERE.

Did you know that peppers contain large amount of antioxidants such as lycopene, beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin? These carotenoids are important, especially for the eyes.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a very healthy and tasty dip made with roasted eggplants.  The recipe is simple and the trick to its delightful taste is the caramelized onion and golden garlic together with a hint mint…all together in a smoky, creamy and silky eggplant.

Since I had the eggplant dip (Kashke Badmjan) at a local Persian restaurant I wanted so bad to make it at home…when I noticed these huge, really huge eggplants at Trader Joe’s I saw the opportunity to try and I end up bringing home two of this gigantic eggplants.

Eggplants are healthy in spite of a large amount of water. Eggplants contain dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals.

After searching the internet for inspiration, I end up adapting today’s recipe from Minimalist Baker and Food 52.

This eggplant dip is delicious served with fresh pita bread or pita chips. Traditionally it is served with pita bread, but I love the combination of light and crispy pita chips with the creaminess of the eggplant…so it is up to you…

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants (cut into 1/4 inch rounds // skin on)
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced in half moon
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• Sea salt + ground pepper
• Plain yogurt, Greek or regular

Method:

Wash and poke the eggplants with a fork, place them on a foil-lined pan. Roast in a preheated oven of 375 to 400F for about 45 min to 1 hour until the eggplants are soft.

While the eggplants are in the oven, caramelize the onion, preferably in a cast iron pan over medium heat to high heat. Add the onions.  Cook for a few minute until they start to soften, stirring so the heat distribute evenly.

Reduce the heat to medium low and continue stir once in a while so the onions brown equally. The onions will reduce and become more and more golden. Remove the onions from the pan once the onion developed a deep and caramelized flavor. Set aside.

In the same pan, add the minced garlic with the mint and let it turn golden under medium heat, stir constantly, so the garlic will not burn. Remove from the heat and add to the caramelized onion.

Once the eggplants are soft and somewhat the skin burnt Remove from the oven, let it cool and then remove the inside of the eggplant with a spoon. Mash the eggplant with a fork.

In the same cast iron skillet place the mashed eggplant, salt, pepper, turmeric and cook for a few minutes stirring constantly. Once the mixture is even, add the mixture of caramelized onion and garlic.

Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, adjust more seasoning if necessary stirring frequently.

Before serving add plain yogurt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy recipe for an eggplant dip…you might want to take a look of Homemade Hummus or Jalapeno Artichoke Crab Dip recipes.

Did you know that eggplant is a fruit and classified as a berry? Moreover, the seeds of eggplants contain nicotinoid, which are substance related to the ones found in tobacco, both are species of nightshade plants.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes….have a colorful week!

Just by mixing two ready available products and you will have this creamy, rich, hearty crab dip… 

I learned this recipe while visiting a friend in Palm Desert and no need to mention that I liked so much that I made when we had a small family get together.  When my friend told me that she was planning to serve Jalapeno Artichoke and Crab dip I didn’t think much about it until I tried it.  I was a bit puzzle, as I had tried “Jalapeno Artichoke Dip”, from Costco, but never saw it with crab…and when she told me that she just added crab, I was like…”no wonder I have never seen it…this is really good!”.  I dressed it up a little by adding some greens…parsley…and a hint of black pepper.

It is pretty good as it is…cold, but better when slightly warm. So it is up to you to pop the dip into the oven for a few minutes or not. Just imagine loading your crackers with this creamy, spicy and packed with chunk of crabmeat…so, so, good!

Ingredients:

• 1 container of ready jalapeno and artichoke dip
• 1 lb crabmeat
• Fresh parsley to taste
• Fresh ground black pepper

Method:

Place the jalapeno/artichoke dip and crabmeat in a mixing bowl.  Mix gently as you do not want to keep some of the chunks of crabmeat intact.

Add parsley and black pepper to your taste and mix lightly.

Serve cold or warm with crackers, toasts, vegetables or with whatever your palate craves.

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy way to make a very flavorful seafood dip.

Did you know that crab meat is a good source of protein? Crabs are rich in mineral like all marine species.

Thanks for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!

This is an easy and simple recipe to have always fresh crackers and the fun thing is that you can spike with whatever herbs or spice you want.

First of all I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with your love ones…my “couple” weeks off turned out to be almost one month…I was on vacation in Taiwan for 2 weeks and then I got sick right after getting back…so I decided to rest and put everything on hold. Thankfully I am back on my feet and so happy to be functioning as usual…with all that said, this supposed to be a simple post, but end up being so long…forgive me…I usually like to be brief knowing that everyone is so busy and just want to get straight to the point…

I got an invitation from HOPE FOODS to try their hummus and decided to make some crackers to go with it…so before I continue I would like to let you know that I got these hummus free of charge and I did not receive any compensation for this post and all the content and opinion in this post are solely mine.

HOPE hummus are organic and they come in a variety of flavors from avocado to chocolate, yes you read it right “chocolate”. I decided to try Spicy Avocado and Thai Coconut Curry Hummus…both were slightly spicy and so tasty…I especially like the Thai Coconut Curry Hummus maybe because it was very different. I was planning to use the hummus to make some dish, but we end up eating it all with homemade crackers and vegetables, this must tell you how much we enjoy it. I hope you get a chance to try…

With the holidays approaching, it is always good to have easy and flexible food around the house…and crackers are a “must have” for any gathering. Crackers go well with cheese, dips, jams, salad, you name it…and to think that homemade crackers are so easy to make, the recipe is pretty much the same as making bread, as a matter of fact when making bread sometimes I take half of the dough and add herbs, spices, whatever I feel in the mood to add in the crackers. So in one mixing I will have a loaf of bread and crackers…

Now, if I am planning to make crackers only I will substitute the butter for olive oil…so here is the basic recipe for homemade crackers, please feel free to mix and match all kind of flours such as rye, whole wheat, oat, flaxseed and so on.

Ingredients:

• 500 g bread flour or mixture of various flours
• 6 g salt
• 6 g yeast
• 30 g sugar
• 60 g olive oil
• 250 g water

Method:

In the mixing bowl add all the ingredients and mix until a smooth ball forms.

Divide the dough into half or thirds, depending on how many “flavors” you want.

Now the fun part…”coloring” or flavoring your dough…here are some examples and please feel free to mix and match…fresh finely chopped rosemary, oregano, thyme or any other herb, celery seeds, cumin, cardamom, ground pepper, curry powder, fennel seeds, smoked paprika, turmeric…and so on…the options are endless…

Add the amount of desired flavors to the dough and knead until they are all well incorporated.

Let the dough rise until it doubles of its original size.

Flat the dough (approximately 175 to 200g) using a rolling pin, as thin as you can on a silicone mat (42 x 30cm or 16 x 11.5 in). Cover and let it rest for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Just before baking, punctuate the cracker sheet with fork to avoid air bubbles during baking. If desire, spray the cracker sheet with water and sprinkle sea salt.

Bake the cracker sheet in a preheated oven of 325F for approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until golden. Make sure to check often as the thin dough can burn very easily.

Let the cracker sheet cool in a wire rack. Break the cracker sheet randomly and store in an airtight container.

If you feel that the crackers are not totally crisp after cooling. Turn the oven to 300F and place only the crackers that need more baking for approximately 10 minutes and turn the oven off and leave the crackers inside until dry. Let it cool and store.

I hope you get to try making these crackers since they are so flexible…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is a fun, delicate and exotic appetizer made with zucchini blossoms filled with creamy ricotta and baked to perfection. 

I got these zucchini blossoms when visiting the local farmer’s market…they were so beautiful therefore could not resist them…isn’t this an awesome way to celebrate the first day of summer?

One thing I knew…I did not want to fry them, and searched for a baked recipe…came across this recipe which I pretty much followed it with some changes.

These are so easy and very attractive little bites. By stuffing the flowers with ricotta, every bite is a combination of creamy ricotta with the crunchy panko…heavenly delicious! So if you come across zucchini blossoms, do not hesitate in getting them and try this simple recipe.

Ingredients:

• Approximately 12 zucchini blossoms
• 1 cup ricotta
• Freshly chopped parsley to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg
• Panko

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a baking try with parchment paper or aluminum paper.

Mix in a medium bowl ricotta, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste after mixing adjusting for more salt or pepper as desire.

Spoon the ricotta mixture to a small plastic sandwich, seal and make a small cut off by the corner.

In another bowl or deep plate beat the egg slightly and on the second bowl or deep dish place the panko.

Stuff the zucchini blossoms from the opening of the flower and after filling with the ricotta mix, twist gently the flower at the tip to hold the stuffing in.

Dip the filled zucchini flowers first in the egg and then into the panko, making sure that the whole flower is covered.

Place the coated flowers on the tray. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining zucchini blossoms and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm.

Did you know that zucchini blossoms are edible flowers? All the squash flowers are edible.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Have you ever try shishito peppers? They are a lot of sun as you never know what you are going to get…mild or hot. This recipe call for simply roasting in a cast iron pan until blistered.

When I saw these finger long peppers at Trader Joe’s I had to get them regardless of how they taste…by the way, this is one of my “normal” behavior when shopping…by husband will ask me if I know or have ever eaten something new and I would answer…I don’t know, but I will find out. Well, after searching in the internet “how to cook Shishito peppers”, it was to my surprised that it could not be easier and simpler than this…and yes, they are so good, not hot at all, a touch of sweet. Apparently in every batch of these peppers there might be a very spicy one…so far we have not encountered one…luck or not…you can be the judge.

These peppers make great appetizer, and you can have then ready in no time…dipping sauce? Whatever your heart desire…I served this with Ponzu sauce, which is a lighter version of soy sauce with a touch of citrus…I would prefer to serve this charred Shishito peppers with a light sauce so the sauce does not “cover” the flavor of the pepper.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 oz Shishito peppers, rinsed and dried
• Dipping sauce of your preference

Method:

Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the peppers and turn occasionally so the peppers do not burn.

Make sure that they blister on all sides.

Remove from the pan and serve immediately with your favorite sauce

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy recipe. For more appetizer recipes, you might want to take a look HERE.

Did you know that Shishito pepper are native of Japan? In spite of its mild peppery flavor, approximately 1 in 10 has a really spicy flavor.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This recipe is very simple recipe for hummus.  You can use store bought can chickpeas or be more daring and make all from scratch. The hummus is creamy and so smooth, great with vegetables, crackers or even chips.

This is my first time making hummus, and I am so proud to say that I really made it from scratch…It all started when I got the dry garbanzo beans or chickpeas.

The great thing about making your own hummus is that you can make it thinner, thicker, spicy, lemony…in another words, dress as your palate desire. This simple hummus is great on crackers, as vegetable dip, on top of salad, sandwich spread…there is no end to where you can add some hummus.

I end up with a lot of cooked chickpeas and froze them for future use after placing into small bags.

Ingredients:

• 300 g drained cooked chickpeas
• ½ cup tahini (approximately 135g)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 100 ml water
• 1 pinch cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method:

Wash the chickpeas and soak in water at room temperature overnight. Make sure that you use a slightly larger bowl as the chickpeas will expand and double in size.

Drain the water and rinse again before cooking.

Place the soaked chickpeas in a pan and cover with water, add salt if desire (I did not). Cook for 60 to 90 minutes until the desire texture.

Place the chickpeas and the chopped garlic in the food processor fitted with a blade attachment and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, tahini, water, olive oil cumin and salt. Pulse until smooth and if still too think add more water. Taste for salt, add more if needed.

Serve at room temperature or chilled. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle paprika before serving.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for hummus…you might want to try making homemade crackers to go with it.

with this.check on Did you know that hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas? Chickpeas are rich in protein, dietary fiber, folate and iron.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

If you love crab, you definitely should try this recipe. The crab cakes are loaded with chunky pieces of crab meat…yes mainly just crab meat.

Leftover crab meat? Yes, it sounds kind of unheard, but every time we eat at this particular restaurant, Captain Jack’s, we end up bringing home lots of Alaskan King crab. I usually remove all the meat from the shell and use in salad dishes. Well, this time I decided to make crab cakes…crab cakes with lots of crab meat…big lumps…nothing that will overpower the crab meat…so simple and yet delicious…as a matter of fact I just serve with lemon, nothing else…

I love crab cakes, every time I see crab cakes in the menu I am tempted to order…once I had an awful experience…the crab used in the crab cakes were imitation crab…since then, every time ordering crab cakes I make sure to ask if they use real crab or imitation crab…and sometimes I get the “dirty” look from the server…and I have to explain my bad experience so they do not get offended…

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• Fresh pepper to taste
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 pound lump crab meat
• ½ to ⅔ cup panko
• Vegetable oil

Method:

Combine the egg, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, Old Bay in a small bowl and mix well.

Add the mayonnaise mix to the crab meat and add the chopped parsley. Mix gently.

Add the panko to the carb/mayonnaise mix and fold together until just combined, being careful not to over mix.

Cover the crab mix and place in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour.

Shape into approximately 8 crab cakes of 1 inch thick, make sure to not pack the cakes too tightly.

Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat and coat with vegetable oil. Cook the crab cakes over medium heat until deeply golden brown on both sides.

Transfer to a plate when ready. Serve with lemon.

If you enjoy this simple recipe of crab cakes, you might want to check on other Seafood Recipes from Color Your Recipes.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

With only two ingredients you can create this simple recipe for an appetizer. The combination of the salty blue cheese with the sweetness of fresh fig is just amazing.

I am back from a week vacation…I really needed a break from work…the last few months I have been overwhelmed with the new clinical trial that we just launched…now that the study started I think I will have more time…

Going back to the “vacation”, we took a cruise to Alaska…it was phenomenal! Although I am not into cruises, we just thought that this would be an easier way to see Alaska. I have some pictures at the end of the post…now back to today’s recipe, if you can call this a recipe hehehe!

Fresh figs…we used to eat fresh figs so often when living in Brazil…fig were easily found in “feira” which is a kind of farmer’s market, would be in a brown paper box containing approximately 8 in each box. Fig was so frequently consumed that I personally did take for granted until moving to US and it was nowhere to be found, at least the fresh ones…which are super delicate and perishable. I would cut open in half and spoon the fresh out…yum! By the way, we did not eat the skin back then…another concern when I learned that fig skin was consumed here…well, I guess it would be okay if you know that no pesticide were used…anyway, to make the long story short, I started to eat the skin as well.

I got these figs from a coworker, and yes I treated them almost the way I would treat a treasure…they were so sweet and I could just eat them all in one seating…but I was able to spare a few of them and roast with blue cheese…the saltiness of the blue cheese combined with the caramelized fig was just a big party in terms of flavor…not to mention that it is so simple…two ingredients!

If you happen to have figs, please give this recipe a try, you will not regret, especially if you like blue cheese.

Ingredients:

• Figs
• Blue Cheese

Method:

Wash the figs very gently and pat them dry.

Cut the top of the stem and make a cross incision from the same cut. Cut approximately ¾ of the way to the bottom.

Place the fig in an oven safe dish and fill about ½ teaspoon of blue cheese in the incision.

Place the figs in a preheated oven of approximately 400F for about 7 to 10 minutes.

Serve warm.

If you enjoy this recipe for simple appetizer, you might want to take a look at recipes listed at my Recipe Box under Appetizer.

Did you know that figs are good source of dietary fiber? Moreover, due to its high levels of potassium it has been demonstrated that eating fruit and vegetables rich in potassium might lower blood pressure.

Some shots from our Alaska trip…

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!