ok, first - I am vertically challenged....at 5', I cook or put together our foods with as much height as possible ;)
Here's one that uses whatever fresh vegetables you have.
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
2 beets, roasted and diced - I roasted a few goldens for this
1 bunch of basil - julienne it
1 bunch of whatever greens you have - arugula, spinach, kale - whatever is available to you - julienne whatever you use
1 large carton plain yogurt
2 T good olive oil
2T good red wine vinegar
any herbs you have or choose to use
16 drops of raspberry jam or if you have a fancy bottle of raspberry chipolte sauce, that works too :)
1 toothpick
4 - 3" lengths of PVC pipe - 1.75" in diameter works! Yes, I said PVC pipe - it's super cheap and fits so nicely in the glass holders in the dishwasher - oh, and it freezes well too - LOL !
Cook your beets til tender. You can roast your fresh ones or if you just have canned, they’ll do. Chop into 1/4″ dice.
Peel and seed cucumber- slice and chop into 1/4″ dice.
Cut and seed your tomatoes and chop into 1/4″ dice.
Julienne slice the basil and spinach/greens.
Keep everything in separate small bowls.
Mix your vinegar and red wine vinegar and any herbs you want to add in something that’s pourable - I use an old catstup squirt bottle - shake it up.
Into each bowl pour/squirt in the olive oil and vinegar. Let marinate for 15 minutes.
Now for the PVC pipe. Take 4 of them - they should be about 3″ long and 1.75″ in diameter - I can’t believe we’re talking PVC pipe here… Stack them upright on refrigeratable tray. Fill each one with a bit of the julienned spinach, then some cucumber, then some beets, then some basil, then tomatoes - whatever looks good or you remember to do. Yes, some of the marinade will be leaking out. Finish the top of each pipe piece with some basil.Put this in the frig for at least 1 hour to chill.
Right before you serve, take 4 plates and smear them with the yogurt. Take your frigidated pipes out and press downward onto the plates - it will slip right out into a tower!
Take your raspberry whatever and put drops around the tower. Use your toothpick and just draw down on the red til you see the heart !
Use whatever you have - extra zucchini? Use that instead of cucumbers - whatever floats your boat :)
I have used these PVC pipes for years and years - I've put crab, avocado and cocktail sauce in them, I've made spaghetti with sauce for finicky kids, done frozen yogurt layered with crushed graham crackers and some chocolate sauce. The possibilities are endless if you enjoy playing around with your food.
Kids love to help cook with these - it's just so much fun - and then the salad or whatever comes crashing down with that first fork hit - fun stuff :)
