I made a couple of tasty and healthy dishes this past weekend that I wanted to share with you all.

First, since we had two pints of sungold cherry tomatoes from our CSA, as well as a wealth of basil, I had an idea. I heated some olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, threw in a handful of the sungolds, shook the pan a few times and let them roast for a minute or two. Then I scrambled 3-4 eggs with salt and pepper and poured those into the pan. I swirled the pan around a bit and once the eggs were just about set, threw in a couple tablespoons of feta cheese, and a sprinkling of chopped basil. I cooked for another 30 seconds or so and then transferred to a plate, cutting the omelet into two servings (you can also use more eggs and cut into four wedges).

The other thing I had a taste for was fried rice. I like to make mine with pork, but it’s always difficult or next to impossible to make the kind of red-tinged barbecued pork you see in Chinese restaurants. So I did the sensible thing and picked up a container of roast pork at our local Chinese takeout joint. They call it “boneless spare ribs,” but it’s basically strips of barbecued roast pork (and it’s freaking delicious). So here is how I made my fried rice–I took a bag of frozen bag brown rice from Trader Joe’s (this is the best tasting quick brown rice you will find anywhere–I guarantee it), nuked it for three minutes and set the bag aside. I heated a couple tablespoons of canola oil in a large nonstick skillet with a splash of sesame oil. I threw in some finely chopped onion, carrots, sweet pepper, shelled edamame, and a small bit of minced fresh ginger — and stir fried that for 3-4 minutes. Then I dumped in the cooked rice and maybe 1/2 cup of diced roast pork and stir fried for another minute. Then I added a few sprinkles of Kosher salt, some shakes of black pepper; and a sprinkling each of teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and Korean barbecue sauce, stirring for about a minute. Meanwhile, at about the same time I added the sauces, I heated a small nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray, and dumped in one scrambled egg. Instead of stirring, I just let that set, and slid onto a plate, cutting into small pieces and adding to the fried rice, stirring another 30 seconds and then sprinkling with chopped cilantro. After dividing among two plates, I sprinkled mine with a few drizzles of chili oil.

You can make this rice with whatever you have on hand. Green onions are typical but I don’t like them and they don’t like me. You can also use peas, corn, bok choy or whatever you can find. It’s fun to try different combinations, but trust me — the pork is what makes it. My wife says it’s better than takeout, and who am I to disagree? So maybe you should try it and see if you like it too. But I already know you will.

I’m not a big seafood guy, so this is my version of “shrimp and grits”–it’s grilled vegetables over cheese grits. It’s simple, satisfying and a great light meal for the summer months.

All you need are some grits, a good sharp cheddar cheese, and some veggies to throw on the grill. I had received an awesome box of produce from our CSA (community supported agriculture) from Driftless Organics–and in it were zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, onions and banana peppers among other things. So I used all of those as well as a red bell pepper I bought at the farmer’s market.

Here is what to do……cook grits according to package directions for four servings, and add 1 cup of shredded cheddar at the end of the cooking process. Stir until cheese melts and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut vegetables (enough for 4 servings) into large chunks, spray with olive oil or cooking spray, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for 4-5 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly charred with nice grill marks. Divide grits among bowls, top with some veggies, and then throw a few cherry tomatoes on top (we also got these from Driftless…you can grill these too but it’s not necessary), and then splash with hot sauce.

That’s it. This is an easy and really tasty dish. Of course, the sharper the cheese, the better. And the hotter the hot sauce, the better. Enjoy!