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Look Ma, no stove! No-cook, yummy recipes for Spring and Summer…

Ingredients for a delicious bruschettaSimple Recipe #1: Bruschetta

This recipe is awesome, a) because it’s super easy and doesn’t require many ingredients, and b) because you don’t need to turn on a stove, preheat an oven or fire up a grill. You can make a big batch of it all at once for a party, and serve it in a bowl with a side of bread for guests to assemble. This recipe feeds about 6 average sized adults, or 12 pairs of Olsen twins.

Ingredients

6 medium sized tomatoes

1 shallot (or two, depending on your ratio of love for onions vs number of close-talkers you will be hosting)

3 large cloves of garlic (or more; see above note)

drizzle of olive oil

fresh herbs, or dried (I use: basil, oregano, parsley and onion chives)

s&p to taste

Directions: Get out your trusty chopper. If you haven’t purchased yourself a trusty chopper yet, it’s okay. Simpy raise your right hand, turn it toward you, and smack yourself in the head. Great. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…

Chop your tomatoes and onion, then transfer to a medium sized bowl. Chop up your garlic, add to the bowl. If your herbs are fresh, rinse and chop them, and toss those in the bowl as well.

Now, add a drizzle of olive oil, some s&p to taste, and give it a good stir. That’s it! Slice up some bread, toast it if you like, and serve.

Simple Recipe #2: Greek Yogurt with cucumber and pita slices

Another simple crowd pleaser, this app is also easy to whip up and something different and light for your group. This one definitely satisfies my craving for Greek yogurt.

Ingredients:

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

1 small bunch of fresh dill (or 1 tbsp dried)

1 large cucumber, chopped (or more, depending on amount of people. 1 will be good for 4-6 people)

pita bread, sliced into triangles

1 clove crushed garlic

juice from 1 lemon

s&p to taste

Directions: Put your Greek yogurt into a medium sized bowl. Add your dill, mix thoroughly. (If your dill is fresh, rinse and chop, and be sure to save a sprig for when you serve for presentation purposes.) Now, slice your lemon and add the juice. Mix in your chopped garlic (click here for another great kitchen tool), and give the whole thing a good stir.

Transfer your mix into a smaller bowl, then place it on a larger platter (sort of like a chip-n-dip set up – see pic below.) Now, chop up your cucumber, mix in a bit of s&p, and serve on a platter next to slices of pita bread.

Simple Recipe #3: Bandiera

This recipe is so easy, it just doesn’t seem right that it’s so good. Here is the recipe, and I’ll let the pic speak for itself…

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes, cut into chunks

2 avocados, cut into chunks (not too ripe)

1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into chunks

drizzle of balsamic

any type of herbs you like (I use Italian seasoning)

Directions: Throw the cut up pieces of tomato, avocado and mozzarella into a bowl. Mix around with a good drizzle of balsamic and seasoning. Serve. (This dish looked so good after I added the balsamic and herbs, that I devoured it before taking a pic of the final product. The below pic will have to do. Yup, I’m an animal. )

Here are more no-cook recipes that are easy for a group of 4 -40. Enjoy!

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/crab-corn-tomato-salad-with-lemon-basil-dressing-10000001809103/

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/marinated-shrimp-mediterranean-salad-10000001639862/index.html

http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2009/08/j-lo-ray-ray-and-chickpea-salad.html

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Alessandra Macaluso is the author of What a Good Eater! , Lucy the Bee and the Healing Honey, and The Real-Deal Bridal Bible. She’s also a Qigong and Tai Chi instructor, and overall wellness advocate. Her work has been featured in several anthologies which can all be found on her Amazon author page, and she has contributed to The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, TODAY Parents, and many other online publications.

Alessandra is a northerner-turned-southerner, enjoying the south with her children, Penelope and Ciro, and her husband, Greg.

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