Sweet-ish Broccoli Salad

I'm eating this for breakfast, although I realize that most people would eat it for lunch or dinner. Fortunately for me, it's great any time of the day!

This makes one serving--Steve prefers "regular" breakfast food! Ha! You can double or triple the vegetables for more servings. The dressing will need to be added and stirred, adding more if it's needed, to maintain a crunchy consistency.

And finally, I used my mini-chop for the broccoli and carrots. Bless the inventor of this gadget!

4 large broccoli florets, chopped

4 baby carrots, chopped

2 Tbs. thinly sliced green onion

6 grape tomatoes

small handful of raisins (I would use cranberries here for Chelsea; she hates raisins.)

6 walnut halves, broken up into 3 or 4 pieces each--small chunks

1/2 c. olive oil

1 Tbs. dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp. agave nectar (you could also try pure maple syrup, and this can be doubled for a sweeter dressing.)

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine broccoli, carrots, green onions, tomatoes, raisins, and walnuts in a small bowl.

Whisk together the olive oil, dijon mustard, agave nectar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour about 2 Tbs. on salad. Taste and add more, if you'd like.

I thought this tasted great--and I'm not a big sweet-eater!! Ha! I hope you enjoy it!

Waldorf Salad PLUS

Steve said he wanted salad for dinner, and for whatever reason, neither lettuce nor spinach appealed to me. This doesn't happen very often, mind you!

So, I just decided to make Waldorf Salad and call it quits, but of course, it didn't work out that way! Ha! Here is our dinner salad for this evening. We both really liked it, and I hope you do, too!

Serves 2-4, meal or side!

1 large, crisp apple (I used a Red Delicious; they're just now coming into season, so they're good!)

2 stalks of celery, cleaned and sliced

2 medium cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise about 1/4 inch thick

3 green onions, thinly sliced

24-30 red flame grapes, halved lengthwise

2-3 handfuls of walnuts, depending on how much you like them!

Bleu cheese crumbles (they can be "optional," but they really add a flare to this!)

Mayonnaise, about 1/2 cup?

Dijon mustard, about a tablespoon?

Olive oil, maybe a tablespoon or two--enough to thin the dressing to make tossing easier.

Chop the apple, toss it into a bowl, and add the celery, cucumbers, green onions, and grapes.

Dressing: combine the mayo, mustard, and olive oil in a small bowl. The dressing needs to be pretty tangy to offset the sweetness of the fruit, so add more mustard if I've misjudged my own addition. Obviously, this is "to taste!" Ha!

Toss the dressing with the fruits and vegetables. Add the walnuts, and toss again. I just served it on salad plates without further prep; it would look great on a bed of greens, and you could add extra dressing to seep down into the greens, too. However you serve it, toss some bleu cheese crumbles on top of it! Enjoy!

Chile Rellenos Casserole

I made this a couple of nights ago, but we had a last-minute glitch, so we didn't eat it until last night. It was good, but while I was making it (and confirmed last night), I was thinking that salsa instead of chiles would add a lot of flavor. I really think that, now! Ha!

So, here's what I did, along with the salsa suggestion and a guess as to quantity!

Serves 4

2 cans, 7 oz. each, whole green chiles, rinsed and seeded

1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

8 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Opt.: 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with canola oil (or olive oil) spray. Lay opened and cleaned chiles in a single layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the bell pepper, shallot, and minced garlic over the chiles. Sprinkle the cheese over everything!

In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, paprika, salt, and pepper with a fork or a whisk. Pour this mixture over the cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned. Remove from oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes to make cutting easier. Top each serving with cilantro, green onion, and optional tomatoes.

OPTION: Instead of using chiles, red pepper, shallot, and garlic, substitute 1 cup--this is the "guess" part!--of salsa. I think medium would be good--a little zip mitigated by the eggs, milk, and cheese. Finish the dish as directed above, and top with cilantro and green onions. I think this would taste great! AND it would be a lot easier than chopping stuff! Ha! Enjoy, either way!

Better Citrus Salad (and Roasted Asparagus Spears)

Tonight, I roasted asparagus--

2 lb. fresh asparagus, break ends off and put spears into a plastic bag,

squeeze 1/2 a lemon into bag and add

3-ish Tbs. olive oil,

1/4 tsp. salt

Close bag and twirl the top, so it's tight. Holding it tight with one hand, squish the spears so the oil and juice coat all the spears.

Put spears into a 9 x 13 sprayed baking dish, and drizzle oil/lemon juice from the bag over them. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Crisp tender spears. Sprinkle with the lemon zest, if you like. It's really good!

Anyway, back to the salad! I published another citrus salad with herbs and stuff, but this one is much better!

1 pomelo, halved and scoop out the sections, like a grapefruit. (Chelsea looked this up. It's a Chinese grapefruit, ancestor to our ruby grapefruit. Chelsea did this, because Marste and I were on the phone, speculating about which fruits were combined to make this one! Ha!)

1 5-oz. bag fresh spinach

1 ripe avocado, diced

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

Equal-ish amount of olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

A very small pinch of stevia powder. One of those tiny spoons that come in the jar of stevia, filled scantly, is about the right measured amount.

Dice the pomelo sections, so the pieces are about 1/2 inch "square." (I realize "square" is a reach, shape-wise!) Add the spinach, avocado, and green onions.

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and stevia--add the stevia a bit at a time and taste in-between. The dressing needs to be not-quite-tart, as opposed to sweet! The pomelo is sweet and in those bites, sweet dressing would be bad! Ha!

Toss the salad with the dressing, and enjoy! Obviously, I served this with the asparagus. It looked like a lot of food, but I didn't have any leftovers! Ha!

Citrus, Spinach, Avocado, and Herb Salad

Okay, I'm having you chop the herbs before the avocado! The title sounded better with "avocado" first! Ha!

I've had some kind of flu for 5 weeks! I still have no stamina, so this is easier than it looks to fix! Ha!

1 navel orange and juice

1 red grapefruit and juice

Peel these with a paring knife, and section them by cutting alongside each membrane. Put the sections into a large bowl, so you have tossing room for more than just this! Add enough plastic wrap to press down across the sections and still reach the top of the bowl and fall over the sides.

About 1/2 5-oz. bag fresh baby spinach. (I used between 2 and 3 ozs. for the two of us.)

Place it on top of the plastic wrap.

2 green onions, thinly sliced

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

6 large leaves of basil, rolled together and thinly sliced

1/4 tsp. salt

Add these to the spinach.

1 small to medium avocado, peeled and diced

Add this to the spinach and herbs. Cover the bowl, and refrigerate it.

A tablespoon, or 2, of olive oil

Have a lemon wedge standing by, just in case!

To serve: slide the plastic wrap from between the layers. Add the olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, if there's not much juice from the fruit. Toss to mix.

Serves 2 as a side dish, or it serves one for a meal! Either way, it's good!

Whipped Cream Fruit Salad

I love this salad now, and I loved it when I was a kid! My brother was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 3 (I was 6), so we didn't get to eat sweet stuff! And my parents are from the midwest, so when we visited our extended families, there was always a picnic! And always, always, someone would bring Ambrosia, the sweet salad with marshmallows, jello, and canned fruit! I'm sure there's other stuff in it, but I never got to eat it, either, so I don't know! (My mother fed us only what Mark could eat. A serendipity was that I didn't get cavities, so there's always an upside! Ha!)

This is my mother's version of a diabetic "Ambrosia."

1 15 oz can unsweetened pineapple bites, or tidbits (rings cut into bite-size pieces), drained

1 14 oz. can unsweetened peach slices, drained and cut into bites

1-2 (depends on the size) bananas, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/8"-1/4" slices

1-2 cups whipping cream, whipped and sweetened (my mother used saccharine) with Splenda or xylitol, if you don't want to use sugar!

Mix the drained fruit and bananas. There will still be juice on them, so mix in 1 cup whipping cream, whipped and sweetened. This should be plenty for a dressing! The 2nd cup is for people like me, who like the whipped cream more than the fruit! Ha!

I've actually tried this with fresh everything. Ironically, I think this is the only fruit salad that I like better with the canned fruit. I wondered if it has something to do with the canned juice! I may try it again with fresh, because it goes against my "grain" to recommend canned anything! Ha!

Also, I've been dealing with my dad's failing health and heart for quite a while now, and "easy" is almost my middle name! The last few salads have been what I think of as "refrigerator salads," which means open the fridge and see what one can add to lettuce to make it at least more interesting! Also nutritious! Also tasty! Sleep is out, so I'm using food for energy these days!

Happy eating!

Plummy Salad

Champagne grapes, which I bought for the first time at Costco, taste a lot like red grapes. I think they're slightly sweeter, and they're tiny! They're fun to eat--we just sucked them right off the stem! Ha! I don't know about Steve, but I definitely felt like I was "getting away with something!" Ha! My very proper, Southern-upbringing mother might have frowned, or she might have joined me! I never could guess which it would be, making for an interesting childhood! Ha!

And two days later, I found champagne grapes in another store, and they were almost as big as red grapes! So, red grapes halved would be good! Ha!

4 servings

For the salad:

4 ripe red plums, seeded and diced (Black plums will work, but red plums are prettier!)

1 bunch champagne, or red, grapes

5-oz. bag of mixed greens (or a handful, or two, of greens from a 1-lb. container per plate! MMM!)

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

2-3 slices white onion, quartered and rings separated

1/2-1 cup pecans (this depends on how many nuts you like on a salad!)

For the dressing:

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (try Costco's Balsamic Vinegar of Modena! MMMM!)

2/3 cup canola, or safflower, oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

OPT: sweetener (agave nectar, xylitol, sugar, etc.) If you're using a high-quality balsamic, it will already taste sweet, so these won't be needed!)

Wash and dice the plums. Rinse the grapes and drain in a colander or on a towel (or?). If you haven't already done so, halve the red grapes, if you're using them.

To serve:

Put the washed lettuce on 4 plates. Top with the cilantro, plums, and grapes. Sprinkle the onion pieces over this. Sprinkle the nuts over the top. (This is a nice-looking salad: red skin and yellow meat of the plums, red grapes, green cilantro and lettuce, white onion pieces, and brown nuts!) Serve with the balsamic dressing!

If you're using more lettuce, this can be a main dish salad. If you've limited yourself to a 5-oz. bag, then it's a side salad--which would be great with grilled chicken! To add more color, add roasted ears of corn! MMMMMMM to any or all! Ha!

Peachy Keen Salad!

And still more salad! Woohoo! Ha!

A word about lettuce--well, several, really! Ha!--I always buy the 1-lb. size box (or bag) of mixed greens. This gives me enough to eat salads for lunch and to feed extra people, if they drop in. A 5-oz. bag gives me 4 skimpy servings, but I also know that not everyone eats salad like I do! I love to pile lettuce on the plates; it gives a salad a luxurious feeling. It's not a "diet food," if it seems luxurious! And it's okay to eat a lot of it, because it's not only nutritious, it also doesn't add a lot of calories--or fat, if you're just drizzling the dressing, instead of pouring it on! Ha! But I actually do like--yes, LIKE--the taste of greens!

4 servings

5 oz. bag mixed greens

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

6 green onions, thinly sliced

2 peaches, halved and diced

1 c. pine nuts

Dressing:

1/3 cup great quality balsamic vinegar (try Costco's Kirkland brand Balsamic Vinegar of Modena--yes, it's really imported! I have to thank Jill Erickson for introducing me to this!)

2/3 cup canola oil (or 1/3 c. olive oil and 1/3 c. canola oil)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

OPT: sweetener or sugar, if balsamic isn't a great quality one! Dressing should be without a lot of tartness!

Combine the dressing ingredients and buzz, shake, or stir!

To serve: layer lettuce, cilantro, green onions, peaches, and 1/4 c. (each salad) of pine nuts. Drizzle dressing over it, add a fork, and enjoy! (Chelsea just said, "It's good." Complete with a roll of her eyes--this is ecstasy, for her! LOL!)

Watermelon Salad

I love salad, and I'm grateful to warm--or hot!--summer weather, so no one here expects me to turn on any heat whatsoever! Ha! I'm also grateful to Mother Nature for giving us lots of fun fruits to mix with various vegetables! I try to do seasonal fruits, even though I know they're available year-round; it seems like someone somewhere is in the middle of summer at all times! Ha!

This is quick, if you use seedless watermelon. I sometimes choose to pick out seeds, because I think the seeded watermelons are better than the seedless! They're more flavorful and sweeter. BUT seedless ones work, too.

The chili powder adds extra flavor, which I also prefer. Chelsea likes less chili powder and a bit more salt. So, maybe I need to add salt, pepper, and chili powder shakers to my table next time!

Salad:

1 small seedless watermelon, cut into bite sized pieces, or melon "balled."

1 small jicama, diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

3 green onions, thinly sliced

5 oz bag of mixed field greens

Opt.: 1 small avocado, diced

Dressing:

1/3 c. lime juice

1/2 c. canola oil (or some other mild oil--safflower, for instance!)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp agave nectar, or to taste (this depends on how tart your limes are!)

Mix watermelon, jicama, cilantro and green onions. Add dressing, and toss to coat.

To serve:

Place a bed of mixed greens onto four plates, and spoon the salad mixture over. Spoon the rest of the dressing over the watermelon salad, so the lettuce below will have some, too! Top with avocado pieces, if you're using them. Sprinkle a little chili powder over the top, if you want some extra zip!

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHELSEA!!! THANK YOU, CHELSEA!!!

Broccoli, Onion, Tomato, Carrot, and Jicama Salad with Creamy Dressing

I just realized that I didn't post this yesterday! SORRY!

Have I mentioned in the last 5 minutes that I love my food processor? Or how MUCH I love my food processor?!! And this salad is a perfect food processor meal! Woohoo! Of course, if you like chopping, you can do that, too. In fact, Marste just might be in 7th heaven, if she chops this. I think her body releases endorphins, or something, when she chops, because she says it relaxes her. Me, though. For me, the endorphins are hiding; chopping makes me crazy! I LOVE my food processor! Ha!

So, that said ad infinitum, use the pulse button for this. You don't want microscopic pieces, nor do you want a large piece of broccoli! Something in the middle would be good! Ha!

I fed this to 5 of us on Tuesday night, 2 growing teens, 3 adults, and occasional cubes of jicama to my dogs (who love it), and we ate it all.

6 cups small broccoli florets, chopped

4-5 slices medium brown onion, finely chopped

3-4 medium tomatoes (I like Romas, because they don't have as much juice), or 10-12 cherry tomatoes, chopped and drained (Food processors: use the pulse button 4-6 times on the cherry tomatoes, or on the regular tomatoes: cut them into quarters lengthwise and halve each piece crosswise. Pulse them 4-6 times, also! If you get foam, pour them into a collander and rinse briefly. Drain and toss them into the salad.)

2 medium carrots, shredded

1/2 medium jicama, 1/2" dice--okay, I didn't use the f. p. for this!

Dressing:

1 c. mayonnaise

3 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. agave nectar or sugar

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

NOTE: I like tangier salads. This salad, as written above, appeals to everyone else I know! So, if I'm making this just for me, I cut down the quantities--obviously!! Ha!--and leave out the carrots and jicama. I also leave out any sweetener in the dressing, and I add 1/4 tsp. oregano leaves. I LOVE this version!

To assemble: chop, shred, dice, etc. the ingredients and toss together. Mix the dressing and add it, a little at a time, until the salad is a consistency you like. (I like a lot of dressing, but Chelsea likes the vegetables! Ha!) Enjoy!

AMERICANIZED Taco Salad!

My mom fixed us a version of this when I was a kid! I loved it when she did! Typically, she fixed it in the summer--my family ate hot food exclusively in the fall and winter--but I fixed it all year round. Everybody liked it, including whatever drop-in guests that we had! And I usually had all the "fixings" hanging around, so it was no big deal! And what an impact!

And even I know that this bears absolutely NO resemblance to the current taco salads--or any Mexican food, period! It's great-tasting, though, if you're in the mood for a fun-food lunch or dinner! I usually made it without the meat, although my mom's version had 1 lb. ground beef or turkey, fried until it was done. She didn't add any seasonings to it, other than salt and pepper, and it made this salad very filling!

If you're in the mood for spicy, you can add Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper to the dressing or to the soy meat. The addition of spices to the soy meat, or meat, is more contained than the dressing addition. Also, I've tossed in stray bits of jicama and/or corn I have sitting around, which adds sweetness and crunch. This is good, but the original version, left alone, is better! Ha!

For the salad:

Optional: 12 oz. package soy meat, plain

Optional: 1/4 tsp. salt

Optional: 1/4 tsp. pepper

1 head romaine or iceberg lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces

3 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/2"-3/4" dice

1 medium brown, white, or red onion--it depends on what I have!--chopped or diced

1 15-oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more, if you like)

1 small can chopped ripe olives (Jenna won't remember this; I hate olives, so I never added them!)

1 6-8 oz. package good quality yellow corn chips, crushed, but not pulverized!

If you're using it, brown the meat with the salt and pepper, or the soy meat with the pepper.

You can cut stuff up during this time, or you can do it later, while the meat is chilling. To chill the meat quicker, put it on a paper towel on a plate in the freezer. Check it every 20 minutes, or so, because it actually will start to freeze fairly quickly! I learned this the hard way! Ha!

For the dressing:

You can make your own, or you can just buy 8 oz. (we like more) of thousand island dressing.

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup catsup

1/3 cup sweet pickle relish

Optional: few drops of Tabasco sauce

Optional: 1/8 tsp. or more cayenne pepper

Mix everything together in a container. For best results, refrigerate it for a couple of hours. On the other hand, I never plan that far ahead, and I generally use it immediately. Nobody's ever complained! Ha!

To assemble:

Put the lettuce in a large bowl--large enough to toss everything without spilling! Put the meat, or soy meat--if you're using it, obviously!, tomatoes, onions, kidney beans, cheddar cheese, and olives in pie-slice-shaped wedges around the salad. Put it on the table, so everyone can see your artistry! Now, pour the crushed chips over the top. Add the dressing, starting with about half the above recipe, and toss it to coat everything. I think this is a bit dry, so I add more dressing--like, the rest of it! I'm the type who likes a little salad with her dressing! Ha! Serve IMMEDIATELY, since the chips will absorb the dressing and get soggy pretty quickly!

To serve later: do the lettuce and the "pie wedges," cover, and refrigerate until you're ready to eat. Add the chips and dressing, and toss!

This is so good; I'm really looking forward to dinner! Ha! MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Green Beans, Mushrooms, & Sweet Potatoes

I'm sure these dishes will publish in reverse order:  "steaks" after Green Beans & Sweet Potatoes.  They do go together, however!  If this is too much cooking, try adding Rosemary potatoes instead, published on 4-8-09, which are easier, since they bake in the oven after shorter prep time!  The sweet potato dish will go better with the eggplant, but the potato dish would be good, too!

This is the other part to my "comfort food" dinner, one that at least looked like my childhood memories!  Ha!  If I add a salad, I even have my "3" sections on my plate!  (And, although this goes better with a salad and citrus dressing, published at the bottom of the Eggplant Steaks recipe, have I mentioned recently that I love Balsamic Vinaigrette?  1/3 c. balsamic vinegar, 2/3 c. olive or canola oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper gives you a great dressing!  If it's too tart--all balsamics are not created equal, so to speak!--add 1/4-1/2 tsp. sugar or xylitol.  Costco sells a balsamic that's sweet and smooth and imported from Italy!)

I fed the eggplant steaks and the green bean/sweet potato dish to my carnivorous father and brother, and there were no leftovers!  Ha!

You can use yams, but sweet potatoes are more easily digestible than yams for most people.

Serves 4-6, depending on the appetites.

1 large sweet potato or yam, or 10-12 fingerling sweet potatoes or yams

1 Tbs. canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 lb. fresh green beans, cleaned, or 1 lb. frozen

6-8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbs. fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried leaves, crushed when adding (dried leaves will be added earlier in the cooking process than fresh, so they have a chance to soften!)

Heat water under a steamer in a large saucepan or soup pot.  Quarter the large sweet potatoes or yams lengthwise, and cut them into 1/2"-3/4" pieces.  (Similar size allows for even cooking.)  Or cut the fingerlings into 1/2"-3/4" pieces, halving them if the pieces are fairly large.  Place them in the steamer basket, and steam until fork tender.

Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic, and cook a minute or two, or until the garlic is fragrant.  Add the green beans (and the dried thyme, if you're using it--do not add the fresh yet!), and cook until the beans start to become a brighter green, just a few minutes.  Add the mushrooms, and cook until most, if not all, of the water has evaporated from the pan.  Add the cooked sweet potatoes and fresh thyme, and stir until well mixed.  Continue heating over low heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning, until the sweet potatoes begin to break down, coating the green beans and mushrooms with a little color.  Immediately remove from heat; you don't want complete mush!

To serve with the eggplant steaks:  put the eggplant on a plate, spoon a little sauce over them, put the green beans, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes on the side, and enjoy!  MMMMMM!  Comfort food!!!

Eggplant "Steaks" with Lemon-Rosemary Sauce

Sometimes, we just like the Standard American Diet--or at least, something that looks like it!  And since I'm still running and gunning, we're still eating out a lot, only eating at home when I think I'd have to hurt someone if I had to look at, let alone eat, more restaurant food!  Even GOOD restaurant food!  That isn't usual for me, by the way!

So, comfort food, according to my upbringing, is meat, potatoes, and vegetables on a plate.  Not combined.  Three separate piles.  And today, I really want comfort food a la childhood!  My dad's doing a lot better, and my stress level should be going down, but it kind of all "hit"--hence the comfort food crave!  Ha!

I love eggplant grilled on a barbecue of any kind!  So, I highly recommend this!  Unfortunately for me, our grill is gas-powered, and the tank is empty, so I'll brown these in a skillet, instead.

Serves 4-6, depending on side dishes!

For the eggplant:

Canola oil spray

1 Tbs. canola oil (olive oil is too heavy a taste for this), per batch

1 garlic clove per batch, minced

1/4 tsp. salt, per batch

2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise (easier to fit into a pan; don't do this, if you're grilling!) and sliced into 3/8" slices

For the sauce:

(Double this if you're grilling.  It makes a great basting sauce for the eggplant!)

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Spray a large skillet.  Add canola oil, and heat on low.  Add 1 clove of garlic and the salt, and cook a minute or two, until the garlic is fragrant.  Turn up the heat to medium-medium high.  (Eggplant soaks up oil like crazy and becomes heavy with oil, has a gloppy texture, and tastes disgustingly like oil unless the heat is high enough to cook the eggplant quickly.)  Place the eggplant slices in the skillet.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the slices are lightly browned on one side.  Turn the slices, and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes more.  (The oil should be gone; DON'T ADD MORE!  If you've sprayed the pan, it won't stick.)  Now turn the slices again, cooking briefly to darken the color.  And turn for a brief time on the other side.  Dish them onto a plate, and put it into the oven on the lowest setting possible--150 degrees, or so!  Finish cooking the remaining eggplant slices, starting with 1 garlic clove for each batch.  Add them to the plate as they're finished.  On the last batch, cook the eggplant slices a bit longer on lower heat, until they're tender.  (Placing the plate with the first slices in the oven continues the cooking process, and the slices will be tender when they're ready for eating.) 

While the eggplant is cooking, between bouts of turning slices!, combine the oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper.

To serve:  place eggplant on a plate, and spoon the sauce over it.  Serve this with salad and citrus dressing ( 1/3 cup oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/16 tsp. pepper), and Green Beans, Mushrooms, and Sweet Potatoes.  MMMMMMM!  Enjoy!

Eggplant and Zucchini Puttanesca

"Puttanesca" is Italian for--well, let's just say that "ladies of the night" made it to attract customers.  So, the sauce is fragrant and tasty!  It could also be served over tilapia, chicken, salmon, or shrimp, with or without the zucchini or eggplant.  (I'd keep them, just for the extra vegetables!)  Also, you can add pasta, but I never do, unless I have guests drop in, and I need extra food in a hurry!  Ha!

4 servings, vegetables only.  6 servings, if you include pasta

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 large onion, preferably red, cut into smallish wedges

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium eggplant, cut into 1" dice

3 medium zucchinis, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2" pieces  (These are denser than eggplant pieces, so cutting them smaller allows them to cook at about the same rate as the eggplant.)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 14.5-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed as adding  (or 1 1/2 Tbs. fresh!)

1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed as adding  (or 1 Tbs. fresh!)

1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes (less if you don't like much spice, more if you like it hot!)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 Tbs. capers, drained

2 Tbs. chopped fresh Italian (flat-leafed) parsley (or 1 Tbs. dried parsley)

Grated Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling over the top

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted--I hate olives, so I definitely consider this "optional," although it's a traditional ingredient in this!  Ha!

8 oz. pasta, also optional!

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, and cook the onion until tender, about 8-10 minutes over medium heat.  Add the garlic, and cook until it's tender, too--a couple of minutes.

While it's cooking, add the next tablespoon of olive oil to another large pan.  (I use my soup kettle.)  Add the zucchini, and cook, stirring occasionally, until its browned on a couple of sides.  Add the eggplant, brown it, and add 2 Tbs. water, and cook, covered, until the zucchini and eggplant are tender, about 20-25 minutes.

While this is cooking, go back to your skillet, and add the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 or 10 minutes to meld the flavors.  It will also reduce the sauce, so you might need to add a couple of tablespoons of water at the end of this cooking cycle.  Add the capers and olives, if you're using them.  Heat through.  Turn off the heat.

During this cooking time, cook the pasta, if you're using it.  Drain.  Set aside.

Drain the tender zucchini and eggplant.  Pour the sauce over them and toss.

To serve:  place some pasta, if you're using it, on a plate.  Spoon the vegetables and sauce over it.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.  This is great with spinach, halved cherry tomatoes, red onion slivers, and balsamic vinaigrette!  Enjoy!

Mu Shu Chicken!

Yay! for Mu Shu! I love that stir-fried goodness, all wrapped in a rice pancake and topped with some plum sauce! MMMMMmmmmmm . . . Ok, I actually don’t really care about the pancake. I like the vegetables and the plum sauce. Protein is a bonus.

PLUS! It's HEALTHY! It's almost all vegetables, plus whatever protein you add. There's a little bit of fat for cooking, but other than that, the only thing you really have to be aware of is what's in your sauce. Who could ask for anything more?

The Recipe:
Serves 6-8

2 Tbs canola oil
1 onion, chopped
1 head of celery, stalks sliced diagonally into quarters (in other words, BIG pieces)
½ 10-oz bag grated carrots
1 10-oz bag sliced mushrooms
2 10-oz bags presliced cabbage
6 large green onions, white parts chopped, green parts cut into 3-inch lengths
2 cups cooked protein: chicken, scrambled eggs, steak, whatever (I usually use eggs, but had some leftover chicken to use up, so I used that in this recipe)
*Note: I do NOT add salt or pepper to this; most of the sauces you’ll put on top have salt, and that will be plenty.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and celery, lower the heat, and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until the celery begins to soften just a little bit, and the onions begin to get translucent.

Add the carrots and mushrooms, stir to combine, and cook until they begin to soften.

Add the cabbage and green onions, and stir gently until the cabbage begins to wilt. (Note: you might have to add the cabbage a little at a time, stirring until it wilts before you can add the next couple handfuls. Your pan will be REALLY, REALLY full.)

Add the protein and heat through.

Spoon generous portions onto plates, and top with plum sauce.

*There are LOTS of sauces that will work with this: sometimes I add oyster sauce or soy sauce mixed with chili sauce. I’ve added sesame oil, I’ve added fish sauce, I’ve added spicy peanut sauce. These particular veggies seem to go best with an Asian-style sauce, but feel free to experiment. The only flavors you’re working with are the vegetable flavors, and the sauces usually have salt, so I don’t even add that to the mix.

Spinach and Mushrooms on a Zucchini "Crust"

Have I mentioned lately how MUCH I love my food processor?!

My dad's been in and out of the hospital for the last 6 weeks--right now, he's in and about to come out!--so I haven't had much time to cook!  My diet has consisted of restaurant food, for the most part.  Last night, I couldn't face this again, and I had these bits in my fridge, leftovers from things I'd hoped to make!  Ha!  The rest of my ingredients got tossed, and these remained.  

It was pretty great, if I do say so myself!  Ha!

1 large onion, sliced (I halved it and used my food processor!)

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 Tbs. fresh rosemary leaves, or 1 tsp. dried

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

4 medium-large zucchini, sliced (again, I used my food processor!)

About 1 lb. sliced mushrooms (you guessed it:  f p!)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

10-12 oz. fresh spinach leaves

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz. basil leaves, shredded (If you put the leaves on top of each other and roll them together, it makes the fine slicing easier.  The leaves stay put!)

4 green onions, thinly sliced

OPTIONAL:  12-16 roasted tomatoes

In a sprayed, large skillet, cook the onions until they're soft.  Add the garlic, rosemary, and salt and pepper, and cook until the garlic is soft, about a minute or two.  Add the zucchini and stir.  Turn the heat up to medium-high.  Cook the zucchini, stirring it often enough so that it doesn't burn, and cook until the water has evaporated out of it, perhaps 30 minutes or more, depending on your heat level.  Pour into a sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish, and set aside.

In the same skillet, pour the mushrooms.  Cook them until the water has evaporated--this won't take nearly as long as the zucchini!  Season with salt and pepper, stir, and add the spinach leaves.  Cook just long enough to wilt the spinach.  Spoon this over the zucchini mixture.  Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top, and bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes, or until the top is light brown.

To serve, place a square on a plate, and top with basil shreds and green onions.  If you're using roasted tomatoes, add them to the toppings.  The picture shows sundried tomatoes--an experiment--but I wouldn't recommend them!  Ha!  I didn't have tomatoes to roast!  Remember, this is from leftover ingredients!  Ha!

Also, you could add artichoke hearts to the mushroom part and delete the tomatoes all together!  Add them before the spinach and heat them through, and then proceed with the rest!

(Veggie) Sausage and Grilled Onion Breakfast Casserole*

*with a healthier version below! ;)

Serves 6-ish

When I was growing up, every Christmas morning we had some sort of breakfast casserole (well, until I was about 12, and Mom got sick of making the same freakin’ thing every year; then we started having stuff like Shrimp fra Diavolo – for brunch!). There are 5 components to a breakfast casserole: meat, cheese, bread, milk and eggs. The varieties you use of each are interchangeable, and you can add whatever else you feel like adding, but those 5 things are the backbone of the recipe.

They’re also practically the definition of what’s wrong with the American diet. Not a fruit or veggie in sight! But if you grew up with some variation of the Standard American Diet (does anyone else notice that the acronym for that is SAD?), breakfast casseroles evoke either pleasant, warm, comforting feelings or the gag reflex. There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground. I fall into the former, though, and I needed some comfort food recently, so this is my version of the breakfast casserole. (And for good measure, I altered the recipe to make a frittata below – no bread, less milk, WAY healthier. But not QUITE as comforting on the nostalgia scale. I’m just sayin’.)

The Recipe (1):
1 Tbs canola or grapeseed oil
1 large white onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 croissants OR 6 slices of white bread (Don’t even bother with using whole-grain bread for this; it tastes weird. Just make the frittata below if you can’t bring yourself to buy white bread.)6-8 cooked sausage patties, chopped (I use Morningstar Farms veggie patties, just because I like them and they’re easy.)
2 cups grated jack-and-cheddar cheese blend (or 1 cup each, if you’re grating your own)
12 eggs
1 ¼ cups whole milk
½ -1 tsp hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot is my favorite in this, although I’ve been known to use Sriracha sauce from the Asian food aisle.)
1 Tbs fennel seeds (optional: they add a lot of flavor, but it’ll still be good if you don’t have any on hand)
Salt and pepper

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the onions, breaking them up as you add them. Add a light sprinkle of salt, stir, and reduce the heat to low.

Spray a 8 ½ x 11 casserole dish with nonstick spray, and then shred half the bread of your choice into the bottom. You want pretty small pieces: maybe ½ an inch or so.

(Stir the onions. They should be getting soft by now, so turn the heat up to medium.)

Chop the sausages if you haven’t already, and add them to the casserole dish.

(Stir the onions. Continue to stir them whenever you have a minute. We want them to get really brown and soft. Altogether they’re going to spend about a half-hour on the stovetop, just FYI.)
In a LARGE bowl, crack the eggs. Whisk them together, then add the milk, hot sauce, fennel, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and set aside.

When the onions are done (read: pretty brown), spread them over the sausage in the casserole dish. Top with half the cheese. Shred the remaining bread over the mixture, then pour the egg mixture over THAT. Top with the remaining cheese and set aside.

Now. If you’re going to cook this within an hour or so, I’d just leave it on the countertop. (Note: that is NOT recommended by the food safety folks, so proceed at your own risk. No one in my family has ever gotten sick doing that, but we’re pretty blasé about these things.) Otherwise, put it in the fridge and let it sit for a couple of hours. Take it out of the fridge about 40 minutes before you want to cook it, so it can come to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the casserole covered for about 30 minutes, take the cover off, and bake it for about 15 more, so the cheese on top is melted. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes so it sets before you cut it up.

This is great on its own, but if I’m serving it to guests, I usually put out extra cheese, some sour cream, ketchup, salsa, guacamole, cheese, whatever I can think of that I have on hand. Pretty much EVERYONE feels the need to mess with their eggs (including me).

Um, usually I have a picture here. But I had guests, and I served it before I thought about it. Oops.


The Recipe (2):
Serves 4-6

This is a little healthier. The key to the preparation on this is to use an oven-safe skillet. Otherwise it’s a HUGE pain. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

1 Tbs canola or grapeseed oil
1 large white onion, halved and thinly sliced
6-8 cooked sausage patties, chopped (I use Morningstar Farms veggie patties, just because I like them and they’re easy.)
1 cup grated jack-and-cheddar cheese blend (or ½ cup each, if you’re grating your own)
6 eggs (8 if you have a BIG pan)
½ -1 tsp hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot is my favorite in this, although I’ve been known to use Sriracha sauce from the Asian food aisle.)
1 Tbs fennel seeds (optional: they add a lot of flavor, but it’ll still be good if you don’t have any on hand)
Salt and pepper

Prepare the onion the same as above.

While the onion cooks, chop the sausages, and set aside.

When the onion is done, add the sausages to the pan and heat through. Spread the mixture out evenly over the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, ½ the cheese, hot sauce, fennel, salt and pepper together. Pour the mixture over the sausage mixture in the pan, and allow to set – DON’T STIR IT. When the eggs start to solidify around the edges (it will still be liquid in the middle), sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, remove the pan from the heat, and put it (uncovered) into the oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The cheese will be melted, and the frittata will get nice and puffy-looking. (It’s actually pretty impressive.)

Vegetable Curry

I ran across a blurb (Better Homes and Gardens) about research on bone health done at Tufts University.  It seems that, as you get older, your kidneys don't excrete acids as efficiently, so bones release alkaline stuff--including calcium--to restore the chemical balance.  When you eat fruits and vegetables, your body creates bicarbonate, which counteracts the high acid levels.  So, your bones are more likely to retain their calcium and stay stronger if your eat more produce!  Yet another reason for my being a vegetarian!  Ha! 

Here's a recipe for Thai curry that's mostly vegetables.  I looked up a bunch of curry recipes online to figure out the main ingredients, excluded the ones I couldn't buy here, and included the ones I could buy and liked!

We liked the result--except for Marste, who hates coconut milk!--and so did our neighbors!

I've used zucchini instead of mushrooms, and I've used zucchini with the mushrooms, but I like this combination best!  I haven't yet tried green beans, broccoli, or any of the other myriad vegetables, but I intend to!  Broccoli, in particular, interests me because of its stronger flavor!  So, broccoli and zucchini....

I hope you try this.  It's easier than it looks!

1/2 cup brown basmati rice

1 cup water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 can unsweetened coconut milk (not fat-free!*), shaken before opening to recombine the milk and the fat

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped**

1 Tbs. micro-grated, or finely minced, ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. eggplant, unpeeled, cut into even pieces

1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbs. canola oil

3/4 c. green onions, sliced

1 Tbs. curry powder

Small pinch of red pepper flakes (We thought 1/8 tsp. made it too hot, but we don't like a lot of heat!)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes

1/4 cup cashews (you can also use peanuts, if you don't like cashews!)

1 lime, quartered

Rice:

Combine rice, water, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on lowest heat for 45 minutes.  In a blender, or food processor, put 1/2 cup coconut milk, cilantro, 1 tsp. ginger, and 2 cloves garlic, and buzz until it's smooth.  When the rice is cooked, stir this mixture into the rice.  Set aside, and keep it warm.

Vegetables:

Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Cook the eggplant over medium high heat.  Turn the pieces occasionally, until they're all brown on every side.  (I usually do "almost" every side; I'm learning not to be perfectionistic!  Ha!)   Add the mushrooms, and cook until they're soft and all the water has evaporated.  In other words, the pan is dry!  Add the green onions, curry powder, pepper flakes, salt, 1 clove garlic, and 2 tsp. ginger, and cook until green onions are slightly softened, about 1-2 minutes.  Add the remainder of the coconut milk (about 1 1/4 cups), and stir it in.  Add the tomatoes, and heat through.  

To serve:

Spoon some rice on a plate, and ladle some of the vegetables and sauce over it.  Sprinkle a few cashews over the top.  If it's needed, add salt and pepper to taste.  Add a lime quarter to the plate, so each diner can squeeze as much as s/he likes.  Enjoy!

*Coconut milk with the coconut fat will mitigate the heat of the red pepper flakes, in case you get heavy-handed.  Also, the coconut fat is a plant fat, as opposed to animal fat, and it's considered good for you!

**More nutrition trivia:  cilantro is a very cleansing herb.  There are studies (that I read online) that say it helps the body release toxins, including heavy metals.  It also has many beneficial nutrients.  I consider these a bonus; I'd eat it anyway, because I just like it!  

Summer Salsa "Soup"

This is for Emily, who needed something that her whole family would eat! Hopefully this works. :)

I love salsa. I mean, I could eat it with a spoon, straight from the container (and have been known to do just that). I’m talking about the salsa from the refrigerated section, full of tomatoe-y, garlicky goodness. I finally figured that maybe I should stop eating salsa from the container because a) it gets expensive (seriously – do you know how much those little containers COST?) and b) it’s not really all that good for you. I came up with this to split the difference. One of the things I like best about this recipe is the "build your own" component with all the add-ons at the bottom. I usually have all but the tortilla chips on hand, and I just throw things together as they sound good. It adds nice variety, and if you're serving this to guests (or families), everyone gets something they like.

The most important thing below is to make sure that you have RIPE tomatoes. Don’t even bother making this in the wintertime, and if you shoot for early summer or early fall, at the beginning and end of tomato season, it’s probably best to get tomatoes on the vine. Get the big round ones, too, not the skinny little Roma ones. You need the JUICE for this to work. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Recipe:
Serves 6

6 large hothouse tomatoes or tomatoes on the vine, chopped
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
2 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
juice from 4 limes
½ -1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and FINELY minced (if you like spicy food, use the whole pepper; if you HATE spicy food, just leave it out)
¼ cup olive oil
2 10 ¾-oz cans broth (I prefer beef broth, but vegetable broth works, too. Chicken broth tastes WEIRD, though. Just FYI.)
1 pound cooked steak strips (optional – I don’t usually include them, but sometimes I need some extra protein)
sour cream, for serving
guacamole, for serving
crushed tortilla chips, for serving
shredded Mexican cheese blend, for serving

Combine everything not labeled “for serving” above in a LARGE bowl. (The picture below is a 4-qt. bowl, and it has no steak in it. This makes a LOT of soup.) Stir to combine, and (ideally) refrigerate several hours or (even better) overnight. (Note: it’ll be good even if you don’t have time to refrigerate it, but it’ll be FANTASTIC if you do.) Also, you probably will NOT need salt for this. I know, I know, I’m the salt queen, but the broth is already salted. Mix it up, let it chill and taste it before you add salt. Seriously. I’m NOT KIDDING. You might be sorry otherwise.

Serve with optional garnishes (not shown below):
sour cream
guacamole
crushed tortilla chips
shredded cheese

Stuffed Zucchini with Lime

Sorry about the late time!  I tried to schedule it, since I knew I wouldn't be around to post it today!  Obviously, I still have a lot to learn!  Ha!

This isn't hard to do, if you have a grapefruit spoon!  They're inexpensive, and they're in grocery stores, so they're easy to acquire!  I really like the varied tastes and textures of this!

Nezu, this fits your criteria, I think!  And Emily, if you add quartered orange slices as "sails," your guys might like it, too.  Also, if I'm serving it to young kids, I omit the lime juice in the mix, instead serving the boats with lime wedges.  Squeezing the juice over the cooked stuffed zucchini appeals to adults but not always to kids!  I'm often surprised, though!  Ha!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1/2 cup slivered, or sliced, almonds

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and scooped out, being sure to leave enough on the sides so the zucchini boats don't collapse!  Reserve pulp, and chop it.

6 Morningstar Farms breakfast sausage patties, diced  (This is in frozen foods in most grocery stores with other meatless "meats," like Boca burgers.  It doesn't have as much soy!)

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large, pre-sprayed skillet, cook the almonds on low heat for just a couple of minutes until they're lightly browned, and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat 1 Tbs. canola oil.  Sauté onions until they're soft.  Add the garlic.  Cook 1 minute.  Add the zucchini pulp, and cook it until the water has evaporated, 20-30 minutes.  Add sausage, oregano, lime juice, and toasted almonds.  Heat through, and fill the zucchini shells.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the stuffed zucchini boats.  Bake 1/2 hour at 350 degrees, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.