Great Green Juice

Despite all my recent postings of cooked foods, I haven't forsaken raw green juices.

Being 'high raw' is not the same as being 100% raw. Being 100% raw is an admirable goal, but the steps along the way need to be gradual and most importantly, sustainable. Adding green smoothies and green juices is a great way to speed us along the road to vibrant health and better eating habits as we gradually free ourselves from food addictions, bad habits and poor food choices that are prevalent in the Standard American Diet (SAD).

Most of my green drinks are smoothies, some fruit with dark leafy greens blended in a high-powered blender. But I do include freshly made juices regularly. A combination of carrot and apple juiced together makes a great mid-afternoon sweet snack. And the green lemonade recipe provided by Natalia Rose in The Raw Food Detox Diet® book is a favorite that I turn to over and over.

Now that I've been making green drinks for almost 2 years, I do experiment a bit. Most times successfully, occasionally the results are not so good. This morning I took an assortment of fresh greens from the fridge that I thought would make a nutritious breakfast and taste good, too. Since it turned out to be a winner, I thought I'd better write down what and how much went into the juicer.

Swamp Water #9

1 heart of romaine

2-3 kale leaves

6 " piece of hot house cuke (or 1 reg cucumber)

generous handful of sunflower sprouts

1 green apple

1 lemon (peel and all)

1" piece of fresh ginger

Juicing adds dimension, variety and a multitude of nutrients to our daily diet.

Lentil Burgers

Dehydrated lentil burgers add a new dimension to raw food. While technically still raw, as they haven't been heated over 118° degrees, the crunchy texture provides a satisfying mouth feel.

I followed the easy recipe in Nomi Shannon's Raw Gourmet, which is a simple combination of soaked lentils and sunflower seeds, grated carrots and aromatics. The lentil burgers can be dehydrated by machine or placed in the sun or even 'cooked' in a slightly warm oven.

Fresh and slightly warm from the dehydrator, I had the patty 'taco style'. Red leaf lettuce served as the wrap, enfolding some crumbled lentil patty and fresh salsa.

One large ripe juicy diced tomato, half a diced sweet onion, a minced jalapeño pepper, with a pinch of sea salt and juice from half a lime and minced cilantro to taste, turns out an easy bowl of salsa fresca. The recipe is easily doubled or tripled to serve more.

Raw Broccoli Salad

Years ago, I often ordered the broccoli salad at Antonio's in Maitland. It was a wonderful crunchy taste treat, punctuated with bits of pancetta, pine nuts, raisins and laced with a sweet, slightly tangy dressing. Looking at the overabundance of broccoli in the fridge, I decided to attempt putting together a healthier version of that old favorite.

I chopped a couple of spears of broccoli, half a small sweet onion, tossed in some raisins and pine nuts and then dressed the mix with, what's quickly become a favorite dressing, Satay Sauce from Angela Elliot in her Alive in 5 book. It's a zesty combination of citrus, tahini, miso, and nutritional yeast, made even zestier with the addition of cayenne. This turned out to be a perfect sauce for the broccoli salad.

I highly recommend adding Alive in 5 to your cookbook shelves. Even if you aren't 'really into raw', the dressings, sauces and smoothie ideas will give a giant lift to your everyday meal preparations. It's a reasonably priced, soft back book with clear, concise directions and lovely color images of many of the featured dishes. I borrowed it from the library, initially. When I realized how many of the recipes appealed to me, I quickly bought my own copy from Amazon.com.

Here's the plated salad with a sliced Florida tomato.

Meal in a Bowl

More beans and greens. The combinations are endless. Here we have some tiny, tasty, slightly sweet Tepary beans from Rancho Gordo mixed with collard greens, sweet onion and a bit of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. The liquid is the pot liquor from cooking the greens.

The Tepary beans were fine to eat on their own. In fact, I kept sampling forkful after forkful before combining them with the collards. I used Steve Sando's simple, foolproof, long, slow cooking method.(Check out his website or better yet, get his wonderful book, Heirloom Beans.)

Start with a bit of sautéed mirapoix (diced carrot, celery, onion) add the soaked beans and their soaking water, then after letting them cook for five minutes at a rolling boil, turn the burner down low enough to maintain a gentle simmer, and keep the water level just above the beans until they're tender. Then salt to taste.

The collard greens were cooked the day before with yellow onion, a couple of cloves of garlic and just enough veggie broth to let them simmer nicely until fork tender and still green. I reheated them with all their liquid, a minced chipotle and about a teaspoon of the accompanying adobo sauce, adding the beans and any remaining pot liquid from cooking them. Simmer gently to reheat and allow all the flavors to marry. Taste for seasoning.

Soba Noodles with Green Beans and Peanut (Almond) Sauce

I've posted this meal in the past. It remains a favorite. Love the crisp green beans playing off the tender buckwheat noodles and sliced shallots. Each component of the dish bathed in healthy almond sauce (which tastes just like peanut sauce). Crushed or sliced raw almonds sprinkled over the top adds to the overall taste and eye appeal.

This is perfect served at room temperature when first made. But is fine, straight from the fridge, if made ahead of time or served as leftovers.

More simple fare. Healthy eating that's easy on the food budget.

Radishes and Greens

I chose lovely large red radishes and crisp green leaf lettuce, organic and locally grown, as the main elements for my lunch when I shopped at Whole Foods on Saturday morning.

I remembered Patricia Wells telling about students using fresh radishes as the main component in an open faced sandwich in her book, Vegetable Harvest. The idea really appealed to me.

My take on the radish sandwich was a bit of a leap in improvisation from the description in the book, but it's the concept that counts, right?

The combination of sliced radishes layered over a schmear of goat cheese, sprinkled with sea salt and lemon zest and then topped with fresh, mixed sprouts was a novel topping to a crusty baguette. Dark, dense, moist slices of rye or pumpernickel would have been more in keeping with the printed recipe.

I added a few radish greens and a couple of radishes cut into match sticks to some of the green leaf lettuce, and dressed the salad with a dash of olive oil, fresh lemon juice and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

It was a great lunch revolving around 4 large radishes and 4 leaves of lettuce!

Cooking for One Can Be Fun

Most days, breakfast is a thick, rich, green smoothie and lunch will be a big tossed salad or raw veggies with dip, often veggie sushi. Dinner time is when I indulge in cooked vegetables, grains and occasionally cheese. I limit dairy and gluten but a little now and then can be very satisfying.

I enjoy trying different ways to prepare good old stand-bys like various dark leafy greens, broccoli and asparagus. The image above was inspired by Chef Clifford Pleau at Seasons 52. The monthly newsletters from the restaurant chain include a video with Chef Pleau showing how to prepare the featured recipe or treatment. In March, the highlight was grilled broccoli with caramelized lemon.

The dinner above included a helping of caponata (eggplant relish), slices of whole wheat baguette with lemon infused olive oil and crushed mixed nuts for dipping and a mellow glass of an Argentinian Malbec.

Sesame Topped Broccoli and Soba Noodles

Broccoli sautéed with garlic and ginger, a bit of tamari and a dash of mirin, a few drops of toasted sesame oil, then topped with sesame seeds makes a wonderful sauce for soba noodles.

This was simply a quick sauté of sliced shallots, minced garlic, minced ginger and broccoli. Peel the stem, then slice and start with the aromatics. Add the florets at the end to keep them green and crisp.

Cooking the soba noodles (organic buckwheat) is as simple as boiling water. Bring water to a boil, add noodles being careful pot does not boil over, time for 3 - 4 minutes, drain and rinse with cool water. Once the broccoli reaches the desired tenderness, add a tablespoon of mirin (rice wine) and a splash of tamari, and a few drops of toasted sesame oil. Toss it all and plate it over the soba noodles, then give the dish a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Asparagus Melt

On an evening when the taste buds were crying for something ooey-gooey and salty, I made an open-faced roasted red pepper and asparagus sandwich. Using two slices of toasted artisan bread filled with pumpkin, sunflower and flax seeds, I steamed/sautéed the asparagus and a couple of large pieces of red cubanella pepper in a little olive oil and a little water.




Steam/sauté is a favorite one pot way to quickly prepare most vegetables. A little oil, a little water, a few crisp vegetables in a pot with a lid. Add everything including seasonings to the pot, bring to a boil, cover and turn down heat to medium. Steam for 4-5 minutes depending on the hardness of the vegetable. Pierce with the tip of a paring knife to determine doneness. Remove lid and let the water evaporate, tossing the vegetables in the remaining oil and letting it all sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Don't overcook. The desired result is a bright green glistening crisp/tender vegetable.



Heat oven to 350° while preparing the asparagus and red pepper. Toast bread, place on baking sheet. Spread each slice with a bit of spicy dark mustard, then cover with a piece of red pepper, then place asparagus on top. Grate a bit of cheese for the topping. I used Monterrey/Jack as that's what I had on hand. Gruyere or Swiss would be a nice choice, too. Slide baking sheet into hot oven for 5-6 minutes or until cheese has melted and is a bit brown in places.

Here are three simple, inexpensive, healthy alternatives to a trip through the drive-in lane at a fast food place. And above all else, each is a real taste treat.

More of Angela Elliot's Alive in 5

With some olive tapenade in the fridge and a luscious nut pâté at the ready, lunch was truly on the table in five minutes.

To the uninitiated, I'm sure looking at the image above will bring comments of "yeah, right!" when I declare that the delicious veggie combinations depicted are not only filling but flavor packed. Why even mention the nutritional value?

I followed Angela Elliot's directions for nut pâté using the pulp from a batch of almond milk as the base. I added a few soaked sun-dried tomatoes and a clove of garlic to her suggestions for a little added WOW.

The red pepper is stuffed with pâté, as well as the romaine leaves. Both are topped with spicy mixed sprouts grown on my kitchen counter. The cucumber slices sport a bit of zingy raw olive tapenade.

Making the pâté and the tapenade is neither difficult nor time consuming. Angela's directions are clear and easy. Planning ahead, and having these little extras on hand makes eating raw food fast, easy and satisfying. Did I mention — lots of fun, too?

Raw and Well

Armed with Angela Elliot's nifty little guide book, Alive in 5, I've been eating very simply lately. No pots or pans involved. Plating up fabulously fresh, full-flavored meals prepared in record time. Most meals have been mainly raw. All veggies and so simple, they defied posting. But perhaps not. Some of you might like a few raw food suggestions. Take a look at some recent endeavors:

Sweet Red Peppers Stuffed with Nut Paté

Zucchini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Salsa and a Dehydrated Lentil Burger.

Green Cabbage rolls with Nut Paté, Sweet Onion and Mixed Spicy Sprouts

Formed Cabbage Rolls

Using Romaine Instead of Cabbage

With some zingy raw Satay sauce for dipping

I've been exploring and sampling raw food ideas for quite some time. It's an interesting journey. Angela Elliot's book, Alive in 5, offers examples of quick, easy to prepare offerings that should appeal to almost every palate.

Using fresh, raw ingredients, prep to plate takes no time at all. The 5 in the title refers to five minutes. Five minutes in some cases, a bit longer in others. Raw food prep does include having soaked seeds or nuts on hand. With some forethought and a bit of planning, it really is easy to whip up a plate of fresh, attractive, tasty food in five minutes.

From a health standpoint, eating live food not only delivers great taste and ease of preparation but most importantly provides the building blocks for health and super energy.

The nut paté used above was made from the pulp of almonds used to make a batch of almond milk. In the past, I would have tossed out the pulp after straining the nutmilk. Now, I look forward to making a fresh batch of almond milk each week. I love experimenting with different herbs, spices and aromatics to make a nutritious paté. And better yet—no waste!

Check out the book from the library or buy it from your bookseller or order online. It's a great little resource bursting with clever, easy, delicious ideas. I'm eager to try a few more.

Learn more about Angela Elliot at her Celestial Raw Goddess website.

Veggie Odds 'N Ends

With a little imagination, the odds and ends in the fridge can be quickly turned into a satisfying meal or side dish.

This supper for one used up the last of a fresh head of cauliflower, half an orange bell pepper, half a sweet onion and a handful of frozen peas. Start the onion and pepper first. For a fat free dish, sweat the aromatics in a little water, adding a bit more as needed. Don't boil them, just gently sweat them to semi-soft state over medium heat in a pan large enough to give them breathing room. Slice the cauliflowerets and add them along with a pinch of sea salt when the aromatics have started to cook down. The onions will become translucent and the pepper will soften. While these are gently cooking, rinse the frozen peas in a colander with water and let them drain. Add the peas when the pan of veggies is cooked to your liking. I prefer everything to retain some crispness.

This melange can be drizzled with a bit of balsamic or given an Asian twist with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and a few drops of tamari.

Or keep it undressed and toss it all with a big bowl of fresh crisp greens. The warm veggies combined with the cold, crisp lettuce provides a different take on the standard dinner salad.
Of course, the dish is also a hit with a nice vinaigrette. But for those who are trying to eat in a healthier manner or more fat free, give the lightly sautéed veggies with fresh greens a try.

Kale and Collard Greens

Kale chips — an easy raw food snack produced with a dehydrator, a little interesting dressing and fresh kale leaves.

I recently received a four tray dehydrator as a gift. Kale chips were high on my 'first to experiment with' list. I'd watched AnnMarie Gianni make these on a weekly Wednesday food episode of the Renegade Health Show. You can watch AnnMarie prepare this healthy snack on You Tube.

I snacked on the kale chips while preparing lunch today. A colorful, cooked plate of yams and collard greens followed a big, fresh salad of mixed greens, sweet onion, sliced radishes, raisins, sunflower seeds and avocado, dressed with olive oil and a splash of raw apple cider vinegar.

Yams and Collard Greens

I indulged in Crescent Dragonwagon's* holiday yam preparation: mashing the vibrant orange flesh with a little freshly squeezed orange juice, orange zest and a splash of Grand Marnier. This is a wonderful counterpoint to the spicy collard greens, cooked with lots of garlic, onion, crushed red pepper and a generous dollop of apple cider vinegar.

An occasional cooked meal, comprised of colorful vegetables, is a nice way to round out a week of raw greens— green smoothies, both sweet and savory, fruit and vegetable salads and shredded cruciferous veggies. Choosing some lightly cooked grains, beans or root vegetables offers a treat to the palate as well as providing a wider nutrient variety.

* The Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon offers a complete compendium of ideas and instruction for preparing vegetables, legumes and grains.

How Green is My Smoothie?

Actually, a very nutrient dense green smoothie rolled out of the blender a rich, deep, royal shade of purple. Amazing the change that took place when nine frozen blackberries were added to a vibrant green mixture in my blender.

It's Christmas morning, to celebrate the occasion I chose to make a thick, luscious smoothie for breakfast. Sweet with extra fruit, nutritious with dark, dinosaur kale leaves, softened with a big handful of young spinach leaves.

The Purple Passion

One large navel orange, peeled
One juice orange (Valencia) peeled

One banana

5-6 dark kale leaves (stems removed)

Big handful young spinach

One frozen banana

Frozen berries to taste (I used 9 large blackberries).

Blend the soft, juicy ingredients first, then blend in the greens. Finish with the frozen fruit. The oranges I used provided enough juice to make a great smoothie. Add a bit of water if needed.

Note: I don't have a very high-powered blender. Adding the ingredients in layers allows my Kitchen Aid blender to do an admirable job.

Leafy Greens

After listening to another enlightening talk by Dr. Adiel Tel-Oren, I've embarked on a plan to add more greens into my daily diet by including a savory green smoothie as well as the fruit based green smoothie I have each day.

I've been adding a variety of dark, leafy greens to my morning smoothies for quite some time and I've certainly increased the amount of greens incorporated into each drink. While I've increased the quantity of leafy greens, I've also decreased the amount of fruit to keep my sugar intake to a minimum.

Here is an example of a sweet smoothie and a savory green smoothie.

Morning Fruit Based Green Smoothie

1 whole orange, peeled

1 banana (fresh or frozen)

3-4" slice of fresh pineapple (cut into segments)

2 hands full spinach leaves

4 kale leaves (without stems)

vary the types of greens

(a bit of water if needed)

Dinner Savory Green Smoothie

1 large ripe tomato

1/2 Haas avocado

1 Kirby cucumber

1 small zucchini

1 slice sweet onion

2 hands full spinach leaves

4 kale leaves (without stems)

vary the types of greens

dash of sea salt

splash of filtered water as needed

Here's my quick take on Dr. T's advice regarding the essential elements of a green smoothie or green savory:

1. Greens are the key ingredient. Use dark greens, vary the type, use plenty.

2. The base - use soft fruit such as melon, pineapple, ripe pear, banana. For a savory, use tomato or avocado, cucumber or a combination of soft veggies for a base.

3. Dates, raisins or berries can be added for a sweetener with fruit smoothies. Herbs and spices make nice additions to savory smoothies while adding additional health benefits. Think garlic, onion, oregano, basil, chervil, cilantro, etc. A little cayenne, or ground chili to add a little kick?

CAUTION: Dr. T admonishes us to use as little added water as necessary to prevent diluting these important nutrients.

Check out The Truth About Your Food with Dr. Tel-Oren. Here are important facts and information that give us the tools we need to take charge of our lives, our health, our well being.

It's there for the taking (or the listening) free to the public.

Arugula Reigns

Sunday lunch time rolled around before I knew it. One of the advantages to the raw food lifestyle is when hunger strikes, satisfaction can be immediate. While instant gratification has been the bane of many of society's current ailments, in this case it has much merit.

With the raw food lifestyle, instant gratification ranks closely with wonderful flavors, good health and super energy — food preparation is fast, and easy on the budget, too.

To please a lunch guest, who isn't into just high water content food, I also provided an interesting take on the turkey dressing that was such a hit last year.

The bread dressing was simply half an Asiago baguette, tossed with a diced onion and a half cup of walnuts. The onion and walnuts were given a light sauté in cultured, organic butter with a generous pinch of dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste.

The stale bread was processed into small chunks then tossed with the onions and walnuts. Place the mixture in an 8" or 9" cake pan, and roast off in a 350° for about 20 minutes. The salad was simply fresh corn kernels cut from the cobs, sliced grape tomatoes and arugula. The tomatoes were dressed with the juice and zest from half a lemon then tossed with the corn and arugula. This salad contained no oil, but a drizzle of olive oil or better yet, walnut oil, would certainly be a nice touch.

Frugal, fresh, fuss-free. . . with richly colored, full-flavored fresh produce just let your imagination run wild. Recipes really aren't needed. The combos are endless and the rewards are great.

Serious Green Juice

Amy Morris gave me three Asian pears when I was at the Orlando Farmers Market on Sunday, encouraging me to juice them by themselves for a real taste treat. I let them ripen a bit on the counter, and this morning decided to use them in my morning green juice.

I juiced the pears by themselves, took a sip, it is delicious, no doubt about it.
But I wanted to expand on the subtly sweet flavor by adding some healthy fresh leafy greens.

Using an abundance of dark, leafy greens daily, is key to good health. I try to have a variety of greens throughout the day. Some juiced, some blended, and some whole in salads. Occasionally, others lightly steamed.

Keeping in mind that these were Asian pears, I added half a lemon, a couple of fennel sprigs, stalk and fronds, along with an inch piece of fresh ginger. All seemed in keeping with an Asian theme. Three big leafy dark green organic leaves of dinosaur kale provided the rich, nutrients that put this drink right over the top for taste as well as nutrition.

TA-DA - the finished product. . . smooth, silky, slightly sweet and filled with good nutrients that the body can use immediately, with no effort or energy expended.

Each ingredient provides its own digestive enzymes, leaving lots of energy to get on with my morning tasks.

Sunday Lunch

After a quick trip to the Orlando Farmers Market today, I came home with bursting bags of produce and immediately began preparing lunch.

Fresh red radishes and young yellow squash quickly grated, sliced cucumber and mixed wild greens along with freshly grown sunflower sprouts made a colorful, tasty plateful of highly nutritious veggies.

The greens glistened with a light drizzling of Myer lemon infused extra virgin olive oil and the flavors of all the vegetables popped with a few grains of sea salt judiciously sprinkled atop.

Quick, easy, tasty, healthy - a gal can't ask for much more!

Punicas Granatum

I have a vague, distant memory of eating pomegranate as a kid. Bittersweet hard little red seeds and rivulets of red juice running down my arms as I tried to pop the seeds into my mouth without getting any of the white pith. That has to be over 60 years ago. It's no wonder my memory of the incident is vague. Pomegranates were not a frequent visitor to the fruit bowl when I was a kid. Nor have they been part of my adult life.

The health benefits and high anti-oxidant content of pomegranates has been highly touted by the food industry of late. Rather amusing, as by the time the food giants get done with their processing, I can't imagine there is a single nutrient left. Not to mention that the processing has changed the molecular structure enough not only to remove all beneficial aspects, but has changed its profile to a product completely devoid of nutrition.
Yet another processed food promoting weight gain and ill health, while contributing significantly to the corporate bottom line. What a shame.

Eating live foods, in their natural form, meaning as found in nature, with no processing, is the only way to derive the benefits each has to offer. Once a fruit or vegetable has been processed: heated, cooked, canned, it has lost its life giving benefits.

Pomegranates are in season and on sale at my local supermarket this week. How could I resist bringing home a couple of red beauties. But how best to peel and de-seed them?

Ah, the benefits of the 21st century technology. I simply turned to the Internet and queried "how to eat a pomegranate". Wow, lots of advice, written, pictorial tutorials and even several YouTube entertaining spots.

After perusing several, I chose to use the advice from MidEast Foods. Check out the step by step tutorial for ease, efficiency and a no mess method of retrieving those dandy little red seeds!


Cut slices from top and bottom and then score around the fruit. Place pieces in a large bowl of cold water and let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The heavy seeds will fall to the bottom of the bowl, the white pith floats on the top. Scoop out the white pieces then retrieve the nutritious seeds.

Use caution: the juice stains easily.

Seeds from one pomegranate, ready to scoop into the mouth by the spoonful, or to use in smoothies or tossed with fruit salads. Make your own pomegranate juice, without heating or adding synthetic chemicals. Get the nutrition that Nature intended. It's quick, easy and good!

Ruby Red Pomegranate Seeds

Brussels Sprouts

With a touch of fall in the air, seeing Brussels sprouts on sale this week at the market seemed so appropriate. I remember growing up having these little cabbages boiled to death and then some. And I still liked them!

These little bright green gems were halved top to bottom, layered with wedges of shallots, drizzled with a smidgen of olive oil, seasoned with a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper and roasted for 30 minutes in a 425° oven.

Tossing and turning after 20 minutes, produced charred cut edges, caramelized shallots and just the right toothiness to the sprout. Tender, but still offering a bit of give to the bite. The final touch when plated, a light drizzle of Pickapeppa sauce.

Eight good sized sprouts with 3 large shallots resulted in the image above. Enough for two as a side, or a generous serving for one, accompanied by a mixed sprout salad dressed in lemon olive oil and a mellow glass of Cabernet.

Life is good.

Baby Belas

Here's a favorite quick dish that I love to make. Baby portabella mushrooms that have been sautéed in an equal mix of olive oil and butter with minced garlic, onion and thyme.

Start the onions over medium heat, then add the minced garlic and thyme. As the mixture softens, add a splash of balsamic vinegar and let that cook off, then add 8 ounces of sliced 'shrooms. As the mushrooms soften, add an ounce or so of Port wine or any other red wine you happen to have open. I keep a bottle of Port in the fridge for these occasions.

When the mushrooms have cooked down and the liquid has evaporated, take them off heat. The dish above has the mushrooms resting on two slices of ciabatta but another alternative is an open piece of baguette, or use the mushrooms as a side dish.

Top the bread slices with a heaping helping of the mushrooms, cover with thinly sliced cheese of your choosing. Mozzarella is nice...Gruyere is grand and in a pinch, as pictured, Monterrey / Jack does just fine. Slide the slices into a 350° oven for 6 to 8 minutes.

Yogurt Cake

The October issue of the Chocolate and Zucchini newsletter arrived in my inbox the other day and I gave into the temptation to make something baked and sweet.


Bags of King Arthur whole wheat, white whole wheat and artisan flours have been loitering in the fridge and freezer for ages.




I've eschewed baked goods and wheat products on my quest to keep an alkaline system and ward off more evil cells. But Clotilde's lovely description of this simple sweet won me over.




I looked over the list of ingredients, everything a pantry staple, then brought the cold items to room temperature before proceeding. Once I measured the dry ingredients into one bowl, and mixed the wet ingredients into another, adding the dry to the wet was all that was required, simple, fast and easy.




I followed the pan prep directions, lining a 10" cake pan with a circle of parchment paper then I buttered the paper and the sides of the pan.



I placed the prepared cake pan in the fridge while I measured and mixed the batter. (This is a little trick I picked up from a cooking class somewhere along the way — it's a superb little trick, assuring easy release of the baked cake.)




Here is the link for Clotilde's recipe. My variation used organic white whole wheat flour and with no rum in the house, I substituted a tablespoon of triple sec and a few drops of orange oil to give the cake a hint of citrus. As an afterthought, a bit of orange zest would have been a lovely addition. Next time, I might give it a lemon tang or layer in some blueberries. Options are endless.

Mis-en-Place

Being prepared isn't just for boy scouts. Cooking is a breeze with a little preparation. No scrambling for items in the cupboards while something sticks on the stove. Prepping veggies, measuring herbs and spices, having the right pans on hand, all makes cooking not only easier, but helps to ensure a successful outcome. Take a few minutes and get organized before you start cooking.

I recently decided to turn a medium sized eggplant into caponata, a sweet and sour Sicilian relish. Not only is this one of my favorite eggplant dishes, but it certainly goes a long way toward providing a variety of vegetable servings in one easy swoop.

While the eggplant roasted in the oven, I prepped the other veggies. With all the dicing done, finishing the process by sautéing the ingredients in layers was a snap.

The finished dish offers a variety of presentations.

Initially, we had it as a topping for bruschetta.

The next day, I added a generous helping of caponata to some marinara sauce, while I boiled some multi-grain penne. The vibrant, piquant flavors of the caponata made an excellent foil for the mellow marinara and provided a delicious meatless pasta meal. Caponata is customarily served at room temperature, but it loses nothing by being chilled or heated — such versatility offers the home cook some fast and easy options.

There probably are as many variations to caponata as there are Italian grandmothers. I made one for years following instructions provided by Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet. Recently, the NY Times printed a recipe courtesy of Martha Rose Shulman. I chose to try this version, and love it! Hope you will, too. Follow the above link to the Times site — Andrew Scrivani's image is mouth-watering!

Caponata

one large eggplant, roasted

one medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, diced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 red bell peppers, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

1 pound ripe tomatoes, preferably Romas, peeled, seeded and chopped

(I just diced the tomatoes - being a whole foods advocate, I kept the peels and seeds!) jw.

3 heaping tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pitted green olives

3tablespoons wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (more to taste)

2 tablespoons sugar

Freshly ground pepper to taste.

1. Roast the eggplant, allow to cool then chop coarsely.

2. Heat one tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet, then add the onion and celery. Stir until the onion softens, about five minutes, and add the garlic. Cook together for a minute, until the garlic begins to smell fragrant, and add the peppers and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir until just tender, about eight minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil and the eggplant, and stir together for another five minutes or so, until the vegetables are tender. The eggplant will fall apart, not to worry, this is fine. Season to taste.

3. Add the tomatoes to the pan with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan often, for five to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat and smell fragrant. Add the capers, olives, remaining sugar and vinegar. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook stirring often, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are thoroughly tender and the mixture is quite thick, sweet and fragrant. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. If possible, cover and chill overnight. Serve at room temperature.