Two Dollar Meals

The specials at the produce stand and my local supermarket this week included eggplant, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and sweet onions.

Here are two of the simple meals I made with part of my purchases.

I really enjoy simple vegetable meals. They come together quickly, offer a wide variety of tastes and textures and lend themselves to many different preparations.

These grilled eggplant/tomato stacks are a good example.

I used one small eggplant and two good sized Ruskin tomatoes, some torn green leaf lettuce and a thin slice of mozzarella cheese for each stack. I made up a little balsamic vinaigrette and brushed the eggplant slices liberally with it before grilling them in an electric grill pan.
Once the eggplant slices were nicely browned and had softened, I removed them from the pan and quickly grilled the thick tomato slices which were also brushed with the vinaigrette.

While the vegetables were grilling, I sliced mozzarella cheese and trimmed each slice roughly into a round. I used the corner scraps for the smaller pieces of eggplant. It's nice to try to have the tomato slices and the eggplant slices about the same circumference, but it isn't anything to stress out over. Close enough is good enough.

The tomatoes will grill quickly, watch them as they shouldn't get soft and mushy — a couple of minutes per side, to just heat through and let the vinaigrette infuse the tomato will do.
Once they are done, use a spatula to transfer a slice of tomato to the top of a slice of eggplant, cover with a slice of cheese. When the stacks are all prepared, carefully transfer them back to the grill pan over moderate heat and add the lid. Cook for a few minutes to let the cheese melt.

While the cheese is melting, tear some clean, fresh, crisp greens into bite sized pieces and toss with the vinaigrette. Place the finished stacks on the greens to serve. I topped off the stacks with a sprinkling of Italian herbs and a bit of crushed red pepper.

With an abundance of red, ripe, Ruskin beefsteak tomatoes on the counter, I decided to marinate some cauliflower, broccoli (I used about 1/3 of each head) a sweet onion and a tomato in the same balsamic vinaigrette.

After cutting the veggies I tossed them with salt and pepper and the left over dressing. It didn't seem quite enough, so I sprinkled on a bit more olive oil, then let it rest at room temperature for about an hour. The veggies shouldn't be swimming in the vinaigrette but there should be adequate liquid to lightly coat each piece.



I transferred the veggies to a broiler pan, and gave them a total of 12 minutes under the broiler. The rack was about 4 " from the heat. I turned the pan and the vegetables about halfway through. Pierce the thickest parts with the tip of a paring knife to test for doneness. I was looking for a nicely browned appearance with a tender/crisp finish.

I plated the vegetables with a few Calamata olives, some whole wheat pita bread and a light shaving of Parmesan cheese.

Another two dollar meal, with enough left over for a light lunch tossed with red leaf lettuce and a few snack sprouts. As good, if not better, cold as it was warm. It doesn't take a lot of money to eat well.

No Denying — It's Really Green

This is my version of that red vegetable juice. Mine doesn't boast eight ingredients and it's green, but it tastes like the red stuff.

This smoothie was a bit thick. Many would probably like it with more water, but I found it very satisfying. Thick and creamy with a few itsy bitsy chunks. I could have used the 'liquefy' setting at the end, but I chose to leave it with little bits of dates to chew on. Yes, dates. Taking a page out of the Food Giants' recipe books, I decided that a touch of sweetener would give this juice a nice 'commercial' touch. I also added a dash of hot sauce. That put it right over the top.

Ah, the purist among the raw food community will be aghast, but when I consider all those fresh, raw veggies that I'm consuming and enjoying — a dash of hot sauce, a little date here or there is fine with me. It still beats the stuff from the grocery store. You know, the high sodium stuff I mean.

It's easy to add lots of raw fruit to our diet. There's nothing strange about eating an apple or a banana in its raw form, but we're accustomed to cooking our vegetables. Some folks cook them from frozen packages, some from cans, some overcook them or drown them in rich, fatty sauces. Other than lettuce, learning to eat our vegetables raw is a big departure from the norm, IF, we eat vegetables at all. For some folks, catsup is the vegetable du jour.

I've been experimenting— making my morning smoothie with more vegetables and less fruit. Though I've not given up on fruit and dark green leafy smoothies. Cantaloupe and kale with a frozen banana is still one of my favorite morning drinks. But this green, speckled beauty was absolutely delicious. I'll be having this often. It would make a great lunch, too.

Green Vegetable Juice

2 Kirby cucumbers, cut into hunks

1 large, ripe tomato, cut into hunks

2 hands full of spinach

1 cup of water

1 tsp of fresh bee pollen

3 dates

splash of hot sauce

Makes a full 12 ounce glass

Blend away! I don't have a Vita-Mix or its equivalent. But my Kitchen Aid blender handles these pieces nicely. If desired, add a little more water for a thinner consistency. Liquefy, to remove all chunks. It tastes great!

Salad Days

Sweet or savory, lots of fresh, raw fruit and vegetables deliver both a sensational taste treat but more importantly, a big nutritional boost. Energy level soars, calories are kept low and the tummy is quite content.

The expression 'salad days' was coined by none other than the greatest playwright who ever lived, William Shakespeare. Cleopatra commented on her infatuation with Julius Caesar as: "My salad days, when I was green in judgment." Green refers both to inexperience and to the color of salad.

Green, has taken on a whole new connotation in the 21st century, as we struggle to control the damage civilization, in the name of progress, growth and technology, has inflicted upon the earth. For those of us who are not only eco-friendly, but health conscious, eating green involves eating local, whole foods, preferably in their raw, unadulterated state. Salads are a perfect example of using a variety of raw foods to fill the bill. While at the same time, providing a perfect example of truly fast food!

The salad pictured at the top of the page is predominantely a fruit salad. Blueberries, chopped white peaches, banana, orange segments, raisins, toasted walnuts on a bed of green leaf lettuce, sprinkled with salad sprouts and clover sprouts, dressed lightly with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

The bottom salad is corn/black bean salsa with green leaf lettuce and clover sprouts. The lime juice and accumulated vegetable juices from the salsa are all that was needed to moisten the lettuce and give the salad a bit of a kick.

Salad days—with summer on our heels—what better time to start experimenting with tossing together fresh, ripe fruit and vegetables. It's fast, it's easy, no recipes needed and to top it off, it's so very healthy. Make lots of days SALAD DAYS. For more salad ideas, check here.

Sesame Noodles

Here's a quick, easy, economical little dish when you have a yen for a few noodles with an Asian twist. These are soba noodles, made from organic buckwheat and water, tossed with toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onions and a simple sauce made from rice wine vinegar, tamari, sesame oil and lime juice.

The noodles cook up in 3 - 4 minutes. Sesame seeds toast quickly in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat, then whisking together the sauce ingredients and slicing the onions is a simple task.

When the noodles are cooked, they are rinsed in a colander under cold water, drained, tossed with the sauce, sliced onion and sesame seeds and you're good to go. I like to chill the dish for 20 - 30 minutes before serving. Then give it all another quick toss and a final squirt of lime juice and enjoy. Simple, tasty and very inexpensive.

3 oz soba noodles

1/4 cup sesame seeds
4-6 green onions, sliced on the diagonal

6 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons raw honey

juice from one lime

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a nonstick skillet, shaking often, until golden; remove from heat and set aside.
2. Whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, tamari or soy sauce, and honey.

3. Cook the noodles according to the package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. Shake the colander to remove excess water and place the noodles in a serving bowl. Toss with sauce and green onions. Add the sesame seeds and toss again, then add a generous squeeze of lime juice. Chill for 30 - 60 minutes to allow flavors to marry.

4. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary - an extra dash of tamari or a little squeeze of lime juice will enliven the flavor. Serve cold.

When you want a little something more than just vegetables — think whole food noodles with a light dressing and a few raw veggies to accompany. This dish would be nice garnished with seeded cucumber pieces, too.

We're only limited by our imaginations. Not our finances. Eating well and eating inexpensively is not an oxymoron. It just takes a bit of exploring, experimenting and willingness to try something different.

Go ahead, nosh some noodles. I found the idea for this easy recipe in the Orlando Sentinel.

The Leaf Wrap

Snack time is a good time to be a little innovative. I've found that using a big crisp, green leaf as a wrap makes for a tasty, low calorie, quick snack that provides a good mid-morning energy boost.

Wrapping half a banana with a bit of almond butter in a big Romaine leaf is one of my favorites. I make two wraps — not to waste the other half of the banana. Sprinkling a little crushed toasted walnuts over the banana and nut butter before wrapping or including a few raisins, adds another layer of flavor, energy and nutrition.

This wrap, done in a big leaf of organic, Florida grown, red leaf lettuce, is stuffed with slim spears of Kirby cuke and home-made hummus.

Using crisp green lettuce leaves as a wrap, isn't a new idea. It's one we forget about, constantly reaching for the whole wheat pita or tortilla -style wrap. Cut out the grains and we cut out a lot of calories while adding a big energy boost from the live leaf.


The protein from the almond butter or chickpea hummus coupled with the live, fresh fruit or vegetables makes a super snack, providing another way to add a few extra servings of raw food to our daily meal plan. The combinations to wrap are endless. A big green leaf, some protein substance to smear over and then a live food filling. Fruit or veggies, nuts and seeds, all work well. And they're fun.

A TASTE OF THAI

A trip to the farmers market this morning yielded some lovely, just picked, yellow squash and zucchini, from Jonathan and Amy's farm in Okeechobee. Three little yellow ones and two green. Cost: $2.00.

Once home, I washed the produce and sliced up both yellow and green squash. I put a good handful of each away in a plastic bag in the fridge for later and tossed the remainder with some Vidalia onion that was lightly sautéed in a little olive oil. While the squash softened up a bit, I put on a 1/2 cup of jasmine rice to cook. *

When the squash and onion were tender yet still a bit crisp, I removed them from the pan to a large bowl to wait while I prepared the curry sauce. This is a simple process if you have some Asian staples in the pantry. Coconut milk and canned curry paste will turn a simple veggie stir-fry into an exotic meal, with very little effort on the cook's part.

In the same 12" sauté pan that I used for the squash and onions, I added a bit more olive oil and added about 2 ounces, approximately 2 tablespoons, of Prik Khing Curry Paste, purchased from the Asian Market in a little 4 oz. can. I use Maesri brand from Thailand. The more paste you use, the hotter the dish will be. One tablespoon is mild, two is medium-hot, three is hot and the entire can, four tablespoons / 4 ounces, is extra hot, but for those in the know, I wouldn't call that 'Thai Hot', to achieve that level, you would have to add more chilis. The curry paste consists of: dried red chilis, garlic, shallot, lemon grass, sugar, salt, kaffir lime, galangal, coriander sees, cumin, cardamon and bay leaves.

Devoted, authentic Thai cooks would perhaps make their own curry paste. Their kitchens would undoubtedly be well stocked with the necessary ingredients. But American cooks may not always stock everything necessary to achieve that delicate, complex balance of sweet, savory and hot. I like to keep an assortment of canned curry pastes on hand, along with canned coconut milk to conveniently whip up a tasty sauce on the spur of the moment. It's amazing how easy it is to produce an impressive bowl of rice and veggies with this fragrant sauce, rich with flavors.

Stir the curry paste into the oil and let it cook over medium heat for a few minutes then you can simply stir in a can of coconut milk, or go the extra step that makes it more of an authentic technique, by separating the coconut milk and adding it in two additions. To do this, do not shake the can prior to opening. The top portion of the milk will be thick. Scoop it out into a little bowl leaving the watery bottom in the can. Add the thick coconut milk to the paste in the pan and stir to combine. Let the mixture cook slowly (watch the heat) until little oily bubbles appear all over the top, then stir in the remainder of the coconut milk from the can. Allow this to simmer gently until the little oil bubbles dot the surface again. Now it's ready to receive the previously sautéed vegetables.

Add the vegetables and stir to combine. Cook a few minutes to reheat and allow the sauce to coat each surface. Serve over jasmine rice with a bit of fresh basil or cilantro.

The sliced squash that I cooked would serve two generously - cook all 5 squash to serve four. As I'm cooking for one, I have leftovers of the cooked squash - certainly enough for another meal. Meanwhile, the sliced raw squash that I set aside makes a wonderful addition to a raw veggie salad plate with hummus for a dip. Another fast, easy, nutritious meal - from the same $2.00 purchase.

*Tip: Easy rice preparation. Wash rice in strainer. Use 1/2 cup rice for two servings; one cup rice for 4 servings. Place washed rice in saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover rice by about 3/4" - 1". Bring rice and water to boil, stir to combine and then lower heat allowing rice to boil gently UNCOVERED, until water above rice has disappeared. Then remove pan from heat. Cover the top of the pot with a folded linen towel or cloth napkin, then add the cover. Allow to rest undisturbed for 12 - 14 minutes. The rice will continue to steam and finish cooking, producing lovely, separate grains. Uncover, perfectly cooked rice, fluff with fork.

With fresh produce at the farm stands, farmers markets and grocery stores, quick, easy meals are a snap. And with garden fresh produce, the simpler the preparation, the better to enjoy the fresh flavors.

Prepare a feast with two zucchini, three small yellow squash,

one medium Vidalia onion, a little rice and a simple curry sauce.

Citrus and Avocado Salad

Here's a great refreshing salad combination that was inspired by a need to use a couple of ripe, juicy California navel oranges. I also decided to try my hand at Parmesan crisps. The salty, rich cheese was the perfect foil for the sweet salad ingredients. Though I did give the salad a hint of heat with a little minced jalepeño in the dressing and a few sliced garden fresh radishes.

Salad: Green leaf lettuce, orange segments, avocado, sliced radishes, sweet onion, sprout snacks and toasted walnuts. Dressing: 3 TBS olive oil; 2 TBS lemon juice, 2 TBS minced cilantro and 2 slices of pickled jalepeño, minced with salt and pepper to taste. (all placed in a small jar and shaken to blend.)

Parmesan Crisp

Kind of looks like a flat Rice Krispy treat, doesn't it? I've frequently read about cooking up some freshly grated Parmesan cheese as a quick hors d'oeuvre, which is particularly good with a glass of dry red wine, but I've never tried it.

I proceeded from what I could remember: I grated a little pile of Parmesan onto a piece of waxed paper (maybe a generous 1/2 cup), heated a non-stick saute pan over medium heat, and then carefully placed the grated cheese in the pan in two little flattened piles using my fingers, so they resembled small pancakes. While that was cooking, I proceeded with preparing the salad ingredients. You have to be patient with the cheese. At first it melts - don't mess with it. But after a bit, the bottom browns and is firm enough to turn over. Then let the second side firm up. The second side goes much faster than the first. When both sides were golden, I carefully lifted each out onto a cooling rack. Within a few minutes they had crisped up and were fragrantly calling my name. One per person, is really more than enough, bearing in mind the salt and calorie content. But it was just the right foil for the orange and avocado salad.

Bean Burrito

I had about 3/4 of a cup of refried beans leftover in the fridge - not enough to use for bean dip but enough to make a nice bottom layer on a burrito. I sauteed half an onion, a red cubanella pepper and a small jalepeno in some olive oil along with a minced clove of garlic. When the veggies were tender crisp, I pushed them to one side of the pan and carefully added the little mound of beans in the clear spot, to reheat. Once the beans had softened up a bit so they were easily spreadable, I placed them on the bottom third of a large whole wheat wrap (a tortilla would be fine, too). I covered the beans with a few thin slices of Monterrey Jack cheese and then covered the cheese with the onions and peppers. I rolled the wrap burrito style, and placed it in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat. Turn the burrito over several times so the tortilla or wrap browns evenly and the contents heat through and the cheese melts...this only takes 5 - 6 minutes.

Using a few odds and ends and a little imagination, it's easy to prepare some fast, tasty, inexpensive meals, especially when you're cooking for one or two.

A Day in the Life Of . . .

What do you eat, Joyce? Well, some days, my meals look like this:

Hawaiian Punch for Breakfast?

No, it's not the customary punch - pink, but it's pineapple and that always says Hawaii to me even though lately I've been treated to home-grown, Florida pineapples. This green smoothie has a pistachio green hue and a light pineapple flavor from the cup of frozen pineapple chunks, with an undertone of the rich, green chard that I blended with a generous cup of filtered water.

Without the rich body that I usually experience by including a banana in my morning smoothies, this has more of a sherbet or Italian ice mouth-feel as opposed to the ice-cream like texture that adding a banana offers. And it's not as sweet. A room temperature, ripe banana would be a good addition. Talk about an energy drink. Local fresh pineapple and big, crisp, green leaves of Swiss chard. There is just an echo of the 'grassy' green flavor from the chard, nicely offset by the sweet pineapple. Starting the day with a big green drink is a good way to get a head start on ensuring that I'm incorporating enough fresh dark greens in my daily food intake.

A few soaked raw almonds for a snack mid-morning adds more protein, fiber and nutrients while satisfying the instinctive need to chew on something. Often the almonds are accompanied by slices of apple or a few grapes.

Then a big salad for lunch, filled with a variety of vegetables, is a great mid-day energy booster.

Mixed baby greens, sliced sweet onion, diced apple, raisins, toasted walnuts, snack sprouts and Gorgonzola crumbles all lightly dressed with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette.

If the urge for mid-afternoon munchies strikes, I often juice a few carrots with an apple or have a glass of Knudsen's Very Veggie juice, the 'spicy' variety with a celery stalk and a few almonds or walnuts. That usually is plenty to tide me over until dinner time.

Then how about a little eggplant salad for dinner? Fresh tomatoes, a mix of sweet bell peppers, sweet onion, feta cheese, and lightly roasted eggplant chunks tossed with a light vinaigrette made with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, capers, garlic and fresh mint leaves.

And to mop up the good juices? Well, occasionally I indulge in some whole wheat bread. I keep pita on hand and the other day, I tried my hand at a loaf of long-rise, no knead whole wheat bread.

This is a neat technique from noted baker, Jim Lahey, but it does require planning as the initial rise is 18 hours and then there's another 2 hours or so for a second rise and then another 45 - 60 minutes of baking time. This is not labor intensive. It just sits and does its thing (developing intense flavor and fantastic texture) and then the dough is baked in a pre-heated pot with a cover for the first part of the baking time, then uncovered for the remainder. The final product is a loaf with a crunchy top crust and a soft, dense flavorful crumb that makes it very difficult to limit oneself to just one slice!

So there you have it. "A Day In the Life Of. . ." Lots of tasty fresh fruit and vegetables. All whole foods, mostly plants, mainly raw.

Zucchini Under Glass

Despite the many times I was admonished not to experiment in the kitchen, I rarely listened. Enough successful outcomes have fueled my self-confidence, propelling me from one culinary adventure to another. Sometimes my bright, innovative food treatments are best not discussed, yet frequently experience pays off, and I can humbly proclaim my experiment a success.

This was one of those occasions when using what was on hand, in a creative way, produced a mouth-watering meal with a definite Mediterranean bent, though it did include a generous two teaspoons of red curry paste, for no other reason than I wanted to spike the mild, sweet vegetables with a bit of heat, and the opened curry paste was at hand. A bit of cayenne would do or a dash of chili powder would be fine, too.


What prompted this endeavor were four young, firm, green zucchini. I wondered what I could do with them that would turn a dollar's worth of produce into several tasty servings. Onions, garlic, tomatoes, basil, oregano — all pantry staples — seemed appropriate complements to the zucchini. I initially thought I'd give that combination a quick sauté in a little olive oil, layer it onto a sliced baguette, top the browned veggies with slices of mozzarella and toast it in the oven to melt the cheese. Not a bad idea. But it was just a glorified vegetarian sub.

My final decision was to layer the zucchini, onions and tomato in a baking dish, terrine style and serve it over a bed of jasmine rice. It turned out to be a good decision.

Execution:
I started by sautéing a couple of cloves of minced garlic and a thinly sliced onion in olive oil. I had a little red curry paste in the fridge left from the last time I made curry, so I stirred a couple of heaping teaspoon into the onions and oil and let it cook down a bit, then added a good splash of water to get a little sauce going. As that simmered, I sliced the zucchinis and a big Ruskin beefsteak tomato. Using an oven proof glass casserole dish, once the onions had softened, and the curry paste was well blended with the oil and aromatics, I layered the onions, then the zucchini, then the tomatoes and added a layer of thinly sliced mozzarella cheese over the tomatoes and sprinkled a generous tablespoon of Italian herbs (just oregano would do) over the top before repeating with another tier of onions, zucchini and tomatoes. (Pour any leftover pan liquor from the onions over the tomatoes before proceeding with the next step.)

I topped this last layer of tomatoes with freshly grated Parmesan and then covered the whole dish with a layer of fresh whole wheat bread crumbs that had been tossed with a tablespoon of olive oil.

The casserole baked off, uncovered, at 375° for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile I steamed, to perfection, a little pot of jasmine rice.

The final dish turned out to be a great Saturday night supper with plenty of leftovers. Another example of whole foods simply prepared, yet turning a few farm fresh vegetables into fine fare, frugally.

Simple Yet Sensational

A bright, light salad starts this luncheon menu. Hearts of Romaine, sweet Texas onion, Kirby cuke, half a Haas avocado, hunks of fresh pineapple, snack sprouts, sunflower seeds, raisins and a smidgen of blue cheese crumbles, tossed with a little extra virgin olive oil and a generous splash of Bragg's apple cider vinegar provides a big bowl of flavor along with a healthy helping of nutrients.

The entree features two bright, vibrant veggies that have been lightly coated with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted off in a 425° oven for about 20 - 25 minutes. The asparagus cooks much more quickly than the sweet potato, so I sliced the tuber in 1/4" pieces and gave it a quick 5 minute blanching in a small pot of boiling water. Then I drained the potatoes well before brushing the slices lightly with olive oil.

Roasting tip: Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and brush it lightly with olive oil before adding the vegetables. Then just brush the olive oil over the top or spray with a misto-o bottle. Generously dust with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn the veggies after the first 10 - 12 minutes then continue roasting until they are tender crisp when pierced with the tip of a paring knife. Plate attractively and sprinkle with lemon juice before serving.

The salad and roasted veggies make a great vegetarian lunch or light supper but could serve equally well accompanying a meat or fish entrée. Uncomplicated preparations of fresh garden vegetables, some raw, some quickly roasted until crisp tender — simply sensational.

Rapini and Pine Nuts

Eager to use a fresh bunch of crisp, green rapini , I washed, chopped and sautéed it in olive oil, minced garlic and a sprinkling of crushed red pepper. Meanwhile, I toasted a couple of tablespoons of pine nuts, added them to the rapini, and put a large pot of water on to boil for pasta.

Once the water boiled, I added two cups of mini penne, and tossed in 4 sun-dried tomatoes. When the tomatoes had softened up I removed them with a slotted spoon and set them aside allowing the penne to finish cooking just to the al dente stage, about 8 - 9 minutes. When the softened tomatoes were cool enough to handle I sliced them up and added them to the pan of rapini along with the drained penne and mixed well with a little of the reserved cooking water.

A little thinly shaved Parmesan Regianno tops off this easy dish of pasta, rapini and pine nuts. The sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and the hint of crushed red pepper gives the whole dish a depth of flavor that belies the quick prep time. Leftovers heated up nicely the next day. Once again proving that good meals don't have to be complicated, expensive or time consuming to prepare.

Ready to Roll

Here's a twist on an old favorite, the BLT. This one could well be called an ALT. Avocado replaces the bacon providing a rich, creamy, unctuous mouth feel along with great flavor and a good dose of vitamins and minerals, including some healthy fat.

A whole wheat wrap with a little almonaise, slivered Romaine leaves, diced tomato and Haas avocado sprinkled with a light dusting of Sea Seasonings — Triple Blend Flakes of Dulse, Laver and Sea Lettuce— provides a tasty, healthy, lunch.

Don't be put off by the high calorie count of an avocado. This little wonder is a dynamite, heart healthy food. An avocado provides an extremely high amount of potassium as well as a healthy blend of calcium and magnesium, Vitamins A and C, zinc, phosphorous and iron, to name a few of the nutrients available from this little green oval. Whether you choose the California or the Florida avocado, adding a bit to sandwiches, salads and salsas is certain to kick up the flavor a notch, but will also provide the body with essentials to help stay healthy. To learn more about the nutritional value of foods, check out this informative site, The World's Healthiest Foods.

Pocket Filler

Broccoli florets, shallots and sweet red bell peppers*, tossed with a little olive oil, dusted with an Italian herb blend from Penzey's, and a pinch of red pepper flakes, roasted off in a 400° oven for 20 minutes, is a mouth-watering combination sure to please even the 'meat and potato' skeptic.

Eaten as a main course, served as a side dish, or used to fill a whole wheat pita pocket, these oven roasted veggies offer such great flavor that it easily puts to rest the mistaken notion that healthy food is blah food.

* Oven roasted red peppers from a jar work just fine with this combination.

Filling meal time with fresh fruit and vegetables is quick, easy and healthy. Try a few meals without meat or dairy. It will help save the planet, while doing wonders for your health.

Green Beans and Almond Salad

Nothing like a little inspiration from one of my favorite cooks and food writers.

Recently, Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks posted a lovely soba noodle and asparagus recipe with peanut dressing. It was the inspiration for this dish. Which is really nothing more than a copy-cat effort with substitutions. But it reaffirms my constant comment that making substitutions and performing variations on a theme is a good talent to have in the kitchen.

As long as it's not while you're baking. Then, adhering to the written directions and specified amounts is paramount to a successful outcome.

I like to include almonds or walnuts in dishes, adding the nutritional lift of protein along with the flavor and crunch these tasty guys provide. Peanuts aren't actually nuts they are legumes, which means, while tasty, they don't pack the nutritional wallop of a true nut. I've been using raw almonds and almond butter in place of peanuts and peanut butter and this is a good example of how to substitute one for the other.

With green beans currently in the markets at bargain prices, using them as the veggie for this salad was a no-brainer but the asparagus that Heidi used would do equally well. I whipped up the following luncheon dish in under 30 minutes. But, be advised: the green beans had already been washed, trimmed and blanched the day before.

I keep organic soba noodles, purchased at the local Asian market, on hand. As I'm usually cooking for one or two, I buy a neat little package that has the noodles divided into perfect portions of 3.1 oz little bundles. These are authentic Japanese buckwheat noodles and are simply made of organic wheat, organic buckwheat and water. Other than waiting for water to boil, they are virtually instant. Once added to the boiling water (much care should be taken as they boil over easily) they cook in 3 - 4 minutes. Drain and rinse and they're ready to go. You can add them to stir-fries, soup stock or eat them hot or cold with a dipping sauce or in a salad as above.

Green Beans and Soba Noodles with Almond Dressing

2 " piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 cup creamy, almond butter

5 TBS mirin

1/4 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar

2 TBS tamari

1 tsp kosher salt (I like the large flakes) but sea salt is fine, too.

1 pound of trimmed, washed green beans

1/2 cup sliced almonds, dry toasted

2 sliced shallots or fresh green onions

soba noodles 3- 4 oz (one stack)

Preparation requires 4 simple steps:

1. make the dressing;

2. blanch the green beans;

3. boil the noodles;

4. assemble.

1. Make the dressing: Using a small holed grater, grate the fresh ginger over a medium bowl catching all the juice and the pulp. You should have about a heaping teaspoon. To the same bowl add the almond butter, mirin, vinegar, tamari and salt. Use a whisk or fork to combine well.

2. If not already blanched, add the green beans to a large pot of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. If beans are being prepared at time of salad preparation, carefully remove the beans from the boiling water with a large skimmer, reserving the pot of hot water. Return the water to a boil and proceed with soba noodle directions.

3. Bring a medium pot of cold water to a boil, add soba noodles (watch for overboil - lift pan from burner momentarily and turn down the temperature, maintaining a full boil.) Boil for 3 -4 minutes, drain in colander and rinse under cold water.

4. In a large bowl, toss the green beans, noodles and sliced shallots with as much dressing as desired. Add it slowly, napping all the ingredients. Scatter almond slices over the top to serve.

This is delicious at room temperature. Refrigerate if not eating immediately.

Freeze the Fruit!

When the supermarket or produce stands offer outstanding bargains on fresh fruit, don't hesitate to stock up. Freezing the fruit is simple. Our local Plant City strawberries are here, abundant, red, ripe and ready. They are easy to prepare for freezing. I wash the berries, carefully remove the green stem and layer them on paper towels on a cookie sheet and slide into the freezer to allow them to freeze individually. Once frozen, I pop them into a plastic storage bag. This simple method is not intended for long term storage, but it's a way to take advantage of good prices without waste. The fruit I've prepared this way has been fine for 3 to 4 weeks.

With the abundance of producing papaya trees in the area, I've been inundated with more fruit than I can immediately eat. I follow the same routine with papaya, peel it and cut it into cubes and lay the cubes out on a lined cookie sheet or cake pan and place in the freezer.

This week, I indulged in two beautiful canteloupes (granted they weren't local).These two big beauties provided more melon than I could manage before fermentation set in. I peeled, seeded and cut one into cubes—placed the pieces on paper towels in a couple of 9" cake pans and popped them into the freezer, when the pieces were frozen, I just transferred them to a couple of quart plastic bags and found they make a terrific smoothie addition.

The cantaloupe puréed with a couple of room temperature bananas and a good handful of chard gives this light green smoothie a mild pleasant taste similar to a creamsicle.

Swiss chard has a much milder flavor mixed into smoothies than one would guess. Alternating the greens in my morning smoothie helps to provide a wider variety of nutrients and eliminates the boredom of having the same old — same old.

Try chard or kale in place of spinach for a pleasant surprise and a great taste treat.

More Great Greens

I've been a creature of habit when it comes to the morning green smoothie. Day in and day out, I plunge huge amounts of little spinach leaves into different fruit and banana combinations and purée away. While I eat a wide variety of other greens at other meals, I've been really in a rut mornings. I decided to make a concerted effort to change that.

Here's a wonderful glass filled with super satisfying tastes and loaded with nutrients and guess what? It's really green. . .chock full of the chard pictured above and you have this pretty pink potable. Frozen banana, a cup of frozen blackberries, filtered water and Swiss chard. Amazing, isn't it?

For those turned off by green drinks, unless it's brews on March 17th, using lots of deep red berries with the greens provides a lovely rosy red drink while still delivering the many benefits of fresh greens.

On the other hand, sometimes it's fun to make a true green cocktail for an afternoon pick me up. Here's a mock Margarita. Cucumber, apple and romaine run through the juicer not the blender!

Greens are plentiful, flavorful, nutrient-dense, affordable and easy to prepare.

This Pastel Palette of Spring is

Sure to Please the Palate

Isn't the English language amazing? Look how many spellings and meanings of a simple word there are: palate/pallet/pallette/palette - how confusing for the beginner and it often trips up an old timer, too.

Using the bright, soft colors of spring vegetables in a lightly dressed salad is pure pleasure. Served alone as above, or mixed with a big bowl of greens, the fresh flavors are surprisingly bold when the flavor is boosted with a little diced jalepeño and some minced sweet onion and fresh cilantro.

The dressing is simply juice of a lime with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

This combination is fresh from the garden bright red radishes, a crisp light green cubanella pepper, kernels from two ears of freshly picked Florida corn, one jalepeño, finely minced and half of Vidalia onion.

Greens 'n Beans

Turnip greens, onions, carrots and great northern beans

Add more broth and you've a super soup, less broth and it's a wonderful side. Much like Goldilocks, I found this amount to be JUST RIGHT for a quick, easy supper.

Simple peasant fare has more appeal to me, particularly as I grow older, than fussing about with complicated steps involving a myriad of ingredients. I'm really into the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) mentality. When planning meals around 50 - 75% raw food, one quickly becomes enamored with the simplicity of washing, peeling, chopping, plating and eating.

I don't like all the gimmicky raw foods. Synthesizing cooked foods with seeds, nuts, dates, etc. has no appeal to me. Though I marvel at the fabulous combinations creative raw foodists come up with. If I were committed to eating 100% raw, I might be singing a different song. But, for now at least, eating organic, whole foods, mostly plants, mainly raw is my lifestyle. And it's great.

Omnivore's could easily add some interesting sausage to the greens and beans and have a quick take on a casoulet. Or use the greens and beans as a side dish with pork or chicken. As a vegetarian dish it works well as the main course, but could just as easily be a starter or a side dish.

This broth is made for dunking. Hunks of hearty whole wheat bread or dark, chewy pumpernickel are perfect for sopping up the 'bottom of the bowl'. Served with a crisp, green salad and a glass of mellow red, it's simple, yet truly satisfying, while being especially kind to the pocketbook.

Try it with canned beans and pre-washed, chopped greens, some simple good broth or bouillon, like Rapunzel, and it becomes a 30 minute deal.

If you choose to pre-soak and then cook the beans ahead of time, it's tastier and more economical. Using a good homemade chicken or vegetable broth boosts the flavor. The following makes approximately six cups of greens and beans.

Beans 'N Greens

Note: The choice of greens is certainly variable. Choose collards, kale, spinach or turnip greens. And use a bean that you have on hand or one you prefer.

4 TBS extra-virgin olive oil; 3 cloves garlic,minced; 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper; one pound dark greens, washed, sliced in strips; 1 cup* of vegetable broth or chicken broth; 2 cups great northern or other white beans. If using canned beans, a 15 ounce can is fine.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper, stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add the wet, washed greens by hand fulls and allow them to wilt a bit before adding more. Toss them a bit in the oil and garlic. When all the greens have been added, add the broth, cover and cook until greens are just tender. Be careful not to overcook the greens. Add the beans and simmer gently until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste drizzling with balsamic or sherry vinegar when serving.
*for soup increase broth to a total of 4 cups.

Enjoy!

Keep It Simple

A salad plate comprised of a few simple components constitutes a tasty meal!


A little of this with a bit of that makes a delicious salad plate.

Slices of roasted beets and English cucumber accompany hearts of Boston Bibb lettuce sprinkled with diced tomato, pan roasted walnuts and itsy-bitsy pieces of Feta cheese ,all lightly dressed with balsamic vinaigrette.

It doesn't take a large quantity of flavorful ingredients to boost a simple dish into a satisfying low calorie meal. For one serving, I used half a red, ripe tomato, a scant tablespoon of Feta cheese, minced, a few pieces of pan roasted walnuts and a couple of roughly chopped Calamata olives to top two quarters of a fresh sweet, crisp head of Boston lettuce. A few slices of roasted beets tossed with a little sherry vinegar, and some sliced cucumber amounted to a delicious, light supper. A perfect example of Michael Pollan's mantra: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants, with my added two cents worth: mainly raw. Fast, easy and delicious.

I added a warm slice of whole wheat pita and a lively glass of crisp, cold Riesling. A nutritious, satisfying, low calorie meal made in minutes, eye appealing and palate pleasing.

Love These Greens!

While the bulb end of root vegetables gets most of the attention, the powerhouse of nutrition is the attached green tops. Think carrots, parsnips, radishes, beets. Traditional supermarkets carry the root ends brightly displayed in their orange and red skins, but rarely do we find them with the fresh green tops still attached. That's when a trip to the farmer's market or local produce purveyor really pays off.

It's those bright green leaves we need. The ones that are nourishing the bulb end tucked into the dirt. Those very leaves reaching up toward the sun, gathering the energy to perform the miracle of photosynthesis, storing life giving nutrients within the leafy cells and veins, the very leaves that often get chopped off and disposed of, or never make it to the market as they grow limp and die, while their root ends sit in a warehouse for months on end, waiting to be swaddled in plastic packaging and shipped thousands of miles.

Many years ago, I listened to Christiane Northrup, M.D. present some simple guidelines for eating well for health and weight loss. She advised we eat smaller portions of many colored foods. The darker the better. The foods on our plates should be jewel toned, dark greens, orange, red, brown, yellow.

Sautéed beet greens with raw corn and tomato salad.

We would do well to follow the advice from Michael Pollan in his book, In Defense of Food. "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants". The 'not too much' portion is what I'm working on. I've extended that by adding my own two additional words: mainly raw.

I have no problem avoiding processed food. It's never been an attraction for me. No canned meals, frozen entrées, or packaged 'helpers' for me. The paper goods and pet foods aisle at the supermarket are about the only inside aisles I visit. No up and down each of those vast canyons for me, with their walls of colorful packaging that house foodstuffs filled with synthetic chemicals. I make a straight bee-line for the produce department, the TP and tissues aisle, then the cat food shelves and I'm out of there.

Romaine and cuke salad, black rice with almonds, green beans & yellow zucchini

Green smoothies in the morning, lots of juicy raw veggies for lunch and often for dinner, too. Occasionally, some enticing roasted veggies or some lightly cooked greens. It doesn't really take long to get out of the meat and potato mentality and other bad habits we grew up with, lashed to the Standard American Diet (SAD). Just remember that all those charts and pyramids we were indoctrinated with in school were prepared and presented to us by the meat and dairy councils.

Fill that morning smoothie with as many green leaves as you can!

And if you're still asking, "Where do you get your protein?" Check out Dr. Leslie Van Romer's delightful, light-hearted, simple explanation in her article, Do Elephants Eat Cows For Protein?