Easy Zucchini Salad

Easy Zucchini Salad

Ingredients

Zucchini
Summer squash
Sea salt
Lemon juice, red wine or sherry vinegar
Pepper

Directions

1) Slice squash lengthwise, as thinly as possible, into ribbons. Use a mandolin if you have one. Place in a colander and sprinkle with a tablespoon or two of sea salt. The salt is essentially going to “cook” the squash. Let sit for an hour or more, squeeze out water and rinse well.
2) Add some acidity to taste, either lemon juice or vinegar. Add pepper and enjoy.

Keeps very well in the refrigerator for a couple of days. A nice cool side salad to have around.

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Quinoa and Sweet Potatos

Quinoa and Sweet Potatos

From Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook

Ingredients

Basic Recipe
¾ cup quinoa, rinsed in fine-meshed strainer
1 tbls olive oil
1 cup onions, diced
½ tsp sea salt
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 2/3 cup water (or substitute low sodium broth)

Version One (my own modification, you can create many from this point)
¼ cup dried mushrooms, chopped
3 green garlic, chopped (or 3 cloves garlic and 3 scallion onions)
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Another Version
2 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed and finely chopped
2 tbls toasted pine nuts (2-3 minutes in a small dry pan on medium high heat)
¼ cup currents
1 tbls minced scallions
1 tbls lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions

1) In a covered saucepan, warm oil and sauté onions and salt over low heat, stirring now and then until onions are transparent, about 8 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, whites of green garlic or garlic cloves, dried mushrooms, broth and quinoa, cover and bring to simmer. Lower heat and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender and the liquid has been absorbed. If the quinoa is still not done when the liquid is gone, add water until desired consistency.

2) Remove from heat. Stir in pine nuts and green part of green garlic (or scallion onions) and salt and pepper to taste.


Still more options, get creative!

1) Add minced fresh chilies and or garlic along with the onions.
2) Stir in chopped fresh parsley, basil, cilantro and/or scallions or chives before serving.
3) Garnish with toasted almonds or sesame seeds
4) Add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice or a drizzle of soy sauce

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Sweet Potato Lasagna

Sweet Potato Lasagna

Adapted from The Happy Kitchen, a program of the Sustainable Food Center of Austin.
(Serves 8)

INGREDIENTS
1 tbls oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 cup cooked sweet potato, mashed (up to 2 will work if you want more)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
8 - 10 corn tortillas
1 cup Monterrey Jack or other semi soft cheese, grated
6-oz queso fresco or feta cheese (such as goat feta)
2 tbls fresh cilantro, chopped (optional, but makes a big difference)
1 cup plain low- fat yogurt (optional, but also makes a difference)
For a little spice, add 1/8 tsp chili flakes and 1 tsp hot chili oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Heat oven to 425º. Bake sweet potato until soft, approx. 45 minutes.
2) Reduce oven temp to 350º.
3) Heat oil in a large pan. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes.
4) Add oregano and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add green pepper, mushrooms, and bay leaf to the tomato sauce. Reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes.
5) Add the cooked and mashed sweet potato, salt and pepper.
6) Build the ‘lasagna’ by covering the bottom of a medium- sized casserole dish with the sauce. Then place 3 or 4 tortillas on top of the sauce. Break tortillas in half to fit pan size as needed. Next layer 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat until all of the sauce and cheese are used. Top layer can be torn up tortilla and cheese.
7) Bake for 25 minutes or until casserole is completely heated through.
8) To serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and top with yogurt.

NOTES

The flavor of this dish is fresh and tasty, but I sometimes add a little heat. One way to do this is to add some chili flakes as you are adding the green peppers. I have also added hot chili oil at that point as well.

To quickly cook sweet potatoes cut in half and place on cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 for approx. 45 minutes, or until soft enough to mash with a fork. If you have the time, pierce with fork and cook whole . Once cooled for 10 minutes, squeeze cooked potato from the skin and mash.

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Brussels Sprouts w/ Walnuts and Cranberries

Brussels Sprouts w/ Walnuts and Cranberries

Adapted from a Vegetarian Times Magazine recipe

Ingredients
½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tsp. olive oil
1 ½ lbs. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered
2 medium shallots, halved and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries
1 tbls. Agave nectar syrup
1 tbls. Walnut oil

Directions
1) Heat a large fry pan to medium-high and toast walnuts for 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
2) Wipe out pan and heat olive oil (but not to the point of smoking.) Add Brussels sprouts and sauté until lightly browning, about 5 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and sauté for about 1 more minute.
3) Stir in cranberries, agave and 1 cup water. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 – 7 minutes. Water should be evaporated and sprouts just tender, but not soft.
4) Toss with toasted walnuts and walnut oil, and serve.

Cooking Tips
When buying dried cranberries, make sure to read the labels. You don’t’ want any artificial colors or refined sugars added. The best option is to buy them bulk. If you don’t have agave nectar, don’t worry, it is just as good without it.

Nutrition Tips
Brussels Sprouts are a great winter veggie that is loaded with soluble fiber, and packed with numerous vitamins and minerals. They are also known to be liver supporting, cancer fighting, and cholesterol lowering.

Walnuts and walnut oil are a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, which are essential for good health. Omega 3’s are also found in wild caught salmon and flax seeds and pumpkin seeds.

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Recipe: Tuscan Beans

Recipe: Tuscan Beans

Ingredients
1 can white cannelloni beans
½ cup chopped onion
1 – 2 tbls. Olive oil
Fresh rosemary

Directions
1) Sauté chopped onion until soft
2) Rinse beans well and drain. Add beans and herb to sauté pan, and sauté until hot.
3) Season with sea salt, and serve


Variations
This is a basic dish that would be good with any typical Italian herb, like basil and oregano. Try different beans, or add a vegetable such as spinach, chard, kale or mushrooms, which can be added after the onion, before the beans.

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Recipe: Kale, Chickpea and Pine Nuts

Recipe: Kale, Chickpea and Pine Nuts

This is a great recipe for any time of the year.

Ingredients
1 bunch kale, tough stems removed, cut in 2” ribbons
2 cups cooked chickpeas (rinse canned beans well)
½ onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup pine nuts
2 tbls olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
Celtic sea salt

Directions
Sauté onions in olive oil 5 minutes, or until translucent.
Add kale and sauté for 5 more minutes.
Add water and garlic, reduce heat to medium, and wet sauté for additional 5 minutes.
Add chickpeas, pine nuts, fennel seeds and salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

Come back and tell me how it went.

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