On the summer grill (or in the oven in the winter) roast those veggies
Jul 14, 2011 Uncategorized
I don’t know anyone – except those who just don’t like vegetables at all – who don’t like them roasted. Sweet and savory. Just this side of crunchy.
You don’t have to have any particular kind of veggies to make a great roasted dish…whatever is in season or on sale will do. If you have a garden, grab whatever you can cut into good sized chunks…squash, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes…even corn. Chunk it up and roast it.
This isn’t a dish for the diner who likes the prissy little dishes with delicate garnishes. This is a tasty dish that is macho enough for the toughest guy but tasty enough to satisfy anyone who likes a good meal.
If you are feeding carnivores, this the best darned side dish to just about any hunk of meat they might be craving. Easy for you to prepare. Delicious for them…a win-win if there ever was one!
Play with this one. Good and good for you – no matter how you chop it.
Summer Grillin’ Time Roasted Veggies
2 red peppers
1 green bell pepper
2 onions
2 zucchini
8 ounces of mushrooms
6 new potatoes, scrubbed
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoons of oregano
1/2 tablespoons of basil
1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
1 green bell pepper
2 onions
2 zucchini
8 ounces of mushrooms
6 new potatoes, scrubbed
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoons of oregano
1/2 tablespoons of basil
1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
- Wash and dry the vegetables. Any combination of vegetables taste great.
- Cut them into large bite-size pieces. Halve the mushrooms, if they’re really big. The potatoes can be parboiled (or put them into the pan first).
- Arrange the vegetables in a baking dish or roasting pan in a single layer.
- Crush the garlic with the salt using the side of a large knife until pureed (I prefer a mortar and pestle). Stir the garlic-salt into the oil.
- Drizzle the vegetables with the oil and toss them around in the pan to coat them well.
- Roast on the grill or in the oven (400ยบ F) for about 10 minutes – until they just begin to soften.
Vegan.
Tags: Baking Dish, Basil 1, Bell Pepper, Bite Size Pieces, Carnivores, Cloves Of Garlic, Drizzle, Garlic Salt, Garnishes, Hunk, Mortar And Pestle, New Potatoes, Prissy, Red Peppers, Roasting Pan, Salt 2, Side Dish, Single Layer, Sized Chunks, Tasty Dish
Soup can be a summer food…and a way to clean out your fridge
Jun 26, 2011 Uncategorized
- I have been experimenting with some soups lately, which seems sort of strange for summer. But soups are hearty and filling, which on a hot day is important. There’s nothing worse on a hot day than feeling too full.
- And, if you spice up the soup enough, you’ll kick in your natural air conditioning.
- This soup is pretty simple to make so you can be in and out of the kitchen in a short amount of time. A little chopping (which you could do ahead of time, the night before when it’s cooler in there), some stirring together of the ingredients and then put the pot on the stove to do its own thing while you cool your heels in the pool or on the back porch with a tall iced tea…or the drink of your choice.
- I like to put a lot of veggies and beans into my soups. There’s no need for side dishes that way. One pot, one bowl and that’s it.
- This is a variation on minestrone. I think there are as many versions of minestrone as there are people who make it. I had a friend who used to call it “left over soup”, because she made it with whatever veggies were left over in her fridge on Saturday morning got thrown into the pot to simmer until lunch.
- So, don’t worry if you haven’t got all of the listed ingredients in your cabinet. Don’t go to the grocery on this one. Just go through the fridge and see what there is.
- Minestrone
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 5 carrots, chopped
- 4 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 sweet onion, chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
- 15 ounces of cannellini beans or Great Northern Beans, soaked overnight
- 2 cups of a mixture of zucchini and yellow squash
- 1 1/2 quarts of water
- 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 2 cups of uncooked pasta
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir the carrots, celery, onion and garlic into pot
- Mix in the tomato paste, beans, broth and water.
- Season with the basil, oregano and salt.
- Cook and stir for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Mix the pasta into the pot.
- Continue cooking for 40 minutes or until the beans are tender enough for your taste.
Vegan.
Tags: 2 Quarts, Back Porch, Cannellini Beans, Carrots, Celery, Cloves Of Garlic, Hot Day, Medium Heat, Minestrone, Northern Beans, Olive Oil, Oregano, Salt 2, Side Dishes, Stalks, Summer Food, Sweet Onion, Tomato Paste, Yellow Squash, Zucchini
Easy Big Easy Pickle
May 4, 2011 Uncategorized
My friends Kay and Lloyd are in New Orleans this week sashaying their way through the Big Easy in celebration of the New Orleans Jazz Fest.
Always on the lookout for new recipes, I asked if they had encountered any good vegetarian dishes while moving between venues.
Kay, who is not a vegetarian laughed.
“What I like the best so far,” she said, “are those crispy green beans in the Bloody Marys.”
I did a little research and it seems that a lot of places along that part of the Gulf Coast use pickled green beans, and sometimes picked okra as the swizzle sticks in their Bloody Marys. I figured I could give it a try. Even if I don’t use the beans to stir a drink, they might be good as salad crispies, sandwich crunchies or just as a crisp snack right out of the jar.
- I used the quick fridge method for this batch and they were amazingly good after only a couple of days in the brine, but I bet if I had let these babies cure for a couple of weeks they’d be to die for…there’s always another batch.
When they get back we’ll have to compare the homemade ones to the “real thing”.
Big Easy Pickled Green Beans
- 1/2 pound or so of fresh green beans (a little more or less depending how many it takes to fill your jar)
- 1/3 cup of distilled white vinegar
- 1/3 cup of water
- 2 teaspoons of coarse grain salt
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1/2 tablespoon of dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
In a large saucepan, stir together the vinegar, the water and the salt. Add the garlic and bring the whole lt to a rolling boil over high heat.
Put the dill and the pepper flakes at the bottom of the jar. Pack as many green beans as possible into the jar.
Pour the boiling brine into the jar, filling it to within 1/4 inch of the top.
Seal the jar and put it into the refrigerator for a few days before crunching into your treat.
Vegan.
Tags: Bloody Marys, Brine, Cloves Of Garlic, Coarse Grain, Crunchies, Dill Weed, Distilled White Vinegar, Gulf Coast, High Heat, New Orleans Jazz, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Pickle, Pickled Green Beans, Red Pepper Flakes, Rolling Boil, Salt 2, Saucepan, Swizzle Sticks, Teaspoons, Vegetarian Dishes
