Meatless Zucchini Balls

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 zucchinis

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

4-5 Tbsp olive oil

Grate zucchinis over a cheese cloth or paper towel  

Squeeze water out of it.  When you think you have squeezed all the water out, there is probably more, so keep squeezing.  You can save this zucchini water for another dish that you plan to make in the next coupe of days.  It would go well in soups, sauces, rice, or for deglazing the pan.  

What you are left with should look like this, but drier.  I should have squeezed mine more.  

Add the rest of the ingredients except the oil and mix well.

Finally, show your artistic abilities and make round and even zucchini balls.

Fry them in oil.

Turn them over and fry the other side very gently so they don't fall apart like mine.

Add tomato sauce and stir together.

Serve hot.  This alone could be an appetizer dish, or make it a full meal by serving over pasta.  

Cooking with leftovers

Got some leftover tomato salad from your super tasty home gown garden that you don't want to waste?  Cook it!

I made one such salad last week that consisted of cherry tomatoes, basil, salt and olive oil.  I stored the leftovers in the refrigerator to possibly eat them later, but salads just don't loos as appetizing the next day.  I was determined not to throw this salad away after I already put 5 months of hard work into growing the tomatoes.  

So, here is what I did.  Cut up some garlic and onions (as much as you want, and depending on how much you overestimated your guests' appetite- I used 2 cloves of garlic and about 1/8 of an onion, also a left over from something else), and heat some oil in a pan.  I use avocado oil for high heat cooking.

 

When the onions start turning translucent, pour in your salad and cook it!

 

As the tomatoes get cooked down, your sad tomato salad will turn into a super yummy tomato sauce.  At this point, you may want to taste your new creation and see if it needs more salt.

While your sauce is cooking, boil some water for the pasta.  If your sauce looks ready but you somehow forgot to cook the pasta in time, cover the sauce while you get your pasta ready so that it doesn't dry out.

This tomato sauce was one of the better ones.  I make different kinds of tomato sauces for pasta, and I gotta say that the sauce made from fresh tomatoes (especially from a heirloom variety) cannot compare to the one made from canned tomatoes.  Its just not the same.  So, go fresh!

This also makes great 2nd degree leftovers to take to work for lunch the next day.

Chick Pea Stew

Did you know that India is the top producer of chick peas?  It makes more than half of all the chick peas on the world!  Amazing.

Ingredients

• 1lb can chick peas
• 5 Tbsp oil
• 1 hot pepper, sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium/ large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• 2 cups water or broth
• 1.2 Tbsp salt
• 1.5 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp coriander
• 1/2 Tbsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp ginger paste
• cilantro to garnish

Chop up all the ingredients.  

Dry roast cumin and turmeric in the frying pan then add oil.  Saute the onions and the hot pepper for a couple of minutes. Stir in garlic.  

Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Season with the rest of te spices.  

Stir in the tomato paste and water or broth.  If you are using water, you can add more seasoning.

Add canned chick peas.  If you are using dried chick peas, they will have to be cooked first.  

Cook all together for 20-30 minutes.  Serve over rice.  Garnish with cilantro. 

 

Kale Salad

I had a kale salad at a restaurant once and it was amazing.  I never thought something called kale could taste so good.  When I went back to the same restaurant, specifically to eat this salad again, they did't have it on the menu anymore.  Instead, they had something that closely resembled cat food.  It even came in the shape of a can, flipped strait from the can onto my plate.  I didn't know any other restaurants that served kale salad, and it was obvious that if I wanted to get my kale salad fix, I was gonna have to make it myself.

There are different kinds of kale.  You can pick any kind, just try to get younger leaves (thinner and softer) because kale tends to be tough.  After trying different kinds of kale for this salad, I concluded that Russian kale works the best.  Any supermarket sells kale.  Natural food stores will have more kale verities than regular supermarkets.  I would avoid buying already cut kale in a bag, because it tends to be really tough, even for cooking.

Kale is from the cabbage family, and everything from the cabbage family is extremely healthy.  Not only that kale salad provides many nutritional benefits, it is also low in cholesterol, fresh, natural, easy and quick to prepare.  

INGREDIENTS:

4  kale leaves

1 ripe tomato, sliced

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 cut chopped cucumber

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp honey

salt and pepper to taste

Step 1- MASSAGING THE KALE

Wash kale leaves and shake them dry.  Pull the stems out.  Pull or cut the leaves into smaller pieces.  In a salad bowl, mix vinegar, salt, pepper and honey.  Mix in the chopped kale leaves and makes sure they all get coated with this dressing.  use your hands to massage the dressing into the leaves.  This will help tenderize them.  Leave them in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to rest.  

Step 2- PUTTING IT TOGETHER

While the massaged kale is resting, chop up the rest of the ingredients.  You can put anything you normally eat in a salad.  The other day I made a kale salad with avocado and tomatoes.  Add the rest of the ingredients together with olive oil to the salad bowl and mix it all together.  Serve cold with dinner.  

 

  

Quinoa Salad

I was trying to get a quick lunch at a supermarket the other day and I decided to get some quinoa salad in addition to my bread and brie.  I haven't had it in a while, and what I really liked about it is that it was minty.  I don't usually use mint in food, but suddenly this seemed like a great idea.  So, I decided to add mint in my next quinoa salad.  Quinoa has some great nutritional benefits, but in all honesty it is plain and tasteless.  I made a different kind of quinoa salad a couple of years ago, and described some of the nutritional features.  You won't lure hungry customers into your restaurant with quinoa salad for sure, but it makes a great healthy side to a good meal.  

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 medium size tomato
• 1 cup chopped cucumber
• 2 green onions, chopped
• radish, chopped
• 4-6 stalks of parsley, chopped
• 10 mint leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional ingredients: bell or banana peppers, dried cranberries

In a small to medium cooking put combine quinoa and water.  Bring to boil, then turn the hear down and continue to cook covered for 15 minutes.  Check on it occasionally.  The water should be completely absorbed when finished.  

While quinoa is cooking, chop up the veggies.  I like to cut them into small pieces so that it would mix well and I can get many different flavors in one bite, but you can cut them however you like.  

When chopping parsley, I use the leaves only and discard the stems.  Stems are OK to use as well, just a little more crunchy.  

Combines all the chopped veggies and herbs in a dish large enough to accommodate your quinoa in addition to veggies and herbs.  Add olive oil, salt and pepper and mix.  

When quinoa is done cooking, let it cook for a while.  You can mix it with a spoon to allow it to cool faster. When quinoa has cooled down to room temperature, add it to the bowl and mix well.  

Serve cold as a side dis, appetizer or a salad.  

 

Okra and Eggplant Stew

You don't see okra dishes every day. I realized that I only have okra when I go to Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants, and I even had it once in Jamaica. Being such a healthy vegetable, I decided to make an effort and prepare it myself with ingredients and spices to my liking.

I am not sure if this is because okra is not so popular, or because everyone rushed to buy it that day, but there was very little left at the store. So, I also bought one eggplant to put in the stew in addition to the okra.

Amongst its many nutrition benefits, okra is a great choice of food if you are watching your weight or cholesterol. It is also a good source of dietary fiber, protein and many vitamins and minerals.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1lb okra
• 1 eggplant
• 2 large onions
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 4 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3 Tbsp ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 Tsp ground black pepper
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 1-2 cup of water
• salt to taste
• 4-6 Tbsp olive oil
• cilantro or parsley to garnish

Heat the oil in a large cooking pot. Chop onions and garlic and saute them in oil.

When the onions become translucent, add canned tomatoes and bring to boil. Add bay leaves and spices.

Cut up eggplant into about 1in cubes. Trim the crowns on the okra and then chop each one up into 2-3 pieces.

Combine them with tomatoes and onions in the cooking pot.

Mix well and add brother and water. Add more water if necessary for the desired consistency.

Cover and cook for about an hour.

Serve over rice or bread.

This dish makes great leftovers for lunch the next day.

Asparagus Pesto with Blue Cheese

Asparagus has a ton of health benefits. Here is one way to take advantage of them.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb fresh asparagus

1/4 cup almonds

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup blue cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Cut asparagus ends off and discard. Then cut asparagus in half and cook it in water for 5-10 minutes until soft. Drain and set aside.

While the asparagus is cooking, roast almonds in a pan.

Combine coked asparagus, roasted almonds, grated Parmesan cheese and garlic in the food processor and blend together.

Add olive oil and blue cheese.

Serve over hot pasta.

It looks like asparagus is also used in beauty products:

There is even asparagus tea:

Twisted Pizza Sticks

These pizza sticks are the best thing since sliced bread!

Pizza sticks make great party food, especially for kids parties. You can make these in large quantities and serve them to your guests as snacks or appetizers. Or just instead of bread- add a twist to the regular sliced bread.

Ingredients:

Pizza dough:
1 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp flax seeds (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast

pan or oil

1 Tbsp butter

1tsp coarse salt

Parmesan cheese

garlic powder

dried oregano

Start with my favorite pizza dough recipe. Split the dough in 6 parts and roll them out into sticks like on the picture below. Preheat the over to 450F at this point.

Wrap them around skewers for grilling kebabs. Oil the pan and place pizza stick skewers on it.

Melt butter in a separate dish.

Use a brush to spread it over the pizza sticks.

They should look shiny like this.

Sprinkle salt, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese and oregano on top.

Bake at 450F for about 15 minutes.

Serve with marinara dip on the side (maybe not such a great idea if you are making those for kids party).