Fried Green Tomatoes

I have always been intrigued by the dish Fried Green Tomatoes (where exactly do you find green tomatoes... are they unripe ones, or are they a special variety, and why on earth would you mess up a perfectly good tomato by frying it). And little scared of it (after eating Green Tomato Pie once as a child). On Saturday at the vegetable market I found Green Tomatoes (they are unripe, and they sell them down here as Green Tomatoes). Since Mark and I are now living in the southern states, I thought it was appropriate to try this dish. I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, but sliced my tomatoes about 1/4" thick. I served them with a side of Ranch dressing. Oh, my... very tasty! Mark and I give Fried Green Tomatoes a "thumbs up"!

No Dumplings

A dish that brings back fond childhood memories is sauerkraut and dumplings. Tonight I made sauerkraut, but didn't make the dumplings. While good on it's own, I really missed the dumplings.

Sauerkraut
1 TBS vegetable oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4 tsp caraway seeds
15 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can sauerkraut, drained
dash Tabasco sauce, to taste

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and saute the onions and garlic until tender. Add the chili flakes and caraway seeds and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and sauerkraut and cook until heated through. Add Tabasco sauce, stir and serve.

Happy 4th of July!

As most Americans do on the 4th, we had a cookout. Mark filled up his smoker full of meat... he had a steak, hot and spicy bratwurst, and pork tenderloin. He even put potatoes on the grill. I focused on drinks and side dishes. One side that HAD to be made was potato salad... this isn't just any potato salad, it's the best in the world!

Mom's Potato Salad
2 lbs russet potatoes, cubed and boiled
Italian dressing
1/2 onion, diced
15 pickle slices, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, diced
1 cup mayo
1 TBS sugar

Pour Italian dressing (enough to coat) over hot potatoes and allow potatoes to cool. After cooled, combine with the rest of the ingredients and enjoy!

Collaboration is Great!

Last night I made two simple and delicious dishes. My sister-in-law and I collaborated on both of these on a recent visit. The roasted vegetables have become a staple... the pasta salad is just fabulous.

Roasted Vegetables
Several cups of chopped veggies (I used zucchini, portabello mushrooms, red onion, new potatoes (steamed in the microwave for 5 minutes), and red pepper)
Bottled salad dressing - vinaigrette style (last night I used Asian style vinaigrette, have used sun-dried tomato and balsamic in the past)

Place veggies in a baking dish and coat with vinaigrette and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Awesome Pasta Salad IV
8 oz whole grain rotini pasta - cooked and drained
1 jar artichoke and capers bread dip (from the Bread Dip Co.)*
1 red pepper, chopped
3 green onions, slivered
1/2 cup feta cheese
4-5 sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil), rinsed and chopped

Combine above and season to taste with salt and pepper

*could use 1 can artichoke hearts (chopped very small), 2 TBS capers, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 TBS lemon juice, 1 clove garlic (minced) and 1 tsp dried oregano

Zucchini

It's summer and about the time that most folks that have a garden with zucchini are finding new and different ways to use it. I've had fried zucchini, grilled zucchini, zucchini bread and even chocolate zucchini cake! This is one of my favorite ways to prepare zucchini. My sister gave me this recipe... I modified it a bit to be "summer friendly" (i.e., no oven).

Sauteed Zucchini and Feta
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups cubed zucchini
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
10 kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1/4 cup feta cheese

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until tender. Add the zucchini and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomato, oregano, salt and pepper and cook until zucchini is tender. Add olives and feta. This is great served over rice or orzo, but equally good eaten all by itself.

Fall...

Fall brings out different kinds of vegetables. One very common one used at this time is the sweet potato. I am not a fan of sweet potatoes in a sweet dish (like the overdone mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping found on so many Thanksgiving tables). I like my sweet potatoes done in a more savory style. This is a simple, but tasty way to make them.

Sweet Potato Home Fries
2 large sweet potatoes - quartered and cut into strips (about the size of french fries)
1 large onion - halved and then sliced into 1/4" slices
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS soy sauce
fresh crack black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Eat your veggies!

Brussel sprouts have gotten a bad wrap. Many are the story about kids hiding them in their napkins, or adults only wanting to eat them if they are covered in cheese sauce. I love brussel sprouts... my favorite way to prepare them is just simply roasting them, they come out almost tasting sweet... simply delicious.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
2 cups brussel sprouts, trimmed
4 TBS butter, cut into thin slices
coarse ground sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper

Cook the brussel sprouts in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and place in a roasting pan. Place the butter slices on top and add the salt and pepper as desired. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes.

I'm BAACK...

Haven't been online in a while due to birthday festivities (no cooking for the birthday girl), and Hurricane Ike downtime. Thankfully, we survived Ike! I've been back home now for a week and it's nice being able to get cooking again! I made this delicious side dish last night, everyone went back for seconds.

Zucchini and Tomatoes
Olive oil - enough to coat pan
1 yellow onion, chopped (bite size pieces)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 small zucchinis chopped (bite size pieces)
1 14 oz can Italian style diced tomatoes

Saute onions and garlic in oil until onion is translucent. Add pepper and oregano, saute and stir for a minute. Add the zucchini and toss, cook for 3 minutes (tossing occasionally). Add tomatoes, and cook until everything is heated through. Serve. Great when topped with Parmesan cheese.

Indian Spice

I'm a big fan of Indian food and spice. Tonight I made an Indian spiced dish that is super easy and really good. It's a great way to get in some greens.

Curried Greens and Beans
4 cups mustard greens, thick stems removed and chopped
1 TBS vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 TBS curry powder
1 TBS ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

Bring a pot of water to boil. Place greens in the pot and cook until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onions, garlic and ginger until tender. Stir in the red pepper flakes and cook a little while longer. Mix in the greens, beans, tomatoes, and remaining spices. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the yogurt or sour cream. Enjoy!

Moosewood Restaurant ROCKS!!!

I have never eaten at the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY... but I have several of their cookbooks. My favorite being Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. I am always finding new favorites in this book. My most recent is a dish that I cooked last night (I changed it up a bit and included those changes below). I served this with pork chops marinated in jerk seasoning for Mark... would be awesome with jasmine rice.

Cauliflower with Curry Sauce
3 cups cauliflower, steamed
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp canola oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 TBS cilantro
pinch of cayenne
1 cup nonfat yogurt (I used low fat sour cream)
chana masala

saute the onion in oil until golden (add a little water if needed to prevent sticking). Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and cook for 2 more minutes. Transfer onion mixture to blender and add yogurt and cilantro. Puree until smooth. Pour the curry sauce on the cauliflower and toss gently. Sprinkle on chana masala as desired.

4 ears corn, shucked and steamed

2 large red potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil)

1 large white onion

5 large cloves garlic, minced

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

3 large stalks celery, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, cored and chopped

1-½ teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

2/3 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

2 cups water

Getting back into the swing of things

Eleven days of vacation will do strange things to a person. Everyday tasks that seemed effortless now become a struggle. We had a great time on vacation and got to see lots of family and friends that we have missed so much since our move to Texas. Mark was surprised with a couple of cookouts for his birthday, and even some great presents - homemade pies, a smoking jacket and an electric smoker. Mark wasted no time putting the smoker together and to good use upon our arrival home. I ran to the store for ingredients for a favorite BBQ side dish.


Spicy Coleslaw
1 package broccoli coleslaw
1 package home style coleslaw
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 TBS cumin
1 TBS chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
10 dashes of chipotle Tabasco sauce (or more to taste)

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup miracle whip or mayonaisse (or more to desired consistency)

Combine all ingredients, chill overnight and enjoy!