Tabouleh, where have you been all my life? Perhaps I led such a sheltered life or my home town which was primarily Italian or of Slavic descent, did not import from Tabouleh's country of origin. Mostly from Lebanon and Syria this grain is loaded with high fiber, magnesium and Vitamin C. It boasts no cholesterol and is low in saturated fat!
Tabouleh is the name for a salad dish made from bulgur. Nowadays, you can readily find it in any store. I like it because it seems to curb cravings while filling me up. I cheated a bit and bought the brand Near East Tabouleh which already has a spice pack inside. Next time it'll be from scratch! Try it....you may like it!
Tabouleh Salad
1 box "Near East" Tabouleh
6-7 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1 roasted red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 heaping tsp of fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
handful of pine nuts for garnish
In a large bowl put tabouleh and packet provided with box. Add 1 cup of boiling water, stir and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients mixing well. Chill for at least an hour or better yet, overnight as the flavors blend. Serve with more pine nuts (optional). Soooo good!
For those of you, not in the know, ratatouille is actually the name of a French Provencal stew. It's what you do when the zucchini, tomato and eggplants in your garden have decided it's time for a coup. A take over! Several years ago I had a VERY prolific tomato plant about the size of one of those "smart cars" you see around. It virtually attacked and claimed a corner of my yard and even though it was attacked by the dreaded spiny looking tomato worm, the plant still provided pound after pound of huge juicy tomatoes.
Enter the heirloom black zucchini plant! In my neck of the woods, high desert and usually dry, we don't plant most veggies in the ground until late May or early June. Even then, weather can be fickle with bouts of dry, alternating with snow and quick freezes. My zucchini plant struggled at first and while I went on a short vacation my dad watered and watched over my garden. Now, I don't know what he said to these plants, but upon my return, Magic! He's always had a green thumb. I began to grow zucchini in a big way, picking consistently two or 3 a day. I also planted one Japanese eggplant which was almost nibbled to the ground by a resident rabbit. Thanks for the trim! Now, it thrives, too.
This ratatouille recipe is great when your garden is going gangbusters! While I had measurements, you don't have to be so exact. You're not baking a cake, it's a stew! Ratatouille is even better the next day as the flavors blend.
2 cups, chopped peppers (I used an assortment of colors)
1 cup chopped yellow onion
3-4 small Japanese eggplant. (no need to peel, chop into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cups zucchini, chopped into 1/2 inch or bite size pieces
1 1/2 -2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 c of diced canned organic tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp herbs de Provence
1/2 tsp thyme
a handful of chopped parsley (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Once everything is chopped up this dish is easy. I started with 2 Tbsp of olive oil to get the veggies cooking. Add the peppers, onions, eggplant and zucchini, stirring until the onions begin to soften. Add the tomatoes, garlic, canned tomatoes, bay leaf, herbs and thyme. Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat.
Cover and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer for another 30 minutes or longer, checking to see if the liquid has evaporated. You can add a bit (1/4 cup) of water or broth to keep them moist. Salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you let a spoonful cool,; the veggies are very hot at this point!
You can serve after letting it cool a bit or refrigerate for the next day. I like to put a dollop of goat cheese on top...delicious!
Yes, you read that right! As I mentioned in a much earlier post, I planted beets in my garden this Summer. Well, either the seeds were bad or the animals that forage my back yard were very bad. No beets, this year. A few years back they thrived and wouldn't you know it, but I was on one of my diets that prohibited beets. They have a high sugar content to them evidently!
I still wanted to try my hand at a new flavor of gnocchi. Open the can of diced beets! I'll leave you with the link of a previous post and make a few "suggestions" about making beet gnocchi. Sweet potato or pumpkin are probably my favorite. The link calls for 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato. I wasn't sure of the outcome (I didn't want this experiment to go sideways). I basically halved the recipe. If after using a small egg the batter is too wet, just add more flour! Gnocchi creating is very forgiving.
What I got was a nice subtle tasting beet gnocchi! The appearance, however, I admit, looks like a familiar "pepto bismal" mauve. If you can get past the color, enjoy!!
Sorry for such a long hiatus. Glad to be back....this is my favorite place.
I feel as though I've been gone for an eternity. I'm just now re-entering the human race after a bout of some nasty bronchial /cold ailment. For the past two weeks I wanted to sleep my life away and only survive on ice cream (that's actually normal for me, though). Meals consisted of very simple salads/sandwiches, etc. I did climb out of bed for a pizza on my birthday and wander up to our dear friends home for dinner.
At the onset, hubby and I flew to Santa Fe, New Mexico for some R and R. Why there? We've never been there, heard it was a culinary and cultural hot spot (more on this trip later) and we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.
So, now I'm "back in the saddle", so to speak, getting back into the kitchen and coming up with different ways to use my zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes that have thrived from all the monsoonal rain we've been receiving. Love the rain!
This simple zucchini spaghetti was thrown together with garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and parsley.
This morning I was surprised to find my first zucchini blossoms! Yes, the stars must be perfectly aligned because, so far, two plants are thriving and haven't been nibbled on (cross my fingers!). I picked a few blossoms to scramble with one egg for breakfast. Last week it was arugula omelets and a few weeks before, spinach on toast. Assorted lettuce was at its peak waiting to be tossed as a FRESH salad. So, yes, I get excited when I can go into my garden and pick something to go with each meal of the day.
Zucchini sticks in the past were deep fried and delicious, don't get me wrong. But, when you want to eat healthier put away the fryer and bake them. You can create a crunchy coating by using egg whites and panko bread crumbs. These are worth a try!
Zucchini Sticks
2 medium size zucchini, cut into large matchstick shapes
1 egg or equivalent of egg white liquid
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
a sprinkle of garlic powder, paprika and salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put egg white in a bowl. Place the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, paprika a, salt and cheese into a shallow pie plate. Dip zucchini into egg, coating both sides and move into the crumb mixture. Use a cookie sheet which has been sprayed with pan spray.
Bake for 10 minutes on each side for a total cooking time of 20 minutes. Squeeze a bit of lemon if you wish. Serve immediately. Good with ranch dressing or all by themselves!
