posted September 21, 2004 02:06 PM         

Filled Pitta Pockets Breads

Iceberg lettuce chopped
Tomatoes cut into wedges
English cucumber cut into chunks
Handful of pitted black olives chopped
Feta cheese cubed
Chopped cilantro
Advocado sliced
Some Pitta Pockets.

Dressing

6 tablespoons of virgin cold pressed olive oil.
3tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1tbs. Crushed rosemary
Lemon pepper
Salt

Combine all the salad stuff.
Add cheese.
Make dressing and pour over salad.

Grill or place pitta pockets in oven to heat.

Split them open and fill with salad.

Enjoy. I normally have a nice glass of red wine with mine. It takes about ten minutes to make these. Quick and easy.

Baked Veggies and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Any veggies you have. I use the following organic ones.

Squash of all kinds
Green Beans
Red Onions
Roma Tomatoes or Plum Ones
Red Peppers
Green Peppers
Leeks
Carrots
Baby corn
Zuucchini
Several large cloves of garlic
Salt and Pepper
Any fresh or dried herbs. I use rosemary, parsley and oregano.
Olive Oil

Red Skin or any other type of potatoes.
Boiled and mashed with roasted garlic. I grill my garlic in cloves. I think it's much quicker.

Mash potatoes. Add salt, pepper, butter, a little milk, or cream if you wish. I wisk mine to make them really smooth. It takes seconds. Place mash in a ovenproof dish. Set aside.

Chop veggies into lge chunks and place in a shallow ovenproof dish. Chop garlic and throw that in as well. sprinkle in your herbs and mix well. Drizzle some olive oil over the top and roast. Do not drown in olive oil, just drizzle slightly. Season.

It takes about 20 minutes on 375F for the veggies to cook. Depending on taste. Put the mash in the oven to keep warm. If you like a golden crust on the top put the potatoes in at the same time as the veggies. Enjoy.

Grilled Halloumi over tossed Field Greens
With crushed corriander seed dressing. Takes ten minutes and my dinner guests love it.

This is my own recipe. We served it at my fathers restaurant in London. It was very popular.

Organic Field Greens (buy these bagged if you like at any store)
Arugula
Vine Baby Tomatoes
Green Onions

Halloumi - Greek goats cheese that grills. Not all stores have it. Wholefoods and Trader Joe stores carry it, or you can look it up on line. My local store orders it for me. It freezes really well.

Make up the salad and arrange it piled up on plates slightly higher in the middle pyramid shaped. Chop green onions and sprinkle over the field greens and arugula.

Make up dressing.

Olive oil
Lemon Juice
Black Pepper
Sea salt
Crushed corriander seeds. I do mine in a coffee grinder, but a stone from the yard would suffice, about a tabelspoon of seeds will do.

Half a teaspoon of pure honey
Half a teaspoon of mustard.

Place in a empty jam jar and shake. Dance around a bit and have fun. Put some nice music on whilst cooking it helps.

Slice Halloumi in one inch thick slices. Place on non stick flat griddle, or in a non stick frying pan that has been slightly greased. Just wiped - you don't needs any oil. Grill it until it's golden on one side, before filpping it to the other. Takes about three minutes to do both sides.

Place warm grilled halloumi slices over the salad and drizzle the top with the dressing. Serve with warm pitta's sliced in triangles. if you like.

I have tons of veggie recipes. If you like them, I'll post some more. There are healthy desserts too.

Gia

posted September 21, 2004 11:16 PM         

MMMMMMmmmmmm Autumn starts tomorrow; mashed potato season

Here's one I've made recently that's simple and scrumptious!

Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

2 Large Green Bell Peppers, perfectly sized for stuffing
Brown, or brown + wild rice (California Rice Trilogy from Trader Joe's is perfect)
Zuchini
Garlic
Onion (yellow)
Tomato sauce

chop zuchini and onion in small pieces. Mix with cooked rice and garlic. Stuff bell peppers generously. Place in pyrex dish, use 2 small cans of tomato sauce and pour over both peppers. Bake covered with foil for about 40 minutes, then uncover for another 10-15 minutes.

posted September 22, 2004 01:47 AM         

Both couscous and orzo are high in iron.
Orzo made with semolina has the higher nutritional value. It is also high in Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Thiamin.

posted September 22, 2004 12:02 PM         

delicious pasta in no time:

boil a pot of pasta -- any kind will do -- (linguine, fettucine, etc.)

drain pasta in collander; in same pot melt a few tablespoons of butter. add pressed garlic (or substitute garlic powder with the dried spices below). saute garlic for a bit and add pasta back into pan. sprinkle with generous amounts of sea salt, coarse black pepper and especially basil (mmmm so fragrant and divine....). toss.

stir in a good helping of shredded romano cheese (or parmesan or asiago). serve and enjoy!

usually i'll quickly slice a roma tomato and half a cucumber and toss them with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a dash of olive oil, for a fresh little side dish. mmmmmm....

for a really quick and satisfying snack:

spread a little prepared salsa on a tortilla and sprinkle cheddar on top. pop in a toaster oven or microwave until cheese is almost melted. roll up and indulge!

posted September 22, 2004 12:29 PM         

buy frozen gardenburger patties (they're the best) and heat one in the toster oven or microwave. toast a bun (plain toast works just as well) and spread with spicy gourmet mustard. just before the patty is ready, top with a slice of pepper jack cheese, so that it melts a little. assemble with bun and any other condiments you wish...sliced pickles, tomato, avocado....but not really necessary). gardenburger grilled 'chicken' patties make a good variation.

posted September 22, 2004 01:20 PM         

Here's a little bit of info culled from the awesome recipe book "Vegan Planet" by Robin Robertson:

"Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is used as a food supplement and seasoning. It is yellow in color, with a distinctive, some say "cheesy" flavor. Because it has no leavening power, it cannot be used in baking. Nutritional yeast is extremely high in protein, B complex vitamins, and folic acid and very low in fat and sodium. Perhaps its greatest merit is that it provides vegans with a reliable, nonanimal source of vitamin B12. Nutritional yeast will keep indefinitely if stored in a tightly closed conainer. It is widely available at natural food stores under the Red Star label."

http://www.lesaffreyeastcorp.com/nutritional/consumer/veg.html

The link above gives more info!

posted September 24, 2004 12:44 PM         

thanks for that link....i have a nutritional yeast cookbook that i'll take a look at and perhaps post some recipes (and try them myself!)

posted September 24, 2004 09:42 PM         

Thank you and I would love to read any of the recipes you post!

posted October 04, 2004 02:10 AM         

*tofu tacos*

1 extra firm tofu
1 1/2 packs taco seasoning mix
a few tbsps. veg. oil
taco shells
shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes
shredded lettuce

drain tofu well then crumble into cool pan. add oil then heat and stir until tofu is well cooked; add more oil if needed so tofu doesnt stick. then add seasoning packets and water and simmer. when water is evaporated/absorbed add seasoned tofu to shells with cheese, salsa, etc.