In season

Although this may not be all local fare, it is always a good idea for taste, nutrition, and the pocketbook to know what is in season. We bought some fresh fava beans at the international market today, per Ruby's request....not sure what to do with them yet but excited to find out.

Okay here is the list:


Look for these, they're at the height of their season:
Hass Avocado
Fava Beans
Beets
Sweet Onions
English Shelling Peas

Enjoy these before they go out of season:
Navel Oranges
Leeks
Kale
Spinach
Chard

*I will shortly be posting a rocking leek salad I made.

Indian Spicy Dip

Tonight I tried this recipe out for a girls night out activity or "meeting" or whatever you want to call it. You were supposed to bring your favorite crock pot recipe to share. Oh well, folks seemed to like it. Here is Kelli gracefully posing with dip in hand.

This is adapted from "Living on Live Food" and the author said it resembles the Indian dish palak paneer to her. For me, it is like a yumidy spiced guacamole (with a lot less fat).

Indian Spicy Dip

4 cups spinach
1 large avocado or 1 1/2 small avocado
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Herbamare seasoning salt*
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon curry
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
dash chili powder
dash cayenne
dash of cumin

Blend together in a food processor. Serve as is or slightly warm (warm barely in microwave or the raw food way- in a dehydrator for a few hours at 105). ** Serve with veggies or other favorite dip "vehicle".***


* I have never heard of Herbamare before this recipe. I substituted kosher salt. You could substitute sea salt if you have that.
**I served the dip room temperature and it was yumidy!
***I served it with sliced cucumbers, sliced carrots, celery, and red pepper wedges. The red pepper plus dip combo was fabulous!

Collard Rolls

I recently returned from the western lands where I went to play (and work) with my sister. My sister is trying lots of raw food recipes. Most of the recipes we tried were from Alisa Cohen's book "Living on Live Food". Even if you have no interest in the raw food way of life, who doesn't love yummy recipes full of delicious veggies?! (Well okay, but if you were a brown food person you wouldn't be reading this blog at all, right?) Okay better stop digressing and get to the recipe. Here is the first "raw food" recipe my sister tried out on me (the picture is of Ali with a collard roll in hand).

Who knew that collard greens are sweeter than they are bitter?! I craved this recipe and made it first since returning to Georgia. And the good news- there are lots of collard leaves for cheap here!

Collard Rolls
*adapted from Alisa Cohen's "Living on Life Food"

2-4 collard leaves (depending on how stuffed you want your roll) with very fibrous end trimmed off
1 zucchini, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 avocado or guacamole*
1 cup red onion sliced in ringlets or diced
1 cup of mushrooms, cut in bite size pieces**
1/2 cup Braggs liquid aminos
2 cups shredded lettuce

Marinate onions and mushrooms in Bragg Liquid Aminos for 10 minutes. Stir periodically throughout the 10 minutes. Lay collard leaf flat on plate with inside facing up. Drain the onion/mushroom mixture well. Place avocado, carrot, zucchini, mushroom mixture, and lettuce inside the collard leaf (like a burrito). Roll leaf up and enjoy!


*I use mashed avocado with a bit of lime, salt, pepper and dash of cumin)
**Recipe calls for portabellos, but cremini or baby portabellos work great too. Also there is a great dried mixed mushroom mix that CostCo is carrying now that works well too. Just rehydrate the mushrooms and then marinate.

Italian Kale Soup

It must be winter! All I want are warm comforting foods like soup. Here is a recipe for an easy and yummy Italian Kale soup. Ruby gobbled this one up- even the kale. This recipe was adapted from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped **
8 cups water
6 cubes (or teaspoons) vegetable bouillon **
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans and/or navy beans
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot; cook the onion and garlic until soft. Stir in the kale and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in the water, vegetable bouillon, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Simmer soup on medium heat for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

**Notes:
**For faster soup prep time, look for bags of kale that already have stems removed and are chopped.
**I really like Better than Bouillon vegetable base that come as a thick liquid is a small jar.

Moroccan-Style Dinner Tonight!

Dinner tonight... Want something fast, easy, tasty, and hearty? Try this tasty dish.


INGREDIENTS
1 can (15.5 oz)chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes with green chilies **
1/2 cup diced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground coriander
3/4 cup vegetable broth
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Saute garlic and onion in olive oil over medium heat for about two minutes.
Stir in cumin, ginger and coriander.
Cook until onion is tender.
Add chickpeas, vegetable broth and tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for ten minutes.
Serve alone or over brown rice or over fresh spinach or over steamed vegetables.

**When I made it tonight I only had canned diced tomatoes and canned green chilies. I added 7 oz green chilies to 28 oz of diced tomatoes for a double batch (doubling all the other ingredients as well). Reduce chilies for less spice.

Roasted Cauliflower

What do you do with cauliflower beside chop it up and eat it on a veggie tray?...Roast it! My mom and good friend have both loved this recipe when I made it for them. It is a perfect fall and winter dish. (This recipe is from Cooking Light)


Mellow, slightly sweet roasted garlic and onions round out the flavor of cauliflower.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 2 medium onions, quartered
* 5 garlic cloves, halved
* 4 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 1/2 pounds)
* Cooking spray
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (*see note below)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 500°.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Place onion mixture and cauliflower in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Combine water and mustard; pour over vegetable mixture. Toss to coat; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 500° for 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with parsley.

Note: * I have made with spicy brown mustard because I don't have dijon and it is dynamite!

Eggplant Schnitzel

Eggplant is great for you (high in fiber,folate, potassium, manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, thiamin, niacin, Vitamin B6, pantothenic Acid, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, and phytonutrients) but I have struggled to find scrumptious low fat vegetarian recipes. Please share if you have any eggplant recipes that fit this category. I adapted this one from recipezaar.com.

Ingredients
* 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk (see note below)
* 1 large egg
* 2 cups dried Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (*see note below)
* 1 Aubergiune eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

Directions:
Whisk the milk and egg together in a shallow bowl. Spread the breadcrumbs on a large plate. Dip the eggplant slices into the milk mixture, then coat the slices with breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess crumbs, and place on a prepared baking sheet. Spray the vegetables with cooking spray(or you may brush with some olive oil**), and bake 10 minutes. Flip vegetables, and spray again with the cooking spray (or more olive oil). Bake 10-15 minutes more, or until the eggplant slices are tender and breadcrumbs are dark golden brown.

Top with hummus and/or roasted red pepper tapanade and serve with a huge mixed spring green salad! Yumidy!

Notes:
*Use whatever milk you use - rice, soy, almond, cow, etc.
**Use whatever you have or any gluten-free substitute that you may use for breadcrumbs. I have made my own Italian breadcrumbs by adding Italian seasoning and basil and kosher salt to regular breadcrumbs or matzah meal.
**I have made this without the spray or olive oil. The cooking spray just helps the browning process.
***This recipe can also used with portobello mushrooms, as well.