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Summer Vegetable Variety and an Easy Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

July 19, 2011 By Fran 4 Comments
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Vegetables-and-Eggplant-RecipeSummer produce is like artwork.  Mother nature almost makes it too easy to photograph.  And it’s so much easier to come up with meals and snacks that will fit into a weight loss plan like Weight Watchers, South Beach, or just a generic low fat, low calorie diet.

As you know, sometimes it’s important to have a lifesaver around in summer.  You need it on hand at the pool.  If you head out on a boat, you may very well be wearing one and when you’re fighting a craving to graze, having fresh fruits and vegetables in the kitchen can be one of the most important lifesavers you can have around during the dog days of summer — like we’re experiencing right now.

As you know, I’ve been on a something of a beet craze recently, but I think I’m about over it.  No, it doesn’t mean I won’t eat a beet again, but I’ve made beet salad too many times to count in the last month so it’s onto other vegetables.

Beets-on-Roasting-Pan

But first, one more look at these jewels.

Bowl-of-Beet-Salad-Stars

And anyway, I don’t think beets are a summer vegetable anyway, so although I cut them into stars for the 4th of July and for a Spring Salad in June, it was time to hit up the Farmers Market.

Eggplant-Corn-Apricots-Nectarines-Beans

Beets were in the past.  This weekend it was eggplant.  And how could I resist with these colorful spheres of goodness?  I picked up two varieties at the farmers market that I haven’t seen before.  The large purple eggplants are like the elongated purple ones I’m familiar with, but those little orange orbs are a first for me.

I watched as a couple ahead of me made their purchase and asked them what they were buying.  I had no idea.  I was told that they are eggplant with a less sweet taste than the typical eggplants we’re all used to and that they have a lot of seeds, but I thought I’d give them a try.

They were a bit bitter — in that way eggplant is when it’s not cooked thoroughly, but not offensive.

I also saw a bin of beans without a sign and had to ask the vendor how to prepare them.  She looked at me and said they should be cooked just like black eyed peas — in that tone that said … you know, just like you always make black eyed peas.  Not wanting to look like a Jersey transplant in the south who should know how to make black eyed peas but had no idea, I responded with a nod of acknowledgement and came home to look for recipes.  I’ll get to it soon.

Basket-of-Produce

I picked up beautiful fresh apricots and juicy, cure the sweet craving, nectarines as well.

Beans

But it’s been the eggplant that’s captured my attention and I think my tummy is telling me to STOP!  I have just one of the little orange ones left, so I’m on the downward swing of my eggplant extravaganza.  Whew!

Eggplant-on-Griddle

There’s not much to this Eggplant Parmesan recipe.  Cook eggplant slices, spread on marinara sauce, top with cheese, cook and voila!  Eggplant parmigana.

Eggplant-on-Stove

Eggplant-Parmigana

I know it’s blurry, but I wanted to you to see that there really was marinara sauce beneath the melty Provolone cheese.

Eggplant-Parmesan-Recipe

Finished-Eggplant-Parmesan-Recipe

Recipe-for-Eggplant-Parmesan

Easy Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
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Prep time: 10 mins
Total time: 10 mins
Serves: 2
This eggplant parmesan recipe has just a few steps and does away with breading and frying, which is great for a weight management plan
Ingredients
  • 1 Eggplant, sliced into 4 portions
  • 3 tablespoons Marinara Sauce — your own home made or your favorite store bought
  • 4 slices Provolone Cheese
  • 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Olive Oil Spray
Instructions
  1. Spray a nonstick skillet with olive oil with about 10 sprays
  2. Spray one side of each eggplant with olive oil spray to just cover — about 3 – 4 pumps each
  3. Place the eggplant on the pan, oil side down
  4. Spray the topside of each eggplant slice with 3 – 4 pumps of olive oil
  5. Cook until beginning to brown
  6. Turn, cooking on the other side until no longer opaque and very tender
  7. Spoon a tablespoon of marinara sauce on each slice
  8. Top with one slice of cheese each
  9. Cover loosely with a lid or loosely with aluminum foil for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese
  10. Remove from the pan and serve
Serving size: 2 slices Calories: 293.2 Fat: 16.3g Carbohydrates: 21.5g Fiber: 7.4g Protein: 17.7
Notes

This cheesy dish, worth 8 Weight Watchers Points Plus values will have vegetarian friends and family clamoring to get to the dinner table.

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Filed Under: All Posts, From the Ground, Internationally Inspired Tagged With: Beets, Mexico, Recipe, Red, Salad, South Beach, Vegetable, Weight Watchers

Crazy Kitchen Carnage and a Recipe

June 4, 2011 By Fran 7 Comments
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Brilliant Beets

Crazy Kitchen CarnageHow about that headline for some great alliteration?  I’ll bet it scared you for a minute seeing all that red beet juice splayed all over the cutting board, didn’t it?  Well, now that you’ve calmed down, it’s time to talk bright red beets.

I’ve mentioned beets in the past.  I’ve said that beets are not my thing.   I’ve said that beets were one vegetable I don’t remember having as a kid.  And I mentioned how, in just about every salad I had in Argentina, chunks of bright red beets were never left out and although they were beautiful, I’d avoid them because beets, to me were not far from Papaya.  I found them mushy and lacking in flavor.

I expect a brilliant splash of tropical flavor with every piece of papaya I’ve bitten into and am always disappointed and the same goes for ruby-red jewel toned beets.  With a vegetable so brilliant in color, I expect a brilliant flavor and yet, have never found it — until now, that is.

As I mentioned, or I meant to mention in my post on FRANtasticFood when I wrote about my recent Spring Break tour of the south, one of the delicious dishes I had (a couple of times) was Beet Salad and, get this … I LOVED it!

The salads were both done with a vinaigrette which was the perfect way to add flavor to the vegetable.  I don’t know exactly how the recipes were done, but I knew I tasted citrus and wanted to be sure to capture that flavor in my salad.  I added shallots and pine nuts and it was delicious!  So much so that I have had this salad four — or is it FIVE — times since I got home 2 weeks ago.

Bright Red Beets

And now for the fun part.  My sister told me she often adds shape to her beets with a cookie cutter!  Yes.  She cuts her beets into shapes and not to get kids to eat them, but just to add fun and to take the salad one step further.

What a great idea!  I headed to the closet, pulled out my boxes of cookie cutters, picked a couple that were just the right size and Voilà!  Beets in the shapes of hearts and stars.  Pretty and delicious, what more could I ask for?  Even the cut out parts are fun and don’t go to waste.

So, if you love beets, but have never had them in a salad with a citrus vinaigrette, try this.  I’m sure you’ll be won over.  And if you’ve avoided beets all your life, I implore you — try this!  Really, you’ll be happy you did.  Either way, let me know what you think.

Oh, and one warning — BE CAREFUL with those red beets.  They will stain.  I mean really.  STAIN!  I was very careful, but if you’re not, beware of the beautiful red color of anything they touch.

Hearts ‘n Stars Beet Salad Recipe
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Recipe Type: Side Dish
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 75 mins
Total time: 1 hour 25 mins
Serves: 4
Pairing beets with citrus, oil and vinegar makes for a bright and vibrant salad that is really refreshing
Ingredients
  • 2 bunches beets — any color
  • Olive Oil spray
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground Pepper
  • 1 large shallot — sliced thinly
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 teaspoon red wine Vinegar
  • 1 Orange
  • 2 tablespoon Pine Nuts, toasted
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat an oven to 400º
  2. Cut the tops off the beets and rinse to remove any dirt.
  3. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place the whole, un-peeled beets on the pan. Hit the beets with the olive oil spray until they’ve all been coated. About 1 or 2 pumps a piece on each side.
  4. Roll the beets around. Run to the sink to wash your hands so that you don’t end up scaring yourself when you wake up with red fingers the next morning.
  5. Cover with foil and roast for 40 – 45 minutes or until fork tender.
  6. Remove from the oven and let steam for 10 minutes.
  7. While the beets are resting, make the vinaigrette.
  8. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and orange juice.
  9. Using your fingers, remove the skin.
  10. Slice or cut into wedges or chunks. If you’re going to cut into shapes, slice thinly, about 1/4 – 1/2 inch wide or it will be rather difficult to cut. I used a paper towel on top of the cookie cutter to make it easier.
  11. Put the beets in a bowl.
  12. Add the Shallot slices.
  13. Pour the dressing on top.
  14. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.
  15. Let sit for 30 minutes.
  16. Plate and sprinkle toasted pine nuts and toss.
  17. Serve
Serving size: 1/2 cup Fat: 6.6 Carbohydrates: 19.9 Fiber: 5.3 Protein: 3.6
Notes

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value — 4 per serving

NOTE: When using golden and white beets, please note that they will also turn a reddish color.

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Filed Under: All Posts, From the Ground, Side Dishes Tagged With: Beets, Cook, Kitchen, Orange, Recipe

Colorful Red Quinoa Salad

May 28, 2011 By Fran 8 Comments
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Quinoa SaladQuinoa is my current habit.  Well, that and beets, but we’ll talk about beets in a future post.  I’ve tried quinoa before, but struggled to find the culinary attraction in this strange looking grain with the little whilte curlycue tail.  I’m happy to report that I’ve crossed over to the “gotta have it often” side of the ancient grains camp.

I’ve made it three FOUR times this week and always serve it as a cool salad.  It’s quick and easy and oh so healthy and fits well into a weight loss program!  The texture is tender while crunchy, satisfying that need for something to chew on.

People I know that struggle with diabetes find it’s a grain they can process with little to no negative effects and I find it cures the carbohydrate cravings I have at mealtime.  It’s like rice, but with a satisfying crunch.

The inspiration for this dish came from a whole wheat couscous sample provided by Bob’s Red Mill, at BlogHerFood this past weekend and liked how they served it — as a salad.  I went back twice, although I prefer regular couscous to the whole wheat verison.  With that inspiration I made my own version using quinoa.  In my research to find a link to Bob’s Red Mill I found a link for the Moroccan Whole Wheat Couscous recipe they used at the demo table, but it was for a quinoa recipe that looks great as well, although not quite what they sampled.

I had a package of red quinoa in the pantry and while I find it has a bit more earthy flavor than golden quinoa, I needed to use it.  I love the color, especially with the contrast of cucumber and parsley.

No matter the recipe, quinoa is wonderfully versatile.  Give Quinoa a try.  I’ll be surprised if you don’t find you love it and I hope you let me know.  I’d love to hear from you!

Quinoa Salad
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Recipe Type: Side Dish
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 2
The ancient grain makes a great side dish at any meal
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup quinoa (red or golden)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup diced cucumbers
  • 1 small shallot, sliced thinly
  • 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt (or regular sea salt if not available)
  • a few grinds fresh black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon roasted, salted peanuts
Instructions
  1. Bring the water to a boil on high heat.
  2. When the water is boiling, stir in the quinoa and bring back to the boil.
  3. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered for 15 minutes.
  5. While the quinoa is resting, whisk the oil and vinegar in a small bowl.
  6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir unti combined.
  7. When quinoa has rested, let cool until it’s just warm to the touch, or put in the refrigerator to chill. I like to stir the oil and vinegar into the quinoa when it’s warm to the touch. The result is creamy quinoa.
  8. When cooled, add cucumber, shallot and dressing and stir to thoroughly combine.
  9. Sprinkle nuts on top and stir.
  10. Serve
Serving size: 1/2 cup Calories: 272 Fat: 11.2g Carbohydrates: 35.9g Fiber: 4.1g Protein: 8.8g
Notes

This delicious side dish will cost a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 7 points.

Feel free to add your favorite vegetables and herbs. I’ve made the dish with fresh, thinly sliced radishes and a tablespoon of fresh baby peas. Cilantro, cumin and minced jalapeño peppers give the dish a South of the Border flavor.

If you’ve got vegetable broth in the house, use it to boil the quinoa. If you’ve got the points to spend, chicken broth would be delicious. Take a chance, use your imagination, you really can’t go wrong.

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Filed Under: All Posts, From the Ground, Side Dishes Tagged With: Beets, Bob's Red Mill, Points Plus, Quinoa, Recipe, Salad, Weight Watchers
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