Month: September 2010 (Page 1 of 2)

Recipe Collection For A Bounty of Vegetables

September 21, 2010 / Lindsey / 9 Comments

September is always a very busy month in our kitchen as I scramble to use as much of our fresh garden produce in as many meals, smoothies, muffins, and cookies as possible! I’ve also been freezing meals made with garden produce, as well as freezing the produce itself to use in the coming winter months (so far, cooked kale as well as peach & cucumber slices for smoothies).

So I’ve put together a recipe collection (from my archive) categorized by vegetable in hopes that it might give you some fresh ideas if you’re overloaded with a particular veggie at this time of the year!

**List UPDATED on 2/3/2016**

Homemade Bubbies Pickles (raw, lacto-fermented pickles)

Gazpacho

Israeli Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Quinoa Salad, Greek Style

Cucumber Raita

Grapes

Concord Grape Freezer Jam (sugar & pectin free)

Concord Grape Fruit Leather

Grape Leaves

Pickled Grape Leaves

Zucchini Dolmas

Kale

Kale Chips

Minnestrone Soup

Parsley

Israeli Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Pesto

Tabbouleh

Zucchini Dolmas

Pumpkin

(see Winter Squash, below)

Spinach

Greek Melt Pita Sandwiches

Green Smoothies

Green smoothie frozen concentrate cubes

Spanakopita

Tomatoes

Gazpacho

Israeli Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Fresh Tomato & Zucchini Chili

Greek Melt Pita Sandwiches

Minnestrone Soup

Quinoa Salad, Greek Style

Salsa Fresca (Fresh Salsa with Avocado)

Tabbouleh

Tomato-Quinoa Soup

Zucchini Parmesan

Winter Squash/Pumpkin

Cranberry-Pumpkin Muffins

Japanese Squash and Mushroom Soup

Pumpkin Pie Fruit Leather

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Zucchini/Summer Squash

Zucchini Dolmas

Zucchini Pie (Crustless)

Fresh Tomato & Zucchini Chili

Zucchini Parmesan

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

Zucchini Cake with Spiced Frosting

Zucchini Muffins (or Bread)

Free Shipping Today Only (Sept 20) at Tropical Traditions!

September 20, 2010 / Lindsey / 0 Comments

It’s another Free Shipping day at Tropical Traditions which saves about $10-15 off your order, so it’s a good day to stock up, or try them out if you haven’t before. I love this company’s products and use them daily! Today only, Monday September 20th through Midnight EDT, they’re offering free ground-only shipping when you enter coupon code 10910 at checkout.

They have lots of high-quality products; here are my favorites:

Moisturizing lotion – I use this every day on my face and hands. It’s the most luxurious stuff, and very gentle since it has only a few wholesome ingredients. Definitely my all-time favorite lotion.

Virgin organic coconut oil – Great for cooking, and also for skin!

Organic raw honey – This is the best-tasting honey I’ve ever had. I like to buy and taste lots of different honeys, and this one always wins, hands down. When I first tried it, my eyes got big and my mouth dropped open; it just has the most amazing taste! Quintessential, flowery honey taste.

Coconut cream concentrate – I love this stuff. LOVE it. The “format” is a little strange, because when you receive it, it will have settled out into a hardened layer of coconut oil and a layer of dried/finely ground coconut meat. You’ll wonder what to do with it at first; what I do is put the jar into a pan of simmering water and let it sit there until the contents have softened and liquefied, and then I can easily stir it up. Then, I put it in the fridge until it’s hardened again. Once hardened, you can then store it in the fridge or at room temperature (it won’t separate again unless it gets really hot in your house). I usually just eat this stuff plain, it’s so good; I break it into chunks with a knife, and eat it as a snack. Sometimes I’ll eat it dipped in the raw honey, which is a very decadent and extremely delicious snack!!!

*****

Now, I’ve also tried their organic bar soap, and though it was really nice soap, Hubby and I have never seen a bar of soap get used up so fast! It was weird. It just seemed like it was gone in record time. So, that’s the only product I wouldn’t get again. I haven’t tried every single product that they sell…but the ones I listed above, I make sure to never run out of!

And I bought the Atchara once out of curiosity, and it was extremely strong (even for this vinegar lover!), and a little weird. Not quite a favorite. 🙂

*****

Anyway, if you buy anything and you’re a new customer, you can also get this Virgin Coconut Oil book for free (any time, not just today) by entering my User ID, which is 6032410. When you’re going through the checkout process and you’ve added your shipping address and phone number, you will see the question “How did you hear of us?” Just choose “Referred by a friend” and then a new “User ID” field will appear below that where you can enter my User ID. (screen shot below)

Philosophy Friday: When Ya Gotta Give In, Ya Gotta Give In

September 16, 2010 / Lindsey / 3 Comments

Normally I’m really good about staying away from junk food. I would rather go hungry than eat fast food, I almost never buy prepackaged crackers or chips or cookies, and even though sugar is my weak spot, I try to make it unrefined sugar as often as possible. And when I’m at a party or function and there’s junk food, I don’t go crazy. (Wait, maybe that’s because I don’t really go to parties or functions. Huh.)

Even still…I’m all about health and nourishing food, but sometimes I just crave a good ole rotten bag of Lay’s Potato Chips. That’s right mate: salt-coated highly refined vegetable oil with some potato slices thrown in for crunch. I never buy them normally; that’s a lot of calories for zero nutrition.

And yet today, the siren song of that yellow bag drowned out all my reasons to not eat them. The bag sat there in the vending machine, only a thin pane of glass and a dollar bill between me and it. I stood there a while, debating.

And then I bought it.

And ate the whole frickin’ bag.

And they were worth E V E R Y S I N G L E C A L O R I E.

With junk, don’t give in very often. But sometimes…very rarely so that it’s a real treat when you do…GIVE IN.

Israeli Cucumber-Tomato Salad

September 14, 2010 / Lindsey / 2 Comments

I love eating this light, fresh Israeli staple dish almost every day now that the tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and parsley are so abundant in the garden. In fact, preparing and eating this particular salad brings me so much joy because almost all of its ingredients come from our garden. I close my eyes and savor each bite, knowing I’m nourishing my body with the very freshest, purest food possible, and that feels so good! Our homegrown vegetables seem so alive and life-giving! I’m very grateful to have them.

Using quality ingredients in this salad will make it shine!…fresh, flavorful vegetables, good olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, unrefined sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

The ingredient amounts below are approximate, and I never measure when making this salad. Adjust the recipe to your liking!

Israeli Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Makes 1 large salad or two small side salads

1 large tomato, chopped (roughly equal to the amount of cucumber used)

1/2 a cucumber, chopped (roughly equal to the amount of tomato used)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (approximately!)

2-4 Tbsp green onion (or substitute a smaller amount of red or white onion), finely chopped

1-2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half a lemon)

2 Tbsp olive oil

Sea salt / freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine the tomato, cucumber, parsley, and onion; the proportions are up to you, but the recipe gives a rough idea. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the salad just before serving; I love the zingy taste of lemon so I use equal parts lemon juice and olive oil, but it’s more common to use 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts olive oil. Add salt & pepper to taste!

For packed lunches, I like to mix up the tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, onion, and ground pepper the night before, and then pack the olive oil and lemon juice in a small glass jar, adding that — along with the salt — at the last minute.

I love mine plain, but you can also serve this with rustic crackers or toasted pita bread.

For a nice variation, add Feta cheese and Kalamata olives! Or, add some cooked quinoa for protein to make it more of a main dish.

Delicious Crustless Zucchini Pie

September 12, 2010 / Lindsey / 3 Comments

This is another favorite zucchini recipe of mine, and right now is the perfect time to make it, with fresh basil and massive amounts of zucchini coming out of the garden. It’s an easy one-dish wonder, and I love to eat it any time of day — leftovers are great for breakfast! I also like to freeze slices of the pie and pull them out in mid-winter for a nice treat.

Zucchini Pie

3 cups grated zucchini

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup grated provolone or mozzarella cheese

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped (use more if you like!)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss everything into a large bowl and mix it up well! Pour into an oiled, 10″ round pie plate (or similar baking vessel, like an 8″x8″ pan). Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and a butter knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool 10-15 minutes before slicing.

So easy! Enjoy!