Vegetable Dip

One of the best things of being on vacation is catching up with old friends.  I am expecting an old friend shortly for dinner. We both still swim after all these years - in fact, she is the life guard at the pool I swim at.  The only problem with that is she knows if I cheat on my lengths - she`s very observant that way. 

I have made this dip for a pre-dinner snack.  This one goes over very well at parties. It is not one hundred percent gluten-free as the soup mix used has some barley extract in it, so if your gluten intolerance is severe stay away from this one.

You will need:

• 2 cups of sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1 envelope of Knorr dried vegetable soup mix
• Soy sauce
• Onion powder
• Paprika
• 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
• Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 onion, chopped

Mix the soup mix and chopped onion in the sour cream or plain yogurt.  Add a dash of onion powder and a dash of paprika.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and a couple of handfuls of shredded cheddar.

It is best to make this dip the day before serving so that the dehydrated vegetables plump up with the moisture of the sour cream or yogurt. 

Roasted Vegetables (vegan)

This is one of my favourite recipes for the fall. It is the truest version of comfort food.  The colours and the flavours come together in this dish and just make me feel warm and cozy inside.  This is another recipe I have picked up from my friend Gail.

You will need:

• 1 red pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 to 2 cups of mushrooms, quartered
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix all the veggies in a large bowl.  You don't have to use what I use - you use whatever you like in whatever quantities you like.  This is a great way to use up those "almost there" vegetables in the fridge.

Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste and mix in with the veggies.  In a prep bowl mix about a 1/4 cup of olive oil and a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar.  Mix in the garlic, chili flakes and oregano.  You can adjust these amounts to your quantity of veggies and your taste. Mix in oil mixture to veggies. 

Put veggie in a rectangular glass baking dish.  I prefer to spray it with non-stick cooking spray first.  Bake for 1 hour at 350F oven stirring every 20 minutes or so. 

Tatziki

Here I am on Day 2 of my vacation. The dog and I worked on cleaning the basement - and he was a great help.  I am off to see a scary movie this afternoon - can you imagine the middle of the day!  David Caruso is busy, so I'm on my own for this one. Before I leave for the movies, I decided to post some more recipes.  This one is a perfect companion to my lemon potatoes.  There is a lot of hurry up and wait with this recipe, but doing this slowly is important to the success of this.

You will need:

• 1/2 a tub of Bulkan yogurt 
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1/3 cucumber, peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper

 First you need to strain the yogurt.  I find this is best to do this over night.  Most recipes talk about straining the yogurt in a cheese cloth, but I find a coffee filter works just as well.  Put a strainer over a bowl and line the strainer with a coffee filter.  Put the yogurt in the coffee filter and refrigerate over night.

The next morning you will be surprised how much liquid has drained out of the yogurt.

Put the yogurt in a bowl and stir in garlic and olive oil.  I grate the cucumber with my cheese grater and put it in a separate bowl.  With clean hands I squeeze the cucumber so as much liquid as possible comes out of the cucumber. Stir into the yogurt mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  You can add a tiny bit of sugar (no more than 1/4 tsp.) if you find it too acidity. 

I find it best to let this sit in the fridge until the next day so that the flavours all come together.

Broccoli Soup

Today being the first day of my vacation, I decided I was going to park myself in front of the TV all day and veg out until I was sufficiently bored.  Between my date with David Caruso (I find him really sexy and I can't tell you why) on CSI Miami and a day-time movie in the afternoon, I made myself this soothing broccoli soup for lunch. This recipe came from my friend Gail and you won't believe the "secret ingredient".  Here we go....

You will need:

• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 2 medium onions, cubed
• 1 baking potato, chopped
• 1 bunch of broccoli, chopped
• 2 Knorr vegetable cubes
• 4 cups of water
• olive oil
• 6 triangles of Laughing Cow cheese

Saute the onions, garlic and chili flakes in the olive oil.  Add the cubed potatoes and broccoli.  Add the water and Knorr vegetable cubes.  Simmer until vegetables are cooked through.  Stir in the Laughing Cow cheese.  I know this sounds weird, but its really good.  You can use an immersion blender to blend the soup, but I prefer the pieces left whole for more texture.

Cauliflower Curry (vegan)

Today being such a rainy day, made me crave some comfort food.  I wanted to do something with cauliflower and chick peas, so we came up with this curry.

You will need:

• 1 can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp curry
• 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. masala garam
• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped and washed
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper

Heat garlic and chili flakes in vegetable oil. Saute onion, carrot and jalapeno. When softened add curry, cumin and masala garam. Add more oil if needed.  When incorporated add tomatoes, chick peas and cauliflower.  Simmer for 45 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spicy Nappa Cabbage (vegan)

This is a very mild dish, spiced up in our usual fashion.  I find nappa or Chinese cabbage much milder than the other types of cabbage. 

You will need:

• 3 or 4 cups of sliced nappa cabbage, washed
• olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper

Heat garlic and chili flakes in olive oil. Add cabbage, cover and let it steam for a bit.  When cabbage has softened and is tender, add salt and pepper to taste. 

Lemon Potatoes (vegan)

This is one of our favourites.  These are amazing.  If chop them and fry them the next day, they are just like candy.

You will need:

• 8 to 10 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Cooking spray

Spray a glass casserole bowl with  cooking spray.  This recipe is very messy, so you will need it.

Mix all ingredients except potatoes.  Stir in potatoes.  Bake in 350 F over for one hour covered and another hour uncovered.  Stir every half an hour.