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Lemongrass-Basil Yellow Squash and Potatoes

Is there another name for yellow squash?  I only know it as yellow squash, but it’s so tasty I think it deserves a nicer name.  Since it’s major harvest and put up time, soccer season, football and band season, I find my dinners are rather lackluster and repetitive.  I have lots of stuff, but my inspiration is waning as I think about my days and evenings ahead.  Last night though, I had my Yellow Squash and Potatoes out, trying to decide what to do and then it hit me – Lemon Grass and Basil are just sitting in the herb beds waiting to be used.  Well not so much the basil since the Japanese beetles have been munching away at it, but I’ve flicked them into the soapy water bath.  Best way to take care of those things is with a bowl of soapy water.  I do tend to use a lot of the same ingredients over and over, because they come from our garden.  I keep expecting my son to say – No Not Chard AGAIN!!! and run off screaming into the night, but so far he hasn’t.

Anyway, this tasty side dish was divine with our steak …

Yams & Chard

I had Yams I wanted to use before they went bad, and Chard out in the garden starting to take over and go to seed.  So I put together a dish using both.  My lovely daughter took one look and said – “What are we frikken vegans?  Where’s the meat?”  Sorry guys, this is a meatless meal, but it turned out very delicious.  I like maple syrup, but didn’t want it overly sweet, so I used Maple Syrup wine instead.  My daughter even admitted it was good, and didn’t bother getting herself a meat sandwich. Lots of great vitamins and nutrition in this meal.

Ingredients:

• 3 yams peeled and cubed
• 2 big handfuls of chard
• Olive Oil
• 2 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• salt
• pepper
• 1/8 tsp dried ginger
• couple of splashes of Maple Syrup Wine

Directions:

Rinse and …

Green Barley & Kale Gratin

Since I have plenty of Kale, I search for different recipes to try out.  I followed the recipe on this one, thinking, okay, we’ll try it and see.  It looked kind of on the funky side to me with the bright green, but it was very good tasting. My daughter said it reminded her of pumpkin pie.
This recipe was also from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.  This book is one of my favorite resources.  I’m not a vegetarian, but it offers ways of cooking meatless meals that appeal to me.  I actually have a first edition book that I bought twelve years ago and still use today.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup pearl barley rinsed
• Salt and freshly milled pepper
• 1 large bunch kale, about 1 1/4 pounds stems entirely removed
• 2 tbs butter
• 3 tbs flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk or basic vegetable stock
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup grated gruyere or provolone

Directions:

In a saucepan, add the barley to 1 quart …

Tofurky – Yes, It Does Taste Like Turkey

When I told my son as he left for the football game that his dad and I were going to have Tofurky for dinner, his response was,"Good luck with that."  I had the feeling he was glad to not be part of the experiment.  My family doesn’t usually mind the reviewing, especially if it involves chocolate, but this was a little different.  My husband and I however, were willing.  We’ve had some bad pretend vegetarian meat before.  There’s the not dog incident.  My kids don’t think you should mess with hot dogs, so tofu dogs that were super spicy as a cover up was not a good choice. Tofurky is a good choice and is the best selling turkey alternative for the holidays.

We each had a slice of Tofurky that I heated up in the microwave.  They had a stuffing (or dressing as my husband calls it) in the center, and were covered with a gravy.  It was a decently good tasting food.

Our opinion is …

Eggplant Parmesan

One of my favorite shows on the Food Network is Throwdown with Bobby Flay, where the chef challenges a specialist to a judged contest to see who makes the better dish.  It’s all in good fun and I learn a lot from watching the show.  A recent throwdown about eggplant parmesan inspired me to revisit my favorite summer comfort food!

Spaghetti Squash Medley

  I made this spaghetti squash medley when my cousins visited the other day. I wanted a special side dish, that would seem summery and light, and also would use some of the vegetables I grow in my garden.  The spaghetti squash itself was the only vegetable I didn’t have planted, but I may try it next year. 

Bean salads: healthy fast food

This took me all of five minutes to make!

I ate this with a toasted whole wheat roll, avocado slices and some fresh corn on the cob.  Bean salad is great when it’s 90 degrees out and you want something super easy to prepare.  You could also stuff it in a pita and have it for lunch. It’s also a great side dish for a more ambitious meal.

I used:

1 can or drained and rinsed cannellini beans (2 cups cooked dried beans if you like)

1 TBL olive oil

1 TBL balsamic vinegar

2 cloves minced garlic (use one if you’re not a garlic addict like me)

1/2 of a small vidalia onion, finely chopped

seasoning to taste:  Mrs. Dash Italian Blend, kosher salt, and shredded fresh basil or whatever you feel like.  Parmesan cheese is also optional.

To prepare, stir everything in a bowl and serve.  You can even serve it in the mixing bowl (as I clearly did!)

Gazpacho

Our tomatoes are starting to come in. Right now it’s just a trickle but in a few weeks we’re going to have so many, it’ll be time to be creative. We make salads and sauces and soups. Today I’d like to share a wonderful recipe for gazpacho. It took me a long time to try gazpacho. I love tomato soup, but the thought of eating it cold didn’t sit well with me. Once I tried it I was hooked, I hope you’ll be too.