(Un) Fried Green Tomatoes ♥ Recipe for Baked Green Tomatoes

Thin slices of green tomatoes dipped in a seasoned cornmeal breading, then baked at high heat. Virtually no fat, thus 'healthy fried green tomatoes' (and baked, of course, not fried) but still full of flavor. Weight Watchers 2 points.

Fried green tomatoes have been a long time reaching A Veggie Venture, though not for lack of trying. Three years running, I tried new techniques. For a recipe that is so homely and humble -- heavens, we're just trying to use up upripe tomatoes just before or just after frost -- fried green tomatoes take a trick or two.

The breading needs to be light in texture but big on flavor.
The tomatoes need to be sliced thin, so they'll cook clear through.
Most of all, the fried green tomatoes need to be baked, not fried, giving the tomatoes more time to cook but also to eliminate all that gobby fat that the breading will soak up if you let it.

Is any of this heresy to southerners? I hope not, these are mighty good!

RECIPE for (UN) FRIED GREEN TOMATOES aka BAKED GREEN TOMATOES

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 50 minutes
Serves 4 (assumed 1/2 a tomato a serving)

BREADING
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon kosher salt (don't skimp on the salt)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or the pepper!)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pimenton or sweet paprika (or cumin or maybe garam masala)

TOMATOES
Buttermilk
2 large green tomatoes, core removed in a V shape, sliced crosswise about 1/3 inch thick

Preheat oven to 400F. Place a baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes to get it plenty hot. Spray it with cooking spray. Meanwhile, stir together the breading. Place the breading in a large shallow container, the buttermilk in another. Slice the tomatoes. Once the baking sheet has been preheated, work quickly. Dip each tomato slice into the buttermilk, then into the breading. Arrange on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the slices over. Bake another 10 minutes or until cooked clear through. Serve hot, they don't improve!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 107Cal; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 1mg Cholesterol; 613mg Sodium; 22g Carb; 2g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 4g Protein; Weight Watchers 2 points

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Cooking Light

KITCHEN NOTES
Coarsely ground stone-ground cornmeal is too rough and won't adhere. Fine-ground stone-ground cornmeal may well work but I've never seen it.
It's quickest and cleanest to dip the tomatoes with your hands. Get right in there!

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MORE RECIPES for GREEN TOMATOES
~ Scalloped Green Tomatoes
~ Green Tomato Pie ~
~ more tomato recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Warm Green Tomato & Apricot Salad ~
from the Inadvertent Gardener
~ Salsa Verde with Green Tomatoes, Avocado & Cilantro ~
from Kalyn's Kitchen
~ Spicy Green Tomato Soup ~
from The Joy of Soup
~ more green tomato recipes ~
via Food Blog Search, a hand-selected list of the best food blogs
from all across the world

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

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How to Roast Garlic ♥ The Recipe & A Planting Reminder

How to roast whole heads of garlic to a deep, dark and luscious creamy paste. Plus, a reminder that October 15th is when we plant garlic in the fall!

When roasting vegetables, or baking a casserole, or simmering a big pot of soup, I love to throw something else into the oven, too, making efficient use of the energy. More times than not, that 'something else' is a dish of garlic heads. Then for a week, I tuck roasted garlic into everything I cook. No more vampires, garlic breath be **mned!

And did you know that fall -- yes, fall -- is when we plant garlic? If you grow nothing else, it's ever so easy to plant a small garlic crop. It's a start! Check out my How and Why Guide to Growing Garlic. It's an especially fun project with kids, carrying through on the lessons from the summer's herb pots, tomato plants and vegetable gardens.

HOW to ROAST GARLIC

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour

Aluminum foil
Olive oil
Kosher salt & pepper
Whole heads of garlic, washed well, especially the area around the root end, enough to fill the baking dish

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking dish with foil (enough to both cover the bottom and to fold over the top). Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice off the top 1/3 to 1/4 of the stem end of the head of garlic. Rub cut-side down in the oil. Repeat with the remaining heads, filling the dish. Wrap the foil over the top, creating a packet. Roast for 50 - 60 minutes until garlic cloves turn golden to deep brown. Use immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator for use within a week.

How to Use Roasted Garlic: Squeeze a warm clove of roasted garlic onto a slice of buttered bread: ambrosia. After that, throw in a clove or two whenever you're already using garlic, stews, eggs, vegetable dishes, etc. The flavor difference is remarkable!

How do YOU Use Roasted Garlic? Leave an idea in the comments!

TODAY'S RECIPE INSPIRATION
Adapted from an article published by Stef Tolle of Iron Stef in St. Louis' great monthly food magazine, Sauce Magazine.

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MORE GARLIC IDEAS
When I asked Kitchen Parade readers about their
~ favorite kitchen tools ~
many mentioned a garlic press!

When I show people
~ how to make salad dressing ~
the first step is to rub the salad bowl with a clove of garlic

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

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Whole Pumpkin Baked with Custard ♥ A Fun Recipe for Fall

Today's pumpkin recipe: Stuff a whole pumpkin with custard, bake it, and what do you get? A fun fall dessert!

Finally, pumpkins! For a year now, I've been waiting-waiting for pumpkin season. You see, two recipes had tucked themselves into the back of my brain and refused to let go. One cooked meat and vegetables into a stew, right in a whole pumpkin settled into the coals of a campfire -- sorry, I can't recommend that one yet, perhaps ever. The other cooked custard right inside a whole pumpkin. Yes, custard cooked inside a whole pumpkin, that one I happily recommend!

The stuffed pumpkin and custard recipe comes from "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American" by Jeff Smith, an uneven but often fascinating look at 'American ethnic cooking'. The recipe's headnotes say that custard baked in a pumpkin was a favorite of George Washington. It's kind of a cozy fall dessert, definitely dramatic in appearance and meant to be shared.

2010 UPDATE Turns out, the fascination with stuffed pumpkins is an annual affair. Check out the brand-new Stuffed Pumpkin with Apple & Cranberry!

RECIPE for WHOLE PUMPKIN BAKED with CUSTARD

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Serves 4

1 small pumpkin, preferably a 'sugar' pumpkin or a 'pie pumpkin' or anything other than a pumpkin whose destiny is a jack o'lantern

CUSTARD (makes about 2 cups liquid)
3 eggs, whisked well
1 cup cream (sorry, half & half doesn't thicken well)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional but nice)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 tablespoon butter, in tiny cubes

Preheat the oven to 350F or 400F. Wash the outside of the pumpkin very well. Carefully insert a knife into the flesh to cut off the 'top'. Remove and discard the seeds (or save them for Spicy Sweet Pumpkin Seeds) and the pumpkin 'gunk' inside.

Whisk together the custard ingredients, then pour into the pumpkin. Sprinkle the butter cubes over top. Place the stem-top back onto the pumpkin and transfer to a baking dish. Bake for about 90 minutes or until the custard is firm. (Check after 60 minutes but both pumpkins I cooked took a full 90 minutes.)

To serve, use long-stemmed spoons (such as iced tea spoons) to share, scooping up bits of the cooked pumpkin along with custard.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 361 Calories; 27g Tot Fat; 17g Sat Fat; 247mg Cholesterol; 100mg Sodium; 21g Carb; 0g Fiber; 17g Sugar; 6g Protein; Weight Watchers 9 points (yikes, that's way more than I'd have guessed, it's one of the reasons why I'm running a poll, asking where we'd like to see nutrition information).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American by Jeff Smith, 1987

KITCHEN NOTES
This recipe was tested at both 350F and 400F, both worked fine. It's a good excuse to roast some butternut squash at the same temperature.
A grapefruit spoon's serrated blade is ever so useful for cutting stuff out of vegetables. I use one all the time.
We added currants to one batch, they tasted great but sank to the bottom.
If there's custard liquid leftover, pour it into small ramekins. Then place the ramekins in a low flat oven-safe dish and fill halfway up the sides of the ramekins with hot or even boiling water. (This is called a 'hot water bath'.) Place the dish in the oven alongside the whole pumpkin, the custards will be done about the same time or a little sooner.
If your pumpkin can hold more than two cups of liquid, you may want to make more liquid.

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POSITIVELY MORE! PUMPKIN RECIPES
~ Pumpkin Corn Bread ~
~ Pumpkin Muffins ~
~ Pumpkin Pudding ~
~ more pumpkin recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Autumn Pumpkin Bread ~
~ Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars ~
~ Pumpkin Bread Pudding ~
~ more pumpkin recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

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Supper Casserole with Pumpkin & Green Chile Cornbread Topping ♥ A Welcome-to-Fall Recipe

A one-dish casserole supper, meat cooked with on-hand vegetables and flavored with green chile salsa. The cornbread topping repeats the green chile flavor and adds pumpkin for color, moisture and nourishment.

Who else has noticed? When winter turns to spring, we long for the first bites of spring, waiting with much anticipation for the first asparagus, the first artichokes, the first strawberries.

But fall? Not so much. As soon as fall 'happens' -- it hit here in St. Louis on Monday -- we can immediately start cooking our fall favorites. You see, they've been around for a few weeks, we've just been ignoring them to get our last fill of tomatoes and peppers and okra and and and.

For me, cornbread is one of the siren calls of autumn and the cold-weather months, baked first, baked last, baked often in between. It was a welcome welcome to autumn. I pulled this Supper Casserole out of the pantry, you can too by using what meat (Note to Vegetarians) and vegetables you have on hand, then topping it with the pumpkin-colored and chile-spiked cornbread.

Hello fall, glad you're here.

SUPPER CASSEROLE RECIPE with PUMPKIN & GREEN CHILE CORNBREAD TOPPING

Hands-on time: 35 minutes
Time to table: 90 minutes
Serves 6 or 8

MEAT LAYER
Splash of water
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey or in my case, ground elk)

2 cups slow-roasted tomatoes or 15-ounces canned diced tomatoes
1 cup green chile salsa
1 cup frozen corn (no need to thaw)
15 ounces canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée (make sure to buy 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon kosher salt or salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large deep skillet, cook the water, onion and ground meat until onions are soft and meat is fully cooked (for the most flavor, let the meat 'brown' and even get a small amount of 'burn' before turning it). Stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a low casserole dish.

CORNBREAD LAYER
1 egg, whisked
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
4 tablespoons butter, cubed and melted in the microwave in 10-second increments
1/2 cup green chile salsa

2 cups flour, fluffed to aerate before measuring
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (stone-ground cornmeal is too coarse here for my taste)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, pumpkin, butter and salsa. Separately, whisk together the remaining ingredients, then stir into the egg mixture. Using two spoons (one to scoop, one to scrape) place small dollops of the cornbread batter atop the Meat Layer, butting them against each other. Bake for about 40 minutes or until Meat Layer is bubbly and the Cornbread Layer is fully cooked. Cover and let cool for about 10 minutes. Serve and savor!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
If Serving 6 or 8: 406/305 Calories; 34/25g Tot Fat; 8/6g Sat Fat; 105/79mg Cholesterol; 1811/1358mg Sodium; 41/31g Carb; 8/6g Fiber; 11/8g Sugar; 25/18g Protein; Weight Watchers 10/7 points

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Inspired by recipe from Better Homes & Gardens, October 2009

KITCHEN NOTES
Play around with the ingredients in the Meat Layer, adding more vegetables to extend the meat further or to feed more mouths. If using slower-to-cook vegetables such as carrots, winter squash or sweet potato, cut them into very small cubes so they'll cook evenly and quickly.

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MORE CORNBREAD RECIPES
~ Sweet Cornbread ~
~ Pumpkin Cornbread ~
(which I made earlier this week and inspired the casserole's topping)
~ more cornmeal recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Skillet Cornbread ~
~ Apple Cider Indian Pudding ~
~ more cornmeal recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Rosemary Potatoes ♥ Recipe & Roasting Tips

Just in time for roasting fall vegetables, four tricks for roasting starchy vegetables like potatoes and winter squash using less oil without compromising on texture or flavor.

Here in St. Louis, we're caught in that lovely 'bridge' between summer and fall. There's no deciding whether to slice up a quick Insalata Caprese to get the final fill of summer tomatoes or to tip over into autumn's vegetables. The solution? Salad for lunch, potatoes for supper! These Rosemary Potatoes, talk about comfort food when paired with Meatloaf. Turns out, however, that the technique used here for the potatoes can be applied to roasting other vegetables as well.

Roasting vegetables, it's the number one way to draw out flavor and sweetness. But over the years, I've watched various recipes call for so much oil. Where A Veggie Venture allows for 1 tablespoon of fat per pound of vegetables (for most although not all recipes), other recipes call for four to eight times that. No wonder those vegetables taste so good!

So here are four tricks to roasting vegetables with less oil, ones that can be applied to one vegetable after another:

DIRTY A DISH If you drizzle oil over top of the vegetables right on the baking sheet, you'll need more, it's just not as easy to cover the cut surfaces. So to reduce how much oil is used, toss the vegetables and oil together in a bowl, tossing well, more than one or two turns. You really want to distribute the oil.
ADD A LIQUID Extra liquid helps distribute the oil further. In this recipe it's balsamic vinegar, but you could use chicken stock too. I even wonder about buttermilk though haven't tried it. (Has anyone?) I might also mix good mustard into some chicken stock.
ADD FLAVOR The balsamic vinegar is a brilliant touch in the flavor department, for it adds color, and sugars that caramelize and the great complementary acid that works so well with the creaminess of the potatoes. With that touch of rosemary, too? Delicious. An added benefit? These potatoes are filling and satisfying, the portion size doesn't seem skimpy.
ALLOW TIME So many recipes call for roasting at a medium temperature for a short period of time, hardly enough to cook the potatoes through let alone drawing out flavor. Instead, use a high temperature and toss often, distributing moisture and heat and letting more than one surface take the brunt of the heat.

ROSEMARY POTATOES RECIPE

Hands-on time: 10 minutes plus occasional attention during the roasting
Time to table: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Serves 8

2 pounds small red potatoes, some times labeled 'new' potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped small

Additional kosher salt

Set oven to 400F. Wash the potatoes well, remove any blemishes and anything sprouting from the potato eyes. Cut into quarters. (If you're in a rush, the smaller the pieces, the quicker the potatoes will cook.) In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the remaining ingredients -- use your hands, it'll go quicker and you'll get tactile confirmation of how well the oil is distributed. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for about an hour, tossing every 15 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, be sure that a cut-side of each potato piece is touching the pan. If needed, roast further until at least some of the pieces are quite dark and caramelized. If needed, season with additional salt. Serve and savor!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 98 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 152mg Sodium; 19g Carb; 2g Fiber; 2g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Inspired by a recipe from Food & Wine, January 1997

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MORE ROASTED VEGETABLE RECIPES
~ Slow-Roasted Tomatoes ~
this is what's making my kitchen smell like a tomato factory this week!
~ Roasted Cauliflower ~
~ Roasted Potato & Red Onion ~
~ Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Glaze ~

~ more roasted vegetable recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

MORE RECIPES pairing ROSEMARY & POTATOES
~ Grilled Rosemary Potatoes ~
from Panini Happy
~ Rosemary Potatoes ~
from Fearless Kitchen
~ Glazed Rosemary & Garlic Potatoes ~
from eCurry
~ more rosemary potato recipes ~
via Food Blog Search, a hand-selected list of the best food blogs
from all across the world

SPUD FUN (because I can't resist)
Well, a Girl Potato and A Boy Potato had eyes for each other, and finally they got married, and had a little sweet potato, which they called “Yam”. Of course, they wanted the best for Yam. When it was time, they told her about the facts of life. They warned her about going out and getting half-baked, so she wouldn't get accidentally mashed, and get a bad name for herself like 'Hot Potato,' and end up with a bunch of Tater Tots. Yam said "not to worry, no Spud would get her into the sack and make a rotten potato out of her!" But on the other hand she wouldn't stay home and become a Couch Potato either. She would get plenty of exercise so as not to be skinny like her Shoestring cousins. When she went off to Europe, Mr. and Mrs. Potato told Yam to watch out for the hard-boiled guys from Ireland. And the greasy guys from France called the French Fries. And when she went out west in the USA, they told her to watch out for the Indians so she wouldn't get scalloped. Yam said she would stay on the straight and narrow and wouldn't associate with those high class Yukon Golds, or the ones from the other side of the tracks who advertise their trade on all the trucks that say, 'Frito Lay.' Mr. and Mrs. Potato sent Yam to Idaho P.U. (that's Potato University) so when she graduated she'd really be in the chips. But in spite of all they did for her, one-day Yam came home and announced she was going to marry former NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw. Tom Brokaw!!! Mr. and Mrs. Potato were very upset. They told Yam she couldn't possibly marry Tom Brokaw because he's just... well he's just a... A COMMONTATER !!!

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Perfect Stovetop Brown Rice ♥ New Recipe for Cooking Brown Rice

Today's recipe: A new technique for cooking brown rice, yielding moist and flavorful grains of rice. No more gummy brown rice!

Who's noticed? If you follow the directions on a bag or box of brown rice, it turns out tough and gummy and unappetizing. It's no wonder that people turn to rice cookers for help -- or worse, douse brown rice with butter; or worse still, stick with the far less healthful white rice whose nutrients have been stripped away.

For winter, there's the oh-so-popular Oven-Baked Brown Rice that's just oh-so-perfect, yielding almost-nutty bites of moist, flavorful rice. Frankly, it's my favorite way to cook brown rice. But here it is, summer, and turning on the oven for an hour while the air conditioning runs seems to defeat the purpose. So I was intrigued to see Saveuer's new technique for cooking rice on the stovetop. It's dead simple and takes only an hour to get to the table, 15 minutes faster than the Oven-Baked Brown Rice.

Another good thing about this technique for cooking brown rice? It stays moist! So I don't hesitate to make a batch in the morning, then reheat for supper.

Three tricks for cooking brown rice:
Rinsing the rice, removing a dusty layer of starch.
Lots of water, keeping the rice grains fat and moist.
Finishing off heat, removing excess moisture.

PERFECT STOVETOP BROWN RICE

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 45 minutes (see ALANNA's TIPS)
Makes 3 cups cooked rice

12 cups water
1 cup brown rice, rinsed under cold water for 30 seconds
Kosher salt to taste

Bring the water to boil in a large covered pot (see TIPS). Add the rice, stir once to distribute, then cook uncovered for 30 minutes, adjusting the heat to maintain a fast simmer. Pour the rice through a strainer, then return to the hot pot and add salt to taste. Off heat, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve and savor!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
(How many calories in brown rice? How many Weight Watchers points in brown rice?) Per Half Cup: 114 Calories; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 1mg Sodium; 24g Carb; 1g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers 2 points

TODAY'S INSPIRATION
Adapted from Saveur, currently my favorite food magazine because it features 'whole' food and authentic recipes from around the world.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
It seems to take forever to bring a pot of water to boil on my stove. It helps to cover the pot. But often I put the pot on the stove with say, 4 cups of water and set it on HIGH. Then I add the remaining 8 cups of water from one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, an electric kettle. This same trick works for pasta water, too.
This recipe works for plain brown rice, any one you'll find. I'm a particular fan of the rice from Lundberg which I find at Whole Foods. The rice that's pictured is a blend of sweet brown rice, short grain brown rice, long grain brown rice, whole grain Wehani rice, whole grain Japonica rice. If you like the idea of blends, check out Oven-Baked Brown Rice where I substitute wild rice (and since then, other rices and grains) for some of the brown rice. I love the color variation.

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MORE RICE RECIPES
~ Tomato & Rice Salad ~
~ Eight-Ball Stuffed Zucchini ~
~ Julia Child's Yellow Squash Soup ~
(thickened with cooked rice)

~ more recipes with rice ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Cool-as-a-Cucumber Avocado Soup ♥ A Low(er)-Calorie Recipe

Today's vegetable recipe: a quick blender soup recipe, just four ingredients and served cold. Low carb. Vegan. Lower calorie than a typical avocado soup.

Sigh. Do your eyes go dreamy too at the thought of avocados? There's simply no matching their silkiness, their smoothness. Pillow makers? How about avocado, not the color, but the cool slipperiness.

Blending cool cucumber with smooth avocado, it was a recent inspiration. The cucumber adds liquid but flavor too, unlike plain water (as most avocado soup recipes specify) or broth (which strikes me as too heavy for summer). Better still, the cucumber adds volume but few calories, keeping the avocado soup in reasonable territory, diet-wise but still tasting like an indulgence.

This soup is served cold, its own cool pillow against summer's heat. I like to serve it in small bowls with small spoons, all to encourage savoring every single silky spoonful. So much for that idea -- when I made this last, my favorite taste tester, who always leaves a bite or two behind on the plate, slurped up every last drop.

AVOCADO SOUP RECIPE

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Makes 2 cups

2 avocados, pitted (save a bit aside to chop for garnish, if you like)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 - 2 green onions, white and light-green parts only
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon agave or honey

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Spoon into serving bowls, top with a little chopped avocado.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Half Cup: 138Cal; 9g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 7mg Sodium; 12g Carb; 5g Fiber; 5g Sugar; 2g Protein; Weight Watchers 3 points

KITCHEN NOTES
I worried that the pretty light green color would darken but it didn't, at least not when covered for about 4 hours before serving.

MORE SILKY-SMOOTH AVOCADO RECIPES
~ Avocado Dip ~
~ Homemade Cobb Salad ~
~ Homemade Guacamole with Tomatillos ~
~ more avocado recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Fruity Gazpacho ~
~ Tropical Salad Supper ~
~ more avocado recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

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PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2009

reade more... Résuméabuiyad