Roasted Beets

Roasted beets are a wonderful treat in the fall and very good for you.  This recipe works well for any type of beet.  If you haven't tried yellow beets, they are a bit more tart than the red variety and equally delicious.

3-4 medium sized beets feeds two people nicely
dried or fresh rosemary or oregano (about 1t for a 2-person serving)
extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt
freshly ground black ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Trim the ends from the beets, reserving the greens for another dish.  Scrub the beets under running water with a vegetable scrubber and pat dry.  Quarter the beets (or cut in 6ths or 8ths) so they are in bite sized pieces.  Place on two layers of tin foil, with the shiny side up.  You want large enough pieces of foil so that you can wrap the beets in foil pouch.  Cover lightly with olive oil, sprinkle a pinch of salt, a healthy grind of black pepper and either rosemary or oregano.  I lightly crush the herbs in my fingers to release more of their essential oil.  Both rosemary and oregano are delicious with the beets, so use what you prefer or have on hand.

Using your hands, mix the oil, herbs and seasoning through the beets so that they are well coated with oil and evenly coated.  Close the foil around the beets to make a pouch.  Place the pouch on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the beets pierce easily with a fork.  Remove and allow to cool.  Skins will remove easily with a paring knife or, if you've cleaned them well, the skins are fine to eat.

Roasted beets are great plain, in leafy green salads as well as in savory hot dishes.

Basil Green Beans

This recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving. It is a refreshing take on green beans, eliminating the fat in traditional green beans. Only 90 calories per serving!

You will need:

2 lbs. green beans, trimmed
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
4 tbsp. olive oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1 pint of grape tomatoes, each halved
2 large red onions, each halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large jelly roll pan, toss green beans with pepper, 2 tbsp. oil, and 1/2 tsp salt. Roast beans 30 minutes or until tender and browned, stirring once. Stir in tomatoes, roast 5 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, in a 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add onions and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook 20 minutes or until onions are tender and browned, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium low. Stir in garlic, cook 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar, remove from heat.

Toss onions and basil with beans, transfer to serving bowl. Serve warm!

Healthy Lentils!

Our mother is constantly asking me to give her this recipe - it is a favorite! Yummy, soul-satisfying, and pure comfort food - this recipe is simple to make.

You Need:
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 tsp. vegetable bouillion and 1 cup water, or 1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil or butter
1/2 cup red lentils
1/4 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
1 carrot, minced
2 celery stalks, minced
tomato, chopped
Italian seasoning, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan, optional

Cook rice in bouillion. In a separate pot, simmer lentils until soft. In a pan, liberally covered in butter or olive oil, cook onions over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic, and keep stirring. Add carrots and celery to the mix, and cook over medium heat. Once lentils are finished cooking, add to the rice. Finish cooking the rice, and add vegetables from pan to rice mixture. Simmer to eliminate excess water, about ten minutes (keep stirring!). Once reduced, add tomatoes, seasoning, salt and pepper. Just before serving, add parmesan. Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread (with chocolate chips!)

3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp pumpkin spice
2 tsp baking soda
3 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a VERY large bowl, combine flour, salt, spice, soda, and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in chocolate chips, if using. Bake in two standard loaf pans, sprayed with non-stick spray until done, about 75 minutes.

Spicy Homemade No-Cook Pickles (dill or not)

With all of the vinegars and hot sauces I make, I finally decided it was time to make some pickles.  These are a "cold brew" and made to be eaten within a couple of weeks after they are cured.  The brine can be used twice and will create a delicious pickle both times.

For an even quicker pickle, choose either pickling cukes or an English cucumber (the one with the thin skin in the plastic wrap. Slice them into one-inch rounds and follow the directions below.  They'll be full flavor within 6 hours.

What you need: 2 16-oz ball jars, a sharp knife, one large stainless bowl, a ladle, measuring cup and spoons...your fingers and a bit of patience.

Fresh Ingredients: 
12 pickling cucumbers (or so); you can use English if you like
1 cubanelle pepper, sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup fresh oregano (or dill), finelychopped

Dry Ingredients
1T black peppercorns, (I like tellicherry)
1T coriander seed
1/2 - 1 t celery seed
3 whole cloves (optional)
2T sea salt
2T sugar (turbinado works perfectly fine)

Wet Ingredients
2 c water
2 c white vinegar

Recipe
Rinse the cucumbers well.  With a sharp knife, remove a thin slice from each end of the cucumber.  If you don't have pickling cukes available, you can use an English cucumber or any other thin skinned variety (just don't use the thick-skinned waxy standard you find at the grocery).  If using a large cuke, remove the ends and then slice into 1/2 rounds.  Places your cucumbers in a stainless steel or glass bowl large enough to hold the entire batch.

Add the hot pepper slices to the bowl.  Be certain to use fresh peppers here.  Also, if you haven't worked with hot peppers before, it is always essential to wash your hands immediately after handling them. Cubanelles have medium heat and are nice for pickles almost anyone can enjoy.  Fresh banana peppers, anaheim peppers or cherry peppers are fine, too.

Now, add your herbs, spices and chopped garlic to the cukes.  (If you want a more mild garlic flavor, use whole or halved garlic.  The finer it is chopped the more pungent it is). Mix this with your hands at this point to combine.  Add the water and vinegar.  This is a case where you want to use plain white vinegar and nothing fancy.  You want absolutely nothing in there to add sugar or flavor that you don't choose.  I always have a large bottle of vinegar on hand not only for many of the vinegars I make, but also for cleaning the floors and windows (mixed with a few drops spearmint oil to make it smell good), killing weeds (works as well as round up), and cleaning drains in tandem with baking soda.

Next, add the salt and sugar to the bowl.  Mix everything together well with your hands.  Let the mixture rest for at least  2 hours so that the salt and sugar fully dissolve and the spices will be fully infused throughout the liquid.  You certainly can mix, smell and taste the briny mixture as it sits.

Once the two hours elapse (longer is fine), pack the pickles and peppers into the jars using your fingers or a pair of tongs.  They don't have to be tightly packed -- you want enough room for them to be immersed in brine. Then, ladle brine over the pickles until they are completely covered.  The coriander and peppercorns will float.  That isn't a problem.  Close the lids tightly over the jars and refrigerate for 7-10 days before eating if whole pickles and about 6 hours for sliced pickles.

Enjoy!