13 July, 2011

meatless mondays

i like vegetarian food not for any other reason than it tastes good. alright, there's that issue about energy conversion of meat based vs vegetarian diets. i first saw this in francis moore lappe's book and even heard her speak, so a meatless monday is the least i can do. enough chatter, the recipe i have chosen is a perennial favorite at my house and not all hard to make. roasting is an easy technique, if you have a convection oven all the better. otherwise, if the vegetables get limp before they show some color, pop the pan under the broiler for a minute or two.




roasted vegetable ratatouille

3 small zucchini
3 small yellow squash
1 medium italian eggplant or 3 asian eggplants
1 red pepper
1 red onion
1 head of garlic(5-10 cloves)
3 medium tomatoes
olive oil, salt and pepper
fresh basil, thyme, oregano
  • dice all vegetables into 1-2 inch chunks, and clean garlic but leave cloves whole
  • keep vegetables separate due to differing cooking times and consistencies
  • preheat oven to 450 F, yeah, that's hot, but you won't be cooking them that long
  • combine squash and zucchini with 1 tbsp. olive oil and salt and pepper to taste
  • lay evenly on a sheet pan and pop in the oven, roast for 10-20 minutes or until crisp/tender and slightly browned, reserve to 3 qt cooking vessel
  • on the same pan roasted the eggplant(combined with olive oil and s/p) a little longer but to the same degree of doneness or maybe a little softer and throw it too in the cooking vessel
  • finally roast the garlic , onions and red pepper and also reserve to cooking vessel
  • reduce oven heat to 300 F and roast/dry the tomatoes until most of liquid is rendered and if possible evaporated, may take up to an hour or more.
  • all the roasting can be done in succession on one pan or on 4 pans if you're in a hurry, just remember different thing cook for different times and at different temps.
  • combine all the ingredients and add chopped fresh basil, thyme and oregano, serve over polenta or pasta if you wish, or chop the ingredients smaller(brunois) and spread on toasted bread

08 July, 2011

a summer treat

so i like green tea and i like lemon and lime. there is a summer treat that i learned from my time at Peet's coffee and tea. it's really just a twist on an arnold palmer.

jasmine lime cooler
2 cups strong jasmine green tea...jasmine downy pearls are pictured above
2 cups prepared limeade
2 cups prepared lemonade