Beet Hummus

https://www.loveandlemons.com/beet-hummus/

Beautiful bright red color and great taste, perfect on thin  whole wheat pita.

5.0 from 10 reviews 

Beet Hummus

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

I love the bright pink color of this slightly sweet beet hummus! Serve it as an appetizer with crackers or crostini or with veggies as an afternoon snack.

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Recipe type: Appetizer, snack

Serves: 1½ cups

Ingredients

• 1 medium or 2 small red beets
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 to 3 tablespoons warm water
• ½ teaspoon each of cumin and coriander (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serve with:

• 1 small baguette, sliced and toasted
• Radishes, sliced in half (or other raw veggies)
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Drizzle the beet with olive oil and then wrap the beet and garlic together in foil. Place on the baking sheet and roast 30 to 40 minutes, or until the beet is fork-tender.
2. When cool enough to handle, peel the beet skins under running water using your hands. Chop the beet and place it in a blender. Add the roasted garlic, chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and water and blend until smooth. Add cumin and coriander, if you like. Chill until ready to use.
3. Slather onto baguette and garnish with sesame seeds, pine nuts and parsley (all optional), or serve with crispy raw veggies.

Ratatouille

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/ratatouille.html?recipe_print=yes 

Ratatouille

Very good, great way to use the season’s produce. Photo 8/22/23 Can add tofu and/or pasta, to be a main dish.

Ratatouille is a bright and chunky summer vegetable stew, rich with olive oil and fragrant with garlic and herbs.

Servings: 8 (Makes about 7 cups)

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large (1¼ lbs) eggplant, cut into ⅓-inch cubes
• Salt
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 2 medium zucchini (about 1 lb), cut into ⅓-inch cubes
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 5 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 large vine-ripened tomatoes (1¾ lbs), cut into ⅓-inch cubes, with their juices
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme, plus more for serving
• ¾ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant and season with ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and starting to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan (no need to clean it). Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with ¼ teaspoon salt and transfer to a plate; set aside.
3. Add two more tablespoons of oil to the pan and add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for about 3 minutes more. Do not brown. Add the tomatoes and their juices, tomato paste, thyme, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes (if using) and ¾ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are broken down into a sauce, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cooked eggplant to the pan; bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the eggplant is soft. Add the zucchini and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, or until just warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Sprinkle with fresh basil and thyme, drizzle with a little olive oil if desired, and serve warm or chilled. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 
4. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: Let the dish cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. (Keep in mind that the zucchini won't stay crisp after being frozen.) This is delicious served cold, or reheated in the microwave.

Freestyle minty pea dip

After looking at two different recipes I had, I tossed these ingredients together in my Magic Bullet and it was a great first try.  Here’s my best guess as to what I put in:

~1 cup frozen peas, run under water to defrost

1/2 lime, juiced

~ 1 Tbsp olive oil

~1/4 tsp salt

~ 1 Tbsp mint

~ 1/2 jalapeño chopped

~  2 scallions 

Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

 https://www.recipetineats.com/wprm_print/22399

Great initial try at this recipe.  Great Wall had noodles as wide as 10 mm, not quite as wide as in Thai restaurants.  But the taste was excellent.  Will try with tofu.  Can use more spice.  Maybe we had the wrong chile peppers.  Prep all the ingredients beforehand - once you start cooking, they are all added within minutes.  

Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Recipe video above. Spicy Thai Noodles, a popular Thai take-out dish from the streets of Thailand! Make sure you have all ingredients ready to toss into the wok as once you start cooking, things happen quickly! Spice level: moderate to high (it's SUPPOSED to be spicy!)

Prep Time10minutes mins

Cook Time6minutes mins

Total Time16minutes mins

Course: Noodles, Stir Fries

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: drunken noodles, pad kee mao

 

Servings: 2 -3

 

Calories: 454cal

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

Noodles

• 7 oz /200g dried rice noodles , wide (Note 1)

Stir Fry

• 2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)
• 3 large cloves of garlic , minced
• 2 birds eye chilli or Thai chillies , deseeded, very finely chopped (Note 2)
• 1/2 onion , sliced
• Added 1 green bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper 
• Add even more veggies.
• 200 g /7oz chicken thighs , cut into bite size pieces (breast ok too)
• 2 tsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
• 2 green onions , cut into 3cm/2" pieces
• 1 cup Thai or Thai Holy Basil leaves (sub regular basil, Note 3)

Sauce

• 3 tbsp oyster sauce (get vegan style at Great Wall)
• 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 4)
• 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp water

Instructions

• Prepare noodles per packet directions.
• Mix Sauce in a small bowl.
• Heat oil in wok or large heavy based skillet over high heat.
• Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds. Don't inhale - the chilli will make you cough!
• Add onion, cook for 1 minute. 
• Add chicken and fish sauce, and fry until cooked, around 2 minutes.
• Add green onion, noodles and sauce and cook for 1 minute until the sauce reduces and coats the noodles.
• Remove from heat and immediately add basil, toss until just wilted, then serve immediately.

Notes

1. Wide rice noodles - use wide ones and prepare per packet. I use ones labelled as "Pad Thai" rice noodles (see in post, here it is at Woolworths). Fine to use thinner ones if you can't find wide ones.

2. Chilli - 2 birds eye or Thai chillies gives this a nice buzz of spice but won't blow your head off! Feel free to adjust to your taste. Can also use a dollop of chilli paste instead - add it with the chicken.

3. Thai Basil - tastes like regular basil with slight aniseed flavour. Traditionally made with Thai Holy Basil which tastes like regular basil but most restaurants outside Thailand use regular Thai Basil (easier to find, sold at Harris Farms and some Woolies, Coles in Australia).

Substitute with regular basil (it tastes like Drunken Noodles in Thailand!)

4. Soy Sauce - both light and dark soy sauce can be substituted with all purpose soy sauce (ie soy sauce that is just labelled "soy sauce" without "dark" or "light" or "sweet" in front of it). 

Can also sub the dark soy with more light soy.

DO NOT use all dark soy sauce - will be far too strong.

5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 3 servings.

Nutrition

Serving: 197g | Calories: 454cal | Carbohydrates: 58.6g | Protein: 22.9g | Fat: 14.8g | Saturated Fat: 2.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12.4g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 223mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 2.7g

Melón Gazpacho

José Andrés’ Melón Gazpacho

I made this recipe with a sweet cantaloupe, and it turned out great, but I did a lot of seasoning at the end.  The recipe below, as written, was a KindSoups recipe for feeding a crowd. Cut recipe in 1/4 for 4-6 appetizer servings.  

4Tbsp Fresh Mint leaves chopped

2 Honeydew Melons, peeled and roughly chopped (or cantaloupe)

2 Green Bell Peppers, cored, seeded and chopped (I had one red bell pepper and three small mild green pepper, ? Maybe jalapeño?)

4 Garlic Cloves, chopped

4 Cups of Fresh Filtered Water

4 cups of crustless bread torn into 1in pieces - this helped to give it some body/chunkiness)

1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper - a lot, as well as grated red pepper flakes. 

Additional Mint for Garnish

*1 Yellow Bell Peppers, cored, seeded and chopped - yes, add

*2 Large Cucumbers, peeled and seeded, and chopped - yes, add (used one cucumber for 1/4 recipe).

(*not originally part of Jose Andres’ recipe)

Chill, then re-season as needed. 

 

Put all the ingredients including the bread pieces, and sherry vinegar in a blender (work in batches if necessary) and blend until very smooth. With the blender running, slowly add the olive oil, blending until emulsified. Refrigerate until well chilled. Taste chilled gazpacho and add salt & pepper as needed. Add fresh mint as garnish. 

Japanese eggplant with ginger and Thai basil

From https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/stir_fried_japanese_eggplant_with_ginger_and_miso/

Stir Fried Japanese Eggplant With Ginger and Miso

PREP TIME10 mins

COOK TIME15 mins

TOTAL TIME25 mins

SERVINGS4 to 6 servings

Adapted from Nancy Hachisu's Japanese Farm Food.

Nancy's recipe calls for shiso, a mint-like herb that you often find served with sushi in Japanese restaurants here in the states. I don't have shiso around but am growing Thai basil which was a lovely substitute. You could also use a little sliced fresh mint.

If you don't have dried chili peppers, try using a generous pinch of red chili pepper flakes.

I added a red bell pepper to the stir fry, and about 1 tsp of hoisin sauce to the miso mixture.  And served over soba noodles.  It was very good and quick! 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons good-quality miso (we used white miso)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons sake

• 1 pound (450g) Japanese eggplants (4 to 5 long, skinny eggplants)

• 6 tablespoons canola oil, cold-pressed sesame oil, grapeseed oil, or rice bran oil (I used mostly canola, with some sesame oil)

• 2 whole, dried red chili peppers, torn in half. (Used 1 mild green chili)

• 1 tablespoon peeled, slivered fresh ginger (would use more)
  1 red bell pepper, in bite-size pieces

• 1 tablespoon finely sliced shiso leaves, Thai basil leaves, or fresh mint leaves (used Thai basil, basil and mint)
  
  Directions:
  1) Mix miso and sake together and set aside
  2) Heat chili pepper (1 mild green chili) until it sizzles.
  3) add ginger and red bell pepper and sauté for a few minutes, then add the eggplant.  Cook until soft.
  4) Add the miso mixture and remove from heat.  Toss in the basil, Thai basil and/or mint leaves.
  5) Eat immediately