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Healthy Simple Lunch!


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Melitsanosalata, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Eggs, Roasted Peppers, Non-Dairy Cheese – Monterey Jack Flavour

Delicious, healthy lunch! Segragate in containers and take to work.

Melitsanosalata Recipe:

Roast an Eggplant by cutting in half lengthwise, placing cut side down on a cookie sheet or other flat pan, drizzle olive oil on top – enough to cover the top and have some dripping down the side. The amount of olive oil depends on the size of the eggplant. Spread the eggplant around as the cut side also needs olive oil. Shouldn’t be much left in the pan. Roast on middle rack in 350° oven until done. Should be easy to press down. Usually 30 – 45 minutes, depending on size of eggplant. Remove from oven, let cool. Don’t touch! Once cooled, remove skin by leaving the eggplant in the pan and peeling the skin off – carefully.

Place in bowl. With a sharp knife, cut lengthwise strips and then cut cross-wise. Using a fork with the knife, keep cutting cross-wise until eggplant is chopped up. (5 min.).

Add approximately 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. Tahini, 1 tbsp. or more, olive oil, 1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice. Amounts depend on the flavour you would like to achieve and the size of the eggplant. Mix up well.

Add finely chopped – garlic, green onions, and parsley. Mix well and serve!

If you like, add roasted red peppers and/or tomatoes. In place of parsley add basil or cilantro.

Either salad can be made any way that suits you!

Heirloom Tomato Salad:

Tomatoes cut up how you like them
1/2 Ripe avocado cut up
Kalamata Olives – optional
Green onions diced small or red onion
Cilantro chopped up
1 small garlic clove finely chopped
Artichoke Hearts in a jar – chopped into small bite size pieces
Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Add cucumber, celery, basil, parsley, peppers, whatever your taste buds would like!

No salt necessary as the olives contain salt. Onions provide a bite and with the garlic an umami flavour!

Yes, there is garlic in both salads but there is also parsley and lemon juice and the acidity from the tomato. Don’t worry. If taking to work, you may have to rinse your mouth or drink mint tea.

Boil an egg – water in a pot, add egg, bring to boil for approximately 4 minutes and then turn off. Do not remove pot. Leave on stove for at least 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water. Remove the shell. Cut into four and sprinkle with black pepper and paprika. For lunches, I boil several eggs and keep the unused ones in the fridge with the shell on – no cracks! I remove the shell before going to work as removing the shell releases an odour that you don’t want in your office. If you are eating outside or in a airy lunch room, go ahead and peel the egg at the office.

Roasted red peppers – Confession … I now buy a jar (from Greece) at the Greek Store (Kalamata Grocery). I used to make roasted peppers all the time but it does take a lot of time.

Daiya Monterrey Jack Cheese is pretty good as a side cheese for lunch or a quick snack.

More lunch ideas coming up soon!

Category:

Daily, Dairy-Free, Delicious, Diet, Gluten-Free, International Cuisine, lunch, Simple, Vegetable, vegetarian, weight loss

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Chakra Stew ;)


Fun, new way to embrace a delicious, nutritious, winter comfort food.  Almost all the colours of the chakras are included in this stew. We begin with the roots … work our way up, through the colour spectrum – Red (pepper, paprika, tamarind), Orange (carrots, sweet potatoes), Yellow (onion, mustard powder), Green (celery, zucchini, herbs), Blue (water – ok, this is a stretch but…), Violet (eggplant, wine), Indigo (no indigo veg., so serve on an indigo plate or drink some violet liquid, such as red wine, from an indigo glass!)  There that covers all the colours!

If you would like to add meat to this stew and cut time in the kitchen, cook the meat the night before.  Add lots of red wine, a good dollop of olive oil if you are using poultry, sprinkle thyme, paprika, cumin, garam masala, mustard powder&/or chili peppers.  Refrigerate and reheat by chopping and quickly stir-frying before adding to the vegetables.

Chop up various root vegetables, including carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, celery root.  Toss into a large pan with a good dollop of olive oil and start frying … we want them caramelized!  Next add some chopped onion and pepper (red is my favourite).  Stir it all together and add some spice – black pepper, mustard powder, garam masala, cumin, paprika and stir again.  Spices are better with a little frying – brings out the flavour.  Tamarind is great to add, if you can.  If not, add a bit of HP sauce – it contains tamarind.  Add some chopped celery and garlic.  The order of veggies is important to maintain cooking equality – hardest veggies lead as they take longer to cook!  Now add the potatoes to absorb the earthiness of the root vegetables and the freshness of the other veggies.  The root chakra must flow both ways – root vegetables first to give aroma, potatoes (another root veg.) last to take in the qualities of the root veg. – earthiness, grounding.  

Once the onion becomes almost translucent, pour a good amount of a robust red wine (cabernet, pinot noir, shiraz – doesn’t have to be expensive), over all. Now we are ready to add soft vegetables, such as zucchini, eggplant, peas and the herbs.  Savory, thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram, parsley, all contribute to a flavourful stew.  Add a little of all or a lot of two or three.  Use your nose to guide you.

Breathe in the aroma, if it needs tweaking – ie. more herbs/spices, add them now.  Turn down heat and stir it all up.  Add a little more wine – why not?  I used 1/2 bottle in the stew I made, which would feed 8 people at one sitting.  If red wine is not on the menu for you, add orange juice.  OJ provides the same type of acidity and sweetness as wine, although it will change the flavour slightly.

Fry up any meat or tofu you wish to add, spice it up … or not … more wine?  Sure!

Spinkle/pour a little GF boullion onto the veggie mixture.  Stir a tbsp. of GF flour or cornstarch into a cold glass of water, make sure there are no lumps, then pour over all the veggies.  Now you can add your meat/tofu.  Cover and let simmer on low for a while … at least 1/2 hour.  Serve over rice or GF pasta or just eat it up from a bowl.  Any wine left over?  Enjoy a glass with this lovely, tummy warming, soul-satisfying, chakra aligning, 😉 dish!

Tofu Version

Meaty Version

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Daily

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