29 August 2016 Get to Know Slawsa Plus Easy Latkes Recipe

Get to Know Slawsa Plus Easy Latkes Recipe

August 29, 2016 By

Slawsa JarsLast week, I was sent samples of a new product called Slawsa that I think are pretty fabulous so I’m sharing a bit about them and also sharing a recipe I made using the product.

About Slawsa

Slawsa breaks the mold of modern condiments and is meant to replace traditional ketchup, mustard, mayo or relish as a compliment to everyday foods.

Slawsa is a cabbage-based relish with a salsa twist. While it contains other vegetables, mustard and vinegar, the mustard and vinegar are not overwhelming, allowing it to be used in various ways.  It begins on the palate as sweet and transfers heat undertones that make it addictive atop grilling fare such as hot dogs, burgers or brats. Slawsa comes in Original, Spicy, Garlic and the new Fire.

The Flavors

Original – The classic, Slawsa Original starts a little sweet and finishes with a little heat that will quickly dissipate. The mustard and vinegar base is not overpowering and Slawsa retains a nice amount of crunch in every bite.

Spicy – The Spicy version isn’t “overly spicy” and more of a medium heat but does have a bit more kick to finish off the bite than the Original.

Fire – Slawsa Fire has a big kick of habanero and is truly for those who love the heat. But no, it’s not ghost pepper hot.

Garlic – The Garlic is truly for garlic lovers as it does have a bold garlic base.

Nutritional Facts

  • all-natural
  • fat-free
  • cholesterol-free
  • gluten-free
  • very low in sodium 
  • kosher
  • vegan

I tried the spicy and the garlic versions and both were unusual and delicious. I used both to create a mock latkes (typically a pan-fried potato pancake).

Easy Sauerkraut Latkes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Garlic Slawsa (could replace with sauerkraut)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
  • ¼ tsp. each salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil, for frying
  • 4 tsp. Spicy Slawsa

Directions:

  1. Using a fine sieve, drain as much liquid from the Slawsa as possible. Place the drained Slawsa in a clean kitchen towel and wring as much of the remaining liquid as possible. Place the Slawsa in a small bowl and add the egg, flour and salt and pepper. Combine without over-mixing.
  2. In a heavy frying pan over high-heat, warm the oil for two minutes – pan should be sizzling hot.
  3. Drop the Slawsa mixture by the teaspoonful onto the oiled frying pan (should make 4 latkes) and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown (see short video of this live action). Flip the latkes and cook an additional minute.
  4. Place on a double layer of paper towel to rid of excess oil and serve hot or at room temperature with the Spicy Slawsa.

Make 4 Latkes.

Slawsa is available for purchase online or at stores near you.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Appetizers, Eggs, Sides, Snacks, Starters, Vegetables Tagged With: , , ,
30 January 2016 Turmeric, Cauliflower and Carrot Purée

Turmeric, Cauliflower and Carrot Purée

January 30, 2016 By

When I went to the market last weekend, I found the biggest cauliflower head I think I’d seen. Knowing bigger isn’t always better, I still bought it to make a soup with Indian-inspired flavors.

It’s simple to make, very comforting on a chilly day and, most importantly, tastes like a million bucks.

Note that I made this soup with homemade chicken broth I had in the freezer, but it can easily be made with vegetable broth for a meatless version. I added carrots since I had some on hand and they add a nice sweet touch to the soup, but you could omit.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped
  • 3 celery ribs, finely chopped
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 1 large cauliflower head, chopped into bite-size pieces
  • 1 tsp. each salt & pepper
  • ½ tsp. each turmeric, garlic powder and onion powder
  • ¼ tsp. cumin and paprika
  • 32 ounce container chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream, optional

Directions:

  1. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the onion, celery and carrots for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cauliflower and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the seasonings and broth. Simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
  3. Add the cream, if using, and warm for 2 minutes.
  4. Purée with an immersion blender until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, add the soup to a blender and puree until smooth, about 1 minute. Return the puréed soup to a clean saucepan and gently heat for 2 minutes.
  5. To serve, ladle soup into bowls.

Serves 6 as a starter or 4 as a main course.

Filed Under: Indian, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , ,
11 January 2016 Slow Cooker Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

January 11, 2016 By

This is a great recipe for those chilly winter days or for any day where you simply don’t feel like slaving over a hot stove. These stuffed cabbage are hearty and you won’t even miss the meat as the cremini mushrooms are earthy and meatlike. I use a Savoy cabbage for this recipe as I like the look of the frilly leaves and the fact that I can make smaller rolls for weekday lunches. A standard cabbage would be absolutely okay too.

Cabbage leaves cooking method: To get perfectly-cooked cabbage leaves, get salted (1 tsp.) water boiling in a large and tall stockpot. Add the head of cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the cabbage head from the water with tongs and peel off about 10 leaves. Add the leaves to the boiling water and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the leaves and place on paper towels to drain. Stuffing Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups diced butternut squash
  • 2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½.tsp. each black pepper and dried thyme
  • 1 cup cooked long grain rice

Stuffing Directions:

  1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil then add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
  2. Lower the heat to medium and add the butternut squash to the onion. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes, until the squash has softened.
  3. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms to the onion/squash mixture, cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms have softened.
  4. Add the garlic powder, salt, pepper and thyme and stir to combine.
  5. Add the rice to the mixture and stir to combine. Take off the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Assembly Ingredients: 3 cups tomato sauce, homemade or store-bought Assembly Directions:

  1. Place a cooked leaf on a plate or cutting board and remove the hard core with scissors.
  2. Add ¼ cup of the filling to the base of the leaf and roll up like a burrito – start at the base, roll once, tuck the ends in the roll all the way to the edge of the leaf.
  3. Add 1 cup of tomato sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker them top with the cabbage rolls. Pack them as tightly as possible then top with the remaining 2 cups of tomato sauce.
  4. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
  5. Serve the rolls with tomato sauce.

Serves 5 guests for a light dinner.

Filed Under: American, Appetizers, Entrees, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Getting Freekeh on Meatless Monday

January 4, 2016 By

As I did in 2015, I’ll be continuing with my mission to go meatless on Mondays. It’s been rather easy to make the change as I love roasting a whole bunch of veggies on Sundays that I then use on Mondays in salads with couscous, quinoa or freekeh.

For those not familiar with freekeh, it’s an ancient grain that has long been recognized as a main ingredient in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking.

Freekehlicious is the leading importer of Greenwheat Freekeh, a product of Australia. A couple months ago, the company sent me samples of its cracked and wholegrain freekeh for me to try and I’ve been addicted ever since.

The cooking process for freekeh is very simple:

  • In small saucepan, place ½ cup of Freekehlicious and 1½ cups of water or broth and bring to a boil.
  • Stir, reduce heat to simmer.
  • Cover and cook – cracked freekeh: 20 minutes and wholegrain freekeh: 40 minutes. .
  • Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
  • Yields 1½ cups.

The cooked grain can be used hot or cold and lasts in the fridge for up to 8 days. I love serving the cooked Freekeh like I would Irish steel-cut oatmeal with a bit of maple syrup or in salads, as I did today.

My favorite salad to make goes like this:

Freekeh is 100% natural, with no additives, chemicals, coloring, pesticides/herbicides, GMOs or chemicals.

Cheers,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Entrees, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,

Harvest Tomato Sauce by Bracco Farms

September 18, 2015 By

Last week, when I received my Bracco Farms CSA box, I was a bit overwhelmed with the huge share of gorgeous tomatoes I received. Considering I have a healthy harvest of my own tomatoes, I was a bit weary of what I’d do with all those beauties – I love tomatoes, but one can only consume so many in a week’s time!

The lovely Christa at Bracco Farms, without prompting, must have a read my mind and asked if I needed a quick and easy tomato sauce that freezes well for any extra tomatoes I might have…YES!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s a simple sauce recipe Christa shared with me. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Chop the large tomatoes into chunks, the cherry tomatoes into halves and put them all together in a big pot. 

Drizzle a fair amount of olive oil (or any oil) over them with some salt.  DO NOT COVER OR ADD WATER.  Bring to a simmer.  Simmer for about ½ hour to release some of the natural water.

Cool and then freeze for the winter!

Please post a comment if you use this simple recipe for your extra harvest tomatoes.

Thanks,

Veronique

Filed Under: American, Sauce, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , ,
7 September 2015 Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant

Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant

September 7, 2015 By

 

I try to abide by my #MeatlessMonday promise when I can and am always looking for ways to use more vegetables in my diet so this weekend, I found beautiful mauve round eggplants that I prepared two ways – meat-stuffed and vegetarian.

These single-serve eggplants are great to fix on the weekend to bring for work lunches during the week. They’re also beautiful served as a starter at a dinner party and a breeze as they can be made in advance and reheated in time for dinner.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cooked Spanish rice, homemade or commercial (I used Goya brand Arroz con Tomate)
  • 4 ounces crumbled Feta cheese
  • ½ tsp. dried mint
  • 2 Tbsp. golden raisins
  • 4 Tbsp. Easy Greek Vinaigrette
  • Two small mauve round eggplants (or any small round eggplants)
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the rice, Feta, mint, raisins and 2 tablespoons of Greek Vinaigrette. Set aside.
  3. Using a paring knife and a teaspoon, remove the very top of the eggplants and then remove most of the pulp from the interior being careful not to pierce through the outer skin. See photo as reference.
  4. Rub the sea salt on the inside of each eggplant.
  5. Fill the cored eggplants with the rice stuffing then drizzle with the olive oil.
  6. Place the stuffed eggplants in a Pyrex baking dish with tall sides. If the eggplant won’t stand up straight, use a crumpled piece of foil to create a small “stand” for them.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes and either serve hot or at room temperature with a drizzle of the remaining vinaigrette.

Serves 2.

Filed Under: American, Cheese, Entrees, Sides, Starters, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,
10 August 2015 Easy Vegetable Tian

Easy Vegetable Tian

August 10, 2015 By

Cooked TianI participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program (see details on my Bracco Farms CSA experience) where the basic idea is that a farmer grows for a group of members who have purchased “shares” in the harvest. Every two weeks, I get a box full of incredibly-fresh, organic, non-GMO produce that I’ve been having a lot of fun cooking with.

Last week, I received three beautiful summer squashes that were gigantic in size. I decided to make a completely meat-free dish with them to help celebrate #MeatlessMonday.

A vegetable tian can really incorporate a wide variety of fresh produce….tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, squashes, eggplants…the list goes on. This version is very simple – onions, squashes and yellow tomatoes from my garden. With just a grating of Parmesan at the end of the cooking process, this tian can be served on its own as a light dish or with a salad, piece of fish/chicken/meat.

Ingredients:

  1. 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  2. 1 medium onion, thinly-sliced
  3. 1 garlic clove, minced
  4. 1 large yellow squash, thinly-sliced
  5. 1 green squash, thinly-sliced
  6. 2 large tomatoes, thinly-sliced
  7. ½ tsp. each salt, pepper and oregano
  8. 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  9. 3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. You could use any shaped oven-proof dish here.
  3. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the vegetable oil then add the onion. Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic to the cooked onion and continue sautéing for an additional minute. Place the onion-garlic mixture on the bottom of the pie plate.
  4. Arrange the squashes and tomato slices in a spiral pattern over the onions and garlic, alternating between each vegetable.
  5. Sprinkle the salt, pepper and oregano over the vegetables then drizzle with the olive oil. Place the dish in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.
  6. Remove the dish from the oven, turn the broiler on high and sprinkle the Parmesan over the vegetables. Place the dish under the broiler for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables have browned. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for two minutes, then serve.

Makes 4 generous servings.  

Filed Under: American, Entrees, Sides, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,
1 June 2015 Almost Guilt-Free Individual Eggplant Parmesan

Almost Guilt-Free Individual Eggplant Parmesan

June 1, 2015 By

Eggplant ParmesanSometimes, when I’m in the grocery store, produce just speaks to me. On this last trip, eggplants screamed for me to take them home (well, seemed like they were screaming).

While I love breading and flying eggplant for eggplant Parmesan, I wanted this version to be less indulgent and lighter so I grilled sliced eggplant and made individual servings.

This technique of making single servings guarantees we won’t overeat, well, unless we decide to have a couple of servings.

The use of my Basil-Packed Marinara Sauce keeps this dish fresh and is a good use of basil and tomatoes as crops are plentiful.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large, medium girth eggplant, sliced in 8 thin disks
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • ½ tsp. each salt, pepper
  • 3 cups Basil-Packed Marinara Sauce (could use store-bought)
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese   

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Lightly oil each side of the eggplant disks then salt and pepper them. Heat a grill to medium-high heat and grill the eggplant disks for 3 minutes on each side. Alternatively, use a grill pan to cook the eggplant.
  3. Place 4 ramekins on a baking sheet. Add a tablespoon of marinara sauce to each ramekin and top with a grilled eggplant disk. Top each eggplant disk with ½ teaspoon Parmesan and 1 teaspoon Mozzarella. Add a tablespoon of marinara, another eggplant disk and top with the remaining cheeses.
  4. Cook the eggplant Parmesans for 10 minutes, turn the broiler to high and cook an additional 4 minutes or until the cheesy tops have browned.
  5. Serve as a starter or as a side dish alongside grilled Italian sausages with the remaining marinara sauce.

Makes 4 side dishes.

Filed Under: American, Cheese, Italian, Sides, Starters, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , ,
31 May 2015 Basil-Packed Marinara Sauce

Basil-Packed Marinara Sauce

May 31, 2015 By

Marinara SauceMy local grocery store had beautiful, organic Roma tomatoes this morning so I was inspired to make a light marinara sauce to complement my Almost Guilt-Free Individual Eggplant Parmesan.

The quick recipe calls for a food processor, but if you don’t have this handy kitchen appliance, use a blender or hand-chop the tomatoes.

Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ tsp. each salt, pepper, dried basil and sugar
  • 8 Roma tomatoes, pureed in the food processor
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

  • Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the salt, pepper, dried basil and sugar and cook for 1 more minute.
  • While the onion/garlic mixture is cooking, place the tomatoes in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds or until mostly liquid with a few small tomato pieces.
  • Add the pureed tomatoes to the onion mixture in the saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the fresh basil right before serving.

Make about 3 cups.

Notes: Finished sauce can be cooled, placed in airtight containers and frozen for a month. It can also be refrigerated for 3 days.

Filed Under: American, Italian, Sauce, Vegetables Tagged With: , , , , ,
16 April 2015 Tomato Basil Soup

Tomato Basil Soup

April 16, 2015 By

Tomato SoupThis great soup is adapted from my popular Tomato Basil Bisque which uses lots of cream and butter. This lightened version is satisfying and totally comforting (and easier on the figure just ahead of bathing suit season).

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 6 celery ribs, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
  • 3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, with their juices
  • 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped, loosely packed basil leaves
  • 2 tsp. granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. pepper
  • 2/3 cup reduced-fat milk

Vegetable SauteeingDirections:

  1. Add the oil to a large saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté the celery, onion and red pepper for 5-6 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Remove from the heat. Stir in the basil, sugar, salt, pepper and milk. Cool for about 5 minutes.
  3. Transfer half of the soup to a blender. Process for about 2 minutes, until smooth. Return to the pan and process the rest of the soup. Serve right away by reheating for 2 minutes over medium-high heat or store in the refrigerator in air-tight containers until ready to use. Can be made up to 3 days ahead of serving.

Yield: 6 servings.

Filed Under: American, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,
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