Mediterranean Feta Spinach Bake

Spanikopita is one of my favorite foods. After I stopped eating gluten, I started thinking about a way to satisfy my love for spanakopita even though I had given up on filo dough. This casserole did the trick.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
½ onion, chopped (about ¾ cup) or 2 tbsp. onion powder
2 crushed cloves of garlic
10 baby Portobello mushrooms (sliced)
1 lb. spinach washed and chopped (be sure to wash out all the grit)
1c. crumbled feta cheese
1 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
10 eggs
3-4 tbsp. chopped oregano (fresh or dry)
¼ tsp. black pepper
salt to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Chop the onion and slice the mushroom. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet until medium hot then add the onion, mushrooms, and crushed garlic. Reduce the heat, add 1 tbsp. butter and the oregano and black pepper. Gently fry the vegetables on medium-hot heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add a little water if necessary to prevent sticking. Wash and chop the spinach. Turn the heat down very low and add the spinach. Cover the pan and steam until the spinach wilts. (You might need to add a bit of water to the skillet to prevent the other vegetables from sticking while you steam the spinach.)

Strain all the liquid out of the vegetables. Add the other 1 tbsp. of butter to the vegetables and melt it in. Beat the eggs and add them to the vegetable mixture along with the crumbled feta cheese and ½ c. of grated Parmesan. Blend the ingredients together. Add salt if desired (I don’t use salt much since it can always be added afterward and everyone has a different taste for salt, it seems). Pour the mixture into a greased oblong casserole dish and sprinkle the other ½ c. of the Parmesan cheese on top.

(Note:  for an extra flavor treat, add approximately 3-4 tbsp. each of the following fresh, chopped herbs:  cilantro, parsley, basil. Add these herbs with the spinach so they wilt when steamed.)

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until the center seems firm.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Creamy Rutabaga Soup

Until I used rutabaga in this soup, I had never cooked one before. The rutabaga soup turned out so good, that my husband and I became hooked on it and were making it every week for a while. This recipe is simple and tastes very rich and creamy even with nonfat or low-fat milk. Use lactose-free milk if you like, but don’t skip the butter. The most fun of all about this soup is saying the word “rutabaga.”

Ingredients

2 rutabagas slightly larger in size than tennis balls (will make 4 bowls of soup)
½ cup water (or vegetable soup stock if you have some handy)
1 cup milk (more may be needed, read directions below)
2 tbsp. butter (or olive oil if you insist on skipping the butter)
1 tbsp. dried thyme or 2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
¼ tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Directions

Peel and thinly slice the rutabagas. Put them into 4 cups of boiling water and simmer on medium to low heat for 20 minutes or until the rutabagas are soft enough to mash with a fork. Drain the water off. Put the rutabagas in the blender with the 2 tbsp. of butter. The butter should be a bit soft, but does not need to be melted. It will melt in the hot rutabagas. Add the water/stock and then the milk. The liquid should cover the rutabaga but not extend above it in the blender. Add the thyme, pepper, and salt and whirl in the blender until smooth. Place the soup back into a pot and reheat slowly over low heat. The milk in the soup will cause it to burn to the sides of the pot if you reheat it too quickly. I think that the “secret ingredient” to this soup is the thyme, which lends it a remarkable uncomplicated, delicious flavor.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Pan-Fried Sesame Asparagus and Carrots

This dish is simple to make, provides an excellent side of vegetables to accompany an entrée, and is colorful to boot.

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus spears
3 slender carrots
1 tbsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions

Break the tough ends off the asparagus spears and scrape tough skin off the carrots. Cut the asparagus spears and carrots at an angle so that they have an attractive diagonal-cut shape. Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. After the oil has been heating for 2 minutes, put the sesame seeds in the skillet and stir frequently to toast them. Add the carrots to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, turning frequently to avoid browning. Add the asparagus and continue to cook, stirring frequently. Sauté the vegetables until they are soft but still crunchy, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Carrot and Ginger Soup

This soup is surprisingly sweet and the ginger makes it tangy also. It’s inexpensive, simple, and warms you up on a cold winter night. Made with carrots fresh from the garden, it’s heaven.

Ingredients

4 large carrots or equivalent for approximately 3-4 cups of chopped carrots
2 tsp. chopped ginger or 1 tsp. ginger powder
6 c. water or soup stock (add more if necessary for desired consistency)
¼ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. coriander (optional)
Salt to taste

Directions

Wash the carrots. You can get away with not scraping the carrots if you scrub them and if the skin is not too tough. Carrot skin has good nutrients in it and is worth keeping in the soup. Since you will put this soup through the blender, you can usually get away with leaving the skin on. It’s your call. Chop the ginger into tiny pieces. Be careful not to put too much ginger into this soup. It can be surprisingly strong. If you want more ginger, you can always carefully add incremental amounts of powdered ginger to taste.

Boil the carrots and ginger in the water until the carrots are soft. Then add the pepper and coriander and put the mixture in the blender. Blend at high speed to smooth consistency. Add salt to taste. Return the soup to the pot and warm over low heat until piping hot.

I usually don’t put salt in soup because it can always be added later to suit the salt taste of each person individually.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Ron’s Exceptional Sweet Potato Pie

My husband Ron taught me how to make a sweet potato pie. I had never tasted one before I met him. You can’t find anything that qualifies more as Soul Food than a sweet potato pie. And Ron’s is the best. Note that what I call “sweet potato” is actually, technically a garnet yam. This pie can be made with any of the yam family roots, but my very favorite is the garnet yam.

Ingredients

4 medium-sized sweet potatoes or garnet yams (to make approximately 4 c. when cooked and mashed)
3 tbsp. butter
1/3 c. milk
1 egg (beaten)
1/3 c. honey
2 tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
Pinch of mace
1 pie shell (either make from scratch or purchase ready-made)

Directions

Peel and slice the sweet potato and boil the slices until they are soft. Boiling time varies depending on how thin you slice the sweet potato. It usually takes about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350˚.

When the sweet potato is soft, drain out the water and melt in the butter. Mash the sweet potato. Beat the egg and add that as well as the other wet ingredients. Add in the spices. Blend well until the mixture is smooth and has no lumps. Use an electric mixer if necessary. The pie filling should have an even consistency.

Put the filling into the pie shell. If you buy a ready-made pie shell, then you will likely have enough filling for two since they are small. Bake at 350˚ for 50 minutes or until the filling is set and crust browns.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Winter Bean and Vegetable Soup

Here is a basic soup recipe that you can play with (improvise) for a rich and warming winter soup. It’s sort of a “stone soup” because you can combine whatever you have in the refrigerator and cupboard that looks good to you on any given day. Served with a slab of homemade bread and butter, you have a complete Tolstoyan style peasant meal.

Ingredients

14 c. water
¼ c. split peas
1/3 c. brown lentils
1/3 c. adzuki beans
1 chopped potato
2 chopped carrots
2 chopped celery stalks
6 oz. stewed tomatoes
¼ c. chopped onion (or 1 tsp. onion powder)
2 crushed garlic cloves (or 1 tsp. garlic powder)
½ c. grated cabbage
2 shredded collard leaves
1 tbsp. olive oil
1½ tsp. dill weed (or use fresh dill, if you have some handy, for a real treat)
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
½ tsp. coriander
salt to taste

Directions

Put the water into a large stew pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the split peas, brown lentils, and adzuki beans and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot. Set a timer for one hour.

Chop the potato into cubes no more than ½-inch in size, slice the carrots, chop the celery, and chop the onion. Add these vegetables to the pot and also add the stewed tomatoes and the olive oil. Crush the garlic cloves and add them to the pot. Grate the cabbage and add that to the pot. Add the herbs. Go light on the salt. (Salt can always be added later by individuals as per their own taste.) Remove the central vein from the collard leaves. Roll the collards into a tube and slice cross-wise into thin shreds. Add the collard shreds to the pot. Now be patient. Cook the soup for one hour from when you put in the dried legumes, or until they are soft. The other vegetables will soften before the legumes.

You may wish to add some water to the pot as the soup cooks, depending on how thick you want your soup. Serve this soup hot with bread and butter. Yum! Warm and tasty for a winter night.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Marinated Baked Tofu

Give this tofu time to sit in the marinade for a couple of hours before you bake it. Tofu soaks up the flavor you give to it and this is a good one. These tofu pieces are handy to have around as a snack or to throw into other dishes. Bake up a batch and keep it in the fridge for later use. A little bag of these hits the spot for the children to get a protein boost before the soccer game.

Ingredients

10-12 oz. nigari or firm tofu
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. sesame oil
½ c. water
2 tbsp. soy or tamari sauce (use wheat-free for a no-gluten meal)
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder

Directions

Cut the tofu into 1-inch squares about ¼ inch thick. Combine the oil, soy sauce, and water in a square baking dish. Lay the tofu squares out on a cutting board or cookie sheet and sprinkle them with the ginger, onion, and garlic powders. Place one layer of tofu into the baking dish, then put another layer on top of that, and another if necessary (depending on the size of the baking dish). For those of you who like spicy hot food, try sprinkling a bit of Mongolian Fire Oil (sesame oil with chili) on the tofu when you place it in the dish to marinate. Be sure that all the tofu is covered by the marinade. Let it sit for a couple of hours.

Preheat the oven to 350˚. Lay the tofu squares out on a well-greased cookie sheet in one layer. Bake them for 15-20 minutes, until they become a bit tough and chewy.

These baked tofu squares will keep in the refrigerator for a week or more.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!