VEGETABLES WITH A TWIST

IMAGINATIVE WAYS WITH VEGETABLES.

I am a Vegetarian and am always looking for places that serve interesting vegetable dishes. If the place specializes in other foods, I  find something to eat with the Starters and of course the Desserts at the  end.

Recently we went to the new BLUE  ROOSTER, which is run by the chef   SHAUL BEN ADERET. The décor and ambience are eclectic, charming, and have a good feeling to relax in. The ceiling is sheer delight, featuring  a décor of tiny rose buds.

Shaul Ben Aderet is an imaginative Chef and the vegetables were  prepared in  creative ways. We had a Portobello Mushroom, covered with cheese, delicately spiced  and baked to perfection. There was a puree made from Jerusalem Artichoke Potatoes that was delicious. There is a beet salad, a pumpkin salad with gorgonzola cream and zucchini with artichoke cream.

Treat yourself and end the meal with desserts that defy explanation… they just have to be eaten.

The BLUE ROOSTER is at 10 Nissim Aloni Street Tel Aviv. Telephone 03 544 33 49.

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Here are a few ideas for  tasty combinations when you make vegetables. Remember vegetables do not need to be a side dish. They can be a main course, with added dressings, nuts and cheeses.

Steam ,cut up carrots, add  finely cut chives and pine kernels. Drizzle with olive oil, vegetable salt and black pepper.

Bake for five minutes and serve with cous cous or rice.

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Spinach leaves and feta cheese, strawberries and poppyseed dressing.

Take two cups of washed fresh spinach, slice then thinly,  one cup of washed and cut up strawberries and mix them with two teaspoons of raisins. You need to soak the raisins in a little balsamic  vinegar.  Grate Feta cheese over all of this and pour a Poppyseed dressing over the salad.  Serve with brown bread and butter. The recipe for the Poppyseed dressing is in last week's Purim site.

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Steam a whole cauliflower. Mix butter, chopped parsley and half a teaspoon of mustard, vegetable salt and pepper, a dash of Soya sauce. Bake for five minutes in a medium oven.

          I add grated pecan or walnuts on top with a few teaspoons of grated Parmesan cheese.

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 Bake fifteen small onions, and cut up garlic cloves. To bake, cover with a little olive oil. Make a sauce of yogurt, grated  cheddar cheese and chopped pine nuts. Bake and  serve on a bed of cooked brown rice.

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Bake twenty or more cherry tomatoes. Prick them with a toothpick. Peel  five garlic and arrange the peeled cloves with the tomatoes.  Chop green spring onions very finely and arrange all over the dish, with olive oil, parsley, vegetable salt and pepper and bake for ten minutes. Serve with a main dish or add to cooked pasta.

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I steam a large amount of washed baby potatoes and cut them in half, arrange them in an oven dish and bake them. Add rosemary, pepper, onion salt and grated parmesan cheese. Serve as a vegetable, in an omelets,  or with grilled Tofu.

Kids like the potatoes on their own, but occasionally you can  add a little yogurt before the end and bake a little more.

Have a good week and let vegetables be a lovely meal.

 LOVE AND LIGHT……RONA

PURIM AND HAMENTASCHEN

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 PURIM, POPPY SEEDS AND HAMENTASCHEN.

The Scroll of Esther is a story of Purim and we celebrate with fun, masks, costumes and parties.

We give gifts of foods, cookies, candies and remember people less fortunate than ourselves.

Here are a few ideas to create small Purim cookies , filled with traditional pereg, mon or poppy seeds. Buy the poppy seeds fresh and cook as directed. 

EASY HAMENTASCHEN

2 cups of self raising flour

½ cup sugar

200 grams butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg.

Beat the eggs and sugar. Add the buitter and vanilla essence Mix and then add the self raising flour. Work into a dough and place in the fridge for half an hour. Roll and cut into rounds that you fold with the filling in it.

Make the filling

Use 2 cups of finely ground poppy seeds.

1 egg

!/3 cup of honey or sugar.

1 tablespoon lemon juice.

 Half a cup of raisins or chopped nuts. Mix all the ingredients and cook on a low flame for a few minutes. Mix all the time.  When cool, use this as a filling for the hamentaschen. You can bake the dough in a roll and fill, then cut up when baked.  

Bake in a medium oven and sprinkle icing sugar to serve.

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IDEAS FOR GREAT AND DELIGHTFUL FILLINGS

Halva and ground pecan nuts.

Chopped fresh apples, raisins and  a little apricot jam.

Grated chocolate or chocolate chips with a little honey 

Dates, cinnamon,chopped nuts, mixed with a little Kosher wine

Nutella and crushed almonds

Raisins, cinnamon and  a little coconut.

Pack the little cookies  with as assortment of chocolates and edible nachies for the kids.

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POPPYSEED DRESSING FOR SALADS, SPINACH LEAVES AND COOKED POTATOES.

½  Cup oil. ¼ cup brown sugar.

5 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped green onions.

½ teaspoon salt/ ½ teaspoon dry mustard

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

add  a little tarragon.

Stir the dressing into the salad, or on cooked diced potatoes or even on cooked beets and cut up red onions.

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HAVE A HAPPY, FREILIGE PURIM,  WITH LOVE AND LAUGHTER

REMEMBER THE CAMERA [and batteries] FOR THE SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHS , THAT WILL BE MEMORY MAKERS FOR YEARS TO COME.

LOVE AND LIGHT  

RONA

NUTRITIONAL IDEAS AND GOOD EATING

 NUTRITION  ….QUICK IDEAS.

Every now and then we wake up and decide we need a quick booster to feel lighter and have more energy. Everyone wants to feel in balance and the idea is to eat slowly, eat regularly and eat when relaxed.

 I recommend that you eat in the morning and then drink a few glasses of liquid during the morning. Eat foods that are alive, fruits and salads once a day Make sure that the protein you eat  is fresh and well prepared .Restrict your caffeine and sugary drinks .

SANDWICH SPREADS….. Use simple spreads, date, carob, almond butter, instead of thick butter.

Cottage cheese with cucumbers and tomato can be spiced with dried parsley and basil, oregano and a few ground almonds. Make sandwiches with lettuce that is well dried and skip mayonnaise. Use a little olive oil on the bread instead.

TEAS AND COFFEES.

 Choose natural teas like Fortune Delight, Rooibosch or Green Tea. Coffee is better if it is naturally ground, not instant ones. Choose organic coffee. If you make it properly, it will be a once a day treat.When you make a herbal tea, cover the lid of the cup to preserve the volatile oils of the brew.Remember ginger tea helps sore throats and irritated digestion and nausea. I recommend Chammomile tea for infants and stomach upsets. Mint tea and peppermint is great for flu and for warming up the body.

ENHANCE YOUR SALADS

When you make salad, spin the lettuce so that it is dry. Add nuts, like pumpkin and sunflower seeds, cashew and pecan nuts. Toss in a few raisins and cranberries that are soaked in balsamic vinegar. Add sprouts, chopped parsley and green onions.  Add the dressing, olive oil and lemon with pepper and vegetable salt at the last minute. An easy dressing is PESTO sauce, just a tablespoon with olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper.

 CHOOSE GOOD VEGETABLES.

Have a meal of good vegetables that are steamed and eaten with brown rice, cous cous or quinoa. You take a few sweet potatoes, skin and dice them, some carrots, peeled and cut into strips, some zucchini and cauliflower pieces. Steam them and serve with a good dressing and grated feta or cheddar cheese. I add basil or oregano to the water and it steams a great flavor into the vegetables.

INVESTIGATE NEW FOODS. 

There are always new products on the shelves.  Try the Artichoke Potatoes. Simply peel and steam. Unique taste and wonderful with Sweet potatoes and Peas. Try EDAME peas. These soya  peas are great to munch Steam and you can use them in a lunch box. Use some SPROUTS in salads, with steamed vegetables .

Beetroot, kohlrabi and carrots grated RAW and mixed with a little salad dressing of mandarin juice, or orange juice and olive oil are fabulous. Great for digestion and sluggish bowels.

SOUPS.

Soups can be made of any vegetables and some additives like lentils, barley, split peas and chopped herbs. The best soups are cooked slowly and have added vegetable salt and a little black pepper and curry or a spicy paprika  or hawaj for soups. I like to add cauliflower, zucchinis, sweet potatoes, a potato or two pumpkin, leeks, kohlrabi and peas or soaked beans to the basic parsley, carrots, parsley and  onions. Puree the soups for kiddies and older folks and serve with good chunky whole wheat bread and a little grated cheese on the soup. I re energize them by adding chopped parsley and grated carrots for a few minutes.

JUICES.

It IS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A FRESH VEGETABLE JUICE AND A FRUIT JUICE DAILY. You simply use a few greens, carrots and beets, tomatoes, parsley and blend with a little water. Drink slowly.

Fruit juices are great and can be added to yogurt and create a smoothie. You can have this as a meal with added Nuplus or oatmeal.  Try to eat fruit slowly  and chew well.

REMEMBER TO CONSULT THE DOCTOR, HEALTH STORE OR NUTRITIONIST RE VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING YOUR NEIGHBOUR AND FRIENDS ARE USING. WE NEED VIT D. WE NEED VIT C. AND VIT B12 AND MANY MORE. BUT THERE IS A CORRECT WAY AND CORRECT AMOUNT TO TAKE. MEDICATIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN AFTER EATING , UNLESS YOUR DOCTOR ADVISES YOUR OTHERWISE. BE AWARE THAT YOU NEED TO ASK WHAT IS CORRECT FOR YOU.

I wish you a warm winter  

Love and light

RONA

please look at the blog of 9th February 2009 for lovely ideas
for this LOVE day

CONSTIPATION AND SLUGGISH METABOLISM

CONSTIPATION AND SLUGGISH METABOLISM

                        Many people have discomfort from overfed systems, clogged colons, and lots of food that we do not need, desperately trying to be digested or eliminated. Please realize you are IN CHARGE OF THE BODY WORKS.

Try to drink a glass of water first thing in the morning,when the stomach is empty. Have a glass last thing at night. Do not drink to wash foods down.Drink before a meal and let the juices of the body do the work of digestion. Have natural water, simple fruit juices, less alcohol and leave sugary drinks on the shelf. That is where they belong. Anything that has a few years of shelf life, does not have to be your first choice.

  Have dried fruit compote first thing in the morning. It is so easy to do. Boil the water at night and place two cups in a bowl. Add washed figs, prunes, raisins, apricots and a few cranberries. Just add cinnamon and let it stand covered all night. Breakfast is ready.

As you grow into senior years eat lighter meals in the evening. But remember PROTEINS  are necessary. If you have a bowl of oats with cinnamon and honey, eat a lightly boiled egg with a slice of whole  wheat toast as well. You will  sleep better if you are not hungry. No trips  to the fridge for ice creams and snacks, because you did not eat at supper time.

Fruit is better in the morning or eaten as a meal. You need a few fruits  a day that are in season and more vegetables for the Minerals and Magnesium A. banana  and an apple are good fruits daily. You do not need glassfuls of orange juice. Just have some and eat the fruit, well chewed for roughage

Skip excess caffeine and have logical drinks at night. I recommend hot milk, with a little boiled water and a dash of cinnamon and honey. Half a grapefruit, mixed with boiling water and a bit of honey is great.  Early morning is great when you have a little lemon and honey in hot water. Cleanses the system, throat and good for digestion.   Have a chocolate drink instead of coffee at night.  Remember , even in winter, the body needs a few glasses of liquid.

Look at the blog of 31st October 2009 for ideas of winter drinks. 

  

EAT SLOWLY, CHEW WELL AND SIT IN A COMFORTABLE POSITION. DO NOT EAT  AT THE TV IF YOU ARE CROUCHED OVER.........................SIT AT A TABLE.

IF YOU ARE TIRED, JUST REST AND EAT LATER. 

KEEP WELL…EXERCIXE….BREATHE,,,SMILE AND RELAX……

LOVE AND LIGHT

RONA.