Overboard

Egg plant or as we call them here in Austria, Melanzani, is one of my favorite. It's just beautiful vegetable that is nearly perfect when bought. It seems whenever I buy them they're never bruised, under or over ripe or too hard or too soft.  There are so many ways to cook melanzani: whether adding it to the ingredients or simply stuffing them with the ingredients. In this case, you might say I went overboard by stuffing them with what I could find.  Looking back on this pic it's hard to recall exactly what I used, but nonetheless it was with without meet & with soya granulate, tomato, zucchini and seemingly chopped pumpkin seeds on top... Next time I'll be sure to remember the ingredients and especially herbs & spices. It's just often I cook with passion and love to experiment with taste & texture and use the ingredients I have in my kitchen. It's not always necessary to run out with a shopping list to buy the necessary ingredients when most of us have them in the refrigerator or closet.

Nutrition Fact: Eggplant is a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B1 and copper. It is a good source of manganese, vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, folate and vitamin K. Eggplant also contains phytonutrients such as nasunin and chlorogenic acid. 

Seasonal vegan

While I've made other vegan dishes this is the first I've posted to my blog. The ingredients are primarily seasonal and as well local. I try to buy local and cook according to the seasons. While I've posted other asparagus recipes now the time for pumpkin, squash and various cabbages.

In the recipe above I've added salt, pepper and soya cuisine, as well as tomato juice from jarred tomatoes from our garden. If you have any questions about amounts, or how-to just post your comments below and I'll get back to you. I never really measure or weigh any of the ingredients and cook from the heart & stomach.

Simplicity

I love salads and just about every meal is served with a simple salad. However, sometimes dinner calls for simplicity, i.e. a salad and nothing more. Nothing more than avocado, cherry tomatoes, sprouts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame, ... (just your typical bird seed mix) and underneath it all a bit of green leaf lettuce. 

Nutrition Fact: It's all here https://www.avocadocentral.com/sites/default/files/Nutrition-Facts-Chart.pdf

Green Timber

Quick and easy this dish takes about 25 minutes to cook. Basmati rice with shrimps & broccoli in a coconut & curry sauce topped off with cilantro & chopped cashews.

Nutrition Fact: Broccoli is related to cabbage, kale, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

These vegetables are known for their beneficial health effects, and are sometimes referred to as the “super veggies.”

Broccoli is high in many nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron and potassium. Broccoli also contains more protein than most other vegetables. (source)

Fall Fruit

Fall is here and time for the pumpkin & squash season. Seasonal food and buying local keeps me focused on seasonal recipes and local food. 

Rainbow Fruit

Some of you are familiar with the acronym or abbreviation WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. This is precisely what you get in this fruit bowl: Vitamin C. As we approach the cooler months it's important to keep on top of our Vitamin C levels. Most of us know that citrus fruit like, oranges, mandarins, limes, lemons and grapefruit have high levels of vitamin c, but some say the pomegranate has the highest amounts of vitamin C.

Health Fact: The health benefits of pomegranate are innumerable. Apart from being healthy, pomegranates are delicious as well. Pomegranates also have antioxidant, antiviral and antitumor properties. They are said to be good sources of vitamins, since it includes vitamin A,vitamin C, and vitamin E, as well as folic acid.

Let's Dance

Home made salsa is one of our favorites and while there are many recipes for salsa my key ingredient is cilantro: no cilantro, no salsa. I've made this for many occasions and our family and friends have been astoned from the taste. As healthy as onions may be it's one of the few dishes where I use raw onions. Let's just say my husband has a sensitive nose to onion breath.

Ingredients:

• 6 large tomatoes
• 1 large onion or the equivalent amount of charlotten
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 tsp salt...but more importantly add to taste
• 1 jar of skinned red peppers or make your own as I have.
• 3 pressed heads of garlic & add jalapenos to 

Health Fact: Onions are a very good source of biotin. They are also a good source of manganese, vitamin B6, copper, vitamin C, dietary fiber, phosphorus, potassium, folate and vitamin B1. (source)