Food, cooking, recipes, family history and all that good stuff!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

This is the forum for your cooking tips and ideas, for comments about food, for your favorite recipes and even for telling us what you heard about food, eating, lack and abundance when you were growing up.

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Zannie says eating plenty of couscous and bulghur helped her lose weight but they lack flavor and get boring.

Some flavoring suggestions, also good for brown rice, lentils, etc:

Add to raw ingredients:

~Wakame, a type of seaweed, to the raw couscous or bulghur and cook as usual. (Adds vitamins and minerals and a mildly seafood flavor.)
~Stir fry a selection of Indian spices in a bit of olive oil or ghee and add them to the raw couscous or bulghur
~If you are using brown rice or coarse bulghur which need longer cooking than couscous, mix half and half with rinsed brown or green lentils.
~Soaked, chopped dried mushrooms

Add before the end of cooking:

~Tomato paste, tomato juice, canned tomatoes, fresh, chopped tomatoes
~A can of corn kernels

Add after cooking:

~Tabasco sauce, regular flavor if you like it hot or (my favorite!) the newer, milder, green jalapeno flavored Tabasco
~Lemon juice and chopped raw onion.
~Fry onions in a small amount of olive oil until they brown and mix in to the cooked couscous or bulghur
~Horseradish
~Chopped dill pickle
~Chopped anchovy
~Chopped or whole capers

What do you suggest for Zannie and the rest of us?

[Susannah Rose]

thanks for the ideas...have to go easy on oils, ,,hadnt thought of seaweed.

sometimes I soak the couscous in lemon or lime juice..that adds a tang too

zannie

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

My new favorite salad dressing is the juice of a lemon and a tablespoon of raw tehina, whipped together with a fork. If it's a bit too thick I add some water or a little tomato juice.

Rich in vitamin C and calcium, tangy and 50 calories.

[sue tiritilli]

Now that it is summer here in California, my family and I have been enjoying what we call 'smoothies'. They are made in the blender and the choices are unlimited as to what you can put in them. Here are two we are making at this time:

FRUIT SMOOTHIE

1 banana / 1 sm. handful of berries (your choice)
1 peach / 2 pitted prunes
3 Tbsp. plain yogurt / 1 tsp flax seeds
1 tsp sunflower seeds / 1 Tbsp. aloe vera juice
1/2 cup of water or soymilk
Blend well all ingredients. I try to freeze my berries and bananas and keep them on hand. It also helps to cool the drink.

GREEN SMOOTHIE

1 banana / 1/2 avocado
1 handful of spinach / 1 tsp sunflower seeds
1 tsp almonds / 1 tbsp. honey
1 glass of water or apple juice (or 1/2 cup of each)

This is beautiful and tasty and filling and very nutrient packed.

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

These smoothies sound yummy, Sue. Thanks for adding them.

When my food processor went kaflooie a couple years ago I didn't replace it. But perhaps it's time to!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Here is a flavorful, quick to prepare salad I love. I was served this salad 16 years ago by Ilana's husband who is quite a chef.

Chick pea, roasted pepper and caper salad

1/4 c fresh mint , chopped
about 1 kilo canned chick peas, rinsed
about 100 gm roasted red peppers or pimentos, drained (from a jar. I actually like to use more like 200 gms.)
3 tbsp capers, drained
2 large cloves garlic, minced

Combine in a medium bowl and mix in:

3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

lasts in fridge 2-3 days. Yummy!

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

I am loving this salad!
It's fast, easy, delicious, filling and high in calcium and vitamins:

A good sized handful of mixed baby green leaves, spinach, beets, rocket, etc.—covers the dinner-sized plate. (Comes prewashed, ready to use. I love that!) 14 cal
1 tomato, chopped 26 cal
1 cucumber, chopped 24 cal
1 grated carrot, if I feel like doing it ;-) 26 cal
1/2 of a very small onion, chopped 10 cal

Dressing:
1/4 cup roasted, peeled eggplant (comes ready made) 53 cal
1 tbsp tehina 93 cal (a lot, I know, but worth it to me!)
Juice of 1 large lemon 12 cal
Blend the juice and tehina well.
Add the eggplant and mix together

Pour dressing over salad and enjoy!
Total cal 258
Satisfaction level: high!


PS My calorie count on the tehina is based on the type I'm using which is from unhulled sesame seed. I don't remember where I got the figure of 50 cal a tbsp. which I gave in a previous recipe but this time I used the figures form the label and the exact weight so it is likely to be more accurate. In any case it seems well worth the calories to me!

[Susannah Rose]

Lentil ,Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

1 tsp olive oil
gently fry a chopped onion until soft
add chopped red pepper, fry until a bit soft
add tin of tomatoes
add orange lentils (150gms)
add can of water
bring to boil, then simmer until lentils are soft /cooked
add 2 drops of Tabasco if you like
salt /pepper of course
can eat like this, or
cool , blend then warm up when you fancy a spicy, red, nutritious bowl of fibre and vit C

Zannie
xx

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Gonna try it tomorrow ;-)
Thanks!

[Ilana Wolfson]

I forgot to mention, we had lost the Chick pea, roasted pepper and caper salad recipe. Didn't know you had it. Like an old friend come home! Thanks

[Dr. Nili Marcia]

Oh how nice--glad to be of service ;-)

(Not a perfect match, but close.)

[sue tiritilli]

This sounds and looks delicious, bet it smells great too. I'm gonna try to make it. Thanks Zannie.


Dr. Nili Marcia said:

Gonna try it tomorrow ;-)
Thanks!