Soba Noodles with Fresh Vegetables and Pan-Grilled Tofu

I've been into many things Japanese lately. For years now, I've been enjoying sushi, edamame, and tofu. I've enjoyed many an evening watching Iron Chef and then Iron Chef America.

Lately I've been very fascinated the show I Survived a Japanese Game Show. It's a reality show where 10 Americans signed up and had no idea that the premise of the show was they go to Japan and compete on a real Japanese game show called Majide (which translates to "You must be crazy"). Right now you can watch the episodes now by clicking here. I think this show is outrageous!

One one episode of the game show, the winning team's reward was to see how soba noodles were made and to have them prepared fresh. It looked great! I think on that particular episode, the loosing team had to shell and clean live clams for food preparation - a messy, smelly job.

But in general, I'm intregued by the Japanese culture and its food. So it's time I start experimenting more.

Two weeks ago I went to a restaurant in Harvard Square where I had soba noodles for the first time. I really enjoyed them! They were served with coconut shrimp. Seemed simple enough!

I felt that soba noodles would be an easy place to start my adventures into Japanese cooking. This is a bundle of soba noodles:



Soba noodles are buckwheat noodles. The packages at my local grocery store are 12 oz. and have 3 bundles.

So I've been doing some experimenting this week, making many adaptations to a recipe I saw on Epicurious.com. I added a lot of vegetables. I love the carrots and the snow pea pods, which remain somewhat crispy when they are sautee. The The dish is sort of sour, but slightly sweetend by the addition of ginger and just a pinch of sugar. For my protein, I chose tofu. Though if you don't like tofu, you could just as easily use chicken! Maybe even salmon would work out well.

I am now very happy to present to you, this resulting recipe!



Soba Noodles with Fresh Vegetables and Pan-Grilled Tofu
Adapted from Epicurious.com

Ingredients
8 oz soba (2 bundles)
1/3 lb (4 oz) snow peas (about 3 cups once sliced)
4 oz carrots (about 1 1/3 cup once sliced)
3 oz scallions (about 1 ½ cup once sliced)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (the small grate)

1 tablespoon oil (for sautéing)

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used low sodium)
1 ¼ teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1 brick of tofu

Procedure
Drain your tofu if you are using it. I would recommend doing this step an hour before cooking. But you can always do it the day before if you want. If you do it the day before, just put it in a Rubbermaid container once it's drained and keep it there until you use it.

Mix the liquids (rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil) and sugar first.

Put enough liquid on the tofu to coat with a slight bit extra. Let it marinate while you cut the vegetables and cook the noodles.

To prepare the soba noodles, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the soba noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Pour the water and noodles into a colander. Run cold water over the noodles. Drain them and place them in a bowl. Cover to keep warm.

While you prepare the noodles, slice all the vegetables into very thin strips.

Heat a large pan on medium-high flame. Add about 1 tablespoon oil. Then add the carrot strips. Toss to coat and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the snow pea strips. Sauté for 7 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Add the scallion strips. Sauté for 1 more minute.

Then add the ginger and mint. Stir to mix the ginger and mint into the vegetables.

Place the entire vegetable mixture into the bowl with the soba noodles. Pour in the remaining sauce and toss using a pair of tongs (I found that tongs work best to mix the ingredients evenly). Cover to keep warm while you grill the tofu (or whatever other protein you decide to use).



Heat a grill pan to medium high. Spray with cooking oil. Place tofu steaks on the pan and don’t turn them over till you have beautiful grill marks (about 2 minutes per side).

To serve, plate the noodles and place the tofu steaks on top. Garnish with sesame seeds and fresh mint sprigs.

Serves 4

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Ponzu Restaurant in Waltham, MA

Last night I had the pleasure of dining at Ponzu on Moody Street in Walthm, Massachusetts. Joining me were my husband, and our friends Bev and Bob, who have both worked with my husband at a former workplace.

I wish I had pictures to show you, but taking pictures really would have disrupted the moment and the conversation. But let me tell you that Ponzu is a must-dine if you enjoy Asian foods (it is a fusion restaurant) and you are in reach of Waltham.

Looking on Yelp.com, I can refer you to these photos taken by other people:

• The Inside (view from the back of the restaurant towards the front)
  
• The Sushi Bar (taken from the entryway)

I was in an adventurous mood and we ordered a lot of things I have never tried: sake, sea urchins, and most of the items on my sushi sampler dinner.

I was a wee bit late, so when I arrived, everyone had already gotten started with beer. But I'm not a beer-drinker. I saw sake on the menu. There is warm sake, and there is cold sake. I recently saw a show on sake where they mentioned that good sake is served cold. In fact, Wikipedia states:

heating serves to mask the undesirable flavors of lower-quality sake

So I asked the waitress for a suggestion of the cold sake and she suggested Momokawa Pearl. It was a fairly small bottle, probably the size of an average beer bottle. That was perfect. The sake was served in small, tinted blue glasses. We each got one and everyone tried it. This was the cloudy type of sake, which is not filtered and has rice sediment in the bottle. So before serving, they shake the bottle which turns the sake cloudy. I thought it was mighty tasty. I'd buy it if I were to see it in the liquor store.

On To The Food!

The appetizers

We started out with 3 small appetizers. Joe, not being into raw seafood, ordered the Ponzu Hot Ribs. They looked so good! Bev, Joe, and Bob all ooh-ed and ah-ed over them. I withstained, knowing that we ordered a lot of food and that I almost always end up with too much. I regret not taking a little taste, but it's too late for that!

The 2nd appetizer was the Torched Sashimi Napoleon. It was a combination of thin slices of just-slightly seared tuna, salmon, and scallops. It was on top of a bed of matchstick carrots and another vegetable (whose name I don't know). It was really impressive and tasted fabulous. Even Joe tried a taste of the salmon and liked it.

Bev and I went a little wild for the third appetizer. Neither of us had ever had sea urchin, and I was dying to try it. I brought it up and she was equally enthusiastic. The Sea Urchin Shooters came in two little shots. There were about 5-6 pieces of urchin bathing in a ponzu mixture with a raw egg of some sort on top. Wanting to taste the sea urchin specifically, I went at my shot with the chopsticks. Bev drank hers in parts. We found that we both liked sea urchin. The best way to describe it is that it tasted like the freshest of ocean scents, very pleasant and enjoyable.

The Meals

I got the Sushi Martini Sampler. I wanted to break out of the tuna and salmon I always have. I gave those away to others along with the "crabmeat" and shrimp pieces. I sampled the striped bass, eel, octopus, yellowtail (I have had that), squid (never had it as sushi), and there was another I can't remember the name of. It was a really nice sampling platter and had a substantial amount of food.

The other three entrees came in bowls with a very wide rim, so wide that my husband was concerned there wasn't enough food. But the bowl in the center was deep, and Joe said there was actually plenty of food, which made him happy. Rice was served on a different plate for all three.

My husband got a Red Creamy Spiced Curry Chicken. It was delicious (I did try it).

Bev got the Basil Seafood with Malaysian Black Bean Sauce. Had I not ordered sushi, that would have been my choice. It was shrimp and scallops in a very flavorful sauce. The dish was absolutely impressive (I tried that too).

Bob got the Banana Leaf Dried Curry Beef. Wow, that was an amazing dish. We all tasted it and commented on how good it was.

And when we finished our meals, we were brought a complementary Mochi plate for dessert sampling. I've always wanted to try mochi! It was really good. There is ice cream on the inside (one of them mochi was tea flavored - I liked that) of a rice-based outside. That is to say that the outside layer is made of rice, but you wouldn't know by looking at it. It is made into a paste and rolled out so it completely surrounds the ice cream ball on the inside. Very delicious.

I can't say enough nice things about Ponzu. It was one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The people were nice, they were good at recommending things to me. The atmosphere is chic. We all had a wonderful time.

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Grilled Beets, Beans & Greens ♥

Today's recipe: Beets cooked on a grill. Beans cooked on a grill on a bed of salted beet greens.

"Necessity is the mother of invention" at work: imagine finding yourself with raw beets and beautiful romano beans - and no stove, no pot, no knives, just a grill. What happened next was pure experiment but it worked so beautifully, I share it here, not as a recipe but as a concept.

The beets were small so would cook evenly and comparatively quickly. I tore off the greens but left the 'tails' on - it's important to not cut into the beets themselves, otherwise the juices pour out during cooking. A little olive rub would have been good, to keep the skins soft, but oh well, none at hand. A foil wrap would have contained the heat but also, I think, kept out that golden grill essence. Over indirect heat for about an hour, the beets emerged sweet and smoky, the texture light, the color dark, completely perfect. Very good!

The bed of greens was intended solely as 'grate', something to keep the beans from falling onto the hot coals. I salted them very well, hoping the salt to transfer to the beans. But after a half hour or so on the grill, the greens themselves were salty-crisp, a surprising delight. Very good!

The beans -- gorgeous flat, meaty romano beans -- were the least successful of the three, they most needed a little rub of olive oil. But dipped in melted butter and garlic, they were gobbled up too.

So what do you think? Is the child of necessity a concept that might work in other circumstances? I think so!

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VEGETABLE RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ more beet recipes ~
~ more green bean recipes, especially the wonderful way to recipe for the flatter, sweeter romano beans found at farmers markets this time of year, Garlicky Romano Beans ~
~ more leafy green recipes ~
~ more grilled vegetable recipes ~

PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

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Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2008

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Tomato & Onion Salad ♥

Today's tomato salad recipe: Perfect summer tomatoes, sliced thin, drizzled with olive oil and vinegar, topped with ice-soaked onions and fresh mint. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point

Whew! For a week or more now, St. Louisans have been worrying whether the 2008 tomato crop would be worth eating. Perhaps because of a long, damp and cool spring, the early tomatoes were mealy and flavorless. The heirlooms were worse, scaly on the outside with dense pockets of inedible flesh inside.

What a difference some hot summer sunshine makes! These tomatoes from my hometown farmers market were gorgeous, definitely worthy of this oh-so-simple treatment that adds up to way more than the sum of its parts.

There are two tricks here. The first is the effect of soaking the thin-sliced onions in ice water for a half water, releasing the sharpness. The second is letting the thin-sliced tomatoes macerate in a little sugar, a little salt, just a splash of olive oil and vinegar, also for 30 minutes.

These tomatoes, tomato lovers, were worth waiting for.

TOMATO & ONION SALAD

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 45 minutes
Serves 4

1 pound perfect summer tomatoes, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick (thinness is important)
1/2 teaspoon sugar (yes, just a little)
Light sprinkling of good salt (I used Maldon)
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 teaspoon good vinegar (red wine, champagne, even balsamic)

Few leaves fresh mint, sliced in narrow strips (don't skip this)
1 small onion, sliced thin, separated into rings, soaked in ice water for 30 minutes, drained

Arrange tomatoes on a serving plate. Sprinkle with sugar and salt. (If arranging in two layers, use half on the first layer, half on the second.) Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Let rest for 30 minutes. Top with mint and onion rings. Enjoy ...

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
Timing is important here. After 30 minutes, the tomatoes are still firm and perfect. After much longer, they become slightly mushy and just not as good.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 53Cal; 1g Protein; 3g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 5g Carb; 1g Fiber; 296mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Gourmet, July 1990

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LAST WEEK in KITCHEN PARADE
~ Fresh Apricot Bars, stunning appearance ~
~ Fresh Creamed Corn recipe, beautiful color, real corn flavor ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries - Part Two ~

BEST TOMATO RECIPES, ESPECIALLY for SUMMER TOMATOES
~ Insalata Caprese ~
~ Fresh Tomato with Fresh Mozzarella ~
~ more recipes especially for perfect summer tomatoes ~

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NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2008

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I'd Like To Thank The Academy (Teresa, that is)...

It's a really special feeling to know that someone who you admire and have high regard for feels the same way about you. I thank you, Teresa, at Mexican-American Border Cooking for this beautiful award. I am most flattered and will proudly display this award for all to see!

I shall now do the honor of passing it along to five admirable food bloggers:


Elle at Elle's New England Kitchen - What an awesome blog by someone who inspires me. She cooks, she bakes, and she takes the time to contribute greatly to the food blogger community.

Ben at What's Cooking? - Ben's recipe repertoire is delicious. While he specializes in Mexican cooking, he ventures into other realms also, including baking! Ben Co-hosted the Daring Bakers braided Danish Bread event last month. Portions of Ben's blog are also available in Spanish.

Meeta at What's for Lunch Honey? - I just "met" Meeta and I am so impressed with her beautiful blog, her photography, and her fine recipes.

Jenn at The Left Over Queen hostess of the Left Over Queen Forum / Foodie BlogRoll. Jenn, I am in complete awe of all you do: cook, bake, blog, run a forum, promote the blogs of others, write, travel, and teach others. You are amazing. I thank you for welcoming me and all the food bloggers of the world into your community.

Dave at Dave's Cupboard - Dave's cupboard is a fun site to visit. He posts recipes and a lot of stories and thoughts about food products, local foods and food-based attractions. He has a way with words and I really enjoy reading his informative and thoughtful posts.

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Warm Lentil Salad with Braised Greens (and Sunny Side Up Eggs)

Lentil Salad with Braised Greens is an attractive dish. It's colorful with it's array of vegetables. It has great texture (as long as you don't overcook it). And the flavor is incredible, really. I have a feeling that many people think of a dish like this as bleh. Sometimes, dishes like this are bleh. But not this one, folks! It is bursting with flavors, and I, personally, think that I improved those flavors with my not-so-secret ingredient that I'm going to share with you.

The cooking and braising liquid was all stock, but I zapped it with some sweet and extremely flavorful apple cider. Then, it gets a zammo of fresh lemon juice! And a pow from the red pepper flakes! Loads of awesome flavors.

I know I will make this dish from time to time, and that doesn't happen too often in this house! During the past few days I've found great little variations with it too.

Variations on this Warm Lentil Salad:

• with or without the Swiss chard


• chopped egg white added in


• Parmesan added in


• topped with a delicious egg, sunny side up

It can be vegetarian or not, vegan or not. It lends itself to your personal tastes.

This is my take on a recipe that aired on Emeril Green. Emeril Green is new, but it's already one of my favorite cooking shows. With all his overexposure on the Food Network, I had turned-off to Emeril. But he has completely renewed my respect and esteem for him with his new show on Planet Green, formerly the Discovery Home Network (so it may well be on your current cable system).

One of the things that I love about Emeril Green is that he tailors his recipes to the people he is helping. He's helping people with their dietary needs, and that's great. One of the things that he used to talk about on his live show was how pork fat rules, and that was a bit of a turn-off, as we all watched him expanding and wondered if he'd have a heart attack. Don't get me wrong. Pork fat is tasty, and I do use some from time to time, but we all know what it will do to our arteries!

But on this show, he helps people who need to watch their figures, have appropriate foods for their lifestyles, people with sodium issues and other dietary restrictions. I like this side of Emeril. He's charming, concerned, and incredibly creative with a number of food styles.


Warm Lentil Salad with Braised Greens (and Sunny Side Up Eggs)
Adapted from Emeril Green

The stems of 2 bunches of Swiss chard (leaves to be cooked separately)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to cook the vegetables)
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
1 pound French green lentils, rinsed well and picked over
1-2 bay leaves (depending on their size)
5 cups stock (vegetable or chicken stock)
1 cup apple cider

2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 medium red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 lemons, juiced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (for braising the Swiss chard)
2 small garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
the leaves of 2 bunches of Swiss chard

Wash the Swiss chard and beet greens well. Pat dry. Cut the ribs from the leaves, chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside the leaves for later. You can prepare them while the lentils cook.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a dutch oven (a really big, deep pot) over medium high heat. When hot, add the onions, carrots, celery, Swiss chard ribs, salt and pepper. Cook, for about 4 minutes so that the vegetables begin to soften and the onions turn translucent. Add the lentils and the bay leaves. Toss to coat lentils in the oil. Then add the stock and the cider. Bring it all to a simmer uncovered. Then cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes. You will want to taste the lentils once you hit 20 minutes to check their consistency. I felt mine needed more cooking, so I reset my timer for 5 minutes and checked again later. Still, I felt more time was needed and I ended up adding another 4 minutes (9 minutes total). You want the lentils to not be mushy. They should have some bite to them, but not crunch.

While the lentils cook, chop the red pepper up into a small dice. You will be adding them to the cooked lentils after the liquid has been removed. The heat of the lentils and vegetables will be cooking them. No flame or stove top will be involved. Set the peppers aside.

Also, while the lentils cook, chop the chard into one-inch strips. Mince the garlic. Have your red pepper flakes and salt ready.

When the lentils are ready, pour them through a colander, with a bowl underneath the colander to catch the liquid and reserve it. Put the lentil mixture in a bowl and add the red pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley. Mix well to distribute the new additions. Set aside, covered to keep warm.

This is how my lentils looked a few minutes later (before cooking the chard). If you don't like chard, you could stop right here. It's very delicious, as-is.

Now for the Greens!

Heat a large pan on medium high. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. As the oil heats, it becomes thinner and when it's ready, it will act like a water based liquid, rushing to the edges when you tilt the pan. You should add the chard before the oil smokes.

Add the garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the Swiss chard and the salt. Move it around with either tongs or a spatula. As it cooks, the volume reduces a lot. If there is too much chard to put in at once, you can add more as it reduces. Don't cook it all the way. Keep it at the just-wilted stage (sort of "al dente"). It will only take about 2 minutes to cook it.

Add one cup of the reserved liquid from the cooked lentils and cook for another minute. I prefer that my greens have texture, so I don't cook them long. I want to avoid a pile of green mush.

I watched Emeril serve this with the lentils on the bottom. He took a little more lemon juice and drizzled it on top. Then, with his tongs, he placed a neat pile of chard on top. The egg is optional, but I will admit, it's a tasty treat with the warm yolk, coating it all with yumminess!

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

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Two Beautiful Additions To My Sidebar

El Premio (the Award) Arte y Pico

I'm so flattered to get this award! It is the Premio Arte y Pico. It originated in Uruguay with a blogger who makes dolls. I'm familiar with the phrase "y pico" but not used in this way. So I'm going to quote her blog. On her site (99% written in Spanish) she writes:

it translates into a wonderful phrase in Mexico, "lo maximo." LOL! It will never find its counterpart in English, but if it HAD to, it would be something like Wow. The Best Art. The Best Art. Over the top. Over the top.

It comes to me from Elle, who writes the blog Elle's New England Kitchen, which is an excellent blog. Elle is so awesome. She's incredibly kind and supportive as a fellow blogger, and I really admire her. Oh, and she's a dog person! That makes her even better in my book.

It comes with some responsibility, to obey the rules! One of those rules is to post said rules, so here they are:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y
pico"blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) To show these rules.

So, as the recipient of this award, I hereby pass it along to these fabulous blogs:

Teresa, who writes Mexican-American Border Cooking. She inspires me each time I view her blog. And I can pass on what I learn from her to my Spanish students, who love when we do food-related activities.

Joe, who writes Culinary in the Country. His was the first food blog that I began visiting regularly. He was one of my inspirations to start a food blog!

Fiona who has more than just a blog, but so much more! Her main page is Recipes2Share. Within that site, she has her own blog, promotes the blogs of others through her BlogView and through the photo gallery that others contribute photos of their successes, and she gives food-related book reviews. She is a tremendous asset to the food blogger community. Her heart and soul goes into her site and I cannot express how much I appreciate her!

Susan whose blog is Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. I don't know Susan, and I don't know if she has ever seen my blog, but I love her blog for many reasons. It is beautifully designed and a pleasure to look at in general. Her recipes and photos are wonderful. While I'm not a vegan, sometimes I tend to go toward the edge of vegetarian. I so appreciate the fabulous way that she presents healthy food to the world, and to me!

I'm writing this next one in Spanish so that it can be understood by the recipient:

Inmaculada (aka: Adi), que tiene el blog Pan y Varios. Encontré este blog solo hace unas semanas y lo visitaré regularmente. Su fotografía es fabulosa y estoy segura que voy a usar sus bonitas recetas muy pronto. Me da ejemplos de la comida española. También, me da una idea de como usar el vocabulario correcto cuando hablo de la preparación e ingredientes de la comida. A propósito, Inmaculada también contribuye al blog Verduras Para Todos.

The Hard Working Food Blogger Award

Elle (Elle's New England Kitchen) created this lovely award for all of the hard-working food bloggers of the world:

When she introduced this award, she wrote the words that we food bloggers feel, so I want to quote her here:

... because you take care in what you post. You stop during cooking to take step
by step photos. You set up shots and take 20 or 30 (or maybe even more) photos
to find the one that's just right, which means you often eat cold food. You
upload, edit and post photos that you secretly pray Tastespotting or Foodgawker
or any of the others will publish. You try to write interesting and witty things
about your food, and sometimes have no clue what to write. Then you hope that
your readers will like what they see. I know all of this because I go through it
every time I make food and a blog post.

That sums up my life these days! I, therefore, proudly display this award! Thank you, Elle.

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Rainbow Chard

Look at the pretty colors!

I somehow never noticed rainbow chard in the stores until I saw an episode of Emeril Green last week. It was a great recipe. The recipe didn't specify the rainbow type, but that's what he had on TV, and there it was in the store, looking so beautiful and costing no more than regular red chard.

I've never used Swiss chard stems before, so this was two firsts for me. I think I had mixed them up in my mind with rhubarb. Is it that the leaves of rhubarb are poisonous? But I mixed it up and every time I had chard, I was thinking it was the stems of the chard.

It was so pretty, I almost hated to cut it up, but I did. That will be my next recipe entry.

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Seared Radicchio ♥

Today's quick vegetable recipe: Wedges of radicchio (also called chicory) seared in a hot skillet, then dipped in syrupy vinegar. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.

So earlier, when I mentioned feeling ho-hum about the Italian version of the Weight Watchers zero points soup, since radicchio is expensive, I also suggested skipping it entirely or substituting the less expensive red cabbage.

I take it back! Cooked radicchio is completely gorgeous, an entirely different animal. It is also completely worth (to my taste) an occasional investment. And time-wise, it took all of ten minutes -- yes, ten -- from start to finish with maybe 5 minutes of hands-on time. Talk about quick! And I'm glad to add another good one to the collection of quick vegetable recipes.

In its raw form, radicchio's red cabbage-looking leaves are slightly bitter. (There's a photo of radicchio here, if anyone's inclined.) In its cooked form, the chewiness and bitterness survive, but in a softer, sweeter, completely wonderful way. Wow. It would pair beautifully with meat but I can also see chopping it up to stir into a roasted vegetable salad, say. Did I say Wow?!

But hey - what ELSE am I missing about radicchio? How should it be cooked?

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MORE RADICCHIO RECIPES
~ Spring & Summer Sliced Salad ~

~ more radicchio recipes ~

SEARED RADICCHIO

Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head radicchio (chicory), core trimmed slightly, quartered vertically with core kept intact
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup good vinegar (balsamic would be good, I used a gorgeous zinfandel vinegar from O Olive Oil)

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet on MEDIUM HIGH until shimmery. Place the quarters, cut side down in the skillet and season with salt and pepper. (Yes the timing seems weird but it works.) Cook for about 3 minutes until beginning to brown, then turn to the other cut side and cook another 3 minutes. Transfer out of the skillet for a minute and add the vinegar. It will bubble up, stir continuously until the liquid cooks out a bit and the vinegar becomes syrupy. Return the wedges to the skillet and drizzle with the vinegar. Season to taste if needed. Serve!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 56Cal; 1g Protein; 3Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 3g Carb; 1g Fiber; NetCarb4; 15mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

---

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2008

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Weight Watchers Italian Zero Points Soup Recipe

Today's Weight Watchers recipe: The new Weight Watchers zero points soup recipe, the 'Italian' soup. The mildest of the new soups, with lots of Italian-style vegetables. Low carb. Weight Watchers 0 points.

For many people who follow the Weight Watchers plan, the zero point soups are like the air we breathe: you don't want to be without! So it's no wonder that Weight Watchers UK developed three new recipes to give some variation to the granddaddy original zero point soup, the Garden Vegetable Zero Point Soup. I loved the Weight Watchers Mexican Zero Point soup and the Asian Zero Point Soup starred Asian vegetables, so yes, it was a good variation too.

This Italian-style soup, hmm, I'm not so sure. It has so many vegetables in it, it should be wonderful. Instead it's mild, no one vegetable really stands out and they don't really meld, either. It actually tasted like diet food, which I suppose in some circumstances is a good thing.

• To my taste, go for one of my very favorite recipes from A Veggie Venture's first year, when I was cooking a new vegetable recipe every day. Summer Vegetable Stew is based on a country Spanish recipe and does have one point. But it is so much more substantial in flavor and substance -- and is endlessly variable and completely satisfying.


• Zero point soups aren't hard to make without following a recipe. They're just a pile of non-starchy vegetables cooked in 6 cups of a non-fat broth. It's even easy to convert one-point soups to zero-point soups.

One caveat: for the first time, I didn't use Better Than Bouillon, my favorite broth base. This might make well make a difference.

WEIGHT WATCHERS ITALIAN ZERO POINTS SOUP RECIPE

Hands-on time: 40 minutes
Time to table: 55 minutes
Makes 11 cups

6 cups vegetable broth
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small zucchini, chopped
1 fennel bulb, sliced thin
1 red pepper, chopped (I used 3 Italian frying peppers)
1 cup chopped radicchio (see TIPS)
1 cup fresh spinach
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes (I used 3 large fresh tomatoes)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Bring broth to a boil in a large kettle or Dutch oven on MEDIUM HIGH while prepping the vegetables. Add the vegetables through the fresh herbs all at once. Cover and return to a boil. Uncover just a bit and let cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, then parsley and basil. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 44 Cal (8% from Fat, 17% from Protein, 75% from Carb); 2 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 0 g Mono Fat; 10 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb7; 3 g Sugar; 50 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 249 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 0 points

KITCHEN NOTES
Radicchio is expensive! Substitute red or even green cabbage and call it 'cavolo'.

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VEGETABLE RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.

© Copyright 2008

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Fudgy (Yet Light) Mocha Brownies

As many a chocolate lover knows, coffee enhances and intensifies the flavor of the chocolate to create a special treat when used together in baked goods.

Several years ago (2002 to be exact), I came across this recipe in Cooking Light Magazine and have made it as my brownie treat ever since. It is the only brownie recipe I make over and over again to this day.

This recipe makes the absolutely most fudgy batter I've ever come across, which is pretty impressive for a light brownie. I have photographic proof as you look at the pictures further into this post. It's really quite incredible.

When made in an eight inch pan, there are 16 brownies, and each has 121 calories, which is pretty impressive.

Fudgy (Yet Light) Mocha Brownies
Slightly adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon hot water
2 teaspoons instant espresso granules
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used double vanilla extract)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°.

Place sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at high speed until thick and pale (about 5 minutes). This might seem like excessive beating, but the theory behind it is that the more you beat the eggs and sugar, the more crackly the top crust will be.

Mine was looking pretty white and pale, though I will admit to having only beat the eggs and sugar for about three minutes. The batter was become almost meringue-like. There were thick waves behind my beaters as I moved the mixer around. In the end, my crust was on the verge of being crackly when it came out. So perhaps I should have gone the extra two minutes.

Combine the hot water and espresso powder, stirring until all the powder dissolves. Add the espresso mixture, the butter, and vanilla extract to the sugar mixture and beat at low speed until combined.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine the flour, cocoa, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add the flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating with the mixer on low speed, just until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter. This batter will be thick! To get it out of the bowl, I used a rubber scraper that I sprayed with cooking oil spray. That way the batter won't stick to the scraper.

Spread batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. But as you look at this picture below, you will see that this thick, fudgy batter needs help to reach the corners of the pan. It doesn't spread throughout the pan. It just sits there.

To spread the batter throughout the pan, I coated a wide plastic spoon with cooking spray.

I am going to advise that anyone looking at the above picture do a better job of flattening out the surface than I did. Even in the oven, the batter doesn't change it's form. So those lumps that were in the corner and along the edge remained.

Bake the brownies at 325° for 22 minutes or until brownies spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Let them cool completely to room temperature before you do any cutting. By being patient and waiting, the brownies will hold their shape and won't fall apart as the knife cuts through. But if you can't wait, I guess I can understand. After all, these things are good!

I garnished my brownies with powdered sugar. I was looking for that extra something special to add, but I had no fruit. So I thought about the coffee in the batter and used coffee beans. Ideally, if you can get those chocolates that are in the shape of coffee beans, those would be awesome! Or, you could get chocolate covered coffee beans, but they don't have that pretty shape.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 brownie)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 121(30% from fat); FAT 4.1g (sat 2.3g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 2.4g; CHOLESTEROL 34mg; CALCIUM 10mg; SODIUM 75mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 20.6g

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Portland, Maine: A Foodie's Paradise!

My friend, Karen, recently moved to Portland, Maine. I had the luck of going to visit her on the most incredible day for good weather! I left, hopelessly in love with the city of Portland. Luckily it is only about two and a half hours away, and I will be able to return some time soon.

Let me just begin by saying, it is a beautiful place! The city, the port, the beaches, the lighthouses, they are all such pleasant sites. And every time you breathe in, you inhale the fresh sea air and feel at peace with the earth.



As Karen was driving me to from one scenic area to the next, we stopped for a bite at the Scratch Baking Company. Karen tells me that this is a place that you need to get to early in the day because everyone loves their artisan breads and they tend to sell out. I didn't feel comfortable bringing in my camera like I did in the old port, so I don't have photos of their beautiful breads, but they were amazing. Karen got a blondie and I got a ciabatta roll. Both were incredibly delicious (I tasted the blondie!) and the bakery definitely lives up to it's good reputation. I recommend anyone make a stop there when visiting the area.

I did take a picture outside, but there were workers there putting up an awning, so I am going to refer you to this site if you want to see what the bakery looks like: http://blog.typeadiversions.com/2008/01/itchin-for-bagel-try-scratch.html

After visiting a number of lighthouses and beaches, we went to the Old Port area of the city. This is the most charming area, full of fun shops, markets, and restaurants. This dolphin statue is outside of one of the more special hotels in the Old Port:



We stopped at Fetch, a fun place to buy fun toys, treats, and walking and clothing accessories for your dog or cat. You can also buy greeting cards (including doggy party invitations) and bumper stickers. I got a magnetic sticker for my car that says "more wag, less bark." That's a great way to view life and the people around you!

Karen took me to a number of excellent fish markets. Harbor Fish Market is one of them:



If you live inland and want some fresh lobsters, Harbor Fish Market will ship them right to you! That's so cool.

There were quite a few hip-looking restaurants right on the wharf. One of them is a pretty well-known pizza place with a great deck overlooking the port. I didn't eat here, though Karen says it's pretty good. It's called the Flatbread Company:


We ate at one of Karen's favorite restaurants, Walter's. I was looking like a tourist, carrying my camera around my neck. As we were outside looking at the menu, people coming out from the restaurant told us we should eat there. They were quite pleased with their lunches!

The inside was really pleasant. I took this picture without my flash, as not to disturb everyone inside, so it's a bit fuzzy:

I loved the brick walls, and those hanging lamps were mesmerizing ! The almost floor-to-ceiling front windows let in lots of natural light, and we were seated one seat away from the prime front-window table.

We began with drinks. Karen told me that this restaurant is known to have a fantastic Bloody Mary, so I jumped on that one. She ordered a Margarita with a bit of Chambord in the mix. I do have to say that my enormous Bloody Mary, while not strong in alcohol, was the best-tasting Bloody Mary I've every had. It was spicy and had a generous amount of horse radish. Karen enjoyed her Margarita, but said she would have preferred it without the Chambord. But that's a matter of personal taste. She didn't feel they made a bad drink.

For our lunches, Karen ordered the Grilled Fish Tacos. Had I not just made fish tacos earlier in the week, I probably would have ordered them as well. But I did get to take a taste, and they were juicy and flavorful.

I did choose well, and I ordered the Baja Summer. The menu describes this dish as:

Spice seared shrimp and scallops on a roasted pablano (that's their typo) and sweet potato salad with grilled green onions, crumbled goat cheese and a sweet and spicy avocado crema.

Not only did it look special, but it was pretty tasty. I loved the sauces that were drizzled in various areas of the plate. The scallops and shrimp were cooked to perfection. They were tender and the flavors of their spice rubs and grilling were very pleasant. The cooked seafood had good contrast to the flavors of the chilled sweet potato salad underneath them.

We did a bit more browsing in the Old Port area after lunch.








This picture, below, is of the front steps to a potter shop. These animal figures were metal watering cans. I took quite a liking to the cow, but figured that it would end up in a dusty corner, so I passed on the purchase.




We returned to one of the beaches, and then went swimming in Karen's apartment complex pool. The complex is directly across the water from Old Port, and the pool is right up along the water. It really was an amazing experience.

When her husband arrived home from work and we had picked up her daughter from day care, we all hopped in the car to go to the Lobster Shack which is outside the city in an area by a state park called Two Lights. The line was out the door and about 30 yards deep, so I decided to order sushi on my way out of town so that I'd get home before 11 pm.

I got my sushi at a place called Sapporo. At dinner time it was very hard to find parking near the restaurant. I drove around the block twice. There are garages nearby, but since I was just running in for a takeout order, I ended up parking illegally in the parking lot of the Black Tie Restaurant (which didn't appear to be open).

Sapporo was beautiful inside, though I have to say that my spicy tuna roll and spicy salmon roll were nothing to write home about. Too bad.

But the so-so sushi was not enough to change my opinion of the wonderful city of Portland. I am looking forward to returning before the summer ends and having another wonderful day.

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Crostini with Prosciutto, Cheese, and Fresh Figs

Fresh figs always look so good when you see them in magazine recipes. But, somehow, I've never had fresh figs! So there I was, in Trader Joe's, and there they were, on the shelf. It was a large package, and there was no price tag. I was, indeed, intimidated. When I asked the guy working there how much they were, I was expecting to hear a high number. but he went and checked and came back with a reasonable figure. So I put them in my cart.

Having spent many hours looking at food magazines, I made a beeline for the prosciutto. I always see figs paired with prosciutto. So I got that too, along with a demi baguette (a half-sized baguette) and headed home to figure out what exactly I would do with my ingredients.

And therefore I present to you my Crostini with Prosciutto, Cheese and Fresh Figs. I used two different kinds of cheese. On half of the crostini, I used my local Capri goat cheese. On the other half, I used a Spanish sheep's milk cheese called Torta del Casar. I bought it earlier in the day when I was in the town of Concord, MA. They have a place called The Cheese Shop that I just love.

I saw the Torta del Casar and asked about it. The man behind the counter asked, "do you like strong cheese?" I answered, "sometimes." He opened it up and gave me a taste. It was definitely strong, but in a good way. I liked it and got a small portion to bring home.

I was very pleased with the combination of flavors and textures. All together, there was that wonderful sweet and salty mix that I adore. The crostini was crunchy. The cheese was savory and salty. The prosciutto was perfectly flavored, and held up to the strong flavors of the cheese. And then, the fresh figs brought the soft and sweet to the dish. I like fresh figs!!!!




Crostini with Prosciutto, Cheese, and Fresh Figs

(Ingredient amounts are approximations)

1 Small (demi) baguette, sliced on a diagonal
1 (6 ounce) Package of Carando Prosciutto
1/3 - 1/2 Pound goat cheese (or a soft sheep's milk cheese such as Torta del Casar)
1 Pound fresh figs, stems cut off and quartered
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat the grill on the highest setting for approximately 10 minutes.

With a pastry brush, brush both sides of the slices of the baguette. Grind some black pepper on both sides.

Brush both sides of each fig half with olive oil as well.

When the grill is preheated, place the slices of bread on the grill and cook to a light brown. Remove them and top with the cheese while still warm.

I turned off my grill and then put the slices of prosciutto on for 30 seconds to heat it up as well.

Place the prosciutto on top of the cheese.

Top with a quarter of a fig.

Drizzle with extra olive oil.

I plated the crostini with fresh mint for garnish.

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Vegetables for Children - Inspiration from Freddie & Alex

Dear Charlotte, Alex and Freddie,

Your new book The Great Big Veg Challenge is an absolute wonder!

Yesterday, the postman handed it over just as I set off to walk the dog. Too curious to wait, I took what was supposed to be a quick peek. Thirty minutes later, I was still sitting in the shade in the front yard with a now-impatient dog, slowly paging through the book, smiling at the drawings and photographs, enjoying the sheer fun of watching you meander your way, A - Z, through the alphabet of vegetables.

In Cabbage, Freddie, I laughed out loud when reminded that when you first ate potato, cabbage and rapini colcannon, you said "This is heaven," and asked, "Are you really sure there is cabbage in this?" This from you, Freddie, the boy who wanted to 'get the cabbage over with, quick'!

In Celery and Fennel and Kohlrabi and Kale, I paused to check out particularly tasty-looking recipes (kale chips? gotta do that one!). Thanks for all the new kid-friendly vegetable recipes!

Soon I was feeling choked up about what you've done, you three, most importantly for yourselves, but for any of us, especially children, who might be turned off by scarey-looking peas and nasty-tasting zucchini.

Well done, Charlotte, Freddie and Alex (and Chris, too!). WELL, WELL DONE.

Your friend always in vegetables,
all the way from Missouri,

Alanna

Parents and grandparents, loving aunts and uncles, if you're looking for inspiration about how to make vegetables into a big adventure, you're going to love the new cookbook from the UK's Charlotte Hume who is mum to Freddie, the boy who a year ago systematically refused all vegetables except potatoes and sweetcorn, and Alexandra, his food-adventurous big sister.

It all started over peas, Freddie negotiating to eat just two off his plate. Then Charlotte started the blog, The Great Big Vegetable Challenge, to make a game out of vegetables. Together, they would cook two recipes for every vegetable, A - Z, Freddie would give them points out of ten, they would post the recipes and the ratings (good and bad!) on their blog. Turns out, Freddie likes most vegetables, especially if there's cheese or bacon in close proximity, but even when there's not. Turns out, he's quite an ambassador of vegetables! Along the way, a publisher asked Charlotte to write a book about their journey and so last week, when the family celebrated the end of the alphabet by holding a zucchini party -- the book was launched too!

But in between, vegetable by vegetable, Charlotte tells the story of the challenge, how Freddie at first pretended to 'vomit' at the sight of vegetables, to the boy who found he could like the taste of chard so long as he didn't have to see it, to the boy who would try new vegetables all for the sake of 'his blog visitors', to the boy who surprised himself, "I loved it like this, trying all these new vegetables. I want it to carry on." It's funny, it's charming, it's a window into the mind of a clever boy and his creative mum. Truly, it's a good read! (Imagine that, from vegetables!)

From C is for CARROTS ...

"The Great Big Vegetable Challenged turned orange the same night as the lunar eclipse. We all stayed up to watch the moon turn a muddy orange colour and baked a carrot cake in its honour. I know people might think that cake is a cheat's way of eating vegetables. Maybe they're right. But I like to think that making cakes with vegetables is a kind of aversion therapy for fussy-eaters. The more exposure to vegetables, the less hysteria. If Freddie enjoys carrot cake, he can't claim to hate carrots."

Won't you step on over to The Great Big Vegetable Challenge to offer congratulations?! Tell them this 'veggie evangelist' loves their book and that she is proud, really really REALLY proud.

COURGETTE (ZUCCHINI) QUESADILLAS

This was one of Freddie's favorite recipes, he gave it 10 out of 10 points and liked that the recipe came to him from families in America. I made it for lunch yesterday, so now the recipe has come full circle.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
5 medium courgettes (zucchini), coarsely grated
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
8 small tortillas
225 grams (7-1/2 ounces) Cheddar cheese, grated
1 large carrot, grated
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C, Gas 6).

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil on a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 3 minutes until they start to soften and become translucent.

Add the grated courgette, garlic and grated ginger. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Make sure the courgette and onion mix does not burn. Turn off the heat and season.

Lightly brush one side of each tortilla with oil. Place four tortillas, oiled side down, on a sheet of baking parchment paper on a baking tray. Take half of the cheese and sprinkle it evenly amongst the four tortillas. Divide the courgette mixture equally between your four tortillas and sprinkle it on top of the cheese. Then add the remaining cheese on top. Place another tortilla on top. Gently press with a spatula to compress the quesadillas.

Place in a preheated oven for 8 - 10 minutes, until the edges of the quesadillas curl up slightly. Slice into quarters and serve hot.

PRINT JUST A RECIPE! Now you can print a recipe without wasting ink and paper on the header and sidebar. Here's how.

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For 'home delivery' of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here. Once you do, new recipes will be delivered, automatically, straight to your e-mail In Box.

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Looking for healthy ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Alphabet of Vegetables. Healthy eaters will love the low carb recipes and the Weight Watchers recipes.
© Copyright 2008

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