Roasted Red Peppers

Photo by Shadphotos. Flickr

Both red and green peppers are high in vitamin C, making them one of the prize winners, of aiding in one's good health if added to our diets. My mother use to have a large bowl of roasted red peppers in our refrigerator at all times. Our family used her well loved peppers in sandwiches, mixed in salads or eaten as a side dish. Sometimes she used them as a topping over her delicious homemade pizza. Even though red peppers can be a bit expensive to purchase, You'll feel they were worth adding to your grocery list after tasting this rustic Italian vegetable recipe.

Ingredients;

6 large sweet red bell peppers, left whole

Extra virgin olive oil

1 large clove of minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Lower your oven rack to the middle of your oven. Put your oven on broil. Place the whole red peppers onto a baking sheet that's been sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Put the pan in the oven, keeping the oven door cracked opened. As the peppers are roasting, you will need to turn them often to prevent them from burning. Meanwhile, mince your garlic and chop the parsley. Once the peppers are very soft and and their skins are charred (not completely burned,) remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.

When the peppers have cooled, carefully peel their skins off, discard the stem and remove most of the seeds. Slice them length wise. After you are done thinly slicing each pepper, place them in a bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic, and chopped parsley to the bowl. Stir everything together well. You can serve them immediately, or store them in the refrigerator for future use. Roasted red peppers will keep nicely for about a week. If you're going to use them as a side dish, remove them from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving them. When they're eaten as a side dish, they taste better at room temperature. For all other uses, they can be eaten chilled if you desire.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread Pizza

Photo by Andrew Scott. Flickr

There's often times when I'm too busy to make a huge meal, so whole wheat pita pizza is a healthy and easy alternative, rather than taking the time to make a pizza from scratch. One Huge advantage to making this type pizza as an appetizer for your guests, is everyone will like it. I have yet to meet someone who dislikes pizza. This is an easy to make side dish, appetizer or main meal, which is also absolutely mouth watering. This dish will only take about 5 minutes to put together and an additional ten minutes to bake.

Ingredients;

4 slices of purchased whole wheat pita bread (which ever size you prefer)

Extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of minced garlic

1 to 2 thinly sliced tomatoes

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

A dash of crushed red pepper (optional)

Mozzarella cheese

Pre heat oven to 375. Spray a large baking sheet with non stick cooking spray. Place your pita bread onto the sheet in a single layer. Start by adding the olive oil to each slice, while at the same time spreading it around with a spoon. After you've finished spreading the olive oil on your pizzas, sprinkle the minced garlic evenly over the top of them. Add your sliced tomatoes onto each piece in a single layer. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over the pizzas, then add the fresh basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, parmesan cheese and crushed pepper if desired. Place them in the oven for eight minutes. After eight minutes are up, remove the sheet and sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese over the top of them. Place them back in the oven for an additional two minutes. When they are done, remove them from the oven and let them sit for five minutes before serving. You can either serve them whole or cut into slices.

Homemade Whole Wheat Vegetable Pizza

Photo by Gym. Flickr

Most of us are all aware that Whole grain products are much healthier for us to consume, than foods containing white enriched flour. Baking with whole grain flour is no more difficult, than baking with enriched flour. Pizza is especially healthy and tasty made with wheat flour. It gives a whole new twist to the taste of pizza. Even though I'll be listing the toppings I like to put on my pizza in the recipe below, you can improvise and add your own favorite toppings.

Ingredients for your dough;

1 1/2 cups of warm water

2 tbsp sugar

1 envelope yeast

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 cups of whole wheat flour ( you can do 2 cups of wheat flour and 2 cups of white flour, instead of the 4 cups of wheat flour if you prefer.)

Toppings;

Olive Oil

6 cloves of minced garlic

1 thinly sliced large tomato

1 thinly sliced onion

1 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms

Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

1 tbsp fresh oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Crushed red pepper (optional)

Pour the warm water in a large bowl. Stir in the sugar until it's dissolved. Add one packet of yeast and let it set for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up, add the olive oil and salt. Stir it all together. Start adding your flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring in between cups. A wire whisk is ideal to start out with. When the dough starts to thicken, switch to a large spoon, until you can start using your hands. Once all four cups of flour have been added, you should be able to start kneading your dough. You'll need to keep adding small amounts of flour to the dough and the surface your working on, while you are kneading. It's very simple to knead dough. All you have to do is keep folding your dough in half, while placing pressure on it for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands and your able to form a ball with it. Once you've formed a ball and your done kneading, lightly grease the ball with olive oil. Grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a cloth that's large enough to cover the top of the bowl and set the bowl aside away from any drafts. Rising time is usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

When the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 and cut the ball into equal halves. This recipe will make two medium pizzas, so you'll need to go and gather two pizza pans. Grease and flour both pans, then slowly and carefully, spread each half onto the pans. The dough should be spread evenly, covering the whole width and length of each pan. Once you've formed your pizzas, place them in the oven for five minutes. Remove them from the oven after the five minutes are up and add all of the toppings. Start by spreading the olive oil over each pizza with a spoon. Generously sprinkle the minced garlic evenly over both. Continue placing the thinly sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, bella mushrooms, basil, salt and pepper, oregano, parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper if desired, on your pizzas. Place the pans back in the oven, turning every five minutes, for another twenty to twenty five minutes, or until the bottom of the pizzas are a golden brown. Five minutes before removing the pizzas from the oven, sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top of both and let the cheese melt. Remove them from the oven. It's best to let pizza set for 10 minutes before cutting and serving it.

Sauteed Sweet Banana Peppers

Photo by Flippers09. Flickr

This summer was the first time I've ever planted banana peppers and needless to say, I was very impressed with their performance in my garden. My plants produced so many of these taste light green peppers, that I started to saute them almost daily. If your a big fan of sweet banana peppers like I am, then you should try the recipe I've listed below. It's quick to put together and it doesn't require a lot of ingredients. In this recipe I prefer to saute the peppers whole.

Ingredients;

Sweet banana peppers

Extra virgin olive oil

2 large garlic cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat the oil over medium heat. After the oil is heated add the sweet peppers whole and saute them over medium heat. Half way through the cooking process, add the chopped garlic cloves. After the peppers are soft and able to Peirce easily with a fork, add some salt and pepper to taste and they're ready to serve. You can use sauteed sweet banana peppers in salads, sandwiches or as a side dish with any main dish.

Iris

Photo by Sarah Andrew. Flickr

There's a game called tag being played right now. I have just been tagged by Olivia, so I've decided to play the game. The object of the game is to choose some people you would like to tag. After you have notified them to let them know you've tagged them, they will need to use each letter out of their middle names to describe themselves. If you don't have a middle name like me, then you can choose a name you like and do the same thing. The name I'm going to use is Iris, because I've always loved the name and I was thinking about naming my daughter Iris just before she was born. Here goes with my answers.

Iris;

I- Intuition- Being intuitive about different situations taking place in a person's life, is quite an advantage for someone to have. Working on developing my own intuition is a major part of my life. Meditation is a very good technique to practice for sharpening one's intuition. I find meditating outdoors in nature, is one of the best ways to get in touch with my own inner being, while getting in tune with the universe at the same time. Meditating outdoors when I can, helps to keep me balanced, thus helping me to tap into my intuition more often.

R- Resilient- It's so important for me to be able to bounce back from any negative situation that takes place in my life whether it be physically, emotionally , mentally, or spiritually. If possible I will try to bounce back from negative situations by exercising, eating healthy, keeping my thoughts positive, meditation and prayer, spending a lot of time outdoors and keeping a journal.

I- Introvert- Being shy and trying to keep myself quiet and unnoticeable when I'm around a crowd of people, I think I can label myself as being an introvert. Some of my best times are spent by myself or with my hubby. I prefer to keep my life quiet, with only a few close people around me.

S- Sensitive- I find myself to be a very sensitive person. My feelings get hurt very easily. Many sad, or hurtful events and situations happening around me, are able to touch my heart and soul at a deep level. I really feel for others who are going through a tough time in life. When my friends need to talk to me about things they are sad or hurt about, I will try my best to stop what ever it is I'm doing, so they can have my undivided attention and can talk to me about their troubles .

Spiced Pumpkin

Photo by Rasiel. Flickr

This recipe is a complete creation of my own. Since I absolutely love both east and west Indian cuisine, I decided to use some Indian spices while making this dish. The best way to make this recipe is by tasting and adding your ingredients through out the cooking process. Therefore, I will not be including measurements.


Ingredients;

1 small to medium pumpkin, pulp and seeds removed

Olive oil

1/3 cup of water

Cinnamon

Saffron

Turmeric

Curry

Ground coriander

5 cloves of crushed garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Shaved coconut (optional)

Raisins (optional)

Wash and clean out your pumpkin as you would a jack-o-lantern.Take out your handy dandy cutting board and carefully start cutting the pumpkin into cubes with a very sharp knife. Please be careful not to cut yourself while doing this, the flesh is very solid. After you've cut everything into cubes, take the cubes and carefully slice the skins off of each cube. Place the pumpkin in a large frying pan, with a good amount of olive oil covering the bottom of the pan. Put your stove on medium high, add 1/3 cup of water to the pan and cover. Stir often, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent burning and sticking. As the pumpkin starts to soften add the cinnamon, saffron, turmeric, curry and ground coriander to the pan. Stir everything together well and reduce your heat to medium. If you have a mortar and pestle, use it to crush your garlic and add it to the mixture along with more olive oil and some salt and pepper. If you are going to use coconut shavings in your recipe, now would be a good time to add them. Through out this whole process, you will continue to add olive oil and spices to the pumpkin, until your taste buds are satisfied. Keep stirring frequently as the pumpkin continues to cook down. While it's cooking down, you can start to mashing everything slowly. When your pumpkin is very soft and has the consistency of mashed potatoes, you can stir in raisins the last five minutes before removing the pan from the stove. Once removed from the stove, transfer to a bowl and serve. Spiced pumpkin makes a great side dish or it can be served as a main dish with brown basmati rice.

Baked Pumpkin

Photo by MesmanImages. Flickr

Pumpkins which belong to the squash family, become a huge hit during the autumn months. Many of us purchase these large bright orange vegetables for decorating purposes only. What we fail to realize is, that these Halloween favorites are loaded with disease fighting anti oxidants, making them very beneficial to us, if we add them to our diets.
This tasty pumpkin recipes I would like to share with you, is very simple. I make it all the time, while pumpkins are in season. You will need to pick out a small to medium sized pumpkin that's deep in color and firm to the touch. When cooking smaller pumpkins, they tend to be tastier and not as watery as the larger ones.

Ingredients;

1 small to medium size pumpkin, pulp and seeds removed

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp all spice

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1/3 of a stick of butter or margarine

Salt and pepper to taste

Pre heat your oven to 400. Wash and cut the top off of the pumpkin. Remove the pulp and seeds, reserving the seeds for roasting if desired. Place the top back on the pumpkin and wrap it well with foil. Put the pumpkin in a baking dish and place it in the oven. Baking time will be about an hour or more depending on the size of your pumpkin. Remove from the oven when your pumpkin is soft to the touch. Let it cool for about 20 minutes. Once cooled remove the foil and start scooping the flesh out of the pumpkin. Put the flesh in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients to your bowl and mash everything together well. This side dish pairs nicely with many entrees.

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Interview

Olivia, who is a well known German author, sent me some questions that I would be happy to answer for her. I will list the five questions, then after each question I will write my answer.
1) What was the most joyful event in your life?

Answer: The most joyful event in my life was the day the lord blessed me with my two beautiful children. They mean the world to me and this was the most welcoming, joyful, and life changing experience in both mine and my husband's life. It's amazing how two people can share something so wonderful, such as the birth of their child and having the honors of raising them, as well as getting to know the new little soul that enters their lives.

2) If you could be a plant which one would you be and why?

Answer: If I could be a plant, I would choose to be a rose bush. The reason is, because rose bushes are so striking and beautiful to look at, but you must be careful not to get pricked by their thorns. It almost makes me think these plants can keep some people at bay by their painful thorns and therefore those who decide to pick off of the rosebush must do it carefully.

3) If you could be an animal which one would you be and why?

Answer: Even though Butterflies are my favorite, I wouldn't choose to be one, because these dainty little beauties have to contend with way too many predators. I would choose to be my second favorite animal, which is a tiger. Tigers are so colorful, mysterious, beautiful and powerful. They travel, hunt and live in solitaire, not in packs such as the lion does, which makes them the true kings of the jungle in my book.

4) What is the most important lesson you want to teach your children to prepare them for life?

Answer: We now live in a time where our world is full of ugliness and evil. It's impossible to keep my children sheltered from it, because by doing so I would also be sheltering them from the goodness and innocence that still exists. It's extremely important for me to teach my children how to make their life decisions, carefully and wisely. I want them to treat others the way they themselves would expect to be treated and to know that the unconditional love and understanding they radiate out to others, including other creatures and the earth itself is a priceless gift to give. It's not only important to respect your fellow human beings, but it's just as important to respect the other living things around you such as, every living creature, plants and our environment.

5) What do you see in art, why have you become an artist?

Answer: When I look at the art of others, I admire the uniqueness from one piece to the next. I hate to say that someones work is better than another. This is simply untrue. Everyone possesses a uniqueness within them and they express it in different ways. I admire the differences and see their inner beauty within their work. You can really see a part of the artist in their composition, if you study it. This may sound a bit odd, but I've never thought of myself as an artist. I've always loved to draw, paint, and create what ever I could. About 10 years ago, I was out in my back yard searching for some clay because we had clay soil. I gathered up a bunch of it and made a pretty sunflower out of the hunk of dirty clay I found.

Abstract Of A Tree Trunk

This is a composition I did back in the summer of 1997. It's an abstract charcoal drawing of a tree trunk. Don't ask me what inspired me to create this piece, because I simply don't know. One hot summer afternoon I was lounging around in the backyard of our first home. I was admiring the shapes and designs from the tree trunks of my basswood trees, that were towering over my back lawn. A half hour later I had this itch to go inside, grab my pastels and some paper, so I could see what I would be able to come up with from the shapes on the tree trunks I had been studying. This picture was the end result. Everyone who views it, sees something different within my drawing. Oddly enough my husband sees me. To this day, I myself still don't know what I see in it.

Steamed Green Beans and Olive Oil

Photo by What Rhymes With Nicole. Flickr

If your a fan of fresh green beans like I am, then you will love this easy to make recipe I have listed below. If you don't grow your own green beans, you can simply go to your local grocery store to purchase them the same day you plan on whipping this dish up. For those of you who lucky enough to have green beans in their gardens, I recommend harvesting them the day you decide your going to make them, because the fresher the beans, the better this recipe will taste.
Ingredients;

A large bunch of fresh green beans, stems removed

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 tbsp parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Place your washed and stemmed Green beans in a large steamer. Cover the pan and steam your beans for about 15 minutes or till they are tender, but still have some firmness to them. Once they are cooked, place them in a large bowl. Add the minced garlic, parsley, salt and pepper to taste, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Toss everything together and serve. If you want to save time, you can make this Dish a few hours before your going to eat and serve it at room temperature. Whether you serve the beans warm or at room temperature, they're just as delicious both ways. This recipe goes well as a side with Grilled meats and vegetables, Paired with a nice Pinot Noir.

Italian Stuffed Eggplant

Photo by Morgan Irene. Flickr

Even though summer's coming to an end, my garden is still continuing to produce an abundance of large purple and white eggplant. As the days begin to shorten and the evenings become crisper, our bodies start to crave heartier meals. Serving this recipe up as a main dish for either your family or dinner guests, will most definitely satisfy this craving.

Ingredients;

Cooking Spray

Flour

4 large beaten eggs

Italian style bread crumbs

2/3 cups parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

2 medium eggplants, sliced lengthwise about 1/3 inch thick

3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/3 cups of ricotta cheese

1 cup of chopped fresh basil

4 or more cups of marinara sauce, either purchased or homemade

Preheat oven to 350. Spray some baking sheets with cooking spray. Place your flour in one bowl, the beaten eggs in another bowl and your bread crumbs in the last bowl, mixed with about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Cut the eggplant in slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then coat each slice with flour, egg and bread crumbs. As you finish with each piece, place them in a single layer on the baking sheet. When your sheets are full, place them in your oven and turn after 15 minutes. Total cooking time should take 30 minutes or til they are golden. After the eggplant is done, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely while they are still on the sheets.

Mix ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of parmesan cheese and basil in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste, then mix it all together. Take an eggplant slice and spread an even layer of cheese mixture on top of the slice, then roll eggplant starting at the small end, til the filling is completely enclosed and a roll is formed. Continue this procedure til all your slices are filled.

After you are done making all your rolls, take a large baking dish and fill the bottom of the dish with sauce. Place the rolls in the dish. After the dish is full, pour some sauce over the top of the rolls. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and mozzarella over the top, then place the dish in the oven uncovered. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or til heated through.