Greens And Seeds

2c chopped asparagus

1-2c chopped frozen broccoli

½c sunflower seeds

a little water

1T± butter

salt and pepper

a little grated cheese

Steam the vegetables, covered, for a few minutes.  Uncover and continue to cook until water evaporates.  Top with a little cheese (and seasoned breadcrumbs if you want).  Often, this is exactly what I crave!  It was such a good dinner . . .😋. . . Lin

"Tired Vegetable" Casserole

This can be made with whatever almost questionable, vegetables you may have lurking in your refrigerator crisper.  My dad used to call these 'tired vegetables' :-)  Today, this is what I found:

2 lg. carrots

water to cover sliced carrots

1/2 med. head of green cabbage

1 bunch of broccoli

1/2 med. red onion

2-3T coconut oil

1-2T seasoning of the day

fresh ground garlic sea salt

   sour cream

   plain Greek yogurt

chopped nuts or seeds

Slice the carrots into a big pan - just one layer deep.  Barely cover them with water and simmer, covered about 5 minutes to give them a head start.  Carrots are very dense and take longer to cook than most vegetables.  Layer the vegetables as shown.  Chopped cabbage, broccoli florets broken into bite-sized pieces, sliced red onion, top with coconut oil and sprinkle with whatever seasoning strikes your fancy!  Chili Lime Seasoning was my choice today, but Curry Powder or Tandoori would also be wonderful.

Cover and simmer on low long enough to melt the coconut oil and steam the vegetables.  Maybe 10 minutes.  Uncover, stir gently, continue to cook on low, uncovered until all the water evaporates.  Stir in the sour cream and yogurt, cover and heat just until the sauce that's created warms, don't let it bubble.  (My broccoli was overdone today.  It should be bright green when served.  Next time I'll only steam-cook the florets 5 minutes or so.)  Serve topped with chopped pecans, almonds, pumpkin or sunflower seeds.  Yum! . . . Lin

Penny - my Food Hound, and Oliver - my laid-back Puggle!  As a footnote, when I'm preparing anything in the kitchen, my sweet dogs are always right there.  You have to be careful what you give them, chocolate, grapes and raisins for instance should absolutely NOT be given to dogs!  However, apples, carrots, lettuce cores, broccoli stems, cabbage leaves are given to mine regularly.  Keeps them healthy, and they love it!  Try it with your pups. . .Google "safe fruit and vegetables for dogs."

A Composite Salad — Greens, Egg and Pistachios

Often, a few days after a cooking spree, I'll combine things for a wonderful dinner or lunch, but, since one component builds on another, I usually don't post those. That almost happened this time. Then, mid-bite, I changed my mind and took a picture. This salad is made up of a few things I made and posted here recently.

lettuce mix – this time I included 3 different lettuces, red cabbage and an onion

the remainder of the mixed Zesty Sprouts from a few days ago

the last of the Peppercorn-Dill Ranch Dressing

some Balsamic vinegar

1 hardboiled egg

¾c or more of pistachios or pumpkin seeds

I put a BIG handful of lettuce mix into a bowl, then added some sprouts, torn apart, as I mixed them in. In the bowl I made the ranch dressing, I added a cut-up hardboiled egg and some Balsamic vinegar. Stirred this and poured it over the greens. I then added pistachios. Some grated hard cheese would have been great, Asiago, Romano or Parmesan. Dive in! . . . Lin