|
|
|
September, 2012
|
Vol. IV, No. 18
|
|
|
Here comes September. This month is the time many of us pack up the bathing suits and Hawaiian shirts, fall back into school year routines, and feel the need to become a bit more deliberate about planning meals and stocking the pantry. If you've been enjoying impromptu Mediterranean Diet dinner salads and other cold fare, plus grilling seafood and vegetables outdoors this summer, now is a fine time to become reacquainted with your oven. Yes, your oven.
Baking something doesn't need to take hours. In fact, that reliable, hands-free supply of even, dry heat can be a terrific time saver. Simply turn it on, toss a few things together, and bake them for 15 or 20 minutes while you set the table, make a salad, and pour some wine.
Get in the habit of thinking about your oven in connection with the many, delicious farm fresh vegetables that are still available. Roast them to bring out their sweet flavors! Cut them up, toss them with olive oil, scatter on a baking sheet or two, and roast at 425°F. Peppers, mushrooms, onions, and zucchini need about 10-15 minutes; sweet potatoes, winter squash, potatoes, carrots, turnips, and whole Brussels sprouts can take 20-25 minutes. Experiment. The goal is to have vegetables that are soft, sweet, and lightly browned around the edges. Eat some hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator to microwave for other dinners or to enjoy cold in salads and sandwiches.
Here are a few recipes to help you think about oven baking this week:
|
|
|
|
 Visit the Oldways blog for a vegetable tutorial with Cooking Coach James Peterson. |
|
If you have some eggs you have a meal. Enjoy this quick, inexpensive, no-fuss dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And it's so easy to keep all the ingredients on hand. Serve with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and additional salsa.
Photo courtesy of American Egg Board/ Egg Nutrition Center
|
Oven-Roasted Mushrooms with Peanut-Pesto 
These delicious appetizers can be topped with different colors of bell peppers, either diced or cut in strips, as well as a dusting of grated cheese. Serve in plates that have a raised edge, to keep the mushroom caps from sliding off. Make the pesto ahead of time if you wish and refrigerate it for up to a week.
Photo: iStockphoto
|
No recipe necessary! Wash and cut Brussels sprouts in halves, toss with olive oil, coarse sea salt, and pepper to taste, and roast at 425° F for about 10 minutes, or until they begin to brown. Add extra flavor by finishing the dish with a bit of superdense pomegranate balsamic vinegar and coarse salt.
Photo courtesy of Balsam
|
|
Fresh Fridays is a bi-weekly celebration of Mediterranean eating and living. We hope our Friday recipes will remind you just how easy and delicious eating the Mediterranean way can be.
|
|
|
55th Niagara County Peach Festival
Lewiston, New York
Celebrate peaches as one of the world's best desserts and find some new ways to use them at this event's Taste-Off recipe competition. |
 Crack open this informative and inspirational book and
learn how to include a wide variety of root vegetables, from beets to wasabi,
in your daily meals. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
