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CarrieByTheSea

I Love Veggies

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Especially beets, and it seems most people I talk to cannot remember the last time they ate beets.

So, I offer up a recipe for one of my favorite snacks for the upcoming beet season:

Roasted Beets and Arugula with a Balsamic Reduction

36 baby red beets (or approximate # of large beets)
4 cups arugula leaves
3 cups vegetable broth (we use organic Swanson's)
2 tablespoons chopped dried shiitake mushrooms
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Splash of olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Beets: Scrub beets thoroughly; remove greens. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, place in roasting pan and bake, covered with foil, at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Rub the skins off beets with a towel and slice.

Balsamic Reduction: Combine broth, mushrooms, rosemary and garlic in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Cook over high heat 15 to 20 minutes oruntil reduced by half. Stir in vinegar. Cook 10 minutes or until mixture has reduced to about 1/2 cup and has the consistnecy of a light sauce.

Remove form heat, strain sauce through a fine-mesh strainer and return to pan. Whisk in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: If making ahaed, warm gently and whisk in olive oil before serving, though I like it cold)

Combine beets and arugula, plate, and top with desired amount of balsamic reduction.

SO good. :)


Please post your favorite , veggie snacks/combinations. :)
I also just noshed on some salsa fresca with cilantro that is another fave Carrie-snack, if anyone is interested. :)
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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Funny, I JUST today whipped up the most amazing beet salad (yet another reason I love working at home):

Trim and peel 3-4 medium beets, then grate into a bowl. Slice up some red onion really thin (I used about 4 really thin slices from the fattest part of a large onion). Add a handful of chopped walnuts. Toss with about a tbsp of red wine vinegar and 2 tbsp of olive oil. I also added a shake of salt and pepper, and a small spoon of sugar just to cut the bitterness. Top with a whole bunch of crumbled goat cheese.

This was surprisingly filling ... and very tasty.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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OMG That sounds delicious!!!

I love making Portabella Mushroom Burgers...instead of a meat patty, used 1-2 huge portabello mushrooms, lightly tossed in olive oil, grill them up....toppings? Up to you! I light to saute some onions and a bit of garlic, fresh tomatoes, and some fresh crisp lettuce...dress with some balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper....all sandwiched between two slices of your favorite toasted bread.

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Oooo! Though I love goat cheese, without it, that sounds right up my alley!

I was just about to edit that I think we use red wine vinegar in the balsamic reduction, but I am not sure. I make the salsa fresca, but my honey prepares the more labor-intensive stove/oven stuff. :P I am more likely to peel an avocado, slice it and eat it because I am hungry, love avocados and do not feel like preparing anything beyond that. I like snacking on the shiitake mushrooms by themselves, too; I prefer them that way. They have a "buttery" taste to me when they are just cleaned and eaten as they are. Anyone else?

"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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Oooo! Though I love goat cheese, without it that sounds right up my alley!



Wait, you like goat cheese but would leave it off?

Yeah, you're just weird. :P

I found the combo of flavors/textures to be really pretty awesome. (BTW I didn't come up with this totally on my own - I adapted it from a recipe I found online but since I didn't have everything for the recipe I improvised).
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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(BTW I didn't come up with this totally on my own - I adapted it from a recipe I found online but since I didn't have everything for the recipe I improvised)



Those are the best recipes! Finding an awesome recipe, modifying the ingredients to make it your own/what you like, and making it totally tasty! :)

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Anyone else?



You ignored my post :(:(:(:(:(:(:(
I want attention!!!


I was asking if anyone else thinks shiitake mushrooms taste "buttery" (without doing anything to them). They taste "buttery" to me in the same way certain varieties of wild-Pacific salmon do (again, without doing anything to it). I love shiitakes.
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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Anyone else?



You ignored my post :(:(:(:(:(:(:(
I want attention!!!


I was asking if anyone else thinks shiitake mushrooms taste "buttery" (without doing anything to them). They taste "buttery" to me in the same way certain varieties of wild-Pacific salmon do (again, without doing anything to it). I love shiitakes.


:)

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Koala-kabobs

Ingredients:
1 medium koala, de-furred
3 large green bell peppers
2 large red onions
2 dozen new potatoes
1 large zucchini
1 Tbsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp white pepper
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable oil

Skin and clean koala. Chop peppers and onions into large pieces. Slice zucchini with preferred thickness, and cut slices in half. Cut koala meat into 1-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and white pepper and toss to mix well, then add the yogurt, mustard, tomato paste and garlic. Add the vegetables. Add the oil, 1/2-cup at a time, stirring the mixture until you don't see any oil floating on top. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 2 hours. While the mixture is marinating, turn on the grill and let it get nice and hot, move the hot coals over to one side. Using metal or bamboo skewers, arrange vegetables and koala on each skewer and place on either side of the grill, NOT DIRECTLY OVER THE HEAT; cover grill. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes; turn skewers on the other side for another 5 minutes, or until koala is desired consistency.

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You like tofu?



You know, I do, but I do not eat it a lot. We do not eat a lot of soy. I used to drink soy milk, but switched to almond milk several years ago.

I had a great friend in high school that I roomed with in college who was half-Asian and I literally would give her more than half my grocery budget every week so she would cook for me. She cooked mostly Asian (I LOVE Asian flavors) and used to do amazing things with tofu and veggies and noodles and yum, yum, yum! I have no idea what she did, though, except to note the ingredients. I really do not like cooking and was happy to pay her to cook for me. :)
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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Wait, you like goat cheese but would leave it off?

Yeah, you're just weird. :P



I read Zooey Deschanel does not like to be called "quirky", but you can call me quirky. I am.

A creature of convenience and conviction, it is too much trouble for me to buy the sort of goat cheese I would be OK with eating often.
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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A creature of convenience and conviction, it is too much trouble for me to buy the sort of goat cheese I would be OK with eating often.



I stock up on the logs of Laura Chenel at Costco. (And by stock up, of course, only as much as I can eat in the time before the use-by date, of course). I sprinkle a bit on my salads that I have nearly every day, so I go through it reasonably fast.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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I love Costco! :)Tostitos roasted garlic & black bean chips also for a fraction of the price (and as you probably know, not everything there is). Do_not_get me started on my Costco favorite things. :$

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I sprinkle a bit on my salads that I have nearly every day,



I use sardines in place of cheese on a salad for a similar salty/texture flavor profile and great omega 3s.

Edit: Having said that, I have not peered into the cheese section at Costco in a long time and did not know they carry the Laura Chenel brand. Thanks!
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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Edit: Having said that, I have not peered into the cheese section at Costco in a long time and did not know they carry the Laura Chenel brand. Thanks!



They do out here, anyway. Costco's cheese section rocks. They really do have some good stuff. B|
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Cool! :)
In the off-season, I admit, I buy a jarred kind that just contains sliced beets and water, per the list of ingredients. They work just as well in the recipe and--again--are great for grazing when I am hungry and need a few bites of something. Other than my hearty breakfast, I am pretty much just snacking the rest of the day.

"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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I need to eat more beets



Really? I need to plunge more white-hot flaming pokers into my eyes.


I know just what you're saying!

I thought the same thing for decades, because all I was ever exposed to was canned or boiled beets served plain (or worse). Nasty, watery, fibrous, disgusting things.

All that changed when I was exposed to roasted beets. The process of dry heat changes everything :)
lisa
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:D

I am not saying for you, it has to be beets. But, when I was little I hated sauerkraut and did not try it again until a few years ago and discovered I like sauerkraut.

The only other thing to my recollection that produced such an averse reaction as you described would be the "coke bottle" gummie candies my hunny loves and buys whenever we go to my favorite, local "global" market. Fucking nasty; I do not know what he gets out of them.
"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin

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