Monday, February 20, 2012

Food For Life

Happy Meatless Monday everyone! Remember, even if you aren't vegetarian or vegan, incorporating one meatless day a week into your diet will not only help you physically, but it's also great for the earth! Read more about meatless monday and share the love with your friends and family. In the meantime, here are two recipe ideas for an easy and delicious meatless dinner that you can try out tonight!

Italian Potato Salad


What you will need:
2.5 lbs of small potatoes (you can use red, yellow, or purple) well scrubbed and halved
5 stalks of celery, chopped
4 tbs of pickled capers, drained
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
15 pitted olives
fresh basil, chopped

For the Marinade
4 Tbsp of olive oil
1 large lemon
sea salt and pepper to taste

Start by boiling the unpeeled potatoes in lightly salted water for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. Let them cool.

Mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl, set aside while making the salad.

Toss tomatoes, celery stalks, capers, onion, olives and basil in a medium bowl. Add the potatoes and the marinade and toss gently again. Serve on plates and top with fresh basil and ground black pepper.


Vegetable Lasagna


What you will need:
Tomato sauce (recipe below)
1 package of whole wheat lasagna noodles
lemon ricotta (recipe below) 
Grilled vegetables (recipe below)
1 package of mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Start with a thin layer of tomato sauce, cover with a layer of lasagna noodles, a layer of lemon ricotta, a layer of grilled vegetables, a layer of kale and another layer of tomato sauce. Repeat 2 to 3 times, and top the last layer with the rest of the vegetables, the tomato sauce, the lemon ricotta and the grated mozarella cheese. Bake it in the oven for 30-45 minutes. 

Tomato Sauce

What you will need:
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 fresh chili, medium to strong, finely chopped
25-30 pitted kalamata olives
2 tbsp of capers, drained
4 large tomatoes, cut into quarters
half a pot of fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion, garlic, and chili. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add olives, capers, and fresh tomatoes and cook for 2 more minutes before adding in the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 10 mintes, lower the heat and let simmer for half an hour or more, under a lid. 

Grilled Vegetables

What you will need:
2 tbsp of olive oil
Salt
2 zucchini, sliced
1 eggplant, sliced
10oz of mushrooms
10oz of fresh kale or spinach 
1 clove of garlic

Dash the zucchini and eggplant with olive oil and salt and grill in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Stir fry the mushrooms and kale in a pan for 5 minutes with olive oil, salt and garlic. 

Lemon Ricotta 

What you will need:
12oz of ricotta cheese
1 organic medium sized lemon (zest and juice)
1/2 pot of fresh basil, chopped
a pinch of sea salt
a pinch of lemon pepper

Place ricotta cheese in a bowl, grate the lemon zest ans squeeze the lemon, add zest and juice to the bowl. Add basil, sae salt and lemon pepper and mix together. 

*recipes courtesy of Greenkitchenstories.com