Tangine of Morrocan Vegetable Stew is a tasty dish. It is completely healthful and low-calorie, but even more it is beautiful and really easy to make.

Well, not easy as in open-a-can easy. But much easier than it seems given the long list of ingredients.

This recipe is from John Robbins book “May all Be Fed”.
I’ve included the recipe as  a pdf.

I’m making it this weekend — so I hope to have pictures then.

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An absolutely delicious way to use those summer tomatoes. Suggestion: serve with grilled goat cheese sandwiches.

2 lbs. Roma or other very firm tomatoes, quartered and stemmed
1 large red pepper, seeded, stemmed, quartered
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. minced garlic from a jar (or 4 cloves)
2 cups fat-free chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh basil, packed
1/2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Toss the tomatoes, peppers, garlic and oil.
3) Place mixture on baking tray or roasting pan with tomatoes cut side up.
4) Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for one hour.
5) Dump the entire contents of the pan into a food processor. Add at least one cup of stock, vinegar, sugar, and basil. Blend until smooth.
6) On stove top, heat to bubbling with remaining stock. Serve either hot or cold.

Servings: 4, Yield: 4 cups

Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 136.1 calories; 48% calories from fat; 7.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 841.0mg sodium; 697.3mg potassium; 16.6g carbohydrates; 3.9g fiber; 9.5g sugar; 12.8g net carbs; 3.5g protein; 4.1 points.

Tips – If increasing this recipe, be sure to use more than one roasting pan, if necessary, in order to allow tomatoes to be in a single layer and not stacked on top of each other.

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Original recipe from All You magazine.

• 1.5 pounds carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or other oil
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 1 2-inch piece chopped or grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon sugar, honey or other sweetner

1. Slice carrots diagonally, about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add salt and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook until almost tender, about 3 minutes.
4. Drain and rinse carrots under cold running water.
5. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped garlic clove and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add 1 chopped 2 inch piece fresh ginger and cook 2 minutes longer.
7. Add carrots and 1 teaspoon water.
8. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ready in: 20 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 126.2 calories; 42% calories from fat; 6.2g total fat; 15.3mg cholesterol; 409.0mg sodium; 551.2mg potassium; 17.7g carbohydrates; 4.8g fiber; 8.8g sugar; 1.7g protein.

TIP
Make it a meal: Stir in a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained and rinsed and serve with brown rice.

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We are eating primarily vegetarian at our house this summer. Last year I bought a new grill and I definitely want to put it to good use, even if meat isn’t on the menu. My strategy is fire it up and fill it. I love having leftovers.

clockwise from upper left
portebello mushrooms; red potatoes, polenta, corn on the cob,veggie burgers, onions.

Here was my strategy. I prepared the vegetables and fired up the grill and threw on the small red potatoes cut in half. I basted them with olive oil and sprinkled them with chipolte pepper. Closed the lid and let the grill get to about 400 and let the poatoes cook for about 10 minutes.

Next? My favorite summer vegetable:  Corn on the cob. Basted with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Then I add sliced store bought polenta. Again basted with oil. This I sprinkled with “tandoori seasoning”. An Indian seasoning that I buy this at the local international food store.

Next I added the veggie burgers and portobello mushrooms, basted with a combination soy sauce and Worcheshire sauce and a touch of sesame oil.

I then shuffled the potatoes up to the warming shelf to make room for the onions.

This supplied the two of us with at least five meals — including some amazing portobello sandwiches garnished with sundried tomato spread; Veggie burgers reheated and made into “patty melts” and polenta served with a dollop of bean dip on top.

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Original recipe from All You magazine.

• 1.5 pounds carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or other oil
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 1 2-inch piece chopped or grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon sugar, honey or other sweetner

1. Slice carrots diagonally, about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add salt and bring to boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook until almost tender, about 3 minutes.
4. Drain and rinse carrots under cold running water.
5. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped garlic clove and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add 1 chopped 2 inch piece fresh ginger and cook 2 minutes longer.
7. Add carrots and 1 teaspoon water.
8. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ready in: 20 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 126.2 calories; 42% calories from fat; 6.2g total fat; 15.3mg cholesterol; 409.0mg sodium; 551.2mg potassium; 17.7g carbohydrates; 4.8g fiber; 8.8g sugar; 1.7g protein.

TIP
Make it a meal: Stir in a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained and rinsed and serve with brown rice.

Comments(0)

At the local farmer’s market there is a kettle corn vendor popping and sugaring the kernels right there on the spot. One Reasonable Dieter told me she had a small bag, and it was worth every calorie. Really? I asked. How many calories was it?

Of course she had no idea. Which may not be a problem, if it is one-time thing… but if you convince yourself it is worth the calories and start having it every week, then you really ought to know the calorie count.

So here’s the scoop:

One cup of kettle corn = 100 calories.

Just for comparison purposes… a mini-bag of microwave popcorn is a five-cup serving, and a regular bag is usually about 12 cups.

Now is it worth it?

If you need to find out the calories for something and don’t journal on-line using a calorie-counting software…the easiest way is to just “Google” it.   In this case “kettle corn calories” got me the info I needed. Then I Googled “popcorn how many cups in bag” and came up with that information as well as a great article about popcorn and calories and how to make healthful choices.

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For a recent dinner party I made a delicious borscht (beet soup) … that required a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on top, and since I was entertaining some real connoisseurs, I was shopping for something special at the food co-op. That’s when I discovered Greek strained yogurt. What a great choice. It has the low calorie content of yogurt, but the richness of sour cream.

In general I’m not a big yogurt fan, and I don’t think I’d care for this yogurt solo … but for cooking it is superb. Because it is strained it can withstand high heat without separating.

For my next venture I swirled it in with a fairly plain vegetable soup made with tomato juice as the stock. It transformed the soup into a creamy delight. Using the 2% variety, one cup is only 150 calories, but just 2 tablespoons in a bowl of soup make it fit for a queen.

Here is a recipe from EatingWell magazine for some wildly delicious Blue Cheese Dressing made with the strained yogurt.
Makes 1/2 cup
2 ounces blue cheese
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 tablespoons nonfat Greek-style yogurt
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Mash blue cheese, oil, vinegar, tarragon and honey together in a medium bowl with a fork until well combined. For a creamier dressing, add yogurt 1 tablespoon at a time, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per 2-tablespoon serving: 161 calories; 15 g fat (4 g sat, 9 g mono); 11 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 0 g fiber; 271 mg sodium; 46 mg potassium.
0 Carbohydrate Servings; Exchanges: 3 fat
P.S. I know that there are those of you who would never spend 161 calories on salad dressing. However there is a time and a place for everything. My salad rule, in order to not become bored with salads, is to allow myself one “treat” on my greens. Examples: Dressing, nuts, cheese, avocado. But one at a time, please.

2 ounces blue cheese
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 tablespoons nonfat Greek-style yogurt
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Mash blue cheese, oil, vinegar, tarragon and honey together in a medium bowl with a fork until well combined. For a creamier dressing, add yogurt 1 tablespoon at a time, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per 2-tablespoon serving: 161 calories; 15 g fat (4 g sat, 9 g mono); 11 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 0 g fiber; 271 mg sodium; 46 mg potassium.
0 Carbohydrate Servings; Exchanges: 3 fat

know that there are those of you who would never spend 161 calories on salad dressing. However there is a time and a place for everything. My salad rule, in order to not become bored with salads, is to allow myself one “treat” on my greens. Examples: Dressing, nuts, cheese, avocado. But one at a time, please.

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