Posts

Spiral Zucchini Noodle Salad with Homemade Catalina Dressing ♥

The Recipe: A simple zucchini salad, just zucchini noodles and carrots tossed in a lovely Homemade Catalina Dressing, all made with accessible pantry ingredients. Weight Watchers Friendly, WW 2 PointsPlus. Low Cal. Low Carb. Gluten Free. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". The Conversation: How I finally came to use the spiralizer purchased almost two years ago. Amazon, the chiding conscience: "You purchased this item on August 25, 2012." Me, hanging head in shame about the object of Amazon's reminder, the spiralizer I purchased two whole years ago but never once pulled out of the box let alone used. Me, grateful to Mari Moilanen, the Finnish food blogger who blogs in English at Something Tasty . It was Mari's Zucchini Spiral "Noodle" Salad salad, which she served at the photography workshop I attended in Helsinki in June, which inspired me to dig out the long-neglected spiralizer on our very first day back!

Raw Tomatillo Salad with Blueberries ♥

Today's quick 'n' easy summer salad recipe: Anyone else wonder what-in-heck to do with all the fresh tomatillos that are so beautiful right now? Try the tomatillos raw in this simple salad – isn't it pretty?! – just be sure to follow my quick technique for making tomatillos taste extra sweet and citrusy. Weight Watchers Friendly, low-carb, gluten-free, paleo. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". Every year, I seem to fall in love – head-over-heels in love – with a new vegetable. It's never a new-to-me vegetable, instead an old friend suddenly experienced with new tastebuds. Last fall, it was the tomatillo! When the garden threw off one husk-wrapped, heavy-in-the-hand fruit after another, I tried to figure out how to use so many tomatillos. For a couple of weeks, they sat in a basket on the counter, sure to go bad, waiting on my decision. By accident, I figured out that the direction that you cut tomatillos makes a difference! If you cut them lengthwi

Microwave Summer Cream Corn ♥ A Reader Recipe!

Today's "plain" corn recipe with "hardly plain" results: Just fresh sweet corn cooked in the microwave, tossed with butter, a little milk or cream and seasoning. So easy, so summmery! Real food. Paleo. I was thrilled to see this easy recipe for cooking fresh sweet corn in the microwave pop up in my InBox. Thank you, Janet! I love it when readers share their favorite recipes! Let's let Janet herself tell the story. "Summer Cream Corn was my mother's recipe. I've never written it down until now but I've been making it for forty years. Yesterday my granddaughters ate two helpings – they love grandma's corn! You can tweak it the way you would like it – it's just too easy." "Take twelve ears of white delish summer corn (or more for a larger amount). Cut the corn off the ears, then scrape down the ears to get all the milk out. Put in a microwave for 6 minutes, then add a little water, stir and cook another 6 minutes. Do th

Vegetables 101: What Is a Tomatillo? What Are Tomatillos?

So many vegetables, so many that are unfamiliar! This is the latest in an occasional series of posts, quick, easy and practical information about out-of-the-ordinary vegetables. Recipe suggestions included! Today's subject? One of my very favorite summer vegetables, the tomatillo! If you've never seen a tomatillo growing on the plant, you're in for a treat, they are so pretty! WHAT ARE TOMATILLOS? A tomatillo may well look like a "green tomato" (that is, an immature, unripe tomato) and is some times even called a green tomato. But a tomatillo is not a tomato at all, despite its outer appearance! First, a tomatillo is smaller than a tomato, ranging from the size of a golf ball to a baseball. Second, a tomatillo stays green, where an immature green tomato will eventually ripen and turn red. HOW TO PRONOUNCE TOMATILLO? The word is pronounced [toe-muh-TEE-yo]. The plural of tomatillo is tomatillos [toe-muh-TEE-yoz]. OTHER NAMES FOR TOMATILLOS A tomatillo is a

Red, White & Blue Potato Salad ♥

Today's festive potato salad recipe, made with a mix of red-skinned, white-skinned and amazing blue-colored potatoes. Packed with summer vegetables: red bell pepper, radishes and sweet corn. Perfect for 4th of July and other American patriotic holiday gatherings. Not "low carb" (it's potato salad, after all) but still, a "lower carb" potato salad, thanks to so many vegetables and a higher measure of protein thanks to the addition of eggs and Greek yogurt. Happy Canada Day to my Canadian family, readers and visitors! Happy 4th of July to my American family, readers and visitors! I'm so proud of my "mixed" heritage! Call it the " Finnish potato effect " but since returning from our trip to the Baltic last month, we've cooked potatoes left and right, inside and out, forwards and backwards. Ten days ago, I mixed up a big batch of potato salad for the summer potluck with our "mushroom club" friends: all the dishes follow

Finnish Summer Potato Salad ♥ An Ode to Finnish Potatoes

Today's Recipe: Perfect for your Midsummer celebration, a simple potato salad of new potatoes and a simple vinaigrette, made just like Finns make potato salad during summer. No mayo! Plus, a guide to the special spuds that come from Finland, one of the Nordic countries where there's an unapologetic obsession with potatoes this time of year. A Simple Nordic Salad & Side Dish, Especially for Summer. 100% Plant-Based. Whole Food, Fast & Casual. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Budget Friendly. Little Effort, Big Taste. Not Just Easy, Summer Easy . Scales from Small Plates to Large Platters. Naturally Gluten Free. Paleo. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". One of My Very Favorite Potato Salad Recipes.