Salads
Dressings
Entrees
Milk
Soups
Herbal Soup
1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp powdered onion
1/4 tsp crushed or ground red pepper
1/8 tsp sea salt
6oz boiling water
Mix together all ingredients except water and place into a fine mesh tea strainer. Place the strainer in a bowl or mug and pour boiling water over it. Allow to steep for a few minutes, then remove the strainer. You may have this on any day, at any time (including outside of the noon-6pm time).
Carrot Soup
3/4 lb baby carrots1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup vegetable stock
1 Tbsp dried Herbes de Provence
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp lemon juice
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, saute onion and garlic with a Tbsp of stock until onions turn translucent. Add carrots, the rest of the stock, herbs, pepper, and salt and bring to a simmer (reduce heat when necessary). Allow to simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until carrots are tender. Use a blender or stick blender to puree to desired consistency. If soup is too thick, add more stock. Add lemon juice and stir well. Serve topped with fresh parsley for garnish. Or avocado slices as pictured.
Free Onion Soup - may be consumed on any day
1 sweet onion2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
handful chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups water
Cut off ends of onion and chop in half, removing outer peel. Slice to form half-moons. Heat a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add honey and vanilla and allow honey to thin. Add garlic. Place a layer of onions in the pot, then sprinkle 1 tsp salt over it, then another layer topped with remainder of salt. Leave it alone for a little while to let the onions caramelize - it'll take a good 15 minutes. You want them to be nice and soft - don't worry about the inevitable burning on the bottom of the pan, we'll take care of that.
Add in the basil, rosemary, and cilantro, and stir. Add in the wine - this will deglaze the bottom of the pan and bring back all those flavors stuck down there. Allow the wine to completely cook away, stirring frequently. Finally, add the water and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Serve.
You can also strain out the onions and herbs and reserve the liquid as a stock for cooking other stuff.
Variations:
For these variations, the onion should be very finely chopped, and you may leave out the honey and herbs. With the onion finely chopped, it will produce enough liquid during the saute to keep moist. These are for milk days only.
Creamy Onion Soup - Add in 1/2 cup whole milk, or stir in 1 cup plain yogurt before adding water. Reduce water to 1 cup.
Cheesy Onion Soup - Strain plain yogurt until a cream-cheese like consistency is reached. Stir in thickened yogurt to onions before adding water. Reduce water to 1/2 cup. Add 1/4 cup shredded cheddar. Reserve whey for other applications.
Salads
Confetti Salad
1/4 head red cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 head green cabbage, finely shredded
2 large carrots, finely shredded
handful fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
3 green onions, chopped into 1/4" rounds
Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Salad may be stored for up to 3 days. It gets very blah after that. Recommended dressing: Tahini Dressing.
Herb Salad
1 handful fresh curly parsley
1 handful fresh cilantro
1/2 sweet Vidalia onion, finely chopped
juice from one lemon
Mrs. Dash seasoning
Chop the parsley and cilantro, and mix with the onion. Sprinkle on seasoning to taste, then squeeze lemon juice all over. Toss and serve. You may have this whenever you want it, any day, any time.
Dressings
Tahini Dressing
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 packet Italian dressing mix
Combine all dressing ingredients in a shaker and mix well. Store in a covered carafe in the refrigerator. You may use more or less water to reach your desired consistency. To change up the flavor, simply replace the dressing seasoning packet with your desired seasonings. You may have this on any day, at any time.
f you wish to use this on a milk day, you may also mix in a little yogurt or use a Ranch seasoning packet (which contains buttermilk).
Avocado Dressing
1 avocado
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add water as needed to reach desired consistency. To change up flavors, try adding various dressing seasoning packets.
Entrees
Green Peppers stuffed with Baked Eggplant
1 large eggplant
2 green peppers
2 green onions
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp mixed dried herbs (Italian seasoning will do)
salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk together the lemon juice, honey, and herbs. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, and spread the honey-lemon mixture over the cut sides of the eggplant. Place cut side down on a baking sheet, and bake for 50 minutes. Pull from oven and place the green onions, whole, on the baking sheet and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then scoop out the flesh from the eggplant and chop the onions. Mix the eggplant and the onions together, and add salt and pepper.
Cut the tops off of the green peppers and scoop out the seeds. Pour half the eggplant mix into each pepper. To store, put the cap of the pepper back on top, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge. When ready to eat, microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Makes 2 servings.
Spinach and Turnips
1 Tbsp honey1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 red onion, diced
2 turnips (or 1 rutebaga), diced
3 Tbsp mixed dried herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley)
2 cups vegetable stock
10oz baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
In a large pot, combine honey, vanilla, garlic, salt and onion over medium-high heat. Saute until onions are caramelized, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add turnips, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes, or until edges of turnips are beginning to soften. Add herbs and stock, reducing heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and cover, allowing to cook for about 5 minutes, or until spinach is wilting, then stir to complete cooking. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Three Pepper Fajitas
6 to 8 baby carrots, cut into strips
1 sweet onion, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice from 1 lime
fresh cilantro
sea salt
lettuce leaves
Heat a non-stick skillet on high. Add peppers, carrots, onion, cilantro and garlic and squeeze juice on top. Sprinkle a dash of salt on top. Saute until tender. Wrap in lettuce leaves with a little more cilantro for extra kick, and serve.
Makes 4 wraps
Baked Eggplant with Brown Tomato Sauce
1/2 lb brown tomatoes, cut into chunks
3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
carrot greens, coarsely chopped (buy the carrots with the greens attached)
handful cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, diced
2-3 green onions, chopped
water
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 cloves garlic plus a few tablespoons of water, until it is all bubbling and the garlic starts to become pasty. Add a half cup of water. Spread out eggplant slices (only cook in single layer - you may have to do multiple batches) and cook until it starts to become tender and has absorbed the garlic-water.
Meanwhile in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine garlic, shallot, and salt with a few tablespoons of water, and cook until shallot has become translucent. Add the carrots, tomatoes, and dried basil. When carrots have become softened, add the cilantro and greens, with about a half cup of water. Allow to cook until greens are wilted. Pour all into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.
In an 8x8 glass dish (or personal pan pizza plates, if you have them), alternate layers of sauce and eggplant (begin with sauce on the bottom) until you run out. Top with green onions, then place into the oven and allow to cook for about a half hour.
Garlic Eggplant with Artichoke
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
pinch sea salt
1 artichoke
Fill a medium saucepan with water, add artichoke and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, place garlic and a little water in a wok over medium heat and allow to cook until water evaporates and garlic is fragrant. Add the white wine, onions, eggplant, and salt, and saute until eggplant is tender. Add water as necessary (use the artichoke water) to prevent burning after the wine has evaporated.
Remove eggplant from pan. Add some of the water from the artichoke to the pan to get all the garlic bits, then return the water to the artichoke and continue to boil it until it has turned a nice dark green and the leaves are tender. Drain the artichoke, cut off the sharp tips, and serve opened up like a flower alongside the eggplant.
Artichoke may be eaten by pulling off the individual leaves and biting off the meaty ends, or you can pull off all the leaves until you get to the heart, then scrape off the fuzzy stuff, and cut it up to eat. You may also get into the heart of the artichoke and chop it up and add to the eggplant for a single dish.
Crevettes a la beurre blanc et Ratatouille
For the Ratatouille: 1/4 cup white wine
1 summer squash
1 green zucchini
1 baby eggplant
1 each yellow, orange, green tomato
1/2 sweet onion
1 tsp herbes de provence, divided
Preheat oven to 275.
Slice squash, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes into 1/8" rounds (thinner if you can). Reserve the rounded ends of the tomatoes. Place each veggie into a separate bowl.
Finely dice the tomato ends and onion. Place into a medium saucepot over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt, and let cook until onions are translucent. Add the wine and 1/2 tsp herbs, stir, and let reduce by half. Spoon the mixture into the bottom of a non-metal baking dish and spread evenly to coat. Layer the veggie slices, alternating items, beginning with a line down the center of the dish, and then spiraling outwards. Sprinkle remaining herbs on top along with a pinch of salt.
Cover with parchment paper, and bake for 2 hours. Remove the parchment and return to oven for an additional 20-30 minutes. Best when refrigerated overnight and reheated.
To serve: Place serving platter upside down on top of baking dish, and then invert the whole thing, allowing all the vegetables to fall to the platter. Scrape out any remaining onion mixture from the bottom of the dish and spoon it on top.
TIP: For the parchment paper, before you begin, place the baking dish on the paper and trace around it, then cut to fit so that the paper can be placed within the boundaries of the dish.
For the Crevettes a la beurre blanc:
4-6oz shrimp, shells and tails intact
1 Tbsp butter, cut into cubes
1/4 white wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
In a glass baking dish, combine wine, garlic, and butter. Microwave for about 30 seconds until butter is softened and begins to melt. Stir until the butter is thoroughly melted and combined with wine and garlic. Arrange shrimp in dish. During the final 20 minutes of baking the ratatouille, place dish into oven and cook until shrimp turns pink. Remove shrimp from sauce, and remove shells. Save the shells for use in making broth sometime. Dip the peeled shrimp in the sauce and arrange around plattered ratatouille. Drizzle about 2 tsp of the sauce over the top of it all. Discard or reserve remaining sauce for other applications as you please.
Makes 2 servings
Milk
Iced Green Tea Latte
4oz hot water
1 teabag green tea
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
4oz milk
Steep tea for 5 minutes. While hot, stir in honey and cinnamon. Fill a tall glass with ice and pour in the milk. Add the vanilla, then pour the tea on top. Stir until cold. Change up the tea for different latte flavors.
Frothy Milk and Honey
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Heat milk in a frothing pitcher. When warm, froth it. Combine honey, vanilla, and cinnamon in a microwavable container and heat on high for 20 seconds. Pour honey mixture into a mug, then pour the frothy milk over it. Stir carefully so as not to reintegrate the froth. Top off with froth and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Coffee Milkshake
8 oz decaffeinated coffee, brewed
1 Tbsp honey
ice
Microwave honey on high for 10 seconds to liquefy, then combine with milk and coffee and ice in a blender. Blend until smooth.
Lassi
1 3/4 cups plain yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup water, chilled
6 ice cubes
pinch salt
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve as-is or over ice. This is your standard lassi base. To this, you may add spices, herbs, or fruit for variations. For a salted lassi, leave out the honey and add cardamom or cumin, and a few extra pinches of salt. For a sweet lassi, leave out the salt and add a finely ground mint leaf. For something a little more savory, you may use buttermilk instead of the yogurt.
Makes 6 servings.
Yogurt Variations
4oz plain yogurt
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
Stir together to create a basic honeyed yogurt.
Using the above base, the following flavors may be achieved:
Cappuccino: Stir in 1 tsp instant decaf coffee
Chocolate: Stir in 1 heaping tsp of cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, plus 1/2 tsp additional honey
Cardamom: Stir in 1 tsp ground cardamom
Cinnamon: Stir in 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Vanilla: Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract
Dill: Leave out 1 tsp honey, stir in 2 tsp dill
