Healthy Almond Coconut Joy Nuggets

Healthy Almond Coconut Joy Nuggets, vegan ~ These sweet little morsels are really tasty & perfect with a cup of tea, a mug of coffee or as a lunch box surprise!  I tweaked the original raw food dessert recipe, from over at the Fat Free Vegan blog.  The recipe calls for dried plums (prunes), shredded coconut & cocoa powder to give the treat the traditional chocolate flavor/texture of the original Almond Joy candy bar.  ((OK, we all know I'm talking about prunes, but it just sounds so much more appetizing if I call them dried plums))   The combo really works together, you can even enhance the flavor by using flavored dried plums.  I think the orange or cherry flavors would give this recipe an interesting spin & would add an intriguing note to the mix ~ but I would steer clear of the lemon flavor for this recipe.  Who knew dried plums/prunes were so versatile?  

The original Fat Free Vegan recipe also calls for raw almonds, but I think roasted almonds give it a better flavor ~ but then it wouldn't be a raw food.  It's a trade-off, but if you don't care about it being a raw food, I'd go with roasted almonds.  I also doubled the amount of cocoa powder called for, I just love the deep flavor of cocoa. Try it, either my adapted recipe or the original one.  Either way, you'll love them.  Enjoy!

Healthy Almond Coconut Joy Nuggets

• 1 cup dried plums (aka prunes), chopped (about 16 dried prunes/plums)  ~  plain or flavored (except for lemon flavor)
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
• 1 tblsp cocoa powder (unsweetened, Penzeys in my favorite kind)
• 24 whole roasted almonds
• 1 tblsp powdered sugar
• 1 tblsp cocoa powder (additional cocoa for rolling the nuggets in when done)
• powdered sugar for dusting, optional

Put the chopped dried plums (prunes), coconut, and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder into the food processor and blend until thoroughly combined & completely mixed.

Place mixture on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and flatten it until it’s about 1-inch thick. Keep it covered & refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Mix the powered sugar and the remaining tablespoon of cocoa powder in a small bowl.  Roll a heaping teaspoon of the mixture into an oval shape & press an almond into the middle ~ make sure to completely enclose the nut with the coconut mixture. Roll each nugget in the cocoa/powdered sugar blend.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving, optional.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.  Store in the refrigerator.

Makes approx. 18-24 nuggets

Getting Creative with Cauliflower ~ Mock Custard Pie & Cream of Onion Soup ~ low fat, low carb, low cal

Mock Custard Pie ~ made with pureed cauliflower ~ OK, here is a very different & unique spin on the traditional, homestyle Custard Pie.  My pie is made with cauliflower instead of cream, (yeah, I know, who knew it would work?) so it's dairy-free, as well as low carb, low fat & low cal. It has a similar taste & texture to a real custard pie ~ Yipee!  I was inspired by this Fat Flush Plan friendly recipe I found on the web.  Roy really likes the dessert & that tells me it's good. :)

Mock Custard Pie ~ made with Cauliflower instead of cream ~ dairy-free, low carb, low fat & low cal

• 2 fresh eggs
• 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 6 packets Equal or your favorite sweetener (or to taste)
• 3 cups well cooked cauliflower, cooled  (steam or boil until nice & soft)
• 3 whole sheets cinnamon graham crackers
• Pam cooking spray 
• extra cinnamon/nutmeg for sprinkling
• Fat Free Cool Whip (or favorite kind of whipped topping) ~ optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a glass pie dish with Pam & place the cinnamon graham crackers in the bottom of the dish, cinnamon side up. Break apart the graham crackers, as needed, to cover the bottom of the pie dish as best you can.

Put the 2 eggs into a blender & blend on low speed until uniformly mixed. 

Add next 6 ingredients to the blended eggs~ vanilla whey protein powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, lemon zest & Equal packets.  Blend on low speed, until well combined.

Add cooked/cooled cauliflower to the egg mixture & blend on high speed ~you want to completely puree the cauliflower/egg mixture & turn it all into a thick, smooth liquid.

Gently pour the cauliflower mixture into the graham cracker 'crust', making sure it is evenly distributed.  Dust top of the 'custard pie' with a sprinkling of cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

Bake pie at 350 degrees, for about 20-30 minutes, until well set & the 'custard' separates slightly from the edges of the pie dish.  

Serve warm or cold, with some Fat Free Cool Whip (or your favorite kind), if desired  ~ optional 

                                        Enjoy!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cream of Onion Soup ~ More fun with cauliflower & another dairy-free dish using cauliflower instead of cream!  I simmered 1/2 a head of chopped cauliflower & one whole, sliced onion in about 6 cups chicken broth, until soft.  (use a veggie broth for a vegetarian version)  I then pureed it, returned it to the pot, added some sauteed (in a little sherry) chopped onion, a few of my favorite  herbs & let it all simmer on low for 10 minutes.  When serving, I sprinkled the soup with a little French's French Fried Onions, just to add a final layer of crunchy, oniony goodness.  The soup turned out very tasty, with a nice thick & creamy texture.  And it's another low cal, low fat & low carb recipe for my cooking rotation ~ Oh, yeah!  The cauliflower puree would make a great base for other 'cream' soups. Hmmm, I wonder when mushrooms will go on sale... :)

Guilt Free Victoria Sponge Cake

Guilt Free Victoria Sponge Cake

I recently discovered a wonderful blog called ~ Downton Abbey Cooks ~ starring the family & servants of that fictional English estate, as well as what foods would have been served at that grand home.  Pamela writes incredibly interesting posts about that period of Britain's history, including dining customs & recipes ~ some of the recipes have even been updated for today's healthy lifestyles.  PBS has been airing this BBC mini series that follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants & it's fantastic!  I'm totally hooked & was so happy to find a blog that delves into what it was like living in Edwardian England. 

I recently made one of Pamela's recipes, it was for a Victoria Sponge Cake, but this one has a twist.  Instead of being weighed down with lots of butter, sugar & flour, her recipe is made with Splenda & cornstarch.  It comes out lighter than air & is perfect if you are wanting a traditional sponge cake, but without all the guilt.  I made a few tweaks to her recipe ~ I used Fat Free Cool Whip in place of the Greek yogurt & I layered my homemade strawberry jam with some sliced strawberries for a double hit of berry flavor.  The fresh eggs J & I gathered over at Dan's house, have such a yellow yolk that the cake took on an incredible golden hue.  All the layers in this cake make for a beautiful presentation & this sponge cake would be the star of any gathering or celebration.

J just loved the cake & so did I.  Since it has no fat in it, I would eat it within 2 days & make sure you don't over cook it, or it will be on the dry side.  Since it doesn't have sugar in it, it doesn't brown like a traditional cake.  Start checking at 12-15 minutes to see if it's done.  Go on over to Pamela's site & check out the recipe & all the things going on over at Downton Abbey.


Making & layering this light-as-air Victoria Sponge Cake was easy. For my double-berry version, I just sliced the cooled cake horizontally, put the top piece of the cake, cut side up, on the plate & then spread on a generous layer of strawberry jam...

Then add a layer of sliced strawberries...

Then add a layer of Fat Free Cool Whip...

Then place the bottom slice of the cake, cut side down (so that the bottom of the cake is now the top of the cake ~ that way you get a smooth looking top to your sponge cake) on top of the Cool Whip layer & sprinkle with powdered sugar & serve.  Such an elegant, no-guilt way to enjoy a beloved English teatime treat.  Serve it with a fresh pot of PG Tips tea or your favorite brew & you are half way to England, without ever leaving your home.  Armchair traveling at its finest!    :)

Meatless Monday ~ Buckwheat Pilaf with Cabbage & Herbs from the Passionate Vegetarian Cookbook

Buckwheat Pilaf with Cabbage & Herbs, served with a side of Swedish Pickled Beets  ~  Crescent Dragonwagon has written the most wonderful cookbook/memoir called  ~ Passionate Vegetarian.  It's over 1,100 pages of recipes, stories & thoughts on living & loving.  If I could have only 2 cookbooks, this would be one of them. It's truly a great cookbook & an enjoyable read.  The recipes are very doable, the directions are easy to follow & the ingredients are not too hard to find. I like to use it for inspiration to take my veggie, grain or bean-based dishes to the next level.  It really is a must have cookbook for vegetarians & also for those of us who like eating our veggies ~ as well as some meat, too.  If you make your veggie side dishes from this cookbook, your meat entrees will thank you.  You'll learn to love meatless entrees, too ~ maybe even go meatless more days than just on Monday.  Get a copy of the cookbook for yourself & see how many wonderful recipes await you!  :)

Cooking with Mochi ~ Waffles, Pan-Fried & Baked ~ The Kind Diet, Superhero Recipes

Mochi Waffle with Lemon-Walnut-Rice Syrup

This weekend I decided to cook some more recipes from The Kind Diet Cookbook, by Alicia Silverstone.

A few months ago I did a post about what I thought about her cookbook & what I had made from it so far.  Last time I was reading through it, I was intrigued by the notion of cooking with mochi.  Alicia had a few Superhero mochi recipes that sounded good, so I decided to try them this time around.

Pan-Fried Mochi

Baked Mochi

I'm glad I tried the recipes, but I don't think I will ever cook with mochi again, it's just too chewy for my taste. I was never able to get the pan-fried or baked mochi to look like the pictures in the recipes.  The pan-fried mochi looked like breakfast sausages to me, although I did enjoy the sweet/savory taste of the rice syrup/shoyu glaze.  The baked mochi looked like, well, you be the judge... The waffle mochi did morph into a true waffle shape, but again, it was just too chewy for me.  I suppose if you must eat gluten-free, mochi would allow you to make some interesting dishes.

Quick Rice Pudding & Bread Pudding ~ turning leftovers into a sweet ending to your meal

I always try to use up all of the food leftover from our meals, I just hate having to throw away food!  Usually I'll turn any odds & ends into soup, but occasionally, I'll create desserts out of them.  Either way, savory or sweet, those leftovers get one last hurrah.  Like Grandma Bunni always said ~ Waste not, want not. :) 

Quick & Easy Rice Pudding ~ Ever have just a bit of rice left over & nowhere to use it? Turn it into rice pudding using a vanilla pudding mix (use instant or regular, w/sugar or w/o, it's very versatile).  In a medium sauce pan add the milk, leftover rice, some raisins & a little cinnamon ~ simmer all together for about 10 minutes.  Let the mixture cool a bit, then add the pudding mix & stir well. Eat the rice pudding hot or cold. I sometimes add coconut extract & cardamom for an Indian flavor.

Bread Pudding ~ This is a great way to use up leftover stale bread ~ I guess that's how it also got the name 'poor man's pudding'.  This is one of our go-to comfort foods, we really enjoy this dessert.  We'll eat it either hot or cold & sometimes we'll even have it for breakfast.  Roy usually pours a bit of milk over the top ~ that's just the way he rolls.  :)  Check out this recipe for a light version of bread pudding, over at Food.com 

Homemade Strawberry Jam ~ from my garden, to my kitchen, to our friends...

All the warm weather we have been having lately has made my strawberries produce like crazy ~ over 12 pounds so far & more on the way.  I think that's a lot, considering the strawberry bed is only about 5'x3'.  Monday I picked 6 pounds of sun ripened berries & decided the best thing to do would be to make some homemade strawberry jam.  So, I bought some pectin, got out my freezer baggies (it's so much easier to make freezer jam instead of regular canned jam) & got to work.  I always follow the directions on the pectin box for making freezer jam, it's so quick & easy to do. 

I ended up making enough strawberry jam to share some with friends & our new next door neighbors (welcome to the neighborhood!).  There will be plenty of homemade jam for our toast, J's lunches & some pretty interesting dessert recipes I've found. I just love strawberry harvest time, don't you?  

There is something about homemade jam, made from berries that you grow yourself, that's just so special...

Mixing all the ingredients together ~ it's so cool to watch the jam start to setup, still amazes me when it does that...

Using my vintage aluminum canning funnel makes it easy to get the jam into the baggies...

Some to eat right away, some to freeze & some to give away...

Breakfast toast & jam never tasted so good.  :) 

Trio of Broccoli Salads ~ Pick the one that tickles your taste buds!

Broccoli Floret Salad with Bacon, Cashews & Cranberries ~ I was inspired to make this broccoli salad when I was reading the vegetarian cookbook, Peas & Thank You.  I was feeling the broccoli vibe...but, also the bacon vibe.  There is something about broccoli & bacon, the two together are magical.  So, since I was looking for a recipe with bacon, I surfed around some food blogs & found this wonderful recipe.  I tweaked it a bit, using dried cranberries instead of raisins/red peppers (I was all out of raisins/peppers) & used regular jarred bacon bits (I can't have real bacon in the house, Roy is uncontrollable around bacon :). I cut the broccoli up into little florets & only let it sit for about 30 minutes. Roy & I both LOVED it!  Check out the recipe, over at the blog, Foodess.

'Cheesy' Broccoli Bowl ~ This is a vegan recipe made with nutritional yeast instead of cheese. It can be heated or served uncooked, as a 'raw food' dish.  It tasted good, but it doesn't really have a cheesy flavor, more of an oriental taste. Tasty enough to make again. The recipe is at the end of the post.

Simple Broccoli & Radish Salad ~ I was feeling a little 'crunchy' the day I made this salad.  I was missing Colorado ~ Boulder, Summit County, the mountains... So, I decided to make something like I would have ordered at one of my (long gone) favorite shops ~ Alfalfa's Market...who was bought out by Wild Oats Market...who got bought out by Whole Foods Market. (isn't that just the way it goes...little fish, getting eaten by bigger fish)  A little bit of chopping, shaking, tossing and.... Ahh, tastes just like the deli counter back home.  Crunch, crunch.  heehee  :)

Simply Perfect Broccoli & Radish Salad

serves 2

2 cups     broccoli, cut into small florets
1 cup       thin sliced celery
1 bunch   radishes, sliced
1/3 cup    chopped parsley

basic salad dressing  (double if you like more dressing)
2 Tbsp      olive oil  
1 Tbsp      cider vinegar
1 Tbsp      water
1 tsp         lemon juice
~               salt & pepper, to taste
~               your favorite spice blend, to taste

1)   toss first 4 ingredients in a large bowl

2)   place olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, water & salt/pepper/spice blend
      in a jar w/lid ~ shake until well blended

3)   pour dressing over veggies & toss all together, check for seasoning
      & adjust as necessary

Enjoy!

    

Healthy Super Food Smoothie ~ an easy spin on Odwalla's Original Superfood Smoothie

 
I was at Whole Foods yesterday & grabbed an Odwalla Original Superfood Smoothie, as I was going through checkout ~ a complete impulse buy.  They were two for $4 ~ such a steal. (no really, I did pay for it :)  It was just me, so I only bought the one.  Big mistake!  By the time I got home, I had already consumed the smoothie ~ the flavor combo was just what I didn't know I needed.    I was still thirsty for more green, satiny fruit goodness.  The original 12 ounce bottle sounded ample enough at the time, but I was craving more...     M O R E...

After I put my groceries away, I started scrounging around in my fridge, freezer & cupboards.  I found that I had most of the items needed to make a pretty close match to what had been in my now taunting, empty smoothie bottle.  I must admit, I was missing the juices of wheat/barley grasses, wheat sprouts, dulse & Jerusalem artichoke ~ but I did have the stuff they pictured on the back of the label & that included the Spirulina.  (yeah, I know, I have weird things lurking in my pantry :)  I was also out of apple juice, the last of it went out with J's lunchbox. So, I decided to use some V8 V*Fusion since it's made with fruits & veggies ~ I figured I could make up for the missing green stuff with some other colorful fruit & veggie juices. Works for me.

I gotta say, this smoothie turned out AMAZING!!  The color was not the dark green of the Original Superfood Smoothie, because I didn't have the all the green grass stuff & since I used an Acai Mixed Berry V8 V*Fusion (it's purple).  Fine by me.  It did have the same texture & an addicting taste.  YEAH!!  Next time, if I find I just have to have it green, I'll throw in a handful of spinach.  Maybe one time I'll try it with just apple juice, but I doubt it, I'm pretty partial to the V8 V*Fusion juices ~ you get one serving of fruit & one serving of veg in every 8 ounce glass.  Such a bargain!

Now, I can make my own easy, smoothie version, whenever I want.  I'm calling it my  ~ Healthy Super Food Smoothie.  Take that taunting, empty, soon to be recycled smoothie bottle!  :)  heehee

Healthy Super Food Smoothie                                 
inspired by drinking an Odwalla's Original Superfood Smoothie
serves 1~2

1 cup     V8 V*Fusion Acai Mixed Berry (or your favorite juice)
1/4 cup  water
1 inch     slice of banana
1/4 cup   frozen cubed mango (I use Trader Joe's frozen mangoes )
2 large     frozen strawberries
1/2           frozen peach (as may frozen slices as look like 1/2 a peach)
1/4 tsp    Spirulina powder  (I get mine in the bulk aisle of Whole Foods)

Throw all together in the blender & whirl away

~ Enjoy! ~

~  if you have fresh fruit, by all means use it instead of frozen, I used
    mostly frozen fruit because that's what I had available ~

Updated 6/7/2012

I made this smoothie again & added a large handful of spinach...this time I got the green color that I was missing before.  Oh, yeah!  :)

 

Vegetable Rosti ~ crisp, golden, shredded veggie patties for Meatless Monday

Vegetable Rosti ~ served with a fresh tomato/herb relish & yogurt ~ Here is a vegetarian spin on the Swiss potato dish. I omitted the potatoes the recipe called for, well, because I wanted to keep it low carb.  I just used more zucchini in place of the potatoes & also added some more spices. (I'm like that, I like my spices)  It turned out really tasty ~ the carrots gave it just a hint of sweetness.  I think it would be perfect for breakfast, brunch or as a side dish. I think I'll try making it again with zucchini, bell peppers & onion ~ seems like it would be a good stand-in for a low carb version of hash browns.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  :)   Check out the recipe from Vegetarian Times.

World's Best Porridge ~ Oatmeal never tasted so good!

This morning I was feeling like some oatmeal for breakfast, or porridge, as I like to call it.  I'm the sort of gal who usually likes to eat her oatmeal raw, over yogurt ~ so you can guess that when I eat my oats hot, I prefer them on the chewy side, too.  Actually, we all do.

I came up with this recipe for the World's Best Porridge over time, making it this way & that, until it came out perfect.  (I felt a bit like Goldilock's when I was trying to come up with just the right texture/taste for the porridge)  Roy has oats every morning & since he is up before me, I make his oatmeal/porridge the night before.  I like to use vanilla soymilk for the creaminess & flavor it provides, as well as keeping it vegetarian/vegan.  When Roy lived in England, he ate his porridge with milk & sugar.  Nowadays, he likes his porridge with honey & extra soymilk.  ~ The times, they are a-changin' ~  heehee

Since I'm making his breakfast before I go to bed, I use the microwave.  Five minutes of tending & I've got the perfect bowl of oats.  But, you can make it in the morning & eat it right away ~ just try not to wake me up.  :)

Another real~time meal from my kitchen.  Enjoy!

World's Best Porridge ~ Chewy Breakfast Oatmeal

serves 1 ~ 2


1/2 cup       old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup           vanilla soymilk, light*
1 tsp            cinnamon
2 tblsp         raisins (or your favorite dried fruit)

1/2 cup        quick oatmeal

* heads up ~ if you use regular milk or water, it will cook at a different rate
   than with the soymilk, you will need to watch & adjust the cooking time
   accordingly

optional toppings: 

2 tblsp           chopped walnuts (or your favorite kind)
1 tblsp           ground flax seeds
1 tblsp           favorite healthy margarine
2 tblsp           nut butter (stir in after the oats are finished cooking)
~                     honey, to taste
~                     any other items you can think of, get creative   :)
~                    extra soymilk for pouring over oats (when serving)

**  Make sure you keep an eye on the oats when they are cooking,

      just to make sure they do not boil over the sides of your bowl.

     Once you get the hang of it, you will know how your bowl/ingredients
     /microwave act together when cooking the oatmeal/porridge.  **  

I cook the oats/stir the oats in approx. one minute increments to keep it from boiling over in the microwave.  Your times may vary due to differences in microwaves.  


1)     place first 4 ingredients in a large microwave safe bowl with
        cover, cook for 1 minute, on high, & then stir

2)     cook for another minute & then stir

3)     cook for 30 seconds, stir & then add in the additional  1/2 cup quick oats
         ~ cook for an additional minute

4)      give it all a good stir, add in any additional toppings ~ if desired

Enjoy!   

Meyer Lemon & Limoncello Bundt Cake with Limoncello Glaze

I think lemon has to be my favorite fruit flavor.  It's always been that way, ever since I was a little kid.  It's only fitting since I grew up in Southern California, that & the fact we had a huge, very old lemon tree in our backyard.  We used to get so many lemons off that tree, we couldn't give them all away.

I've recently fallen in love with another type of lemon, the Meyer lemon.  I so look forward to finding bags of these golden-yellow beauties at the market.  It's a real treat, since you never know when you might find them there.  They have such a wonderful flavor, you can eat the skin & they're not quite as tart as a regular lemon ~ I think it's the elegant version of a lemon.  When I'm lucky enough to find some, I like to turn them into a special treat.  This time the something special was a birthday cake ~ mine to be exact.  My day, my choice of cake.  It turned out really good, just what I wished for.  It was absolutely bursting with the bright, sunny flavor of lemons.  The cake was full of different types of lemon ~ juice, zest, whole almost-pureed lemon (skin & all), lemon liqueur & lemon mixes.   I was happy that I was able to work in my homemade Limoncello (I made a batch last fall, check out that post here).  ~  Layer, upon layer, of that wonderful lemon flavor that I love.  Oh, yeah, my birthday wish came true! :)

Meyer Lemon & Limoncello Bundt Cake with Limoncello Glaze

  ~ cake batter ~
1                 box lemon cake mix*
1                 small box lemon pudding mix*
3                 eggs
2/3 cup       oil
2/3 cup       water
1                  Meyer lemon, seeded & finely chopped
                    (skin & all) in food processor
2 tblsp         fresh Meyer lemon juice 
1/2 cup        limoncello liqueur


*  if you want a bit less of the lemon flavor, use French Vanilla cake
                                                 & pudding mixes

 

  ~ limoncello glaze ~ 
double if you like a lot of glaze
1 cup             powder sugar (or more, to get
                       proper consistency)
2 1/2 tblsp    limoncello liqueur
1 tblsp           fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 tblsp           Meyer lemon zest  (about 1/2 lemon) 

~ thin slices of Meyer lemon for garnish, optional
~ powdered sugar for garnish, optional

1)     preheat oven to 350 degrees & grease bundt pan

2)    slice Meyer lemon into one inch slices & remove seeds, then chop in
        food processor until it's been very finely chopped, reserve until batter
        is all mixed

3)    in a large bowl, mix all ingredients (except the chopped lemon) with
        hand mixer for 3 minutes, when done mixing batter, add the chopped
        lemon & stir by hand until fully incorporated into the batter

4)    pour batter into greased bundt pan, hit pan on counter to release any air
        bubbles and then run a spoon in a circle, around the middle of the batter
        (about 1" down into the batter) ~ this will help the cake batter rise
         properly

5)     bake for about 45 min, or until tester comes out clean & cake is golden
        ~ let cake cool in pan until it is ready to release from pan, then let cake
         cool completely before glazing

6)     mix all glaze ingredients together & drizzle over the cooled cake

7)    once glazing is done, arrange lemon slices on top of cake &
        sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired

                                                        Enjoy!

Middle Eastern Salads & Spreads ~ so much fresh flavor

I really enjoy making & eating Middle Eastern salads & dishes.  I usually make them just for me since my guys are not as enthusiastic as I am when it comes to all the whole grain, garlicky, fresh green herb, olive oil goodness that is so much a part of these dishes.  No matter, I make them for myself & enjoy them fully ~ either as a stand alone dish or as a side dish.  Sometimes, I will have just a little bit of this & some of that, left in the fridge.  When I do,  I can then make a Meze Platter, it's the perfect way to clean out the fridge & have a nice meal.  With the addition of a few nuts & some pita bread, I'm in heaven.  Who says cooking for one is boring?  Certainly not me!   Enjoy!

Baba Ghanoush ~ Every time I make this, it reminds me of a bit they did on the TV show  "Mad About You", involving a garlicky, baba ghanoush kiss. It always makes me smile.  :)

Tabouli ~ I love making this salad when I have fresh veggies/herbs available from our garden, can't get fresher than that. This is one of my favorite summer salads.

Meze Platter ~ What a great way to use up odds & ends from the fridge.  Presenting it this way turns leftovers into something special. When I made it this time, I stuffed a tomato with herbed couscous, added some nuts, a refreshing cucumber yogurt tzatziki, tabouli & baba ghanoush.   Serve with a pita, for scooping up all that taste pleasure & you've got a splendid meal.

Garbanzo Bean & Carrot Hummus ~  I wrote about this dish a few months ago.  It would be a nice addition to any meal or party.  Adding pureed carrots to the garbanzo bean mixture really lightens/brightens it up ~ a nice twist in the calorie, color & flavor departments.