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Day 46: Green Beans with Jalapeño Lime Butter ♥

~ recipe updated & photo added in 2007 ~ 2005: Simple butter can be sublime. But tonight, by pure accident, I learned the virtue of 'doctored butter' when using up a shallot, lime and jalapeño butter leftover from last week's fish. (It worked great for an omelet too.) Other 'doctored' butters come to mind. Garlic and ginger. Lemon and wasabi. Let your imagination -- and your pantry -- inspire you! 2007: In the early months of A Veggie Venture, I cooked one bag of frozen vegetables after another: such was my habit, 'before blog'. It really wasn't until much later, when I was tallying 'favorite' recipes, I realized how few there were from the first couple of months. And virtually none started with frozen vegetables. I still like frozen vegetables, but these days, whenever I can, turn to fresh vegetables for enjoyment. These simple beans were simply delicious . FOR INSTANCE IV (doctored butter) Tonight, For Instance, Green Beans with Jalapeño Li

Day 45: Nana's Cucumbers with Non-fat Yogurt

I wonder if farmers and home vegetable gardeners get as much satisfaction from pulling fresh corn and tomatoes from their gardens as I do from stepping outside to snip a few strands of fresh chive. Or rosemary. Or dill. It's not too late to put in a few pots of herbs! This is a yogurt-lightened version of what my grandmother used to make with sour cream. The yogurt version was good -- but I remember the sour cream version as delicious so will try again, her way. On Day 65 , I happened to have both the cucumber and sour cream on hand. Swoooooooooooon. Some things are worth investing calories in. NANA's CUCUMBERS with NON-FAT YOGURT Active time: 10 minutes Time to table: Just over an hour Serves 4 1 English cucumber 1 tablespoon sea salt or kosher salt 1/2 cup non-fat yogurt Generous bunch of fresh chive, snipped with scissors (See ALANNA's TIPS) Pinch sugar Salt & pepper to taste Slice the cucumber in thin rounds. (See TIPS.) Combine with salt and l

Day 44: Asparagus Jam

Vegetable jam? Hmm. The idea intrigued me. And I had asparagus in the frig that needed attention. So, yes, why not? It can be fun to 'play' with food! This might be good along roast pork or some other rich meat where the sweetness would contrast richness. By my measure, though, it's a side dish or condiment and another time wouldn't count as a 'vegetable'. ASPARAGUS JAM Active time: 15 minutes Time to table: 40 minutes Makes about 1 1/2 cups 2 teaspoons olive oil 3 shallots 1 tablespoon water (see ALANNA's TIPS) 1 pound asparagus (see TIPS) 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped fine 1/3 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar 1/3 cup water Heat large skillet on MEDIUM HIGH, add oil and let heat until shimmery. While it heats, mince the shallots. Add the shallots and 1 tablespoon water to the skillet and saute until shallots begin to turn gold, 5 - 10 minutes. Trim tough, woody ends from asparagus, then cut in half-inch lengths. Add

Day 43: Cucumber with Mustard & Dill

Stop! It's too early for full summer heat! It's been too hot to cook so the frig is filling up with cold-served vegetables, tonight a simple cucumber dish that was good with fish. It wasn't 'special' but to my taste -- well, let's just say that 'good' can be 'good enough'. I would definitely make this again! CUCUMBER WITH MUSTARD & DILL Active time: 10 minutes Time to table: 10 minutes Serves 4 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar 2 teaspoons Dijon or other mustard 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt Fresh pepper 2 tablespoons fresh dill 1 English cucumber Whisk together all ingredients except cucumber. Cut cucumber in half length-wise (or in quarters if it's quite big as was the one tonight) and then cut in thin slices cross-wise. Combine cucumber with dressing. Serve. NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 43 Cal (68% from Fat, 5% from Protein, 27% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 4 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 3 g Carb;

Day 42: Thai Eggplant

Look what I found in the market yesterday! These Thai eggplant were so pretty, I couldn't resist. It took some effort (to say the least) to figure out how to cook them. Sources suggested standard eggplant cooked Thai-style (not what I was hoping for), eating them raw (I did ... that, ahem, might be an acquired taste), deep frying (I just couldn't bring myself) or long lists of unfamiliar and likely hard-to-find ingredients. So ... armed with a few ideas and a big sense of adventure, I moved to the kitchen. Cooking, the eggplants remained a pretty green, the turmeric later added a yellow cast -- very pretty. And ... yes, quite tasty, a complete, if time-consuming, Veggie Venture success. How fun, sheer fun, is can be to 'play' with your food! Enjoy -- THAI EGGPLANT Active time: 15 minutes Time to table: 20 minutes Serves 4 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon garlic (from a jar!) 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (this, too, from a jar!) 1 pound Thai eggplant, abo

Day 41: Carrot Coins with Dill

~ recipe updated & photo added in 2006 ~ Simple! Tasty! Fast! A good recipe, especially if you have leftover fresh dill ... or later in the season, dill that needs cutting back. Lesson: A hand-held julienne tool is worthless, at least for something as hard as a carrot. I fiddled a bit then got out a sharp knife: in a couple of minutes, there was a satisfying pile of thin, orange coins. I'd love a mandoline but haven't yet made the investment. (2007 Update: I love my new mandoline .) A food processor would have worked fine either for slicing or grating. For only a pound of carrots, however, in my world, the food processor wasn't worth the trouble (getting it out even though it's handy, making room in the dishwasher, putting it away ... you get the picture!) June 2006 Note: These were just as good the second year! Next time I'll get out the food processor and cook up two or three pounds to keep on hand. I used only a teaspoon of peanut oil. The verdict