Farm Markets

I love shopping at farm markets! Last week my husband and I stopped at one and got the juiciest yellow watermelon. I also got huge yellow squash for a great price. I even got my husband to like squash by sauteing it with onions and italian spices.

Unicorn

Earlier this week I went to a local restaurant called Unicorn and was very disappointed. I ordered a BLT - B which comes with 2 sides. I was very saddened to hear that they cook their fries in chicken grease. =( So not only did I get charged full price for my bacon-less sandwich, I also paid full price to only got one side. =( There is a local restaurant that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE and I will write about that place some other day.

Veggie Lasagna

Yummy Yum Yum! I made a vegetable lasagna today and used oven ready lasagna noodles (which you use straight out of the box). I make lasagna in loaf pans because the noodles fit perfect and it makes it nice and thick!

* preheat oven to 350*
* cut half an onions,  half a small bell pepper, a banana pepper...mix in bowl with zucchini ( I use canned zucchini mixed with tomato sauce), oregano, and pepper
* add a few tbsp of  garden vegetable spaghetti sauce to bottom of loaf pan and some to vegetable mixture (make nice and saucy)
* place noodle in pan, then add a layer of the vegetable mixture, and a layer a shredded mozzarella cheese (repeat to make 3 layers)
* then place a 4th lasagna noodle covered in a layer of garden vegetable spaghetti sauce, grated parmesan   cheese, topped with a final layer of mozzarella cheese
* cover pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes
* let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting

There are a number of types of vegetarianism, which exclude or include various foods. They are:

• Ovo vegetarianism includes eggs but not dairy products.
• Lacto vegetarianism includes dairy products but not eggs.
• Ovo-lacto vegetarianism (or lacto-ovo vegetarianism) includes animal/dairy products such as eggs, milk, and honey.
• Veganism excludes all animal flesh and animal products, including milk, honey, and eggs, and may also exclude any products tested on animals, or any clothing from animals.
• Raw veganism includes only fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. Vegetables can only be cooked up to a certain temperature.
• Fruitarianism permits only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant.
• Buddhist vegetarianism (also known as su vegetarianism) excludes all animal products as well as vegetables in the allium family (which have the characteristic aroma of onion and garlic): onion, garlic, scallions, leeks, or shallots.
• Jain vegetarianism includes dairy but excludes eggs and honey, as well as root vegetables.
• Macrobiotic diets consist mostly of whole grains and beans.

Semi-vegetarian diets include:

• pescetarianism, which includes fish and sometimes other seafood;
• pollotarianism, which includes poultry;
• "pollo-pescatarian", which includes poultry and fish, or "white meat" only;
• macrobiotic diets consisting mostly of whole grains and beans, but may sometimes include fish.

This information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

Chickpea "crab" Cakes

A friend of mine sent me a link to this recipe  featured on the  USA Today website. I have not tried it but I thought it was worth sharing. I have copied the entire recipe below but the link to the site is  as followed

 http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitnessfood/recipes/recipe/2011/08/chickpea-crab-cakes/413481/1

Chickpea crab cakes

Source: From The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook by Kim O’Donnel. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked for about 8 hours and drained
• 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, roughly chopped (not quite 1 large onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro and/or parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsps. Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 8 soft hamburger buns or English muffins

Directions:

In a food processor, pulverize the soaked and drained chickpeas using the "pulse" function until beans form a paste that sticks together when you squeeze it in your hand. Be careful not to overprocess; too smooth, the batter will fall apart when cooking.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the oil) and combine using the "pulse" function approximately 12 times; batter will be somewhat grainy and speckled with herbs. Shape into patties using a scant 1/2 cup measure (for large) or 1/4 cup measure (for sliders) and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a shallow 12-inch skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat. Gently place the patties into the hot oil in small batches and fry the first side until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Gently turn onto the second side and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Transfer patties to a baking tray to finish cooking in the oven for 8 minutes.

(Before frying the next batch, heat remaining oil.)

Serve on a bun with cocktail sauce or your favorite condiment.

Servings: Makes 8 entree-size patties or 12 mini-sliders.

Nutrition per patty: 343 calories, carbs 39g, protein 9g, fat 17g (saturated 2g), cholesterol 0mg, fiber 5g, sodium 542mg.