Fab Foodie Mama

I cannot believe that I am in my 2nd half century and I have never eaten roasted broccoli.  I have found a new way to love my veggies.  Broccoli is probably one of my least favorite; steamed (bland), raw (tasteless) or loaded with butter (unhealthy and still wilted and ick). While I have roasted vegetables before (you can see several entries in this blog as such) I have never done so with a result of such a crispy, crunchy texture as this easy and fast recipe for Baby Broccoli with Sunflower Seeds. Give broccoli another chance and try this recipe, you may just like it. Baby Broccoli and Sunflower Seeds (serves 2, as a side dish) Ingredients: 1/2 Lb baby broccoli 1 clove garlic 1 TB sunflower seeds evoo, salt and pepper Directions: Pre heat oven to 425 degrees F Wash broccoli and remove any leaves.  Halve any thick pieces lengthwise. Mince garlic Place broccoli on a lightly oiled foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with evoo and season with salt ...

I think I mentioned in prior posts that I am a member for the Daughters of Italy?  Anyway, it is a service club that was founded in 1919 for Italian immigrant women in the Copper Country as a support organization.  Now, we do fundraising for local Catholic charities and meet once a month to visit and plan events.  Our monthly meeting is tonight and since I am an officer (secretary) I need to bring a dish.  Given I have a busy day at work, I needed to use what I had on hand so I made my traditional tuna noodle salad (not necessary to post about noodles, tuna, mayo, salt and celery) and a new dish I just made up and have posted here, a Tabbouleh made with quinoa, rice and chickpeas. It turned out so good.  I am a big fan of toasted chickpeas for a snack, served warm in a couscous bowl or in this case, cooled and mixed into a crunchy salad.  When I roasted and toasted the chickpeas, I used more oil in this version than when I made the couscous bowl and I al...

I have blogged a lot recently about trying to eat more of a plant based diet.  I've been going along pretty consistently for a couple of months now and it is amazing how much better I feel when I eat mainly vegetables, lentils and (mainly gluten free) grains. I have SO much more energy when I don't load up on the meats, the refined carbs and all the sugars I had been eating for so long.  Don't get me wrong, I do indulge.  In fact, I turn 51 on Friday and will make sure I have a piece of birthday cake.  My goals will simply be to EAT MOSTLY PLANTS and to GET LIGHT! I made up this soup recipe this morning because I was craving something spicy and also wanted to have a vegan day.  This really was made from things in the cupboards.  Alter as you like.  It's just soup, you know.  Have fun with it. :-) GET LIGHT!    - Foodie Mama Spicy Bean Soup Ingredients: 2 T Olive Oil 1 Large Yellow Onion, chopped 3 Cloves Garlic or equiv...

I absolutely love Indian food, but here, in the Copper Country,  we have no Indian restaurants and to cook it is both an art and a science. My brother John's girlfriend, Meena is from Chennai, and last fall she cooked the entire family an Indian feast.  She made Chicken Biryani, Daal Mkhani (black lentils in tomato cream sauce), Chicken Tikka Masala (the Indian dish all Americans know), Paneer Tikka Masala, Naan, Basamati Rice and Mango Lassi.  I t was like a dream come true and so very delicious.  She did a fabulous job and cooked for about 20 people.     From time to time, I make an attempt at preparing Indian food, either from package sauces or by following a recipe.  I have made butter chicken, chicken curry and a few other things with limited success.  Tonight, I was looking for a recipe to use up a head of cauliflower I had to use within the next 1-2 days, so I searched on Pinterest and found this.  It was simple to make...

I tried a gadget today that I hadn't used before - the veggie noodle spiral-er.  Mickayla brought it over to our house last summer and I saw her make zoodles and squoodles from time to time, but I hadn't tried it myself.  I do recall moving it out of the way several times, however. So, today I made soem zucchini noodles with pesto and it was great!  No carbs yet the texture tricked me into believing it was full-carb spaghetti.  Definately something I will do again and woudl recommend getting one of these. I heated them slightly after 'making' - about 30 seconds in the microwave - and then simply tossed in about 2T olive oil and some organic grape tomatoes.  Here is a foto of the finished product and the required gadget. Zoodles, Pesto and Grape Tomatoes Spiral Veggie Noodler

I am on day 7 of my vegetarian, mostly vegan, diet and I must say that I feel wonderful.  I am not tired during the day, I am more active and alert, am more productive all day and well into the evening.  It is no mystery that it is the food I have been eating that is the main cause of the upswing in my physical and emotional well being. I cannot rave enough about this salad.  I prepared it last evening and had it for a late dinner.  When I woke up this morning I was eager to have more.  I had some just a bit ago and it is better the next day, after the flavors of the ingredients and textures combine more thoroughly.  Again, I found this recipe in Cooking Light , as part of the same feature as the roasted carrots in my blog post from last week.  I used all organic ingredients in this and modified it slightly. The write up of this recipe says "This quick salad is all about the texture, from the meaty olives to the creamy cannellini beans and crunchy ...

I have been feeling my age recently.  Well, maybe a more accurate statement is:  I have been feeling my health lately.  Too much of a good thing, which in my case is carbs and desserts, as we all know so well, is not good. A good few weeks of clean eating is really necessary after this long winter and I have been giving it a pretty good go.  Today I made the most delicious roasted rainbow carrots which I found in Cooking Light Magazine (March 2018 issue) which I modified slightly. The toasted pine nuts with the smoky multi-colored/multi-flavored carrots created a delicious flavor combination.  The high temperature confused me at first but the heat nicely charred the carrots and then the reduced temp ensured they were soft to the bite.  This dish would be a great side with any main dish of meat, poultry or fish.  Today I ate it standalone. Roasted Carrots with Pine Nuts Ingredients: 1T EVOO 1/4 t Kosher Salt 1/4 t pepper 1 lb carrot...