Ready! Set! Sprout!

Save money.

Save time.

Eat fresh.

Sprout.

It is so easy you won't believe it.

Ready?

Take green lentils or sunflower seeds or mung beans or soy beans or adzuki beans or whatever (do an online search to find out what else you can sprout).

Put 'em in a jar covered with cheesecloth. Fill the jar with your sprouts-to-be only 1/3 of the way.

Soak overnight in twice the amount of water as sprout-to-be.

Drain.

Rinse.

Drain.

Repeat rinse and drain in 12 hours.

Repeat again in 12 hours.

Repeat again in 12 hours.

When tails form, taste.

Repeat as many times as you choose until you are ready to "harvest" your sprouts.

Result: fresh "veggies" year 'round.

Sprout volume will generally be 2-3 times the original volume.

A great return on investment.

Caramelized Onions - the Set and Forget Way

The naturally occurring sugars in vegetables can be enhanced through slow cooking.

Onions are an excellent candidate for caramelizing.

And they are more than easy to make.

Spray the inside of a slow cooker with a small amount of oil.

Fill with onions.

Cover.

Set to low.

Go away for a day or so.

Set to high, return sooner.

Come back to beautiful brown onions, sweet and delicious.

Can be stored in the fridge for weeks.

Add to soups, sandwiches, side dishes, main dishes.

You name it.

Un-Fried Beans

Why fry then re-fry beans?

Clearly, hummus is not fried.

It can be simply chickpeas, garlic, lemon all ground together.

Add tahini, olive oil, salt, pepper and cayenne if you choose. (These will increase the caloric content.)

Likewise, you can make a lower Calorie version of refried beans.

Food process pinto beans with salsa and cumin.

The taste will be fresher.

The fat, less.

The Calories, fewer.

You can add-in herbs (e.g., basil, cilantro), heat (e.g., more or different hot peppers), nuts, additional veggies, substitute different salsas (e.g., mango), etc.

And in the summer, there is no need to turn on the stove.

Cool.

Da Grill

Summer.

It's grillin' time.

A touch of oil on the veggies and "veggie-like fruits," then go!

Veggies:

Romaine
Bok Choy
Napa
Radicchio
Potatoes
Asparagus
Onion
Leek
Shallot
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Artichokes
Rapini

Fruits:

Corn
Avocado
Peaches
Nectarines
Plums
Grapes
Pineapple
Mango
Papaya
Banana
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Squash
Eggplant
Zucchini
Green Beans

BBQ

'Tis the season for BBQ-ing, fa la la la la la la la la...

Here it is, the basic BBQ marinade:

Herbs - cilantro, basil, mint, etc.
Flavor - garlic, onion, etc.
Acid - citrus juice, coffee, beer, wine, vinegar, soy sauce, etc.

Water to dilute, salt and pepper to taste.

Want to turn it into a BBQ Sauce?

Skip the water and add:

Sweet - honey, molasses, corn syrup, etc.
Vegetable - tomato paste, salsa, etc.

Marinade or sauce - done in minutes, enjoyed for much longer.

Pigs, No. Blankets, Yes.

An easy alternative to pigs in blankets is to wrap a hot dog or soy dog in a strip of pita, tortilla, chapati, lavash, etc.

Or wrap a seasoned tofu chunk in the same.

Veggies can serve as the wrap, too.

All you need to do is slice an eggplant or zucchini into strips, then soften them by baking, broiling, grilling, pan frying (lightly covered in oil) and filling them with dogs or tofu.

You can marinate the veggies or drizzle flavored vinegar or a salad dressing on top.

Want a different filling?

In a food processor add:

Onion
Garlic
Herb - cilantro, basil, etc.
Nuts - walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, etc.
Salt, pepper to taste
Hot - peppers or pepper sauce

Process until mixed (you can make it smooth or crunchy by altering processing time).

Place some at one end of a bread or veggie strip, then roll.

Cover with a sauce, if you like.

Eat.

Mexicandian, Indiopian, etc.

Gourmet-O-Matic (tm) visitors understand what we are about - creating variety by making logical substitutions to what already works.

Here are a couple more.

There is no reason you cannot mix cuisines - create your own fusions.

As examples:

Mexicandian: make a dish in the style of Indian cooking and instead of mango chutney as a side dish, try mango salsa (Mexican). You will save some Calories and add a different dimension to your meal.

Indiopian: make a dish in the style of Indian cooking and instead of naan as the bread, try injera (Ethiopian).

Give these and others a shot.

All you have to lose are your inhibitions.