Golden Beet and Roasted Strawberry Salad

Golden Beet and Roasted Strawberry Salad

adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2019

Roasting the beats intensifies their sweetness which pairs nicely with earthy beets.

Makes 2 servings                                                              5 WW points / serving

2 small golden beets, scrubbed and trimmed
4 oz. fresh strawberries, hulled and halved granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. sugar substitute

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. water
1 1/2 Tbsp. strawberry balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Torn romaine lettuce or your preferred lettuce
2 very thin prosciutto slices, torn
1 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 1/2 slivered almonds

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Place beets on a large piece of aluminum foil; wrap tightly. 
3. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour to 1 hour or until tender. 
4. Cool slightly; rub off skins with a paper towel. Cut beets into wedges.
5.  Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. 
6. Place strawberries in an even layer on the baking sheet; Sprinkle with sugar, and toss gently to coat. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; transfer strawberries to a plate to cool.
7. Combine oil, water vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl; Whisk until emulsified.
8. Divide lettuce evenly between 2 plates; Top with beets, strawberries, prosciutto, cheese and almonds. Drizzle evenly with vinaigrette prior to serving.

Enjoy!

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Deviled Eggs

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Deviled Eggs 

adapted from Rachael Ray Every Day· Mar 24, 2018 and Food Network

Steaming the hard boiled eggs then placing them in an ice bath makes peeling the eggs much easier.

I always like dying Easter eggs Here we are using natural dyes to color the whites of hard boiled eggs to make festive deviled eggs.

Makes 12 halves                                                                     1 WW point / half

1 medium beet, peeled and chopped

3 cups water

2 Tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. Kosher salt
6 eggs

5 Tbsp. reduced fat mayonnaise 

4 Tbsp. grated reduced fat sharp yellow cheddar + 1 Tbsp for garnish

1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 sliced of center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Bring  the water and beets to a boil; Boil for 20 minute.
2. Remove from the heat; Let rest 5 minutes; 
3. Strain liquid into a container reserve the beats for another recipe; add vinegar and salt; Set aside.
4. Place a steamer basket in a pot; Bring 1 inch of water to a boil.
5. Add the eggs to the basket. Cover and cook for 12 minutes. 
6. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. 
7. When the eggs are cooked transfer them, using a slotted spoon, to the ice water; let cool. 
8. Peel the eggs and halve lengthwise. 
9. Transfer the yolks to the bowl of a mini food processor
10. Place the whites in the container with the beet colored water; allow to stands in the colored water until they reach your desired color
11. Add the mayonnaise, cheddar and mustard to the food processor; Process until desired consistency is reached
12. Season to taste with salt and pepper
13. Put the yolk mixture into a piping bag or sealable bag; Cut off tip
14. Remove the egg "whites" from the colored water; Use paper towels to remove excess liquid.
15. Fill the colored egg white halves with the yolk mixture. 
16. Top with additional cheddar and bacon.

Enjoy!

Beet Carpaccio

 Beet Carpaccio

adapted from The Home Cook 

If you have a mandoline slicer this is a time to use it. If you do not, use a very sharp knife and cut the beets as thinly as possible.

Makes 2-3 servings                                                   2 WW Blue points / serving

1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. white balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. Truvia brown sugar blend

Kosher salt & Freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. basil olive oil or unflavored olive oil

1 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1 lb. beets, peeled and very thinly sliced

2 scallion greens, chopped

1 Tbsp. arugula leaves

Finishing sea salt or Kosher salt

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Truvia, salt, pepper, olive oil, water and ginger.
2. Add the beets and toss to coat.
3. Arrange the beets in concentric circles on a large plate.
4. Top with the scallion greens, arugula and salt.

Enjoy!

Roasted Red Beet Salad

Roasted Red Beet Salad

adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2016

Choose your favorite cheese to top this salad. Some other favorites pairings are blue cheese and goat cheese. If substituting adjust your points accordingly.

Makes 2 servings                                                     1 WW Blue points / serving

1 lb. red beets

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. sugar substitute

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

2 cups lettuce, chopped

5 tsp. feta cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Wrap the beets in foil. Bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile whisk the oil, water, vinegar, sugar substitute, garlic, salt, pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and thinly slice.
5. Add to the salad dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. To serve, divide the lettuce between 2 plates.
7. Drain the beets and arrange on top of the lettuce and sprinkle with the feta.

Enjoy!

In Honor of the Olympics in Sochi - Borscht

When we were picking up wine yesterday, the shop was tasting Ukrainian wines in honor of the Olympics so I decided to do the same for lunch. Borscht is one of those things that I have heard was not very good. When I looked at some recipes, there really wasn't anything in it that we do not like so I adapted a Cooking Light recipes from January 2008 to make a vegetarian version. Warren's comment ... " I like it and it doesn't even have sausage!"


Borscht
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 cup button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped onion
1 cups chopped peeled celeriac
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium parsnip, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
3 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup light beer
1 1/4 cups shredded red cabbage
1 cups chopped peeled potato
1garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces sliced peeled beets
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoons Splenda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Non-fat plain Greek yogurt
Chopped fresh dill

Cook the mushrooms in the canola oil until they begin to brown, stirring frequently. Add the onion; cook until beginning to soften. Add the celeriac, carrot, and parsnip;  cook until the onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste. Add  water and beer; stir well. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in cabbage, potato, garlic, and beets; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and  until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Working in batches puree the soup in a blender. Stir in vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Serving in bowls topped  with a dollop of yogurt and sprinkled with dill.

Along with our soup we had salads topped with a Mustard Seed Scallion vinaigrette also adapted from Cooking Light March 2008. Quick easy and yummy.


Mustard Seed Scallion Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped scallion greens
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well combined.

Veggie Stir Fry

Thanks to the farm share and my friend Judy who not only gave me vegetables from her garden but delivered them to me at Shriners, I had vegetable stir fry for dinner. needless to say Nick would not come near it with a 10 foot pole but that just means more for me!

Very unlike me I did not measure any of  the veggies. It was sort of a dump combination looking at what I had more of and what would go bad quickest. I used a combination of eggplant, zucchini, onion, red bell pepper, okra, baby bok choy, carrot, yellow beans, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, pea tendrils, beet greens and a previously steamed sweet potato. I started the stir fry with 1/2 Tbsp Ming Tsai's Curry Ginger Oil and added a little vegetable stock when the pan was looking dry. I finished it with a sauce made of 1 part soy sauce, 1 part oyster sauce and 1/2 part chile-garlic sauce.

Grilled Sausage Sandwiches with Fennel and Onion and Beet Salad Side

Grilled Italian Sausage Sandwiches with Fennel and Onion
2 Italian sausage (hot or sweet depending on your preference)

1/2 fennel bulb,thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoons chili oil (divided)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 hot dog rolls
Toss together fennel, onion, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside. Preheat the grill. Cook sausages over high heat until cooked through about 12 minutes. 

Meanwhile coat a saute pan with cooking spray cook (on the grill or the stove-top) the vegetables in the remaining 1 tsp of oil until softened and charred about 8-10 minutes. Serve sausages in buns, topped with fennel and onion.

Beet, Cucumber and Onion Salad with Dijon Honey Dressing

2 medium beets, trimmed

1/3 large English cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

1/6 onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp + 2 tsp canola oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Roast beets until tender, about 90 minutes. Cool then peel beets, and cut each into 6 slices. Arrange beets,slightly overlapping, on half of the platter. Arrange cucumber slices on other half. Scatter onion in center.

Whisk honey, vinegar, and mustard in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle over vegetables.

Dinner was served with a 2006 Santa Margarita Chianti Classico readily available at Kappy's.