Wednesday Recipes

It's Wednesday, half-way through the week. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Lizard Lounge Tea and Espresso Brownies. Enjoy!

FRESH VEGGIE PASTA

This was in the October 2016 issue Runner's World, page 46. Makes 6 to 8 servings. It is adapted from Scratch: Home Cooking for Everyone Made Simple, Fun, and Totally Delicious, by Maria Rodale. Available in October, published by Rodale, owner of Runner’s World.

This can be viewed online at http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/have-a-pasta-party-from-scratch/.

Ingredients

1 lb. thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 small white onion, finely chopped

1 lb. shelled edamame, steamed

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Place tomato, onion, and edamame in large bowl. Drain pasta and add to bowl. Add oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Nutrition Information: Calories per serving (for 6): 511; Protein: 19 g; Carbs: 69 g; Fiber: 8 g; Sugar: 5 g; Total fat: 17 g; Saturated fat: 2 g; Sodium: 136 mg

SPAGHETTI WITH EGGS

This was in the October 2016 issue Runner's World, page 47. Makes 4 servings. It is adapted from Scratch: Home Cooking for Everyone Made Simple, Fun, and Totally Delicious, by Maria Rodale. Available in October, published by Rodale, owner of Runner’s World.

This can be viewed online at http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/have-a-pasta-party-from-scratch/.

Ingredients

3 cups tomato sauce

4 Tbsp. butter

1 medium onion, peeled

6 large hardboiled eggs, peeled

1 lb. spaghetti

Grated Romano cheese

Instructions

In a deep, medium saucepan, heat the sauce over low heat until warmed through. Add butter and onion and stir until butter is melted and combined. Add eggs and cook over low heat. Separately, cook the pasta according to package. Drain and divide among 4 serving bowls. Discard onion and divide sauce, adding 3 egg halves to each bowl. Top with cheese and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Information: Calories per serving: 749; Protein: 29 g; Carbs: 102 g; Fiber: 9 g; Sugar: 15 g; Total fat: 25 g; Saturated fat: 11 g; Sodium: 697 mg

GARDEN VEGETABLE AND TEMPE SAUTE

Yield: 4 servings

Print Friendly: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/bin/print.cgi?ID=657

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/657.shtml

Source: 1,001 Delicious Recipes For People with Diabetes

Ingredients

2 cups frozen stir-fry pepper blend

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

1 package (8 ounces) tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup tomato juice

2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce

1 medium zucchini, sliced

2 cups (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

Salt, to taste

Directions

Saute pepper blend and garlic in oil in large skillet 2 to 3 minutes. Add tempeh and cook 5 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients, except tomatoes and salt; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add tomato wedges; cook, covered, until softened, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 180; Protein: 15 g; Fat: 6 g; Sodium: 732 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Carbohydrates: 19 g; Exchanges: 1 Vegetable, 1 Bread/Starch, 1 Meat, 1/2 Fat

ESPRESSO BROWNIES

This comes from Giada De Laurentiis of The Food Network’s Everyday Italian.

Total: 1 hr 17 min; Active: 12 min; Yield: 36 bite-size brownies; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/espresso-brownies-recipe.

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons espresso powder

1 (19.8-ounce) box brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Whisk 1/3 cup of water, oil, eggs, and 2 tablespoons espresso powder in a large bowl to blend. Add the brownie mix. Stir until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, dissolve the remaining 2 teaspoons of espresso powder in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and butter and whisk until smooth. Pour the glaze over the brownies. Refrigerate until the glaze is set. Cut into bite-size pieces. Arrange the brownies on a platter and serve.

LIZARD LOUNGE TEA

My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a larger group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. They were frequently asked what their secret ingredient was.

This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.

This, as well as other yummy recipes, can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

1/2 gallon apple cider

4 – 5 herbal tea bags

Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.

SPICE TEA

I used to make this every year for Christmas presents; it was quite popular. Unfortunately, life got a little hectic...As simple as this is, though, I may be reigniting this as a present!

This, as well as other yummy recipes, can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

8 oz loose tea

3 orange rinds/peels

1 1/2-2 sticks cinnamon

2 T chopped cloves

Cut orange peels into small pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring occaionally. Let cool, add to loose tea, along with broken cinnamon sticks & cloves. Store in tight containers.

I'll post some single-serving drinks in a later post. In the meantime, enjoy!