Monday, August 17, 2009

LifeShine: Summer Dinner





Inspiration: Vegetarian Curious?

If you are interested in eating more vegetarian-based meals here is a great new blog, North Shore Veggie, to check out for more recipes. It's created by my dear friend, Melanie, a vegetarian for most of her life and beautiful person. Share the love...

Recipes of the Month: Summer Dinner

During college I worked with an artist painting murals for businesses and private homes. He was from Italy and prided himself almost as much for his cooking as he did his painting. One day, in the middle of painting the woman of the house came home in a panic because she wanted some special food for guests visiting that evening. My boss, known to say, "Hey, I'm a genius!" decided we would stop painting and cook an authentic Italian feast the rest of the day. Here is the bruschetta recipe he taught me. An easy delicious way to use up some garden-fresh tomatoes.

Authentic Bruschetta
1 loaf Italian bread (baked fresh that day)
6 medium garden-fresh tomatoes
1 bunch fresh basil
3-4 garlic cloves
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium fresh mozzarella balls (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Cut the loaf of bread in half through the middle (the long way). Wash and chop tomatoes into medium chunks (about 1/2 inch cubes). Fill a bowl with water and wash basil, then chop finely. Crush, peel and mince garlic. Mix all veggies together in a large bowl. Add olive oil. Pour tomato mixture over the bread halves, cut side up. Bake 15 min, until tomatoes are soft. While bread is baking, slice mozzarella into 1/4" thick medallions. Place mozzarella across top of breads. Bake 5 more minutes, until cheese has melted.

Try the bruschetta without the mozzarella, it's delicious and less calories. Or if you just gotta have the cheese, but want to cut back, sprinkle a little grated parmesan over the top and toast just a minute. Then use the parmesan rinds in your soup
Serve with a bean soup or salmon and a green salad.


Too hot to cook?

Drizzle bread with olive oil and minced garlic, throw under the broiler for 2 minutes to toast. Top with raw tomato mixture (minus the garlic). Serve with cold green salad with salmon or beans on top straight from the can!

Bean Soup with Parmesan Rinds
1 large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, minced
6 Carrots, chopped
3 Celery stalks, chopped
6 cups Water
1 can Cannellini or Butter Beans, drained
1 can Kidney Beans, drained
A few pieces Parmesan rinds
3 tbsp Olive oil

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic, carrots, celery, sauté until softened. Add water, bring to boil. Add beans, reduce heat, simmer 20 min. Add parmesan rinds, simmer 5 more minutes. Remove rinds. Enjoy any month of the year.