Grown up Scalloped Potatoes

I was never a scalloped potatoes person growing up. But I am now looking at a cabinet full of potatoes from my CSA and thinking of everything I can do with them. I also have a stock pile of zucchini and summer squash. So I had an experiment last night with leftover ingredients and CSA vegetables.

The result was a very grown-up version of scalloped potatoes. It also seems like a great July 4th side dish.

Scalloped Potatoes

1.5 - 2 lbs potatoes

4 medium zucchini or summer squash

1 bunch green onions or summer onions

coarse salt and pepper

garlic powder

crushed rosemary

1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/3 cup shredded smoky cheese, such as cheddar or smoked Gouda

1/2 cup panko crumbs

Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Wash and cut potatoes into one inch pieces - about the size for boiling mashed potatoes. Toss potatoes with one tbsp olive oil, coarse salt and pepper and spread into a rimmed baking sheet. Bake potatoes while you prepare vegetables. I love to use butter infused olive oil from Midtown Olive Press in Raleigh, but EVOO is also good.

Wash and cut summer squash into one inch pieces. Also slice onions. I get a lot of spring onions from my CSA, which always come in a combination of white, yellow and red. I like the color combination but any color/flavor is good for this recipe. Heat skillet on medium-high heat and saute onions first. Toss squash with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed rosemary. I have fresh rosemary in the garden, and if you let a stem dry for a day you can use a mortar and pestle to crush. Once pan is hot, add squash. You may need to do this in batches to make sure the squash is evenly spread in the pan.

Sear squash until soft. Check on potatoes - they should be slightly brown and easily pierced with a fork, but not tender. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees. Mix vegetables and potatoes in a large bowl. Add cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, garlic powder and more seasonings. Stir in smoky cheese. Trader Joes has a great shredded bag of smoky cheese including cheddar, Gouda, mozzarella and provolone. Any of these cheeses work but the smoky will being out the best taste in this dish.

Pour cheesy vegetables into a baking pan. Top with panko crumbs and bake for 25 minutes. Turn oven to broil and let top brown slightly, 5 minutes max. This dish is very rich but surprisingly light. It's almost enough for a meal in itself, but I recommend this as a side for your holiday spread or a pot luck.

Sacred Heart Soup detox

I have tried fasting in the past, but I tend to eat too much coming off a fasting or eat too much in the evening and it doesn't really help the "detox" part of fasting. I heard about this soup from a friend whose family had great success. I am anti-diet fads, but detoxing is a great way to flush out the impurities of eating even the least bit of processed food.

This detox does take away my favorite ingredients and that is cheese, but cheese is an over-processed and fat-heavy reason I need to detox. For the most part, the detox is vegetarian and since I don't eat steak anyway I have adjusted the detox for non-meat eaters.

I have also included ingredients that I like, but you can view the entire list of acceptable ingredients at the website Sacred Heart Soup. After the first day's attempt, I needed to cut back on salt. This soup is surprisingly tasty.

Sacred Heart Soup

2 cans Hunt's roasted tomato soup (no seasoning)

1 can whole cut green beans, reduced sodium or salt-free

3 green onions, sliced

2-3 cups vegetable or beef broth (fat free and/or low sodium)

Nestle chicken noodle soup mix, extra noodles

4 stalks celery, chopped

4 carrot sticks, sliced

3 cups chopped kale or Japanese cabbage

1 tbsp soy sauce

black pepper

2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Spray soup pot with a little PAM. Saute green onions, celery and carrots. Cover with two cups broth. Beef broth offers more flavor to this soup, but I like it with vegetable broth as well. Add soup mix, cover pot and let simmer until vegetables are tender - 10 minutes. Add two cans tomatoes, with juice. Drain and rinse green beans - they tend to be canned with more salt. Add to soup. Add Worcestershire and soy sauce and black pepper and stir. Taste test for saltiness.

Add more broth if needed. Stir in kale or cabbage and parsley. TMI section: if you have never detoxed, it is not a pleasant week. You will detox from every place in your body, including your pores. I don't like cabbage anyway and I fear the consequences of using it in a detox soup. Kale is more nutritious and few side effects. Kale is very cheap and available this time of year.

This will make about six bowls of soup. I eat one for lunch and two at night, which takes out the soup in a day for two people. You can incorporate other foods during the week, but the schedule is strict. I have not been completely on target with the schedule, but this is what I do.

Day One: soup and fruit salad

Fruit Salad: tropical fruits are the mos nutritious and will provide the most beneficial calories

• fresh cut pineapple
• naval oranges
• kiwi
• mango
• strawberries

Day Two: soup and vegetable salad and baked potato

Salad:

• bibb lettuce
• shredded carrot
• sliced cucumber
• sliced radishes
• chopped tomato
• one tsp olive oil and vinegar

Baked potato

• 2 russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp dry ranch
• 1 head broccoli

Microwave potatoes for six minutes to soften. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Mix ranch and yogurt and refrigerate. Meanwhile boil broccoli for 3-5 minutes or until bright green. Once potatoes are cool, cut and remove stuffing. Mix potato with yogurt ranch. I KNOW I am cheating by adding ranch, but I am not adding any cheese and yogurt is high in protein. Use a potato masher to mix. Stir in broccoli. Bake again for 10 minutes.

Day Three: soup and salad

Day Four: soup and bananas (at least three) and skim milk

For some reason I am not good about eating bananas raw. For a "dessert" I will slice two bananas and heat them in a skillet for a few minutes until soft but not gooey. Pour into a bowl and had a pinch of coarse salt. They are goooooood.

Day Five: This is the tough day because you are supposed to eat at least three steaks. I do not like steak. If you don't eat steak, then disregard this addition. If you do eat meat, here is what I suggest: beef tips from a reputable butcher. I don't recommend ground beef unless you ground your own because you don't know is going into it. I buy organic beef from a local farmer. I add the beef tips to my soup recipe on day five as well as an additional can of tomatoes. Double the amount of tomatoes on your salad also.

Eat fruit to fight off dessert cravings. Cherries are also a great way to detox this week.

Day Six: soup, salad and beef

Day Seven: add wild rice to soup mix or add cooked vegetables to brown or wild rice.

I lost four pounds, which isn't bad, even for Biggest Loser standards. It's not a noticeable difference for other people, but it taught me a good lesson - I don't need nearly as much food as I think I do. Other people I know have done this diet with great success. You can lose 10-17 pounds in one week depending on how strict you are to the schedule and how much you have to lose in the first place.

Shop of the perimeter of the grocery store. Travel down the aisles only for canned vegetables, juice and spices. The fewer processed foods you consume, the easier your body can handle them. I gulp down my food and don't pay attention to when I get full. I have since been more conscious of when I am full and stop eating immediately. It is just as wasteful to eat food your body doesn't need than it is to throw out food you don't eat.

Good luck and please post success stories if you have them. You will get tired of the soup by day five but if you can make it to day seven you will feel a great sense of accomplishment.

The Wonderful World of Frittata

Frittata is a wonderful trick for vegetarians looking to increase their protein intake and also a great way to use vegetables fast.

You can literally include anything you want into a frittata. Although typically served for breakfast this go-to dish is an easy mid-week meal and satisfying enough for dinner.

I usually saute most of my vegetables, but that can sometimes strip vegetables of their nutrients and added oil can jack up calorie count. Steaming and boiling are much better alternatives.

Broccoli, Potato, Tomato Frittata

One crown or more broccoli florets

2 medium, ripe tomatoes

4 new or red potatoes

1 tbsp olive oil

6 eggs

1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

1/2 cup gruyere or other white cheese

salt/pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

crushed red pepper

shredded parm (for garnish)

Preheat oven at 350. Set a pot of water to boil. For more flavor add a few tablespoons of vegetable broth. Boil potatoes for 4 minutes. Add broccoli, boil four more minutes. Drain and let cool. Meanwhile chop tomato, discarding seeds and white ribs. Stir in seasonings and oil.

I have found a wonderful little place called Midtown Olive Press in Raleigh. They serve infused vinegars and olive oils and one of my favorite is a butter-infused olive oil. It is still an unsaturated fat but carries a distinctive taste of butter. It is great for any potato recipe and adding flavor. Stir in one tablespoon olive oil but if you can, find an infused flavor that works for you.

Fill the bottom of a greased deep-dish or pie dish with seasoned vegetables.

Beat shredded cheese and sour cream into six eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over vegetables and stir until covered. Bake 45 minutes or until eggs are set.

Serve with shredded parm, tomato sauce or hot sauce. A frittata will make eight slices. If you want to use more egg, do not use more than eight eggs so you can keep up with your cholesterol count. Do not exceed more than two eggs, or slices, a day.

Manly Vegetable Medley

I am sure there are many men who enjoy hearty, healthy vegetables, but my husband is not one of them. I have a difficult time getting him excited about whole vegetable sides that are better for us than some veggies stirred into rice. So I was excited when I came upon a frozen vegetable side at Trader Joes that seemed "manly": roasted potatoes with green beans. I bought it for a steak he was going to grill.

This got me thinking about other vegetable medleys I can create with preferred vegetables. I was always under the assumption that sauteing vegetables required a lot of oil, but then I learned a new trick: broth. I found that I would add oil when my vegetables were sticking to the pan, but broth offers the same relief without the added calories.

This side is great for fish, vegetarian meats, such as soy nuggets, or any excuse to get your man to eat more whole vegetables.

Vegetable Medley

1 tsp minced garlic

1 minced shallot

1 pint sliced mushrooms

5-6 fingerling potatoes

1 bunch petite asparagus

1/4 broth (chicken or vegetable)

coarse salt and pepper

universal seasoning mix, such as Mrs. Dash

Set a pot of water to boil. Boil potatoes, whole, for 10-15 minutes or until they are easily pierced with a knife. The skins should not be coming off or you have boiled too long. Let potatoes cool.

Saute garlic in a nonstick pan. Add mushrooms and onion and 2 tbs broth. Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces - be sure none of the asparagus is mushy. Cut far down the stalk until the centers are mostly white. Slice cooled potatoes. Once mushrooms are tender add asparagus and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and seasoning mix. Trader Joes has a grinder with generic seasonings that works great. Stir vegetables until asparagus is bright green, 3-5 minutes. Add more broth if necessary to keep vegetables from sticking. Do not overcook or your vegetables will lose their nutrients. Be sure to taste test - I over-seasoned my first batch.

Perfect Potato Salad

How many of you have tried to make your own potato salad? I love potato salad, but I am so picky it's hard to order some and know how it will turn out. Some are dry and tasteless and others are drown in cheese and sour cream. I think I have finally found a recipe combination that works for me, except for one odd quality - it's served warm.

When I think of potato salad I think of BBQ side dishes and eating outside in the summer, but honestly this recipe only works so well because it is served warm. You do have a lot of flexibility in what you can include in potato salads. I don't like many raw ingredients - red onions have an after taste that take days to fade. And hard celery bites in my potato salad is such a turn off. But there are also ways to add some nutrition to this party side that can pretty much go unnoticed by those anti-vegetable family members of yours.

Potato Salad

2 lb. red potatoes

1.5 tbsp cider vinegar

2 eggs

1/4 c. mayo e.g. Kraft's olive oil

1/4 tsp dijon mustard

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 red pepper, diced

1-2 carrots, shredded

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 tbsp dill pickle relish

paprika, for serving

fresh parsley, for serving

You should definitely use red potatoes for this recipe. Someone did a test to see which potatoes were most absorbing and would take on the most flavors for potatoes salad, and red potatoes won hands down. I know they are cheap but don't use russet potatoes - it will not taste the same. Boil the potatoes for 20-25 minutes or until able to easily pierce with a knife. Let potatoes cool. Cut the potato in half long-ways and then into thirds, or approximately bite-sized pieces. Stir in vinegar and set aside.

While potatoes are boiling, put two eggs into a shallow pot and cover with water. Set stove to high until water boils. Once boiling, cover pot and turn off stove - do not remove pot from heat. Time for 13 minutes. This is Martha's full-proof hardboil egg instructions and you will never have an overcooked egg. Once cool enough to handle, shell eggs and chop.

Mix your mayo and mustard together. Add seasonings. Add relish. Set aside.

In a frying pan add celery, onion, red pepper and carrot. Sauté until celery starts to become soft and vegetables are slightly brown. Add salt and pepper to vegetables.

First mix the warm potatoes and vegetables. Start with half your mayo mix and stir into potatoes. The heat of the vegetables will "melt" the mayo slightly and you will better be able to tell how much more you need. Add egg last. Top salad with fresh, chopped parsley and paprika. Serve immediately.

Some other tips: I like sautéed sweet onion in my salad, but you can also use sliced green onions since it is not so powerful. I am a big fan of dill relish but other recipes called for sliced cornichons if you prefer that taste to dill. Also, I never peel my potatoes, even for masked potatoes. As long as you clean the potatoes you are actually getting more nutrition from the skins. But if you dislike your potato skins remove them once they have boiled and are cool enough to handle.

CSA Dinner Frittata

Oh yum! One of the best things about being a cook is when you can take leftovers or raw ingredients and make a world-win creation. We are coming off a four-day holiday and are about to leave for our week vacation, so I was intent on making dinner with only what we had. When I came home to find that my thawed shrimp had gone bad I was already out of ideas.

However, my last CSA pick-up was a new batch of vegetables including heirloom tomatoes, fingerling potatoes and leeks. And of course kale. So after a few searches on recipe search lists I came up with a pretty delicious frittata that is hearty enough for dinner, but yummy enough to eat any meal of the day.

CSA Dinner Frittata

1-1.5 lb fingerling potatoes, cleaned and cut to one inch pieces

2 heirloom tomatoes (mr. stripey, german queens or similar size), chopped

1 pound kale (about three handfuls), chopped

1-2 bullion cubs, beef or vegetable

1 tbsp olive oil

3 baby leeks or green onions, sliced

garlic, minced

crushed red pepper

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

6 eggs

1/4 -1/3 c. grated smoked Gouda or other smoky cheese

coarse salt and pepper

1/4 c. grated Parmesan

hot sauce, such as Louisianna

Set a pot of water to boil. Cut potatoes half longways and then into thirds, eliminating rough or discolored pieces. I never peal my potatoes unless they are pretty old - the skin is very nutritious. Boil potatoes 10-15 minutes or until slightly soft - they should not be 'mashed potato' soft.

Meanwhile sauté olive oil with garlic and leek/onion over medium heat. My CSA leeks are scallion-sized and I think the taste is more conducive to this recipe, but I have never found leeks that petite in grocery stores so use what you can find. Once the garlic is brown add crushed red pepper. I use more than most but 0.5 tsp should be enough heat for anyone. I highly recommend using heirloom tomatoes because the 'meat' of the tomato is more savory and there is less need to seed the tomato. When chopping your tomato avoid white and hard parts.

When potatoes are done, fish them out with a slotted spoon and add them to the skillet with the tomatoes and lemon juice and cover. Add the bullion cubes (I added two for more flavor but it depend on how much water you still have in your pot) to boiling water. Once cubes are dissolved, add chopped kale. You should have one part potato, one part tomato and two parts kale. Boil kale about 3-4 minutes or until tender. Stir potato mix occasionally to avoid sticking.

Preheat oven 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix potato mixture and kale. Add coarse salt and pepper. Let mixture cool. In a smaller bowl beat smoky cheese, eggs and coarse salt and pepper. In a greased deep dish pie pan spoon vegetables until evenly distributed. I actually had a lot of leftover vegies but there is an incentive to make another frittata. Pour egg mixture over the vegetables and slightly blend together. Top frittata with parm cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until egg is set. I broiled the frittata for about 4 minutes to get a good brown on top. Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with hot sauce. My sister sent me an African care package with a hot sauce that is so flavorful and spicy. It is a new favorite in my house, but a decent domestic alternative is Louisiana. I am not a Tabasco fan but it will suffice.

It took a lot of will power not to eat the whole thing last night - it was so good. I also used the leftovers for breakfast so this is an all around meal. I was also able to use so many leftovers. I tagged this recipe cheap because I literally didn't have to buy anything. The used leftover cheese, took out the rest of my eggs and my vegetables from my CSA. This meal is also a high score on the vegetable list as well.

Which vegetables do you love?

Nutrition Action is a journal I subscribed to for a while. My favorite aspects are the journal was to take similar products on the market and compare them according to nutritional value v calories and fat content. It saves so much time at the grocery trying to read calories per serving and ingredient lists. You get accustomed to know what brands are better for what products.

Another edition I loved was a comparison of vegetables and how they scored in their content of calories, vitamin K, lutein, vitamin C, potassium and fiber. Because of this list, there are vegetables I have learned to embrace because of their intense health benefits. I have also enjoyed the fact that if I don’t particularly like a vegetable and it’s low on the list, I don’t force myself to try use it. I do think the more variety, the better you are able to get the vitamins and nutrients you need without a vitamin supplement.

Top choices:
Kale is far and away the biggest powerhouse vegetable you can find. My sister marks it as a food garnish, but there are so many great sides you can make with kale. NA score: 1389. Most leafy greens are top choices, including baby spinach at 672 point for 2 cups raw.

Interesting notes: canned pumpkin (raw, not the seasoned pie variety) is more wholesome than fresh (117) and is the first non-green top scorer on the chart at 570 points. Also, South Beach and Atkins got it wrong - sweet potatoes (485) pack in more vitamins and are nine times healthier than white potatoes (53). Don’t let the name “sweet” keep you away from these wonderful roots.

Not just for seasoning:
I found a surprisingly high number of herbs on this list as well. A quarter cup of raw parsley packs out enough vitamins that beat out green leaf lettuce and ½ cup cooked broccoli. Cilantro, just 2.5 tbsp, still brings enough vitamin K to your meal to compete with zucchini and lima beans.

Learned to love:

For a good while, I convinced myself that supplementing parsnip for carrot was an acceptable exchange . . . not so much. Carrots give me much-needed fiber and vitamin K and tower vitamin richness over parsnips by 350 points. The non-pepper bell pepper has also had to sneak its way into my menu because of scores like 340 for red and 193 for green. I was quick to replace bell peppers in recipes with the spicier pablano or green chili pepper, which was only scoring 53 in vitamin richness.

Learned to live without:
No need to fret over not getting enough sprouts. These seedlings only scored an 18 for half a cup. I’ve also gotten over my distaste for eggplant (19), cucumber (29), beets (32), radishes (34) and corn (47). No need to worry, I will still present recipes with these fine vegetables.

What are your favorite vegetables? Did your favorite make the cut? What are you told you need to eat more of but can’t stand? Maybe it’s not worth fighting. Let me know your thoughts.

Vegetable Burritos with Smoked Gouda - Tupelos World Cafe

Tupelos is a fantastic eatery in Boone, NC. For those old timer Mountaineers, it is the old Angelicas vegetarian café on King Street. Tupelos added meat to their menu but didn't lose their touch on fresh ingredients and organic products. Their spring special included Smoked Gouda Enchiladas, but below is a modified version for the meatless eaters.

Vegetable Burritos with Smoked Gouda

2 lbs red or gold potatoes (or whatever amount you have growing twigs in your cabinet)
Mashed potato staples e.g. milk/cream, butter, salt/pepper etc
1 small can yellow or white corn
2 handfuls of spinach ('cause let's face it, who measures 5 cups of leaves?)
garlic - freshly crushed or minced in a jar
1/2 onion (favorite kind)
2-3 ripe zucchini or yellow squash
1/2 red pepper, chopped (or roasted red pepper)
1/2 cup smoke gouda, shredded
pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
6' or 8' whole wheat tortillas
ripe avocado
favorite salsa

Boil and make mashed potatoes. Typically that consists of cleaning potatoes, cut into quarters, boil until skin starts to come off (about 20 minutes) and mashed with potato masher with tasty add-ins like milk (1%) or light half-n-half and Brummel & Brown butter. There will be so much yummyness in this meal you can probably cut back on the cream and butter. I use a potato masher over a hand blender just to give the potatoes a hearty texture. Don’t forget garlic salt and pepper.

Prep vegetables while potatoes are boiling. Slightly chop spinach and drain and rinse corn. Cut zucchini into 1 inch rounds and then quarter. You want hearty-sized vegetables for this dish so don’t chop too finely. Also chop onion. And fresh red pepper, if using. Sauté vegetables with 1 tsp olive oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

While potatoes are still steamy hot, stir in cheese, corn and spinach until wilted. If using roasted red pepper (from a jar, not the fresh, sauted pepper), also stir into potatoes.

Steam tortillas by wrapping only the number you intend to use in a damp dish towel - make sure it’s clean and not the one you’ve been wiping your hands with all week ;) Microwave for 1 minute. Layer tortilla with mashed potato mix, vegetable mix and top with pepitas. Fold over and lay seam-side down. Top burritos with sliced avocado and favorite salsa.

Pepitas are yummy pumpkin seeds, but not the kind you pull out of the jack-o-lantern. They are tiny, crunchy and solid green. They are surprisingly great on most Mexican dishes. I bought the roasted, salted kind, but the raw, unroasted are a much better pick since you can do more with them raw (there is a dessert I will share with you in the fall).

For a non-vegetarian meal, layer tortillas with sliced, smoked chicken sausage. The Tupelos burrito was so huge it really didn’t need the meat, but it was nonetheless tasty.

Trader Joes now has a reasonably-priced ($4) bag of shredded, smoked cheddar, gouda, mozzarella and provolone - perfect for this recipe. TJs also has wonderful whole wheat tortillas. The other whole wheat I have found in the grocer has been dry and tears easily but TJ’s are unbeatable in taste and texture. Plus they are only six inches so you know you won’t overstuff.