Two Healthy, Easy Dishes for Dinner

April 19, 2021April 19, 2021 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

I rarely measure, I often experiment, try new flavor combinations. To create this dish I sautéed several cloves garlic, coarsely chopped, in oil–I use olive for just about everything. I peeled and cubed 1/2 sweet potato and finely chopped approximately two tablespoons fresh ginger. I added these to the olive oil. When the garlic and sweet potatoes were tender, I added 1/2 coarsely chopped red bell pepper and several handfuls of baby bok choy which I had sliced into large pieces. When the bok choy was tender, I added peanuts and Thai sweet chili sauce. I served this over Jasmine rice.

Purple Cabbage with Poblano Peppers, and Garbanzo Beans

I had some left over cabbage and decided to create a new dish. Once again I coarsely chopped several cloves garlic and sautéed them in olive oil. When they were tender and slightly browned, I added coarsely chopped purple cabbage and poblano peppers, sautéing only until they were barely tender. To this mixture I added basil essential oil. Then I added the garbanzo beans. Do not add them too soon because it makes them mushy. I served this over conchiglie pasta from Italy.

Note: I use several essential oils in cooking–basil, fennel, lemon, cumin, thyme, rosemary, cardamon. However, they are intense so if using essential oils, use only a little, taste, then add more if necessary. It is easy to over do it.

For more recipes like this, see my most recent book, “You’re Gonna Eat That?!” It is filled with many simple pescatarian and vegetarian recipes.

Lazy Day and Dinner

June 9, 2014June 9, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 1 Comment

Cool and cloudy reigned today. Now tornado warnings west of here glide across the TV screen I’ve turned on mute. About now, the severe thunderstorms are supposed to start. A repeat of yesterday when I took these photos from my patio.

Fed Rosie earlier to beat the predicted storm, swept the dirt and little rocks from yesterday’s storm off the drive, and strolled around to get some exercise. After several hectic days of no cooking, decided to cook something vegetarian.

1 medium sized purple onion coarsely chopped

6 medium brussels sprouts cut in half

1/2 large red bell pepper coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon chana masala (East Indian spice)

1 teaspoon berbere (Ethiopian spice)

Olive oil

Pour enough olive oil in 8-10 inch skillet to cover the bottom. Saute the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the brussels sprouts and spices. Stir and cook until the brussels sprouts are cooked but still crisp. Add the red pepper and sauté. Do not over cook. Serve over Jasmine rice.

Not quite ready but almost.

Berbere on left sent from Ethiopia by my friend’s mother.

Jasmine rice ready to serve. Here is how I cook the rice:

Pour enough olive oil in the bottom of the saucepan to barely cover it. Add 1 heaping tsp. finely chopped garlic and briefly sauté. Add one cup rice (here I used white but sometimes I mix red, black and white evenly) and sauté a little bit more. Add two cups water and 1 tsp. vegetarian bouillon (I prefer Better Than Bouillon). Stir and cover with several paper towels or one thick tea towel. Place lid on top and turn down to low. Cook 1/2 hour if using only white rice. Other rice requires double the time.

The finished product ready to eat.

Now I am going back to reading while awaiting the lightning and thunder. About 1/3 way through a light but entertaining read: “Coyote Cowgirl” by Kim Antieau.

Red Snapper with Chorizo and Mixed Rice

June 20, 2013July 7, 2013 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Last Sunday evening I invited three friends over for dinner. They come to my house all the time so I decided to try something different. Red snapper was on sale at the market so I bought one big fillet and one smaller one, thinking they would fit perfectly in the heavy cast iron fish pan I have. I use this particular cast iron pot because I can put it on the grill in the summer and avoid heat in the house. In my refrigerator I also found some soyrizo–chorizo made from soy instead of pork. Since one of the friends is Muslim, I make sure never to feed him pork–he does not want me to go to hell, he says. Since the fish and the chorizo made for rather sizable servings, I did not expect all of it to totally disappear. Wrong. They ate all of it and asked for the recipe.

Approximately 1 1/2 pounds red snapper or similar firm fleshed fish

Enough soyrizo (or chorizo) to cover the fish in a thin layer sprinkled over the fish

1 onion finely chopped

1 large poblano pepper, seeded and chopped

Olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 small can tomato sauce

Pour enough olive oil into a heavy pan to cover the bottom

Lay the fish in the bottom of the pan and cover with chorizo

Saute the onions and poblano pepper in olive oil until onions are translucent

Spread the onion/pepper mixture over the top of the chorizo

Stir the cinnamon into the tomato sauce

Pour the cinnamon/tomato sauce mixture over the top

Place a lid on pan and bake on the grill at medium heat.

It takes the cast iron a long time to heat up so once it was heated, I baked the dish for approximately 20 minutes or until the fish was done and everything was bubbling.

I served this with my favorite rice: 1/3 Jasmine red rice, 1/3 Jasmine white rice, combined with 1/3 black rice. I used one half cup each, sauteed with 1 TBS. finely chopped garlic in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a large sauce pan. Saute until the rice appears to be sticking slightly, then pour water double the total amount of rice. Stir in 1 tsp. bouillon, cover with six paper towels and then the lid, turn down to low, and cook approximately one hour. The red and black rice take at least twice as long to cook as white rice.

This easily serves four. I served it with a salad: romaine, red cabbage, dried cherries, yellow pepper, diced radishes, and feta cheese. Bon appetit!!