Cooks Exchange: Spring heralds a bounty of fresh fruits, vegetables
Gardeners have been busy planting vegetables and plants. Yes, it is spring.
My daughter is back to gardening. She has planted herbs and tomatoes and started some vegetables from seeds, which is experimental. Her Big Boy tomato plants look great. Perhaps she will have a better result than last year.
Yes, it's that time of year for fresh green beans cooked with little red potatoes, as well as asparagus, radishes, lettuces, spinach, green onions, snow peas or pea pods and, of course, strawberries, to name a few.
I thought I would share some recipes for fresh vegetables.
ASPARAGUS SOUP
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 slices onion
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1- 1/2 teaspoons salt
Few grains pepper
3 cups milk
2 pounds cooked asparagus
1/3 cup cream, optional
Heat butter or margarine; add onion and simmer for about 4 minutes, or until soft. Stir in flour and seasonings, Remove from heat and slowly add milk, stirring until well blended.
Return to low heat and cook until thick and smooth, stirring constantly. Put asparagus through food mill, then add to soup mixture. Reheat before serving, adding cream if desired. Yield: 8 servings.
-- From "Southern Country Cookbook."
CHICKEN FLORENTINE WITH MUSHROOM SAUCE
3 chicken breasts, boned
1/4 cup chopped onion
Vegetable cooking spray
1- 1/2 cups cooked, chopped spinach
2 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon reduced-calorie margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon chicken-flavored bouillon granules
Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Set chicken aside.
Sauté onion in a large skillet coated with cooking spray. Remove from heat and stir in spinach, cheese and nutmeg.
Divide spinach mixture in half and shape into mounds. Transfer mounds to an 11-by-7-by-2-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top each portion with a chicken breast half. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until chicken is done.
Place mushrooms in skillet. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil; boil 6 minutes or until liquid is reduced and thickened, stirring frequently. Spoon sauce evenly over chicken and serve warm.
Yield: 3 servings.
Diabetic exchanges: 1 starch, 3 lean meat. Nutritional data: Carbohydrate: 16 grams; protein, 24 grams; fat, 7 grams; calories, 214; fiber, 4 grams; sodium, 594 milligrams; cholesterol, 43 milligrams.
-- From "The Complete Step-by-Step Diabetic Cookbook"
EGGPLANT JAMBALAYA
1 pound good sausage
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
3 ribs celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1- 1/2 cups uncooked rice
3 cups chicken or beef stock or water
Couple of dashes of pepper sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon powdered thyme
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
2 medium-sized eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
6 green onions, finely chopped
In a heavy pot, fry the sausage after slicing into rounds about1/4-inch thick.
Stir frequently, and when lightly browned remove the sausage and reserve drippings. Pour off all but about1/4 cup of the fat and add the onions, bell pepper and celery.
Cook until the vegetables are tender. Add the rice and mix well until the grains are evenly coated. Add the stock or water, the garlic, pepper sauce, bay leaves, thyme, chili powder, and salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
Add the sausage and the cubed eggplant and lower the heat. Partially cover the pot and cook over low heat for about 45 minutes. Toward the end of the cooking procedure, the rice should absorb most of the liquid. If it becomes too dry, a little liquid may be added, a few tablespoons at a time. When almost cooked, stir in the green onions and mix well. Serve hot.
Fresh fruits and vegetables and the grill pair well. This salsa is great served with grilled fish or chicken or just with tortilla chips. It also makes a good base for cold strawberry soup. For the soup, all you have to do is add four cups of half-and-half or fat-free half-and-half.
STRAWBERRY SALSA
2 cups strawberries, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon lime juice
1- 1/2 tablespoons honey or sugar substitute
Combine strawberries, mint, lime rind and juice and honey or sugar substitute and whirl in the food processor. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to let the flavors marry.
For the soup, simply add the salsa mixture to the 4 cups of half-and-half in a blender.
Grilling recipes wanted
A reader just purchased and new grill and wants some easy, tasty ideas to try on the grill. Please share the best grilling ideas, whether they be meats, vegetables, fruits or even desserts.
Andrea Yeager, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net or Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi MS 39535-4567.
This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Cooks Exchange: Spring heralds a bounty of fresh fruits, vegetables ."