Wednesday, May 25, 2011

What Is This?

"When you talk to yourself you are not crazy.  You are simply talking to the most intelligent person you know."
 - Chucky - The Fat Vegetarian

Hi everyone!  I'll tip my wine glass that you have nothing short of simply wonderful experiences this fine day.

Mystery Dish

Okay, okay... Just what is this?  It's a recipe from the cookbook, "Better Homes and Gardens 365 Vegetarian Meals".  Basically it's diced tomatoes, Farro, garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, vegan "chicken" broth, and dried oregano slow cooked in a crock pot.  Frozen green beans are added 10-minutes before serving and then this dish is topped with crumbled feta cheese.  It's identified as "Greek Beans and Barley" in the cookbook.


The affect of slow cooking the Farro leads to a risotto consistency.  It has a subtle pizza flavor but is packed with nutrition.  Absolutely no fats/oils used in the dish.  Pure heavenly healthy straight from the crock pot.

Tiffany & I came home from work and needed only 10-minutes to finalize this dish.  It was delicious and needed no accompanying sides.  We treated this as a one-dish meal.  Left-overs?  Yes, plenty of left-overs.  The recipe makes 6 to 8 servings.  Oh, lucky me!  :)

So, for lunch today Tiffany used some to make a most delicious grilled tortilla wrap.  As strange as it may seem, the combination of diced tomato and Farro appears like refried bean but tastes of Italian.  I savored every single bite knowing it to be a nutrition packed power house meal.  Fresh vegetables and whole grain Farro and nothing more.  Vitamins and fiber in a low-fat low-glycemic food combination.  Tiffany loves me so!  She wraps it into a 80-calorie whole wheat tortilla shell.

I suppose that I could have shared the entire recipe as mine was not an "exact" copy of Better Homes and Garden's.  But ~ They are so similarly close that my conscience prohibits me from doing so.  Sorry.  If it helps, this cookbook is worthy of it's cover price.

Nutrition per serving (6 servings per recipe)

And why do I share it then?  Besides being a little low on blog ideals at the present time, I thought it delicious and healthy enough to warrant its' disclosure to you.  Once again, this dish is another fine example of all of the vegan/vegetarian foods out there to be explored.  I have only but just began my vegetarian culinary quest.

Hi-dee hi-dee lift-a-culinary-rock-and-find-your-vegetarian-gem-today-ho my friend.

4 comments:

  1. is the book good? because i saw it yesterday at the bookstore, what would you say, should i buy it? for vegetarian beginner?

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  2. Looks good! Glad to see you are enjoying vegetarian recipes and branching out :)

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  3. MissSyarniFarida. It's a personal choice but when I flipped through the pages I fell in love. Each recipe is simple to prepare, uses simple ingredients, doesn't use too many ingredients, and sound delicious.

    Because each recipe is only two or three steps, I would vote "Yes" that it's a great vegetarian beginner cookbook. But ~ pick it up, flip through a few pages, and be your own judge.

    Cover price is $19.95 USA/$23.95 CAN. I found it at our local Sam's Warehouse Club for only $12.54 USA.

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  4. Thanks for the comment Michele. I'm certainly trying to encompass more whole grains and beans (complex carbs) into my vegetarian diet portfolio.

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