A Mixture of Fabulous Vegetables

Like Mizzfit, 2017 has seen a bucket load of spinach in my life, with me happily consuming a 1.5 pound bag. Sometimes I’ve had it as a featured ingredient in my three main meals of the day–it’s been in smoothies, sandwiches and side dishes.

In fact, spinach has pretty much eclipsed other veggies so much this year, that I’ll need to go back to 2016 and reminisce about some favorites of the not so distant past.

It’s truly difficult to single out ONE favorite vegetable, however, since I like a mixture. Take ratatouille, for example, a dish that contains many favorites: zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant, onions and a WHOLE rose of garlic, with the cloves not even chopped up. Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled generously with basil and roasted in the oven, this dish can keep me satisfied for days!

Towards the end of last year, for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I ventured into going vegan–almost totally. My main dish for each holiday was a veggie pie, containing loads of different root vegetables: orange and red beets, orange sweet potato, carrots, parsnip, turnip, onions and garlic (of course). The crust that I made with coconut oil turned out crisp (not burnt!) and tasty. Seeing all the colors melding together and producing divine smells were feasts for the eyes and nose, before the actual feasting began.

I really enjoy going to the farmers’ market on a Sunday and finding my ingredients locally. Aloo gobi, a veggie dish, is yet another favorite–I’ve googled recipes for this (cauliflower and potato) and try to follow the directions as closely as possible. Sometimes I’ve substituted zucchini for the potato–and usually choose a white sweet potato over the ordinary kind. Other ingredients are tomatoes, onions, garlic and coconut milk. The scent of the garlic and onion sautéed in coconut oil mixed with curry powder is enough to whet my appetite; can hardly wait for dinner!

I’m looking forward to Sunday’s trip to the market and stocking up on my veggies, knowing that I’ll have dishes to last at least a week and beyond.

[Img.Src: Galway Farmer’s Market]