Arugula and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp pesto sauce
• 3 fresh roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
• 1 medium – large unbaked pizza crust
• 1 (8 oz) pkg seasoned goat cheese
• 1 c fresh arugula
• 1 tsp olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat the oven as declared in pizza crust instructions.
• Spread out pesto on the crust, slice goat cheese into thin coins, and place across the pizza.
• Place tomato slices all over goat cheese and scatter with garlic.
• Then, brush crust’s edge with olive oil.
• Put pizza on preheated oven and back for up to 10 minutes.
• Check every no and again and remove the pizza when already golden.

Vegetarian Curry

Ingredients:

• 2¹/₂ tbsp curry powder
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1¹/₂ c water
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• 1 (10 oz.) pkg frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Set the stove on medium-high heat.
• Saute onion and garlin in hot oil until golden brown.
• Add and stir curry powder and tomato paste for up to three (3) minutes.
• Add and stir tomatoes, vegetables bouillon, frozen mixed vegetables and water.
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for thirty (30) minutes until vegetables are well done.

Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 8 oz dried egg noodles
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1¹/₂ c vegetable broth
• 1¹/₂ c sour cream
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• ¹/₄ c chopped fresh parsley
• ³/₄ lb portobello mushrooms (sliced)

Directions:

• Boil salted water, and cook egg noodles until firm before draining.
• Set stove in medium heat, and then melt butter on a large heavy skillet.
• Add onion and stir until softened
• Raise the heat to medium-high and add portobello mushrooms.
• Set aside the mushroom when it turns to limp and brown.
• Stir vegetable broths. And wait until it boils and cook until the mixture reduces to 1/3.
• Mix together the sour cream and flour before combining it with mushroom sauce.
• Place skillet to the stove and cook over low heat until sauce thickens.
• Add parsley and season to taste

Tomatoes are very popular for being a good heart-food; this has given tomato lovers one other reason to love this vegetable. So for those who love putting tomatoes into their dishes, here are some helpful tips in how to cook tomato right. Read on and get informed!

Tip # 1: Tomatoes are generally very soft vegetables and will require a sharp knife for slicing. If not, you could end up squashing the entire vegetable and spilling out the seeds – something that we want to keep away from. The best knife that you can use for slicing tomatoes is a sharp serrated knife.

Tip # 2: Stay away from aluminum cooking utensils when you are cooking tomatoes. Why? This is because tomatoes are acidic and the aluminum in your pans can react with this substance adding a bitter taste to your dishes. Aside from that, the reaction can also cause your tomatoes to loose color and look pale. In turn, the acid from your tomatoes can also discolor your aluminum pans.

Tip # 3: Tomatoes are acidic, so to bring out its color and flavor, you can add a pinch of salt or sugar during the cooking process. If you want to be more creative, you can also add shredded carrots to combat the acidity and at the same time add a little color to your dish.

Tip # 4: There are a wide variety of tomatoes available in the market today – each variety can perfectly fit any kind of dish you are making. Cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes are the best choices for salads and raw dishes while plum tomatoes are the best choice for sauces.

The huge variety of tomatoes has almost made them a staple for any kind of dish. Aside from this, there is comfort in knowing that these vegetables are good for our heart and our health in general. So make use of this delicious vegetable and enjoy them in every meal!

One important thing that you should know about cooking garlic is that the more you cut them up, the stronger the flavor will come out. Why is this so? Smaller pieces can expose more surface area of the cloves and thus releasing more of the flavor. So if you do not want your garlic to overpower your dish, then try not to cut them up too finely. On the other hand, if you want more of that spice in your food then the best way to squeeze that flavor out from your cloves in by finely chopping them up.

Another way that you can mellow down that strong pungent flavor is by cooking or baking the cloves themselves. The heat can turn garlic flavor into a delicate sweet and nutty taste – the perfect taste to flavor desserts such as ice cream and even pastries. The rule of thumb in sautéing or cooking garlic is to never overcook. Overcooked garlic can turn bitter and can ruin your entire dish. So put it over the heat in just a few minutes and after which – you can now proceed you’re your next ingredient.

The most useful kitchen tool that garlic lovers should have in their kitchens is a good garlic presser. Although there are many designs and brands available in the market, the best design to pick should be the ones that you can easily clean after use and can remove the peel during the pressing – this way you do not have to go through the trouble or removing the skin yourself.

So there you have it garlic lovers: added information about your favorite spice! Chop them, bake them or cook them whole – your dishes are definitely tastier with them around!

Today in the market, there is a large selection of asparagus varieties that we can choose from. Usually, asparagus are graded according to their size from jumbo, large, standard down to the small sizes. Although generally, all of these varieties taste the same, the differences for the selection are the size of each varieties and their color. So to familiarize yourself with the different asparagus varieties and how they are used for cooking, just keep in reading and find out what they are!

• Green asparagus – this kind of asparagus is the most common and is usually as thick as a regular pencil. This variety is the most popular kind in the United States.
• Violet or Purple asparagus – commonly found in England and Italy, this variety is known to have a very thick and sturdy stalk.
• White asparagus – this variety of asparagus is most well loved for its delicate taste. White asparagus are made by growing the usual varieties in confined areas – without the sun, causing the vegetable to grow without its usual pigments and hence, the white colored flesh.
• Wild asparagus – this variety can be seen growing in the wild all around Europe. Rarely available in the market, if you want to use this kind of variety in your dishes, then you need to spend a whole lot of time hunting for them in the outdoors.

Using these different varieties of asparagus is one way of adding color and lofeto your dishes. And a good dish should not be a feast for your taste buds but for the entire senses as well. So get creative and be ready to try these different varieties in your dishes today!

• The very first challenges cooks meet in acorn squash cooking is the slicing- acorn squash has a very sturdy body that will require a good sharp knife. A good technique that you can do is to pierce the entire body first, soften it by putting the vegetable in the microwave for one or two minutes and letting it cool down before cutting. After cooling, cut the entire body in a longitudinal manner (stem side down).
• Acorn squash are usually served with its shell on because its ribbed shape makes it very hard peel. But if you need the fleshy part alone, then you can cook the entire vegetable first – and remove the skin until it is tender enough to be scooped out.
• Boiling is a no-no in acorn squash since it can destroy the color and the flavor of the vegetable.
• If you want to cook the acorn squash whole, you can simply pop it in the microwave for one and a half hours at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. But before doing so, do not forget to pierce the vegetable all around its body to ensure that all of the heat gets completely inside the flesh. So how to know when you’re done? A thoroughly cooked vegetable will yield to very tender pressure. And once it’s done, you can let it cool and cut the entire vegetable in half.
• If you happen to buy a stringy squash, then do not worry. You can remove all of that string by simply putting it in the mixer for 20 minutes – first at high speed and switch to medium or low speed for the last 10 minutes.

Cooking acorn squash the right way is the key to making that perfect vegetable dish. So do not forget to follow these easy tips when cooking!

But aside from all those nutrients, carrots are also known to be the one of a few vegetables that people actually love having raw. This is because it contains natural sugars making it a very tasty and healthy snack both for the young and the old.

Today, there are many varieties of this vegetable that we can easily get from our local supermarkets. Most of the carrots available in the market are packed in plastic bags; some are already peeled while others are not. So how can you tell a good carrot from a bad one? Simple, all you need to look for are those with bright colors and a firm body. The deeper the color is the more beta-carotene is expected to be present in the root crop –something that we would want to have around in considerable amounts. Carrots are usually available the whole year round so you won’t have too much trouble finding a good batch in your market shelves.

Now when it comes to food preparation, the most important thing you need to remember is that most of the nutrients in carrots are found in their peels. But for dishes that do require you to remove the carrot peels, then do not hesitate to do so; carrots taste better without the peel. Carrots can easily be cooked whole by simmering them in water for a few minutes. But if you want to be faster than that, then you can simply pop them in the microwave and in just a few minutes, you are good to go.

So there you have it: everything that you need to know about your favorite vegetable! Carrots are indeed one of the best and the most delicious ways to stay healthy. They are cheap and available at any time of the year!

But today, as more and more people become more adventurous in terms of their food preferences and palate, new salad greens are emerging in the market that has taken salad courses into a whole new and exciting level. So for those of you who want to discover the tastes of exotic and new varieties leafy greens, then this is the perfect read for you!

• Spoon Cabbage – an Asian delicacy. Spoon cabbages are most well known for their peppery taste and beautiful texture.
• Lollo Rosso – this is the perfect choice if you want to add sweetness and color into your salad. Lollo Rosso leaves usually have a reddish tinge at its edges and has a deliciously mildly sweet taste.
• Rugola – a delicacy of its own, rugola is most well loved for its peppery and nutty flavor. Aside from this, rugola leaves can also be great when mixed with other kinds of vegetables, most specially goat cheese.
• Frisee – a unique name to a one-of-a-kind salad green. Frisbees are vey attractive greens with colors ranging form bright yellow to dark green. Although slightly bitter, when paired with the right kinds of vegetables in a salad, they can turn a simple course into a meal to remember!
• Watercress – most well known for its spicy-mustard taste – the perfect highlight in salads filled with mild greens.
• Mache – greens with spoon shaped leaves – a favorite because of its distinct buttery flavor. Can be eaten as is or mixed with other complementing vegetable ingredients.

Whoever said salads are boring? With these number of selections, and each greens having its own distinctive taste, salad courses are considered to be one of the most well loved food choices today!

So just read on and get great and healthy tips and step by step instructions on how to prepare your leafy greens for your meals!

Step # 1: Cleaning the greens. The first thing that you should do is remove the wilted parts of the leaves. These portions will not taste nor look good in fresh salads nor in cooked dishes so remove these parts by simply pinching them off with your fingers. After this, you can clean it up by dumping the leaves into a bowl of water for a few times.

Step # 2: If you want to use the green in salads, then you can simply drain the leaves dry through a strainer or a salad spinner. If you want to use it for cooking, then you do not need to completely dry the leaves right after washing.

Step # 3: If you want to soften the leaves, simply boil or simmer them in water. Remember not put them in hot water too long or else, most of the nutrients will ooze out from the leaves and into the water – which you will eventually drain away. Aside from this, exposing them in boiling water for too long may destroy its color and texture. Simmering them at the right time can also take away the bitterness for some vegetables.

So there you have it: simple steps to clean and prep up your vegetables without risking the loss of all those nutrients and vitamins. Aside from this, you can also use your leafy greens as a side dish and to brighten up your food presentations. So start loving these healthy greens today and start reaping their wonderful benefits in the future!

• High fiber vegetables can keep you away from colon cancer. The fiber that you get from vegetables act like a broom that can sweep your entire digestive system clean. Studies have shown that people who have more vegetables in their diets suffer less from this kind of cancer than those whose diets revolve mainly on meat.
• If you think that meat is the only source of protein in your diet, then you are dead wrong. The fact is you can get an equal amount of protein from a tablespoon of soybeans or tofu compared to the average serving of meat.
• Vegetables give us a better feeling of satisfaction compared to eating an all-meat diet. Why is this so? Because as we digest more vegetables instead of meat, we create less ketones in the body – which is responsible for that nauseating feeling that we often have after eating a lot of meat in a meal.
• Vegetables can taste a lot better than meat. Many people hate vegetables simply because they do not taste as good as meat. But given that you know how to cook them, you can turn out with wonderful and delicious recipes that you will surely love having meal after meal.

So whoever said vegetable diet is out? Learning to love these kinds of food can definitely give you more benefits than one! So make that shift now, get out of your way to find delicious vegetable recipes for you and your family and start enjoying good food and living a healthy life!