Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Do you know the last time I made muffins? 

Either do I!!  It's been that long. 

Lately, I've been craving something sweet. Since I want to keep my treats on the healthier side, I decided to make blueberry lemon muffins! Yum!

Turmeric Tea -3 Ways

When you are feeling under the weather, brewing up some turmeric tea using ground turmeric powder is very soothing and comforting for your throat and stomach. I'm sharing three ways to make it. 

Quinoa Chickpea Salad- High In Protein

If you are looking for a simple healthy meal, this high protein salad is perfect. It's filling and satisfying without being heavy and high in fat. It's a crowd pleaser that everyone seems to like! 

IN MY KITCHEN OCTOBER

Typically, I join in with Sherri (at Sherry's Pickings) and other bloggers to share what's IN MY KITCHEN at the beginning of each month.

Here is what I have for the beginning of October. 

Egyptian Lemon Zucchini With Mint and Wilted Cherry Tomatoes

Do you love zucchini? This lemony zucchini with mint side dish is a unique family recipe which I consider company worthy. 

I know it sounds odd to use mint with zucchini, but together with the lemon, it creates a wonderful flavor. You'll have to trust me on this one.

 

 

Zucchini with mint is a specialty dish in Egypt called Kousa NaNa. My mother-in-law, from Cairo, Egypt, introduced me to this amazing dish when I first joined the family. 

I make it in a rimmed skillet with garlic, lemon juice, cherry tomatoes and fresh and dried mint. 

Sautéed onions are optional- I don't use them.

 I use green or yellow squash- whatever is available. 

It cooks quickly and tastes delicious. Zucchini is low in fat and calories but high in valuable nutrients. 

Everyone can enjoy this gluten-free, vegan, oil-free recipe.

Simple vegetable sides can be delicious, healthy and require minimal effort such as this zucchini dish! Make green or yellow squash or mix the squash together. 

Ingredients: 

3 medium green or yellow zucchini, washed and sliced

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

optional: 1 cup of sliced (in half moons) onions 

2 cups of cherry tomatoes of any color or shape

1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice 

Salt and cracked pepper 

1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint (of 2 tablespoons of dried mint) 

Directions: 

Use a large skillet with rim. Place skillet over medium heat and add garlic (and optional onions).  Stir for a few minutes to sauté in 1/4 cup of water. Add cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, and fresh mint. Add additional water by the 1/2 cup as needed to prevent burning. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on medium heat to allow zucchini to soften. When done, sprinkle with dried mint and serve. 

The other night, we had an arugula and tomato salad with a tad of gluten free noodles at a new local Italian restaurant from Naples. Delicious.. 

Homemade Pickled Lemon

You may have seen it called preserved lemon, but my husband's family has made it and called it pickled lemon for generations in Egypt. Regardless of the name, pickled lemon is easy to make and takes about a week to marinate. 

You pickle the entire lemon including the rind.

You may be wondering why anyone would actually pickle lemons to eat them. Well, my husband is a lemon lover and pickled lemon provides the taste he is looking for to add to his sandwiches, salads, dinner, and other meals. 

My husband and his siblings grew up eating pickled lemon in Cairo, Egypt and it is still a favorite of my husband until today! 

His mother always made her own pickled lemons, but when he came to the US, we always bought it In the Middle Eastern grocery. The other day, I was introduced to a new friend from Egypt who shared her recipe! It is fairly easy.. 

First start with a plate of kosher coarse salt. 

Then the lemons are washed well, sliced in small slices, one side gets coated with salt, and then placed into a small bowl to allow the juices to ooze out and the lemon to marinate. After a day (left on the counter she said), she transfers the lemon pieces to a small jar and allows them to sit covered on the counter for 1 week. (I decided to refrigerate mine).

After a week, the lemon is pickled and can be enjoyed as a condiment on sandwiches, with meals, or alone as a pickle.

Ingredients: 

2 lemons, washed and cut into pieces 

Kosher salt 

Paprika

Directions :

Take each piece of cut up lemon and dip one side in kosher salt. Put all the pieces in a small bowl and allow the lemon to sweat for 24 hours. Pour into a small jar, add a little paprika for color and store covered for 1 week. 

MY NOTES: 

1. The liquid in the jar is from the lemon juice ( not water)

Middle Eastern Zucchini with Lemon and Dried Mint

This simple sliced zucchini side dish has a surprisingly robust flavor when cooked the Middle Eastern way with garlic, lemon, and dried mint. 

Best Oil-free Hummus in Three Flavors

This easy to make homemade hummus will knock your socks off. It's really tasty and contains no added oils.  I made a plain hummus, a carrot hummus, and a beet hummus. 

I've been learning to cook and prepare food without oil ( but I still use fats such as avocado, olives, nuts, and seeds). You may have read my previous post that explains why. 

Basically oil is one of the most caloric foods you can consume and has zero fiber and very few nutrients. Better to eat the olives than the concentration of oil. I'm learning to make food without oil. 

This oil-free hummus is outstanding. I watched a video by Brittany on The Jaroudy Family Youtube. I adapted her recipe to suit my own tastes.  

Your can visit her Youtube channel to see her recipe. I love learning from her and love her recipes.

It's also fun to add vegetables to the hummus. For example, you can add a cup of beets or drained cooked carrots and omit or greatly reduce the liquid.

I eat this high protein hummus for lunch with cut up celery and carrot sticks or I dilute it to make a salad dressing for my salads or cooked vegetables. I also control the thickness by the amount of liquid I add. Somedays I make it thinner and some days much thicker. 

I enjoy making a cooked vegetable stacks using sliced cooked beets or slice air fry roasted eggplant or both!!

The following recipe is oil-free and tahini-free. If you would like a recipe that contains both olive oil and tahini (sesame seed paste), you can try my previous authentic rich Middle Eastern hummus recipe which is delicious.

Ingredients: 

4 and 1/2  cups of cooked chickpeas (or about 1 and 1/2  15 ounce cans  drained) 

1/4 cup of water or liquid from the chickpeas 

2 large cloves of fresh garlic 

1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

Juice of 1 juicy lemon

1 tablespoon of organic gluten-free miso 

1/2 teaspoon of cumin 

cracked black pepper to taste 

optional: 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric. 

Directions: 

Using the metal blade in a 6 cup food processor, add all the ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. Adjust spices to taste. 

Notes: 

1, Miso is adds a salty taste so no additional salt is needed.

2. Add small amounts of additional water or chickpea liquid to desired consistency. 

3. To make beet hummus add 1 cup of cubed cooked beets 

4. To make carrot hummus add 1 cup of sliced cooked carrots, drained of all water

5. I steam the beets and the carrots in my steamer 

Cauliflower with Creamy Lemon Sauce-Zero points and Vegan

If you are a lemon lover and looking for an idea to perk up your plain vegetables, this creamy lemon sauce over cauliflower is not to be ignored. 

Greek Lemon Soup

If you like lemon, you'll love this citrusy Greek lemon soup.

Imagine a simple vegetable soup in a tangy lemony broth that is easy to make and a delight to eat. This interesting ethnic recipe is one of my mother-in-law's recipes and has been in our family for generations. It is simple, delicious, lemony, and healthy. It's one of our favorites.

Moroccan Chickpea and Olive Salad

Chickpea and olive salad is easy to make and absolutely delicious.
Moroccan recipes often include a fair amount of olives, and this dish is no exception.

This wonderful vegan salad can be made with green and or black olives, chickpeas, and cured lemon with lots of healthy herbs and spices.

Beet Salad with Mint, Lemon, and Celery

What could be more appropriate for the health conscious than a recipe using red beautiful beets?

Forget the Mess!!

If you adore beets, but hate the mess, I've got the answer for you. This is the easiest beet making recipe in the world and the tastiest way to eat them. It's so simple that you won't even have to peel them before cooking: Stay with me and trust me on this one!

As much as I love beets, I didn't make them for years because of the mess.. Now I make these heath giving, iron rich, sweet delicacies whenever I find a great looking bunch in the stores. 

Organic beets taste great

I buy organic  because they are very easy to find in most markets, and the price is not much different than the regular beet prices. ( but the organic are so much better) and most organic brands say, " GMO Free"
  
Roast and Rub

After roasting the whole beet ( unpeeled) in the oven, I quickly rubbed off the peel, cut them up, and made a beet salad with some fresh mint leaves, lemon juice, and some crunchy chopped organic celery. It was easy and delicious. Of course the roasted beets were so sweet and tender, I could have just eaten them plain. 

Power Up Your Diet !  Beets are an excellent source of immune building antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, including iron and potassium. 

Fresh nutrient dense vegetables such as beets are a perfect food for a gluten free diet. This salad is light and delicious and makes an interesting side dish with just about any meal.

Ingredients needed:
2 large organic beets, roasted whole in their skin
1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint
Juice of a 1/2 fresh lemon
1/4 cup chopped organic celery ( celery is on the dirty dozen list, so I buy organic)

Instructions:
After roasting the beets whole in the oven, remove them and allow them to cool - then remove skin ( it will come off easily) .
Cut beets into large chunks. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over beets. Add chopped mint and chopped celery and mix well.

How to roast the beets:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

• Cut the beet from the greens ( very easy)
• Wash the unpeeled and uncut beets well 
• Place them whole on a parchment paper  covered cookie sheet, and roast at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes or until they are soft in the center ( amount of cooking time will depend on the size of your beets). 
• Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.
• Take a knife and cut in half lengthwise to make the heart effect - looks great doesn't it!
• To eat them, just use the back of a spoon or knife to easily remove the skin ( wear rubber gloves or not) and cut the beets up.
• slice beets and add the lemon juice, chopped mint, and chopped celery.. 
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Benefits of Eating Beets

• low in calories ( about 45 calories a cup) 
• high in fiber 
• have zero cholesterol
• almost no fat 
• provide cardiovascular benefits 
• rich in potassium 

 Potassium is known to help lower heart rate and balance the metabolism within the cells by opposing the negative effects of sodium.

 

slice to make it look like a heart

           
  

Some of my additional vegan fresh beet recipes :

Beet and Orange Salad in White Balsamic Vinegar

Quinoa Lover's Salad with Roasted Beets

Medley of Roasted Winter acorn Squash and roasted beets 

 Hearty Beet Borscht Soup; Cold or hot

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May be shared on the following blog carnivals

cut beets from the greens and then trim off stems

Fresh Mint

Roast whole in oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes - 1 hour

Remove from oven, cool, and slice lengthwise to make hearts