Today's vegetarian recipe: A Greek recipe for Kourkouto with Zucchini (???????to e ??????????a), not quite quiche, not quite bread pudding, not quite frittata, served hot or at room temperature so good for brunch or light supper. Kalofagas means 'gourmet' in Greek and it's the perfect name for the Canadian food blog which celebrates -- make that CELEBRATES! -- traditional Greek food. Kalofagas is a not-to-miss food blog. Peter Minakis lives and breathes Greek cuisine / home cooking in the way some (who?!) live and breathe vegetables. When he described this recipe for a zucchini pie as a "cheater's pita" and "somewhere between a quiche and a frittata, utilizing Greek ingredients" I couldn't wait to make it. (True confession: while this same affect occurs many times a day, perhaps one of a hundred recipes actually get made.) My own take is that it's as much a bread pudding, especially when baked in a pie plate versus a larger sheet pan. It's also similar to a humble but delicious Bisquick pie such as the Ham & Cheese Bread from my long-time friend Lisa (and now Portland food blogger) which I've made at least once before. Whatever it's like, I love how this zucchini pie uses pantry ingredients and can be served either hot (when it's more quiche-like) or cold (when it's more like bread pudding) and thick (more quiche-like) or thin (more frittata-like). Thank you, Peter, for the inspiration!  read more »

"I am so sick of broccoli!" complains my friend Tom. Like most of us, Tom eats the same three or four vegetables again and again. He's also losing weight with a low-carb diet. To limit his carb intake, he has eliminated high-carb vegetables like potatoes and winter squash from his diet. With this list of low-carb vegetables, I hope to inspire low-carb dieters with new vegetable options. Take a look at this list of vegetables, sorted low to high by net carbs -- what's new to you?  read more »

Today's recipe: A thick relish with a bite of pepper made from 'huge' zucchini, onion, carrot and peppers. Free food: think 'monster' zucchini and 'prolific' peppers. This time of year, free food makes its way into our kitchens where we become its steward, charged with 'no waste' and looking for recipes to use up large zucchini and piles of peppers. With this recipe for zucchini relish, I made good use of two extra-large zucchinis, each one weighing 2+ pounds and still only Size XL beside a four-pound Size XXXL. The zucchini relish recipe is 'tried and true' -- it came from my friend Linda who got it from her friend Kathie who got it from her mother-in-law who got it from, well, you know. Grating and chopping takes a good hour, then the vegetables rest for three hours before getting cooked and processed in canning jars. The relish is sweet, almost enough to be called a 'zucchini jam' but still, leans to the savory side. It's got some bite too, thanks to a good measure of black pepper which shouldn't be skipped. It's thick and good for spreading (as photographed, on bread atop feta cheese, say). The color is beautiful! The carrots and red peppers stay bright and colorful, the zucchini takes on the amber color of turmeric. Yes, I really like this stuff!  read more »

Do you ever have a craving for something that goes unsatiated for literally months?  read more »

When asked how to succeed with Weight Watchers, my first answer is, "Count points" followed quickly by, "And be sure to memorize points" for favorite foods. To help out with vegetables, here are the Weight Watchers points for common vegetables. I hope that readers find it a useful reference!

(For readers who don't follow Weight Watchers but are curious about the point system, here's a quick introduction. A point is assigned to a serving based on its calories, fat grams and fiber grams. The lower the calories, the lower the fat, the higher the fiber, the lower the points. A "zero point" food isn't without calories, it just has few enough calories and few enough fat grams and high enough fiber grams, to be considered as "no points". It's kind of a game but for many of us, the point system helps us focus on healthful food choices.)  read more »

The loud pattering noise the rain made when it hit the blinds woke me up. For a second, I imagined we could be in the middle of a storm, like the ones my friend N. and I used to experience when she and I still lived in New Zealand, in the small drafty wooden house tucked away at the end of Breaker Bay road . I stretched from toe to head and yawned before noticing it was actually still dark outside. My watch indicated 7:15 am; Autumn was definitely on its way and soon enough, it would actually be dark even by 8 am. I felt tired. I turned on my left side and made myself comfortable by propping my head onto a second pillow. I hoped I could still get a few hours sleep, but then I started thinking about the day and the plan I had made. So instead, I decided to get up. “ It won’t be fun if it rains, will it?  read more »

Today's salad recipe: Colorful salad of raw grated vegetables, raw beet, raw carrot and raw kohlrabi. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point. It's no surprise to regular readers that I love-love-love recipes for beets . (There's even a beet rivalry. Am I the reigning 'beet queen'?  read more »

Today's vegetable recipe: Easy roasted zucchini recipe. Tossed with citrus zest and juice. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point. Spring is upon us: any day now, really truly positively. Already my seasonal sensibility for vegetables and other foods is doffing the winter, donning the spring. This easy zucchini hit just the right spot on a cusp-ish day, spring-ish in the morning, wintry-ish in the afternoon. Laffodil-daffodils, where are you?! NEXT TIME I will try-try-try to remember to line the baking sheet with foil! THE QUESTION IS Will Freddie and Alex like the zucchini?  read more »