Mediterranean Diet recipes

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Aslanna
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Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Aslanna »

I really hate to use the word 'diet' since that has negative connotations but that's what it's called: the Mediterranean Diet although it's more of a style.. But I'm wondering if anyone has any good recipes along these lines. I've migrated over to this the past three or so weeks and have lost about 10 pounds so far and I get to eat pasta and drink wine (in moderation of course) and don't feel deprived at all. I guess it also didn't hurt that I gave up soda and avoid high fructose corn syrup products like the plague. Which they are! My grocery bill has been higher but it's worth it. It also cuts down shopping time as you can avoid like 3/4 of the aisles in the store although I do have to go more often to have fresh produce.

Anyway.. I'll start with the first recipe I tried. It's really basic but I find it tasty. The problem is I need to find more recipes to throw into the mix so I don't get tired of the same thing every week. I know I need a bunch of fish recipes but that stuff can be expensive.
Truffle Oil and Parmesan Penne

Ingredients

12 ounces penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-pound bunch asparagus, bottoms trimmed, each spear cut in half
1 cup white button mushrooms, sliced
Coarse salt and ground black pepper to taste
Truffle-flavored olive oil to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil, asparagus and mushrooms. Saute until the asparagus is barely tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat, then drizzle the pasta with truffle-flavored olive oil. Toss, add the cheese and toss again.
I'm not sure that's a true Mediterranean recipe though but it's close enough. I modified it a bit and only make half that (or less) since as leftovers it's a bit dry . I also cut the asparagus in three since my pan isnt the biggest and I probably have like two cups of mushrooms once they are sliced. I really like mushrooms!

Oh and I might be going overboard but I would like to grow my own basil since it's a bit pricey at the store and usually not the freshest and I hear it's not too hard to grow. However I don't live on a farm. So if anyone has any tips on 'urban gardening' or whatever it's called feel free to pass those on. If I did grow something it would be in a potted plant type of operation.


Also if you know of a good book with recipes I wouldn't be adverse to purchasing something. There's just a lot out there it seems to not sure what's good and what isn't.
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Sueven
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Sueven »

Basil is pretty easy to grow. Throw it in a pot; make sure it has enough water and sun; give it some plant food if you're feeling ambitious.

Try this:

2 cans white beans
1 bunch kale
1 onion
few cloves garlic
white wine
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
parmesan cheese

Use dutch oven. Saute chopped onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add drained, rinsed beans and cook until a bit caramelized. Add a splash of white wine and deglaze. Now add more wine, enough to make it a bit shy of a soup, and add the chopped kale. Stir. Add salt and pepper and red pepper flakes somewhere in here. Cook until the kale is appropriately wilted but not all mushy and gross. Serve with a small sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Does well in the fridge.
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Aabidano »

The sounds pretty good, have to try it.

Wife bought kale by accident a while back. Dug up a recipe and cooked it, was good stuff.
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Aslanna
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Aslanna »

Seems easy enough. However I don't have a dutch oven at this time so will have to wait to try!

I haven't made any progress on growing basil though as other things have popped up and kept me busy.
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Sueven
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Sueven »

Just do it in a soup pot, it'll still work!

But seriously, I think my dutch oven is my favorite piece of kitchen equipment.
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Sueven »

I signed up for a farm share this year, and since it's spring, I've got a ridiculous quantity of greens in my fridge at all times. My new standard dinner is one whole bunch of greens (kale, collards, beets, mustard, chard, dandelion, anything) sauteed or braised with garlic, onion, oil, and sometimes broth, and a side of two fried eggs. I think it's a weird dinner, but I kind of love it. That is almost certainly what I will eat tonight.
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Drolgin Steingrinder »

Basil grows like a weed in the windowsill. Light & water, that's all it needs - maybe a bigger pot to grow in. Pick the bigger leaves and make sure to pick it back firmly if it starts flowering (it tends to make the leaves bitter). I've got a big fuckoff bushy basil plant in my window that started its life half a year ago as one of those aenemic mini pots in the produce section. With decent light in a window you should be able to grow basil, rosemary, thyme and possibly oregano with little effort (although for some reason my oreganoes always commit seppuku after a few days).

I'd think about buying a good italian/southern french cookbook for inspiration. The Silver Spoon (Italian), Elizabeth David's "Mediterranean Cooking", "French Provincial Cooking" and "Italian Food", 1080 Recipes (spanish equivalent of The Silver Spoon) etcetcetcetc...
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Aslanna
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Aslanna »

Drolgin Steingrinder wrote:Basil grows like a weed in the windowsill. Light & water, that's all it needs - maybe a bigger pot to grow in. Pick the bigger leaves and make sure to pick it back firmly if it starts flowering (it tends to make the leaves bitter). I've got a big fuckoff bushy basil plant in my window that started its life half a year ago as one of those aenemic mini pots in the produce section.
I bought one of those yeterday. Put it outside for a few hours and 4 of the leaves are already turning brown. I'm not sure how I could have messed that up!
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by miir »

If any of your herbs start flowering, pinch off the flowers immediately.
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Aslanna »

Ok, the basil seems to be doing good. I'm not sure why they initially turned brown I think ants must have chewed on it. However there's like 12 plants in the one small pot that it came in from the store so it's not really getting as bushy as it should be. So I'm guessing I will have to transplant them into something larger. How many are recommended for one pot?
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Chidoro »

Our basil never seems to get bushy. We keep three plants in what's probably an 18" diameter pot on our deck. does really well, just keep plucking the flowers and oversized leaves off. I don't know if that's too spacious or too cramped for what it should be but it's been looking and tasting good for about 6 weeks now
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

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I did some replanting about two weeks ago and it seemed to go well. I was worried they'd all die since when I took it out of the small plastic pot it was basically a single mass of roots and I had to tear them all apart. I hope they didn't feel too much pain! Poor plants.

I got a long (2 feet or so) planter-type thing and have 4 in there evenly spaced. But since I only bought one other pot and had more plants than I thought that ended up being more crowded I think there's like 8 or so in there and it's about 10 inches across maybe. Even after that I had about 6 remaining and I just repotted them in the original tiny plastic thing. Next year I'll just buy a few single plants and go that route. In this case it seems more isn't better unless you have the room for them which I really don't.
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Re: Mediterranean Diet recipes

Post by Aslanna »

My basil still holding on... Some of the leaves are yellow which apparently is from over watering I think I read. I really only water when it starts to wilt so not sure what is up with that. The base is also turning dark a bit above the soil so also don't know if that's normal or not... Anyway didn't turn out bad for my first time growing it. I've had it whenever I needed it for the past 3 months. With the price of it from the store it wasn't a bad investment for the ~$10 I put into it with the added benefit of knowing it was fresh and hadn't been sprayed with pesticides.

Anyway.. I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart site and decided to give it a try. I never had bulgur before but it wasn't bad. Also the goat cheese I had was really creamy (wasn't crumbleable!) and went nice. Apparently you could use feta or something but I'm not sure it would be as tasty. I think I might have doubled the vinegar and oil as well.

Mediterranean Grain Salad

Ingredients
* 1/3 cup medium-grind bulgur
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
* 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
* 1/2 small shallot, minced
* 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 ounce fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. In a heatproof bowl, mix bulgur with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 cup boiling water. Cover, and let stand until tender but slightly chewy, about 30 minutes.
2.Drain bulgur in a fine-mesh sieve, pressing to remove liquid; return to bowl. Add tomatoes, parsley, shallot, vinegar, and oil. Season with salt and pepper, and toss. Top with cheese.
Also not a big fan of parsley so I might use less next time. Or try basil instead.
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