Vegetarian Afternoon blast

This afternoon , I just wanted to make a quick meal with minimal cooking. Thought I'd keep it on the vegetarian side. All of the items here were served with toasted strips of Italian bread and accompanied by a good glass of red wine. 

Picked Green Garden Tomatoes

My garden yielded lots of goodness this year. When the weather no longer was producing good vine tomatoes, I picked them and handed them over - several pounds in all  - to my mom. She pickled them. Well, technically , these are more than just plain pickled tomatoes. The recipe here is one from Calabria. The tomatoes are first cured with dry salt (1 day process) , then cured with white wine vinegar (1 day processed)  and then finally place in olive oil as you can see from the picture.  I have seen the same process  used with string beans, okra, and eggplant.

Fried Green Tomatoes ?  NOT!   The seasonings  that were used included hot chili pepper cut into small rings, fresh garlic, fennel seeds. These ingredients really combine well to produce  a delicate taste that you always remember. Try this stuff on a hoagie.


Blanched Baby Bok Choy 

Very lite dish and full of flavor too. Preparing this is as simple as blanch in salted boiling water and then top  EVOO . Remember to serve this very warm



Butternut squash and Pepper Medley

Great for parties as this can be made ahead of time and prepared in quantity .Kick up the heat by adding a stronger hot chili variety. I sometimes go for 1 or 2 habaneros for a really fiery experience.  Preparation requires very little skill. Sautee' all ingredients until tender. Be gentle as the squash cooks to not break up the cubes. Many of my friends will remember this dish well , as I have

A variation on the dish , adds grilled  cubes of Italian bread mixed in towards the end of the cooking process. Slices of Italian bread, rubbed with EVOO, S/P and grilled, is used to to make the bread cubes. Size the  cubes similarly to the squash.

In case you were wondering, this dish too originates from Calabria.

Ingredients:

Cube butternut squash  - medium sized cubes
Red peppers - cut into thick strip
Hot pepper flakes - 
Garlic, EVOO, S/P



By the way , all of the above will make great tapas.  Go ahead and experiment.