Fresh Vegetable Marinara Sauce

If you want to take a break from a heavier meat sauce, you should give this light and tasty vegetable marinara sauce a try.

Ingredients;

3 tbs olive oil

2 medium yellow summer squash, chopped

1 small eggplant, chopped

1 portabella mushroom cap, sliced

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

6 large Roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Crushed red pepper (optional)

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add all ingredients and cover. Stir often. When vegetables start to become tender and tomatoes start to soften, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer covered for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally while the sauce is cooking. Once finished toss with your favorite pasta and serve.

Vegan Eggplant Recipe

With both eggplant and tomatoes being in abundance right now, I'm often looking for different ways to prepare them.
Below is a delicious vegan eggplant recipe I prepared last week. If anyone wishes to replace the soy products I've listed with dairy products instead, it would be just as delicious.
Ingredients;
4 medium eggplants, sliced lengthwise
8 large tomatoes, sliced
3 tbs olive oil, more to drizzle
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Crushed red pepper
8 slices of soy cheese
Grated soy cheese
1 cup of packed fresh basil, chopped

Filling;
1 tub of soft tofu, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup grated soy cheese
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Place eggplant slices on a large, greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile, slice tomatoes, mince garlic, chop basil and prepare filling. Once the eggplant in done, remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle. Place 3 tbs of olive oil on the bottom of a baking dish, then cover the bottom with a layer of tomato slices. Follow with salt and pepper. Place a single layer of eggplant on top. Spread some tofu mix over the eggplant, followed by some minced garlic, grated soy cheese, salt and pepper, a bit of fresh basil, 3 or 4 soy cheese slices, a drizzle of olive oil, some crushed red pepper if desired and another layer of tomatoes. Keep repeating this process until all ingredients are used up.
Cover and bake at 435 for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the cover and continue to bake for an additional 20 minutes. When the dish is finished remove from oven and let sit uncovered for 15 minutes before serving.

Confidence

This is a cute picture!

Autumn Sun

This afternoon I snapped this picture while harvesting tomatoes from my garden

This is my first sunflower of the summer. It's called an "Autumn Sun" sunflower.

Wishing everyone a nice weekend!

A BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE!

Here's a pretty sunrise! The sun's huge!

Our Cape Cod Vacation Photos

Me and my family spent our summer getaway in Cape Cod. We had perfect beach weather the whole time we were there.
Below are some of our vacation photos.

Vegan Black Bean Chili

Here's another delicious low fat, vegetarian chili recipe for everyone.

Ingredients;

4 tbs olive oil

2 medium green peppers, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

One chopped chili pepper

1 tsp tabasco sauce

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tbs lemon juice

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup of water

4 cups of black beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in sauce pan. saute all the chopped vegetables, garlic and red chili pepper over medium heat until tender. Once tender add salt, cumin, and chili powder. saute a minute more, or until you start smelling the aroma of the spices. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 25 minutes. If desired top with cheddar soy cheese(or regular cheddar cheese), avocado slices and a pinch of fresh cilantro before serving.

Roses

There are manufactured roses - long stemmed and perfect, thornless and free of both scent and greenfly. They are predestined to live their hour in dressing rooms, in boudoirs. They are extravagance made tangible, shielded by cellophane.

They die before they open.

Real roses tumble their petals onto piano tops and carpets. They have thorns and too many leaves and smell of summer gardens.

They come with kisses.

Clara Ortega, 1955

Roasted Red Peppers

In few weeks sweet red peppers will be ready to pick for those who planted them. Mine didn't do well at all this year, because of all the rain and cool weather we had.
Even though I won't be harvesting many peppers from my garden this summer, I'll still pick some up at a veggie stand, so I can make this delicious recipe that I've listed below.

Ingredients;

6 large sweet red peppers, washed and dried

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Place whole peppers on a flat baking sheet and broil until peppers are charred (not over charred) and easy to peel. Turn them frequently while they're roasting, so they cook evenly on all sides.
Once done remove from oven and let cool. Peel and discard the outer charred part of each pepper. Slice in half, remove all the seeds and the stem. Slice peppers lengthwise and place in a bowl. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper and enough olive oil until well coated. Toss together and serve, or refrigerate for later use.
Roasted peppers taste great alone, in sandwiches, or in garden salads.