Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Kale

I never thought I would like Kale.  I  should have tried it  when I first came here but never really enticed to do so since I wasn't familiar with it.  I read some raves  about how Kale is like a super food so I thought of trying it.  LO and behold, I love it now and  is a regular greens in my kitchen.  I love  putting it in soup, in noodles, and just about anything where I use spinach in a dish.  

 This one here, I tried to incorporate it in  making the rigatoni.  Below is a simple recipe of  what I made.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Italian Sausage
• 1 pack Rigatoni noodles
• 1 medium size onion (chopped)
• 1 large tomato sliced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 cup of shredded cheese (optional)

 

Procedure:

• Boil  the rigatoni according to  direction from the box
• Brown the Italian sausage into a skillet.  
• Add the onion, tomatoes, and   kale.  Sprinkle salt and mix it all together.
• When everything is cooked, add the  rigatoni and sprinkle some pepper and the cheese.

Enjoy!

Semi-Vegetarian Treat

Our neighbor gave me a summer squash.  I don't really know how to cook the kind of squash that's available here so I  tried  this for the first time.  I sliced them  with the skin still on, I just washed it good.  Then I stacked them as shown in the picture at my pie pan.

Here are my other ingredients: 

• 2 sliced mushrooms,
• 1 sliced pepper 
• 5 cherry tomatoes, sliced 
• scallions
• basil
• I used the Gourmet Nut salt, steak seasoning, Nacho Cheddar seasoning, and ground pepper.
• I also  chopped up one  slice of fried bacon for some added flavoring.  Everything taste good  with bacon right?

Procedure:

• Add the other veggies in between the squash.  The reason I arranged the squash the way it is on the photos is because you can easily insert the other  cut up veggies in between those squash to infuse the other vegetable's  flavor.
• Add the greens and cheese on top and drizzle a little bit of olive oil. 
• When all the ingredients are incorporated, bake it for 30 minutes in a 350 degrees heat.

I know when   the food I cook turned out good when  my husband likes it especially that he doesn't like squash.  He said he love it that way I prepared it.

We ate the semi-vegetarian treat with rice and small piece of grilled  chicken breast.  

Radish

Our radish in the garden  are getting  bigger so I  pulled out some today and tried to incorporate it in a dish.  I have never cooked with radish before  nor fond of eating it.  I remember the first time I tried radish, it was bitter so  after that I  never tried it again.

After I sliced them up, I tried it to make sure that it isn't bitter and it wasn't. I gave the leaves to our bunny coz he loves it

I was craving for some   fish today so I  got out two cans of sardines and cooked it with the radish since I did not have available vegetable to go with it.

I was very surprised that the radish was rather good!

From now on, I will be eating the radishes that I grew in my garden especially that I found great health benefits of it online.  Below is the article I found  for  info.

1. Naturally cooling

Radishes are a naturally cooling food and their pungent flavor is highly regarded in eastern medicine for the ability to decrease excess heat in the body that can build up during the warmer months.

2. Sooth sore throats

Their pungent flavor and natural spice can help eliminate excess mucus in the body and can be especially helpful when fighting a cold. Radishes can help clear the sinuses and soothe soar throats too.

3. Aids digestion

Radishes are a natural cleansing agent for the digestive system, helping to break down and eliminate stagnant food and toxins built up over time.

4. Prevents viral infections

Because of their high vitamin C content and natural cleansing effects, regular consumption of radishes can help prevent viral infections.


5. Eliminates toxins

In Eastern and Ayurvedic healing practices radishes are said to have effective toxin-purging effects, helping break down and eliminate toxins and cancer-causing free radicals in the body.

6. Protects against cancer

As a member of the cruciferous vegetable family (same family as broccoli and cabbage) radishes contain phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals that are cancer protecting.

7. Relieves indigestion

Radishes have a calming effect on the digestive system and can help relieve bloating and indigestion.

8. Low in calories, high in nutrients

With a very low calorie count, less than 20 calories in an entire cup, radishes are a great way to add nutrients, fiber and tons of flavor to your meals without compromising your health.

9. Keeps you hydrated

With a high water content and lots of vitamin C as well as phosphorus and zinc, radishes are a nourishing food for the tissues and can help keep your body hydrated and your skin looking fresh and healthy all summer long!

Source: http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/05/14/9-reasons-to-eat-your-radishes/

Freezing Veggies - P365 # 202

We had a windy night last week and it pushed my veggies to the ground. That's when I noticed that the first batch of beans was ready to be picked.

I had one full basket so I cooked half into adobong sitaw and  frozen half of it.

I found  out last year that when you freeze  the veggies right after you picked and washed them, they taste  just like freshly picked when you cook them.  So this year, I am freezing   those that we can;'t eat as of the moment that way  we have  some during winter time.  

So far I have one rack of frozen  beans in our freezer already.  Anyone  wants to pick some  from my garden, you are welcome to come over.

July 23, 2011:

• We are bring Mr. Burrito to the doctor to have his foot checked by the doctor.  He got stung by a bee last Thursday morning and it is still swollen until now.  We took the stinger out with a dull knife but we want to make sure that he is okay before our  flight this monday.
• Doing laundry now, after  I am done, we would head out to the doctor's office.
• Hubby mowed the  yard, hopefully  the grass won't be so tall when we come back.

Construction Jobs and Okra

My youngest brothers stopped going to school for a while in the hope that he would find a good job in the city.  He realized that without proper  education, finding a job is very difficult over at my country.  He landed a construction job as recommended by my brother in law but over there the salary of this kind of job is way below  wage minimum unlike here in the States where construction jobs have a decent  salary.  My brother is now back to school.  He asked us if we could help him finance his schooling, hubby felt bad so we gave him a second chance.

On another note, the okra that I planted this year gave me so much fruit that I was able to introduce this kind of veggie to my kids.  Unfortunately, they didn't like it.  It was worth a try though and I don't blame them as I am not fond of this veggie either.

Fresh from the garden

I did not have a formal vegetable garden this year because I did not really intend to put up one. I do however had two tomato plants and some pepper plants from the seeds that I grew. I am lucky because friends love to give us fresh veggies from the garden. A couple of weeks ago, a friend from Ohio drove down to one of our friends here in the area and she brought us some bittermelon, eggplant, and bottle gourd. The tomatoes on the first pic was from my plants beside our house. Thanks a lot Norie!

Then yesterday, my Filipina friend who live nearby us brought me some freshly picked eggplants, string beans and two packages of soup mix. Thanks ate Agnes!

And then today, our neighbor gave us tow big bowls of cherry tomatoes and bell peppers (green, yellow, and red). Oh, I am spoiled with good friends and I am so grateful about that.

Just remember....

that a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life..

so Spice Up Your Life..

Fresh Tomatoes

Every time we visit my father-in-law, me and daughter always go to his garden and picked some ripe tomatoes. He has lots of them there. He already canned 15 quarts of his harvest. I love canned tomatoes because is pretty good during winter on chili and other dishes such as lasagna and spaghetti.

Parenting Tip of the Day (a newsletter I received from parents.com).

Kids should get no more than 40 grams of fat, 1500 milligrams of sodium, and 32 grams of sugar a day. Additives that lurk -- even in snacks you’ve always considered “healthy” -- can push kids over those daily limits. We’ve decoded labels on seven staple foods: yogurt, crackers, dried fruit, cereal, oatmeal packets, wheat bread, and deli turkey. 

Just remember....

that a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life...

so Spice Up Your Life.

Zucchini - Steamed

Hey there food trippers, how do you prepare a zucchini? I learned this dish from my SIL Chris. She steam zucchini with tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, bacon bits, alt and pepper to taste and top it with mozzarella cheese when done. Another way to prepare it is by frying it like a tempura or something (battered zucchini).

It's very easy to prepare and it's faster. It is the healthy way to prepare and it is so yummy!

Have a safe and fun weekend everyone.

Just remember....

that a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life...

so Spice Up Your Life.

Tomatoes

I only have two tomato plants in my flower bed this year. We were on the process of putting our fence this year so I did not make a vegetable garden. Maybe next year, I would be able to. I adore my FIL's vegetable garden because the tomatoes are huge. He mixed some organic dirt on it before he planted the tomatoes which make them very healthy.

He also planted some on the side of his house as it always give lots of fruits from there. We were excited because they were big tomatoes hanging in there already which I took photos of. The following day we've visited, I came down the backyard to visit his garden again and the tomatoes were gone. We were bummed out. We think that the kids at the neighborhood picked and played with them.

The tomatoes in the fenced garden has a lot more fruits though and the kids don't bother them.

We love making fried green tomatoes. They're crunchy and yummy. Even you just put a little bread crumbs and egg, they're delicious hen fried!

Just remember....

that a little bit of this

and a little dash of that

makes a sumptuous life...

so Spice Up Your Life.