Category Archives: vegetable recipes

Pasta Puttanesca

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This is one of my all-time favorite pasta recipes. This can be made vegetarian by substituting the fish sauce or anchovy paste for some of the caper juice. It has a very salty/savory taste and is much lighter an Italian dish than others that are loaded with tomato sauce and meat.

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Pasta Puttanesca

My all time favorite pasta dish! Amazing flavor, complexity and texture. I've often thought this would be a great preparation to serve on garlic bread rounds as an appetizer. Serve with a nice fresh salad and artesian bread. White wine is a wonderful accompaniment, but the flavors are strong enough to shine through a red wine as well. During the summer I've made a version of this recipe using fresh diced tomatoes and chopped fresh basil: Different but no less delightful! Since I LOVE chopping veggies and other ingredients, I chop all the ingredients ahead of time and store in little bowls. Once that's done, the actual cook time goes very quickly. Serves 4-6.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pasta
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup dried tomatoes, reconstituted Add to 1 c. boiling water; let steep
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 2 tsp anchovy paste OR Vietnamese fish sauce, to taste
  • 1/2 cup olives, green & black chopped
  • 8 cloves garlic pressed or finely chopped
  • 1 TB majoram or oregano, fresh
  • 3 TB capers
  • red pepper flakes to taste
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 lb Linguini cooked al dente

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, combine boiling water and dried tomatoes; set aside for 5-10 minutes to soften. Start to heat up a large pot of water to cook pasta.
  • In a large skillet, heat olive oil; add onions & anchovy paste (or fish sauce) and sauté until onions are golden. Add garlic, tomatoes and their water, olives, capers and marjoram or oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, 9-12 minutes until half the liquid has evaporated. Leave the kitchen 1 or 2 times and then return so you can appreciate the fragrance. Add final ingredients.
  • While the sauce is simmering, cook pasta to your preferred doneness.
  • Drain pasta thoroughly then place in a large serving bowl. Toss in sauce ingredients and serve. Buon appetito!

Camp Potatoes with Peppers and Onions

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This is a very simple yet satisfying side dish that can be eaten with breakfast or as a side dish with other meals. It’s also the perfect camping or backpacking recipe, as the ingredients can be easily packed and do not need to be refrigerated.

This smells wonderful when cooking and tastes even better!

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Potatoes with Peppers and Onions

potatoesThThis side dish is delicious, satisfying and easy to make. It's also a great camping dish since you can do all the prep at home. This goes especially great with grilled trout. It can also be served as a meal, just add some protein (ham is good) and cheese at the end. It's also a VERY good breakfast dish paired with eggs.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 large russet potatoes unpeeled, cut into 1" pieces
  • 1 large bell pepper red or green, cut into 1" pieces
  • 1 large yellow onion cut into 1" pieces
  • olive oil about 3 TB or so
  • 1 tsp HF Secret Ingredient or to taste

Instructions

  • [Optional] Cook potatoes in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes. This will remove some of the sticky starch that would otherwise make the potatoes stick to your skillet. It also speeds up the cooking process. This step can be skipped, but just know the potatoes will stick more to the skillet. Drain and rinse potatoes.
  • Heat olive oil in a skillet, then add peppers, onion and potatoes. Sprinkle liberally with Herban Farmer's Secret Ingredient and sauté until the vegetables are soft and browning nicely, about 20-25 minutes if you've parboiled the potatoes, about 30 minutes if not. You can add about 1/4 c of water and cover at this point to deglaze the pan.
  • If adding ham or cheese, that can be done at the end. Serve hot and enjoy!

Gazpacho (cold vegetable soup)

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A nice variety of diced vegetables.

The goal is to chop the fresh veggies into small enough pieces so that they can be swallowed easily (without the necessity for chewing) but big enough so that there is a nice texture and some “tooth” to the soup for those who choose to chew. I usually bring along a few cups filled with toppings (my favorite is avocado) so people can dress up their soup to their taste.

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Gazpacho (cold vegetable soup)

A fresh, delicious and healthful combination of summer's bounty.
Caution: Will cause cravings!
Prep Time1 hour
Total Time5 hours
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Spanish
Keyword: cold soup, soup
Servings: 3 quarts

Ingredients

  • 1.5 pounds ripe tomatoes diced into 1/8-1/4" cubes
  • 2 medium bell peppers,1 each red & green diced into 1/8-1/4" cubes
  • 2 small cucumbers diced into 1/8-1/4" cubes
  • 1/2 medium sweet red onion diced into 1/8-1/4" cubes
  • 2 medium garlic cloves pressed or minced
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar I prefer Braggs, unfiltered and raw
  • 1/8 cup sherry (cooking wine is fine)
  • to taste ground black pepper
  • 5 cups vegetable juice V8 organic is great
  • 1 tsp hot pepper sauce Sriracha or other types - optional
  • olive oil extra virgin, drizzle when serving

Instructions

  • Combine tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions, garlic, salt, vinegar, sherry and pepper in a large non-reactive bowl. Let stand until vegetables begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetable juice and hot pepper sauce. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, 1 day preferable.
  • Adjust seasonings and drizzle about 1 tsp olive oil per serving. Serve cold with any combination of toppings: croutons, olives, chopped hardboiled eggs, diced avocados, parsley... or ?? your choice.