It’s time to pull out the vegetable plants and prep the beds for next year,  but there are still some fruits on the plants. There was just a little bit of this, a little bit of that – I added it with some leftover bits of produce in the refrigerator and a perfect baked vegetable side dish comes together!

What kind of vegetables can be baked?

You can use any veggies in this dish. I used tomatoes ^[1] and squash with a few mushrooms and onions I had in the refrigerator. You could also use green beans or peas – peppers, greens (like chard, kale or spinach), and tomatillos would also be great choices.

It’s really up to you, what you have and what sounds tasty to you!

Making the dish – 

Cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces.

Lay them in single layer on a foil covered sheet pan. Sprinkle the olive oil evenly over the top of them all, add some salt and pepper.

Cover with the cheese –

then bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Garnish the baked veggies with some fresh, flat leafed parsley and serve hot!

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

 

I was featured!

^[3]

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for a quick and delicious dish packed with vegetables that you serve in one bowl? Here’s a great one to try! A Chinese favorite – Chicken Chop Suey –

What is chop suey?

This dish originated using leftovers. Little bits of meats and vegetables were quickly stir fried ^[7] and served with rice and soy sauce. It came from China and was called tsap seui – Chinese for “various scraps”.

Many of the workers from this area migrated to California and brought the dish with them. It became so popular, it was served in many of the local restaurants.

In the 1960s Chinese restaurants were really popular, especially in California. People frequented them – I remember our family went to Chinese food at least two times a month! And Chinese food and Chop Suey were interchangeable terms.

As more Asian cuisine made it’s way into the United States, chop suey began to lose favor. By the 1970s interest waned and it was not as readily available as it had been. Now it’s considered a nostalgic dish, but I say, let’s bring it back!

What do you need to make Chop Suey?

Typically made with chicken or pork, it is sometimes made with beef. The meat is cooked with various seasonings and spices, then the vegetables are added. A traditional chop suey is made with bean sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and other vegetables.

Today, it can be made with anything left in your refrigerator. Cabbage, carrots, snap peas – whatever sounds good to you. We don’t care for water chestnuts or bamboo shoots, so we didn’t add them. It’s the Asian spices that make this dish.

What is the difference between chop suey and chow mein?

The two dishes are very similar with just one significant difference – Chow mein includes noodles that are added to the pan during cooking.

Although chop suey can use noodles, it’s typically served with rice. In either case, the starch is placed in the bowl. The meat and vegetables are then served on top or off to the side.

Here’s how you make it – 

Cook the meat first. Heat the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok.

Gently cook the meat until it’s about half way cooked through.

Add the garlic and ginger and gently stir for a few minutes.

Prepare the vegetables.

When the meat has cooked through,

add them to the pan and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Add the water and gently cook until the veggies are tender crisp.

While it’s cooking, mix up the sauce in a small bowl and

whisk the eggs with 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil.

When the vegetables are done, stir in the sauce (give it a quick stir first – the cornstarch will likely settle) and cook until it’s beginning to thicken.

Move everything to the side and pour in the eggs. Let them sit until they begin to cook, then break them up and stir the entire dish.

Serve over hot rice with soy sauce on the side. Garnish with sesame seeds if you like.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Cooking healthy foods at home doesn’t always feel like an easy thing to do. You have to source the perfect ingredients yourself, and then make sure you’re getting a full nutrient profile from your plate, and then have to do it all again! After a few weeks, you can get exhausted! 

But we can still make this process a little easier. When you know the general ins and outs of what foods are good for you and what a healthy plate should look like, you won’t ever find shopping for healthy foods difficult again. Here are some tips you should know about. 

Make Your Vegetable Portions Just a Bit Bigger

The vegetables on your plate should be doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Sure, you need to pair them with something more substantial, like a carb or protein, but they should make at least a third to half of your plate. Carrots, kale, broccoli, peppers, other leafy greens; they’re all great choices for any and all meals, even at breakfast time! All in all, try to make your vegetable portions a bit bigger week by week until you can reach that recommended amount – simple!

Buy the Right Snacks

The right snacks in between meals go a long way! So let go of the bags of chips and the sweet chocolate; invest in some healthier alternatives such as dark chocolate, or sweet potato fries you’ve made yourself in about 10 minutes. Eat for your body and health. A bag of Delta 9 THC Gummies ^[12] can help with various ailments you may be feeling, including muscle pain from a hard workout.

Swap Out Your Usual Grain for the Whole Grain Variety

Carbs are nearly in everything we eat, which is why they’re so hard to use less in your diet. And even when you do try to eat less, you’re going to be craving them before long! From rice to pasta to bread and cereals, carbs are where we source the majority of our energy, and that’s actually quite good for us. You just need to be sure about the quality of the carbs you’re eating. To do this, swap out the usual grains you buy for the whole grain varieties ^[13] instead. 

Vary the Colors on Your Plate

When your plate is colorful, your meal is going to be incredibly tasty and full of a variety of nutrients – and healthy food doesn’t have to be bland and boring ^[14]! So if there’s something beige or yellow on the plate, such as some chicken, pair it with greens and reds and a tasty condiment to bring in the full flavor palate. A good meal is always one you want to go back and eat all over again, so aim to make these from here on out. Or more simply put, if it’s boring, and if you didn’t like it, don’t force yourself to eat it!

Healthy eating is much easier to manage out of your own kitchen, despite what people might say. Remember this for your future health goals. 

 

We’ve been trying to cut back on meat – partly for health and partly for cost and partly for the sustainability. And we love grilling and Thai ^[18] flavors. I decided to give tofu skewers a try and it was well worth the effort!! We couldn’t get enough! Even my husband the carnivore liked them!!

Here’s how to Skewer them:

Start with the sauce and marinade. Mix the peanut oil, soy sauce, garlic, peanut butter, and the chili garlic sauce.

Place half in a shallow dish and save the other half for the sauce.

Cut the tofu into cubes and add them to the dish, making sure they are covered in the mixture. Turn or gently stir.

Marinate for 2-3 hours, turning once or twice.

Cut the vegetables into large pieces and place them on skewers.

Put the tofu on separate skewers. The tofu will take longer to grill than the vegetables. If you mix them on the skewers, the vegetables will burn or the tofu will not have the correct texture.

Add a little of the marinade to the tofu.

Heat the grill to high and cook the tofu for about 10 minutes on each side. They should just be starting to char, but not burn.

About half way through the tofu, add the vegetables to the grill. Cook them until they are lightly charred and starting to soften.

While the skewers are cooking, add the ginger,

lime juice, chili flakes and coconut milk to the sauce and heat on low. Continue to heat until it begins to reduce. This is a great time to cook the noodles too.

Remove the skewers from the grill. Carefully remove the tofu and vegetables from the skewers.

Serve on the soba noodles with the sauce and garnish with the chives.

© Copyright 2022 The Lazy Gastronome

Your immune system is really important, especially if you want to make sure that you are likely to live long and to be as healthy ^[23] as possible. It’s a good idea to try and build up your immune system as much as possible, and the good news is that there are plenty of ways you can do just that. One way is to eat foods that are designed to help build up and boost your immune system. So which ones are those? Here are some of the best of these that you might like to consider.

Fruits

First of all, a special mention for fruit. Any fruits out there are basically going to be good for building up your immune system so this is something that you should definitely try to eat as much of as possible. As long as you are eating plenty of fruits, you’ll find that you are a lot healthier on the whole. One way to get more fruit into your diet is to do as Smoothie King ^[24] does and make juices and smoothies out of oranges, kiwis and apples and more. That way, you can get loads of fruit in your system right away.

Garlic

There are not many passionate home cooks or professional chefs who don’t love garlic. It is truly delicious, it goes in a huge number of savory dishes, and it’s easy to use. And it happens to be one of the very best foods you can eat in order to boost your immune system so that is another  reason to eat plenty of it and cook with it. It has antibacterial and antiviral properties, so make sure that you always have some in the house and you should benefit from it in a huge way.

Mushrooms

Who doesn’t love mushrooms ^[25]? Again, they are an ingredient that you can use in so many dishes and in so many ways, and they are actually a lot more versatile than people tend to give them credit for. They are especially useful if you are trying to ward off a cold or flu, so consider adding some mushroom to your chicken soup next time you are feeling a little worse for wear. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference this can make to your health in general, and all just by eating some delicious mushrooms.

Brightly-Colored Vegetables

They say that you should aim to eat a rainbow of vegetables. What they mean by this is that the more you eat of different colors, the more likely it is that you will be getting all the nutrients and minerals that you really need. In particular, brightly-colored vegetables are likely to be particularly good for this, so those are the ones to aim for as much as possible.

With more of those in your diet, you will be able to expect a much stronger immune system in general – and it’s definitely worth doing it for that reason.