Baba Ganoush

For the past three weeks Dave has been trying to eat no sugar - no processed sugar, no natural sugars, not even fruit. Absolutely nothing ending in "-ose" as he puts it.

This has meant we have been scrambling to find snack foods to replace the copious amounts of fruit and daily smoothies he has become accustom to. Sliced vegetables and dip have become a life saver for mid-afternoon cravings.

Adapted from David Lebovitz, makes approximately 1 1/2 cups 

Ingredients

3 medium eggplants
1/2 cup tahini
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1/8 teaspoon chile powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
arsley or cilantro

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).

Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until completely soft. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Split the eggplant and scrape the pulp out of the skin. Add the pulp to a blender or food processor with the other ingredients. Puree until smooth.

Serve with sliced vegetables or pita bread.

Baba Ganoush can be made and refrigerated for up to five days prior to serving.

♥  Amy

Muhammara

Muhammara is a Mediterranean dip made of walnuts, roasted red peppers and pomegranate molasses. It is the perfect combination of savory and sweet. When ever I serve muhammara, it always gets rave reviews.

The best part? I was able to make it paleo friendly! It makes an excellent substitute for hummus and a great light lunch.

Pomegranate molasses can be found in any middle eastern grocery store. I found mine at Community Foods. I use roasted red peppers from a jar for convenience sake, which I find at Superstore, but you can also easily roast your own red peppers.

Adapted from Veggie Belly, makes 2 cups

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 large roasted red peppers (approximately 1/2 of a 300 mL jar)
1 clove garlic
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon salt

Directions

In a skillet on medium heat, toast the walnuts till they are slightly browned.

Put the toasted walnuts with all the other ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick to blend, add a few tablespoons of additional olive oil.

Serve with vegetable slices or pita.

♥  Amy

Vegetable Fritters

These make a fantastic fast lunch, light dinner or side dish.

Adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon, serves two

Ingredients

1 sweet potato, peeled and grated
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 zucchini, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Olive oil

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon curry


Directions

Squeeze as much liquid out of the grated vegetables as possible. Combine the vegetables, garlic, egg, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir well.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Form the 2 to 3 tablespoons of the vegetable mixture in to a ball with your hands. Gently press to flatten and place in the skillet.

Fry 4 to 6 minutes, flip, and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the fritters to a lined baking sheet in a warm oven to keep hot until serving.

To make the curry mayonnaise, combine the mayonnaise, cumin and curry in a small bowl.

Serve the hot fritters with the curry mayonnaise.

Enjoy!

♥  Amy

Sauteed Garlic Shrimp

Serves four

1 pound large shrimp
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon parsley
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Saute the shrimp until cooked through.

Serve warm over a salad or pasta.

♥  Amy

Baked Ricotta Dip

I made this for a Christmas potluck and it was a huge success. Unfortunately I din't manage to get any photos.

Adapted from Inspired Edibles

500 mL container ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons Kalamata olives, finely chopped

3 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon hot chili pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil (or oil from sun dried tomatoes)

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine. Transfer the ingredients into an oven proof dish.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until cheese mixture is warmed through and starts to bubble around the edges.

Remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil. 

Serve warm with an assortment of crackers, bread and vegetables.