Category Archives: fresh veggies

Cote vegetables

The Beef of Vegetables???

kaleOver the weekend I spent a couple of hours surfing the net. I was on a mission:  finding some good kale recipes. Almost immediately I saw an amazing article title: Kale, the Beef of Vegetables. Of all the odd titles I have stumbled across recently, this has to top the list!

My first thought. of course, was, “no wonder I don’t particularly like it!” Then I cracked up (I do tend to amuse myself, easily). Look, I’m really, really, really trying to eat it and like it. Damn it!  It is so good for my body that I should at least eat it and hopefully, learn to like it!

When I finally quit laughing at myself, I settled down and read the article.  It was yet one more in a long series of articles extolling the virtues and benefits of kale.  Did you know that it is full of : (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 26, 2012
Posted in Cote Home Grown Fare, fresh veggies, garden, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I got my Mojo Back! Made Veggies au Pistou ( a fancy French name for a basic Veggie Stew with Pasta and Pesto)

I am GREATLY relieved to be able to report that I have my cooking mojo back!  This week everything I cooked turned out well.  In fact better than well. . . it was all downright good!

lunch beforeMonday morning I went out a picked a great assortment of fresh veggies. Spinach, yellow squash and tomatoes shown here.  I also trimmed a big basket full of basil and a bunch of onions.

In the fridge there were navy beans from last week, a head of lettuce and a big cucumber that we had gotten at Farmer’s Market.  It was obviously a Greek salad day.

We are now officially in summer and menus are guided by what I pick on any given more.  This morning I had LOTS of basil that was either going to get harvested or bolt.  I harvested.

I stood and inhaled the incredible aroma and thought “Pesto!”. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 21, 2012
Posted in Cote Home Grown Fare, entrée, fresh veggies, garden, menu, Mirepoix, Pasta, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Plant-Based Diet Myth: It’s Expensive

moneyOne of the most baffling  things people say to me is “I would love to eat a plant based diet, but that is just too expensive!” I am always a little blown away but this assertion. I go to the grocery store and I watch food prices closely. . .

It was nice to find a discussion about this in The Starch Solution. Here, John McDougall states that a plant-based diet averages $4,000 savings per person per year. Or savings of  $333 per month.  You can read his discussion on pages 203-206 or search for “Food Costs” on your digital device.

For our household (just the two of us) that means saving about $650 per month. That, by the way is about what we currently spend each month.  In other words if we started eating animal based products we would double our monthly food costs.  Just in case I need another reason to stay on a plant-based diet that would work! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 20, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, Beans, diary-free food, excitotoxins, Food Additives, fresh veggies, menu, plant based diet | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

First multi-tomato harvest and garden pests . . .

S6300616The good news is that this week we have actually been harvesting and eating from the garden everyday.  We have had spinach (we are very close to the end of this batch), kale, cabbage leaves, beet greens, radishes,  zucchini, onions and tomatoes!

Tuesday morning there were actually 5 largish and 5 cherry tomatoes! We obviously got a little carried away on the whole watering thing (you can tell my the big cracks) but that seems to be a problem every year. . . takes a little bit to figure out exactly how much to water unless you invest in a moisture meter.  We, of course, wing it! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on June 14, 2012
Posted in fresh veggies, garden, tomatoes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy

My favorite part of gardening is watching the seeds sprout and poke up through the ground.  My second favorite part is harvesting the food. Third, is eating it.

It is immensely gratifying to actually see the results of all your hard work. Watering, weeding, keeping after pests and fungi is hard work. Never mind the transplanting and soil prep.  It’s definitely work!  But there are so few things in life where you can actually see, taste and experience such tangible and direct results.

Harvesting means menu planning.  Now, in the winter menus are usually about the finished product – casseroles, soups, stews and meatless meatloaves.  In the summer it is about making sure I have cooked rice and beans in the fridge, nuts in the pantry and a few things in the freezer.

by Genene Cote Posted on June 7, 2012
Posted in Cote Home Grown Fare, entrée, fresh veggies, garden, Italian, menu, Pasta, salad, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When A Plan Starts to Come Together!

Small plants coming up in garden in a pool

Planting a garden is a small act in creating a long term plan.  You plant seeds, water, watch and wait.  And then one day you see a little shoot of green poking up the dirt. This is my very favorite part or gardening!

The miracle of life and growth always makes me happy!  I walk around with a big grin on my face all day. There is nothing like a little miracle to remind me how wonderful life is and how grateful I am just to be alive. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on May 31, 2012
Posted in fresh veggies, garden, menu, plant based diet, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lasagna

David found a package of rice lasagna noodles the other day and said, “you know, I am really hungry for lasagna.  Think you can make a vegan version that tastes good?”

Nothing like a challenge!  Especially since lasagna is one of those quick meals that is perfect for a crowd. The trick, of course is to bake it on low heat with lots of liquid so you never have to precook the noodles!  I really have not made this dish since we gave up dairy last year so I figured I just wing it and see what happened.

first zuchThe place to start was with my more or less standard combination of vegetables (carrots, zucchini, green pepper, onions, garlic and spinach). That was all easy!  The part that took a little thinking was what to use in place of ricotta cheese. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on May 29, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, Cote Home Grown Fare, diary-free food, entrée, fresh veggies, garden, gluten-free food, Italian, Pasta, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pasta And Veggies

There must be some Italian buried in my genes!  It would at least explain why I love pasta so much!  When David found out he was gluten intolerant I was pretty sure my life was over.  No more pasta??

Fortunately there are a lot of great gluten-free pastas on the market.  After trying brown and wild rice, corn and quinoa, we decided we like brown rice best.  But if you haven’t experiment with the kinds, you owe it to yourself to try.

This is my own version of veggie pasta based very loosely on a similar dish I once ate at California Pizza Kitchen.

by Genene Cote Posted on May 23, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, diary-free food, entrée, fresh veggies, gluten-free food, Italian, Pasta, sugar-free food, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Garden — another kind of adventure in feeding ourselves!

Let’s just say we do NOT live in a gardener’s paradise.  We are on granite, desert mountaintop.  Our soil is rocky and dry.  We live close to wild life – rabbits, deer, coyotes and javelina use our side yard as a race way and eat everything in sight.  And then there are small rodents and the birds!

Most gardener’s here either have securely fenced yards or have built raised beds (a big planter and filled it with soil).  Some have both.  They work great but are more or less permanent and expensive to build. David and I moved here last year. At the time we were not sure that we would be staying here permanently, so we leased a house for a year.  Turns out we love it here, but now we need some time to find the place we want to buy. The point of all that is that we are renting and do not want to go to the time and expense of building a big fence or even raised beds. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on May 21, 2012
Posted in Cote Home Grown Fare, fresh veggies, garden, tomatoes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment