Category Archives: Cote Home Grown Fare

The Cote garden and growing our own food

With the Adjust-A-Slice Mandoline We Made Dill Pickles in Minutes!

I’m a kitchen gadget junkie. I long ago banned myself from Bed Bath and Beyond, Sonoma-Williams and Sur La Table.  It is amazing how I walk into one of those places and suddenly I can’t live without some gadget I didn’t even know existed a minute ago.

I have a whole drawer of irresistible (and expensive) gadgets that I never use. Your basic waste of time and money.  They sound good, but are hard to figure out and a nightmare to clean. BUT, every now and then, I stumble across some little, cheap gadget that makes life a whole lot easier. My latest find is the Adjust-A-Slice Mandoline.  Picked it up at TruValue for the vast sum of $17.00. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on August 7, 2012
Posted in Cote Home Grown Fare, fresh veggies, garden, kitchen basics, snacks | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sautéing in Oil, Veggie Broth or Water: You Choose!

sauteThank goodness for friends!  One of mine, pointed out that a great number of my recipes start out with sautéing onions, garlic and other veggies.  And she wanted to know how I square sautéing with a low-fat diet.

Made me realize that she, along with a lot of other people, think that sautéing is synonymous with frying. Actually, the way I think about it is somewhat different.

First of all, let’s explore the term sauté.  The word is French and means jumped or bounced.  In traditional French cooking it means browning food to seal in the juices by bouncing it around in a small amount of very hot oil. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on August 5, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, Cote Home Grown Fare, fresh veggies, kitchen basics, weigh loss, Whole Food Plant-Based Food Kitchen | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Gluten-Free Tabbouleh

gluten free tabboulehBecause Pasadena, CA (where I used to live) has a large Armenian population, there are several excellent Middle Eastern restaurants within a 5 mile radius.  I ate at a couple of them regularly. Since moving away from Pasadena, the things I have missed most (and been unable to find) are even passable falafel, tabbouleh, hummus, baba ghannouj and baklava.

The absence of good middle eastern cuisine forced me to learn how to make my own. Part of the learning process has been trying out healthier versions of these standards.  I have actually gotten pretty good at it, even if I do say so. I now make oven baked falafel, oil-free hummus and baba ghannouj and gluten-free tabbouleh. The only thing I haven’t bothered with is baklava for obvious reasons. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 30, 2012
Posted in fresh veggies, gluten-free food, Middle Eastern Food, salad, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hard to Beet — The Greens!

beet and greenOne of my most favorite comfort foods is beets.  As a teen, chronically worried about my weight, one of my favorite snacks were beets.  I’d lay out slices of hot beet on a plate, spread a tiny bit of butter on each slice and then salt the whole plate.  Not a lot of calories, but lots of flavor. Just ignore that part about butter and salt; what can I say. . . I was young! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 29, 2012
Posted in beets, Cote Home Grown Fare, fresh veggies, garden, plant based diet, salad | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Rainy Week — Monsoon Season in Arizona

monsoon back yardWe live on a desert mountain. The excitement for this month comes in the form of almost 3 inches of rain.  For those of you who live in places like Oregon, that probably doesn’t sound too impressive.  To us desert dwellers, who have seen less than 2 inches of rain in the previous six months, it is a lot of water!

We had 5 straight days of rain starting last week and by Tuesday afternoon here is what our back yard looked like. I am just glad that everything planted in containers above ground. Any thing here would have surely washed away. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 26, 2012
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Garden Update–July, 2012

wateringWe got the water bill. It was a bit of a shock. I know we live in the desert, but still. . . Good thing that summer electric and gas are so low, or I would be singing major blues!

My back knows that we use a fair amount of water – I have to lug the hose around everyday; sometimes twice a day to water. Great exercise, but kind of a pain.  I am lusting after an irrigation system. I hear that an irrigation system really cuts down on the amount of water you use.  Hmmm! (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 19, 2012
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Taco Salad

I’m on roll so I am just gonna go with it.  I promise I know how to make something besides Mexican and Italian. but the tomatoes and onions have inspired me so this week.

taco saladTaco Salad is a big favorite around our house.  We have sampled versions of Taco Salad in lots of  restaurants; we like ours best.  It is an incredibly easy salad to make but it is truly a complete meal with lots of bulk and lots of phyto-nutrients.  It takes about 10 minutes from start to finish to turn out this incredible food.

by Genene Cote Posted on July 17, 2012
Posted in Beans, Cote Home Grown Fare, Protein, salad, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Making Salsa

Took a field trip to the local health food store; in hot pursuit of a clean sugar-free, additive-free commercial salsa.  I stood in front of the shelves of brightly labeled salsa and begin to read the labels.  A half hour and many labels later my eyes gave out. Seriously, I read lots of small print and while it did strain my eyes, I could still drive home.

by Genene Cote Posted on July 17, 2012
Posted in additive-free food, fresh veggies, kitchen basics, plant based diet, salsa | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Garden Attacks: Aphids and Javalina

Not a banner week.  Great reminder that no matter how smart we think we are we really don’t have control.

Waphidsent out to get some beet greens for lunch on Monday. The first leaf I cut had funny black dirt all over it.  Didn’t think much of it; figured it had drug in the dirt when we watered. Moved to the center of the plant and cut another leaf.  Black stuff all over it. I gingerly touched “the dirt” – it was soft and squishy.  YUCK!!

Well, I learned something new this week.  Who know that aphids come in black. My only up close and personal experience with  aphids were the white ones on our roses and hibiscus plants. I also learned that aphids are also called plant lice . . which explains the squirmy crawly feeling I got!

I guess the increase in ants should have given me a clue. But it has been so dry that I just figured they were out looking for water.  Never occurred to me they were setting up their own personal little farm on my beet patch. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 12, 2012
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Low-Fat, Non-Dairy, Gluten-Free Vegetarian Enchiladas

My favorite food next to Italian is Mexican. I am not sure if it is the tomato or the comfort of pasta and tortillas.  Whatever it is, I am hooked.

I have not made Enchiladas in a long time.  They are messy and a little time consuming.  But I had the extra time today so I ended up making 2 medium size pans – one to eat now and one to freeze and eat later. (more…)

by Genene Cote Posted on July 11, 2012
Posted in Beans, diary-free food, fresh veggies, vegan, vegetarian, Whole Food Plant-Based recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment