An Amazing Healing Food; Garlic!

We all talk about benefits of garlic most of the time..An amazing vegetable (it grows as a vegetable and  I think it is classed as a vegetable like an onion) used widely as a flavoring in cooking,

It has also been used as a medicine throughout ancient and modern history to prevent and treat a wide range of conditions and diseases like treat hypertension,bronchitis, liver disorders, tuberculosis,  dysentery, flatulence, colic, rheumatism, intestinal worms,, diabetes, and fevers.

I use garlic a lot for cooking..also since I have high blood pressure, I swallow sometimes a clove..Searching never ends and I love discovering new things and replacing to old knowledge by new knowledge especially for cooking to get more benefits of food God gives us.

Cooking with benefitful garlic;

-Many of garlic's health benefits (including its anti-cancer properties) are preserved if the whole cloves are crushed and allowed to sit for 10 minutes prior to cooking.

-Use garlic raw chopped or pressed in your dishes to take advantage of the benefits.
In the absence of chopping or crushing, research has shown that just 60 seconds of immediate microwaving will cause garlic to lose some of its cancer-protective properties.

What if you cannot tolerate raw garlic?? You can add chopped garlic to foods while they are cooking and the best to add it towards the end of the cooking process for the maximum amount of flavor and nutrition.

Another one;
Microwaving or boiling garlic in uncrushed, whole clove form will deactivate its enzymes, research has shown.

To freeze peeled garlic; It reduces its flavor profile and changes its texture.

Not to do;
If you would like to combine garlic with oil, just avoid high-temperature heating of this oil-garlic mixture.

And garlic!! Against Stress and toxins for a Better Mood!!
It also protects your heart and liver from the damaging effects of alcohol.

An easy way to get benefits of garlic;

Medeterranean Dressing

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

sea salt

 pepper to taste

Don't worry, be healthy!

First days of 2014!

First days of a pretty new year! Hope you all had a wonderful time New Year's Eve. I was away from mom for years and this year I enjoyed being together with her, just like last year.
God bless her!
I think we ate too much that night :) A couple of sodas helped to feel better next day.

Best wishes to y'all for 2014!

My son is getting very good at catching beauty of nature! Another fantastic shot taken in November from Aria's Instagram collection :) Ohh..we appreciate new followers :) 
Thank you ladies!!

It has been a while since I made it. This recipe is for eggplant lovers!. Easy and tasty!

A quick and easy eggplant recipe!

Eggplant with Lemon

2 eggplants (I peel them in stripes that's how I learned from my mom and I love it:)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion(crushed)
1 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic(minced)
2 tbsp crushed tomatoes 

  salt and pepper   

  fresh lemon juice

 I like taking food pictures as much as cooking!

Sometimes eggplant is bitter and should be soaked in salted water before cooking.
Let drain about 30 minutes.
 

Cut eggplants into slices as you want. Put olive oil, chopped onion into a deep saucepan and stir 2-3 minutes. Add chopped garlic and keep stiring 1-2 minutes more. Put eggplant slices and a few minutes later add crushed tomatoes. Cook stiring 3-4 minutes and add hot water, salt, pepper. Cover the lid, keep it on low heat till eggplant is very tender.
Sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve warm and enjoy taste of eggplant !
 

Also it is delicious with turkish famous garlic-yogurt sauce with mint :)

                  Life is delicious :)

A shot of a tangerine tree I took last week.(In front of my neighbour's house )
                
                 There are so many beauties in life!

Winter Soup: A delicious bowl of health benefits!

Still snowing here! I stopped watching snow since we got enough snow and storm in New York this year:(

I know a way lighten up my day ..

..busy, busy in the kitchen making my winter soup to warm up all of us today!

2 potatoes
1 big carrot
I clove garlic(minced)
1 onion
2 celery stalks
1 leek
1 parsnip
1 turnip
lemon zest
1 tbsp whipped butter
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
a handful of parsley-dill mix(chopped finely)
salt, pepper,
chicken broth

Chop or dice all the veggies and prepare to boil. Combine the potatoes, carrot, celery, leek, parsnip, turnip, onion, parsley, dill and lemon zest in a pot. Cover them with half water, half chicken stock and boil until soft.
Pour into a food processor/blender and pulse-chop so that the vegetables are chopped finely. Return the mixture to the pot and to heat through. Add salt, pepper and garlic.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Blend in flour and gradually add the milk, stirring constantly and add the sauce to the soup. Thin the soup with some stock if you wish. Bring to a boil.

This easy to make recipe brings a delicious bowl of health benefits to your table and makes an excellent start to a winter dinner.

Spinach&Arugula Salad

1 cup baby spinach

1 cup arugula

6 cherry tomatoes(cut in half)

2 tbsp chopped walnuts

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1 small red onion(cut very thin)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, sea salt

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Here is my lunch. Do you eat while doing something infront of pc? I don't remember if I did this before, but I am doing now:-)

Zucchini Sticks

Zucchini Sticks

Zucchini Sticks are very easy to make and DELICIOUS! A great appetizer recipe for your holiday table. I just made this recipe and tasted them! YUMMY!

4 zucchini(sliced into sticks)
1 egg(beaten)
1 cup bread crumbs(dry)

1/2 cup parmesan(grated)

1/4 spoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano, salt and pepper

Dip zucchini sticks in beaten egg. Combine rest of the ingredients in a bowl and dredge in the bread crumb mixture. Place the zucchini sticks on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce/ ranch or blue cheese dressing.

cauliflower..cauliflower..(updated post)

My hubby didn't use to eat cauliflower. It has become one of his favorite veggies:)

Baked&Broiled Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower (separated into florets )
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

juice of one lemon

2 cloves garlic(minced)

4 tbsp olive oil.

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 F.
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice garlic and cauliflower in a large mixing bowl. Pour into the large casserole dish. Cover it. Bake ~30 minutes. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil a few minutes until golden brown.

UPDATED...after it's broiled..

Have a great week everyone!

I'm hungry for veggies!!!

Easy Cauliflower&Mushroom Recipe

I made an quick veggie dish!

I head of cauliflower

1 package mushroom (cut into 4 parts)

1 tomato(cubed)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 clove garlic(minced)

2 tbsp vinegar

2 green onions(chopped)

seasalt, black pepper and nutmeg

Cooking cauliflower this way is quick and delicious. To prepare the cauliflower cut into tiny trees. Rinse under water. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the cauliflower, vinegar and countinue to saute until piece are soft. In a medium skillet saute 2 tbsp olive oil and the mushrooms. Add mushrooms, tomato cubes, garlic, salt and spicy. Cook until tomatoes are soft. Remove from the heat and toss them sliced green onion/parsley (or both), Mmmm.. yum! I sprinkled with shredded mozzarella cheese. Ready!!! Serve with pasta!

BTW, have you enter my first giveaway yet? Oh come on! Click here to ENTER!

kabak graten(zucchini gratin)

I love autumn in Long Island.

But spring..

grey,rainy(sometimes 4-5 days) so boring!

Another day. No sun again, not shown up once ; (

(i got this recipe one of my friend,haven't tried yet.

that's why i 'm publishing without photo).

Sounds good. If anyone try before me please, please write a comment.

Ingrediets

5 small zucchinies

1/2 cup feta cheese(crumbled)

1 tablespoon fresh dill(finely chopped)

1 teaspoon mint(fresh or dry)

Peel the zucchinies and cut them half in lenghtwise. Remove and discard the seeds.

Combine the filling ingredients and fill in the zucchinies.

Sauce

2 tablespoon olive oil or corn oil

2 tablespoon flour

2/4 cup milk

Put oil in a small bowl. Add the flour and mix with a wood spoon. Add milk(warm) and stir slowly. Cover the zuhuccinies with this sauce.

Cook in preheated oven(400 F) untill tops are golden brown.

Mozzarella, Tomato, and Mushroom Panini Recipe

Here is a vegetarian panini recipe I love!!!

Mozzarella, Tomato, and Mushroom Panini:

In a medium skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the mushrooms and scallion(chopped) and cook stirring, until softened and lightly browned. Layer thinly sliced Mozzarella and tomato inside bread of choice(whole wheat or whole grain is a good choice). Add sauteed mushroom. Drizzle just a touch of olive oil and vinegar mixture and a sprinkle of garlic and thyme before grilling.

Mmmmm..yum!! Enjoy!



-UPDATED
I'd like to thank Cheryl for trying the recipe.
She also took a picture of it and sent to me:))
I'm glad you liked it, Cheryl.