LOTS OF VEGGIES LASAGNA

VEGETABLE LASAGNA

Layers of delicious market vegetables chopped and cooked with two tins of  diced tomatoes & one tin of kidney beans

White Sauce - I used margarine, cornflour and milk (and if I am honest a teeny bit of cheese)

Easy cook Lasagna Sheets

There are no rules in terms of which layer to start with - I normally start with the pasta, then vegetables then white sauce, then go again and top with a little grated cheese. Bake for 45 minutes and let it cool a little before serving. Serve with salad, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and crusty bread if you are very hungry.

ZUCCHINI PASTA

ZUCCHINI PASTA

I am in love with the pasta from my local market! I made this dish in to take to a BBQ. As you can imagine going to BBQ's when you are a vegetarian can be quite uncomfortable so I always say "I'll bring a pasta salad"! There is always a green salad on offer to go with the meal, so no one goes hungry.

Hope you like this simple dish!

1 pack fresh pasta

6 small zucchini's

1 clove of garlic crushed

8 mushrooms quartered

Dressing:

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 cup of fresh Greek yoghurt

a liberal dashing of good quality olive oil

Cook pasta in boiling water, meanwhile lightly fry the vegetables and garlic.

When pasta is cooked (takes about 4 minutes for really fresh pasta) add the vegetables and stir through the dressing. Top with fresh herbs. This can be stored in the fridge until needed - but it may need some more olive oil tossed through it before serving.

BROCCOLI, FETA & PINE NUT PASTA

Broccoli, Feta & Pine Nut Pasta

1 Head of Broccoli broken in to bite size pieces

1/2 a pack of feta cut in to little squares (I used low fat feta)

3 table spoons of toasted pine nuts

2 table spoons good olive oil

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt and Pepper to taste (does not need much salt because of the feta)

Boil a big pot of water on the stove and blanch the broccoli

In a mixing bowl add olive oil, seasoning, lemon juice and toasted pine nuts, when broccoli is cooked add to the mixing bowl and toss through the olive oil. Now cook Pasta in the boiling water, drain and add to the broccoli mix. Toss around, and serve!

EGGPLANT AND MUSHROOM ON GARLICKY PASTA

Exercise is going well by the way. I ran 6km this morning and had a short kite surfing lesson in the afternoon. Another challenge for 2011.

All the ingredients in the pasta dish below were purchased at the farmers market on Saturday. The taste is out of this world. My husband keeps saying "mmm yummy"
EGGPLANT AND MUSHROOM ON GARLICKY PASTA
3 x Baby Eggplant thinly sliced in to rounds
5 x brown flat mushrooms (or any mushrooms) sliced
5 x Basil leaves chopped
1/2 a piece of garlic
Juice of 1 lime
5 x Tablespoons of olive oil
Enough pasta for 2
Fresh pasta is best for this dish, I used a really fat ribbon type which really added to the flavour
Put a big pot of water on the stove and bring to the boil for the pasta, meanwhile heat the olive oil in the frying pan and add the eggplant. Fry and turn until golden and delicious. Once cooked put them in a large mixing bowl and add the lime juice & a 1/4 crushed garlic clove (just need a taste not to overwhelm the dish). Next, cook the mushrooms in the same pan then add to the mixing bowl. Add basil and turn to dress. Cook the pasta, drain, add the other 1/4 of garlic and a dash of olive oil...plate up. Enjoy!

Now to freshen up after all that Garlic - we had my 
LIME AND LITCHEE GRANITA (which I prepared earlier)
The easiest desert in the world - blend up 1 tin of Lychee's in Syrup with juice of half a lime. Pop in to a container, place in the freezer, take out and run a fork over the mix every couple of hours - I did that about 4 times. Tastes like summer!

ANTIPASTO PASTA

Weight Update.....I have lost 2 KG's Yippi! I notice that I have been slipping back in to the high carb meals though so I'll have to keep an eye on that. Here are some tasty treats from the last few days:

ANTIPASTO PASTA
10 x Olives sliced

6 x Artichoke hearts chopped in half
1 x Tin Chickpeas
Chopped Fresh Herbs
8 x Sundried tomatoes chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
1 whole lemon squeezed
10 x Cherrie toms sliced in to quarters
1/2 tub of crunchy sprouts
two cups cooked pasta
Combine the garlic, seasoning (sea salt and pepper is all you need) & lemon juice in the bottom of a bowl, then chuck everything else in, mix

TOFU & GREEN OLIVE BURGER

I know, I know - this sounds very hippy! Trust me, it is tasty.

1 pack marinated tofu, or make up your own:

slice firm tofu in to burger size pieces and marinate it

in lemon juice, garlic and soy sauce and bit of sesame oil

Whole grain rolls

Stuffed Green Olives

Fresh chopped tomatoes

Fry up the tofu and assemble the burger as you please

Indulge with a swipe of mayo on the roll...naughty!

I'll end off today's post with a picture from my favorite farmers market in Subiaco......I love Saturday's



EMERGENCY PASTA

According to my GPS Watch - I ran 6km around the river this morning. I was starving when I got home - but there is nothing unhealthy in the fridge so I had a piece of rye toast, some grapes and an apple for breakfast while I made lunch.....hmm, what to make for lunch. Given how hungry I was - I decided to whip up an EMERGENCY PASTA this is easy - just use one cup of pasta per person - add some chopped mushrooms, olives, peppers, sun dried tomatoes....whatever you have in the fridge, squeeze in some lemon juice, grind on salt pepper and dash in some extra virgin olive oil  - perfect! Trick is to keep to a small portion when you are trying to lose weight.

By dinner time...I am so hungry I want to eat a tofu factory! However, I decided to make:
SPICY ROAST VEGETABLES ON QUINOA
Quinoa is a delicious grain and very good for vegetarians as it has a very high protein content.
To make this dish:

Chop up loads of vegetables - use whatever you have,  I used:

2 x Carrots

Half a Butternut

1 x Red Pepper

2 x Red Potatoes

2 x Turnips

3 x Courgettes

Place in a roasting dish and sprinkle on some Garam Marsala, Garlic Salt and Cumin Seeds & Some ground chili if you like a kick! Cook in the oven covered for 25 mins, then uncovered for 25 mins - depending on your oven and what vegetables you have used - just check to see they are ready before serving, nothing worse than raw potatoes!

Follow the cooking instructions on the Quinoa packet (easy peasy cooks in no time at all).

Plate up your delicious dish, top with low fat plain yogurt and fresh coriander. Yum, a low fat, high protein vegetable dish!