Love In Toronto

I do. I really do. I get a rush of excitement, my cheeks flush, and my heart beats fast when I step towards my rows of glorious produce.

By ‘garden’, I mean one kind: the kind filled with vegetables. (Except for my lovely sunflowers (that’s one on the left!)… Otherwise I tend to kill them all.)

So when ‘Bobby’ and I are hanging out at my place, do I mention the ‘other love’ of my life? Never. We need not cause unwanted jealously. But realistically, ‘Bobby’ doesn’t have my heart like my artichokes and jalapenos do.

August is the time of year when your garden over produces. I mean, this morning I picked seven thousand peppers, eighty-two tomatoes, and zucchini as long as my tibia.

Really.

A high advocat of eating healthy, I enjoy baking things that taste fried - yep, it’s possible to have your breaded, gooey foods and be healthy. When you and ‘Bobby’ are craving some deep-fried goodness, toss together some mixed greens, throw some protein on the grill, and try this ridiculously easy side dish.

Baked Crunchy Veggies

You’ll need:

* lots of veggies, about 1/4 inch thin, sliced anyway you’d like (zucchini, summer square, red onions, & eggplant are the best ones)
*1-2 eggs (or egg whites), lightly beaten
*about 4 tbsp. of any flour
*crushed flaked cereal (like cornflakes or similar)
*salt, pepper, garlic powder (feel free to season with whatever you’d like)
*olive oil [see note below]
*baking sheet
*two bowls and a plate
*oven preheated to 400F

note: investing in a reusable oil sprayer not only helps your waste-line (more control), but also the environment (no more discarded Pam canisters), and your wallet (again, Pam canisters).

They look like this (see left), or sometimes they are plastic. They sell them at the Superstore / Loblaws (and everywhere else) for about 5 dollars. GO BUY!

 

 

Step One: Cut the veggies, spray your baking sheet, and prepare your bowls and plate:

In one bowl, beat the egg(s), sprinkle the flour in the next one, and mix together the crushed cereal with spices on the plate.

(Tip: Throw the cereal in a plastic baggie, and roll with a rolling pin instead of whipping out the blender).

Step Two: Dip selected vegetable in flour (if the veg is completely dry, douse with a bit of H2O). Shake off excess. Switch hands (or get ‘Bobby’ to continue), then dip in egg. Press both sides in flakes then place on pan. Repeat.

(Note: You can bread them as much or as little as you like. Since I was eating them all, I did a ‘light’ breading. Note two: Egg/Cereal is reserved for the second hand or ‘Bobby’ because it gets relatively sticky and messy, and you’ll want one hand dry.)

Step Three: Spray tops with a bit of oil. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, til browned. Turn. Spray with oil, then continue for another 10-15 more.. Depending on how big you cut them and what veggies you use, just monitor the baking times.

Step Four: Eat. Delicious dipped in anything or on their own.

A great way to bring pub food home, this is a perfect way to eat the foods you love in a healthier way.

———————————————————————-

Do you have a favourite pub food or grease-filled nosh that you’d love to know how to enjoy at home in a healthier way? Let me know and I’ll post up a recipe!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 10:36 am and is filed under Date Idea, Friday Night Date, Health, Laurie Sadowski, Recipes, food, seasonal, staying in, summer, weekend. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.