March 02, 2009

Go go gadget veggie salsa!


Seriously, a lot of my recipes come from sheer laziness. In this case I wanted to eat a lot of varied vegetables, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if I'm going to cook up 6 different dishes!

Do you have time for that? I do not. Please, I did not even have time to watch Lost or Battlestar Gallactica last week :-) I use my Franklin Covey planner to help me keep everything organized and make the most of my time. Last week Mr. Covey clearly said to me, "You are doing too much. Make a lot of 1 recipe and eat leftovers." I always listen to Mr. Covey.

So, I sent Max to the store with a grocery list full of vegetables. By the way, we've been doing really well this month keeping our weekly grocery bill to under $70. I think the best way to do that is to:
1. Eat what you have in the house already
2. Don't waste anything
3. Buy things that don't come in a package

What resulted was a lip-smackin', hip-shakin' veggie salsa that hit on pretty much every nutrient in the book. I served it over brown rice and black beans, but you could also add it to a broth for some soup, or mix it with marinara sauce and serve over pasta. It never hurts to have a big bowl of chopped veggies in the fridge for whatever comes up. So the question is, does this even count as a recipe? Probably not since I just sort of made it up as I went along!

Six Veggie Salsa

5 carrots
2 tomatoes
1 head swiss chard
1 cucumber
15 brussel sprouts
1/2 butternut squash
1 onion
1 head cilantro
1/2 bag frozen corn, defrosted
for dressing
1 lime
pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
approx. 1/4 cup each apple cider vinegar, umeboshi plum vinegar, olive oil and tamari

Chop all veggies (except corn) into tiny pieces or shreds. In large pan, cook onion and butternut squash until tender. Allow to cool. Toss everything with dressing and allow to sit for 1 hour so acid from dressing can break down chard and sprouts. Serve as you would salsa.

P.S. Head on over to Food Renegade for a chance to win free La Cense Grass-fed beef. It's the only meat I'll advocate – go for it!

13 comments:

J'Hab@lavidaveggie said...

Oh, wow, this looks awesome A ballsy combination of veggies, I might add! I have a cilantro plant that's just starting to get big and strong; I can't wait to put it to work in this creation!

The Fat Dietitian said...

Yum! I need to make this to tide me over until its gazpacho weather...

Not Another Omnivore said...

Oooh! I'm playing with Delicious, the online cookbook thing, right now and adding this gives me perfect practice!

NAOmni

Amy Flanagan said...

I love how you added not to chop the corn. You're talking to cooks like me, sistah.

Anonymous said...

This is actually a really handy thing to have on hand! I do the same thing with fermented veggies like sauerkraut, pickle relish, and salsas. They're so nutrient-dense, and they can be added to just about any meal as condiments. That way, they can really aid digestion & absorption of nutrients, too.

Erica said...

FABULOUS! I'm all for combining whatever I have on hand together in 1 dish! Yum yum! My life seems to be run by a schedule as well, I am hoping now that we're almost done with the moving stuff that I will have more time to mess around :)

Vered said...

I love the way you demonstrate that healthy food can be yummy food!

Lori said...

The sauce for this sounds really great. I love the cayenne, of course. :) Thanks for the tip about the grass-fed beef. I've got to start doing my research on that and possible sources for our move back.

Anonymous said...

I love this recipe! Veggie salsa, how awesome is that and it looks delish!

Hanlie said...

That looks very good!

Anonymous said...

Wow, does that sound great! What a fabulous way to get those veggies in. And I love the idea of eating to clear out the pantry--I think I need to do that, too (I'm such a pack rat, even with food items!).

Heidi Robb said...

Oh this looks sooooooooo appetizing. My current job is mainly comprised of cooking mass amounts of animal carnage and this girl needs her veggies!

Deborah said...

This recipe makes me excited for the summer and for my garden!