Garden-fresh tomato soup

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  Tomato soup with salmon salad on pumpernickle makes a tasty lunch

With a bumper crop this fall from my tiny COVID garden of five tomato plants, I needed to find some tasty ways to put tomatoes to good use. I love soup, so I decided to make some.

My highest yielding plants were for heritage tomatoes. They were slower to ripen, so I took a whole lot of green tomatoes off them in October. I was surprised to see that by November they had all ripened to a lovely bright yellow, not a red one among them.

The flavor is similar to what I remember tomato soup as tasting, but decidedly different. However, the taste is fresh, tangy, and satisfying. Use whatever fresh tomatoes you have at your disposal. The flavorings in the last step of this recipe can be added in either as little or as much as you might like. Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

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  Tomato soup – basil and other seasonings added at the end

Fresh tomato soup
Makes about 8 cups

• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, coursely chopped
• 1 large onion, coursely chopped

• 6 cups fresh tomatoes, coursely chopped
• 4 whole cloves
• 4 cups chicken broth

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Flavorings (Optional)

• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• a few shakes cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon homemade liquid stevia, coconut palm sugar, or white sugar

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  Red onions and yellow heritage tomatoes were what I had on hand

1. In a stockpot, over medium heat, saute the garlic with chopped onion until limp, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the coursely chopped tomatoes, with skin and seeds, and bring to a sizzle. Allow them to cook until the tomatoes soften.
3. Add chicken broth and cloves. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion hand-held blender. Strain into a bowl, using a large sieve. Use a spoon to force as much pulp through the strainer as you can. Discard the cloves and fiber left in the strainer.
4. In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a paste, cooking until the roux is a medium brown, at least 5 minutes.
5. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato puree, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest.
6. Season with vinegar, sugar, cayenne, and salt, and adjust to taste. Instead of salt and cayenne, I added a teaspoon of TexMex seasoning, which is basically salt and cayenne… Next time, I’ll try it without the vinegar. I found it a touch on the sour side. See what you think before going ahead with the vinegar. I did love the basil, though. And I enjoyed the nip from the TexMex.
7. Serve very hot with some cream on the side for people to add if they choose. The nutrition count below is for the soup without any cream.

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  I like to serve soup piping hot, in pretty mugs or cups

Nutrition

Studies show that tomatoes and tomato products may reduce your risk of heart disease and several cancers. This fruit is also beneficial for skin health, as it may protect against sunburns. These effects are likely due to high concentrations of antioxidants, especially lycopene and beta carotene. But tomatoes also contain several useful vitamins and minerals, namely vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and vitamin C.

A one-cup serving of this soup provides 100 calories; 4 grams protein, 7% RDV (recommended daily value); 4 grams carbohydrates, 1% RDV (just 1 gram sugar); 3 grams fat, 5% RDV; 81 mg sodium, 3% RDV; vitamin A 9% RDV; Ca 7% RDV.

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  Dishes drying in sink after making a pot of soup

As an aside: No pain, no gain

Just thought I’d point out that it may be easier to open a can of soup. But for pure personal satisfation, nothing beats growing your own food and making your own soup. For me, the only down side is the washing up!

But I’ve learned to enjoy the feel of warm water on my hands and the pleasure of seeing tidy work surfaces. I use the wait times between steps in the cooking process to wash utensils used to that point. There is far less to contend with at the end.

Now, I just have to put all these dishes away, and my kitchen will be spick and span again. Whistle while you work!

Spiced ginger and green tomato coffee cake

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A tasty coffee cake that needs no extra sweetness can be had by making up this moist snacking cake. A wonderful treat if you have some green tomatoes on hand, a strong possibility if you were growing tomatoes at home this year, like Vinny was. It calls for 200 grams of green tomatoes, which is about two medium-sized ones.

Ginger is the healthiest spice in your pantry. It is one food that earns its reputation as a “super food” whole-heartedly, as has been proven by science. This recipe uses lots of ginger.

A Bundt cake studded with green tomato pieces and candied ginger, then spiced with masala tadka powder, is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, or even with a glass of milk.

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Spiced green tomato and candied ginger coffee cake
Makes 12 modest slices

• 1 cup green tomatoes, chopped (200 grams, about 2 medium)
• 1/4 cup (40 grams) candied ginger, chopped finely
• 60 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
• 60 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 60 grams (1/2 cup) coconut palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 grams (1 1/2 cups) whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1 teaspoon masala chai powder or tadka masala spice*
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
2. Prepare a small Bundt pan (6 cups or 7.5 x 3 inches) by lightly coating the sides, bottom and center spindle with canola oil or other flavorless oil. Sprinkled some flour liberally around the sides and turn upside down over the sink to tap off any excess. Make sure the spindle is coated with flour too.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. Keep your fingers away from the beaters while they are beating, or else you might catch your fingers in the blades and faint! Vinny knows this from personal experience. No bones were broken, though…
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
5. In a smaller bowl mix the chopped tomatoes and chopped ginger together well. Add the 1/2 cup (50 grams) of the flour and toss with a wooden spoon, till the flour has coated the veggie pieces.
6. Sift 1 cup (100 grams) of the flour together with the baking soda, baking powder, and masala powder in another smaller bowl. Add this to the butter mixture in the large bowl in three parts and beat on medium speed after each addition till well mixed.
7. Add the green tomato mixture to the batter in the large bowl and fold in till well mixed using a wooden spoon. The mixture will be thick.
8. Scrape this mixture into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top.
9. Turn the oven setting to Bake and cook the cake for 45 to 50 minutes till a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
10. Cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. Then unmold the cake onto a rack to cool.

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To Serve

No need to use a sugar glaze. Leave it plain and enjoy the moist delicious flavor of this spicy cake.

Note

If you don’t have a prepared masala spice mix on hand, add these to the flour mixture: ½ teaspoon cardemom and 1/8 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, and coriander. If you like a highly spiced cake, you can double these quantities.

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  Ginger and green tomatoes

Nutrition

A serving size of one-twelfth of the cake has 150 calories and 10 grams of sugar. It provides 11% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin A and 5% of each of protein, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

Ginger is high in gingerol, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is said to help prevent nausea, improve osteoarthritis, and promote weight loss, among other things.

Spices add way more than flavor to foods. I like to add them liberally every time I cook.

Halloween cooked-carrot and tomato salad

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Halloween doesn’t have to be all about candy. Having gained a very bad 15 pounds between March and August in this year of the coronovirus, and now being well on the way to shedding it all again, I wanted to celebrate a sugar-free evening with the ghosts and goblins.

The powers that be have decreed that it’s not safe for children to go door to door this year… and rightly so, with numbers of covid-19 cases soaring in a second scary wave. So we have not bought the usual crazy amount of mini chocolate bars this year.

Instead of candy, I nominate the color orange to be our celebration vehicle for Halloween in our house.

Pumpkins are a bit cliche… so I chose to make a delicious dinner-time dish from the gorgeous, sweet, orange carrots available in the market these days.

The recipe is modified from one I published earlier for a big crowd. The recipe here provides eight servings as a veggie side dish for dinner. It has enough tangy sweetness to make you forget that there is no candy for you to gorge on, after all the little ones stop knocking on your door on October 31st. Happy Halloween!

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Halloween cooked-carrot and tomato salad
Makes eight 4-ounce servings

• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• 0.5 – 1 inch fresh ginger, skin scraped and finely chopped (I like lots)
• 5 ounces tomato sauce (I used roasted red pepper pasta sauce)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil (optional)
• 1/4 cup vinegar (preferably apple cider vinegar)
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 8-16 ounces tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 large green onion, sliced, or a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped, for garnish (optional)

1. Slice carrots into coins, then cook in slightly salted boiling water until tender yet crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, then submerge in cold water to cool.
2. Combine tomato sauce, oil, vinegar, ginger, and curry powder in a small sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes to the carrots and the cooled tomato dressing (sweetened if you wish with 1 tablespoon of my homemade liquid stevia or 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar). Mix well.
4. Chill until serving time. Garnish with the chopped green onion or the chopped basil leaves. Stays fresh for 3 days in the fridge.

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  Carrots are sweet enough for Halloween treats

Nutrition summary

Total calories per 4-ounce serving is 234. If you go easy on the dressing that pools in the bottom of the bowl, the calories are reduced somewhat.

Carrots are a sweet veggie, containing a significant amount of sugar. So there is no need for additional sugar. But I did use a little stevia sweetener, to take the edge off the vinegar. You might not need any sweetener at all.

One serving contains 6 times the vitamin A and 33% of the fiber, vitamin C, and potassium you need every day. This salad is also a good source of iron, calcium, and even protein, providing about 10% of the recommended daily amounts.

If you are diabetic, know that one serving provides 11 grams of sugar, twice the suggested amount per dish.

This is a delicious tangy side dish that can serve as your starch portion, as well as your veggie, in one single serving. Trick or treat? I hope you find this recipe more on the treat side of the equation. Boo!

“Eat more leaves,” says Pollan

Reviewing Michael Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food”

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Michael Pollan has distilled much of the research  into the Western diet over recent years into this simple formula. It’s that easy to eat well for better health.

Battling Alzheimer’s Disease – Part 2: Choose Mood Foods

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  Yogurt bowl with rhubarb, ginger, cinnamon, and walnuts

The foods you choose affect your mood. And what is mood but your brain’s reactions to the world around you. Vinny’s yogurt bowl is a treat filled with probiotics and flavenoids to calm your brain and keep it firing on all cylinders.

Battling Alzheimer’s Disease: Part 1 – Fuelling exercise

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Fend off those “senior moments”

Vinny’s grandparents have told him that living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is one of the scarier prospects of growing older. So he has decided to do a series of posts about some lifestyle choices that could make a positive difference to our mental health in later years. He’s all for starting these habits early, for a longer and more active life. Read on for his first installment.

Fight stroke with magnesium

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  Scallops, broccoli, and black beans are full of magnesium. Scroll down for easy recipe.

Vinny’s grandparents are getting on, so nobody will blame them if they are starting to look a little worn around the edges. Relying on fast food and maybe even cigarettes over the years to make life easy could be part of the problem. With these sorts of habits, Vinny worried that his family could be setting itself up for medical catastrophes… stroke for example. Holy smokes! Is there anything we can do to help?

Lemon-drizzle cake sweetens the mood

Getting in the groceries

Here we are in the midst of week 6 of self isolation. What began as an adventure is turning into a drudge. Solace comes in knowing that in comparison to other world disasters people have had to face, this one is fairly tame… as long as you can dodge  COVID-19, that is. Plus, we can use the extra time at home to experiment in the kitchen!

Baked cheese and eggs dish

This delicious egg cassarole is easier than a quiche and twice as tasty. It sometimes goes by the name “Strata”, probably because it is a layered approach to eggy goodness. But as Shakespeare once noted, “a rose by any other name is just as sweet.”

Quarantined chocolate soufflés

Have you ever craved a silky soufflé but hesitated to try? I certainly have. The eggy concoction seemed too finicky and prone to failure. Also, I thought it had to be baked at the last minute. So how would it ever work as a make-ahead dessert for company?

Well, with all the time in the world available these days for experimenting, and as the corona virus pandemic is demanding that no company cross our threshold, this seemed the perfect time to try.

Mood-boosting banana and oatmeal cookies

Is your family is feeling a little low what with all this social distancing we are having to endure for the public good these days? Cheer them up with  a batch of hearty banana cookies.  So easy! With just two key ingredients and a few optional add-ons for extra flavor and happiness, these cookies are sure to please your family.

Chocolatey low-sugar brownies

Chill out, everybody!

If you are looking for a low-sugar double-chocolate brownie that your children will devour, look no further. Each moist chocolatey square satisfies with two kinds of chocolate. The squares are sweetened with only 1/4 cup maple syrup and the sugar from the semisweet chocolate chips, plus one secret ingredient. No, it’s not marijuana.

A Princess Elizabeth cake to honor Ondaatje’s novel ‘Warlight’

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Books, friends, and food – a recipe for a pleasant afternoon

Having volunteered to host our bookclub this week with only a few days notice, Vinny and I decided to make a cake we had attempted once before for Canada Day. It was a recipe that Queen Elizabeth had popularized immediately after the Second World War. Food was being rationed in Britain and there was little sugar to spare. At that time Elizabeth was still a princess, not yet 20. She wanted to do her part for the war effort and, as one of her many projects, she came up with a cake that was sweetened not with sugar but with dates and honey.

Carpathian Kasha with Browned Onions and Walnuts

Buckwheat kasha

Carpathian kasha – Vinny made this nutty gluten-free side dish for an Eastern European themed dinner party, with a shout out to Dracula.

Banana squash is economical as well as tasty

An unusal giant winter squash

On a beautiful family farm near Silver Lake Provincial Park (Ontario), where my parents used to take my sister and I to camp every weekend during the summer, I discovered an intriguingly large vegetable new to me. It goes by the name banana squash.

Toasting nuts

To get the most from your nuts, toasting is the way to go. How does that work?

Home-made Pie Crust Recipe

Home-made pie shell, ready to fill.

This is a standard pie crust recipe. But I have never made a pie crust in my life. So I decided to start with an easy, classic recipe and see where it takes me. Here it goes.

Bruno’s Truffle Omelette

 

Vinny loves all things “eggs,” but a morning omelet is one of his favorites. So when he found a recipe for a truffle omelet from Bruno, Chief of Police of the fictional village of St. Denis in the heart of the Dordogne in France, Vinny couldn’t resist.

Fat-burning bedtime soother

What if we could lose weight while we sleep…

That idea sounds almost miraculous. But it might just be possible. Here’s the theory.

At night, our body burns the fat we have accumulated during the day. We can speed up that process while we sleep by stimulating the digestive system and increasing our metabolism. Drinking in some of nature’s stronger metabolism boosters can prod our digestion system to be more efficient.

Mini cheesecakes with stevia

Try our homemade liquid stevia solution to make these sweet little cheesecakes and you might become hooked on stevia forever. The cakes are moist, creamy, and flavorful. But most of all, without adding any sugar at all to the cheese filling, they taste sweet and tangy.

A Kid’s Favorite Crab Spread

Alaskan king crab – a true giant

Crab is a mild-tasting shellfish that most people like, even the kids. It is low in fat, containing only  82 calories in a 3-ounce serving, while supplying a third of your daily protein needs. Crab is a brain food,

Chocolate oatmeal and nut cookies for stuffing hollow Easter egg-shells

Vinny wanted to make an Easter treat he could use to fill the pretty hollow Easter egg-shells he found at the dollar store. “I’d like something without any chemical additives, but sweet and chocolatey, and filled with fiber and nutrients that make eating them as good for a kid’s health as they are sweet on the tongue,” he said.

Hurricanes Kick Off Mardi Gras Party

 

Vinny seems to have abandoned his post in the past months. This has meant a noticeable dearth on this site of healthy but delicious recipes for growing families. In his wake, there is only… me.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras recipes were featured in my most recent cooking class in the run-up to Lent. I served some of what we learned at our annual gourmet evening, celebrating Mardi Gras style. I think Vinny would approve, though. Cajun cooking in New Orleans is rife with fresh seafood, hot spices, garlic, and a wild array of fresh veggies. Chicken is also an option.

All-flavors bread

Vinny’s come up with a yummy way to use left-over Halloween candy that helps keep sugar spikes at bay. We’re borrowing from Harry Potter, Bertie Botts in particular, to create a treat that offers a surprise in every bite.

Pumpkin pie punch

Try this delicious glassful of nutrition with your little tricksters on Halloween this year. It’s a treat that can’t be beat!

Instead of adding sugar, I use stevia in the whipped cream topping, a natural no-calorie sweetener that won’t add a single gram to your little one’s sugar load this Halloween season.

Maple glazed sweet potato dish

Sadly, I haven’t had much time of late to devote to my blog. But as Vinny loves sweet potatoes for their healthy goodness, I thought I’d share this simple recipe that I’m serving tonight in honor of our Canadian Thanksgiving…

Chocolate raspberry birthday cake

Our traditional family birthday cake is chalk-full of chocolate. But thrown in are other flavors like raspberry and coffee that make it a hit with young and old alike. I use healthy ingredients besides chocolate, like coconut palm sugar, coconut oil and eggs.

Your key to using Stevia

Why stevia?

If you love sweets, this natural, no-cal sweetener from the leaf of the stevia plant is incredibly good for you. Unlike sugar, it doesn’t create an insulin response. Whereas sugar damages your pancreas, the organ that regulates blood sugar, stevia’s sterols and antioxidants actually nourish this essential organ.

Banana ice cream desserts two ways

A nutritional bonanza from our friendly banana

This dessert is so good, people call it Nice Cream. The riper the banana, the sweeter the dessert.

Ripe bananas also have higher levels of antioxidants, which as any frequent reader of Vinny’s blog will know, fight chronic disease and inflammation.

One interesting thing about fully ripened bananas is that they also produce a substance called tumor necrosis factor (TNF).  TNF combats abnormal cells to help shrink cancer tumors.  The more dark patches a banana has,

French toast sandwiches

March madness!!!

March in Ontario has us all looking forward to spring. And along with that comes a welcome school break – a whole week of free time!

Let’s help Mom and Dad survive March madness by getting creative. We’ll make them lunch!

Start with a loaf of fresh whole-grain bread. Add eggs, low-fat milk and some nice seasonings. Then fill with fruit or low-sugar jams,  and cheese or nut butter.

Oregano tea is good for what ails you

 

Oregano grows like crazy in my garden. I use it as an ornamental ground cover. Then I discovered you can make a tea from it that is useful in curing sore, bothersome throats. Since that is what I have, I’ve given this drink a shot. I love herbal teas and this is a pleasant one. Only time will tell as to whether it heals my sore throat.

New recipe for a delicious miso soup

Readers will know how much I’ve been struggling with miso. It’s been a challenge finding flavor combinations that compliment a miso soup base and are both healthy and delicious. But I think I’ve now got something that works for me. The health benefits of miso are worth the effort. Maybe you should give this a try?

Apple Brown Betty Cake

Vinny suspected something was amiss when he began to smell a decidedly strong odor of apples, wafting from the cupboard whenever he opened the door. He pulled out his brand new bag of apples for inspection. Alas, three of the apples were  already beginning to, well, rot. Out they went into the compost. But what to do with all the rest?

Making miso soup tastier

Another attempt at creating a delicious miso soup

Vinny and I have a lot in common. I’ve heard that kids often need to taste a food 10 times before they learn to like it. That’s me to a T with miso.

Easy miso soup

Miso’s Christmas toy

“Here, Miso,” called Vinny, holding out his hand to his fluffy caramel kitten, who gladly came over for a gentle rub behind the ears.

“Why did you call him Miso,” Isla asked as she threw a small toy mouse for the kitten to chase.

“I suppose it was because I like Asian food,” said Vinny, “and this little guy is the exact same color as miso, a food used in Asian cooking.

Cook Up A Story for the Holidays

I enjoyed participating in a few holiday craft sales this year, showing off my book Cook Up A Story. I met many wonderful people who bought up most of my stock and all of my aprons and chef hats.

I only have a few copies left. In Canadian dollars I can offer a better price than that at the Blurb Book store, which quotes American dollars. Because of the current exchange rate,  Canadian prices are lower than those quoted on Blurb Bookstore on-line. And conversely prices are 33% lower yet if you are paying in US dollars. As of Dec 17, I’m down to my last three copies:

Easy peanut butter cookies

Recipes from labels

Vinny and I had the greatest time at the cottage this summer. One of the things we did was experiment with recipes on the labels of foods we brought with us.

“Let’s try peanut butter cookies,” said Will, studying the label on the jar of one of his favorite foods. “There’s only three ingredients. And we have them all!”

Holiday Open House, Sun Nov 27, 1-4pm

‘Tis the season, whether we like it or not. I personally love it! So much fun getting together with old friends, sharing some sparkly, sampling baking made at special times of the year, remembering happy days from years past… and meeting new neighbors! I even love the whole shopping thing, searching out little baubles to put under the tree and surprising the people I love.

That’s why I happily agreed to help my daughter Kristina host an open house at her place this year to launch the holiday season.

Five foods to cure a sore throat

Despite what the Internet says, forget about tequila as a cure for a sore throat. Snopes says it’s wishful thinking.

If you want to boost your immune system and speed recovery from a sore throat, cough, or sinus congestion, think instead about honey, vinegar, green tea, sea salt  and fiery spices.

Copper penny cooked carrot salad

Turn carrots into a delicious, make-ahead party salad.

Pot luck party time

“What are you bringing to the pot luck picnic tomorrow, Vinny?”

Vinny looked at his super slim and very athletic friend. “Think I’ll bring a crunchy curried cauliflower salad, Val. It’s easy. I took it to a party on the weekend and it was a hit. I just added curly lettuce leaves and my own cabbage slaw to Farm Boy’s offering and I was done.”

“Crunchy?” asked Val. “Does that mean uncooked?”

“Why, yes,” said Vinny.

“Guess I won’t be eating any, then.” Val smiled.

“Oops, I forgot! You can’t eat uncooked fiber! Sorry!” said Vinny.

“No problem,” said Val. “There will be plenty of other things there I can eat.”

But Vinny loves a challenge and began to think how he could turn his salad into something his friend Val could eat too. Easy, he thought. Cooked carrots. Just peel, slice, and add a  dressing.

Dorothy’s amazing tomato salad

Vinny pays homage to the tomato

Vinny has been remiss! That means he’s made a big mistake, has been careless, or both. For although he has featured tomatoes in many posts, especially those where he is extolling the virtues of a bunch of super foods, he’s never devoted a post solely to these delicious vegetables… er, fruits, actually.

Moroccan chicken stew

Vinny’s summer vacation

Summer is in the air and Vinny and I are heading for the great outdoors. That means you won’t likely be hearing from us here again till September rolls around.

We leave you with a one-pot dinner idea that you can make for a crowd over the summer.

Yoda soda summer punch bowl

May the fourth be with you!

Enjoy a replay of a recipe we posted a few years back for a summertime drink that’s as good for you as it tastes. Fresh lime juice gives this cooler its Yoda color, and sparkling water adds the bubbles. For a gourmet touch, add some lime sorbet.

Click here for the recipe.

Vinny’s on Yum Goggle

Vinny’s been updating older posts recently and putting them up on Yum Goggle. Yum Goggle features food photography from contributors around the world. The photos whet your appetite for the recipes you can get simply by clicking on the pictures or the words GET THE RECIPE. It’s a great site and we’re proud to be a part of the team.

Healthier Happy Birthday cake-pie

It’s Sharon’s birthday today, so Vinny brings you a rich, chocolatey tart with no  flour in the filling, that you can stick candles in and sing happy birthday around, merrily. With this dessert, you can enjoy a slice and know that along with your birthday calories, you are also getting a decent helping of nutrition.

Rhubarb and Ginger Fool for April 1st

What is an April Fool?

The only surprise I was treated to on April Fool’s Day was Alex Trebek, walking onto his game show set without his pants! I did, however, write this post for you on April 1st, which should entitle me to name my fruit pudding recipe April Fool. It’s a tasty British fruit “Fool,” in the traditional sense.

Vinegar, a great recipe for daily life

Carafe of white vinegar

My favorite use for vinegar is to make my own vinaigrette. No surprise! I’ve posted several versions over the years, as salad is now one of my favorite lunches.

But vinegar is good for so many things other than preserving or flavoring food. Here are five of my favorite nonfood uses for vinegar.

Live it up with spicy ancho shrimp salad

Spice up your good health

I like to post on Tuesdays but this Tuesday I had nothing… nothing except a wonderful spice rub I put together on the weekend. It smokes! But I promise you, it doesn’t burn.

Celebrate Pi day with this easy chocolate cake — only 3.14-ingredients

A cake suitable for Pi day, photo by Tip Junkie

The story behind Pi day

Normally, I’d choose a pie to celebrate the math constant π (Pi = 3.14159…) on its special day, which is coming upon us soon. Scientists the world over will likely be tucking into a delicious slice of one, perhaps a banana cream or pecan pie,

Watermelon cheers us up with coolers and salads

Watermelon is a mood food

As most of my friends fly south for the winter, I thought I’d inject a little sun into my own life with watermelon. Deep into February as we are, a food to lift our spirits seems in order.

I’ve covered some of this before, but for newer readers, are you surprised to learn that watermelon is a good source of  the mood vitamins B₁ (thiamine) and B₆ (pyridoxine)? I was. Turns out thiamine is important for maintaining electrolytes and transmitting nervous-system signals throughout the body. Pyridoxine works with enzymes that convert food into cellular energy.

Who needs warm weather… Let’s party!

Watermelon pepo

Watermelon is a berry

Another surprising fact about watermelon… its fruit is a pepo, a special kind of berry with a thick rind and fleshy center.

Watermelon pepos offer the most nutrition per calorie of any common food.

Red is the give-away. Bright colors signal a big pay-off in  lycopene, an antioxidant repeatedly studied in humans and found to protect  against a whole slew of cancers…  prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and colorectal, for starters.

Watermelon offers lots of  beta-carotene and another antioxidant, vitamin C. Besides helping lycopene to ward off cancer, these vitamins also battle heart disease, arthritis, and asthma.

Then there is the mineral potassium, guardian of our cardiovascular system, brain, and kidneys.

Finally, watermelon provides lots of the master mineral magnesium. Magnesium  is the big boss for over 300 cellular metabolic functions. Poor soils make magnesium scarce in today’s foods. Lack of magnesium is related to irritability, tension, sleep disorders, and muscular cramping, including the heart muscle (attack!).

How to enjoy watermelon

Watermelons retain most of their nutrition even after being cut and stored in the fridge. But watermelon is best eaten at room temperature when the flavor, plus the phytonutrient capacity, is at its best.

Eat plain

Just quarter a large watermelon berry and slice off slabs. Eat the flesh right off the rind and spit out the seeds.

 

Watermelon salad
Serves one

• one cup watermelon cubes
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• one cup kale, ribs removed and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon avocado oil
• 1 ounce goat cheese
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Chop the flesh into bite-sized chunks.
2. Drizzle them with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or vodka. Let them soak it up for a few minutes.
3. Use them to top a plateful of greens, kale in my photo, which I drizzled with  avocado oil and massaged well.
4. Top with crumbled feta cheese or, my favorite, goat cheese.

 

Vinny’s pink watermelon cooler
Serves four

• 2  cups watermelon cubes, frozen
• 4 ice cubes
• Juice of one fresh lemon (1/4 cup)
• Juice of one fresh lime (2 tablespoons)
• 2-4 tablespoons of any sugar syrup you have. I used home-made red-current couli, But any fruit syrup, even grenadine (from pomegranates) or maple syrup, will do. I use an equivalent amount of stevia unless it’s a special occasion.
• 2 pinches of salt
• 2 pinches of black pepper
• 3-4 ounces raspberry vodka (optional)
• ¼ to 1/3 cup club soda, depending on whether you add alcohol or not and the size of your glass

1. Blend the whole works except for the club soda for a few seconds.
2. If you want to serve some of the cocktails without alcohol, leave the vodka out and add it back to the glasses of  the folks who want it.
3. Fill each glass about halfway with the watermelon fizz. Add 1 ounce alcohol to each glass if you didn’t include it in the mix. Top up with club soda. Adjust flavor with more lemon juice if needed.
4. Spoon some of the pink foam into each glass and top with a raspberry or a mint leaf to garnish.

Watermelon

When the winter blahs get you down, break out some watermelon and smile :).