Inspirational Nutrition & Wellness: Simple Pleasures of Summer

After spending the majority of the day in the garden, yesterday's heat put a real damper on my desire to cook anything . However, we had some fabulous leftover grilled veges that needed to be used so I hit the web for some new ideas. Seems the heat affected my creativity in the kitchen some, too!

The original preparation for the veges included tossing the chunks in olive oil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and a little lemon juice. We used zucchini, yellow squash, cancer fighting broccoli, cauliflower, red bell peppers,selenium rich portobello mushrooms and onions for the vege mix. In future I will add eggplant and roasted garlic to the group for an added boost of flavor. You can never have enough GARLIC afterall.....

Putting the veges directly on the grill for the deeper color that comes from the char is my personal preference. Of course you can also use a basket if you prefer no grill marks. We originally enjoyed these veges with tasty braised beef that was slow cooked with red wine, a lot of shallots and creamy polenta. This was the perfect solution to a dinner party that included both vegetarians and carnivores!

Since the challenge was to use all the leftovers quickly I decided to make a puree soup. Even on a warm night it was a simple, totally satisfying and filling meal. I used my fav tool in the kitchen, VitaMix, filling it 3/4 with veges, added 2 cups of vege broth, a little cream for smoothing out the texture of the puree then heated up to room temperature. Garnished with a dollop of sour cream, grated parmesian and a krispy kale chip, it was an elegant finish to beautiful vegetables. There was enough left to freeze for another quick and nutritious meal!

Along the way I ran into a recipe from Fit Bottom Girls that I want to try the next time we entertain.