News Taffy

I’m keeping with last week’s theme to get everyone to eat foods prepared at home that feature vegetables instead of meat. Meat eaters have a tendency to think that they somehow aren’t getting a complete meal if there is no meat on the plate. My own husband, the cardiologist, thought that way when we were first married but now he views vegetarian meals quite differently. Plus, several years of marriage have taught him to eat everything on his plate with a smile on his face since he did none of the shopping or meal prep. Really, those who just show up for a meal have no right to complain unless they are willing to share the cooking and shopping duties.

Back to our theme. Growing up, it was not uncommon for us to have vegetarian dinners, especially in the summer when we had lovely fresh vegetables from my father’s garden. We were so unsophisticated though that we didn’t know to call them “vegetarian meals;" it was just what was for dinner. My father loved to garden as evidenced by the fact that fully half of our large back yard was devoted to gardening. He equally enjoyed cooking and eating the food that he grew. If your family has never experienced just picked vegetables, simply prepared without cheese or heavy sauces, then shame on you. The ASU farmers‘ market opens in a couple of weeks, so make plans to be there with the whole family. Let everyone pick something they want to try and I’m not talking about the baked goods. In the meantime, try this interesting potato frittata. If you must have meat, add a bit of cooked bacon crumbled on top or perhaps a bit of ham but that will add fatty calories as will cheese. Remember that cutting back on meat reduces your food cost. I know this dish sounds odd but we all thought it was very good. If you have a food processor, you can slice the potatoes in no time. The eggs add plenty of protein.

Potato Frittata

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Yukon gold or any potato, washed, peeled and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large carrots, thinly sliced

12 eggs 1/2 cup green onion, sliced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 clove garlic, minced

fresh chopped parsley or cilantro

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in a 10 inch oven proof non stick skillet and cook potatoes 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Add carrots and cook another 5 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned and softened. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, salt and pepper. Remove potatoes from heat and pour egg mixture over potatoes. Bake uncovered about 18 minutes or until frittata appears dry on top. While frittata bakes, toss together green onions, tomatoes, garlic and parsley or cilantro. Remove from oven and let cook for 5 minutes. Loosen edges of frittata with a large spatula. Place a large plate over pan and invert platter and skillet to release frittata onto plate. Cut frittata into wedges to serve and spoon tomato mixture on top.