This recipe (from Lia Huber at Nourish Network), with just a few very simple ingredients, reminds me of a truly wonderful dish made with potatoes instead of zucchini (and called tortilla espagnola) that a very sweet young woman from Spain made for us on a number of lucky occasions many years ago when our children were small.

2 medium-sized zucchini
1 large sweet onion
4 tablespoons virgin olive oil, divided in two equal portions
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
8 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven on broil with the rack in the upper third of the oven.

Slice the zucchini and onion crosswise as thinly as possible, no more than 1/8 inch thick if you can manage it. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the zucchini and onions until tender and beginning to soften for about 10 minutes. Add parsley, salt, and pepper, allow to cool 5 min. Then slide vegetables into a large bowl, add the beaten eggs, and mix well. 

Reheat the sauté pan over high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Swirl the oil and then pour in the egg mixture, tilting the pan to spread it evenly. Reduce heat to low and cook 15 min. Run a spatula around the edges and shake occasionally until the center of the frittata is almost but not quite set.

Transfer pan to the oven and broil the frittata 3-4 minutes until the top of the frittata is browned. Then invert onto a large serving plate. Serve warm or allow to cool and serve at room temperature. It turns scrambled eggs into a great dinner or a spectacular brunch. A thin slice with a pickle makes a great snack. 

Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be 94 degrees.  Cold soup would be a very good idea. It would also be a good idea to cook the vegetables either tonight or early in the morning, before it warms up.

This recipe comes from a friend who can look forward to a great big bowlful just as soon as he recovers from surgery tomorrow.  His note says that it is “Wonderful on a hot day!”  It also says that the recipe is over a century old, and that it comes from the old Austro-Hungarian province of Marmor.

To make Russian-style borscht, cook the vegetables with 3-4 cloves of fresh minced garlic, add 2 tablespoons of honey to the boiling water, and skip the yogurt.

3 eggs

1 cup plain greek yogurt (optional) 

6 tablespoons lemon juice 

2/3 cup boiling water

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound mix of fresh beets (including the green tops) PLUS any combination of swiss chard, spinach, shredded zucchini, summer squash, green beans, yellow wax beans, shredded cucumber, and/or tomatoes.

2 cups ice water with 4-6 ice cubes

2 teaspoons fresh dill

#1 Early in the day, chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, place in a medium-sized soup pot, and add 2 cups water.  Cook on medium until the beets are soft, approximately 20-30 min. Put the entire contents of the soup pot, vegetables and liquid, into the refrigerator. 

#2 Place four soup bowls in the freezer.

#3 Later in the day, strain the cold vegetables and liquid, and save the stock.  Then proceed.

#4 Beat the eggs in a large 3-4 quart bowl until frothy, and continue to beat while adding 2/3 cup boiling water in a thin stream. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, salt, and chilled vegetable stock.  

#5 Add the ice water, followed by the cooked vegetables. Stir, and remove any unmelted ice cubes. Sprinkle with fresh dill, and serve in the chilled bowls.

—————————————————————————————————–

If you’ve never been on “Your Health is on Your Plate” before, and you’re not sure where to start, visit Lets Start at the Very Beginning to get a jumpstart on preventing diabetes and obesity in yourself and the ones you love!!

———————————————————————-

Then, scroll down and check out “A Milestone Celebration — Your Favorite Posts” to find a list of great blog entries!

———————————————————————-

Follow Dr Sukol on Twitter @RoxanneSukolMD.  

To comment on this post, follow Dr Sukol on Facebook at Roxanne Breines Sukol.

We’re starting a NEW feature today called YOUR HEALTHY TABLE!  Through the coming weeks and months I’ll post menus for your days with added attention to including ingredients that are at hand and in season.   They won’t always be as elaborate as this one, but I thought it would be nice to kick off this feature with a special day’s worth of menus!

#1 Breakfast

For breakfast I had a green smoothie.  I put these items into the Vitamix, in the following order, and my smoothie was gorgeous and delicious and nutritious!

1 small banana

1 small apple, peeled and cored

2 cups fresh baby spinach, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon chia seeds

6-8 ice cubes

Blend the ingredients on the highest setting for up to 60 seconds, and then drink it up!

******************************************************************************

#2 Lunch

Saturday lunches have always been a special family affair in our home.  Here’s what was on the table yesterday:

chicken wings and breasts, roasted with turmeric, mustard, paprika, and onions

spinach salad tossed with olive oil, oregano, thyme, and salt

asparagus spears roasted with olive oil and salt

guacamole (3 avocadoes, 1 large tomato, juice of 1 lemon, a lot of hot sauce, generous shakes of garlic powder, and pinch of salt)

[whole grain] rye bread

sweet corn on the cob, served cold

homemade cucumber pickles

and cherries!

*******************************************************************************

#3 Dinner

For dinner we ate leftover asparagus, guacamole, and most of the cherries, along with a glass of red wine.

————————————————————————————-

If you’ve never been on “Your Health is on Your Plate” before, and you’re not sure where to start, visit Lets Start at the Very Beginning to get a jumpstart on preventing diabetes and obesity in yourself and the ones you love!!

—————————————————————————————————————-

Then, scroll down and check out “A Milestone Celebration — Your Favorite Posts” to find a list of great blog entries!

—————————————————————————————————————-

Follow Dr Sukol on Twitter @RoxanneSukolMD.  

To comment on this post, follow Dr Sukol on Facebook at Roxanne Breines Sukol.

My friend Shoshi made this up!  She says that the longer you let it marinate, the better it gets.  It was delicious on day one, and tasted better on day two, and even better on day three.  I don’t think there was any left after that.

Our friend made orange roughy for dinner last Friday night (which we all ate along with a terrific red cabbage salad, quinoa, fresh fruit, blueberry muffins, and white wine) and it was so good that I got the recipe to share with you.  I ate very, very slowly to make the flavor last for a long time.

Lay 4 filets of orange roughy on a cookie sheet.

Brush with olive oil and minced garlic.

Season the filets with sea salt, paprika, and fresh ground pepper. 

Cook on medium high heat on one side only until the filets are white and flaky but still moist. Sprinkle with fresh parsley just before serving. 

A friend recently said that once you taste grilled pineapple, you will never again eat it any other way!  Peel it, slice it, and core it.  Then grill it, one side at a time, until you see grill marks.  This is an amazing invention.