Summary: <p>3. Health - Fitting Out!</p> <p>What is Fitting Out and why does it make a difference in your health and well-being? Nature and birds teach us something, and so does Zemach Zohar, a former Israeli sergeant, as he advises us to escape the matrix. Also, use the Circle of Life tool as a way to determine your satisfaction with your overall life and wellness. Part of wellness, eating the rainbow, obviously. Check out my Godmother-Myrtia’s Marinated Vegetables – Lahanika Marinated recipe, it’s delightful and robust.</p> <p> </p> <p>Nouna’s MARINATED VEGETABLES</p> <p>Lahanika Marinata</p> <p>The French call these bite-sized marinated vegetable appetizers, “Legumes a la Greque”.</p> <p>MARINADE:</p> <ul> <li>6 cups water</li> <li>1/2 cup dry white wine</li> <li>1 cup olive oil</li> <li>1 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately 4 lemons)</li> <li>10 sprigs parsley</li> <li>1 stalk celery with leaves</li> <li>1/2 teaspoon fennel seed</li> <li>2 cloves garlic, chopped</li> <li>2 sprigs fresh thyme</li> <li>2 teaspoons salt</li> <li>10 peppercorns, cracked</li> <li>10 coriander seeds, crushed</li> </ul> <p>VEGETABLES:</p> <p>2 pounds - a combination of any of the following:</p> <ul> <li>small boiling onions of uniform size (1-inch in diameter), peeled and left whole (or frozen boiling onions, defrosted)</li> <li>tender young green beans, trimmed but left whole</li> <li>trimmed artichoke hearts, quartered (or frozen artichoke hearts, thawed)</li> <li>small carrots, peeled and cut length-wise into sticks</li> <li>small zucchini or yellow crookneck squash (6-inches long), sliced in 1-inch widths (if small squash are not available, half a larger squash length-wise and slice each half into 1-inch widths)</li> <li>small green, red or yellow peppers, seeded and cut length-wise into 1/2-inch strips</li> <li>celery stalks of uniform size, peeled and sliced into 1-inch widths</li> <li>cauliflower florets, cut into bite-size pieces</li> <li>broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces</li> <li>small whole mushrooms of uniform size (1-inch in diameter)</li> </ul> <p>GARNISH:</p> <ul> <li>1 bunch red leaf lettuce</li> <li>1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley</li> </ul> <p>DIRECTIONS:</p> <p>Yield: 10 appetizer servings or 6 salad servings</p> <ul> <li>Combine marinade ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Lower temperature and simmer for 1 hour.</li> <li>Strain marinade into another pan, discarding herbs and seasonings. Return marinade to pot and bring to a boil.</li> <li>Add onions and when marinade returns to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover pot, and cook onions until tender but not falling apart (15 to 20 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer onions to a large container with a tight fitting cover.</li> <li>Raise heat and bring marinade back to a boil. Add green beans and when marinade returns to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover pot, and cook beans until tender but still crisp (20 minutes). Transfer beans to container with onions.</li> <li>Continue in this manner with remaining vegetables, never cooking more than one vegetable at a time. The following chart gives the cooking time for each remaining vegetable. <ul> <li>Artichokes: 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size</li> <li>Carrots: 10 minutes</li> <li>Zucchini and yellow squash: 5 minutes</li> <li>Peppers: 5 minutes</li> <li>Celery: 5 minutes</li> <li>Cauliflower: 5 minutes</li> <li>Broccoli: 3 minutes</li> <li>Mushrooms: 3 minutes</li> </ul> </li> <li>When all the vegetables have been cooked, set marinade aside and cool to room temperature. Pour cooled marinade over vegetables, seal container with a tight fitting cover, and refrigerate vegetables for 12 hours or overnight.</li> <li>To serve, lay a bed of lettuce leaves on a large serving platter. Drain vegetables in a colander (reserving marinade for storing leftovers) and arrange pieces attractively over lettuce. Moisten vegetables with a little reserved marinade and garnish with chopped parsley.</li> </ul> <p>NOTE:</p> <p>Leftover vegetables will keep for several days refrigerated in marinade. The marinade can also be reused for preparing more vegetables.</p>
