Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Guatemala

Friday, April 25, 2014

Life in Guatemala A to Z: Vegetables

Vegetables are just about my favorite foods. I like getting them fresh and experimenting with new ways of preparation. Today I'll share a few recipes I developed using vegetables from the local market.


Cucumber Salad

Peel and slice cucumbers, place in a bowl and salt. Blend together Greek yogurt and dill pickle juice to taste. Add additional dill seasoning if you like. Stir into the cucumbers and serve. Sprinkle chopped cilantro or dill on top.






Vegetable Soup

Make stock with chicken or beef, using the bones and meat: I add celery leaves, garlic cloves, onion, a carrot or two and one jalapeno pepper. Cover with water, add salt and simmer all day, adding more water as needed.

Cool down and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, skim off fat, remove meat and vegetables and you have the stock.

Peel and chop vegetables as desired: Carrots, onions, a mild pepper- green or red, celery, potatoes. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Salt as needed.

Sauteed Celery

Wash and chop celery in medium chunks, like you'd see in a Chinese stir fry dish. Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan. Add chopped garlic, 2 or 3 cloves, or garlic powder. Add celery and stir.  Add a few splashes of soy sauce. Stir fry until celery is tender. Serve with rice.




Roast Vegetables

Cut up potatoes, carrots, red and green peppers, and onions. Peel a few garlic cloves. Toss them all in a baking pan with 1/4 cup oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Bake at high heat, about 400 degrees, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

Below are leftover roast vegetables sauteed with leftover cooked rice, to make a brand new dinner. Another use for leftover vegetables is to chop fine and add to an omelet.




14 comments:

  1. Delicious and quick and easy to prepare.

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  2. Delish. What about guacamole, do they eat that there?

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    1. Robert, Guacamole is extremely common. Avocados were going for about 10 cents apiece when they were in season. Now I can't find them, darn it!

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  3. I bet you get some really fresh vegetables there.

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  4. Looks so good! I want that cucumber salad right now. ha. Have a great weekend!

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  5. Do the vegetables taste different there, being so fresh? Have you discovered some varieties you'd never used at home?

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    1. Holli, They do taste wonderful, as though from my own garden. Except you can't eat them raw unless they've been treated first! I haven't yet tried any different varieties, although I'm sure I will one of these days. Some look so strange I have no idea how to cook them.

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  6. The roasted veggie dish at the bottom looks so yummy!

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  7. I love just about any cucumber dish. Not big on roasted veggies. I like mine fresh, raw and crunchy.

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  8. MMMMM this looks so yummy:) I love cucumber salad and my hubby makes a great pepper, mushroom and onion stirfry veggies

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  9. Hi Karen - lots of ideas here .. the cucumber looks good - but so do the others!

    Spring veg are here now .. so I'm looking forward to getting out the farm shop and picking my own .. cheers Hilary

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  10. we always had cucumber salad in the summer - still a favorite. Mom always sliced red onions so thin you could see through them and added them to her version. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make that today! And probably roast some root veggies!

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