Vegetarian on the Fly

Here's a meal I had tonight which is a good example of mixing and matching different dishes. Some of the sides I had to make and others I had in the fridge. The most important thing about mixing different dishes, is that they need to have complementary flavors. If they don't then the meal won't be as spectacular. For example, I tend to avoid mixing curries with mediterranean foods. To me, they don't go together, however,  I would mix Indian curries with Asian coconut curries. I think they would complement each other nicely.

I enjoy mixing Middle Eastern food with Mediterranean food, as parts of the Arabic-speaking world touch the Mediterranean. The food is cooked in olive oil and everything melds together nicely. I used to eat only Greek kalamata olives, but they can be expensive. Somehow, after years of avoiding green olives, I became a fan. In my local Lebanese store, I can buy a 48 oz jar for around $10 and it lasts a long time in the fridge.

My meal tonight included green olives, carmelized onions (in butter on low heat), roasted asparagus, zucchini, onions and potatoes, and sauteed colorful peppers. It was delicious and easy to digest.There is no special recipe for any of this.

I have sauteed peppers and carmelized onions left over which I will use in my morning breakfast tortilla. I always cook things that can be used in different ways and you'll see me talk about that. Another thing I would do if I had a lot of peppers would be to make a roasted pepper sauce by simply mixing it with olive oil in the blender.

Another vegetarian meal I made with a Middle Eastern influence is pictured below.

This was one of my favorite experiments. There are 2 eggs, carmelized onions, sauteed spinach, ajvar, pepitas, and flatbread hot off the press. I buy toasted pepitas so I don't have to toast them but they provide a nice complement and flavor in addition to fiber and vitamins. I have prepared the flatbread in so many ways, that you have to find the one that suits you. Take a look at my bread page to see options.

Ajvar is a roasted red pepper and eggplant spread which is popular in Macedonia and other surrounding areas. Here's the recipee I tried below:

https://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/18449/original-macedonian-ajvar