
Merilyn Ruth Liddell
...writer of speculative fiction, poetry, essays and the occasional short story...

Easy Marinated Vegetables
Ingredients:
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Selection of your favorite raw veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sugar snap peas, peppers, asparagus, cherry or grape tomatoes, celery, zucchini, cucumbers, etc.)*
-
pitted Kalamata olives (as many as you’d like)
-
jalapeno stuffed olives (optional)
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1 or 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
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Newman’s Own oil & vinegar dressing (or your own favorite)
Directions:
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Wash vegetables. (Rinse them, soak them for about 5 minutes in a bath of vinegar and water, then rinse again.)
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Cut into sizes appropriate for finger food.
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Arrange in a marinating dish or layer in a large glass jar.
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Drain olives and arrange on top of the vegetables.
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Chop garlic and sprinkle on top.
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Drizzle vegetables with salad dressing (about 1/3 to 1/2 of an average sized bottle) and, if you like, some of the juice from the olives.
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Place in refrigerator and allow to marinate for 3 to 24 hours, turning the container at least 3 times (more is better) over that period to allow the dressing to coat all the vegetables.
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Serve alone or with your favorite dip.
* Add celery, cucumbers and zucchini during the last hour of marinating so they don’t get mushy.
Chickpea Hummus
Ingredients:
-
1 can (14 oz/398ml) chickpeas, drained
(or an equal amount of cooked chickpeas)
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2 T olive oil
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1-2 T water
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2 T lemon juice
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2 – 3 cloves garlic (or more!)
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3 – 4 T tahini
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½ tsp salt
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Purée.
Black Bean Hummus
Ingredients:
-
1 ½ c. cooked black beans
(or 14 oz/398 ml can of beans, drained)
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2 T water
-
2 T lemon juice
-
2 T salt-free herbal seasoning
(e.g. Mrs. Dash Lemon Herb)
-
2 T tahini
-
2 T low-sodium soy sauce
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½ tsp cumin
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1 - 2 cloves garlic
-
dash cayenne pepper (or more!)
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Purée.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Adjust water amount to achieve desired consistency.
Serve hummus with veggies (marinated or plain), chips, pita triangles….
…or use in place of mayonnaise in sandwiches.