Mr Divabetic Show with Author Kim Boykin & Chef Robert Lewis, Serve, Taste or Trash! Game

Serve, Taste or Trash! Game 

Grilled Green Tomatoes Caprese

Yield: Makes 8 to 10

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup white balsamic vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 2 lb.)

1 (16-oz.) package sliced fresh mozzarella cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag; add tomatoes, seal, and shake gently to coat. Chill 1 hour.

2. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat. Remove tomatoes from marinade, reserving marinade. Grill tomatoes, 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until tender and grill marks appear.

3. Arrange alternating slices of warm grilled tomatoes and mozzarella cheese on a large, shallow platter. Drizzle with reserved marinade; season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with basil

 Roasted asparagus

2 pounds asparagus, ends trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the oven to 425°F

On a baking sheet, limed with foil,toss the asparagus with the olive oil until evenly coated. Arrange in a single layer and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 10-15 minutes, shake the pan, then roast until just tender when pierced with a knife,

Top with feta and fresh lemon juice.

Roasted purple cauliflower

Ingredients

1 head purple cauliflower

1 organic red bell pepper

1 bunch organic spring onions

5 cloves fresh organic garlic

1 large finger fresh ginger

1/4 tsp dried red pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

Cut the cauliflower into small flowerets and slices. Remove the seeds and slice the red bell pepper lengthwise; cut each slice in half. Slice the white part of the onion diagonally and discard the green parts. Chop the garlic and mince the ginger.

Put the olive oil, toasted sesame oil and the salt in a zip lock plastic bag and mix. Add all the vegetables, garlic and ginger; mix very well. Make sure that all the vegetables are coated in oil; add some oil if necessary.

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Very lightly sprinkle the dried red pepper on the bottom of the pan. Spread the vegetables evenly in one layer.

Roast at 425 degrees for about 15 min.

Fruit Ripeness 101

How to tell if a canteloupe is ripe?

Cantaloupe should feel heavier than it looks and smell musky and sweet. Also you should be able to press your thumb in slightly on the bottom and there shouldn't be a lip around the stem.

If it smells over-sweet it's most likely over ripe. You can let a cantaloupe ripen on your counter top if you get one under-ripe

How to tell if pineapple is ripe??

It should be firm, not mushy, but not rock hard either.

The most important thing, however, is smell. An unripe pineapple won't smell like anything. An overripe pineapple will smell vinegary. A ripe pineapple will smell sweet.

You can test if a pineapple is ripe by trying to pluck out one of the leaves near the centre. If it comes out fairly easily then the pineapple is good to go. If it's hard to pluck, it's not yet ripe.

How to tell if strawberries are ripe?

Smell. Really, this is the most reliable way to tell if fruit is ri.pe

Also, if you smell the slightest hint of mold, fermentation, or foulness, you know they may not keep even one night.

Another sign is that a ripe strawberry will be red through and through. A strawberry picked underripe will be white or even slightly greenish at the top. It doesn't taste good then. But this is a negative sign, because not all red strawberries taste good.

Don't ever go by shape. The tastiest sort of strawberries my grandparents grew produced ugly, lumpy strawberries of a light, slightly orange color. They also had a few rows of a sort which produced perfectly conical, deep red strawberries, they looked like an advertisement - but they were hard and dry, and didn't have much aroma. Probably, there are some strawberries which both look and taste good - just don't think that looks or color predict a good strawberry, because they are independent.

How to tell if a Mango is ripe?

I look for a few things...

Color: There are many different varieties of mangos. Some go from green to red. Some end up orange Some start off yellow and end up orange. So once you're familiar with the type of mango you're buying, you can get an idea of what a ripe one looks like.

Smell: A ripe mango will smell sweet. Check near the stem end, the smell should be stronger there. You should smell it and think "mango." Smell is a large part of your taste, so it should be very familiar.

Firmness: Mangos, like peaches will soften as they ripen. Just as it starts to go from firm to soft, it is just about ripe.

Weight: With most fruit you can tell their ripeness by their weight. A riper fruit will be slightly heavier than an unripe

Finally, DO NOT refrigerate if you want them to ripen.

How to tell if a watermelon is ripe?

I don't believe there is a fool-proof way to determine 'ripeness' without taking a slice out of a watermelon. The best you can do is look for certain signs:

Ripe melons have a hollow sound when you tap or slap the outside

Look for the patch where the melon would have been on the ground (called the field spot). If it's a yellow colour its probably ripe. If it's white, it's probably not.

It should feel relatively heavy when lifted

Weird areas on the skin aren't necessarily bad. Insects may have tried to start eating the fruit because it is ripe, but have only marred the surface.

Unfortunately, melons don't continue to ripen once picked, unlike fruits such as apples and bananas, which contain ethylene. As a tip, don't store melons with these kinds of fruit, they may well go 'soggy.'