Vegetables as Good as Ice Cream:
Just Add Sour Cream

Three quick and easy vegetable recipes, each one pairing the vegetable with sour cream.

Cucumbers with sour cream? Yes!
Greens with sour cream? Yes, yes!
Beets with sour cream? Yes, yes, yes!
We'll ALL scream for sour cream!

Borscht Beets

The 1924 Olympic gold medalist Doug Larson once opined, “Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.”

Me, I’ve long believed that if vegetables tasted anything like, say, ice cream or chocolate, we’d trip over each other at the farmers market.

Truth is, I may have to eat those words, er, those vegetables, for these three simple dishes, stirred with sour cream, are every bit as good as the creamiest Chunky Monkey or the finest Belgian chocolate.

ONTARIO GREENS

Hands-on time: 25 minutes
Time to table: 25 minutes
Serves 4
  • 1 – 1-1/2 pounds fresh greens, washed, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon garlic
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Steam the greens about 10 minutes or until nearly cooked but still bright-colored. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet on MEDIUM HIGH. Add onion and garlic, sauté until soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in the greens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the sour cream, let warm briefly. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 165 Calories; 12g Tot Fat; 7g Sat Fat; 12g Carb; 3g Fiber; 380mg Sodium; 28mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers Old Points 4, PointsPlus 3 (and worth it!)
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.

NANA's CUCUMBERS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: Just over an hour
Serves 4
  • 1 English cucumber
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Fresh chive to taste, snipped
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Slice cucumber in thin rounds. Layer with salt, let rest in a colander for an hour. Rinse well under running water. Combine with remaining ingredients and serve.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 75 Calories; 6g Tot Fat; 4g Sat Fat; 5g Carb; 0g Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers Old Points 2, PointsPlus 2 (and worth it!)

BORSCHT BEETS

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Serves 4
  • 1/2 small red onion, chopped
  • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • 1 pound cooked beets, chopped (see My Favorite Way to Roast Beets from A Veggie Venture)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
  • Salt and pepper

Combine onion, vinegar, sugar and caraway in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over MEDIUM HIGH. Stir in remaining ingredients. Season and serve.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 152Cal; 6g Tot Fat; 4g Sat Fat; 22g Carb; 5g Fiber; 738mg Sodium; 13mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers Old Points 2.5, PointsPlus 4 (and worth it!)
Believe it or not, these recipes have been 'Alanna-sized' with reductions in fat and portion size and increases in low-calorie flavorings and nutrient-rich vegetables.

Ontario Greens Nana's Cucumbers Borscht Beets

Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like these recipes, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!

More Vegetable Recipes

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)
Butter-Simmered Carrots Roasted Cauliflower Shredded Zucchini with Thyme
Explore all of Kitchen Parade's vegetable recipes but of course, if I may say so myself, the best place on the internet for great vegetable recipes is my food blog A Veggie Venture.


Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

Quick Links to This Page

(for easy bookmarking and searching)
~ Nana's Cucumbers ~
~ Ontario Greens ~
~ Borscht Beets ~





© Copyright 2006 Kitchen Parade



Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Thanks for my low-carb heart happy with all of your delicious veggie recipes that include sour cream and butter. So much nourishing food here!

    I've bookmarked many of your recipes to try. Your photography is beautiful and your writing style is so entertaining. Will be back to visit again!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna