Copyright Law/Ethics and Recipes?

I have been posting cookbook recipes to this blog when I have found them, or their near-equivalents, already posted online.  But today when I was looking up a couple I started to have a qualm about it.  I'd appreciate your thoughts about what to do in such a case.

For example, you can Google the names of the two recipes I made today from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals book I bought several weeks ago, and you'll find the exact recipes (one even seems to be a pdf from another version of this book!).

For now I'll just name the recipes, mention the main and interesting ingredients, and give a review. That should encourage you to buy the book, and then I'm doing the publishers a favor, right?

First up is SOUTHEAST ASIAN COCONUT ZUCCHINI, which is a sauteed mixture of cubed zucchini, garlic, turmeric, a hot pepper, and coconut milk, with accents of fresh basil, mint, and lime juice.  It was very pretty and very good (if spicy) over brown rice for my supper. And it used up one of our many remaining zucchini from the summer.

Then I tried JAPANESE SESAME SPINACH, but with Swiss chard, a very simple dish of the steamed green dressed with a paste of toasted and ground sesame seed, sugar, and soy sauce. Excellent.

Third in my veggie trio was my own concoction and something to get in part of my bean allowance for the day:

GREEN PEAS AND MUSHROOMS

6-8 ounces quartered mushrooms (I used baby Bella)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 12-oz bag frozen peas
2 "ice cubes" of frozen stock

Dry saute the quartered mushrooms and garlic, then add the frozen peas and the stock and simmer until the peas are done. Or overcook and have the family say that slightly-charred peas aren't so bad after all!

Verdict: Very Good.  What a simple, filling staple

Supper tonight was hearty servings of all these items with a half cup of brown basmati rice. Very nice.

Just for the sake of recording it, I'll provide the rest of my food for today:

Breakfast--half cup of oatmeal cooked with pear, a banana, and 1/2 oz. toasted almond slivers

Lunch--can of Amy's organic minestrone soup (180 calories, 6 g. fiber, 6 g. protein) fortified with extra water, 1 cup of home-cooked pinto beans and about three ounces of fresh spinach, with a little garlic powder, dehydrated onion, and marjoram.  I intended to eat all of this but stopped at about 3/4. Also had an orange.

Snack--big Jonagold apple

And that makes a nutritarian day:
At least 1 cup beans
At least 1 lb. cooked veggies (had more like 1.5 pounds)
At least 1 lb. fresh veggies (skimpy on that today! But I had giant six-cup spring mix salads every day for most of the last week.)
At least 4 fruits (I've had about 3.5 today, so if I quit being full before bedtime I'll have a bit more)
No more than 1 cup grain/starch (was a little over today, which can make up for the calories but not the nutrition of that bit of extra fruit)
No more than 1 oz. nuts

Funky Thai Salad

I made something for lunch today that I feared would be just TOO fusion cuisine. But I made it anyway and then looked up some of the ingredients and, lo and behold, I made something akin to this recipe for Thai summer rolls!

I started with the inspiration of the  Thai basil  in our garden. This herb is much like regular basil but has smaller leaves, purple stems, and an anise-type flavor note.

FUNKY THAI SALAD

3 cups tender salad greens (we have butter lettuce from the garden)
1/2 cup cooked beet chunks (julienned would have been more Thai-summer-roll)
1/2 cup blanched broccoli (we have baby broccoli sprouts from the garden)
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
scattering of roasted edamame
(I also had a couple of tablespoons of green peas that escaped into the strainer in which I was blanching the broccoli, and they made a nice addition.)

THAI BASIL DRESSING (what I intended, anyway)

Tablespoon of tahini (peanut butter or crushed peanuts would be more authentic)
Tablespoon of fresh Thai basil, crushed or minced
Tablespoon of rice vinegar (either the sweetened kind or plain with a dash of sugar)

THAI BASIL DRESSING (what I made do with)

Tablespoon of tahini
Tablespoon of fresh Thai basil, crushed
Tablespoon of saki
Teaspoon of tarragon vinegar
Sprinkle of sugar

Verdict?  Very good.  I really like the way the beets, basil, and tahini meld together. It makes a beautiful salad, too, more composed and accented with the dressing than tossed and drenched.

Super Foods

How many Super Foods do you eat in a week's time?

Read more here, at Wise Bread. 

Blueberries
Beans
Broccoli
Oats
Oranges
Pumpkin
Wild Salmon
Soy
Spinach
Tea (Green or Black)
Tomatoes
Turkey
Walnuts
Yogurt

This week I've had all the ones in bold. I usually have lots of dark leafy greens, but since we have so much fresh salad in the garden I haven't had spinach or kale or turnip/collard/mustard greens in the last couple of weeks. I've just finished a course of Cipro (antibiotic) and am having plain yogurt to try to build up my friendly organisms, but I don't usually have yogurt regularly.

Lentils and Leftovers Lunch

I visited a cultured grocery store, McGinnis Sisters, with friends on Saturday, and I got some treats, including red lentils. Today for lunch I wanted to start with those and add things as the inspiration (and inspection of the fridge and pantry) came to me. I post the ingredients first, but I really only added things as I went along.

RED LENTIL LUNCH

1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes and their juice
1/3 cup dry red lentils
About 2/3 cup water
Tablespoon of dehydrated minced onion
Salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of Garam Masala
Tablespoon or two of raisins
2-3 big leaves of kale, snipped into ribbons with scissors

Put tomatoes, lentils, water, and onion into a small pot and bring to a boil, then a quiet simmer. Add seasonings and stir in raisins to soften. Top the simmering mixture with kale and cover to steam the kale on top. When the kale is done, stir all together and serve with a topping of your choice.

TOPPINGS

I think diced cucumber and mint or a full-fledged raita would be good on this.
Or sauteed zucchini and onion
Or chopped cooked green beans (cold) and walnuts with raspberry vinaigrette
Or any of a number of things
But I cubed up cold leftover potato and baby carrots from a pot roast last week

VERDICT? Very Good. I wanted something healthy and flavorful and filling, and this fit the bill all around. I have enough left that I can have a smaller serving tomorrow, maybe with the raita, or I can treat hubby with it when he comes home for lunch.

Speaking of hubby, he bravely and happily ate my leftover Emerald Tofu from Thai Place Restaurant. I had the vegetarian Tom Yum, Emerald Tofu, and brown rice. Delicious and very healthy!

Ginger-Sprout Stir Fry and Eggplant Almost-Parmesan

For lunch today I just started pulling Asian-type ingredients out of the fridge to see what ideas presented themselves to me. Here's what resulted:

GINGERED SNOW PEA AND BEAN SPROUT STIR FRY

1-2 teaspoons sesame and/or peanut oil
quarter cup diced onion
sliced clove garlic
four or five shredded baby-cut carrots (or yes, about one large whole one)
half a large zucchini, chopped
soy sauce to taste
2-3 oz. cubed firm tofu
half a cup snow peas, chopped if desired
cup of mung bean sprouts
quarter cup cooked brown rice (that's just what I had left over)
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
2 slices crystallized ginger, chopped

Cook the ingredients in a medium nonstick pan or wok in the order given, pausing as needed to have them all come out done to desired extent. Putting in the soy sauce early helps insure the tofu will absorb good flavors.

Verdict--Excellent! The crispness of the sweet snow peas and bean sprouts and the firm crunch of the sunflower seeds blend well with the satisfying softness of the tofu and zucchini, and the ginger adds a nice burst of flavor here and there. This made a BIG bowl.

EGGPLANT ALMOST-PARMESAN
(Adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook (Mollie Katzen's Classic Cooking) )

half a large eggplant, in 1/2" slices
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup combination of whole wheat bread crumbs and wheat germ
combination of basil, marjoram, thyme, etc.
sprinkling of parmesan cheese

Combine herbs with bread crumbs. Put milk in a shallow bowl and dip eggplant slices into that and then into the crumbs, then lay on a nonstick baking pan. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or so, until soft but crispy on the outside. Serve with pasta sauce, either plain or on noodles, sprinkled with a bit of parmesan cheese.

Verdict--Excellent! I was very pleased with this--had two slices for my supper on a bed of whole wheat linguine with chunky pasta sauce over all and a sprinkling of parmesan.

CHUNKY PASTA SAUCE

1/4 to 1/3 cup pesto (mine has little oil in it)
large zucchini, chopped
onion, chopped
bell pepper, chopped
clove garlic, minced
jar of Ragu or other pasta sauce
can of diced tomatoes

Heat pesto in a pot, then add zucchini, onion, pepper, and garlic and stir while cooking to slight softness. Then add pasta sauce and tomatoes and simmer fifteen or twenty minutes. Serve over almost anything.

Verdict--Very Good. Just one of those everyday things to enjoy.

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--Leftover BERRY KALE SMOOTHIE

Lunch--GINGERED SNOW PEA AND BEAN SPROUT STIR FRY, half pink grapefruit

Snack--Banana with peanut butter and flax seed meal

Supper--EGGPLANT ALMOST-PARMESAN, CHUNKY PASTA SAUCE, half cup of whole wheat linguine

Busy Day and a Big Salad

Today I had a lot of errands to run, so I stuck a small orange and some mixed nuts in my purse, and boy am I glad I did that! As it was I barely felt hungry until I was also feeling woozy, and I'd stood in a Starbucks cafe in a Barnes & Noble and despaired of anything I could eat there. So I'm thankful for that orange and the nuts.

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--Leftover steel-cut oats cooked with apple

Lunch (about 2 pm)--Small orange and about an ounce of mixed nuts

Pre-Supper (about 5 pm)--A scant cup of CROCK POT CHILI with the meat picked out

Supper--Large salad of romaine and spinach, with bell pepper, onion, chunks of canned beets (I just like them! :-) ), marinated mushrooms (no oil), and about 60 calories' worth of a creamy cucumber dressing, with a sprinkling of dry-roasted edamame on top. For dessert, a large pear.

I think I need to be more careful to get enough to eat through the day, because I was quite dizzy (though not especially hungry) when I had that "emergency chili" as soon as I got home from the errands. After supper and a couple of hours later I think I feel fine.

I had fun at Costco picking out some interesting things to try in the days to come, including Tuscan melon, the marinated mushrooms, and quinoa, and old favorites like the giant bag of fresh spinach, tiny frozen blueberries, and dried apricots. I'm amazed that I still have little craving for the treats, and I even bought fewer of those than I might have otherwise--candy on sale, muffins from the bakery, a giant pepperoni pizza (never have liked pepperoni too much).