What's for dinner today?

Not sure. It's past dinner time. No picky person around to demand anything, but that person will be coming home soon. So, here's what I am going to do. I have fresh spinach, olive oil, and have garlic. I am going to get something together, along with the left over Indian bread I made yesterday. Maybe a salad. And, a raita. What's your dinner?

Pesto in warm cherry tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed With Pesto

I’ve been serving these appetizers for decades. You can also make a warm side dish with medium-size tomatoes (see variation below).

1 or 2 garlic cloves, to taste
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds or Mediterranean pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan
1 pint cherry tomatoes

1. To make the pesto, turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic. When it is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the basil, pumpkin seeds or pine nuts, salt, pepper and olive oil to the food processor, and process until smooth and creamy. Add the Parmesan, and pulse until well combined.

You can also use a mortar and pestle. Add the basil leaves gradually, and mash with the pestle. Add the pumpkin seeds or pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper. Mash to a paste with the basil. Work in the olive oil and the Parmesan.

2. Using a paring knife, cut thin slices from the tops of the cherry tomatoes. Use a grapefruit spoon or small spoon to scoop the seeds and flesh from the center of each tomato. Lightly salt the hollowed out tomatoes if desired, and place them, cut side down, on a rack to drain for 15 minutes. Fill with the pesto, arrange on a platter and serve. Refrigerate or freeze any excess pesto.

Variation: Warm stuffed tomatoes with pesto: Use six to eight medium tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, and scoop or gently squeeze out the seeds. Fill with pesto, and place in a lightly oiled baking dish. Heat through for 15 to 20 minutes until warm; the tomatoes should still be intact. Serve.

Yield: Serves 12 as an hors d’oeuvre, six to eight as a side dish.

How do you pick a place that pleases everyone?

Have you been through this? On a Saturday evening, you'd like to do something fun but by the time you make a decision that everybody is agreeable to, it gets to be too late. Then the excitement fades and everyone ultimately decides to stay home.

That's what happened to me this evening. After a lot of going back and forth, choices and suggestions, we turned around to look at the time and realized it was 8:30 P.M. I was too lazy to even change my clothes and got too comfortable doing nothing. So, did nothing. Actually am loving it.

Eggplants often get a bad rap

I hardly see eggplants being used in homes. One reason is the huge eggplants we find in regular stores with lots of seeds are absolutely tasteless or simply taste bad.

Smaller eggplants or the asian varieties are the best, they literally melt in your mouth. Sometimes, produce junctions carry them. If you like Eggplant Parmesan with those humongous tasteless ones, wait until you try the real eggplant. They are also good baked or roasted in olive oil. You may add peppers and sprinkle some herbs and spices to make them more interesting.

Anything goes when it comes to food I guess

Dead, fresh, live, stale, hot, sour, pungent, salty, sweeter, bitter, tangy,and of course in all shapes, colors and textures; annnnnnything goes.

So, how do you like this combo? Spaghetti Taco. It even sounds gross to me. Apparently though kids love it. A mom even served it as a meal at her kid's teen party. And, it was a hit. I read Karen Petersen, 'a mother of two from Rye, N.H., fries her own taco shells and breaks the spaghetti into thirds to make the strands fit more easily'.

The fever is catching on. Boys in particular and I can believe that love it!

Diets,Weight loss - up and down and around it goes

Does it sound familiar? I think it would to many people. Can be exasperating.

Although I am no expert, the following has worked for many in my family and for me. The best answer that I have found is to have 3 good meals a day, empty calories maybe okay here and there but staying away from them will produce the right results. Just don't buy them. Limiting if one must to the weekends may not be a bad idea. Egs. A cookie or two, a glass of soda, or a cup of ice cream I think wouldn't be so bad.

Three meals are a must. Never go hungry and get the good calories from real food. That's it. The best secret is never to try any diet. Never feel bad about eating. Never search for food when you are either sad or happy. Although I do that off and on. Guilty on that count. About drinking - not on a regular basis. Movement in any form is a must. Swim, walk, bike, jog, lift weights, anything.

Oh, one more thing. Never combine food and TV.

How does one get rid of the pesticides from vegetables?

I have always wondered. How far should one go? I have read Meryl Streep uses a scrubber and soap or something similar on apples to remove the wax and the sprays. I have never done that. All I do is wash everything at least once under running water. I rub them while rinsing; sometimes on things like tomatoes, I don't do that either. It just may not be enough I understand but wouldn't cooking on high heat remove all the toxic stuff?

I wash my hands before, after and during cooking. Don't have to worry a about cleaning the cutting board since there is no meat involved. I just rinse them after cutting vegetables. I know it's not enough. Starting today I will consciously do more of the rubbing, maybe scrubbing and rinsing. Friction should be enough to take care of those pesky pesticides.

Hmm. Too many things to worry about.

It is not happening and probably will never happen

Consumption of vegetables in the U.S. - As far as I have known, it's always been the absolute minimal if not absolutely nil.

Just this year with Michelle Obama's push for vegetable consumption among children it has received some noticeable press. But until then, I can definitely believe that most homes did not really promote it. I have sat at dinner tables at many homes where vegetables made a guest appearance. They can't be appetizing if they are just steam cooked with a dash of butter and a sprinkle of salt. You've got to add taste to it. Day after day of steamed veges can be truly unwelcoming.

Recommendations are: at least four to five vegetable servings daily. A serving: half a cup of cut-up or cooked vegetables, one cup of fresh greens, half a cup of cooked dried beans, or, if you must, six ounces of vegetable juice.

That's a lot even for a complete vegetarian like me. But, it's easy to do since it does add not calories. One can start with two servings and then consciously build it up little by little. A no-meat day will help to up the vegetable intake as well.

What's so great about vegetables? You'll never know until you try. It can make a world of difference to lose weight and feel healthy; and it translates to a whole lot of other things from physical to psychological.

Avial - Check out my recipe of the week

A popular mixed vegetable dish from the south.

Stretching before or after exercise?

I have always wondered which is better. Or, if both are necessary. After my rigorous routine on the stairmaster it's become a habit of mine to stretch. It helps me relax my muscles and also take a breath.

I seldom do it before exercise and skip it mainly because it would cut into my actual exercise time. Maybe it's for the better. The NYT article says that stretching before running for instance does not help and in fact hinders athletic performance.