Red Dress, Red Dinner

Hearts collide in February here at Potluck Paradise headquarters, No, we're not talking about lover's spats, we're celebrating the double-duty heart benefits of Valentine's Day celebrations and the American Heart Month promoting heart health especially among women. Well, what could be better to celebrate our Potluck Paradise National Potluck Month than a Red Dress -- Red Dinner. Although we're more likely to wear a red sweater and jeans.

Enough healthy red foods come to mind to easily fill a potluck table. Whole-wheat pasta tossed with tomatoes and red peppers, or in a red marinara sauce. Salmon is kind of red and then there is red snapper. We could even include some red meat -- a nice piece of lean steak -- smaller than a deck of cards, mind you -- with all the fat trimmed. Of course there are bushels of red vegetables! Tomatoes and red potatoes are too easy. What about red radishes in a non-fat dip, delicious red beets either simply roasted or slivered into a saucepan in the recipe below. Red cabbage is one our favorites. This recipe has all the flavor and hardly any fat. Just two tablespoons of butter for a whole head.



WWI Victory Red Cabbage
4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Soak the cabbage briefly in cold water. Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and seasonings and cook until the onion is transparent, stirring frequently. Drain the cabbage and add to the frying pan carefully as the water clinging to the shreds will tend to spatter. Cover and cook over low heat until the cabbage is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove lid, add the vinegar and sugar, stir well and cook for 5 more minutes.

This is a quick and delicious way to prepare beets. It is a little messy to peel and then slice the raw beets. But the flavor is well worth it. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness of slices and how young, or old, the beets are.
Luscious Steamed Red Beets
3 to 4 red beets
4 large lettuce leaves
grated peel from one orange
Peel the beets and slice very thinly on a vegetable slicer -- about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. Take a heavy bottomed 2-to 3-quart saucepan with a lid. Put about a half inch of water in the pan. Put in two lettuce leaves and then put in the beet slices, sprinkling them with orange rind as you fill the pot. Put remaining two lettuce leaves on top. Cook over low heat until the beets are tender, about 15 minutes. Watch carefully so that the water does not completely evaporate! You can eat or discard the lettuce.

And now for dessert!

We're skipping the red velvet cake or chocolate dipped strawberries and suggesting red pears with raspberry sorbet and maybe just a drizzle of dark chocolate. Use the pears just as they are, or poach in a light syrup. You could even use canned pears if you are in a rush. If you do use raw pears, toss them with a bit of lemon juice after you cut them so they don't turn brown as quickly.