Stelad: An Adventure in Almost Raw

Nothing in the cupboards but canned veggies and some spices, the fridge doesn't work, so is completely empty, the stuff we took out of the freezer this morning wasn't thawed, and we were hungry!

So what is ready in the garden? Six various heirloom tomatoes, a zucchini, a cucumber, and two red *nardello sweet peppers.

"What do you do with this motley assortment of veggies?", you may ask. Well, you make a stelad of course!

Dice the cucumber, chunk the tomatoes, sliver the peppers, and triangle cut the zucchini. Put everything into separate bowls, grab a can of corn, a teaspoon of oil, two tablespoons of whipped salad dressing, and the jar of Cavendar's Greek seasoning, and you are ready to begin.

Drop two tablespoons whipped salad dressing into a large bowl, and put the teaspoon of oil into a large skillet. Toss all of the zucchini and peppers into the skillet and sprinkle liberally with the Greek Seasoning powder, then stir to coat with oil. Turn on heat to medium-high and stir about twice a minute while draining the canned corn and dumping the corn, cucumber, and all but 1/2 cup of the tomato into the bowl. Let skillet sit two minutes and stir contents of bowl. This will create an excess of liquid. Strain liquid into a second bowl and set aside. Stir skillet contents and let sit one minute, then, while stirring, add remaining tomatoes and liquid from second bowl and continue to stir 10 seconds or until everything is fully covered. Cook one more minute, then remove from heat and immediately add to raw veggie bowl and toss together.

Tastes like the perfect fresh combination of salad and stew, with just a bit of juice, hence the name; Stelad. Best served right after preparation while it is still slightly warm. A perfect summer or fall "soup", stelad lets us celebrate the harvest in colorful style while still enjoying delicious, healthy raw food. Tasty and satisfying as a stand-alone meal, and great as an exciting addition to a garden party or luncheon. Side seasonings set on the table for parties may include crushed dill, red mineral salt, julienned carrots, and raw sugar.

Serving size: 1cup
Makes: 6-8 servings

* 1/2 red bell pepper can be substituted for the two red nardello sweet peppers.