Collard Greens w/ Browned Onions

One of my favorite recipes. It was popular w/ the greens-eaters at our Thanksgiving dinner.

1. Thoroughly wash, remove coarse stalks & slice into fine ribbons:

• 1 lb collard greens

2. In a large pot, heat over medium-high flame:

• ¼ c olive/mustard oil

3. When oil is hot, stir fry until medium brown color:

• 2 medium onions, peeled & diced

4. Add & stir fry for one minute:

• 3 garlic cloves, peeled & finely diced
• ½ - 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled & finely chopped

5. Add & stir fry for one minute:

• 1 small tomato (about ¼ cup), finely chopped

6. Add, stir to mix & bring to boil:

• Collard greens
• 2 c vegetable stock
• 1¼ tsp salt
• dash of cayenne pepper (to taste)

7. Cover & turn heat down to low. Cook to desired doneness. The original recipe calls for 1 – 1½ hours cook time. I prefer the greens tender but crunchy & bright green, so I cook them between 15-30 minutes.

Roasted Vege Lasagna

A combination of Moosewood's, Joy of Cooking's Vege Lasagna & my own additions. Pretty tasty. (When I made the sauce from scratch, it took about 2.5 hours to prepare.)

Roasted Veges:

1. Preheat oven to 450 (F). Cut into ½” slices/pieces:

• · 1 Eggplant (1.5 lbs)
• · 1 head cauliflower(The original recipe called for zucchini. I’m not a zucchini fan. Roasted cauliflower is delicious!)

2. Toss veges to coat in:

• · ½ c olive oil
• · 1 tsp salt
• · ½ tsp black pepper

3. Arrange veges in single layer on cookie sheets. Roast until browned & soft, about 20 minutes. Turn veges over & roast an additional 20 minutes, until browned & soft.
4. Remove from oven. Drain any liquid. Reduce oven temp to 375 (F).
5. Prepare pasta. Boil until just tender & then place in cold water:

• · 1lb lasagna noodles

Tomato Sauce: (Skip to # if you have at least 3 cups of prepared sauce on hand.)

6. Saute in skillet until soft (15-20 minutes):

• · 1 c onion, diced
• · 1 celery rib w/ leaves, chopped

7. Add & sauté 2 minutes:

• · 2 garlic cloves, minced
• · 1 tsp basil
• · ½ tsp oregano

8. Stir in:

• · 28oz can diced tomatoes w/ juice
• · 2 tbsp tomato paste
• · ¾ tsp salt
• · ¼ tsp black pepper

9. Simmer uncovered until thickened, 15-20 minutes. (If you have a hand blender, blend until smooth. If you don’t have a hand blender, let the sauce cool before blending in the blender – steamy things in the blender is a bad idea.)

Filling:

10. Stir together:

• · 15 oz. cottage cheese
• · 2 eggs
• · ½ lb cooked spinach (if using frozen spinach, make sure to drain it)
• · ½ c grated parmesan cheese (I usually skip this)

11. Put cooled roasted veges in blender & blend until cauliflower is crumbled & eggplant is evenly mixed in.
12. Combine blended veges with cottage cheese mixture. (If you & other folks who will be joining you for lasagna aren’t grossed out by big vege pieces, you can skip this part. I added it because it seemed to help to hide the veges from the non vege eaters. Works really well.)

Lasagna Prep:

13. Combine:

• · 4c shredded mozzarella & ½ c grated parmesan (I usually skip the parmesan & use however much mozzarella I need…)

14. Heat oven to 375 (F).
15. Grease 13x9x2 glass baking dish.
16. Layer lasagna in the following order:

• · Thin layer of sauce in pan
• · Layer of pasta
• · 1/3 of filling mixture
• · ¼ of mozzarella & parmesan mixture
• · ¾ c sauce
• · repeat pasta, filling, cheese, sauce 2 more times
• · Top with remaining sauce & cheeses

17. Cover with foil & bake for 30 minutes.
18. Remove foil & bake another 15 minutes uncovered, until golden & bubbly.
19. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Thai Noodles

This recipe is Pad Thai-ish. Very tasty.

Marinade:
(The original recipe calls for 1 recipe of marinade but I prepare 2 recipes in separate bowls. One is used for marinating the tofu. I soak the noodles in the second batch before adding them to the stir fry.)

• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1/4 c vinegar
• 3 TBSP sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP Thai redi chile dipping sauce OR red pepper flakes
• 1-2 TBSP peanut butter (I prefer chunky)

Stir fry:

• (1) package firm / extra firm tofu, cubed (I usually press & freeze the tofu at least one day before preparing. We prefer very firm tofu. If you press & freeze, be sure to thaw before marinating tofu.)
• 
  
• 1-2 TBSP peanut oil
• 1/2 - 1 package Thai rice noodles
• 1 c cucumber, peeled, seeded & cubed
• 1 c mung bean sprouts, rinsed & drained
• 1 c shredded carrots
  
• 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded (Red is good too but turns everything purple)
• 1 c green onions, roughly chopped (greens only)
  
• coarsley chopped cilantro, to taste
• 2 TBSP roasted peanuts, chopped
  
• 1/2 lemon, in wedges
  

1. Prepare (2) recipes of marinade & set aside.
2. Marinate tofu at least 30 minutes in one recipe. (If I have time, I'll marinate tofu several hours for a stronger flavor.)
3. While tofu is marinating, prepare remaining ingredients.
4. Prepare rice noodles per package instructions. (Mine don't have instructions in english. I usually boil a pot of water, remove it from heat, add noodles & let them soak 5-7 minutes, until tender. Drain & rinse.
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5. Remove tofu from marinade & let excess drip off. Add drained noodles to marinade along w/ 2nd recipe & toss to coat
6. Heat oil in wok. It should be hot enough to sear tofu on contact but not smoking.
7. Add tofu to wok & toss until browned. Remove from wok & set aside.
8. Add cabbage & carrots. Stir fry until tender, about 5 minutes.
9. Add green onions & mung bean sprouts. Toss until heated through, 2 minutes.
10. Add noodles with marinade & cooked tofu. Stir fry until heated through.
11. Serve topped with cilantro, cucumber, peanutes & a squeeze of fresh lemon. Yum!
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Cilantro Jalapeno Salsa

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients & mix thoroughly. Allow flavors to mix about 30 minutes before serving.

• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 cups ripe tomatoes, cored & finely chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely chopped
• 2 TBSP onion, diced
• 1 TBSP fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp salt/to taste

A tasty summer treat, fresh from the garden.

Pasta Estivi

Delicious & quick - a great summer dish.
Dan & I have been enjoying this almost once a week with fresh ingredients from the garden. (Actually, I've probably been enjoying it more - Dan's not really a tomato fan. But he's a good sport at trying new things.)

1. In a large pot, cook until aldente:

• 12 oz. pasta
  

2. Drain & rinse pasta with cool water.

3. In a medium sized bowl, combine:

• 5 c fresh tomatoes, chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch green onions, diced
• 1/2 c fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2-1 c mozzarella, shredded

You can add olives or other veges to your taste. Doesn't seem to be a great leftover though. Occasionally I only use one clove of garlic - raw garlic has a lot of "bite" & sometimes causes loved ones to shun you due to overpowering garlic breath, so I hear.

Red Lentils Hyderabadi

Prepare lentils as follows:

• 1 c red lentils, picked over, washed & drained
• 4 c water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 to 1 1/4 tsp salt

1. Put lentils & 4 c water in heavy bottomed pot. Bring to boil. Skim froth off top.
2. As water boils, add turmeric & stir.
3. Partially cover, leaving lid slightly ajar & turn heat down to low.
4. Cook gently until lentils are tender 35-45 minutes.
5. Add salt & stir to mix.
(If you prefer less soup-like lentils, simmer with the lid off.)

Now for the flavoring, which can be prepared during the last 15-20 minutes the lentils cook:

• 2 TBSP peanut/ canola oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
• 1/2 tsp whole brown mustard seeds<>
• <>1-2 whole dried hot red chiles (substitute: 1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes OR 1 seeded, diced jalapeno/other fresh green chili pepper)
• 8-10 fresh curry leaves (substitute: 2 bay leaves OR 4-5 fresh basil leaves)
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled ( I usually dice the cloves)
• 1-2 tsp fresh lime juice

1. Heat oil in small frying pan over med-high heat.
2. When hot, add mustard seeds. (I test for hotness w/ 1 mustard seed - it should pop after a few seconds in the oil. If the oil is too hot, it will burn the mustard seeds & everything else.)
3. When the seeds pop, a matter of seconds, add the chilis/red pepper flakes & stir once.
4. Quickly add the curry leaves. Stir once.
5. Quickly add garlic & turn heat to medium. Lightly brown garlic. (I generally stir the mixture a few times as garlic browns.)
6. Pour mixture over the pot of cooked lentils. Squeeze lime juice over the top, stir & serve.

You can serve this with bread or over rice.
Sometimes I'll toss in a few greens - spinach, kale, beet greens or serve with a side of greens.

GRATED BEETS W/ SHALLOTS

(from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey)

i tried some beets from our garden & discovered this DELICIOUS
beet recipe. i think this is quite good - i prefer to use a
little less than 1 lb beets though (about a 1-1/2 cups).

3 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp whole brown/yellow mustard seeds
2 large shallots, peeled & cut into fine slivers
1 fresh hot green chile, cut crosswise on sharp
diagonal into thin slices
1 LB beets, peeled & coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
1 tsp salt
1/2 c water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1. put oil in large frying pan over med-high heat.
2. when hot, put in mustard seeds.  as soon as seeds
begin to pop (a matter of seconds), put in shallots &
green chile.  stir fry for 30 seconds. shallots should
turn a little brown.
3. add beets & stir for a minute.  put in the salt &
1/2 c water. stir.
4. bring to boil. cover, turn heat to low & cook
gently for 10 minutes.
5. uncover, turn heat up to medium & add lemon juice.
6. stir to mix & turn off heat.

(If you're not saving the beet greens for another recipe,
you can chop them up, along w/ their stems, & toss them
in with the beets.)