good gravy

Collard Greens w/ Browned Onions

2007-11-24T13:24:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-18T09:42:00.000-05:00

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:

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!)

Toss veges to coat in:

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

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.
Remove from oven. Drain any liquid. Reduce oven temp to 375 (F).
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)

Put cooled roasted veges in blender & blend until cauliflower is crumbled & eggplant is evenly mixed in.
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:

Combine:

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

Heat oven to 375 (F).
Grease 13x9x2 glass baking dish.
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

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

Thai Noodles

2007-09-22T19:33:00.001-04:00

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

Prepare (2) recipes of marinade & set aside.
Marinate tofu at least 30 minutes in one recipe. (If I have time, I'll marinate tofu several hours for a stronger flavor.)
While tofu is marinating, prepare remaining ingredients.
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.
Remove tofu from marinade & let excess drip off. Add drained noodles to marinade along w/ 2nd recipe & toss to coat
Heat oil in wok. It should be hot enough to sear tofu on contact but not smoking.
Add tofu to wok & toss until browned. Remove from wok & set aside.
Add cabbage & carrots. Stir fry until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add green onions & mung bean sprouts. Toss until heated through, 2 minutes.
Add noodles with marinade & cooked tofu. Stir fry until heated through.
Serve topped with cilantro, cucumber, peanutes & a squeeze of fresh lemon. Yum!

Cilantro Jalapeno Salsa

2007-08-26T18:19:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-05T16:01:00.000-04:00

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

2007-07-31T09:35:00.000-04:00

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

2007-07-30T16:07:00.000-04:00

(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.)