Weekly Menu Recipes

Chickpea Wrap

Ingredients

Sea Salt

2 tbs. Olive Oil

1 Carrot, finely diced

1 Onion, finely diced

1 Garlic Clove, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. ground cayenne

Freshly ground pepper

1 15oz can of Chickpeas

1 White Potato

5 whole oil packed sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

Naan or Tortillas

1. Place a large saute pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the bottom with salt and heat for 1 minute. Add the oil and heat for another minute, do not let it smoke.

2. Add the carrot, onion, and garlic to the pan and saute for 5 -7 minutes. Add the cumin, red pepper, cayenne, and black pepper to taste and saute for 1 minute.

3. Add the chickpeas and their liquid and 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add the potato and tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes soften. Serve wrapped in tortillas.  Makes 4 wraps.

Skewers of Squash, Seitan in Pineapple‐Ginger Marinade with Brown Rice

Ingredients

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice (from the pineapple or the can)

1/4 cup minced cilantro

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 tbs soy sauce

2 cloves of garlic, minced

squash

1 pkg. seitan

1 cup of uncooked brown rice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large red bell pepper

1 1/2 cups peeled and cubed pineapple

Wooden skewers

Combine the vinegar, pineapple juice, cilantro, ginger, soy sauce, and garlic to a shallow dish. Add the squash, seitan and toss gently to coat, cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the grill to medium-heat. Place 2 1/4 cups of water in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to boil. Add the rice and salt, cover, reduce the heat to very low, and cook for about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the bell pepper into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Just before grilling, evenly distribute the squash, seitan, pepper and pineapple among the skewers.  Reserve the marinade. Place skewers on the grill and cook for 4 minutes then turn and grill about 4 minutes longer. Mount the rice into the center of the serving plate, place two skewers atop each serving. Strain the reserved marinade and pass it as a sauce. 

Crunchy Chinese Salad

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

2 tbs. dark sesame oil

2 tbs. canola oil

2 tbs. soy sauce

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 oz. dried ramen noodles

1 1/2 lbs cabbage, shredded

2 cups of bean sprouts

1 medium bell pepper

3 oz unsalted cashews

In a small bowl combine the vinegar, oils, soy sauce, chili powder and salt. Use your hands to break up dried ramen noodles. Combine the cabbage, noodles, sprouts, and bell pepper in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the mixture and combine. it's best to refrigerate for 6 - 8 hours (make the night before). Meanwhile, toast the cashews in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Once they are golden brown, removed them from the pan, place them in a bowl and pour 1 tablespoon of soy sauce over them. Toss to coat and set them aside at room temperature. When the salad has marinated, toss with cashews then serve. 

Mixed Mushrooms and Tofu Pasta

1 lb. Mixed mushrooms (shiitake)

4 garlic cloves

1 large onion sliced

3 tbs. olive oil

2 tbs. freshly torn basil leaves

2 tbs. chopped thyme

2 tsb. parsley

1 block firm tofu

juice of 1/2 lemon

14 oz. pasta of your choice

salt and pepper

Slice the mushrooms into chunks, put the mushrooms, garlic, and onion in a food processor or blender and process into a chunky paste. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the mushroom paste and saute over moderate heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the herbs and cook for 5 minutes. Put the tofu in the blender and process enough to make a coarse puree - it must not be too creamy. Add the tofu and the lemon juice to the mushrooms. Stir well and cook, covered over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package (they should be al dente). Drain the pasta, toss with mushroom sauce and season with salt and pepper. 

Red Bean and Quinoa Chili

Ingredients

2 cans of red beans (adzuki or kidney beans)

1 cups of water

2 tsp. ground cumin, divided

1 tbs. olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

2 cloves of garlic

1 large green or red pepper, chopped

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. cayenne

2/3 cup quinoa

1 cup frozen corn

1 to 2 cups organic tomato sauce

grated cheese (optional)

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, 1 tsp. of salt, garlic and green pepper, the remaining 1 tsp of cumin and the rest of the spices and saute for 5 - 10 minutes. Add quinoa and stir in. Add corn, tomato sauce and water to the onion/quinoa mixture. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the beans and a second tsp. of salt, simmer another 10 minutes. 

Hummus 

• 1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• 1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
• 3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth. 

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.
Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

Salad Dressing (Use the following ratios)

1/3 Balsamic Vinegar

2/3 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, Oregano

What's for dinner 12/22/09 - Russian Salad

Our winter CSA box usually gets me a little depressed. I'm not a big fan of root vegetables and as of lately we've been getting tons of them (beets, turnips, carrots, potatoes, and the bane of my existence: rutabaga). In the passed 2 years of subscribing to our CSA I have never used my rutabaga, it usually sits in the fridge, giving me the stink eye until I throw it in the compost. But this year, I decided to do my best to use it all up. After looking through Moosewood Cooks for a Crowd, I stumbled upon a recipe that I thought might just work. And, I must say, rutabaga and I are getting along quite well now. Here is the adapted recipe, so for those of you who have no idea how to get rid of all of those root vegetables - here's how in one fell swoop. 

Ingredients

3 medium sized fresh beets, peeled and chopped

2 medium peeled potato, chopped

1 large rutabaga, peeled and chopped
1 large peeled carrot, chopped
2 dill pickles (all we had were slices and they worked fine)
1 leek, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 or 2 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
salt to taste

Boil the potato, rutabaga and carrot until they are soft but can still hold their shape. Take out potato, rutabaga and carrots and set aside, while chopping the leek and pickles. Boil the beets until soft. Once you can get a fork in and out of it with ease, it's ready to take out and cool. Once the boiled vegetables are cooked and cooled then mix in a bowl together with pickles and leek. Add dill and olive oil, a dash of salt and mix well.

Moosewood suggests serving with hard boiled egg or sesame crackers.

Day 3 of vacation and I've conquered rutabaga, I feel like I'm king of the world.