as promised: the recipes!

don’t think this means you can’t still add recipes to the mix (in fact, i would LOVE to add more!), but here is the round-up so far:

1- Peel, cook and mash potato with one grated onion (raw but don’t use too much juice if it has lots or it will be too sloppy to form up) a large handful of finely chopped parsley, a small amount of good tasty cheese and a pinch of cayenne.  Add a little salt if desired, roll handfuls in breadcrumbs and grill until brown on top (you can brush with oil or use a piece of butter on top)  and serve. Or you can do what I do and just serve large spoonfuls directly onto the plates  and forget the breadcrumbs altogether) sometimes I garnish with a little bacon/tuna/ham but mostly not.  The other part of the plate usually has an egg on it.

viv in nz

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2-   Polenta can be found organic and in bulk, good base for so many main dishes;  with eggs and ‘milk’ of some sort it bakes up into old fashioned spoon bread, cheese in it , more yum. A hearty green salad, massaged kale, etc, makes a balanced meal (so full of minerals, enough oils to satisfy)   and work up some rice pudding  with grated orange/limon rind for afterwards. A jug of Jamaica  is easy to make, loaded with minerals, or lemonade . Work with diff sweeteners or flavors(stevia, cinnamon stick, licorice root, or mints.  I suggest easy on the ice as it inhibits digestion. -Lucie in Yucatan

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3-

I’m going to have to go from memory because the other cook in the house seems to have absconded with the recipe card (the usual way I cook…so I hope you’ve got some experience with ‘to taste’) and I’ve added other veggies like spinach when I don’t use meat. This makes about 4 good sized servings, but easily could be doubled

1 tube of herbed polenta (or make your own if you want) two medium zucchini sliced 1/8 thick 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 medium onion, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 c fresh basil, sliced into thin slivers 1 package 4 ozs. shredded, low-fat, mozzarella 1/2 c fresh grated parmesan or romano/parmesan blend 1 cup ricotta (or low-fat cottage cheese…drained of liquid) Large jar of spaghetti sauce, OR your 16 ozs of favorite crushed or diced tomatoes. Somewhere in here add salt and pepper to taste…though with the jarred spaghetti sauce you usually don’t need more.

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray a deep baking dish with vegetable spray, or wipe with olive oil.  Slice polenta 1/8 slices.  Mix together 1/2 the mozzarella, all ricotta and fresh basil; and 1/2 the parmesan.  Set aside.

Start with a thin layer of sauce or tomatoes.  Next add a layer of polenta, cut as necessary to cover bottom of your pan, but do not overlap.  Add a layer of veggies (and precooked, drained, ground meat if you’re using it – it’s awesome with hot italian sausage). Tomato sauce. Dot with TBs of wet cheese mixture.  Sprinkle lightly with dry grated cheese. Repeat layers, ending with tomatoes or sauce and dry cheese.

Are you with me so far?    Bake 35-40 minutes.  Mine usually bubbles over, so I suggest you put it on a baking sheet to catch the spills.

Serve with either a salad or garlic bread…or both -Karyl

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4- Recipe: Cashew Curry

This vegetarian curry is rich, filling, and delicious, and can easily be made vegan.

Yield	4 servings
Time	45 minutes
Tools	wok or frying pan wooden spoon
Ingredients	½ pound whole cashews* 2 T butter, ghee, or olive oil 5 shallots, thinly sliced 5 curry leaves 2-in piece of lemongrass or zest of one lemon 1 T coriander ½ t turmeric ½ t salt 2 chiles, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 slices ginger 15 oz unsweetened coconut milk 2 T cilantro, chopped
Directions	Sautéthe shallots in the butter or oil, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes.Add the curry, lemon, turmeric, chiles, garlic, ginger, and salt, and cook until fragrant, 5-10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened, another 5-10 minutes. Remove curry leaves and serve, with rice.
	*The original recipe calls for the cashews to be soaked for 6 hours and then simmered for about 15 minutes until they are tender. I think this is unnecessary; in fact, I prefer crunchy cashews in my curry.Adapted from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. -Mary Pierce Channell ***************************************************************************************************** 5- dairy free spinach stuffed shells (from PBS, submitted by seana) Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 1.5 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon oregano 16 ounces extra firm tofu 2 cloves garlic 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast 10 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted 1 box jumbo shells 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce Directions Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels. Crumble into the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender along with olive oil, salt, oregano, garlic and nutritional yeast. Process on high until smooth and “ricotta-like”. Add the defrosted spinach to the blended tofu mixture. Cook shells in boiling salted water until el dente. Drain Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour about ½ cup pasta sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Stuff shells with 2 T of filling and place in pan, seam side down. Repeat until all shells have been stuffed. Pour remaining pasta sauce over shells, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Serve! **************************************************************************************************** 6- Coconut Quinoa and Sweet Potato Curry- submitted by Mary Pierce Channell What you need: 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas with liquid 1/2 cup dry quinoa 1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and cubed 1/2 medium onion, chopped (I prefer sweet onion) 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 to 3 tablespoons coconut oil (to sautee garlic and onion) 1 teaspoon coriander 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon turmeric 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (I like mine a bit spicer so I usually do a full teaspoon) 1/8 teaspoon cardamon 1/8 teaspoon ginger salt, to taste pepper to taste 1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk (I prefer the “lite” milk) What you do: 1. Prepare quinoa, chickpeas, and sweet potatoes. a. Stovetop Method:  To a saucepan, add chickpeas (with liquid) and quinoa. Heat over medium-high heat to bring chickpea liquid to a boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes, or until quinoa and sweet potatoes have softened.  In another saucepan fitted with a steamer basket, add water to 1/4″ below the bottom of the steamer basket and add sweet potatoes; boil over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or just until potatoes cubes can be easily pierced with a fork. b. Rice Cooker / Veggie Steamer Method:  I use a rice cooker that has a veggie steamer on top. To cooker portion, add the chickpeas (with liquid) and quinoa. To the steamer portion, add the sweet potatoes. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your cooker. 2. In a skillet, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent. 3. Add all of the spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cardamon, ginger, salt, and pepper). 3. Add the chickpea-quinoa-sweet potato mixture to the skillet. 4. Add coconut milk 5. Mix well and allow to boil over high heat. Reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the milk has condensed into a nice curry This curry is simple and healthy! Quinoa is a super nutritious grain and if you use the “lite” coconut milk you will keep the fat and calories down too! You can easily add in other veggies like peas, cauliflower, and carrots to really veg it up! I generally don’t eat this with rice since the quinoa is a type of grain. Also, you can make up a super quick naan just by mixing equal parts of self rising flour and club soda (I toss in some sea salt, curry powder, and cayenne pepper–or, get wild and put in banana peppers! Yum!!) fry in a hot skillet just like a pancake and you’ll have fresh hot naan/pita in a few minutes! ****************************************************************************************************   so, that’s it for now… like i said- please keep ‘em, coming!

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