Beety nutty salad

I go through phases when it comes to salads... this is my latest obsession!

Salad

• lettuce
• toasted slivered almonds and sunflower seeds (I don't normally like sunflower seeds, but they definitely add something to this salad!)
• grated beets or beets and carrots (in the salad pictured above I used golden beets and no carrots but any combo of beetiness and carroty-ness is great)
•  thinly sliced bell peppers
• feta cheese if you happen to have it
• whatever else you feel like putting in there - it's a salad, it's flexible! 

Dressing

• roughly equal parts oil and apple cider vinegar (to match the rest of the ingredients here, say about 1/3 cup each)
• a large teaspoon full of honey 
• a small clove of minced garlic
• 1/8 tsp grainy dijon mustard (since I don't like mustard I put very little)
• salt + pepper

Baked Beet-and-Carrot Burgers

This recipe came to me via family in Portland.. I'm not sure exactly what the origial source is.  They are some of the best veggie burgers I've had though! Last time we made them, we did a huge batch (grating all those beets and carrots by hand was a major pain, so this time we'll be using our new food processor).  We froze a whole bunch of them and could always have a quick and easy meal by popping a couple of them into a frying pan!

Ingredients

butter for greasing baking sheet or some parchment paper
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups peeled, grated beets (about 1-2 med beets)
2 cups grated carrots (about 4 carrots)
1/2 minced onion (about 1/2 onion)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tbs flour
2 tbs soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet (we line with parchment paper, which we then use as separators between the patties when we freeze them)

2. Place a small heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir them in the dry skillet until lightly browned and fragrant (about 3-5 minutes) - careful not to burn them! Remove from heat and transfer to a dish to cool.

3. Toast the sunflower seeds in the same way you did the sesame seeds.  Add them to the dish containing the cooling sesame seeds.

4. Combine the beets, carrots, and onions in a large bowl, then add all of the other ingredients.  Mix well.  You will probably need to get your hands in there!

5. Form patties, squishing out excess liquid as you do, and place them on the prepared baking sheet.  The recipe says it makes 12.

6. Bake until brown around the edges - about 20 mins.  You probably don't need to, but you could flip them partway through cooking.

Enjoy on buns with you favourite toppings or just on their own with some salad or steamed veggies on the side.

When life gives you too many apples...

... make Apple Rings!

We don't have a peeler/corer but that's not an issue:
#1: I kinda like apple rings that have their skins on, so the peeling wasn't an issue.
#2: The spout of a Ceres juice box makes an excellent corer, as long as you slice your apples first.

The result: rings of deliciousness!

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

I'm going to make these again today since the ones I made the other day vanished so quickly!
Based on http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blueberry-oatmeal-muffins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Combine the egg, yogurt and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
2. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use paper liners; fill three-fourths full with batter. Bake at 400° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

 

Vietnamese-style Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

Poor ilan is sick so yesterday in Vancouver we found him some Vietnamese hot and sour soup for lunch.  It was super yum, so today I decided to try to make something similar at home.  I pulled ideas from a whole bunch of different recipes and websites and here's what I ended up doing (roughly)...

Ingredients (prep everything first)

- 3 tbs minced garlic
- white part of two lemongrass stalks, sliced finely and minced
- 2 red chili peppers with seeds, finely sliced and minced (this made for spicy soup! Use 1 if you want it milder and/or remove seeds)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- some mushrooms (I think I used 7-8 creminis), quartered
- 3 celery stalks, cut into about 1cm long slices
- 1/2 head green cabbage, sliced into strips (next time I might leave it in somewhat bigger chunks)
- 3 large tomatoes, cut into 6-8 chunks
(You could use different veggies than the above if you like!)
- 1 can of pineapple tidbits
- 1/4 cup fish sauce plus a little more
- about 650mL of chicken broth (we had a yogourt container full in the freezer)
- if you have it, 2 tbs tamarind (I'm sure the soup would be fine even if you don't happen to have this on hand)
- about 1 cup boiling water to prep the tamarind
- fresh herbs for garnish: I used basil (even though I only had a wee bit), mint, and cilantro (could also use some spring onion, possibly even some fresh oregano)

Directions

1. Prep tamarind.  Put the tamarind paste in a bowl and add the boiling water.  Let sit about 15 minutes so tamarind softens.  Press the tamarind and water through a fine sieve into another bowl to extract as much tamarindyness as you can then discard the remaining tamarind chunks.

2. Prep the chicken. Slice the raw chicken across the grain into roughly 1/2cm thick slices.  Put in a bowl with some fish sauce and ground pepper then cover and put it in the fridge until you're ready for it.

3. In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, saute 2/3 of the garlic with the chili peppers and 2/3 of the lemon grass in some olive oil and/or schmaltz.  Once everything is nice and fragrant (about 30s), add 1/4 cup of fish sauce and cook for 2 minutes to reduce it.  Yes, it will smell intensely fishy.

4. Add the chicken stock and tamarind juice to the soup pot, adding a little extra water to help you get everything out of the bowls.  I'd add at least a cup or two of water at this stage.  You can also throw in the lemongrass tops in larger chunks if you like.  Bring to a boil.

5. Add the can of pineapple with juice and again rinse the can with water to get it all.  Add the chopped veggies (in my case, celery, mushrooms, cabbage, and the tomatoes - I added the tomatoes a little later than everything else and maybe should have waited longer than I did).  Reduce to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes (maybe less).

6. While the soup is simmering, heat some oil/schmaltz in a frying pan and add the remaining garlic and minced lemongrass.  Fry till fragrant (30s) then add a couple tbs of fish sauce.  Again, let it cook a minute or two to reduce down but not so much that everything starts sticking to the pan.  Add the sliced chicken and cook until just cooked through (about 4 mins).

7. Add the chicken to the soup, check to make sure everything is sufficiently cooked, and turn off the heat.

8. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh herbs.  Eat and enjoy!

ilan says: "If this soup doesn't cure me, nothing will!"

Sauteed Green Beans

I had a busy weekend of cooking... I'd like to share here a couple of the delicious things that I made :)

Sauteed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252123/sauteed-green-beans-cherry-tomatoes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (I just grabbed a few from the garden - not nearly this many but it was still yummy!)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook, stirring often, until seared in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes for tender-crisp or 6 minutes for tender. Push the beans to the side; add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, stir everything together and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar, salt and pepper.

Cottage Pie (that's Shepard's Pie that's made with beef!)

See also http://eatlikekat.blogspot.ca/2012/10/vegetarian-shepherds-pie-with-cheddar.html if you want a vegetarian dish instead..

But if you want a meaty version, this one was delish:

Based on http://www.rachaelray.com/recipes/seriously-flavorful-shepherds-pie-savory-beef-and-mushrooms-with-cheesy-mashed-parsnip-and-potatoes-on-top
If you have parsnips, then go for it and just follow the recipe above.  I didn't happen to have any so I did this instead (ie. I dropped a few other ingredients that I didn't happen to have):

Ingredients

• 6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into largish chunks
• Salt
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• 1 pound mushrooms, crimini or button, quartered
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme + 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary (or whatever combination of herbs you happen to have/want to use)
• Coarse black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef sirloin (I might have had closer to a pound?)
• 1 large bay leaf
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 rounded tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• About 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup dry red wine or dark beer
• 2 cups beef stock (I used mushroom stock made from cubes since that is what I had)
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded or crumbled very sharp white cheddar cheese (we only had a cup or so of the orange stuff, so that's what we used)

Directions

1. Place potatoes and parsnips in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and season with salt, cook to tender. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Heat a large Dutch oven or frying pan over medium-high heat with a couple tablespoons EVOO, 2 slow turns of the pan. Add mushrooms and brown completely. Season with thyme, salt and pepper and remove to a plate.
3. Add 1 turn of the pan EVOO to the pot and heat until it begins to smoke. Add meat and caramelize until deep brown. Remove to a plate and add remaining tablespoon oil, another turn of the pan. Add bay, vegetables and garlic, and reduce heat to medium. Cook 12-15 minutes, until tender, then sprinkle in flour. Cook a minute then stir in tomato paste and Worcestershire. Deglaze the pot with wine or beer and stir in stock. Add the mushrooms and beef back to the pan.  Reduce heat and let simmer to thicken and combine flavors. When ready to assemble casserole, remove bay leaf.
4. Drain and mash potatoes with milk and butter. Melt in cheese and season mash with salt and pepper.
5. Place meat/mushroom mixture in a large casserole dish and top with the potatoes. Bake 20 minutes or until brown.

Coconut-Mint Sorbet with Chocolate Freckles

I was looking for this recipe this morning and realized that it wasn't posted here.. this one comes from the super fantastic "Batchworks Sorbet" in Roberts Creek, BC (definitely worth a visit!)

Now that I read this over again, I see there are a few steps I haven't quite followed correctly in the past - on a couple of occasions, that has led to ice cream soup disaster, but on the whole whenever I make this it is incredibly delicious and well-loved!

Ultimately the best way to avoid disaster is to make sure everything is well-chilled before you try to do the churning step.  This means that it's better to make this at home than to try to transport your ingredients and ice cream maker to someone else's house - if the ice cream maker and/or the ingredients are above a certain critical temperature at the time of churning, then it will never work!  I will type up the original recipe here, not the shortcut version that has been mostly successful for me.

I also highly recommend chilling the serving bowls because this sorbet is best when it's fresh but it will start to melt quickly while you're trying to eat it, and so it is best to stall that process as much as possible.

Ingredients

3/4 c sugar
3/4 c water
400mL can of coconut milk
1/2 bunch fresh mint, chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 oz bittersweet dark chocolate

Directions

Step 0. (Optional Katie addition in case you want to take a shortcut later) - Give the can of coconut milk a good shake and put in the refrigerator to chill it. Leave it there until you need it later in this recipe.

Simple syrup mixture with mint added

1. Bring the sugar and water to boil in a medium saucepan. Boil for 2 minutes then add the fresh chopped mint. Cool completely. Chill in the fridge for 2-24 hours.
   
2. In a blender, add the coconut milk to the water/sugar/mint mixture.
3. Blend on high for 2 minutes. (optional: push through a strainer to remove chunks of mint - I've never bothered with this step). Add vanilla.
4. Chill mixture well (if you've pre-chilled your coconut milk, you can just carry on to step 5).
5. Put the mixture in an ice cream maker and churn as per directions.  Once the sorbet is churned, put in a suitable somewhat shallow container (recipe calls for a "rectangular shaped tub", but I use a flat-bottomed metal bowl) and place in the freezer to get the sorbet nice and cold. This will take about 20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, over a double boiler, melt the dark chocolate. While the chocolate is still hot, drizzle it with a spoon in a thin line over top of the sorbet. Let it harden and then mix it in. Add enough drizzles until it is nicely freckled.



Freckling in progress..

7. Place the sorbet in a cold freezer for at least 30 minutes.  Cover the top with plastic wrap to prevent ice crystals from forming. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

mmm... time to get my mint mixture made so we can feast tonight!

Cobbler!

I've never made cobbler before, but I wanted a quick to prepare, summery, baked, delicious dessert and it seemed like it might fit the bill...

I started with http://allrecipes.com/recipe/51535/fresh-southern-peach-cobbler/, but made a few minor tweaks...

Ingredients

Fruit part

8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges  - I didn't bother to peel them and I only had three peaches so I added 2 apricots and a bunch of blueberries (510g in fact)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar  - I used less... more like 1/8 cup.  You could reduce the white sugar too.
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch 

Cobbler part

This isn't exactly how I made it, but it is what I'd try if I did it again...
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup boiling water

 Cinnamon Sugar for the Top

I happened to have some cinnamon sugar already on hand - I don't think I used more than about a tablespoon in total - here's what the original recipe says:
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine everything in the "fruit part" list.  Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a large pyrex baking dish (I used the big rectangular one). Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients from the cobbler part.  Blend in butter with a pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined (it should still be quite crumbly, but without powdery flour left loose).
4. Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. I formed little mounds on the spoon (trying not to handle the topping too much) then plunked them on top.  
5. Sprinkle entire cobbler with your desired quantity of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy warm with ice cream!

Yum Neua - yum yum!

I can't believe I've never tried to make Yum Neua before... this is one of my favourite Thai dishes that I also often tend to forget about. 

I found a recipe here and followed it pretty closely though I had to make a few substitutions based on what I happened to have (and not have) on hand: http://www.food.com/recipe/yum-nua-thai-beef-salad-89165

Changes I made to the dressing:
- I didn't have fresh chilies, so I used a small amount of dried chili flakes (probably less than 1/2 tsp which made for a salad with mild spice but far from spicy)
- I didn't have lemon grass, but I slivered a lime leaf and added the zest of the 1/2 lime I happened to have
- Since I only had 1/2 a lime, I added its juice plus the juice of half an orange (instead of all lime juice)

Changes I made to the salad:
- I only had about a third of a cucumber (and I certainly didn't bother to remove the seedy bit), so I also added a handful of quartered cherry tomatoes
- I had some basil, so I added that too
- I didn't have shallots, so I used a small bit of onion finely sliced and I mixed it with the dressing

Changes to the preparation:
I put half of the fresh herbs in with the beef as the recipe calls for, but I put the other half in with the lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  We tossed the beef mixture with the lettuce and veggies right before serving.

 Anyhow it was absolutely amazingly delicious!

Slow-cooked oven baked Ribs

I don't know when I last had ribs. I wanted some. I found this recipe. It happened, and they were amazing.

Oven Baked BBQ Beef Ribs

Author: Divas Can Cook - modified by Kat

Ingredients

• 3 lbs meaty beef ribs (we used some short ribs, and they were good too!)
• 2-4 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder (if you have some - I didn't)
• 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning (I just added a bit of cayenne and some pepper instead)
• 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar, packed (you could probably use less)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt, can used a smoked salt as well.
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• Favorite BBQ Sauce (it won't take a lot)

Instructions

1. Lightly coat ribs in olive oil.
2. Mix together seasoning and sprinkle generously over ribs, front and back. (don't have to use all of seasoning mix)
3. Massage the spices into the ribs, adding more olive oil to help distribute the spices well if needed.
4. Place the ribs in a covered container and marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 250 F. (man it would be nice to have an oven that you could actually set to the temperature you want!)
6. Place the ribs on a foil lined baking tray in a single layer.
7. Add another piece of foil on top to create a pouch for the ribs to cook in. Be sure to seal the edges of the foil so that it's tight and steam won't seep out.
8. Bake on the middle rack of 3½ -4 hours. (The little short ribs were well done in about 3 hours). Check on it after the 3½ hour mark. The oven temperature is very low so you can afford to cook it a bit longer without worry)
9. When the ribs are done to your liking, drain off the excess fat.
10. Brush the ribs with desired amount of BBQ sauce.
11. Broil on low until the sauce is sticky. (this won't take long so keep an eye on it)
12. Serve hot and enjoy!!

Chocolate, Orange, Almond Cake

Gluten free?  Low sugar?  Want an easy recipe? Just want some chocolate cake?  This recipe suits just about everyone...  Thanks to Heather for sharing it with me!

Ingredients:

• 2 unwaxed oranges (or just get normal ones and wash them well)
• 200g ground almonds
• 125g white sugar (the original calls for 250g but this is plenty)
• 50g cocoa powder
• 6 med eggs (I used 5 large ones)
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder (super-precise, right?)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:

Pre-steps:

The only trick to this recipe is that it requires some pre-planning.  You're supposed to prepare the oranges the day before.  Throw the whole oranges into a pot and fill with cold water.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer gently for 2 hours.  Drain and cool (stick them in the fridge until you're ready to use them).  Go do this part right now and you can have cake tomorrow!

The actual recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F) - the rest won't take long, so get this started.
2. Cut oranges in half and get rid of the little stem thingy and any obvious pips.  Don't peel them!  Everything except obvious pips and the stem bit goes straight into the cake.  Yes, really.
3. Grease and line a 9" springform pan or some other vessel in which to bake your cake.
4a. If you have a food processor, just toss everything in there and "whiz" it until it is smoothish (but a little bit grainy/lumpy is fine).
4b. If you don't have a food processor, throw the oranges in a blender and pulverize them.  If your blender is super awesome, you can just throw everything else in there but that was a bit of a disaster when I tried it, so I'd recommend taking the blenderized oranges and throwing them in a bowl with everything else then using a hand mixer or arm power or whatever you happen to have to mix everything together.  Again, no need to go too crazy here - this is a moist, dense cake so you don't need to be too concerned about beating it perfectly.
5. Pour the mixture into the pan and bake in your preheated oven for about 50 minutes.  Don't overbake it - you don't want blackened sides.

That's it!  Top as desired.  It's yummy with a side of raspberry sorbet too.

But....
If you want to make this super decadent and delicious, then I'd highly recommend topping it off with some chocolate-cream cheese frosting like I did the last time I made it.

Frosting Ingredients:

• about a third of a block of cream cheese
• roughly a couple of tablespoons worth of butter (softened)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• roughly a couple of heaping tablespoons worth of cocoa powder
• pinch of salt
• about 1/4tsp of vanilla

Frosting method:

Start by beating together the butter and cream cheese to soften them.  Then put the rest in and beat it until it's smooth and creamy and wonderful.  

Peanut Dressing for Salad, Spring Rolls, etc

A few days ago I decided I wanted to eat a salad with some kind of peanuty dressing.  I don't even know where the idea came from, but a quick google search found numerous recipes.  I went with one of the first ones and I've been pretty enamored with it ever since.  I've had it on salads and also used it as a dipping sauce for some vietnamese spring rolls that came on a hike a couple of days ago.  Delish!

The recipe comes from here: http://www.onceuponachef.com/2013/07/thai-crunch-salad-with-peanut-dressing.html

I basically follow the dressing recipe as is and put whatever I want in the salad itself, but here's a summarized version with my minor variations:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 1 tablespoon sugar (double this if you want it sweeter)
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Method:

Throw everything except the cilantro into the blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add in the cilantro and pulse/mix on low just enough for it to get chopped up and mixed in nicely (not so much that the whole thing turns green).

REAL Cabbage Rolls

So we tried making Moosewood's Stuffed Cabbage, which are fancy-pants rolls stuffed with a sweet ricotta-based filling and no tomatoes or sauce.  They tasted alright, but the problem was that you look at them and think "cabbage roll... mmm.. I want a cabbage roll"... and then they taste nothing like cabbage rolls.  I don't think I'd bother to make them again.

Luckily, we thought our cabbages were a little small, so we bought two - and then only used one, which left one for making some REAL cabbage rolls with.

Here are the cabbage rolls we made tonight (I'll write down this recipe as if we'd made them all homogeneous even though actually the first ones were extra meaty and the last ones were vegetarian... and that was a good way to do it too.  If that's what you want, then separate the filling mix into 2 parts and only add the meat to 1 part).

This looks like a long and complicated process, but it really didn't seem too bad at the time.. especially with a helper to do the cabbage prep while I did the other parts.

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Roll Stuff:

• 3 cups cooked brown rice (or use white if you prefer)
• 1-2 eggs (if you do everything in 1 batch, 1 is probably enough, but if you split it into 2 parts then you can just put an egg in each part and keep things simple)
• 1 onion, diced fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbs tomato paste (next time I'd probably just skip this unless I happened to have some open already - there's plenty of sauce to use instead)
• Splash of red wine if you happen to have it
• 2 tbs chopped parsley
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef (I bet you could replace this with some diced carrots or something if you want vegetarian rolls instead)
• 1 large head cabbage (or 2 smaller ones)

Method:

1. Cook the rice if you haven't already
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Prep the cabbage:
• bring a large pot of water to a boil
• remove the core by slicing into the base a bunch of times with a paring knife 
• get ready with a couple of pairs of tongs/some scissors/whatever implements you have on hand
• put the whole head of cabbage in the boiling water
• as it softens, remove the leaves 1 by one and pile them up on a plate - this way the outer leaves are taken off before they get too mushy and the other ones cook longer.
• keep going until the leaves are too small to be useful
 


4. Prep the sauce:

• saute the garlic in the oil for about a minute
• add the crushed tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes
• add vinegar, sugar, and worcestershire sauce
• simmer about 5 minutes
• season with salt and pepper and remove from heat
5. Prep the filling:
• saute oil and garlic in a skillet about 5 minutes, until soft (put in the carrots during this step if you're using them instead of beef)
• stir in the tomato paste and wine if you're using them, 1/2 cup of the sauce (or a little more), and the parsley
• mix to incorporate everything then take it off the heat
• add to this the (raw) beef, the rice, and the egg (remember you might want to divide this before adding the beef!)
• mix the filling together with your hands
6. Roll the rolls!

• put some filling in a leaf and roll it up!
• pack the rolls seam down in an oiled casserole dish
• pour some sauce over top of the rolls
7. Bake them up!
• cover the dish with tinfoil (or extra cabbage leaves?) and pop it in the oven
• bake meaty rolls for an hour or veggie ones for about half an hour

Enjoy!

Whitewater Lemony Lentil Soup

mmm.. this soup is simple but so tasty!  It comes from the fabulous Whitewater Cooks Cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups lentils (they say red ones, but I've done this with red, puy, brown and various combinations thereof)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes (yes, it's got just a little bit of kick)
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tsp fresh dill, chopped (dry is perfectly good too)

Method:

1. Rinse the lentils in a colander and set aside to drain.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot; add onions and saute until translucent.
3. Add carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, chili flakes, rosemary, oregano, and bay leaves.
4. Stir well and saute until the carrots are tender.
5. Add the stock and the lentils and bring to a boil. 
6. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
7. Meanwhile, mix the crumbled feta and dill in a small bowl and set aside for garnish.
8. Remove the bay leaves. You may puree the soup or leave it as is (I've never pureed it).
9. Add the lemon juice, zest, and salt and pepper to taste.
10.  To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with feta/dill topping.

Gado Gado Goodness

This was a hit at a (mostly) meat-free, dairy-free dinner party last night.  A good assemble-your-own type dish for picky eaters and that could mostly be made ahead of time - leftovers will make great lunches!

The basic recipe came from the Moosewood Cookbook.  Basically Gado Gado is a mixture of fresh and cooked and crunchy things all drenched in peanut sauce and from there you can basically make it whatever you want.  This might look daunting, but it was really quite easy indeed and could be simplified or complexified as much as you want.

Here's how you make THE SAUCE:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 (or more) medium cloves minced garlic
• 1-2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 bay leaf

--> Cook the above in some butter or oil until the onions are translucent then add all the rest:

• 1 cup "good, pure" peanut butter (a great use for that massive jar of peanut butter)
• 1 tbs honey
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
• dash of tamari / soya sauce
• 3 cups water (yes I know it seems like way too much but just go with it)
• 1/2-1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like - I used about this and there was a very very mild bit of spice... I'll probably make it a 1/2 tsp next time)

--> Don't worry if the peanut butter's just in a big glob at first - give it a little time and a whisk and it'll mix in.  Simmer this mix on very low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Now for THE REST OF IT.  I put the following ingredients on the table, but you could definitely mix this part of it up and put whatever you want under the sauce.  The Moosewood says that you should make an "artful arrangement of cooked and raw vegetables".  I challenged our dinner guests to make their own artful arrangements on their plates - some took this to heart, and others just piled up the food.

• raw spinach
• cooked rice (this is not in the original recipe but it was much appreciated in the meal)
• fresh bean sprouts
• steamed broccoli
• steamed carrots (you could do raw grated or juliened carrots instead but I didn't have much carrot)
• apple slices
• crispy fried tofu chunks (see below)
• cooked chicken (this was provided for the tofu haters at the table)

And some garnishes:

• fresh mint leaves (my addition - I think some basil would have been really good too)
• toasted sunflower seeds
• roasted peanuts
• lemon wedges (for juice)

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Moosewood also suggests the following which I either didn't have, didn't want, or completely forgot about:

• a drizzle of sesame oil
• raisins
• oranges
• shredded cabbage
• steamed green beans
• pieces of hard boiled egg

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THE TOFU

I basically did a variant on http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Gluten-Free-Tofu-Nuggets-1423597?columns=4&position=6%2F43

• Cut the block of tofu in half on the plane with the biggest surface area so that you can squish out a bunch of water.  Squish it with some paper towels if you happen to have them so it dries out a bit. 
• Cut the tofu into little cubes, about 1/2" big
• Marinate the tofu in some soya sauce (or get fancier if you want)
• Meanwhile, prepare a coating with the following ingredients (or something like it):

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• a largish 1/8 cup sesame seeds
• maybe a little flour? (I didn't use any myself and it was still fine)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• I also threw in some marjoram since it was the closest thing I happened to have to parsley flakes, which I would have used instead

• I didn't have any of the other ingredients in the yummly recipe so I just skipped them but you could add things like celery seed, onion powder, etc if you have them.
• Toss the marinated tofu in the coating and fry the chunks in a frying pan with oil (or bake them in the oven if your stove top is taken up with the other stuff.