Ethiopian Lentil-Okra Stew

Okra seems like a Southern US food, but lentils and okra are also staples in Ethiopian cooking.

 Let me tell you about this richly-flavored Ethiopian stew. My vegan friend lent me her copy of Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food, in which the writer provides recipes for dozens of traditional Ethiopian dishes with substitutions for vegan and gluten-free eating.

I didn't know much about Ethiopia, other than what I remember of the horrific droughts and starvation back in the 1980s. I learned that Ethiopia is on the horn of Africa, right below the Middle Eastern countries and the Red Sea. While we won't visit Africa anytime soon, we can still take a food vacation there.

Thanks, Wikipedia, for this photo!

Some of the earliest human remains have been found in this country, and it was one of the most powerful countries in the world around 200 A.D. A culture this old must surely know a thing or two about cooking good food, and this lentil-okra stew is amazing. It's also cheap, gluten-free and vegan, low in fat and cholesterol, and easy to prepare.

Ingredients

For the berbere paste:

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

For the Ethiopian lentil-okra soup:

1 cup red lentils
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh okra, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup berbere paste

Instructions

To make the Berbere paste:
Saute the garlic, ginger, and onion in the oil until tender. Transfer to a blender or food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend into a thick paste.


For the lentil stew:
Rinse the lentils and place them in a medium saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until the lentils are tender. Skim off any foam that rises in the pot. Drain the lentils and set them aside.

Place the tomatoes and berbere paste in the pot and simmer until they soften and become a puree. YOu can use an immersion blender to make the sauce an even texture, if desired. Stir in the okra, vegetable broth, and lentils, and simmer until the okra is just tender and the sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes.

Serve over rice or with flatbreads such as naan, pita, or Ethiopian injera bread.

Serves 4.

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Polish Mushroom Soup (Zupa Grzybowa)

Now that we live in a heavily Polish neighborhood of Chicago (Jefferson Park/Portage Park), we're trying to learn about traditional dishes. One of the most exciting Polish traditions is the paczki (PUNCH-key), a heavenly jam-filled donut you see everywhere at the beginning of Lent. This soup is another popular one - and we'll be learning how to make Dill Pickle Soup soon. 

Mushroom Barley soup is a classic Polish dish usingdried or fresh mushrooms, and sometimes a dollop of sour cream and barley grain. In Polish, it is called Zupa Grzybowa, and its filling, healthy, and satisfying. The soup can be made quickly, or it can slowly simmer all day in a crock pot. Either method is flavorful, hearty, and easy. Add some cornbread, hot crusty bread, or a salad for a solid filling meal.

We recommend using a several kinds of fresh mushrooms for maximum flavor. The soup can be made with vegetable broth for a Meatless Monday or a fasting holiday, or it can be made with beef stock for extra flavor.

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil 

1 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup dried Polish mushrooms (borowiki)

1 cup chopped portabella mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced shiitake or porcini mushrooms

1 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

5 cups vegetable or beef stock

1 cup pearl barley or quick-cooking barley (use quick-cooking barley if you're going to make this in a crock pot)

1 1/2 cups sour cream (optional)

Instructions

Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water until soft, then drain and chop them.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Add onions and mushrooms and fry until slightly browned, about 10 or 15 minutes. 

If using a crock pot, transfer to the crock pot, add the rest of the vegetables and the beef stock and cook at low heat for 6-8 hours or high heat at 4-6 hours. Fifteen minutes before serving, cook the quick-cooking barley separately according to package directions, then stir into the soup. 

If cooking in a soup pot, add the rest of the vegetables and the beef stock and heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the pearl barley and simmer for 30 more minutes, or until the barley is tender.

Remove the bay leaf. Serve in bowls with a dollop of room-temperature sour cream, if desired.

Serves 4-6.

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Aloo Mattar (Indian Pea and Potato Stew)

Aloo mattar (AH-loo mah-tar) stew is a super-easy and filling vegetarian dish full of a lot of complex curry-like flavors. You can make it as spicy or as mild as you like. It was very much a comfort food on a cold day, and our home smelled fabulous while we were cooking it. As simple as the recipe is, we were surprised that it tasted just like the one made in the restaurant by Indians.

My friend Sheilja recommends buying spices like cumin, coriander, and cardamom as whole seeds and then grinding them as you need them, so that they retain more flavor. They really smell amazing when you grind them fresh! She uses a Magic Bullet, but our electric coffee grinder works just as well. Again, try a Hispanic or Asian grocery store for the spices if you have trouble finding them at your supermarket.

Ingredients

4 medium russet potatoes
1 tbsp oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small green chili pepper, minced (bell, jalapeno, serrano, or other, depending on how much heat you want)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp garam masala powder (you can substitute good curry powder, but the taste will be different)
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 cup water
2 tsp salt
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

Scrub the potatoes, then cut them into 1" cubes. Boil them until slightly tender, then drain.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, then add the onion, garlic, and pepper and saute until tender. Stir in the cooked potatoes and the rest of the ingredients except the cilantro  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes and peas are tender and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the cilantro.

Serve over rice with naan or puri flat bread on the side.

Serves 4-6

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Chana Masala (Indian Chick Pea Stew)

Chana masala is a stew made of chick peas (or garbanzos) from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan - the vast territory at the top of India, touching the Himalayas. This is my friend Sheilja's homeland.

When she was a girl, her mom was determined to send her to an English boarding school up in the Himalayas, far from her family. Her mother wanted her to have the best possible chance for a good life, and a solid education was the path, even if it wasn't the traditional path for women in her family.

Sheilja went on to college in West Virginia, then worked in New York City before settling down in the Chicagoland area. She speaks perfect, nearly unaccented English, too. What a fascinating life!

Punjabis sure know how to cook. This filling and healthy traditional Indian stew is completely meatless, but I promise you won't miss the meat for the highly flavored and slightly spicy party of flavors in this bowl. The garam masala and chole masala spice mixes give it a distinctive taste - in a pinch, you can use an equal amount of generic sweet curry powder.

Because many Indians cook with a variety of dried beans, lentils, seeds, and corn, you can often find a pressure cooker in the kitchen. This cuts down the prep time for Indian food enormously. But if you don't have one, soaking and then boiling the dry legumes is a perfectly good option, or allowing them to cook all day or overnight in a slow cooker before making the recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups dry chickpeas, rinsed and picked over, or 2 15-oz cans garbanzos, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tbsp grated ginger root
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground punjabi chole masala
1 tbsp ground garam masala
1 tsp tamarind paste, or 1 tsp sugar and the juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)

Cooked rice for serving (optional)
Chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Directions

Cook the dry beans in a pressure cooker according to the manufacturers directions, or soak them for 1 hour and then boil about 2 hours until tender. Drain well.

Heat a large skillet and toast the cumin seeds until slightly browned and fragrant. Set the seeds aside. Heat the oil, then saute to garlic, onion, pepper, and ginger until tender. Sitr in the rest of the ingredients, including the chick peas. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Serve over rice with a side of warm naan or chapatis.

Serves 4-6.

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Easy Baked Falafel (Chickpea Patties)

You can check all the boxes on these Middle Eastern chickpea patties: low-fat, vegan, gluten-free, fiber-rich, and delicious. Usually falafel is deep-fried, but this version is simply baked on a cookie sheet. When I was researching the recipe, I learned that falafel patties or balls are a staple of a lot of Middle Eastern countries; in Israel and Turkey they mostly use garbanzo beans, but in Egypt they use broad beans, herbs, and spices.

Joe came home from band rehearsal to find that dinner was falafel and tzatziki sauce on thin pita. "This is so cool! Who gets to eat like this on a weeknight?" We do, and I think you'll want to, also!

Ingredients

1/4 cup brown sesame seeds
1 20 oz can chickpeas, drained
1 medium white onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water (or more, if the patties are too crumbly)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. If desired, toast sesame seeds on a hot dry griddle until slightly browned and more fragrant; this will enhance their flavor.  Add all ingredients to a food processor, blender, or mixer, and blend until it is at the consistency that looks good to you. I made mine into a fine dough, but some people like coarser bits of garbanzos in their falafel balls.

Test the consistency of the dough by pressing together a handful (about 1/3 cup). It should press together into a ball that sticks together but doesn't stick to your hands. Form them into patties about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake about 10 minutes on each side, until browned and crusty. We served this on pita with our cucumber-yogurt tzatziki sauce, shredded carrots, sliced onion and squash, and lots of napkins.

Makes about 12 patties.

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Curried Pumpkin Bisque

My mom gave me this recipe the last time I visited - and she also gave me a couple of big pumpkins from their patch. We cut them into pieces and roasted them, which produced a surprising amount of pumpkin pulp. After we made this soup, we froze the rest for later.

Pumpkin pulp has a bit more of the strands you find when you carve a pumpkin, so it's not ideal for making pumpkin pie. It does, however, make luscious soups and a pumpkin-ricotta ravioli. Joe's not quite satisfied with his pumpkin ravioli yet, so we'll have to wait for the recipe until he finishes tinkering with it.

The dollop of Greek yogurt on top gives this soup an extra tang and elevates it into something special.

Ingredients

1 medium-sized (2-pound) pumpkin, quartered and seeded
1 tsp olive oil
2 cups diced onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups strong broth, vegetable or chicken
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt (pumpkin is very bland without salt)

1 7-ounce container Greek yogurt, for garnish

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the pumpkin pieces rind-side up in a baking pan with a lip; pour in a bit of water around the pieces. Bake 30-45 minutes, or until tender. Turn on the broiler and place the pumpkin pieces pulp-side up under the broiler. Cook 5-10 minutes, or until the pieces are well browned.

Set the pumpkin aside to cool.

In a large pot, heat the oil, then saute the onions until slightly brown. Add the garlic and saute until tender. Scrape the pulp from the pumpkin and place in a blender or food processor. Process in batches until smooth, unless you like a bit of texture in your soup. 

In the same stockpot, heat the broth and coconut milk until bubbly. Add the rest of the ingredients except the yogurt, and stir well. Heat to a boil, reduce heat, then cook for 10 minutes. Taste and correct seasonings.

Serve with a spoonful of yogurt on top of each bowl. Don't forget the Cheddar Biscuits!

Serves 4-6.

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Yellow Rice with Pigeon Peas (Arroz con Gandules)

A few years ago, we took a group of suburban teenagers on a mission trip to Puerto Rico to help fix houses, take care of children, and share our faith with the people we met. Our teens were wonderfully hard workers who also tried to speak a bit of the language (though they also tried to just add "o" to the end of English words to make them Spanish!).

Once in a while the teens tried out the Puerto Rican dishes that were outside their comfort zone. One night we traveled from the little town of Hormigueros to a beach on the south side of the island. After swimming until sunset in a pretty little cove, we had dinner at a busy local restaurant. Arroz con gandules (say a-ROSE cone gon-doo-lays) was one of the side dishes. It was hearty, savory, and flavorful without being spicy-hot. We ate it all up.

La Casita restaurant in La Parguera, PR

(My dinner is in the tower at the bottom left - mofongo with shrimp. I can't wait to make this for you! Come over, we'll eat, we'll talk...!)

Joe and I bought a cookbook when we were in the Caribbean so we could make some of these dishes at home. Rice with pigeon peas is an inexpensive and filling dinner for a Meatless Monday, or a nice side dish with any kind of Latin American main dish. If you're not making a vegetarian version, it's traditional to stir in chopped sausage, ham or bacon.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, sliced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups long grain white rice
4 cups water
5 green Spanish olives, pitted and chopped
1 can green pigeon peas, drained
1 tbsp annato oil or 1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, and cilantro and saute until tender (if you're using meat, saute it with the vegetables).

Place all ingredients into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes on medium heat, or until rice is cooked.

Serves 2-4.

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Vegetable Potpie with Gluten Free Olive-Studded Crust

I've had a part-time gig cooking for a family that is vegan and gluten free, and I made this pot pie for them recently. I hadn't worked much with gluten-free flours. To be honest, the list of flour mixtures makes me a little nervous - baking and pastry making and tricky as it is. It turned out to be a light, flaky crust full of flavor from the kalamata olives and filled with a creamy blend of vegetables. The recipe was inspired by one in the cookbook Veganomicon.

After I cooked the pie for my friends, I made a duplicate for us using meat-related items and all purpose flour (avoiding food contamination, which I learned in a class last summer!). Joe absolutely loved it. Why have we not put chopped olives into a pastry crust before? For the vegan/GF version, I used soy milk, Bob's Red Mill all-purpose flour, and Natural Balance buttery spread. I've included both versions here.

In an almost completely unrelated train of thought, my friend and I submitted art to the local Lemon Street Gallery, and we were both accepted a few weeks ago! Rebecca Stahr is focused on encaustic, which is a wax resin she applies to artist boards, along with found objects and natural materials.

I submitted several of my non-food photographs. The bad potpie photo shown above notwithstanding (it was taken at 10 pm after I got home from work), I have been working steadily at photography for quite some time now. Several of my food photos have been accepted by the "food porn" site FoodGawker. You can see my artist's bio and work here, if you are interested, you can order art prints from my Etsy site AngelaWD.

Ingredients

For the crust

2 1/2 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110 to 120 degrees)

1/2 tsp sugar

2 1/2 cups gluten free flour, plus a little more for kneading

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp olive oil, divided in half (or vegan margarine melted)

1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped coarsely

For the filling

3 tbsp vegan margarine, or 3 tbsp butter
2 cups unsweetened plain soy or almond milk, or dairy milk
2 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, trimmed, washed, and cut into bite-size pieces
2 tbsp grapeseed or olive oil
1 leek, tough outer leaves removed, and sliced thinly
2/3 cup carrots, peeled and diced
2/3 cup frozen or fresh peas
2/3 cup sliced mushrooms

Instructions

Pour the yeast into a small bowl, and slowly add the warm water, stirring constantly. Stir in the sugar. Allow the yeast to work into small bubbles for about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tbsp of the oil. In a large mixing bowl, stir together half the flour and salt. Make a hollow in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture. Stir until well mixed. Stir in the cold water. Gradually add the rest of the flour while stirring constantly, until the dough forms a ball.

Sprinkle a flat surface with flour, and put flour on your hands. Knead the dough on the surface until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and place in a large bowl coated with olive oil. Turn the dough over and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel. Allow it to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down the risen dough and fold in the chopped olives. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface flatten the ball of dough and roll to form a round thin crust large enough to cover the bottom of a large pie pan. Use the rolling pin to roll the dough around the pin then transfer to the pie pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large saucepan, melt the margarine or butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour until it forms a thick paste, then stir until the mixture is browned and bubbly. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking the sauce continuously. Then add the thyme, tarragon, marjoram, and mustard powder, stirring until it is well incorporated. Cook and stir for 10 minutes, making sure the sauce does not stick to the pan and remains creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cauliflower, leeks and carrots, and sauté for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the mushrooms and peas, and cook for another 8 minutes, or until the moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated. Cover with a lid and steam over low heat for 10 minutes.

Spoon the filling into the pie pan. Roll out the top crust the same as before. Use a thin knife and make small slits in the top crust, roll it onto the rolling pin, and roll out over the top of the filling. Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crust together like when making a pie. Brush the top with some olive oil or melted vegan margarine. Place in middle of oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. Be careful the top crust doesn't get too brown.

Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6.

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Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

It's been a long hard winter, and with my rheumatoid arthritis and the extreme cold, I come home from work with all my old joints aching. Being a writer, people thought a job as a librarian would be perfect for me. I have to admit, though, that the hours of standing and all the heavy lifting and those stubborn slippery books that don't want to stand up in a straight row sometimes makes me sick of books!

Like everyone else, though, it all looks better once spring peeks its pretty head around the corner and we all come running to the warmth. In the meantime, we're planning meals earlier in the day but sometimes don't dine until 10 pm or so (Joe likes to wait for me to get home so we can eat together). Isn't it wonderful to come home from work and a nice hot dinner is ready to eat? This recipe is just about as simple as opening cans and dumping them in the crock pot.

To make it even quicker, you can buy frozen chopped onions, carrots, and celery. In the version shown in this photo, we added a can of mixed vegetables from the back of the cupboard, so there's peas and limas and corn in the stew this time.

If you want a very thick stew, as we made, add the pasta with everything else. If you prefer a brothy soup, boil the pasta separately and add to the soup before serving. If you have leftovers, they will freeze better if the pasta and soup are kept separately.

We make this as a way to clear some cans out of the pantry for a meatless Monday, and to make a low-fat and hearty meal. If you want some meat in yours, add a pound of ground beef or turkey, browned and drained, to the pot.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 28-oz can Rotel or Italian-style crushed tomatoes

1 16 oz can tomato sauce
1 16 oz can red kidney beans, drained
1 16 oz can cannellini or Great Northern white beans, drained
1 28 oz can vegetable stock

2 tbsp garlic powder
3 tsp oregano

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp hot pepper sauce

8 oz pasta (we used whole-wheat ditalini in this batch)

Instructions

Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir well. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or high 4-5 hours. If you add pasta near the end, either turn the slow cooker to high and add it 30 minutes before eating, or boil the pasta according to package directions and add before serving.

Serves 6.

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Potato and Kale Enchiladas

My friend Rebecca Stahr is a talented artist in pen and ink, pencil, photography, watercolor, encaustic, and oils. She has an attic studio to die for: filled with thousands of colors and artworks and brushes, and quirky art inspiration like a deer's skull wearing a Mardi Gras hat, mounds of rusty found objects and milkweed pods, and blowtorches and fire extinguishers for flaming encaustic wax resin.

This fall and winter she's been focusing on developing her art business (Rebecca J. Stahr, artist), gallery shows at the College of Lake County and Highland Park's Art Center, and exploring the nature of art and creation in her sketchbook blog. 

She's also working to develop an "Artists' Tribe", a group of artists who mentor and encourage each other in the sometimes lonely and insecure process of developing art that is authentic to their personal vision.

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That's a lot to accomplish all at once, especially in the art world where the competition is so fierce! So she asked me, food lover and cooking fanatic, to prepare some meals for her family so they don't starve and eat healthy while she and her husband both manage high-pressure vocations.

Oh, there's a catch, though - a big challenge for me. Her family is vegan and gluten free due to multiple food allergies, and there's a lot they can't eat. As for me, the more meat the better, and I do love my breads and pastas and all the other gluten-laden foods that are probably aggravating my rhuematoid arthritis. But how could I pass up a chance to learn entirely new ways of cooking? The creative side of my mind was spinning with the excitement of experimenting with food in a way that's completely new to me.

Here, then, is one of the first meals I made for her. The potato and kale make a lovely and filling enchilada, and the sauce punches up the flavor so I don't miss a bit of the meat I usually put in the rolls. I admit, though, that the batch I made for my dinner had a sprinkle of cheese on top. Just a little. But if you're vegan and don't like vegan cheese, you probably won't even crave that.

This recipe was inspired by the cookbook Veganomicon.

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

2 tbsp oil

2/3 cup onion, diced

2/3 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano 

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt

For the Filling:

1 lb. red-skinned potatoes

1/2 pound kale, washed, trimmed, and chopped

3 tbsp oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup toasted pepitas, chopped coarsely

2 tsp salt, or to taste

12-14 corn tortillas

Chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese (optional)

Instructions

In a large saucepan, saute the pepper and onion in oil until tender. Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, puree the sauce. Bring to a boil in the pan, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes and boil them until nearly tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and set aside.In a large skillet, heat the oil, then saute the garlic for 1 minute on medium heat. Add the kale and saute 5 minutes or until wilted, stirring constantly. Stir in the potatoes, pepitas, lime juice, and salt.  Cover and cook 3 minutes. Mash the potatoes slightly with the back of a spoon.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x12 casserole pan, then spread out 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of the pan. On a flat griddle or frying pan, heat the corn tortillas until soft and pliable.

Pour half of the enchilada sauce onto a plate, and lay a tortilla on the plate. Spoon 1/3 cup of potato mixture onto the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place, seam side down, in the casserole pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, then drizzle with the remaining sauce.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the centers are cooked and the casserole is heated through. Top with tomato and lettuce before serving.

Serves 4-6.

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Vegetable Tamale Pie with Green Salsa

The origin of this recipe is a funny, if slightly embarrassing story. A couple of my friends came over once for a tamale-making party. We also decided to make some roasted pepper salsa and cranberry-apple chutney, and I was teaching them how to can the extra sauce.

There was also a bottle of tequila, fresh limes, and some Grand Marnier that we shook into some very strong Margaritas. And a mason jar of cranberry-soaked moonshine.

Cranberry moonshine. Lord help me.

By sunset, we'd canned eight pints of salsa and seven half-pints of cranberry chutney, the chicken mixture had stewed all day into a luscious shredded filling, and the portobello and corn filling smelled fantastic. The limes were all gone, and one or all of us might or might not have done a shot of tequila.

And man, those cranberries had soaked up a powerful amount of moonshine. They were little Molotov cocktails bursting in our mouths.

We were working diligently on spreading homemade masa dough into corn wrappers and these tamales - oh, they were the most beautiful ones I've ever made. I was feeling wonderful about my recipe-teaching skills.

But I unwrapped the first ones and they were dry and crumbly...make that powdery, actually. The filling was out of this world, but the corn dough was dry as dust. I read back over my recipe and realized, somewhere in the midst of joking and sipping and stirring and filling, I'd forgotten to add the broth to the dough. Gah!

The next day, after I asked my friends if anyone remembered what happened to the beaters for my mixer, we decided that the remaining tamales could be saved by unwrapping them, mixing the dough with some broth and salsa, and layering them in a casserole dish.

It turned out so well that this may become a staple in our home. You don't have to wrap a casserole in leaves, after all, and this is the hardest part.

Ingredients

2 cups shortening
4 cups masa flour or tamale flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp oil
1 pound portobello, button, or other mushroom mixture, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
2 cups salsa verde
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

Put the shortening in a mixer or food processor and mix until soft and creamy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and garlic, then slowly add it to the shortening. Pour the broth in a little at a time while mixing until the dough is thoroughly mixed. It should be similar to a very sticky bread dough or a very firm muffin batter.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 11 casserole dish. Spread half the dough into the dish.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and onions and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and 1 cup of salsa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes.

Spread the vegetable mixture over the dough in the casserole pan, then spread the rest of the dough over the top. Drizzle the remaining salsa over the top. If you are not a strict vegan, this is an excellent time to top the pie with a mixture of shredded chihuahua and cotija cheeses.

Cover the dish with foil, set it in the middle rack, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the pie is cooked through and the tamale dough is crumbly.

Serve with chopped cilantro and additional salsa verde, if desired.

Serves 4-6.

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Butter Bean - Butternut Squash Soup

Thanks to Talea Bloom for this beautiful photo.

Butter beans and butternut squash are well-named - they both taste especially creamy. This savory winter soup, which is a combination of Midwest winter staples and southeast Asian flavors, was a hit at a friend's holiday party. Luckily, she shared the recipe with all of us. We hope you love it as much as we did!

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion - diced
1/2 cup chopped orange bell pepper
3 tbsp Fresh ginger - peeled and diced
4 cloves Garlic- finely chopped
1 large Butternut squash- peel, seed, chop into 1 inch cubes
28-oz can butter beans – drained and rinsed
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
½ cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste (a pepper medley is preferred, as black pepper on its own has very little flavor, but red, green and white peppercorns add a lot of pizzazz.)
3 cups garlic croutons

Directions

Heat your soup pot for 90 seconds or until hot, turn down heat to medium, add olive oil then diced onion and bell pepper. Sauté  until translucent, 3-5 minutes but not until browned.

Next add ginger, garlic, squash, beans, stock, and basil. Simmer about 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Turn down heat to warm. Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the soup so it becomes completely creamy. Season with salt and pepper, to taste (note: beans and butternut squash need a healthy dose of salt to shine - don't be stingy!). Serve hot with garlic croutons sprinkled on top.

Serves 8-10.

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Moong Daal (Indian Yellow Lentil Stew)

An Indian friend of mine says that moong dal soup is good food when you're ill - they serve it to women recovering from childbirth and people with upset stomachs. I made this one day when Joe and I were recovering from summer colds. We did feel better! The basic recipe can be a little bland to help invalids, but it can be spiced up a bit for an everyday dish.

This is a surprisingly filling and low-fat vegan meal. We like it with a spoonful of strong Indian garlic pickle. Add savory, chewy garlic naan for a vegetarian dish (naan often contains yogurt or sour cream). You can scoop the stew right out of the bowl with a pinch of naan; it's perfectly good manners to eat this with your fingers.

By the way, if you go to a store that stocks lots of Indian food, you may notice a stunning array of different beans, peas, and seeds. Each has a slightly different taste, texture, and use. Moong, or Mung, dal is a small yellow lentil that usually has its outside skin removed. Dal is a generic term for lentil.

If you want to learn more about Indian spices and ingredients, the Cook's Thesaurus is a great resource.

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked moong dal without skins

1 small yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

2 small green chilies (optional)

1 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp grated ginger

½ tsp Asofetida powder (optional)

4 cups vegetable broth

Directions

Cook mung dal in a pressure cooker or boil on the stove until soft.  This will take about 15 minutes in the pressure cooker, or about 45 on the stove. Heat a medium saucepan or frying pan, then add the oil. Cook onion, cumin, pepper, and garlic in oil, then cook turmeric, ginger, and asofetida powder. Add the vegetable broth and lentils and cook until smooth and soupy, mashing the lentils slightly so that they smooth out. Indians sometimes use a star-shaped tool on a stick, rolled between their hands, to make the lentils more creamy. Here Sheilja is using that utensil.

Serves 4-6.

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Moroccan Eggplant and Chickpea Stew

When Angela's parents came to visit last weekend, they brought a whole truckful of vegetables from their farm in Ohio.

They grow everything organically on their five acres, and whatever they don't eat or preserve is taken to the local food bank. This produce might be the only fresh food the poor in their area may eat.

Among the bounty they brought us was a pair of glossy, plump eggplants. We had some leftover saffron/curry rice, so Angela came up with a rich and spicy stew that complemented the rice. If you don't have leftover rice, this stew is great on its own, or over couscous, pasta, or mashed potatoes. This stew is vegan and gluten-free, and low in fat and calories. Combining a legume (the chickpeas) and a grain (the corn) also makes a complete protein.

Moroccan Eggplant and Chickpea Stew

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 eggplant, cubed (3-4 cups)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
1 15-oz can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tbsp dried)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (or 3 tbsp dried)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet with the red pepper. Add the eggplant and saute for 5 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, and garlic and saute until soft. Pour in the rest of the ingredients. Bring the stew to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered. The stew is ready when the eggplant is tender.

Serves 4-6

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Asian Cellophane Noodle Salad

Make this fresh crispy salad the day before a heat wave, and let all the flavors marinate overnight. If you use rice, cellophane (bean thread) noodles, and gluten free soy sauce, the entire meal is gluten-free.

Ingredients

3 3/4 oz uncooked cellophane noodles
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce (optional; if you are vegan, use the same amount of soy or miso in place of fish sauce)
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup chili-garlic or Sriracha sauce
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 cup snow peas, julienned
1 medium cucumber(s), julienned or diced

Directions

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain, and set aside.

Stir together cilantro, garlic, oil, vinegar, sugar, chili sauce, and fish sauce in a large bowl. Add noodles, carrots, snow peas and cucumber; toss well. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving; this salad is best when made a day ahead.

Yields about 8 cups of salad.

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