Healthy Garden Salad

5 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 tbsp grapeseed oil (could sub with canola)

1/3 c fresh cilantro, chopped

2 limes, juiced

1 tsp white sugar

¾ tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb frozen shelled edamame (green soy beans)

3 c frozen corn kernels

1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

In a large serving bowl, whisk together the red wine vinegar, grapeseed oil, cilantro, lime juice, sugar, salt and garlic. Set aside. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the soybeans and boil for 3 minutes. Add corn to boiling water and continue cooking for one more minute. Drain very well, and pour into the serving bowl with dressing. Gently mix in cherry tomatoes, green onions and black beans. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving to chill and blend flavors.

Borrowed from AllRecipes.com

Pepper from my garden

Here is a half red/half green bell pepper I found in my garden the other day.. I thought it was too cool not to share! The red half had been facing this sun, and the green half was against the foliage.

Penne with Ricotta and Asparagus

 

Salt
1 1/4 pound thick asparagus, woody ends trimmed
1 lb penne pasta
1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed
15 oz ricotta cheese
...2 Tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Nutmeg

1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (You will cook both the asparagus and the pasta in the same pot of water.) Add a couple teaspoons of salt. Have an ice bath ready. Add the asparagus and cook until tender but firm, about 4 minutes. Remove the asparagus with tongs and place in the ice bath to stop the cooking. Cut the asparagus into 1/8-inch diagonal slices, leaving the tips intact.

2 Bring the water back to a boil and add the penne pasta.

3 While the penne is cooking, rub the inside of a large serving bowl with the mashed garlic. Discard the garlic. Add the ricotta, olive oil, and 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Mix together in the bowl. When the pasta is done, drain it, reserving some of the cooking water. Add the penne to the ricotta mixture. Fold in the asparagus and half of the Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and several dashes of nutmeg. Add some of the reserved pasta water if needed.

Serves 4-8, depending on whether or not this is the main course. Serve with remaining grated Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl for sprinkling.

Recipe from SimplyRecipes.com

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Ravioli ingredients:
1 tsbp butter
3 tbsp minced shallots
1 c roasted butternut squash puree
Salt
...Freshly ground white pepper
3 tbsp heavy cream
3 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pinch nutmeg
1 package of wontons
1-2 egg whites

Sage/Butter Sauce:
8 tbsp butter
12 fresh sage leaves

To make the butternut squash puree, halve the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds and strings. Rub the insides with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Place on a roasting pan, skin side down. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until fork tender. Remove the squash from the oven, scoop out the flesh and place in a food processor. Puree until smooth.

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the squash puree and cook until the mixture is slightly dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons cheese and nutmeg, to taste. Cool completely.

Flour a surface. Place wontons on surface (I found it easiest to make 3 at a time). Place 2 tsp or so of filling in each wonton. You can either fold them over to make triangles, or place another wonton on top. Brush edges with egg whites to seal. Add the pasta to pot of boiling salted water. Cook about 2 to 3 minutes, or until pasta floats.
Remove pasta from water and drain well. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

If you want to serve with a sage and butter sauce, in a large sauté pan, melt 8 tbsp of butter. Add sage to the butter and cook until the butter just starts to brown. Remove from heat.

Place pasta in serving dishes and spoon sauce overtop. Recommended with roasted red pepper cream sauce, with freshly blanched, slivered and toasted almonds sprinkled on top! :-) Ravioli recipe is a hybrid of Emeril Lagasse's and one I found on Allrecipes.com

Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

‎2 large red bell peppers
2 tbsp minced garlic
¼ c fresh basil
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 c half & half
...¼ c grated Romano cheese (or Parmesan)
4 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper

Preheat broiler. Lightly coat red peppers with olive oil. Grill peppers under broiler until skin is blackened, and flesh has softened slightly. Place peppers in a paper/Ziploc bag (I find that Ziploc works best) until they’ve cooled, about 45 minutes. Once they’ve cooled, it should be easy to pull the skin off. I find it easiest to squeeze each pepper slightly with one hand, and pull the stem with the other. Most of the skin will come off that way. Cut peppers into small pieces. In a skillet over medium heat, cook and stir garlic, basil, red pepper and 3 tbsp olive oil for about 10 minutes to let the flavors mix. Place mixture in a blender and puree. Return puree to skillet, and reheat to a boil. Stir in half & half and Romano cheese, cook and stir until cheese melts. Add the butter, stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper, simmer for 5 minutes. Serve over your favorite pasta.
Recipe from AllRecipes.com

Chocolate Tofu Mousse: Better than you could believe!

14oz firm tofu at room temp
6 oz good quality semi-sweet chocolate, 62% cocoa
1 tsp pure almond extract
Fresh raspberries (optional)
...Fresh mint (optional)

Over low heat in a saucepan or over a bain marie (place a bowl over a saucepan) with simmering water, melt the chocolate. Then in a blender add the tofu and almond extract, blend until smooth. Add teaspoon of water, if necessary, to speed up the blending process. Pour chocolate into blender while blending. Use spatula to scrape down sides until fully mixed. Spoon into serving dishes and chill in refrigerater (does not take long to set). Garnish with berries and mint. NUMMMMY!
Recipe from A Lyon in the Kitchen

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Recipe found on AllRecipes.com

‎2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
½ c white sugar
½ c olive oil
¼ c distilled white vinegar
...¼ tsp paprika
1 tbsp minced onion
10 oz fresh spinach rinsed, dried, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 qt strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced
¼ c almonds, blanched and slivered

In a medium bowl, whisk together sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika and onion. Cover, chill for one hour. In large bowl, combine spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pout dressing over salad, toss. Yum!

Gingery Chickpea & Tomato Stew

‎2 tbsp vegetable oil1 jumbo onion (1lb), chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 c basmati rice
1 c plain yogurt
1/4 c packed cilantro, finely chopped
...2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
½ c water
1 ½ tsp sugar
Salt

In a 5-6 qt saucepan, heat oil on medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic, cook 10 min or until golden and tender, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions. In small bowl, combine yogurt and cilantro. Cover and refrigerate. To saucepan with onion, add cumin, coriander and cayenne. Cook one minute or until fragrant, stirring. Add tomatoes, lemon juice and ginger. Heat until boiling, then stir in chickpeas and water. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce thickens, mashing a few beans and stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar and ¼ tsp salt. Makes about 7 cups. Divide rice among places, top with bean mixture and yogurt.

borrowed from Good Housekeeping

Veggie Pad Thai

I fell in love with Pad Thai before I found out the sauce was made with fish sauce. It took a lot of experimenting (and weird peanut buttery concoctions) to finally reach this fish sauce-less recipe. This is the best veggie Pad Thai I've ever had!

Sauce:
1/2c tamarind pulp (can be found at Asian grocery)
1/2c palm sugar (if subbing with white sugar, use 1/3c)
1/4c soy sauce
1/4c salted water (taste until it tastes like.. well.. salt water!)
Pinch of Paprika or Thai chili powder (more if you like it spicy)

The rest:
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
Rice noodles (1-2c per portion)
Tofu (optional)
Eggs (optional)
Ground roasted peanuts
Green onions, sliced
Bean sprouts
Chopped garlic
Carrot, thin slices
Lime, for garnish
Cilantro, for garnish

To make the sauce:
Whenever I buy tamarind pulp in a package, it says "seedless". It's never seedless. I put some in a bowl and add hot water, and let it soak for a moment. This will make it easier to break up. Feel around and break it up with your fingers and remove any seeds you may find. Then, take the pulp from the bowl of water and squeeze any extra water out. Measure and add to saucepan. Melt all ingredients for sauce over low flame, adding the spices last. Prepare rice noodles according to package instructions. They should still be a little firm before you add them to the frying pan.

Once sauce is made, heat large wok or pan over high heat until very hot, almost smoking. Each serving will be fried up individually. Add 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil. Cook tofu until lightly browned and crispy. Add carrots and cook until tender. Add noodles and ladle some sauce in. When noodles are done, push them to the sides of the pan, leaving a hole in the middle. Crack an egg in the middle, and let sit for 10-15 seconds. Then scramble everything in pan together. Add peanuts, bean sprouts. Cook a minute. Add handful of green onions. Garnish and serve, repeating process for each serving. As my momma says, “YUMMA LUMMA!”

Spicy Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup

This soup has become our traditional dinner for beggar's night. Serve it with from fresh, homemade bread. Enjoy!

‎1 tsp canola oil
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
...1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 (14 1/2 oz) can of whole tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 oz) can of veggie broth
2 c water
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 - 1/4tsp cayenne
1 (15 oz) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in Dutch oven (or large stock pot) over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, red pepper and carrot and cook, stirring frequently until veggies are tender. Stir in sweet potato and corn. Drain tomatoes, reserving the liquid Chop tomatoes. Add tomatoes and reserved liquid. Stir in broth, water, salt and pepper. Heat to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender. Stir in beans and cook 5 minutes.