Stuffed Potatoes Two Ways

The two ways are: (1) Vegan, and (2) Decidedly not vegan. So you get to please everybody.

Well, except picky eaters, but you didn't invite them anyway.

Makes: a lot

Ingredients:
12 medium red or yellow potatoes, cut in half
3 T cooking oil
salt & pepper TT

3/4 lb mushrooms, washed & sliced thinly
2 T cooking oil
plenty of salt & pepper TT
1/2 pt cherry tomatoes, diced
1 t red wine vinegar

2 T cooking oil
2 shallots, peeled & sliced
2 bu mustard greens, washed & rough chopped
1 head garlic, peeled & sliced thinly
4 ears corn, shucked & kernels cut off the cob
salt & pepper TT
1 t mustard

1 t cooking oil
2 Merguez sausages, diced
2 other sausage (we used sausage made from BAAAAAACON *droooool*)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss the potatoes in 3 T cooking oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on sheet pans and begin to roast for 25-30 minutes or until golden and soft inside.
3. Meanwhile, toss the mushrooms with the 2 T cooking oil, salt and pepper and begin to roast in the oven for 20 minutes. When done, toss with the tomatoes and vinegar.
4. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat and add 2 T cooking oil. Add the shallots and brown for 2 minutes. hen add the mustard greens and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the corn and cook another 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide into two parts and add the mustard to one part.
5. Heat the sauté pan again over high heat and add the last 1 t cooking oil. Add the diced sausage and cook until done and slightly crispy.
6. When they're cool enough to handle, scoop out a divot from each potato half to make room for the filling. Reserve the potato for another use like meat or vegetable hash, or a pureed soup.
7. For the vegan potatoes, layer from the bottom: corn/mustard greens (w/o mustard), then mushroom/tomato. For the meat ones: corn/mustard greens (w/ mustard), then sausage.

Black Olive & Cashew Tapenade

from the last Pike Market Community Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 cans black olives
1 tin anchovies, drained (with or without capers included; we used one with capers)
1/2 head garlic, peeled & rough chopped
2/3 C cashews
1/2 bu parsley, rough chopped
1 C olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
black pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor until blended but still a bit chunky. Serve over toast, as a dip for vegetables or pita, or as a stuffing for meat or vegetables.

Delicious Hummus

this is a condensed-format recipe, designed for a pocket recipe book called "Learn to Cook" I made and gave out to random people at the Pike Market for a few months in 2009. some of the ingredients may be difficult to find outside of the market, and can be substituted or disregarded.

2 cans garbanzo beans
4 T sesame tahini
1/4 head garlic [peel & rough chop]
1 lemon [juice]
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/3 C water

[in a food processor, pulse, then blend all the ingredients together until the hummus is almost fluffy. the whipped consistency of hummus is important to fully enjoy the flavor.]

Babaghanouj

Ingredients:

2 eggplants

1 t oil

2 lemons, juiced

1/3 can tahini

1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled and rough=chopped

½ C water

2 t salt

½ t pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Pierce eggplants several times with a knife. Rub them with oil and roast in oven 25 minutes.

3. Let eggplant cool, then cut in half, scoop out flesh and combine with other ingredients in a food processor. Puree until very smooth. Taste for seasoning.