Red Salad (V)

Cooking skills focus: Roasting, sautéing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:

2 # Yukon gold potatoes, diced medium (1/2” on a side)

2 T cooking oil

Salt and pepper TT

2 T cooking oil

1 head red cabbage, cut in quarters, core removed and sliced thinly

1 bu red chard, stems removed and leaves cut bite-sized. Stems sliced ½” thick.

Salt & pepper TT

1 T cooking oil

1 red onion, julienned

½ head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced thinly

½ bu celery, stalks peeled & sliced ¼” thick

3 bell peppers, cut into bite-sized strips (julienne, then cut in half)

2 lemons, juiced

2 T Melange Classique spice blend (from World Spice Merchants)

½ bu parsley, minced

Salt & pepper TT

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Coat the potatoes in the first 2 T cooking oil and season with salt and pepper, then roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside in a large bowl when done.

3. Heat the large sauté pan over high heat, then add the next 2 T cooking oil. Add the red cabbage, chard stems and cook for 3-4 minutes, remove to the large bowl.

4. Heat the sauté pan over high heat again, then add the last 1 T cooking oil. Add the onion, garlic and celery and cook 3-4 minutes. Add to the large bowl.

5. Add the peppers, lemons, spice blend, parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Near-Broccoli Naked Casserole (V)

You'll be cooking with broccoflower (above) and broccoli rabe, but not broccoli.


Cooking skills focus: Knife skills, sauteeing, roasting, baking, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil
1 onion, julienned
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced
salt & pepper TT

1 1/2 # roma tomatoes, cored & diced large (3/4" on a side)
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper TT

2 T cooking oil
2/3 # chanterelle mushrooms, quickly rinsed & dried, then diced small (1/4" on a side)
salt & pepper TT

1 head broccoflower, diced medium (1/2" on a side)
1 bunch broccoli rabe, 1/2" inch trimmed off the end and sliced 1/2" thick
3 T olive oil
salt & pepper TT
1 T Adobo spice blend, ground
1 lemon, juiced

2 C couscous
1 C water
salt & pepper TT

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Add the 2 T cooking oil. Add the onion and saute on high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic. Drop the heat to medium and saute for another 5 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper. Set the onons and garlic aside. Keep the saute pan out.
3. Toss the tomatoes with the 2 T olive oil in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and transfer to a sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Keep the bowl out.
4. Meanwhile, heat the saute pan again over high heat and add the next 2 T cooking oil. Add the mushrooms and saute for 6-8 minutes, or until browned and slightly crispy. Remove and set aside.
5. In the large bowl, combine the broccoflower, broccoli rabe, roasted tomatoes, sauteed onions and garlic, the 3 T olive oil, lemon juice, additional salt and pepper and Adobo spice blend.
6. Put the couscous in the bottom of a baking dish and add the water. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garbanzo beans, then put the vegetable layer on top of the beans.
7. Bake covered in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the couscous is fully cooked.
8. Top with the sauteed chanterelle mushrooms and serve.

Dinosaur Pasta Stir-Fry!

Harness the power of the mighty dinosaurs to calm your roaring belly!

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil
1 onion, julienned
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced
salt and pepper to taste
3 T butter, separated into three 1 T portions
2 C mushrooms, washed & sliced
1 bu lacinato ("DINO") kale, cut chiffonade
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 T soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced

1/2 lb dry pasta, cooked according to package instructions

Instructions:
1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the first 2 T cooking oil, then the onion and garlic, and some salt and pepper.
2. After 7-8 minutes of sauteeing, add the first 1 T butter and the mushrooms, and saute for 5 more minutes.
3. Add the next 1 T butter, the kale and the bell pepper and saute for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
4. Stir in the soy sauce, lemon juice, and the last 1 T butter and then toss with freshly cooked pasta for a ferociously delicious meal!

The Mixer Salad

I made this for a mixer at a friend's house recently. I think the mixer may have evolved into a shindig at some point.

[In condensed recipe format]

2 T cooking oil
1 bu collard greens, ribs removed and cut into strips
1/2 C water
2 t soy sauce
black pepper TT

[heat a large saute pan, add the oil and saute the greens on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. then, add the soy sauce, water and pepper, stir, increase heat to a boil and boil off the water.]

2 T cooking oil
1 red onion, quartered and sliced
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced
1/3 C water
1 t soy sauce
black pepper TT

[heat the saute pan again. add the oil and saute the onion and garlic on medium-high heat for 6 minutes. then, add the soy sauce, water and pepper, stir, increase heat to a boil and boil off the water.]

1 head cauliflower, cut bite-sized
3 carrots, cut about 1/2" on a side
1 bell pepper, cut 1/2" on a side
2 cans beans, drained
3 T olive oil
1 T truffle oil
1/2 t black pepper
1 T soy sauce

[combine all ingredients. serve now or later, hot or cold.]

8. saute/sweat

(Part of The Cookbook)

You've got a saute pan, which is a shallow, wide pan with a handle. You've got the pan hot. You put a bit of oil in the pan, and the oil can withstand a lot of heat because you very wisely chose vegetable, canola, grapeseed or peanut oil. And because the oil can withstand a lot of heat, it's getting really hot without smoking yet, and that's good for the flavor of your finished dish and for your health. You've got some food items all prepped and beautifully ready in little bowls next to the hot, oiled pan.

It's an exciting time, baby. You're about to saute.

Sauteeing is a dry heat cooking method. If you don't know what that means, stop and read this first. So, you'll be browning the food items you're sauteeing. You're cooking with a lot of heat and a little fat in a container that will allow steam to evaporate, rather than accumulating to create a steaming effect, which is a wet cooking method. Properly done, sauteeing cooks vegetables while preserving some of their natural crispness. It browns and cooks meat while preserving some natural juiciness. Improperly done, it makes a soggy mess; one of the main reasons this happens is either that the pan is overcrowded or the heat is too low, usually the former.

Flipping the items in the pan every four seconds is not sauteeing. Flip or stir the food every once in a while to make sure it's cooking evenly, but you need the food in contact with the pan for most of the time in order for it to cook properly.

Here are some great recipes for practicing sauteeing:

Chorizo, Apple & Kale Sandwich

Summer Afternoon Sandwich (V)

Pav Bhaji (V)

Caramelized Spring Onion Fried Eggs (v)

Cucumber & Sausage Green Salad

Roast Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches with Fresh Apple-Corn Relish

Lamb Heart Salad

Teresa's Delicious Wraps

Sauteed Asparagus with Walnuts & Lemons (V)

Sauteed Duck Breast with Pomegranate Seeds & Walnuts

Tuna & Broccoli Salad

Fall Lamb Salad

Apple & Kale Bread Salad (V)

Corn & Spiced Pork Tacos

Sweating is not sauteeing, but I included it here because it's a very similar process. Sweating is more of a wet cooking method than dry: it's basically low-heat sauteeing where it's OK to overcrowd the pan, since you want to encourage the steam from the food items to cook the other items around them. It's useful if you don't want to brown your food, or if you want to cook it gently.

Stir-frying is the opposite.. it's very high heat sauteeing, where you have to move the food around in the wok or pan quickly so it doesn't burn. It's fun! And healthy, because generally, the longer you cook something, the less nutritious it becomes (especially vegetables).

2. shop for meat

(Part of The Cookbook)

Caution: politics ahead.

Try to find a butcher shop you feel good buying meat from. You should be able to tell the butchers what you're planning to cook and have them recommend the right cut of meat and tell you the best way to cook it. (We'll go over cooking methods for meat later.) If there isn't one near you, go ahead and go to the supermarket for your meat. Wherever you go, do not purchase meat from factory farms. This is harder to do if you go to the supermarket, but it's possible if you're familiar with a few large-scale producers that are also sustainable. Chicken from Draper Valley Farms in Oregon and Washington is a great example. You should be able to get a little information about where your meat is coming from. At a good butcher, the name of the farm the meat came from will be right on the price tag. Or, you should be able to ask the butcher.

But most of the meat you'll find in the supermarket is garbage, the product of over-subsidized, over-produced commodity crops like corn, and the practices of huge agricultural corporations focused on making money at the expense of their products' nutritional value and their customers' health. Sustainabletable.org put together a great list of reasons to buy meat produced in a sustainable manner, here: http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/  The list is even alphabetized.

You'll notice that "happy" meat looks healthier and smells better even before you cook it. It tastes better. That's because sustainable producers don't cut the corners that large conventional factory farms cut in order to drive their prices down. You'll also quickly notice that the meat is more expensive. Yep, that's what it costs to produce meat that isn't full of growth hormones and antibiotics, and packed into stacked cages or feedlots with such concentrations that their waste becomes impossible to contain. Remember the egg recall? The source of the salmonella was likely rodents getting into the chicken feed and pooping there. I remember an industry spokesperson defending their practice by saying something like, "You could have the same problem with pests whether you have an operation with a hundred or a million chickens." But which pest problem is easier to clean up? The sheer scale of such huge operations makes it nearly impossible to keep them clean and their products healthy for consumption. They do things to compensate, like feeding the animals antibiotics, washing their meat in chlorine baths or treating it with ammonia before you buy it, but those things aren't good for people, either.

Are they evil? I say no. They're responding to the public demand for lots of cheap meat. They're just selling us what they think we want so they can make money. I believe that the public demand needs an adjustment so it's more in line with our health needs.

So, good meat's expensive, but if you eat less of it,  you can easily afford it. Most American diets are really meat-heavy. If you do eat a lot of meat now, a good way to wean yourself off it a bit is to try cooking with smaller amounts of nicer meat and notice the difference in the way the food tastes and the way you feel afterwards. Your palate and your body cannot lie to you. Pay attention to them and you'll be rewarded.

And, we're off the soapbox now. Thanks for your patience.

Oh, what cuts of meat should you buy? Mostly things you can braise. They're cheap and really flavorful.

September CK Digest

Hello fellow eaters!

Thanks to those who came out to the Senior Center Thursday night. I had a great time cooking with you! It was a lovely group, filling the kitchen with lots of fun and energy. The recipes are attached*, so if you couldn't make it, you should try them at home. Let me know how they work for you, or if you come up with a variation on one.

We made some delicious food. I like these recipes, although I was planning to go with a different theme until a couple days before the community kitchen. My original plan was to research the cuisines of a few different countries, select a few traditional dishes that I thought would use a reasonable amount of in-season produce, and cook those recipes. We'll probably do that next month, and I think that'll be a nice change from the usual completely new and sometimes unusual combinations.

But I didn't do that research! Failed! So what to do? I just went with my normal process for writing recipes for the CKs. We actually talked about it at the Thursday CK as we ate our salad, but I'd like to repeat it here:

First, I go to the produce stand. I go there first because produce is a bigger variable than meat (more seasonal) and because I like to cook food with a lot of veggies and a little or no meat, so once I get the produce together, I'll know exactly what meat to get. I look first in the "#2" or slightly blemished produce bins, which exist at (I think) all the produce stands in the Pike Place Market, and many stands at neighborhood farmer's markets, too. The availability of these cosmetically damaged but still very nutritious and cheap items is even more of a variable than the rest of the produce. So, by starting there and building around those first selected items, you're maximizing your food dollars already. Some places sell pre-packaged bags of slightly blemished produce instead of keeping them in bins.

Still at the produce stand, after getting everything I can from the "#2" bins, I continue by selecting things that I like and that are in season. Ask someone if you don't know what's in season, but sometimes I can tell just by looking closely at everything and noticing which fruits and veggies almost appear to be glowing, their colors are so happy and vibrant. When I think I have about enough produce, I start physically grouping items together into clusters. If I think or know that things will taste good together, I put them together. Then I start thinking in terms of the types of dishes I like to make (salads, sandwiches, naked casseroles, soups, etc.), and I see which clusters of produce might fit those categories. I grab anything else I need to complete the recipes, which are at that point created in terms of what I know I will be cooking together.

Then I just go and get whatever else I need in terms of bread, grains, or whatever else I need to make the recipes I decided on at the produce stand. I write the details of the recipes later, which I will admit was a pain in the butt for me to start doing, but I'm glad I made myself do it because I'm able to share my recipes now. So, the next time you come up with something new, consider writing it down. I'd like to see it!

That's my process. If you've ever seen me stand for long periods of time at the produce stand with a vacant look on my face, now you know why.

cheers!

-ryan

*The recipes were:

Chorizo, apple & kale sandwich

Togarashi Naked Casserole

Crazy Vegetable Salad

Harissa-spiked chicken & corn stew with pineapple

Black Pepper Pineapple

Togarashi Naked Casserole (vegan)

From the September Pike Market Community Kitchen at the Pike Market Senior Center

Cooking skills focus: Knife skills, sauteeing, baking

Ingredients:
2 T cooking oil
1 # crimini mushrooms, quartered
1 yellow onion, cut in half and sliced 1/4" thick
1  head garlic, cloved peeled & sliced 1/4" thick
4 Yukon gold potatoes, diced 1/2" on a side
1 head cauliflower, cut about 3/4" on a side
1 bu broccoli rabe, bottom 1/4" trimmed and sliced 1/2" thick all the way up
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper TT (about 2 t salt and 1/2 t pepper)
1 T & 1 t togarashi shichimi (Japanese seven spice)
1 lemon, juiced

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium-hgh heat. When you can see some wavy smoke lines coming from the pan, add the 2 T oil. Allow the oil to heat up for a few seconds, coating the pan, then add the mushrooms.
3. Brown the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the onion and garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes more. Transfer to a very large bowl.
4. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the lemon juice. Toss gently until well-mixed. Transfer to a baking dish, cover and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the potatoes are done. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Taste and add more seasoning if desired.

Doesn't that taste healthy and also delicious? Healthy doesn't have to taste like rabbit food, no no no. You can do this with any combination of vegetables; just make sure everything's seasoned and all the pieces are cut so they'll cook at around the same time.

Crazy Vegetable Salad (vegan)

From the September Pike Market Community Kitchen at the Pike Market Senior Center.

Cooking skills focus: Knife skills, roasting, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
4-5 yellow squash, cut bite-sized
1 yellow onion, cut in half and sliced thinly
2 C vinegar (white/red wine, rice, apple cider, or even distilled white will do)
2 C water
2 t salt
1 t pepper

1 # crimini mushrooms, cut in half and then sliced thickly
2 T cooking oil
salt & pepper TT (about 1 t salt & 1/2 t pepper)

2 bu spinach, trimmed & cut bite-sized
1 bu radishes, trimmed & sliced thinly
3 avocadoes, diced
2 cans of beans, drained & rinsed
1 lemon, juiced
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper TT

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Marinate the squash and onion: divide the vinegar, water, salt & pepper into two containers and put the squash in one and the onion in another. mix and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toss the mushrooms with the 2 T cooking oil, salt & pepper, and transfer to a sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until crispy. Set aside in a large bowl.
4. Remove the squash and onion from the marinade and add them to the mushrooms. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Season to taste and serve.

Another score for vegan goodness! This is less of a salad and more of a celebration of how nicely a variety of veggies and legumes can play together. Flavors and textures are distinctive but harmonize well.

Harissa-Spiked Chicken & Corn Stew with Pineapple

From the September Pike Market Community Kitchen at the Pike Market Senior Center.

Cooking skills focus: Preparing meat for cooking, braising/stewing, balancing flavors

Ingredients:
1 qt chicken stock (homemade is strongly preferred, but sometimes you have to make do)
1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 T cooking oil
8 chicken thighs, meat cut off the bone & diced about 1/2" on a side
salt & pepper TT
1 yellow onion, diced 1/2" on a side
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced thinly

6-7 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob
4 Yukon gold potatoes, diced 1/2" on a side
4 T harissa spice blend
salt & pepper TT (about 2-3 T salt and 1 T pepper)
water if needed (see below)

1/2 pineapple, diced about 1/2" on a side

Instructions:
1. In a large pot, heat the stock and tomatoes together to a simmer, over medium-low.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When you can see some wavy smoke lines coming from the pan, add the 1 T oil. Allow the oil to heat up for a few seconds, coating the pan, then add the chicken, season with some salt & pepper and brown well, for about 3-4 minutes on high. Be careful, especially when moving the chicken around in the pan!
3. Reduce the heat to medium-high and stir in the onion and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes and then add to the simmering stock & tomatoes.
4. Add the corn, potatoes and seasoning. Add a little more water if needed but keep the consistency stew-like. Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minues to an hour, until the potatoes are done and the chicken is tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
5. Serve with the pineapple as a garnish in the middle of each bowl.

This recipe embodies the power of balancing flavors. You have sweet and savory playing together in a multitude of ways, given the chicken, onion and garlic as savory, the corn and tomato as sweet and savory combined, the harissa spice blend as sweet and savory also but in the form of spices, and the pineapple as sweet but also tangy, and that pineapple tangyness reaching back to the tomato's delicious acidity and connecting there. It's a complex web of flavors that's pretty easy to create.

Roasted Chard Salad

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*

The texture of this salad is even more of a treat than the flavor, which is also excellent. Mmmmmmm!

Ingredients:
1 bunch rainbow chard, stems removed and leaves roughly torn (save for soup stock)
1 T olive oil
salt & black pepper TT
1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped bite-sized
1 C cherry tomatoes, halved
1 C Italian parsley, chopped
½ baguette, sliced 1/4" thick
Optional: 2 sausages, halved lengthwise and sliced. [Cook sausages in skillet over high heat using
approximately 1 t cooking oil for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through & well-browned.]

Dressing:
2 t soy sauce
1 lime, juiced
2-3 dashes ground cinnamon
4-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 T olive oil
Salt & black pepper TT

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Lightly crumple chard leaves onto baking sheet. Drizzle leaves with olive oil and mix with your hands. Add salt & pepper to taste. Chard should be left to roast for 12 minutes or until it is wilted & crispy around the edges. When done, set aside. But while it's cooking:
3. Line baguette slices on a baking pan, rubbing both sides of slices with olive oil, salt and pepper lightly. Bake until edges are browned. Once cooled to touch, use hands to break-up slices into bite-size pieces.
4. Combine chard and lettuce in large bowl with dressing, then top with baguette pieces, sausage (if used), tomato and parsley. Serve.

Chicken + Greens Supper

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*
serves 3 as a main course or more as a small plate

Ingredients:
1/2 t cooking oil
salt & black pepper TT
6 chicken drumsticks (free-range and grain-fed whenever possible!), scored deeply with a knife for faster braising

salt & black pepper TT
1 bunch kale, chopped bite-sized
6 red potatoes, diced bite-sized
2 T olive oil
3 slicing tomatoes, cut in half & sliced 1/2" thick
½ head garlic, peeled & sliced 1/4" thick

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Once it's hot, add the 1/2 t oil. Add the drumsticks and brown on all sides for about 6-8 minutes. Set them aside in dish and reduce heat to medium-high. Add the kale (in batches if necessary), season with a little salt & pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes or until wilted. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Layer a baking dish from bottom in order as follows: potato, kale, chicken, tomato (embed among chicken), and garlic. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper. Cover and bake until chicken falls away from the bone, approximately 2 hours.

Caution: Chicken is terribly delicious. This chicken is especially terribly delicious.

Summer Vegetable Naked Casserole

*Written for Clean Greens Farm & Market*

Vegetables!! Mmm-mmm. Fill your belly! So delicious and good for you!! You will feel a charge of wholesome energy after eating this and similar dishes.

serves 3-4 as a main course or more as a small plate

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C brown rice, rinsed
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C water

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped bite-sized
2 broccoli crowns, chopped bite-sized (save the stalk for soup base!)
½ bell pepper, cut into 1/2" thick strips
3 carrots, cut into 1/2" thick coins
½ head garlic, peeled & sliced 1/4" thick
½ pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ red onion, sliced thinly

½ bunch thyme, rinsed & picked off the stem
1/4 C olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
plenty of salt & black pepper TT

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cover the bottom of a casserole dish with the rice, the 1/2 t salt and the water, mixing gently to combine. Layer vegetables atop rice, preferably with cruciferous veggies (cauliflower & broccoli) at the bottom, bell pepper & carrots toward the middle, and tomato & onion on top. Season each layer with some garlic, salt & pepper as you build the casserole. If you try to season the whole thing at the end, from the top, there will not be enough seasoning and picky eaters may think to themselves, "You know what? Vegetables are bland and that's why I don't eat more of them." And we don't want that. Anyway, finish by sprinkle thyme across the surface and drizzle on the olive oil
3. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 1 ½ hours, making sure the rice on the bottom is cooked. Sprinkle the lemon juice on top, then serve hot or at room temperature. Pretty easy, right? Who said cooking from scratch was hard?

*Note: A "naked" casserole is just an assembly of delicious things baked together, as a casserole would be, but without a binding component such as eggs, flour, or cheese.

Naked Vegetable Casserole with Greens and Spiced Pecans

A naked casserole is a casserole-type combination of delicious things without a binding component such as eggs, cream, flour or cheese.

You know, I like cheese, eggs, milk and flour. But I also like the deliciously clean flavor of vegetables cooked together with some nice oil and a bit of seasoning. You don't have to be naked to cook this casserole, but you will be more popular if you are.

Ingredients:

2 T cooking oil
1 bu greens, washed and chopped bite-sized (any will do; I used collards)
2 shallots, peeled & sliced
1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled & sliced
salt & pepper TT

1 T olive oil
1 1/2 C pecans
1 t spice blend (I used a chimichurri spice blend from World Spice; most any spice or spice blend will do; just choose one you like)
salt & pepper TT

1/2 head cauliflower, washed & chopped bite-sized
1 crown broccoli (or enough to match the cauliflower), washed & chopped bite-sized
2 T olive oil
salt & pepper TT

1 1/3 C brown rice
1 1/3 C water
salt & pepper TT (enough to season the rice)

1 lemon, juiced
1 T truffle oil (optional)


Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the 2 T cooking oil. Allow the oil to heat up and then add the greens. Saute for about 5 minutes and then add the shallots and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Do this in a couple of batches if you think you're crowding the pan too much. Set aside. Wipe out the saute pan.
3. Heat the saute pan again over medium-low heat. Add the 1 T olive oil, pecans, and seasoning. Stir together and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cauliflower, broccoli, 2 T olive oil, salt & pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.
5. Rinse the rice and layer it in the bottom of a baking/casserole dish. Add the water and season with salt & pepper.
6. Top the rice with the broccoli and cauliflower. Top that with the greens. Top that with the spiced pecans. Top that with a cover and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the rice is done.
7. Sprinkle with the truffle oil (if using) and lemon juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Super Vegan Salad

Bonanza of vegetables!

Ingredients:
1 T cooking oil
1 bu lacinato kale, washed and sliced thinly
salt & pepper TT

1 sm yellow onion, sliced thinly
1/2 C vinegar
1 large pinch each salt and pepper

1 C cashews
1 t olive oil
1 pinch salt
1/2 t curry powder

1 lemon, juiced
1 t masala kala or another masala spice blend
1/2 t salt
1/2 C olive oil

1/2 bu celery, peeled & sliced thinly
4 Persian cucumbers, washed & diced
4-5 heirloom carrots, washed & sliced thinly
1/2 C dried cherries

Instructions:
1. Toss the onion with the vinegar, salt and pepper and enough water to cover in a small container. Soak the onions for at least and hour and drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil. Add the kale, season and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. Toss the cashews with the olive oil, curry powder and pinch of salt. Set aside.
4. Whisk together the lemon juice, masala kala, 1/2 t salt and 1/2 C olive oil.
5. Toss all ingredients together and serve.

Red Cabbage & Cashew Slaw, Stuffed Collard Greens and Red Quinoa with Caramelized Fennel

To me, delicious vegan food means lots of vegetables. This recipe is a combination of three small dishes to create an entrée that's got a lot of variety but still hangs together as a whole.

Ingredients:
Red Cabbage & Cashew Slaw:

5 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 jalapeños, minced
1 grapefruit, juiced
1/2 t salt
2 t Chimichurri powder
1 t sugar (preferably raw sugar)
2/3 C olive oil
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced very thinly
2 red bell peppers, sliced thinly
4 Persian cucumbers (or 1 English cucumber), cut bite-sized
1/3 bu cilantro, sliced thinly (use the stems too)
2/3 C cashews

Stuffed Collard Greens:
1 T cooking oil
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced thinly
6 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
salt & pepper TT
1/2 lemon, juiced (you use the other half below)
1 zucchini, julienned (cut into thin planks 2" long, and then cut along the planks into little batons)
1 bu collard greens, washed, cut in half & ribs removed

Red Quinoa w/ Caramelized Fennel:
1 T cooking oil
1 yellow onion, sliced thinly
1 bulb fennel, washed, outer layer peeled (vegetable peeler) and sliced thinly (remove the tough, cone-shaped core at the bottom of the bulb)
salt & pepper TT
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 C red quinoa

Instructions:
0. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Red Cabbage & Cashew Slaw:
1. Whisk together the first seven ingredients in a big bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix around.

Stuffed Collard Greens:
1. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat and add the cooking oil. Add the cabbage and garlic, season with salt & pepper and cook about 6-7 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and zucchini.
2. Allow the filling to cool and stuff the collard greens with it like little burritos. Line them up in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and bake for 20 minutes.


Red Quinoa w/ Caramelized Fennel:
1. Heat the same large sauté pan over high heat and add the cooking oil. Add the onion and fennel and brown for 3-4 minutes, then season with salt and pepper, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 minutes or until all soft and deliciously caramelized. Add the lemon juice and set aside.
2. While the onion and fennel is cooking, cook the quinoa according to package directions. Combine everything together.

Black Pepper Strawberries

I know, it's barely a recipe.
from the last Pike Market Community Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 pt strawberries, washed, trimmed and quartered
1 t sugar
a few good pinches of black pepper, preferably freshly ground

Instructions:
1. Toss the strawberries with the sugar and black pepper, and leave to macerate (break down) for 15 minutes. Serve as-is, over ice cream or cake.

Chimichurri Braised Chicken & Black Bean Salad

(Chimichurri is originally from Argentina & Uruguay, but is now used widely)
from the last Pike Market Community Kitchen

Ingredients:
1/2 t cooking oil
4 whole chicken legs, scored
salt and pepper TT
1 red onion, diced
1/2 head garlic, peeled & sliced
2 t Chimichurri
2 cans black beans, rinsed well and drained
2 bell peppers, diced
1/2 C cashews
1 lemon, juiced
1 t Chimichurri spice blend (ours was from World Spice)
1/2 bu parsley, chopped

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over hgh heat. Add the legs (be careful! they like to spit hot grease at you!), season with salt & pepper and brown well. Remove to a baking dish.
3. In the same pan, saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, then add to the chicken. Add the 2 t Chimichurri and mix. Cover the dish and braise for about 45 minutes.
4. Pull the chicken off the bones and combine with all remaining ingredients. Season to taste.

Zanzibar Egg Curry

(There are a lot of curry powders available.. you can pick one from Zanzibar or use whichever you like.. we used one from Pakistan with a nice sweet flavor)
from the last Pike Market Community Kitchen

Ingredients:
5-6 yellow potatoes, diced large
2 T cooking oil
salt & pepper TT
9 eggs
1 red onion
1/2 head garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger, minced
1/2 can tomato sauce
1 T cooking oil
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 C water
1 T & 1 t Curry Powder (we used a Pakistani curry powder from World Spice)
1/2 t salt
1/2 head cauliflower, chopped small
1/2 # yellow wax beans (or green beans), trimmed & cut bite-sized
1 bu broccolini, 1/2" trimmed from the bottom and sliced 1/2" thick
salt & pepper TT

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the potatoes with salt, pepper and oil, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove and set aside.
2. Boil the eggs for about 10 minutes and set in an ice water bath to cool. When cooled, peel and cut them in half lengthwise.
3. In a food processor, puree the onion, garlic, ginger and tomato sauce together. Add a bit of water if you have to, taking from the 1/2 cup of water you'll use later.
4. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion-tomato mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, curry powder and 1/2 t salt, and cook another 5 minutes.
5. Add the cauliflower, broccolini and wax beans and cook until just cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and gently combine. Serve over the roasted potatoes.

Stuffed Rice w/ Red Quinoa Caps

Two of my roommates went down to Oregon and ate at a Thai restaurant called Sweet Basil, in Eugene. They told me about how beautifully the rice was presented there: a layer of red rice topping white rice in the shape of a star. I thought that was so cool that I wanted to riff on it, so I expanded the idea into an entree. Unfortunately, I couldn't find red rice but I used red quinoa for a similar visual effect and a delicious nutty taste.

Ingredients:
1 t cooking oil
5 chicken drumsticks, scored*
1 onion, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pt cherry tomatoes
salt & pepper TT

2 C white or brown rice (we used brown jasmine rice)
1 C red quinoa (or regular quinoa if you can't find red)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Heat a large saute pan over high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken and brown it well.
3. Remove the chicken to a baking dish. Drop the heat to medium-high and add the onion.
4. Saute the onion for 3-4 minutes, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt & pepper, then add to the chicken. Cover and braise for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook the rice & quinoa according to the package directions.
6. When the chicken is done, pull the meat off the bone and mix it with the braised onions, tomatoes & garlic. Season this filling to taste.
7. Line a medium-sized bowl with plastic wrap. Put in a layer of the quinoa, pat it down and make a depression in the middle where you can stack the filling. Put about a half cup of filling in, then cover with the rice. Pack that down neatly. Put a plate upside down on top of the bowl, get a good hold of everything, and quickly invert the whole thing, unmolding your stuffed rice onto the plate. Repeat. Fun, right?

*I've found that if you're going to braise something and you want the process to go faster, you can just cut into the item with a knife before browning it so that the second-stage, low-and-slow moist heat penetrates more quickly.