Savory Bites

Mushroom Sesame Tofu Soup (Vegan!)
From New Recipes From Moosewood Restaurant

2 tablesponos peanut or vegetable oil
1- 1/2 cups chopped oinions
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
3 celery stalks, sliced
2 cups sliced mushrooms (8 oz)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 or 3 bay leaves
4 cups undrained whole tomatoes, chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cake tofu, pressed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Sauté the onions and ginger in the oil for 4 minutes. Add the celery and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cayenne, salt, and bay leaves. Add the tomatoes, their juice, and the stock.

Simmer covered for about 20 minutes. Add the tahini and peanut butter, stirring briskly to dissolve. Finally, add the cubes of tofu. Continue to simmer on very low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.

Serves 6

Vegan Armenian Lentil Soup Armenian

from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

1/2 cups dried lentils
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (4 oz)
3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
2-3 cups cubed eggplant
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (or another 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, if preferred)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Rinse the lentils, and then bring them to a boil in the stock or water. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add the chopped apricots and simmer covered for another 20 minute.

Meanwhile, sauté the onions in the oil until translucent, then add the eggplant and 4 or 5 tablespoons of water. Cook covered on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is almost tender. Add the remaining vegetables, dried spices, and salt. Cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes

Stir the sautéed vegetables into the cooked lentil-apricot mixture and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the parsley and mint and serve. Serves 6.

Shrimp & Veggie-riffic Stir Fry

Adapted from The New York Times
Makes 2-3 servings

¼ cup water chestnuts, quartered
1/3 romaine lettuce, cut widthwise (through the head) and chopped into slivers
1/3 onion (I used Vidalia), chopped
½ tsp ginger powder
1/5 cup canola oil
8 oz mixed veggies (I used a frozen carrot/cauliflower/broccoli blend)
8 cooked shrimp, thawed if frozen, tails removed, cut into thirds
1 small jalepeño pepper, chopped
salt to taste
¼ cup red wine
1 cup cooked brown rice
toasted sesame oil for garnish

Heat a third of the oil in a large pan. Add water chestnuts, tossing with a little salt, and cooking on high until they are brown around the edges. Remove from heat and save.

Heat another third of the oil. Add lettuce, onion, and veggies, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes on medium-high eat. Stir in a little salt. CAUTION: oil can “pop”, so watch out, it’s VERY HOT. Add about ¼ cup water. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add remaining oil to pain. Add shrimp, ginger, and jalepeño. Cook 1-2 minutes. Return chestnuts, and veggie/lettuce mixture to pan. Add rice, stirring over medium until heated through. Add wine and a few tablespoons more of water, mixing thoroughly. Remove from heat and serve, drizzling a little toasted sesame one each individual portion.

Caitlin’s Black bean & Sweet Potato Burgers

Adapted from See Bride Run (now Healthy Tipping Point)

Serves 1

1 sweet potato

1/2 15-oz can black beans

Microwave sweet potato about 6 minutes or until cooked through with no hard spots, turning once. After the potato is cooked and cooled slightly, peel the skin, mash it up, and mix it together with the beans. Stir in some salt and pepper, sculpt into patties, and cook in a pan (greased with Pam or other like spray) for 3 minutes on each side. They’re going to be soft on the inside, so don’t try to cook them longer because they burn. Serve with a dollop of plain low-fat yogurt.

Additional mix-ins: spices (cumin, curry, cinnamon, etc), mushrooms, walnuts, etc.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Adapted from Veganomicon

Serves 6

1/2 cup thinly sliced (peeled) carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced (peeled) broccoli stems
1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 shakes dried sage
6 cups water
3 cubes vegetarian bouillon
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
6 oz chik’n style strips (I used Lightlife brand), cut as small as you’d like (mine were about 1 inch long)
1 package tofu shirataki noodles
Any type of greens, any quantity you’d like
Soy sauce to taste
salt to taste

Preheat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté onions, broccoli stems and carrots in the oil for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms and herbs, and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add water, bouillon and chickpeas. Cover pot and bring to a boil.

Once the broth is boiling, add the chik’n strips and shirataki noodles. Lower heat to medium so that soup is at a low boil. Add a few splashes of soy sauce. When noodles and chik’n are heated through, add greens and cook until they wilt. Taste; if it needs more salt add a little soy sauce and/or salt.

Serve and enjoy!

Roasted Winter Vegetables

1 acorn squash
1 small butternut squash
1 delicata squash
1 sweet potato
2 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper
herbs of choice (I used dried sage and rosemary)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 green pepper, chopped

Preheat oven to 400. Peel veggies and remove seeds and stringy insides. Chop to bite-sized pieces and combine in bowl. Add olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper on top and combine with hands to evenly coat. Pour into a large baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan and add garlic and pepper. Stir thoroughly. Put pan back in oven and bake for 20 more minutes or until veggies are tender.

Cold Sesame Noodles

Adapted from Hungry-Girl

1 package Shirataki angel hair noodles
1 tbsp + 1 tsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp almond milk
2 tbsp chopped chives
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1 minced garlic clove
1 tsp honey

Rinse and dry shirataki noodles; pat dry. Microwave noodles for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of ingredients. Pour over noodles and mix well. Chill for at least one hour (or cheat and put it in the freezer). Serve and enjoy!

Garlic-Free Hummus

1- 1/2 cups chickpeas, cooked and drained
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1-1/2 lemons
3 tablespoons tahini
1/4 teaspoons cumin
1/8 teaspoons salt
water as needed

Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy, adding water as needed to ease the blending process. Serve and enjoy!

Get-Well Egg Soup

Inspired by Jenna

2 cups water
1 whole egg, beaten
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon base
fresh lemon juice
chives (or any other fresh herb)
pepper

Heat water on stove and stir in Better Than Bouillon. When water is just about to boil, remove pot from heat and stir in egg. Season with lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon), chives and pepper. Slurp and enjoy!

Ari & Katie’s Wild Mushroom Lasagne

adapted from many, many different versions of the recipe that’s to follow, most recently this one

Serves 8

12 lasagne noodles, parboiled (boiled about halfway)

4 T olive oil

3 cloves minced garlic

2 medium yellow or white onions, chopped

1 lb mushrooms of choice (try using at least 3 varieties; I recommend porcini being one of them)

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 T dried or fresh thyme (chopped if fresh)

1/4 cup marsala wine

1- 2 T butter (your choice)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup skim milk

1 cup vegetable broth (I used Better Than Bouillon and leftover water from the porcini mushrooms to give it extra flavor)

1-1/2 cups fontina cheese

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan or gruyère cheese

salt and pepper to taste (we sometimes leave this out and let guests flavor it themselves)

Preheat oven to 375 and prepare the noodles. Rinse, drain, and separate noodles on paper towels or dishrags.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onions; sauté about 7 minutes or until they begin to brown. Add mushrooms, parsley and thyme; sauté 5 more minutes. Stir in wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In another medium saucepan, make the “bechamel” sauce: combine flour, butter and nutmeg. Stir in milk and broth and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Stir in fontina cheese. (Add salt & pepper if you are seasoning it yourself.) Remove from heat.

Layer 4 cooked lasagne noodles on the bottom of a 13 x 9- inch baking pan. Spread 1/3 mushroom mixture evenly over the top of the noodles, then spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce over the mushrooms. Continue the pattern (noodles, mushrooms, cheese) until you end on a “sauce” layer. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella and parmesan/gruyere. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until top has begun to brown.

Let cool about 5 minutes, then cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

Simple Scallop Pasta

• enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan
• 5 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb scallops
• 2 handfuls fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 lb fresh linguine (can sub boxed)
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

Turn on good music. Boil pasta in oil and salted water. Cook garlic in oil until it is golden brown and remove from heat until linguine is al dente (about 6-8 minutes if linguine is fresh or according to package directions) Add scallops to the oil and cook until they’re white, adding extra oil if necessary. Season to taste with fresh black pepper, adding chili flakes if you want a kick. Add parsley and bread crumbs. Reserve about 1/4 cup pasta water to thin sauce if necessary. Combine scallops and pasta, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Serves 4

Springtime Shrimp, Asparagus and Lemon Risotto

Adapted from this recipe from the May 2009 issue of Gourmet

Serves 3

1 cup vegetable broth

1-1/2 cups asparagus

1/2 onion

1 tbsp butter

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups cooked brown rice

1/8 cup dry white wine

1 cup frozen shrimp, tails removed (you can do this by soaking the shrimp in cold water and then pulling off the tails)

1/8 cup parmesan, grated

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (cilantro/parsley/chives); I used cilantro

Salt & pepper to taste

Simmer asparagus in vegetable broth about 4 minutes, until just tender. Remove asparagus from broth with slotted spoon and transfer to ice water to stop cooking, and drain. Keep broth at very low simmer.

Heat butter, salt and onion in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add rice and stir constantly, about 1 minute. Add wine and simmer, stirring constantly.

Add broth, a small bit at a time, stirring constantly over a simmer, until you’ve used about half. Stir in shrimp and simmer until they are cooked through.

Stir in asparagus, lemon juice, herbs and cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Optional: garnish with additional cheese & cilantro.

Quick Spring Pea Soup

Adapted from this recipe in April 2009 Bon Appétit

Serves 2-3

• 1 cup frozen peas, divided in half
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• pinch chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp ground sage powder
• nonfat plain yogurt

Sauté garlic and onion in oil until onion is tender, about 4 minutes. Add in chili flakes and cook for one more minute.  Add half the frozen peas (1/2 cup), vegetable broth, and spices; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool a couple minutes, then transfer to blender (in batches) and purée. Meanwhile, heat remaining peas in microwave. Season hot soup with pepper and ladle into bowls. Garnish with whole peas and yogurt, and additional chili flakes if desired.