Cabbage Curry- South Indian style

Welcome Cabbage (wannabe) lovers,
Here is a favorite recipe of mine with cabbage made the traditional South Indian way.

1 cabbage (shredded as thinly as possible)
Handful unsweetened shredded coconut
Salt

For Seasoning,
2-3 TBSP canola/ corn oil,
1/2 TBSP mustard seeds,
1/4 TBSP cumin seeds,
a pinch of asafoetida powder,
2 Indian or Thai green chilli, finely diced (can de-seed them if you are avoiding spice)
Curry leaves (2-4 nos)

A one-stop-shop for all these ingredients will be your local Indian grocery store.

Preparation:
Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds.
Add the above seasoning ingredients in the order mentioned and fry for a minute. Then add the shredded cabbage, some unsweetened shredded coconut (which you can get at the baking aisle), salt (according to taste) and cook for 10 minutes (take care to not stir too much while cooking to avoid making it mushy).
Sprinkle some chopped cilantro leaves and voila! You have some absolutely delicious cabbage.
Can be had with tortillas, rice, or just plain yogurt.

Chickpea and Brown Rice Burgers

Easy to make and totally delicious. I tried these first as burgers, and then a couple days later made them again but formed little 1 inch cubes instead (for a cube-themed meal!). I served the cubes with a yogurt-cucumber-lime sauce that was pretty awesome too if you're looking for a different option... Enjoy!

Burgers:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2/3 C cooked brown rice
2 TBSP oats, chopped finely
1 medium carrot, grated
2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped
2 medium scallions, minced
2 clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp lemon or lime zest
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 large egg, beaten

Salad:
1/2 C cucumber, diced
2 small tomatoes, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 small red onion, slivered
2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
juice from 1/2 lemon or lime
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

In a medium bowl, mash chickpeas until a course texture is reached. Add brown rice and mash until well combined. Add oats, carrots, parsley, scallions, cilantro, garlic, lemon/lime zest, coriander, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add egg, mix until combined, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In a separate small bowl, add all salad ingredients and toss gently. Set aside.

Set oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray, form burger mixture into 5 patties and arrange on sheet. Lightly coat tops of burgers with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, flip burgers to second side, and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Serve burgers topped with salad. Yum!

Miso Soup

8 C water
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 TBSP grated fresh ginger
3 TBSP dried wakame seaweed
1 lb soft tofu, cubed
4 scallions, white and green parts sliced thinly
3 TBSP miso (or more, depending on flavor)
Fistful of buckwheat soba noodles, cooked according to directions on package

Mix garlic, ginger, and seaweed into the water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook about 5 minutes until seaweed is tender. Add tofu and scallions and simmer 2 minutes. Remove about one cup of liquid to a small bowl and dissolve miso into the broth. Add back to soup and mix well. Add soba noodles, simmer another 2 minutes, and serve hot.

Black Bean, Avocado, Corn Salad

Spinach or mixed greens, washed thoroughly
1 medium sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 can black beans
2 ears corn, boiled and cut off the cob
1 avocado, peeled and chopped
2 scallions, white and green parts sliced thinly
1/2 mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 C cheddar cheese, grated (optional)
handful of fresh parsley and/or cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
juice from 1 lime
1/4 C olive oil
2 TBSP cidar vinegar
1 TBSP honey
salt and pepper to taste

Arrange sweet potatoes in a small baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, layer all remaining salad ingredients on top of mixed greens in a large bowl. In a small jar with a lid, add all dressing ingredients, cap, and shake thoroughly. Dress the salad, toss, and serve with tortilla chips or crusty bread.

Raw Zucchini Salad

With this salad, farmer's market fresh zucchini and summer squash makes all the difference...

4-5 small/medium-sized zucchini/summer squash
juice from 1 large lemon
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Slice zucchini and squash very thinly down the long axis - one of those hard cheese slicers works really well for this. Slices should be around 1mm thick. Fold slices in layers on a plate and drizzle lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Yummy!

Raw Beet Salad

A delicious, refreshing, and beautifully hued summer salad... (Mom's been making this for a couple years now, and it's a serious favorite!!)

2-3 large beets, peeled
juice from 2 limes
drizzle of olive oil
handful of fresh parsley and/or cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Grate peeled beets, either by hand or with a food processor (so much easier!!!). In a medium sized bowl, mix the beets with the lime juice, olive oil, parsley, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Serve chilled!

Dilly Lemon Yogurt Dressing

A nice alternative to your standard vinagrette - also excellent if you're serving anything spicy!

2/3 C plain yogurt
2-3 TBSP honey
1 TBSP tahini
2-3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP rice vinegar
juice from 1/2 lemon
1-2 tsp fresh dill, minced
1 TBSP fresh parsley, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a jar, cap tightly and shake until thoroughly combined. Enjoy over a big green salad! (Would also be excellent over cabbage or carrot slaw!)

Not-Your-Average Potato Salad

This has been the summer of the salad in my apartment, due as much to the obscene heat and humidity as to the abundance of fresh produce. I'll try and start posting some of my favorite veggie/bean/cheese/tofu salad combinations. Meanwhile enjoy this yummy potato salad recipe! I've made it a couple of times this summer and it's been a definite hit. All measurements are an approximation - feel free to edit as needed!!

3-5 pounds of potatoes, depending on the size of your group - the little red fingerlings are nice
2 ears corn, husked and snapped in half
1 small red onion, diced
1 small cucumber, diced
3/4 C capers
handful of fresh parsley, minced

Dressing:
1 C yogurt, mayonnaise, or a combination of the two (I prefer mostly yogurt with a few TBSP mayo)
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP spicy mustard
splash of juice from jar of capers
handful of fresh dill, minced
small amount of fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste

Clean potatoes thoroughly and chop into bite sized pieces. (I like to leave the skins on!) In a large pot, boil potatoes in enough water to cover until they are tender - don't boil too long or your skins will fall off. During the last few minutes, add your corn. Remove from heat and drain well. While potatoes cool, rinse corn in cold water until it can be handled comfortably. Use a sharp knife to cut corn off ear. In a large bowl, gently mix together potatoes, corn, cucumber, capers, and parsley. In a separate jar with a lid, add together all dressing ingredients, cap tightly and shake until completely mixed. Pour over potatoes and gently mix all together. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve it!

Quinoa Tabouli

Usually tabouli is made with bulgur, but I actually liked it better with the quinoa! This recipe is heavy on the quinoa and light on the parsley . . . feel free to switch it around if you like. It also takes about 10-15 minutes from start to finish, which is awesome.

1 cup uncooked quinoa
juice of 2 lemons
a drizzle of olive oil
about 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs - I used parsley, mint, and chives.
about 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Cook quinoa according to package directions and let cool a bit. I like cooking it in veggie broth - it makes it tres yummy. Toss with lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, and tomatoes. You could also add chopped red onions (which would probably be yummy, if you like raw onions). Other optional additions, for different flavors: chopped red pepper and cilantro.

Soooo good!! Tastes like summer :)

Date and Nut Truffles!

nuts of choice - walnuts are my fave - soaked for 8-10 hours
dates


This is the easiest recipe ever. Blend up the nuts. Blend up the dates. Mush them all together in a big bowl. (If you're feeling a little lazy you can use tahini or nut butter instead of fresh nuts.) With your hands, scoop out some of the date-nut mixture and roll it into a cute little ball. Then, to be extra fancy, roll the ball in the coating of your choice - cocoa powder, coconut, sesame seeds, whatever! You can even get all nouveau and roll them in crazy stuff like curry powder. Anything goes! Enjoy.

Lemony-Buttermilk-ey Linguine

Look, Rachel, I posted it!

This one is adapted from a recipe from epicurious.com . . . it tastes really bad for you, but it's not! How exciting!

3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

a handful of broccoli florets
a handful of green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch-long pieces
8 ounces linguine

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving

Place yolks in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in lemon juice, then buttermilk.

Cook broccoli and green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using sieve, transfer vegetables from pot to large skillet. Return water to boil. Add pasta; boil until tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.

Add pasta to skillet with vegetables. Whisk 3/4 cup cooking liquid into yolk mixture. Add yolk mixture, 3/4 cup cheese, and parsley to skillet. Toss over medium heat just until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 4 minutes, adding more cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing additional cheese alongside.

Vegetarian Pho

Yummy! Adapted from vgr.org. Looks a bit complicated but is actually super-easy.


8 cups clear vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
8 medium garlic cloves, peeled and chopped coarsely
1 small onion, diced
One 1-inch piece of ginger
Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks
2 pods of star anise
2 large bay leaves
Whatever veggies you like: I used sliced green cabbage (even the organic kind is cheap!), sliced carrots, and spinach.
Noodles: preferably rice, but I used soba and it was yummy.
Optional toppings: cilantro, bean sprouts, lime wedges

Put stock, soy sauce, garlic, and onion in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Meanwhile, char ginger on all sides over an open gas flame or in a small skillet. Add to the stock.

Add the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and bay leaves to the broth. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, partially covered, for 20-25 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and anise. Fish the chunk of ginger out of the broth, squeeze it through a garlic press to get all the yummy ginger-ey ness out, then drop it back in. Simmer for another 15 minutes or so.

Add the noodles directly to the broth and cook till they're almost done. Add the veggies and cook till they're crisp-firm.

Quinoa, Avocado, and Jicama Salad

Three things I learned while making up this salad:

1. quinoa is the only grain that is a complete protein, containing all of the essential amino acids your body needs
2. jicama is loaded with fiber, potassium, vitamin C, and folic acid (a B-vitamin that helps in producing and maintaining new cells)
3. quinoa, jicama, and avocado all in the same bite is textural heaven...

1 C quinoa, cooked according to package instructions and cooled
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/2 jicama, peeled and chopped into chunks
rice vinegar
olive oil
soy sauce
several dashes cayenne pepper
black pepper, to taste

Saute onion and garlic, if you prefer, otherwise feel free to leave it raw. Add all vegetables to the quinoa and dress with vinegar, oil, and soy sauce (I probably used about 1/4 C of each, but I definitely didn't measure and you should really just do it to your taste). Sprinkle in some cayenne and some black pepper, and mix thoroughly. Taste. Adjust seasonings as necessary. Enjoy!

Peanut-ey Tempeh Lettuce Wraps

Serves about 4. Scrumptious!!

1 package tempeh
about 2 cups of cooked brown rice
3/4 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lite soy sauce (or a little less, if you're using full strength)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons rice or wine vinegar
1 - 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic (we sauteed it first, but only because I hate raw garlic)
cayenne pepper to taste
black pepper to taste
1 head of lettuce (preferably butter lettuce, but any old kind will do), washed and carefully separated into individual leaves

For the filling:
Cut the tempeh up into teeny tiny pieces. Saute it over medium-high heat in a bit of olive oil until it's turned golden brown and smells nutty and delicious. Stir in the brown rice and set aside.

For the peanut sauce:
Combine all other ingredients (except lettuce!) in a small mixing bowl. Add hot water (start with 1/4 cup) until mixture has a consistency a bit thicker than that of heavy cream. Right before serving, add peanut sauce to tempeh and rice mixture and stir well.

To eat, spoon a bit of the peanut-ey yumminess onto a lettuce leaf; wrap it up into a little packet and eat it. (Be prepare to get rather messy and not care at all).

Scrumptious and healthy (sort of) almond cookies

This makes a pretty small batch, but almond flour is expensive.

Ingredients
2 cups almond flour
1/6 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup agave syrup (you could use honey or golden syrup instead)
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon almond butter (or you could try peanut butter)
1/4 cup flax seeds (you could leave this out, but it gives it extra protein and a little texture)

xtras
raspberry jam and chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix flour and butter (i used my hands to get it smooth). Add in everything else.
Use a teaspoon to make 1inch balls and lay them on a cookie sheet. Start them baking for 3-5 minutes, then take them out and either flatten them with a fork or i put a little dent in some and filled it with raspberry jam/a chocolate chip. let them bake for another 8-10 mins...Until just a little brown on the outside.
Let cool. Devour.