whole wheat carrot bread

You can grate the carrots by hand or in a food processor, or buy grated carrots, but I like it best when you make a "carrot smoothie" in the blender as described below.

INGREDIENTS
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup apple sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar ( i used white, it was great)
3 cups shredded carrots (about 3-4 carrots)


DIRECTIONS.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
put carrots, oil, eggs and applesauce into a blender. blend into a "carrot smoothie."
in a separate mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.
add the "carrot smoothie" to the dry ingredients
pour into a greased baking pan or greased muffin tins.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool

sesame purple cabbage

a great quick and easy dish that serves many people

1/3 cup raw sesame seeds
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 head purple cabbage chopped
3 tbsp teriyaki or soy sauce
2 pinches brown or white sugar- only if using soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh or ground ginger- optional
1 pkg defrosted frozen spinach- optional

the key is toasting the sesame seeds properly. Have your cabbage washed and chopped and on hand.

In a chicken fryer or in a large pot place the oil and the sesame seeds. Turn the flame on medium to low. stir the sesame seedsconstantly till they SLIGHTLY turn beige. the difference between burnt sesame and toasted sesame is very slight- so better err on the side of underdone. Basically, as soon as you hear about 2 seeds pop IMMEDIATELY add the cabbage and stir. add the rest of the ingredients. stir till cabbage is soft but not mushy/limp.

enjoy hot, room temperature or cold.

tastes great on top of quinoa

Nancy's vegetarian chopped liver

Vegetarian Chopped Liver

(food processor chopper blade)
1) enough walnuts to cover the bottom of processor bowl 2 walnut
layers thick, chop first.
2) then add all at once:
4 hard boiled eggs
1 can green beans, drained
1 can green peas, drained
1 large onion, sauteed
salt, optional

Tastes better if left overnight.

Sarah's persian cucumber salad

drain 2 cups yogurt overnight (if you have time, I often skipped this step - it just makes the salad less watery)

peel, seed, and dice 1 cucumber (you can keep the seeds- but again its waterier)
salt lightly and let drain of excess juice in a colander (this step too can be skipped or shortened, but again will make the salad more watery)

Combine along with
juice of 1/2 a lemon
handful of golden raisins (dried cherries are awesome too, if you have them on hand)
dash of rose water (you might want to measure out a teaspoon til you get a feel for it - too much is strange!)
small handful of chopped walnuts
small bunch (a tablespoon or so) of chopped mint
salt and pepper (preferably white) to taste

You can experiment with different additions and subtractions - this salad is closely related to the Greek tzatziki, which is also yogurt and cucumber but doesn't have rose water or fruit and uses dill instead of mint and has crushed garlic in it. I sometimes use crushed garlic but that is kind of a weird combination with the fruit. Just depends on what you are in the mood for and what's on hand!

chana masala

2 tomatoes
3-4 medium onions
1 small can tomato paste
5 tsp cumin
3 tsp turmeric
5 tsp corriander powder
1.5 tsp red pepper flakes
1.5 tsp cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick (the stick is best)
sea salt
black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger powder
1/4 -1/2 cup heavy cream OR 1/3-1/2 cup of sour cream, yogurt or labne
3-4 cans chick peas
1 large bunch cilantro- chopped (or 2 bunches if you're a big cilantro fan)

Directions:
saute onions in olive oil till translucent in a large pot. add the spices.

add 3 -4 cans of chick peas. let simmer for a while.
add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato paste. let simmer. if its drying out add small amounts of water. when it looks well steeped and flavored, add the cream. Let simmer for about 5-8 more minutes. add the chopped cilantro. stir till it wilts.

vegan spinach mac n cheese

Cheese:
3 cups milk (i use 1-2%. soy milk also works wonderfully)
1 tbps paprika
1 tbsp garlic or 3 cloves minced (generous w the garlic is fine)
1/3 c. braggs liquid aminos (or 1/4 c. soy or tamari sauce)
3/4 c. nutritional yeast
1/2 block of firm tofu ( i sometimes put in 3/4)
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 package frozen chopped sminach- defrosted
1 tbsp mustard (optional)

Casserole:
1 box macaroni noodles
2 tbsp dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350. Blend cheese ingredients in blender. make sure
the spinach really gets pureed.

Cook noodles according to package directions, place in casserole dish. mix in mustard.
Pour soy cheese over the noodles until they're just covered. Mixture
should be pretty liquidy. Make sure the cheese isn't too dry because
it will thicken in the oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese darkens slightly and begins to
bubble on top.