Vegetarian chili

(a super easy recipe)

2 cans pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

2 cans black beans

(or you can do 1 pinto, 2 kidney)

1 can corn, or about 1- 1.5 cups frozen corn (I prefer the frozen)

1 small can tomato paste

1 16 oz can diced or chopped tomatoes

olive oil

garlic (jarred is fine)

tumeric

cumin

chili pepper flakes

add about 4 tbs olive oil to a large pot.

Add in about 4 tsp crushed garlic

Let garlic brown. Add about 1.5 tsp chili pepper flakes. This wont make it too spicy and its important to let the pepper sauté at this point

Add about 1 tbs cumin and 2 tsp tumeric.

Quickly stir in all the beans. If cant stir them all in make sure to stir in at least one can so that the spices don’t burn.

Let simmer for about 5 min.

Then add in all the tomato products

Let simmer.

Will be done in 5 min, but gets tastier if you let it simmer on low for closer to 20 min.

If you want to make it spicier- put in more pepper flakes at the beginning and then add some ground cayenne pepper while its simmering.

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.

Quinoa Salad

By popular request, the recipe for my quinoa salad, which some folks supped on at Kol Zimrah earlier this summer.

½ cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp raisins
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 orange, peeled and chopped coarsley

In a strainer rinse the quinoa under running water and drain. Combine the quinoa and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until all the of the water is absorbed.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the quinoa and mix well.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

easy as apple pie

This pie is insanely good and very easy to assemble. Prepping the apples is time consuming, but the rest is quick. The vinegar really brings out a sweet, intense, apple flavor. MMmmm!!

5 granny smith apples
juice of a lemon
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
kosher pie crust (or 2 - see below)

Core and peel apples and cut into thin slices. Put apples in a bowl with cold water and lemon juice to keep from turning brown.

Meanwhile, sift sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl. Add vinegar and mix well. Drain apples and add to sugar mixture, making sure all apples get coated well.

Pour apples into pie crust. Cover edges of crust with aluminum foil to keep from burning (remove 10 minutes before pie is finished baking). Bake for 45-55 minutes or until apples are soft (easily pierced with a knife/toothpick/fork).

Instead of adding a top layer of crust to the pie, I cut long, narrow strips of dough from a second pre-made pie crust and arranged it in a lattice over the top of the apples.

chickpeas romesco

This is a great potluck recipe, from Veganomicon-The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook

1/2 cup sliced almonds
28oz can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted are especially good)
2 roasted red bell peppers
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 shallots, minced finely
1 red serrano chile, seeded and minced finely
1/4 cup white wine or vegetable broth
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled
2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground pepper

Using a food processor, grind the almonds into very fine almost powdery crumbs. Place in small bowl and set aside.

Puree the tomatoes and roasted peppers until smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

Preheat medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Sautee garlic, shallots and chile in oil until shallots turn golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour in the white wine to dissolve any browned bits of garlic stuck to the bottom of the pan. After a minute, add the tomato/pepper mixture, vinegar, sugar, thyme and rosemary. Cover, bring to a near boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the ground almonds and stir the mixture until they are completely combined. Fold in the chickpeas and simmer uncovered for 20-25 mins, until the sauce is slightly reduced and the chickpeas are very tender. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cool for 5-10 mins before serving.

I might prefer this without the almonds, but then it's no longer romesco...

Cold Carrot Soup

Okay, so I realise that autumn is setting in much of North America, but in Israel it's still warm, making it the perfect season to enjoy this soup. This soup is great for summer - it's served cold (you'll want to chill it in the fridge for several hours, so make it the night before), but it's somewhat spicy, and the combination makes it really refreshing.

2 tbsp olive oil
2 lb carrots, peeledand chopped
2 lrg leeks , chopped (white and pale green parts only)
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
3½ teasp ground cumin
½ teasp dried crushed red pepper
6½ cups veg stock
8 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 teasp lime rind

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots and leeks; sauté until leeks begin to soften but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add cumin and crushed red pepper; sauté 30 seconds longer. Add 6 1/2 cups of broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until vegetables are very tender, about 35 minutes.

Working in batches if needed, purée soup in blender until smooth. Transfer soup to large bowl. Cool in the fridge.

Whisk in 6 tablespoons sour cream. Cover soup and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Stir lime juice into soup. Thin soup with more broth, if desired. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. (Optional: spoon 1/2 tablespoon sour cream atop each serving.) Sprinkle with cilantro and lime peel.