Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Cucumber Salad

* 1/4 c rice or white vinegar
* 1/4 c water
* 1/4 c sugar
* 1 tblsp , soy sauce, or salt
* 1 chili, minced or tsp chili paste
* about 10 inches cucumber
* several sprigs coriander, finely minced
* crushed peanuts

In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, and soy sauce and bring to boil.

Remove from heat and add chili.

Let cool. Meanwhile, slice cucumber in 1/2 lengthwise and slice thinly.

From: Adam Wetstein

Caribbean Black Bean Soup

Serving Size: 4

  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 14 oz can "lite" coconut milk
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes w/green chiles*
  • 1 7 oz pkg Fantastic Foods Instant Black Beans [i think we can use actual black beans]
  • salt to taste
  • Tabasco sauce to taste
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

In a soup pot or large saucepan, bring the water, coconut milk, and tomatoes (with liquid) to a boil over high heat, stirring often.

Whisk in the Instant Black Beans and season with salt and Tabasco.

Cover, turn off the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes.

Stir well and reheat if necessary.

Serve in soup bowls garnished with cilantro.

NOTES :
* or substitute one can of diced tomatoes plus 1 chopped jalapeno

From: Karen C. Greenlee

Summer Vegetable Chowder

from Vegetarian Resource Center - Boston, USA

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 sweet red pepper, cut in 1 inch strips
* 1 hot chile pepper, seeded and minced (or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
* 6 ounces tender young okra, caps trimmed and pods sliced 1/2 inch thick
* 2 large tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped; juice included (about 2 cups)
* 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or raw, (about 2 ears)
* 1-1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained
* other seasonings are optional
* 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
* 1-1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 pinch saffron threads
* seasonings (rosemary, sage, parsely, thyme, oregano, basil, etc)
* 1 tomato cut in wedges, for garnish

Over low flame, heat the oil in a large pot and soften the onion and garlic, stirring.
Add the peppers and cook for about 5 minute, then the okra, and continue to cook, still stirring from time to time, for 5 minutes or more.

Add the tomatoes, corn, black beans, and 1 cup water; cover and simmer for 15 minutes more.

You can serve the vegetable chowder now, simmered briefly, to enjoy it crunchy with bright fresh flavors, or simmer it longer to produce more of a stew.
Thin to taste with more water.
Shortly before serving, season wit h favorite herbs, stirring them slowly into the chowder..

Roti bread

Variations on roti are popular throughout the Caribbean and parts of South America, including Guyana and Jamaica. The curry filling can be a potato vegetable curry.

(preparation time-approximately 1 and 1/2 hours)

* 1 cup flour
* dash baking soda
* milk (1 to 4 tablespoons, depending on humidity)
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* salt to taste
* (optional-use combination of flour and ground chick peas)
* corn meal, bread crumbs, ground chick peas, or flour (for cutting board)
* Also-rolling pin + cutting board or similar surface

In a big bowl, mix flour, and baking soda (and salt if you want any)
(Mix with your hands/fingers)
Add 1 tablespoon milk and work the mixture with your hands, trying to make a big ball.
Once you have the dough in a ball, stop adding milk.
Make the dough into 3 balls and let them rest for 10 minutes.

Put the oil in a in a bowl
(so that you can get to it with your fingers.
Roll out the dough on a board covered with bread crumbs or cornmeal or ground chick peas or flour.
Each ball chould make a circle 8" wide.
Don't worry if it's too hard to roll out at this stage; the dough may be tough.

Brush a thin layer of oil over the top surface of the circle and then scrunch it back up into a ball.
Do this for all 3 balls, then let them sit for 1/2 hour to rest.
The roll them out and oil them again.
This time it should be easier, but they may be a little more sticky, so make sure your board and rolling pin are well floured.

Now warm a frying pan with a thick, even bottom to medium heat, no oil (there is already oil on the roti).
Put one of the roti circles in and cook for about a minute.
Turn it and when the hot surface cools a little, wipe it with oil.
When there are some golden spots, the bread is done.
Keep it between 2 plates or under a cloth to keep it soft and warm.

Dump the potato curry mixture on top of the skin and fold the skin around it.
You can eat it with your hands, or if it is too messy, silverware.

From: Arlene Allen

Potato Curry with roti

(total preparatoion time-approx 1/2 hour plus time to wash/chop vegetables)

* 1/4 sunflower oil
* 2 tsp turmeric
* 1 tsp cumin
* 1/2 tsp allspice
* 1/2 ground ginger
* (instead of the above spices, you can use 4 tsp curry powder)
* 1 small onion, cut into small pieces
* 4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
* 2 medium sized potatoes, washed, peeled, and chopped into 1/4" cubes
* salt to taste

Additional ingredients, (optional-depending on personal taste and what is available in the kitchen):

I like to add some or most of the following ingredients (if I have them)

* up to 1 cup chick peas
* up to 1 cup sweet potato, nigerian yam, or plantain (if adding these, then
* use less potatoes from above)
* up to 1 cup of red, yellow, or green pepper (cut into small pieces)
* up to 1/2 cup broccoli or cauliflower (chopped small)
* up to 1.2 cup sliced bok choy or cabbage
* 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water

Heat the spices in the oil on medium heat, in either a sturdy, deep frying pan, or a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Cook stiring for 5 minutes, careful not to burn spices.

Then add onion and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring.
You may have to turn down the heat a little bit so that the garlic doesn't burn.
Then add the potatoes and fry them up for 1-2 minutes, stirring.

This is also the time to add any of the following items:
chick peas, sweet potato, nigerian yam, plantain, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, or cabbage.

Add the water wo that it covers the bottom to at least 1/4" of liquid, (but not more than 1/2")

Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes on medium low heat (the mixture should gently bubble).

Taste for salt and be sure that potatoes are soft.
Add a little more water if necessary.

Serve on rice or scooped onto roti bread.

From: Arlene Allen

Ají de Lentejas (Bolivian spicy lentil stew)

from Vargas, La Paz, Bolivia

Serves 4. Cooking time: 35 minutes. While this recipe is Bolivian, ají is also typical of Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador and northern Chile, as is the salad that accompanies it, the Sarsa.

For the stew:

* 1 teaspoon of dried smoked hot peppers, ground (you may use chipotles for a very spicy meal, or Chile Ancho for a milder ají. If you have access to Andean Chilis, choose the yellow variety for spicy and the red variety for mild)
* 1 large onion, chopped finely
* 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
* 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1/2 bunch of flat (italian) parsley, finely chopped
* 1 cup of dried lentils
* olive oil,
* salt, pepper
* water

For Sarsa:

* One medium tomato, julienned
* 1/2 onion cut in fine, long pieces
* a handful of flat parsley, finely chopped
* The juice of 1 lime and salt to taste


Sarsa: Mix ingredients, and set aside--the longer this sits, the more the lime juice infuses everything with its flavor.

To cook the lentils: place in saucepan, cover with water, add salt, 1/2 garlic clove and oil. Bring to a boil and then bring the heat down to medium and cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain and remove the garlic. Set aside

While the lentils are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry the garlic and the parsley at medium heat until the garlic is golden. Add the chopped onion until the onions become shiny (this means they're cooked but not yet golden). Add the ground hot pepper and a splash of water. Let the Aji cook for 1 minute. Keep stirring. Add the chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup of water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 25 mintues at low-medium heat. Add lentils and mix with sauce. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with white rice and top with 1-2 spoons of sarsa

There are many many variations you can do with this basic stew-replace the lentils with garbanzo beans, seitan, fava beans. You may also make the stew spicier and counter that with the sweetness of cooked ripe plantains instead of beans. This is called "Ají de plátano". Be creative. Any legume that absorbs flavor well and is not overwhelming with its own flavor would work (black beans, because they are so flavorful, don't work very well).

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Caribbean Baked Tofu Cutlets

Serving Size: 4

1 pound firm tofu -- sliced 1-inch thick
8 ounces tomato sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon grated onion
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons coconut extract
Press tofu slices between two pans for one to two hours to squeeze out the water and compress the tofu.
While tofu is draining, combine remaining ingredients.
Mix well and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350¡ F.
Lightly oil a 7 x 11-inch baking pan or spray with a nonstick cooking spray.

Spoon about a third of the sauce into prepared pan.
Place pressed tofu on sauce and top with remaining sauce.
Bake uncovered, 45 minutes.

Per serving (excluding unknown items):
186 Calories; 10g Fat (44% calories from fat); 19g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 426mg Sodium

from The Meatless Gourmet:
Easy Lowfat Favorites
by Bobbie Hinman