Stir Fry-Vegetarian Basic #1    

2 tbs safflower oil

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press

1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and finely chopped

½ onion finely chopped or in julienne strips

Vegetables of your choice:

carrots, cut in jullienne strips

celery, cut in julienne strips

broccoli, cut in small flowerettes and parboiled for 1-2 minutes in boiling water, then drained cauliflower, prepared as broccoli

canned baby corn, bamboo shoorts or water chestnuts, drained

cabbage, chopped

potatoes, sliced thin and parboiled

bean sprouts, fresh (these deteriorate quickly, so use them the day you buy them)

1-3 tsp soy sauce, to taste

1 block tofu, wrapped in paper towel to draw excess water, cubed

Heat oil in wok, add garlic and ginger. Heat but do not let burn. Add onion, celery and cabbbage and saute 4-7 minutes, adding soy sauce. Add remaining vegetables. If using bean sprouts add at the very end. Stir and cook quickly. Add more soy sauce as necessary. The macrobiotic way of cooking a stir fry is to saute all vegetables quickly, then pour ½ cup of water on mixture and cover to steam for 3-5 minutes. This makes the vegetables tender. If you want to thicken the sauce as in Asian restaurants, you can use a large spoon and take out 2 tbs of the cooking liquid. Add 1-2 tbs of corn starch to the cooking liquid. Mix and then add back to the entire liquid. It will thicken quickly. Some people like to deep fry the tofu and then add it to the stir fry at the end. To do this, make sure you wrap it in a paper towel to soak up excess moisture. Then cut in ¼ inch cubes. Have ¼- ½  inches of oil very hot, cook on both sides until brown and take out with a slotted spoon. Place on paper towels or brown paper. Add to stir fry at the very end. Most people really like tofu prepared in this way.

Spaghetti Sauce    

2-3 tbs olive oil (The Greens cookbook by Deborah Madison and Edward Espe Brown has a method of using half butter and half olive oil with sauces, so you could try this if you want a very rich sauce)

1 onion finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic put through a garlic press

soy sauce

black pepper

2 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 small can tomato paste

1 large can peeled tomatoes blended

water as needed

Heat oil with onion, garlic and spices. When onion is translucent add remainding ingredients and simmer to desired consistency. This can be used for pasta, pizza, lasagne; or manicotti.

A nice variation of this is an eggplant sauce. Roast the eggplant. If you have a gas stove, you can line the area under the burner with foil, and put the eggplant directly on the gas flame. Turn it as each section of the eggplant becomes soft. Cook until completely black on the outside. Put in the sink and peel off the burnt skin.  Then clean out seeds and chop to desired size. This approximates burying the eggplant in coals as they do in India. If you have an electric stove, you can bake the eggplant in a dish. Add prepared eggplant to tomato sauce. This has a great smokey flavor.

Miso Gravy  

1-2 tbs butter

2-3 tbs flour

1 ½  cup water

2 tbs miso, light or dark

Pepper

Melt butter in small cast iron pan. Do not let burn.  Add flour and mix into a roux with a wooden spoon. When mixed, add water, and continue to stir to prevent lumps. When it thickens take from heat. Mix miso well  in small cup of water, completely. Add miso to gravy and stir in completely.

Thanksgiving Dressing 

1 loaf of whole wheat bread, broken into small pieces and left to sit out over night

1 cup of pecans, chopped in small pieces and dry roasted in a cast iron pan, over low heat,

watch and stir continuously with a wooden sppn and be careful not burn

1 onion finely diced

4-5 celery stalks finely diced

1-2 cups mushrooms, diced

1-2 bunches of parsley finely diced

2 tsp sage

2-3 cloves garlic pressed through garlic press

1 tsp black pepper

1-2 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

3-4 tbs olive oil

2 eggs beaten (omit for vegan)

1-1 ½ cups boiling water

Heat oil, saute onion, mushrooms, garlic and spices. When onion is translucent add parsley, nuts, and bread pieces. Remove from heat, set aside. Put bread crumbs in a bowl, and pour boiling water over mixture until the mixture is gooey, but not too wet. Mix sauteed vegtables with bread crumb mixture. Beat eggs with a fork in a cup and then mix well into dressing. Put in oiled baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 60 minutes. Cook covered until the last 15 minutes, remove foil to make the top crusty. Serve with miso gravy. If you want to be fancy, you can buy a pumpkin. Cut off the top and scrape out the seeds. It is fun to wash the seeds and then bake them with a sprinkling of oil and salt for a nice snack. Bake the pumpkin in a baking dish with an inch of water in it at 350 for about 30 minutes. Fill the pumpkin with the dressing and continue to make for another 30 minutes. It looks very fancy on the Thanksgiving table.

Burritos- Vegetarian Basic #2

(This is really not a recipe, but a reminder. There all sorts of ways of doing burritos).

1 can of pintos or black beans, or pressure cooked pintos or black beans

cabbage sliced finely with a hint of cilantro

romaine finely chopped

chopped vegetables: onions, olives; grated carrots, grated cheese

salsa

brown rice (pressure cooked for 20 minutes, using double the measurement of water as rice) flour tortillas heated on a burner

Tacos  

As above, but corn tortillas are fried in 1/2 inch of oil, using tongs, not until crisp but still soft. Put tortillas on brown paper to drain. The cabbage with the cilantro are excellent with the corn tortillas.

Enchiladas (A Family Favorite) 

12-24 corn tortillas

safflower oil

1-2 large cans of green or red enchilada sauce (check to see that there is no chicken stock)

Grated cheddar cheese  or soy cheese

Chopped scallions

1 block tofu, drained and mashed with a fork (add some scallions, 1-2 tsp soy sauce)

Heat 1/4 inch oil in a frying pan. Insure oil is relatively hot so that the tortillas will absorb the least amount. Open enchilada sauce and pour in a wide bowl.  Save a little enchilda sauce to pour into mashed tofu. With tongs cook the corn tortillas about a minute on each side, and then hold tortilla above oil so that excess oil drips off.  Place the tortilla in the bowl with the enchilada sauce. With a spoon, smear a little sauce on top of the tortilla and then remove and put on a plate. Continue until all tortillas are cooked. Secure a large baking pan. Take each tortilla and place some tofu inside, roll and put in a baking pan. When done pour remaining enchilada sauce on top. Top with grated cheese or soy cheese and some chopped scallions. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is warmed through. Serve with rice and green salad.  For variations, add baked butternut squash or mashed potatoes for the tofu stuffing.

Polenta  

6 cups water

2 cups yellow corn meal

salt

¼  cup butter or margarine

¼ cup grated cheese  (omit for vegan)

Bring water in large pot to boil. Pour in corn meal slowly, stirring constantly. Add salt and butter.  Once corn meal is completely dissolved.  Cook slowly on a low flame for 5 minutes. Stir often with wooden spoon. When it thickens add cheese. Put it in a loaf pan and cool until hardened. Once hardened cut and saute pieces. Serve with spaghetti sauce.

Potato Pancakes   

2 ½  cups grated raw potatoes, put in colander, and press in a colindar to remove extra moisture

4 tbs finely chopped onion

1 tsp salt

2 eggs (omit for vegan)

3 tbs crackers rolled to become crumbs

safflower oil

black pepper

Stir all ingredients together. Insure excess water is pressed out of potatoes by putting grated vegetable in a colander and pressing with large wooden spoon. Potatoes may turn a little brown, but the appearance will change after cooking. In a cast iron skillet, heat 1 inch of oil. Have the oil relatively hot so that the pancakes will not absorb too much. But it shouldn’t be too hot, since the pancakes must be cooked through. Drop about 3 tbs of batter in oil, flatten with spatula. Cook 3-5 minutes on each side. Turn down heat if it becomes too brown. Drop into hot oil, turn with slotted spoon. Remove and drain on brown paper bag. Serve with applesauce, or with cheese blintzes (see crepe recipe). A nice passover meal.

Crepes  

2 tbs butter

¾ cup white flour (unbelached or organic)

½ tsp salt

2 eggs

1 ½  cups milk  or soy milk

butter for pan

Mix all ingredients very well, preferably in a mixer so that there are no lumps. There is an art to making crepes. The first thing you need is a good crepe pan. Buy one, and rub it with oil. Your first few crepes will stick, but be prepared to throw a few a way. Keep a stick of butter handy, and rub the pan directly with the stick between each crepe.  Rub the pan with butter, and heat the pan over a medium heat. The pan must be hot to receive the first crepe batter. Once hot, pour about 3 tbs of the batter in the pan. Pickup the pan, and rotate it. The crepe batter should be sticking to the hot pan. If not, throw away the batter and start again, buttering the pan and getting it hot. Rotate the pan until there is a thin film of batter on the entire pan and up the sides. Pour any excess batter back into the bowl. Cook the crepe until it is starting to peel away from the sides of the pan. With a spatula, loosen the crepe by going under the edge that is peeling away. Flip the crepe with a spatula and cook the other side. In general, the crepe does not need much more cooking. Turn the crepe out by turning the pan upside down onto a towel, with a little flick. Continue cooking crepes.

Crepes can be served in a multitude of ways. Sage likes them rolled with jam. I like them with steamed broccoli rolled inside and miso gravy on top. You can make cheese or potato blintzes with these. For the cheese, buy ricotta cheese. Sweeten the ricotta with a little honey and add some cinnamon. Put a dollop of ricotta in each crepe, fold the sides in and then roll them up as a burrito. Defrost frozen strawberries, and spoon over the top. For potato ones, fill the crepes with mashed potatoes and serve with miso gravy.

Lasagne- Vegetarian Basic #3   

1 box lasagne noodles

1 bottle of prepared spaghetti sauce, or spaghetti sause in this book

Mozzarella chese grated, soy or dairy

1 tub ricotta or 1 lb tofu

Boil noodles. Layer noodles in lasagne pan (the coated cast iron ones heat the dish well). Make layers as follows:

½  noodles

½ ricotta  or tofu  with ½ tsp nutmeg added

Cover with sauce, but not enough to be too wet, if this happens the the layers will slide.

½ grated mozzarella or tofu

repeat layers

For a variation add steamed spinach after ricotta/tofu layer. Press spinach with a large wooden spoon in a colindar to get rid of excess moisture.

Bread Pudding

1 tbs butter

1 onion diced

½  tsp each, oregano, thyme

½  cup white wine or water

1 tbs olive oil

8 oz mushrooms, wiped clean with a paper towel then sliced

Sliced salt and pepper

2 cups milk

3 eggs beaten

6-8 slices of bread

1 cup grated cheese

Saute the onion and spices in the butter, until onion is translucent. Add the olive oil and mushrooms, continue to saute, add salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add to beaten eggs which have been wisked with the milk. Stir mixture. Set aside. Lay bread in baking pan. Pour egg mixture over the bread and top with cheese. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook 10 minutes more.

Russian Vegetable Pie

Pastry crust (see Short Crust or Stir n Roll Crust)

1 small head of cabbage shredded

2 tbs butter

½ lb. mushrooms

1 yellow onion shopped thinly

dill, basil, marjoram, tarragon, salt and crushed pepper to taste

3 tbs butter

4 oz softened cream cheese

4-5 hard cooked eggs, sliced

Make pie crusts. Put foil over bottom with some dry beans to help it retain its shape.Pre bake the bottom crust by baking 5-12 minutes at 350 degrees. In large cast iron skillet saute cabbage, mushrooms, onions and spices, until cabbage is wilted and onions are soft. Spread the cream cheese on the bottom of the pie. Slice the eggs and put them over this. Then add the sauteed mixture. Put on the top crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until crust is done.

Lentil Loaf   

2 cups lentils

4 cups water

2 tbs oil

2 onions chopped

6 cloves garlic mashed

2 stalks celery chopped

2 carrots grated

3 eggs well beaten

1 tsp basil, oregano

½  tsp cumin, rosemary, dill

2 tbs parsley finely chopped

1/8  tsp oregano

grated cheese, optional

Cook lentils for an hour and drain. In a saute pan, cook onions, carrots, parsley and spices until onion is translucent. Combine it all, mixing well, and press into a loaf pan. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Serve with miso gravy.

Agar Agar

(Not really a main dish, but a traditional Japanese side for New Year’s. )

Buy agar agar flakes or bars at a health food store. As a sea weed, agar agar is high in minerals and very healthy.

Boil two cups of unfiltered apple juice, cool slighty

Stir in 2 tbs of agar agar flakes until dissolved

Refrigerate until solid. Cut in cute shapes and serve.

Tempura

1 cup white flour

1 tbs baking power

1 1/4 cup water

l/4 tsp sea salt

bit of honey

The baking powder makes the tempura puffy and the honey makes it brown. Mix well with a wisk. Cut vegetables in large section, sweet potatoes, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms. Heat 3-4 inches of oil in a wok. Test temperature, by putting in a small vegetable to see if it will rise to the top. You must have HOT oil to make good tempera. Dip vegetables in batter. Drop in hot oil. Turn with slotted spoon. When brown on all sides place on brown paper bag to drain. Allow oil to heat up between cookings. Serve with rice, broiled marinated tofu, miso soup and agar agar. Make a dipping sauce by adding honey or maple syrup to soy sauce and then thinning with water. This is my traditional New Year’s meal.

Nori Maki or Sushi                                                                                     

nori

cooked rice

carrot cut into ¼  inch strips and parboiled

cucumber cut in ¼  inch strips

deep fried tofu, cut in strips

Making good looking sushi or nori maki is a difficult task. You will need the bamboo mat, sold in Asian stores for making nori. Take a sheet of nori and toast it on burner very lightly. It will change colors. Put the nori sheet on the mat. Put a thin layer of rice on the  long side of the nori, leaving the top 1/3 of the nori clear. Put the vegetables or tofu in a line in the middle of the rice lengthwise. Start rolling up the sushi by rolling up the mat. Roll slowly and carefully, until only the piece of nori without rice is showing.  Wet the nori that is exposed by dipping and stick it to the roll. Cool the rolls, then slice with a sharp knife. Serve with wasabe.

Tofu & Tempe

Sauteed

Drain the tofu and wrap in a paper towel. Slice or cube tofu or tempeh in desired sizes. Saute in small amount of hot safflower oil until well browned, adding soy sauce during the cooking. Tempeh needs to cook thoroughly and make take more oil than the tofu.

Marinated & Brooiled

Make a mixture with 3 tbs olive oil, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, ginger root that has been peeled and grated, soy sauce, mashed garlic cloves and water to thin the mixture. Marinate the tofu or tempeh. Broil on a cookie sheet turning after 7 minutes or so. This is very good.

Mexican Rice  

2 tbs oil

3 slices of white onion

12 cilantro leaves

8 oz tomato paste

2 cups rice

4 cups water

In a medium size pot with a lid put butter or oil to melt on medium heat.  Then add rice, let rice brown stirring so it doesn’t burn.  Then add tomato paste and onions, mix. Stir for a minute, then add water and cilantro leaves. Turn heat down to low and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes or until rice is soft.

Vegan Lentil Tomato Sauce 

1 tbs olive oil

3 large cloves garlic minced

¾ tsp sea salt, group black pepper

¾ dry red lentils

1 can (28 oz/796 ml) crushed tomatoes

1 ½ c water

2 tsp fresh rosemary

1 ½ tsp drive basil

½ tsp agave nectar or honey

1 fresh or dry bay leave

1 tbs red wine vinegar

In large pot on medium-low heat, add oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and cook 4-5 minutes. Rinse lentils. Add lentils, tomatoes, water rosemary, basil, agave nectar and bay leaf. Increase heat to high to bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 25 minutes. Stir in vinegar and season.  Puree it in a blender.

Pesto  

2 cups fresh bail leaves

¼ c grated Parmesan cheese

½ c olive oil

3 tbs pine nuts or walnuts

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor. Add about 1/3 of the nuts and garlic, and blend again. Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese, blend while slowly adding  about 1/3 of the olive oil. Process basil pesto until it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat with the other batches.

Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff    

3 tbs butter

1 large onion, chopped

¾ pound portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 ½ cups vegtable broth

1 ½ cups sour cream

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

8 oz dried egg noodles

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat, dran and set aside.  At the same time, melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until softened. Turn the heat up to medium-high and addd the sliced mushrooms. Cook mushrooms until limp, and then put in a bowl and set aside.  In the same skillet add vegetable broth, scraping the browned bits ont eh side. Bring to a boil and reduce by 1/3. Add mushrooms and onions. Remove pan, and stir in sourcream and flour. Return skillet to burner, stirring and cooking over low heat, just until it thickens. Stir in parsley and season. Serve over cooked egg noodles.