COLE SLAW

 

Howard the Gnome likes to eat his Cole Slaw outside in the fall.

This makes what looks like a ton of cole slaw, but once you dress it and let it sit for a while it isn't so much. This is more like the amount for a party... halve the recipe if you are just making it for a few people for dinner.

Ingredients:
One head of green cabbage, shredded
One head of purple cabbage, shredded
5 carrots, shredded
One bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon celery salt
 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Cut the core out of your cabbage before shredding it.

 

Thinly slice the cabbage to make fine shreds... matching nail polish is always a plus!

 

You can buy already shredded carrots, or use a box grater...

 

 Here are the ingredients for your dressing.

Put all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. It should have the consistency of a melted milkshake. Taste it to see if is has that perfect sweet, tangy, salty flavor balance and adjust accordingly.

 

Pour the dressing over your slaw...

 

...and toss. Refrigerate and re-toss a few times so everything gets to marinate in the dressing. This is better if you make it at least an hour before you are going to eat it.

YELLOW SPLIT PEA & CARROT SOUP

1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 cups yellow split peas
4 cups of water
1 can lite coconut milk
Smoked sea salt & pepper to taste

 Saute onions and carrots until about halfway soft.

 

Add curry powder and cumin and stir.

Rinse the split peas and add them along with the water.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the peas are soft and mushy.

Turn off the heat, add the can of coconut milk and blend until smooth with an immersion blender.

Tip: Smoked sea salt gives a little illusion that there might be ham in the soup... which is classic in split pea soup. If you actually use ham in your soup you would want to use regular salt, or possibly none at all, as ham is very salty. Taste it first!

MINESTRONE SOUP

(or vegetable stew, depending on how thick it ends up)

 

Always start with some sauteed onions (I used one big onion)...

Then you can add some mushrooms and saute them with the onions

One 8oz. package chopped up.

Add a box of stock, a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste, and a can of diced tomatoes...

 

Then you can add just about anything else... potatoes, cabbage, greens, corn, anything that needs to cook for a while to get soft. Also this is the time to add your herbs... a teaspoon of each is about right.

Once the vegetables are almost soft... add your pasta and already cooked beans and cook until the pasta is done. You can also add some greens at this time (spinach, kale, chard, etc.). You may need to add water at any time here, so you will have soup instead of stew.

Stir in a knob of butter at the end. (I'm not sure how much a "Knob" of butter is, but I just like the term... British, I think... I put in about a tablespoon, vegan butter is fine).

Salt and pepper to taste.

A can of refried beans give the soup a nice texture. You can also use rice or barley instead of pasta... and if you aren't vegetarian some leftover chicken or beef could be thrown in.

Other good veggies to put in:

Parsnips

Turnips

Cauliflower

Sweet potatoes

BEAN AND CORN SALAD

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked beans (pinto, black, pink, etc.)

1 cup thawed frozen corn

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 Preparation:

1. Combine beans, corn, bell pepper, cilantro and onions in large bowl.

2. put lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir in salt, mustard, cumin and red pepper. Drizzle over bean mixture; toss to coat. Cover; refrigerate 2 hours.

ALOO GOBI

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large onion, peeled and cut into small pieces

1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 large cauliflower, leaves removed and cut evenly into chunks

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into even pieces

2 cans diced tomatoes

fresh ginger, peeled and grated

fresh garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seed

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons garam masala

 

Sometimes I add broccoli and carrots, too

Directions

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.

2. Add the chopped onion and one teaspoon of cumin seeds to the oil.

3. Stir together and cook until onions become creamy, golden, and translucent.

4. Add two teaspoons of turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt.

5. Stir tomatoes into onion mixture.

6. Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly.

7. Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce plus a few tablespoons of water (ensuring that the mixture doesn't stick to the saucepan).

8. Ensure that the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce.

9. Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes (or until potatoes are cooked).

10. Add two teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir.

11. Sprinkle chopped cilantro leaves on top of the curry.

12. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving.

Serve over rice

PASTA FAGIOLI

2T canola oil
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, dices
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 C small pasta, uncooked
2 cups cooked beans (I used Rancho Gordo Zarco beans I had just cooked in water only the day before)
1/2 t rubbed sage
1 T dried thyme
1 t garlic salt
1 t celery salt
1/2 t ground pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
3T dried onion

In a heavy soup pot, saute carrots, celery, and sweet potato for a few minutes in the canola oil. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all ingredients are soft.

SLOW-COOKER WINTER VEGETABLES (Thai Style)

Ingredients:

1  butternut squash, unpeeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch chunks

10 ounces baby bella (crimini) mushrooms, sliced

2 onions chopped

1 (14-ounce) can lite coconut milk

1 1/2 cups water

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons Sriracha (Rooster) sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teasoon pepper

1 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped for garnish

Chopped peanuts for garnish

Toss the squash, onions, and mushrooms together in the slow cooker.

Whisk the coconut milk, water, soy sauce, Sriracha, and salt together in a bowl; 

then pour over the vegetables.

Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours, or until tender.

Sprinkle cilantro, and peanuts on top and serve.

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

This soups is about as easy as it gets. It only takes about 10 minutes of work, and about 30 minutes before you can eat it. I think if I make it again I might add some potato to give it a little more body.

Ingredients:
2 T canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
16oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 box of vegetable stock
1 T dried thyme
1 can light coconut milk
Salt
Pepper

Sauteé onion and mushrooms in a 2 T canola oil. 

When the onions are transparent add the box of vegetable stock and the dried thyme.

Simmer 20 minutes covered. Turn off heat. Add 1 can of light coconut milk. Blend it up with an immersion blender leaving a few chunks of mushroom. Salt & Pepper to taste. 

 (If I wasn't vegan, I would use butter to sauté, and chicken stock.)