Heart of Palm Salad from Costa Rica

A Costa Rican recipe!

servings: about 4

* 1 14-oz can of hearts of palm
* leafy lettuce
* fresh squeezed juice from 1 lime
* salt
* fresh ground black pepper
* 1 chopped red bell pepper
* 1 chopped vine ripened tomato

1. Lay down some lettuce in the bowls. Arrange the bite-sized pieces of heart of palm over the lettuce. Add the tomato & bell pepper.

2. Pour some lime juice over the salad and sprinkle salt & pepper, to taste.

Quick Kimchi

A Korean recipe!

*2 Nappa cabbages
*1 medium Asian radish
*1/4 cup coarse sea salt or kosher salt
* water
*4 green onions, sliced into pieces about 1 inch long
*5 garlic cloves, minced
*2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
* 2 tablespoons chili powder

1. Wash the leaves of the cabbage & cut them into about 2-inch lengths. Peel the radish & halve it lengthwise down the center, cut lengthwise again, & then slice into 1/2-inch thin squares.

2. Dissolve salt in 1 cup water. Place the vegetables in a large bowl and pour the salt water over them. Let soak for at least 6 hours or overnight.

3. The next day, drain the vegetables & retain the salty water. Add the green onions, garlic, ginger, & chili powder. Mix the vegetable by hand (you might want to use gloves so the chili doesn't stain your hands). Pack into a 1-gallon jar (or an appropriate amount of smaller jars). Pour the salted water over the mixture. Leave about an inch of space on top of the jar.

4. Let sit about 2 or 3 days, depending on how fermented you like your kimchi. Refrigerate after opening.

Complete Jollof Rice from Benin

This recipe is from the country of Benin.

Serves: 8 people

* 1 cup dry black-eyed peas
*2 medium-sized eggplants
*1 1/2 tbs oil
*3 tbs ginger root, grated or minced
*2 peppers of your choice (I used Anaheims), roasted with the seeds removed, chopped
*8 tomatoes
*2 tsp cayenne
*2 tps curry powder
*Tabasco sauce to taste
*12 cups of water
*1 tsp salt
*2 large onions, chopped
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 green bell pepper, chopped
*1 1/2 tbs tomato paste
*1 lb carrots
*1/2 lb green beans
* 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

1. In a large pot, soak the black-eyed peas overnight in 4 cups of water.

2. Drain & replace with 8 cups of fresh water, & simmer peas for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving water for cooking.

3. Meanwhile, roast the peppers, as mentioned above. I cooked mine in the oven.

4. Slice the eggplant into rounds about 1/2 inch thick and place in a colander. Salt and let them drain for 5 minutes.

5. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add eggplant, 1 tbs chopped onion, 1 tbs grated ginger, 1 chopped pepper, 1 clove garlic, & the bell pepper. Cook, stirring until the eggplant is browned, for about 5 minutes. Remove eggplant & set aside.

6. Add remaining onion, ginger, pepper, garlic, reserved water, tomatoes, tomato paste, cayenne, & curry, stirring them all together. Add hot sauce to taste. Simmer 10 minutes, uncovered.

7. Add black-eyed peas, carrots, & rice. Simmer another 5 minutes.

8. Add green beans & eggplant & simmer 15 minutes more, still uncovered.

9. Finally, cover & simmer another 20 minutes.

Ailazan from Armenia

This is a traditional Armenian dish. It is a thick vegetable stew.

* 1 lb eggplant
* 1 lb potato (we used small red potatoes)
* 1 onion
* 100 g oil (I think that came to about 1/2 cup of oil when we used our kitchen scale)
* 3 vine ripened tomatoes
* 1 cup green beans
* 1 red bell pepper
* 1 cup of fresh spices (basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley)
* a bit of chopped garlic
* ground black pepper
* ground red pepper
* salt
* 1/2 cup water

1. Slice the eggplant finely, put a little bit of salt over each piece, then leave it to sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the extra juice. (We pressed them with paper towels.)
2. Slice the other vegetables finely & mince the spices.
3. Put the vegetables in a deep pot in layers, beginning with the eggplant on the bottom. Sprinkle every layer with spices including some salt.
4. Pour the oil & the water over top of the vegetables. Cover. Cook on low heat until done. (We cooked the stew on "2" for 1 hour & 45 minutes-- it turned out perfectly.)

Note: A lot of water will cook out of the vegetables, so dont worry that it doesn't seem like enough water at first.

Pseudo Thai Stir Fry

Servings: 4
Time: about 30 minutes

* 1/4 to 1/2 cup canola oil
* about 4 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice, for example: snow peas, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper
* 1 can coconut milk
* fresh basil, coarsely chopped, no stems
* 1/4 tsp red or green Thai curry paste (we prefer green for this recipe)
* a few dashes of soy sauce
* cooked rice (about 4 cups)

1. Stir fry veggies in oil until partially cooked but still crisp.
2. Add coconut milk & basil.
3. Add curry paste & soy sauce.
4. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Mixture should be soupy.
5. Serve over rice.

*Note: This is one of Elliot's favorite recipes to make!

Okra Creole

A recipe from Barbados!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

* 1 large onion, sliced
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 3 tbsp peanut oil
* 20 okra pods, topped, tailed, sliced (or 1 bag frozen okra works fine, too!)
* 2 tomatoes, chopped
* 1 cup fresh corn kernels
* salt & pepper to taste

1. In a heavy skillet, saute the onion & bell pepper in the oil.

2. Add the okra & cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes & corn, lower the heat, & cook for 15 minutes (or until okra is done).

4. Season with salt & pepper.

Cous Cous Soup

~special thanks to Candi for this recipe!~

Prep time: 15 min!
Servings: 8

* 8 cups broth (the orignal recipe calls for chicken broth, I used vegetable broth)
* 1 cup cous cous
* 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomato
* 1-2 thinly sliced, seeded jalapeno peppers
* 1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Bring broth to a boil.

2. Stir in cous cous & cook for 5 minutes. (Meanwhile, dice the tomato & jalapeno.)

3. Add the tomato & jalapeno. Cook for about 8 more minutes.

4. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, & serve.

Note: if the soup becomes too thick, add water.

Note: add Tabasco sauce for a Mexican flavor or fresh basil for an Italian flavor!

Vegan Cornbread

Prep Time: less than 30 minutes
Servings: 6

* 1 cup cornmeal
* 1 cup whole wheat flour (I use all-purpose flour & it works out just fine)
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1/4 cup oil
* 1 cup soy milk
* 1/3 cup molasses or maple syrup (I use maple syrup)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.

3. Pour batter into a lightly oiled 8-inch round pan.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Soup

~ suggested by my friend Taryn! ~

Prep Time: about 45 minutes, once the sweet potatoes are baked

Note: Taryn says, "You can use sweet potato or canned pumpkin."

* 2 onions
* 4 baked sweeet potatoes or 1 can of pumpkin
* vegetable stock
* nutmeg
* salt
* pepper
*smoked sweet paprika or fake bacon (note from Mary: MorningStar Farms makes good fake bacon, available in the frozen section of grocery stores)

1. Fry the onions until translucent. Add the sweet potato mush & spices. Then add stock. If you like thinner soup, add a lot of stock or if you like thicker soup add less stock.

2. Cook for about 1/2 hour.

3. Top with smoked sweet paprika or crumbled fake bacon.


Taryn says: I love this with pumpernickel bread.

Garbanzo Bean Stew

~ suggested by my friend Taryn! ~

Prep Time: depends... at least 1 hour

Note: Taryn says, "I use dried beans because I think that they taste better, but canned is fine."

* 1/2 cup dried garbanzo beans (if using a can, just use the whole can)
* 2 onions, chopped
* 1 head garlic, smashed & chopped
* 1/8 cup olive oil
* water
* 1 potato, chopped
* 1 can of whole tomatoes (Taryn says: We used canned roasted tomatoes. You may need more spices with plain ones.)
* salt & pepper

1. Soak the beans for 24 hours.

2. Fry onion & garlic in oil until translucent.

3. Add beans & enough water to cover. (Taryn says: The less water you cook beans in, the quicker they cook.)

4. Turn the heat down & cover. Check the beans after an hour, but expect them to take up to 4 hours to cook.

5. Add the potato & tomatoes, including juice.

6. When the potato is done, add salt & pepper to taste.

Tortilla Soup

~ suggested by my friend Jen! ~

Prep Time: about 45 min
Servings: about 8

* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 cup corn kernels (frozen/canned), rinsed
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup white hominy, rinsed
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 4 oz can chopped green chile peppers
* 2 tsp chili powder
* 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
* 1 tsp dried cumin
* ½ cup chopped cilantro
* 2 cans veggie broth
* 28 oz crushed/diced tomatoes

Optional ingredients (Jen says: I use about 2 tsp lime, a lot of cayenne):
* Lime juice
* Cayenne pepper or tobasco to heat it up
* Sugar- if it gets too sour from all the acid

Garnish options:
* Tortilla chips
* Sliced avocado (Jen says: my favorite)
* Monterey Jack cheese
* Chopped green onions

1. In a medium to large pot, heat olive oil over medium. Saute onion & garlic. Stir in chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, broth. Bring to boil & simmer 10 minutes.

2. Stir in corn, hominy, green chiles, black beans, cilantro. Simmer 10 minutes.

3. Serve with any of the garnishes above.

Barley and Lentil Soup

(picture by Jen)

~ Suggested by my friend Jen! ~

Time: about 1 hour
Servings: 8-10

* 1 cup chopped onion
* 6 cups vegetable broth
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 2 tsp dried rosemary
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 tsp dried oregano
* 28oz can diced tomatoes
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* ¾ cup rinsed lentils (uncooked)
* 2 cups carrots
* 3/4 cup rinsed pearl barley (uncooked)

1. In large soup pot, cook onions, celery & garlic in hot olive oil until tender.

2. Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, lentils, barley, rosemary, oregano, pepper, & carrots.

3. Cook for 40 minutes, or until barley, lentils and carrots tender.

Note: Jen says, "I like to eat this with cheese and crackers on the side."

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4-6

* 32 oz vegetable broth
* 1 chopped green bell pepper
* 1 chopped red or yellow bell pepper
* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 14. 5 oz can diced tomatoes, pureed in a blender
* about 10 oz meatless crumbles (or for you beef-eating carnivores, you could probably use cooked hamburger meat, but I'm not going to vouch for how the soup turns out)
* 3/4 cup brown minute rice
* a bit of oil for sauteing

1. Prepare all of the vegetables.

2. Saute the onion & garlic in the oil until they are soft.

3. Add the peppers & cook until they are tender.

4. Add pureed tomatoes, meatless crumbles, & broth. Bring to a slow boil.

5. Once boiling, add the rice. Cover & cook until rice is tender (about 10 minutes).

Beans and Greens Soup

I first made this recipe several years ago when one of my coworkers, knowing that I am a vegetarian, suggested it to me. It's a very hearty and flavorful soup that tastes distinctly southern.
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Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

* 2 cups chopped onion
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 cups water or vegetable stock
* 1/2 lb collard greens or kale
* 2 cups undrained (16 oz) canned tomato, chopped
* 2 (16 oz) can black-eyed peas
* 1 tbsp white vinegar
* 1 tbsp brown sugar
* pinch of dried thyme
* 1/4 tsp allspice
* a couple of splashes of Tabasco or hot sauce
* 2 cups cooked rice
* salt to taste

1. In soup pot, combine onions & garlic in 2 cups water/stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat & simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Cut collards/kale in small pieces.
3. Add greens, tomatoes & their juice, black-eyed peas, the additional cup of water/stock, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, allspice, & Tabasco/hot sauce to the pot.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Stir in rice & cook for 5 minutes more.
6. Add salt to taste.

Chilled Strawberry Soup

This soup is quick to make and tastes like really yummy, fruity yogurt. My little sister loves it-- I first made it for her when she was still in middle school. It's a very light soup and makes me think of summertime. I always make it with sandwiches and serve it as part of a light lunch.
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Time: 15 min!
Servings: 8

* 1 peach, peeled & sliced
* 1 nectarine, peeled & sliced
* 2 cups strawberries, sliced
* 2 (8 oz) cartons strawberry yogurt
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* fresh mint leaves

1. Put peach, nectarine, strawberry slices, yogurt, sugar, and lemon juice in blender. Process until smooth.

2. Cover and refrigerate. Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with mint.

Note: to make this recipe vegan, use soy yogurt!