Fried Plantains

Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4

* 2 ripe plantains
* 1/2 cup of oil
* salt (optional)


1. Peel the plantains & cut diagonally in 1/4- inch thick slices.

2. Deep fry the plantains until golden brown. Sprinkle a little salt for flavor. Serve immediately.

Arroz con Maiz

A recipe from the Dominican Republic.

Time: 35 Mins
Servings: 8

* 4 cups rice
* 1/2 cup of sweet corn
* 1 cube bullion of vegetable stock
* 1/2 cup of pineapple cut into small cubes
* 5 cups water of boiling water
* 5 spoons of oil
* Salt

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the corn, vegetable stock cube & pineapple. Stir until the cube has dissolved. Add the rice & mix well. When everything is well mixed add the boiling water. Salt to taste.

2. Stir regularly to avoid excessive sticking. When all the water has evaporated, cover with a tight fitting lid & simmer on very low heat. Wait 15 minutes & uncover. Stir, add the remaining oil & cover again. Wait another 5 minutes. Try the rice, it should be firm but tender inside.

3. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes on very low heat.

Apple Berry Crisp from Greenland

A modified recipe from Greenland!

servings: about 8-12

* 7 oz. blueberries
* 3-4 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
* 3.5 oz. butter (or a little less, if you prefer)
* 6.76 fl. oz. flour
* 3.38 fl. oz. brown sugar
* chopped nuts (we used walnuts)
* 6.76 fl. oz. whipping cream & 1 tub crème fraiche 18%... or just use some Coolwhip
* Seeds from 1 stick of vanilla


1. Put all the slices of apple into a dish & sprinkle with most of the berries.

2. Rub the butter into the flour, which has already been mixed with the brown sugar. Sprinkle this crumble mixture onto the apples & berries. Top with the flaked nuts.

3. Put the dish into a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) & bake until the top is crisp & golden & the filling is bubbling slightly – approx. 30 minutes.

4. Take the dish out of the oven & let it stand.

5. Serve with a mixture of whipped cream, crème fraiche & vanilla.

Gallo Pinto

A recipe from Costa Rica!

servings: 4-6

* 2 tbsp canola oil
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 cups cooked white rice
* 2 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1 tsp ground corriander
* 1/2 tsp ground ginger
* 2-3 tbsp vegetarian worcestershire sauce (we substituted Supreme Garlic flavored A1 Steak Sauce because it had many of the same ingredients)
* salt & freshly ground black pepper
* fresh cilantro
* sliced green onion

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

2. Add onion & saute until it begins to soften and turn translucent. Add garlic. Saute for 5 more minutes, or until onion is golden.

3. Add spices & worcestershire. Stir.

4. Add the beans & then the rice. Cook until mixture is heated through.

5. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve hot. Garnish with cilantro & green onions.

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.

Baked Quesadillas

Servings: as many as you like!
Time: about 20 minutes

* tortillas
* refried beans, canned (for us, 1 can makes about 4 quesadillas)
* grated cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like, really)
* anything else you want to add to the quesadillas, for example: sliced bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, onion
* salsa &/or sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Assemble the tortillas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or forget the baking sheet & parchment paper, & just put them on aluminum foil, if you don't mind the bottom tortilla a little soft). Put the tortillas together by spreading the beans onto one tortilla, layering your vegetables over the beans, & sprinkling as much cheese as you like. Then put another tortilla on top, like a sandwich.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes.
4. Serve with salsa & sour cream.


*Note: These are super-easy to make, and really tasty if you add lots of vegetables.

Super-easy Peach Crisp

Servings: 3-4
Time: 20 min

*2 cans (15.25 oz each) sliced peaches, drained
*2 packages (1.6 oz each) cinnamon instant oatmeal, uncooked
*1/3 cup flour
*1/2 cup chopped walnuts
*1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put peaches into a lightly buttered 2-quart baking dish.
2. In a separate bowl, mix oatmeal, flour, & nuts. Stir in butter. Sprinkle mixture over the peaches.
3. Bake for 15 min or until golden brown.

Note: Good with ice cream!

Pancake For Two

~suggested by Brendan and Taryn... thanks, guys!~

Servings: 2
Time: about 25 min

*2 eggs
*1⁄2 cup flour
*1⁄2 cup milk
*Pinch of ground nutmeg
*4 tbsps butter
*2 tbsps confectioners' sugar --- optional topping
*Juice of half a lemon---- optional topping
*Fig or blackberry jam, pear butter or any kind of marmalade, for serving (optional).

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the flour, milk & nutmeg & lightly beat until blended but still slightly lumpy.

2. Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet with a heatproof handle over medium-high heat. (Taryn says: "what i do is put the butter in the skillet, & then put the skillet in the oven to melt the butter. we use the cast-iron skillet for this, but you could also probably use a cake pan") When very hot but not brown, pour in the batter. Bake in the oven until the pancake is billowing on the edges & golden brown, about 15 minutes. (Taryn says: "this amount of time would depend upon your oven. it takes less than ten minutes in ours. just keep an eye on it. while it bakes, you can fry some apples or heat up some berries for the topping")

3. Working quickly, remove the pan from the oven & using a fine-meshed sieve, sprinkle with the sugar. Return to the oven for 1 to 2 minutes more. Sprinkle with lemon juice & serve with jam, pear butter or marmalade.

Taryn's adjustments: "i skip the lemon, sugar, and jam and serve with either fried apples or berries and maples syrup. the pancake will puff up in the oven and then deflate after you take it out. that is okay. do not feel that you have failed, it is supposed to do that."

Tangy Vegetable Dip

Serves: about 6 (makes one cup of dip)
Time: 15 min

*1/2 cup non-fat mayonnaise
*1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
*1 tbsp chopped onion
*1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
*1/2 tsp seasoning salt
*1/2 tsp Worcestershire
*1 to 4 drops hot sauce

1. Combine the ingredients.
2. Chill until ready to serve with vegetables (such as baby carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, etc).


Note: This is also good with dinner, served instead of a salad!

Honey Granola

~ Taryn & Brendan's alterations of the recipe from "Breakfast Lunch Tea Rose Bakery" by Rose Carrarini. Thanks, guys!~


(pistachio granola image from Taryn and Brendan)

Prep time: several hours

*5 1/3 cups rolled oats
*2 cups chopped walnuts (you can use any combination: almonds or seeds or whatever)
*1/4 cup roasted ground flaxseeds (the original recipe calls for wheatgerm)
*1/2 cup vegetable oil
*1 cup honey
*1/2 cup water
*a few drops of vanilla
*a pinch of cinnamon (Taryn & Brendan caution: don't use more than a pinch!)
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*dried or fresh fruit to serve

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix together the oats, honey, nuts, seeds, ground flaxseeds.
3. Put the oil, honey, water, vanilla, cinnamon & salt in a saucepan. Bring just to a boil, stirring constantly, then pour over the dry ingredients & mix well.
4. If the mixture is too wet add more oats - there should be no excess liquid & it should be sticky.
5. Spread out evenly on a couple baking trays & bake for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
6. Reduce the temperature to 275 degrees & continue baking until the granola is golden, about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
7. Switch off the oven & leave to dry out for at least another hour, or up to overnight.

Note: Taryn & Brendan say not to store the granola with raisins or other dried fruit because it makes the fruit hard.

Homemade Yogurt

~special thanks to Taryn and Brendan for this recipe~

Apparently this is really easy to make. The recipe is for plain yogurt, but it can be sweetened with honey or maple syrup after the yogurt is made. The recipe is called "Effie's Mom's Incredibly Easy Recipe for Homemade Yogurt"; it originally comes from the website No Impact Man & has been only slightly modified below.


Prep time: wont be ready until the next day

*milk (use your containers as your guide for how much milk to use)
*1 tbsp live yogurt (to get the culture going)
*you'll also need glass or plastic containers & 2 or 3 towels

1. Boil milk (Taryn and Brendan use 1% and say that you can use soy or almond milk; No Impact Man recommends whole milk) in a large pot until it boils and foams at the top. Shut it off before it spills over.
2. Let the milk cool off until you can keep your pinky finger in the milk for 10 seconds without burning it (No Impact Man says: "a temperature reading would have been great for this step but I don't think they had these back in Greece 70 years ago"... apparently Effie's mom is Greek and quite old).
3. In a small bowl that holds about 2 cups, beat one tablespoon of live yogurt until smooth. Slowly add one cup of the milk from the pot, stirring slowly until combined.
4. Transfer this mixture from step #3 to the pot of boiled milk, slowly pouring it into the pot while mixing the pot of milk (with a spatula or long spoon) the whole time in order to combine thoroughly.
5. Pour into glass or plastic containers and seal them.
6. Arrange the containers together and cover with 2 to 3 towels keeping them in a warm place of the house (No Impact Man says: "and no, you don't need some sort of a yogurt maker gadget to keep them warm"). Let them sit overnight.
7. In the morning place them in the refrigerator and they will get cold. Yogurt is done.
8. Do a dance!

Veggie Black Bean Soup

Prep time: 30 min
Servings: 4

*1/2 small onion, chopped
*1/2 cup chopped carrots
*1/2 cup chopped celery
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1/8 black pepper (freshly ground if you're fancy, regular black pepper if you're like me)
*2 cups vegetable broth
*2 cups fresh baby spinach
*14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
*1/3 cup chickpeas (out of a can), rinsed and drained
*1/3 cup low-salt black beans (out of a can), rinsed and drained
*oil or cooking spray

1. Heat a little bit of cooking spray or oil in a large pot. Saute the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, & pepper for 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
2. Add broth, spinach, tomatoes, chickpeas, & black beans. Bring to a boil.
3. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Calories: 95

Note: Of course, you can adjust the ingredients to your own liking. I usually forgo the onion and celery and put in zucchini and green bell pepper instead. I've tried it with corn, too.

Pear with Vanilla Almond Dip

Prep time: less than 5 min!
Servings: 1

*1/8 tsp almond extract
*1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
*dash of nutmeg
*pear, sliced

1. Stir the almond extract & the nutmeg into the yogurt.
2. Serve with the sliced pear.


Note: This is unbelievably delicious. I can't explain it.

Chocolatey Nut Clusters

Prep time: about 20 min, plus one hour to cool
Servings: makes about 20 clusters

*6 oz semisweet chocolate
*2 tsp vegetable shortening
*2 cups unsalted mixed nuts (8 oz)

1. Mix the chocolate & the shortening in a medium-sized saucepan. Heat over low heat & stir occasionally until the chocolate melts (about 3 minutes).
2. Remove from heat & stir in the nuts.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Make clusters of the chocolatey nuts by spooning little heaps onto the wax paper with a tablespoon. Leave about 1 inch between the clusters.
4. Put them in the fridge for at least 1 hour to harden.


Note: These are messy, even after they've hardened.

Fake Meatball Subs

Prep time: 5 min!

*sub rolls
*fake meatballs (look in the frozen foods section of your grocery store)
*spaghetti sauce
*slices of mozzarella cheese

1. Heat the meatballs according to the package directions.
2. Put 6-7 meatballs on a sub roll, pour spaghetti sauce over them & then put slices of mozzarella cheese on top.
3. Put the subs back in the microwave long enough to melt the cheese & heat the sauce.

Note: These are sooooooo easy to make and they're super yummy.

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.

Banana Bread

Makes one 9-inch loaf.

Ingredients:
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
* 1/4 cup butter
* 3 ripe bananas, peeled & mashed
* 1 egg
* 2 cups flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* dash of vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease 9-inch loaf pan and line with wax paper.

3. Cream the sugars & butter together in a large mixing bowl.

4. Add the bananas & mix.

5. Add the egg, dry ingredients, & vanilla. Mix.

6. Pour the batter into the pan & bake for 50 minutes, or until brown. A knife inserted into the center will come out clean when done.

7. Remove from pan and cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

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.