Thai Cucumber Salad

IMG_2722
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner

I found myself with an overabundance of cucumbers both from the CSA and the generousness of a coworker. One good thing to do with too many cucumbers is to peel them and add them to fruit smoothies. They add a nice cool refreshing taste without detracting from the fruit. This is another thing:

Peel and chop cucumber
drizzle with fish sauce (start with a little and add more later - it's easy to overdo it with the fish sauce)
drizzle with rice vinegar
add some lime juice if you have it
shake on some crushed red pepper
add chopped thai basil
add a little salt but not much due to the fish sauce
toss all together
taste and adjust ingredients
sprinkle on some chopped peanuts right before serving

Green Bean Tabouleh

I'm a little behind on green beans from the CSA and I just got another pound this morning! Time for action! I also had a bunch of parsley so I thought: Tabouleh. Because what else can you possibly think when you look at parsley besides: garnish?

First I poured boiling water over 1C of Bulgur for about 15 minutes


Then I sliced about a pound of green beans into small Os and microwaved them in a bowl with a little water in the bottom for three minutes.


In the food processor, I pulsed 1/2C raw almonds into small pieces and toasted in a dry skillet.


Also in the food processor, I mixed up a small bunch of flat leaf parsley (about the size of my open hand) with 2 cloves of garlic. To this I added the juice of 1 lemon, 1/8C olive oil and 1/2t salt. (possibly more of these last two ingredients, but at least that. I didn't realize it would be good enough to post so I was using the freepour method!)


The result is SO tasty!


So much that I would even go as far as to say that the nuts are optional. If you do use them and don't plan on eating the salad immediately, store them separately and add with each serving so they keep their crisp.

Per 1C serving w/nuts:
Calories: 223, Fat: 11g, Protein 7g
w/o nuts:
Calories 153, Fat: 5g, Protein 5g

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

This is one of my standard potluck faves. I cut it out of the Oregonian a million years ago and they cite Gourmet Magazine as their source.

The secret of success for this salad is the steaming of the quinoa. (The traditional cooking method for quinoa, boiling it in a measured amount of water, does not produce the light, fluffy texture that works so well in a salad.) This dish provides a complete protein and can stand alone as a luncheon or light supper entree.

[I guess you could tell that the last paragraph was from the recipe, not me, when you saw the word "luncheon"?]

Salad:
1-1/2C Quinoa, uncooked (I use 2 because I think the dressing to salad ratio is too high)
1-1/2C cooked black beans, rinsed if canned (1 can)
1-1/2 T red wine vinegar
S&P
1-1/2C cooked corn (cut from two large ears) (or 1 can)
3/4C finely chopped green bell pepper (I like to use red for color)
2 pickled jalapeno chiles, seeded and minced (omit if serving to the heat-averse)
1/4C finely chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing:
5T fresh lime juice, or to taste
1t salt
1-1/4t ground cumin, or to taste
1/3C olive oil

To make salad: In bowl, wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear, drain in large, fine sieve.
In saucepan of salted boiling water, cook quinoa 10 minutes. Drain in sieve and rinse under cold water. Set sieve over saucepan of boiling water (quinoa should not touch water) and steam, covered with kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, about 10 minutes (check water level in kettle occasionally, adding more if necessary).
While quinoa is cooking, in small bowl, toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer quinoa to large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, chiles and cilantro; toss well.

To make dressing:
In small bowl, whisk together lime juice, salt and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.
Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well with salt and pepper to taste. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.

Per Serving:
Calories: 319 (35% from fat)
Protein: 9g
Total fat: 13g
Cholesterol: 0g
Fiber: 10g
Sodium: 405mg
Carbohydrate: 45g

CSA Week 6

Sorry this has kind of become the Leslie Show, but I've become so excited about food lately!

Here is my half of the veggies this week.



The warm weather we've been having has either been making more harvestables or mom is giving me more than half because this is the most I've seen yet! I have to admit it panicked me just a little. Then after work on Friday, I went back out to Sauvie Island Farms with Jen and another friend to pick more berries plus peaches! And now that I have seen how inexpensive it can be, I went a little nuts and picked 5lb of blueberries, 2.5lb each of marionberries and raspberries and a grocery bag full of peaches.



So I spent all day in the kitchen today peeling and freezing peaches (on a pan first so they won't stick together when they go in the bag) and cooking most of the vegetables into a yummy Indian style dish in the crock pot. I would have done all of them but my crock pot isn't that large.



I know what you're thinking: "what were you doing in the kitchen all day after you got done with the peaches, staring at the crock pot?" Well, of course, I was inspired to make Dal and Saag Paneer to go along with the vegetables.



It all turned out just great despite having dumped most of the curry for the Saag Paneer on the floor and having to use some other spices instead - I am so pleased!

But also, I made a giant batch of my mom's granola from the 70s for my BF, who has been very generous with his car lately even though I run into yard debris containers and lose the plastic backing to his side mirror and stuff. And while I'm out being so careless with his posessions, he is coming over and feeding my cats for me. So I think he at least deserves some homemade granola.



I had a bowl and it tasted just like my mom used to make. It is so good - here is the recipe:

Granola (from the Whole Earth Catalog)
Mix:
4C rolled oats
1/2 C shredded unsweeteend coconut (mom & I omit this)
1C wheat germ
1C chopped nuts (I used cashews)
1C sunflower seeds
1/2C flax seeds
1/2C bran (didn't use it)
1C ground roasted soybeans (mom & I omit this)
1/2C sesame seeds
1C pumpkin seeds (my addition)
1/2C rice cereal (my addition - found it at whole foods - looks like little brown BBs and adds a wonderful little rice krispy style crunch)

Heat: (oops, just now realized I forgot to heat it)
1/2C oil (I used 1/4 C)
1/2C honey (I used 3/4C agave nectar)
1/2t vanilla (I was out)

Combine two mixtures. Spread on cookie sheet with sides. Bake at 325 about 15 min until light brown. Turn frequently.

I ended up baking it longer because it seemed a little wet while I was turning it. But once it's been out of the oven for a while that goes away, even if you really only bake it for 15 minutes - I practiced on the second batch.

CSA Veggies/Strawberry Rhubarb Smothie

CSA Veggies
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner

First haul! Woo and HOO! This is all of everything except only half the strawberries since my mom left hers at home but brought the rest over so we could split it up together. Since I'm going on a business trip next week and don't think I'll get around to too much cooking, I'm going to eat the favas and snowpeas raw. The bok choy will be a stir fry with tempeh and the strawberries are obviously smoothie stuff. I had trouble with what to do with the rhubarb since I'm not so into the sugar. I chopped it up and threw a small handfull into my strawberry smoothie this morning and it was so good! Not bitter at all!

Approximate ingredients
1/2c rice milk
1/4c strawberries
1/8c rhubarb
1T soaked raw sunflower seeds
2T nutritional yeast
1/2c water

Johnnycakes

Today I was going through some cookbooks my Grandma gave me last weekend. This one was full of recipes I wouldn't really consider making but then I came across this! Just yesterday I had been scouring the internet to figure out how to make a relatively healthy cornbread to go with my chili and not having great luck. Lots of white flour, sugar, bacon grease etc. But this one was exactly what I was looking for and I think they came out great. They look like little cornbread cookies and they still have whatever that thing is that makes me like cornbread.
The real title of the recipe is "Depression Johnnycakes" but that makes it sound like they are seasoned with Prozac or something though I'm sure it really has more to do with how cheap they are to make. I like them for that reason but also because I made mine with whole grain cornmeal so they're just what I wanted - relatively healthy, cornbread-esque blobs.

1C Yellow Cornmeal
1/2t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1t salt
2/3 c buttermilk (you can sub with 2/3c milk+1t vinegar - let sit for 5 min)
2T cooking oil

Mix together dry ingredients, then stir in buttermilk and oil. If necessary, add a little more cornmeal so mixture is thick enough to hold its shape. Form into 8 mounds on oiled baking sheet and bake at 400 for 12-15 min, or until pale golden brown. Do not overbake.

Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili

I cut this out of The Oregonian recently. When I made this I violated so many of the instructions I hate to even comment on how it turned out - but, I mean, it's Chili. I'm sure if you follow the recipe it would be just as good as how I did it using 1 can of tomato sauce to make up for only having half the diced tomatos, using canned corn, skipping the food processor part, reversing the cooking vessels, omitting the sugar and adding a bunch of vegetable broth. The main reason I'm putting it here is that I'm on a "budget meal" kick while trying to re-stock my savings account with dough. I estimate this to be around $.85/serving and chili is always so good. I made Johnnycakes to go with it.

Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili

Makes 4 servings

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes 2 15-ounce cans low-sodium beans, rinsed (see note) 2 to 3 teaspoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce 2 teaspoons granulated sugar Salt 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, minced 3 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 3 cloves garlic, minced 11/2 cups frozen corn, thawed 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro Ground black pepper
Pulse tomatoes and their juice in food processor until slightly chunky, about 5 pulses. Bring tomatoes, beans, chipotle chiles, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil, covered, in large saucepan. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, chili powder, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 secondsStir in tomato-bean mixture, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in corn and cilantro and return to simmer briefly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve. Note: You can use a combination of pinto, black and dark-red kidney beans in the chili. The texture of the pureed diced tomatoes with their juice is very important; do not substitute crushed tomatoes or tomato puree.

-- Adapted from "The Best 30-Minute Recipe"
by the editors of Cook's Illustrated

PER SERVING: calories: 330 (15% from fat); protein: 7.7 grams; total fat: 5.6 grams; saturated fat: 0.8 gram; cholesterol: 0; sodium: 794 mg; carbohydrate: 69.6 grams; dietary fiber: 19.3 grams

Buckwheat Noodles with Peanut Lime Sauce

IMG_0718
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

I got this from the FoodDay and it is just as good as it sounds! I could not find Buckwheat noodles so I used Quinoa noodles instead. Also, I omitted the sugar and didn't miss it even one iota. I bet it would be great with some chicken in there if one were so inclined!
I found this was best right after it was made. After being in the fridge, the PB gets a little pasty but maybe if it were brought to room temp again before serving it'd be heaven again.

So since I can't seem to make the link to the recipe work, I'll have to paste it in. EVS, Oregonlive! I guess my friends won't be looking at your advertisers today, now, will they?

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
21/2 tablespoons soy sauce
21/2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
11/2 inches fresh ginger, peeled, cut into chunks
3 green onions, green and white parts, roughly chopped
21/2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
11/2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup snow peas or frozen petite peas
8 ounces buckwheat noodles
1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into thin 1-inch strips
2/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
1/3 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
4 lime wedges

To make the sauce, puree the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, lime juice, vinegar, ginger, green onions, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in the food processor. Put the broccoli in a small pan of water and cook just until tender; add the snow peas just to warm them through. If you are using frozen peas, just drop them into the hot water with the broccoli right before draining.

Cook the noodles until al dente according to package directions; drain.

Toss the noodles with the broccoli, peas, bell pepper and cilantro, and toss with the peanut sauce. Place into bowls and garnish with the chopped peanuts, more chopped cilantro and a lime wedge.

Red Lentil Mulligatawny with Apple-Celery Salsa

lentil mulligatawny soup
Originally uploaded by jensect.

Leslie - I'm so inspired by your soups, we went and tried a new one last night. this is from the lastest issue of Cooking Light, and it is GOOD! I am pretty sure I just used regular old lentils instead of red lentils, but it tasted pretty good anyway.

***
This rich, creamy soup will thicken as it cools. Thin with hot water, a tablespoon at a time, to the desired consistency. Lentils provide fiber, folate, and protein, as well as iron. The fresh topping adds vitamin C plus a dose of quercetin.

Salsa:

2/3 cup finely chopped Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Soup:

3 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dried small red lentils
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk\
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. To prepare salsa, combine the first 4 ingredients, cover and chill

2. To prepare soup, combine broth, lentils, and onion in a Dutch oven over medium high heat (I just used my regular soup pan); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until lentils are tender. Pour half of lentil mixture in a blender; let stand 5 minutes. Process until smooth. Pour pureed lentil mixture into a bowl. Pour remaining lentil mixture into blender; process until smooth. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, and turmeric; process until smooth. Return coconut milk mixture and remaining pureed lentil mixture to pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in 1 teaspoon juice, salt, and pepper. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with 1/4 cup salsa. Yield: 4 servings.

Apple and Parsnip Soup

IMG_7346
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

I know, it sounds weird, but it is really good! And cheap! And vegetarian! And good for you!

1T butter
1# parsnips
1# apples (I used braeburn)
1 onion, chopped
2t curry pwd
1t cumin
1t coriander
1/2t cardamom
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt & pepper
5C homemade chicken stock or canned reduced soduim chicken broth (I made my own vegetable broth from the peeled skins of all the veggies in the soup!)
2/3C half and half (I used the fat free kind even though I don't understand how it can exist)

In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add parsnips, apples and onion. Cover and cook 7-10 min.
Add spices, garlic, salt & pepper and cook about 2 min more, stirring constantly.
Add the stock or broth, cover and simmer gently until the parsnips are tender, about 30 min.
Transfer to a blender or food processor in batches and process until smooth. If necessary, add more broth or water. Return to the same saucepan and whisk in the half and half. Heat through over low heat.
Supposed to be garnished with chives and croutons, but who can be bothered? Well, I'm sure the croutons would be a great addition, but I am a total garnish-skipper.

Mediterranean Red Lentil and Spinach Stew

IMG_7128
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

Wow is this good! It's really rich and kind of sweet. I keep thinking "this needs eggplant", which I'm coming to realize is because it reminds me of Martina's yummy Eggplant Caponata! I served this over Quinoa made with sauteed onions and carrots and tumeric. But not when I finally decided to take a photo.

2T ghee or clarified butter (i used olive oil)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1T minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced (1...yeah right!)
2t ground cumin
2t paprika
2t ground coriander
1t ground cinnamon
5C water
2C peeled & diced butternut squash
1C dried red lentils
1C diced red bell pepper
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and finely chopped
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 C currants or chopped, pitted dates
3T Bragg Liquid AMinos or natural soy sauce (I used like 2 T of a soy sauce substitute made with molasses and balsamic vinegar)
1t balsamic or apple cider vinegar
1-2 t salt
1/4t cayenne

with all the veggie ends I had left, I made a huge pot of vegetable broth for future soups!

Heat ghee in saucepan over med-high heat. Add onion and saute until well-browned and caramelized, about 10 min. Add ginger and garlic and saute for 2 min. stir in cumin, paprika, coriander and cinnamon. Add water, squash, lentils, red bell pepper amd celery. Simmer uncovered until lentils are tender, about 30 min.

Stir in spinach, cilantro, currants, bragg liquid aminos or soy, vinegar, salt to taste and cayenne. Simmer just long enough for spinach to wilt

Protein Bars

IMG_7045
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

I like to eat protien bars. My habit is to eat a little something about every 2 hours and it's great if it's something that makes me happy to eat. But the problem with the ones in the stores is that they cost like $2 a bar and most are loaded with sugar. So I invented these and I'm really happy with them!

1-1/2 C Fresh ground peanut butter
2T Agave nectar
1/2C each of
Flax seeds
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds (chopped)
Sesame seeds
toasted buckwheat
Wheat germ
2 scoops milk & egg protein powder

mix well. Smoosh into molds. Refrigerate for a while and pop out of mold.

I had pretty good luck keeping one of these in my backpack without it falling apart. The protien powder I used comes from Trader Joes, but you can probably use any kind. The mix of seeds isn't really important - this is just what I had around. If you like, you could totally add dried fruit or even chocolate chips! My goal was to reach the point where it was so full of goodies that the peanut butter was barely holding it together since the PB is so ridiculously caloric. These clock in at about 225 if you get 21 bars out of the recipe above. My molds are a little shy of 1/4 cup. The protein count is actually only about 9g, which is woefully disappointing to me so in the end, they fit the bill of small thing I like to eat but they don't pack the protien punch I had hoped for as a wannabe vegetarian with trouble digesting soy.

Update - I switched out Quinoa for toasted buckwheat - the crunch is just divine!

Blue Cheese Potatoes au Gratin

5 lbs. russet potatoes
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1-1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 cups cream
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Butter a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish. Peel and slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Toss them in a large bowl with the 2 teaspoons salt, pepper and rosemary.

2. In a small bowl toss together cheeses.

3. Layer half the potatoes in the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese mixture and top with remaining potatoes.

4. In a bowl, whisk together sauce ingredients and pour over potatoes. Tap the baking dish on the counter to spread out the sauce and help release any air bubbles. Sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.

5. Bake potatoes for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until browned and completely tender all the way through when poked with a knife.

Note: You can also make these in advance and store, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature and reheat in a 350 degree F oven until hot.

Black & White Soup

Black & White Soup
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

Decided to make this soup for Christmas dinner and had every crucial ingredient but milk and of course no stores open so Jen, in all her Holiday spirit, drove me over a baggie of milk and just look at the payoff! So cool an effect! Thanks Jen!
The recipe is here. For the black bean soup, I used this recipe.

After I made the soup but before making the rest of the menu, there was a power failure so when Dag showed up for dinner, everything was cold and dark so we slogged the soup a few blocks away to his place and heated it back up. If only everything were done and hot when he showed up we could have eaten by candlelight and then played some cards while listening to the radio but I also could not locate 2 batteries I needed for that to happen. Power outages and thunderstorms and snowstorms are way too few and far between these days/around these parts.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs potatoes, peeled & quartered (about 15 medium sized potatoes)
6 oz. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 Tbs margarine or butter

Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling water until tender (about 20 minutes).

Drain & mash until there are no lumps. Add cream cheese, sour cream, onion powder, salt, pepper & egg whites. Blend well.

Spray a 9x13" casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Add potato mixture. Dot with margarine. cool slightly, cover & refrigerate up to 7 days.

Take out of refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, covered for 40 minutes or until steaming hot in the center.

Note: Alternately potatoes can be reheated in a crock pot. Take potatoes out of fridge about 3 1/2 hours before you plan to serve them. Place in slow-cooker. Dot with margarine or butter. Cook on low heat for 3 hours, stirring once or twice. They can be held an additional 30 minutes or more.

Note 2: We didn't do this, but I think these would be really awesome with some roasted garlic mashed in with the potatoes

Butternut Squash Enchiladas

Butternut Squash Enchiladas
Originally uploaded by lesliegardner.

I have made this a lot in the past - it is so dang good. Now it's the main dish of my vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner.

Filling:
1 small butternut squash (1#)
1 med carrot, peeled, quartered & sliced
1/4# fresh mushrooms, diced (about 1-1/4C)
1/2C diced onion
2T vegetable oil
1/2C diced jicama
1 small granny smith apple
1/4C shelled sunflower seeds, chopped
1T white vinegar
1/2t salt
2T chopped fresh cilantro

Spicy Peanut Sauce:
2C water
1T vegetable bouillon
1/2t salt
1/2t ground cumin
1/2t minced garlic
2 canned chipotle chiles, chopped
3T New Mexican chile pwd
1T vegetable oil
1/2t dried oregano
1T minced onion
1T flour
3/4C creamy peanut butter

8-10 corn tortillas
1C grated cheddar cheese (4oz)
1C grated Monterey jack cheese (4oz)

Preheat oven to 400
To make filling:
cut squash in half & scoop out seeds. Place cut side down on a baking pan w/a little water; bake 1hr or until tender. (or microwave 6 min, turning once or until tender)
When cool enough to handle, scoop squash out of shell and set aside
in a large skillet, saute carrot, mushrooms and onion in the oil until the carrot is tender-crisp. Add the cooked squash, jicama, apple, sunflower seeds, vinegar, salt and cilantro; mix well and set aside while preparing sauce.

To make sauce:
In a med saucepan, combine water, veg. bouillon, salt, cumin, garlic, chiles and chili pwd. bring to a boil.
meanwhile, in a small saute pan, heat oil over low heat. Add oregano and onion; saute until onion is soft. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 min.
Stir the onion mixture into the chile mixture. Bring to a boil and cook about 2 min; remove from heat and strain. Add peanut butter and stir until well-combined; set aside.

To assemble:
Heat a small amount of oil in a shallow skillet. Dip each tortilla in the oil for a few seconds to soften. lay softened tortillas on paper towels to drain. If you prefer, tortillas may be softened in the microwave; place 4-5 between two damp paper towels. Heat 45 sec. Fill these and repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Place a spoonful of squash mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a lightly oiled 9x13" baking pan. pour sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle w/cheese.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 min, or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are hot in the center.

Now my list of "how I do it"s:
I add more squash
I double the sauce but reserve a small bowl for my saucier guests
I've used both New Mexican chile powder and the regular kind and I may be able to tell the difference side by side, but I think they both work fine.
Last time I tried microwaving the tortillas to soften and it's not only WAY easier and less messy, but of course adds fewer calories and fat to the recipe and I didn't notice a difference in taste or texture at all.
This year I had a request for sour cream, which had never occured to me, but everybody loved it.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 cups tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch cayenne pepper
3 drops hot sauce
1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. honey
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. gound cumin
1/4 lb. black, pitted olives, sliced (one of the little cans works)
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans, mashed
8 soft corn tortillas
1/4 lb. Monterery Jack or cheddar chesse, grated

Heat oil and saute 2/3 of onions until translucent. Add tomatoes, sauce, 1/2 each of garlic, cayenne, hot sauce, chili powder, honey, salt and cumin. Simmer all uncovered for 30 minutes. Heat olive oil and saute remaing onion, garlic and olives until onions are translucent. Add remaining salt and beans (add sauce if mix is too sticky); stir will. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill each tortilla with 2 to 3 tablespoons filling and 1 tablespoon grated cheese. Roll up and put in baking pan. (You can also make layers with the filling, cheese and tortillas since the corn tortillas are so hard to roll). Cover with sauce, sprinkle with remaining cheese and garnish with reserved olvies. bake until bubbling hot, about 30 minutes.

Pomegranate-Pear Salad

This is so good! I make it all the time, although I can see by revisiting the recipe that I've been leaving the nutmeg out the last few times. It's good without, but better with! (unless you are allergic to nutmeg, of course). Anyway, this is great if it has a couple of hours to sit before you eat it.

3 pears - peeled, cored and cut into wedges

1 pomegranate, skin and light-colored membrane removed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons finely chopped almonds (optional)

4 sprigs fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions
Place the sliced pears and pomegranate seeds into a bowl. Toss with lemon juice to coat. Combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a small cup or bowl, then mix into the fruit. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to blend the flavors. Serve in individual dishes, and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped almonds and a sprig of mint.

Tip - great tip for peeling pomegranate -- score the skin of the fruit and submerge in a bowl of cool water. Peel underwater - the seeds will fall to the bottom, the peel and that papery membrane stuff will float to the top and can be skimmed off. Easy peasy, and it doesn't look like you've murdered something on the kitchen counter!