quik stir fry

i'm a big fan of quick and easy, delicious and satisfying. stir fries are the epitome of quick and easy. especially if you use rice noodles instead of rice (they take 5 minutes as opposed to 20-50 minutes for rice).you can use whatever vegetable combo you want, you can add meat use teriyaki sauce instead of tamari or add pineapple to make a little sweet, put peanuts in it, what ever you want. this is what i did today (it changes everytime i make it depending on what i have, sometimes i just use bok choy and thats it so... do what you like or what you have)

1/2 head bok choy
2 small crowns broccoli
2 or 3 handfuls of sugar snap peas
2 inch piece ginger, julienned
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 onion chopped
1 can sprouts
1 can straw mushrooms
2 Tblsp sesame oil
1 Tblsp cornstarch

cook rice, i like jasmine or sushi for something like this. if you are going to use rice noodles boil water and put your noodles in then remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. so if you use noodles start your stir fry about the same time you start the water to boil. Timing is important you don't want your noodle to get soggy sitting in the water for more that 5 minutes and you don't want them to stick together after draining either and also you don't want your veggies to get mushy. oriental cooking is all about crisp veggies, plus they retain more their nutrients the less you cook them. if you use rice make sure your pan for stir fry is ready to go with about ten minutes left on your rice.
chop the bok choy in like 1 inch slices across starting at the top and discarding the bottom inch. get your broccoli cut into similar size peices. any veggies you throw in your stir fry will come out a uniform doneness if they are all chopped to relatively the same size. have all your veggies chopped and ready to drop in the pan as soon as its hot.
put the oil in the pan and heat it up good and hot, about med- med hi heat, if you want meat put it in first and cook it almost done then drop in veggies. stir! you don't want any carmelization so don't let it sit too long without stirring or tossing depending on how fancy you wanna be. throw in your tamari or soysauce or whatever sauce, and once the veggies let go of their water it'll get soupy in the bottom, thats when you take your cornstarch and mix it with just enough water to stir it and mix it with your fingers or a small whisk and pour it in. stir and stir until it thickens and then you are done. test it make sure your veggies are cooked enough, and remember if you take it off the heat and , say, wait for your rice to be done, the veggies will continue to cook for a few minutes because the pan is still hot. enjoy!

Chard's Famous Lentil Soup

*Note: If at any point in this recipe it seems like the soup is getting too thick, just add more water.

First chop up a medium onion, one or two garlic cloves, a medium carrot, and either three celery stalks or a medium celeriac.

Next, saute all of that stuff in olive oil in the bottom of a large pot.

After the veggies you are sauteing are soft, add a cup of dry green lentils, a large can of chopped tomatoes, salt, a bay leaf, and about 5 cups of water or vegetable broth. Bring the broth to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer with the lid on.

Once the lentils are pretty much cooked, add a bunch of chopped Swiss chard or spinach (preferably fresh, but frozen works too) and any combination of the following fresh herbs (preferably all of them--diced): basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley (you can also use dried herbs, but if you do I would recommend skipping the basil). You can also add a dash of white wine for some extra flare.

Simmer a little longer until the greens are tender and the lentils have begun to disintegrate.

Serve with crusty bread and enjoy! (Feeds about 6)

Note: This is one of those dishes that tastes even better a leftovers, so be sure to save some for the next day or freeze it for future enjoyment.

Andy's Hummus

Andy adapted a few recipes to come up with this tasty, dippable, spreadable hummus.

What's in it:

2 cups canned chickpeas (liquid set aside)

2/3 cup tahini paste*

5 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

salt n pepper

1 tsp. paprika

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

How to make it:

1. In a food processor, purée the chickpeas, tahini, 3 tbsp. olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic until smooth, adding a little reserved liquid if it seems to

o thick; it will be slightly grainy.

2. Season with salt & pepper, and transfer to a shallow bowl.

3. Combine paprika with 2 tbsp. olive oil, and drizzle over the top. Garnish with parsley.

*Make your own tahini if you don't want to buy it. In a food processor or blender grind 4 tbsp. sesame seeds and 1 tsp. olive or sesame oil. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 cup of water if needed.

Makes about 3 cups.

Serve with scrumptious snacks like pita bread triangles and chopped carrots & cucumber, or put on your favorite veggie sandwich.

Here's our spread from dinner last night:

Avocado Hummus

While visiting our friend Sky in Santa Barbara last year, we went out for tapas. One of the dishes we ordered featured an "avocado hummus." Brilliant! And utterly delicious.

So the next night we tried it ourselves, figuring out that a mixture of 1/2 hummus and 1/2 avocado is a nice balance of flavor. Use 2-3 whole avocados and mix in your hummus for a yummy twist on this dip for guests.

Mom's Award Winning Vegetarian Chili

Yeah, she got 2nd place with a vegetarian chili. Go Mom! any way it went kinda like this...

3 Cups Mirepoix (equal parts carrot, celery, onions)
3 bell peppers (yellow, orange, red make pretty chili)
3 24oz. canned whole tomatoes
1 16 oz jar Ragu pasta sauce
1 14.5 oz. cans pinto beans
1 14.5 oz. cans kidney beans
2 cans corn (white, and yellow make pretty chili)
2 cups TSP (textured soy protein)
+-2 cups water (check tsp directions too)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 c. chili spices
Suggested spices:

• paprika
• chilipowder
• cumin
• salt pepper
• cayenne pepper

Sweat the mirepoix, add peppers and garlic. cook 2 minutes then add everything else except TSP. Bring to a boil and add TSP and water. cook for a couple hours at least and remember its always better the next day.

I tried Rose's Carrot Cake

I baked this for Robin's birthday and it was absolutely delicious!! Thanks so much Rose! :0)

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

yum, yum, yum!

7 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. instant mashed potato flakes
3/4 c. white sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 (1/4 oz.) packages active dry yeast (not rapid rise)
1/2 c. milk, evaporated milk, or coconut milk + 2 T sugar
1 1/2 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. unsalted butter
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

1. in a large mixing bowl combine 3 cups of flour, potato flakes, sugar, salt and ginger.
2. heat the milk + 2 T sugar to 110-120 degrees f. dissolve yeast and let sit until foamy and about doubled in size. meanwhile, heat the pineapple juice and butter to 110-120 f also. add to foamy yeast.
3. add the warm liquid to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. add eggs and mix until smooth, then stir in vanilla. stir in enough of the remaning flour (and a bit more if needed) to make a soft dough.
4. turn dough out onto a floured surface. grease your hands and knead until elastic, about 6-8 minutes. place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour and a half.
5. grease three 9" pie pans, metal is easiest. punch dough down. turn out onto a floured surface and divide in thirds. shape each loaf into a ball and place in pans. cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes-an hour.
6. bake at 350f for 25-30 minutes. if the top browns too quickly, cover with foil. the bread is done when it sounds hollow when thumped.

this recipe also makes excellent holiday rolls! just divide each third into eight balls and roll each one on a greased surface before putting in the pan for the second rise.

Sweet Potato Pie

before i moved to the south, i'd never so much as thought about sweet potato pie. now it is counted among my favorites, when it is prepared properly. the first one i tasted was made by a friend's grandmother, and it won me over immediately.

this recipe is a pretty good copy of hers, although i doubt i'll ever get her exact recipe.
i'll be posting a very versatile crust recipe asap.

sweet potato pie

1 large sweet potato (1 lb of prepared mush, which is about two scant cups)
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk (evaporated is nice)
2 eggs1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 pie crust (if you're going gluten-free you can either go naked with it and grease a pan really well with shortening and dust with rice flour, or use a gluten-free flour mix for your crust.)

line a standard 9" pie pan with unbaked crust.preheat the oven to 350 f

1. boil the sweet potato still in its jacket for 45 min - 1 hour, or until fork tender but not necessarily mushy. drain and run under cold water until you can peel it without burning yourself. if your potato is stringy, you'll want to run the mixer for a bit to blend it up before proceeding. this isn't that difficult, and you can boil enough to have extra to eat with a bit of butter and nutmeg in it for dinner. don't go around shortcutting with canned yams unless you have to. they'll make the pie loose and it won't slice right. also, your pie will be too sweet unless you decrease the sugar.
2. add the butter in pats with mixer going and cream the mixture until smooth. now add everything else and mix for a few minutes.
3. pour into the shell and bake at 350f for 45m-1hr. it'll rise like a souffle and spring back slightly when touched in the middle when its done. i can almost gurantee you'll have to tent your crust and the easiest way to do this is to have a disposable foil pie tin the same size as your pan with the center cut out of it. you can alsouse tin foil strips, or fancy crust shields.

if you're not into nutmeg, you can omit it but maybe you better just cut it back to 1/4 tsp or it won't taste right.

now i know you're wondering if by some miracle i actually followed this recipe. well, of course not. i used purple sweet potatoes and evaporated milk.

next time i might even get crazy and use coconut milk...
and, if i didn't have to special order it and wait until i couldn't anymore, id've made a blue cornmeal crust. next time.