Baby Bok Choy with Cashews RecipeINGREDIENTS
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chopped green onions, including green ends
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, larger leaves separated from base, base trimmed but still present, holding the smaller leaves together
- 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
- Salt
- 1/2 cup chopped, roasted, salted cashews
METHOD
1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions, then garlic, then bok choy. Sprinkle with sesame oil and salt. Cover, and let the baby bok choy cook down for approximately 3 minutes. (Like spinach, when cooked, the bok choy will wilt a bit.)
2 Remove cover. Lower heat to low. Stir and let cook for a minute or two longer, until the bok choy is just cooked.
3 Gently mix in cashews.
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
- 6 fresh, ripe tomatoes, seeds removed (cut tomatoes in half, squeeze out seeds into a sieve over a bowl to catch the juice, use the juice, discard the seeds), chopped
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped fine
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
- 2 stalks celery, chopped fine
- 1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 zucchini, chopped fine
- 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped fine
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups tomato juice (in addition to the juice made when you squeezed the tomatoes above)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano (or pinch of dry)
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- Hot sauce if needed
METHOD
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use the additional tomato juice to thin the soup to desired consistency. Adjust seasonings to taste. Better the next day.
Serves 8.
Variations include adding pine nuts, cider vinegar, roasted chestnuts, or thyme. If adding pine nuts, add them during the last 5 minutes of cooking, or brown them separately and add to the finished dish.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts, rinsed, ends trimmed
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place Brussels sprouts in a cast iron frying pan (or a roasting pan, but a cast iron frying pan will work great for this recipe). Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle Brussels sprouts with lemon juice. Toss with oil so that the sprouts are well coated. Sprinkle generously with salt (at least a half teaspoon) and a few turns of black pepper.
2 Put Brussels sprouts in oven on top rack, cook for 20 minutes, then stir so that the sprouts get coated with the oil in the pan. Cook for another 10 minutes. Then sprinkle with Parmesan (if using) and cook for another 5 minutes.
The sprouts should be nicely browned, some of the outside leaves crunchy, the interior should be cooked through.
Add more salt to taste. (Salting sufficiently is the key to success with this recipe.)
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, thoroughly rinsed, and drained (or 1 1/2 cup of freshly cooked black beans)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted (or fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled)
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions or shallots
- 2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced, or 1 whole pickled jalapeño pepper, minced (not seeded)
- 3 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
- 2 Tbsp lime juice (about the amount of juice from one lime)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)
- Salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
Make sure to rinse and drain the beans, if you are using canned beans.
In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, onions, jalapeno chile peppers, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, basil, lime juice and olive oil. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. (The sugar will help balance the acidity from the tomatoes and lime juice.) Chill before serving.
Serves 6 to 8.
