Black Bean Wraps

Recipe from Giant Food's website/weekly circular, with modifications

They say to microwave each wrap on high for 1 minute, but we ate them cold. It's a nice -cold- summer dish that doesn't involve heating up an oven or standing over a stovetop.

9 oz. fresh baby spinach
8 (8-inch) tortillas
1 (19 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 avocados, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup salsa
Sour cream, grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Divide and layer spinach among tortillas. Combine black beans, tomatoes, avocados and salsa in a bowl. Divide the bean mixture among the tortillas. Fold in the ends and then roll to close. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese if desired.

They say to microwave each wrap on high for 1 minute, but we ate them cold.

Lentil Soup

My own variation of it. Nothing spectacular.

saute with salt:

3 carrots, sliced
4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped

add
1 cup frozen spinach
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb lentils (I use pardina/Spanish lentils when I can find them)
water
chopped parsley to taste

Cook gently for 40 minutes to an hour.

Red lentil, mushroom and spinach curry

From MSN's online edition of the Australian Women's Weekly (thanks, Google!) Modified slightly.

They say it's best made just before serving and not good for microwaving, but I disagree. It's better the second day.

1 cup dried red lentils
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 small green chili pepper, sliced thinly
½ lb mushrooms, halved
1½ cups vegetable stock
½ cup water
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 10-oz or 1-lb package of frozen spinach, defrosted

YOGURT SAUCE
1 cup yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon salt

Heat oil in wok or large frying pan. Add seeds, stir-fry until fragrant. Add onion, garlic, ginger and chili; stir-fry until onion is soft. Add mushrooms; stir-fry until browned lightly.

Add drained lentils, stock and water; bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until lentils are tender.

YOGURT SAUCE: Meanwhile, combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Add garam masala and spinach to curry, stir until spinach is wilted; transfer to a serving dish.

Vegetarian "Meatloaf"

I won't lie to you--it looks kind of like dung. It's cheap, though. (Shockingly, I "invented" this in college.)

Vaguely based a recipe for lentil-carrot burgers from a PETA cookbook, which I modified because they didn't stay together very well and I'm too lazy to form a bunch of burgers and fry them a few at a time.

1 pound lentils
1 onion
2-3 carrots
1 can tomato paste
1 egg (optional)
onion powder
garlic powder
salt
pepper
paprika
dried parsley (optional)
bread crumbs (so far I've always used seasoned bread crumbs just 'cause someone gave me a can of that kind)

Cook the lentils until they're fairly soft. While they're cooking, chop the onion and grate the carrots. Sauté the onion and grated carrots in some oil until they begin to get slightly brown. [I'm not sure that grated carrots are usually easy to saute; they don't quite come out like carrot chunks would, but it does something to them, and since I use a teflon pan, they don't stick or burn].

Mash the lentils with a fork or potato masher. If you need to use a fork, make sure to cook them really well as it will make the mashing eaier. Add in the cooked onions and carrots, the tomato paste, the egg (if using) and the spices (to taste - I use at least a tablespoon of paprika, usually a lot more). Then add the bread crumbs - add enough to make it bind the mixture together. It's really pretty flexible. If you're the only one who's gonna eat it, it's easier (and kinda fun) to mix the bread crumbs in with your hands.

Pat the whole mixture into a greased 2-quart glass pyrex dish and bake at 350 for awhile (usually at least 30 minutes). Sometimes I cover it if the top begins to look really dry.

It doesn't hold together that well immediately after it comes out of the oven, but if you let it cool, you can slice it and microwave individual servings.

The original recipe was as follows:

Lentil-Carrot Burgers

¼ c chopped onion

¼ c grated carrot

¼ c water

3 c cooked lentils, mashed

2 TBS chopped fresh parsley

3 TBS tomato paste

¾ c bread crumbs

salt to taste

Cook the onion & carrot in the water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain off excess water, then combine onions and carrots with remaining ingredients. Add a little water if needed. Form into patties & fry in a lightly oiled frying pan until browned on both sides & heated through –about 10 minutes.

Makes about 10 patties

Takes about 25 minutes.

Rice-bean chili

Adapted from a booklet of recipes from the US Rice Board (or something like that)

Saute for 5 minutes in the bottom of a large pot:

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbs. oil

add:
1 28-oz can of tomatoes (chopped or whole--chop them up yourself if they're whole)
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
1 15 oz can kidney beans
1 can of corn, drained
2.5 cups water
1 cup brown rice (partly cooked)
Chili powder and cumin to taste

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer ~30 minutes. Watch it carefully and make the flame really low, because sometimes it starts to burn/stick. I don't always pre-cook the rice, but sometimes when I don't the rice doesn't seem to cook all the way.

Sesame Chicken Salad

Yes, I eat chicken on the odd occasion. No, I couldn't tell you what defines those occasions, because I don't know.

Adapted from a very old edition of Sunset Publishing's Fresh Ways With Salads

Sesame Chicken Salad

2 TBS sesame seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
3 TBS lemon juice
1.5 TBS soy sauce
1.5 TBS rice vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 pound snow peas
1/2 pound bean sprouts
3 to 3.5 c. shredded cooked chicken

Toast sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat, shaking pan often, until seeds are golden (about 5 minutes). In a large bowl, mix seeds, oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and ginger until blended. I usually double the amount of lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and ginger--basically, everything in the sauce except the oil.

Fill a large pan halfway with water; bring to a boil. Add pea pods and bean sprouts; cook just until water boils. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Combine vegetables, chicken, and oil mixture and stir.

It's better after it's had a chance to sit for awhile.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

From the Moosewood Cookbook, but found here.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup (Serves 8-10)

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large cauliflowers, one chopped, one cut into neat and uniform little florets
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
6 cups water
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
2 tsp dill
1 tsp caraway seeds next time I think I'll grind them first--they're kinda strange floating around in soup
black pepper to taste.

1.) Place the potatoes, garlic, onion, salt and water into a large pot. Add the chopped cauliflower chunks (reserve the tidy florets!). Bring to a boil and simmer until the vegetables are very soft (~30 minutes).
2.) While the veggies are cooking, steam the reserved cauliflower florets until tender.
3.) Puree the stewed veggies in batches in a blender. Or use an immersion blender, which would probably reduce your chances of spilling hot soup everywhere like I did. Return the puree to the original pot, stir in the steamed cauliflower florets and the remaining ingredients. Heat gently until the cheese is completely melted. Serve topped with extra cheese and fresh pepper.