Guacamole Fettuccini

Because I grew up in Minnesota back in the 40s and 50s, the word "avocado" was unknown to me, as was the fruit itself. Then came the day when an aunt and uncle visited us from The Golden State and nestled inside their suitcases were several large green things they called avocados. I was fascinated with the odd looking produce and even more astonished when I was told they grew on trees.

My aunt cut one of the dark green fruits in half to reveal a seed the size of New York--or so I thought. I was used to berry seeds or even citrus seeds, but nothing I knew came even close to the giant residing inside that light green mass.

My aunt removed the seed and scooped out some of the soft innards. Without any adieu, she slipped the spoon into my waiting mouth. To me, child that I was, it felt slimy and nasty and so mushy I quickly swallowed it. When asked if I wanted more, I shook my head no and escaped to another part of the house.

To my mind, an avocado was the armpit of produce world.

When I was sixteen, my family moved to California. And to my dismay, my mom discovered avocados. I remembered not liking them "way back when" and refused to eat them. Even the rest of the family considered them less than a perfect food. Looking back, I know that mom just didn't know what to do with them. Then one day a neighbor showed her how to make guacamole. Mom bought some tortilla chips and put the two products together on the table.

My sisters and I ate up every last scrap.

Thus began my love affair with the avocado and while there are many brands of the green spheres, the only one I really like is the Haas. These days I can slice an avocado onto fresh bread, add salt and pepper and tomato and sliced onions and eat my way through what I consider to be the perfect sandwich. I slice this lovely fruit into salads or serve it inside my vegan tacos or smear the creamy stuff on a flour tortilla and gobble it up without batting an eye.

So it was one day when I was looking through a vegan cookbook searching for dinner ideas, that I came across a pasta dish with an avocado sauce. I was intrigued. As usual, I tweaked the recipe to suit my own taste buds and served it to my carnivore company. We all had seconds. I guess that means it turned out pretty good. It looked so pretty, I even took its picture.

GUAC-A-CINI

1 lb fettuccine

2 avocados, pitted and removed from skin

1 big bunch of fresh basil

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

4 sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup toasted nuts, any kind

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil

2 dashes of hot sauce, whichever is your favorite brand

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the fettuccine in a large pot of salted water, according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.

Into a food processor bowl put everything from the avocados to the salt and pepper. 

I love one dish meal recipes. They make
being the kitchen bearable.

Pulse until the mixture is well blended, but not so much that it is an indistinguishable mess. There should still be some minuscule chunks visible as in the photo above.

I prepared a few ingredients that might be added, should the guest wish to add them to his plate: a small bowl of finely minced sweet onion, minced tomato--flesh part only, vegan Parmesan cheese for those who wished to sprinkle it on top of the pasta dish.

My guacamole. I changed the recipe
around to turn it into an avocado pesto.

I gave serious thought to using cilantro instead of basil, but came to the conclusion that it may be too spicy to go with the pasta. If I had been making true guacamole, I'd have used cilantro only.

Because the main course was a meal in itself, I served only garlic bread alongside.

Serves 4-6

Depending on how many you're feeding, cook the fettuccine accordingly as
this recipe does not keep well. I had a lot leftover and it quickly went to
a muddy color that was most unappetizing. Since I was feeding only
three, I should have cooked only a half pound of pasta, though I
would have still made the whole recipe of avocado pesto. It would
have made the fettuccine all the more flavorful.

Mongolian BBQ--Seitan Style

Mongolia is a land of high desert studded with
mountain ranges. Perfect for the contry's meat and dairy
industry.

I confess that I've never eaten any kind of food called Mongolian--let alone had it barbecued. The only thing I ever heard about Mongolia was that some parents threatened their kids with being sent to Outer Mongolia for misbehaving, though I never knew any kids who ended up there. At least I don't think I do as none of my pals growing up ever disappeared overnight.

Now I'm pretty good in geography, but I'm going to tell you that I had to get down my globe to find out where Mongolia is. I know, I know, you're all laughing because you know it's a country bordered by Russia and China. Truthfully, I think I must not have been paying attention in geography class the day that part of the globe was being discussed.

So I Googled the country and found out more than my brain wished to remember. All of that research just because I came across a recipe for Mongolian BBQ made with Seitan--a faux meat product made of protein-rich wheat gluten. The dish sounded like something I'd like eating. Spicy. Sweet. Crunchy. Chewy. The accompanying photo made me drool. Well, not really, but almost. And then I discovered that the recipe I was so crazy about wasn't even from Mongolia. Some clever chef once fried up a bunch of beef and put a hot, spicy sauce on it and called it Mongolian BBQ.  That's been it's name ever since. And from what I've learned, the dish is now served in that country, even though it didn't originate there. Figure that one out.

It doesn't matter what you name this recipe. It would taste great if it was known as "Gunk". But I warn you. It is warm on the tongue and the back of the throat, though it doesn't make my mouth hurt or my lips swell in pain. And while the food is spicy, it's a good kind of heat that I found addictive and I wished I'd doubled the recipe. By the time my guests and I finished eating, all that remained was a bit of the steamed rice I'd served as a side. Everything else was gone. Which only means I'm going to have to make it again. And soon. Because yes, it was that good.

MONGOLIAN BBQ

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup water

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. agave nectar

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. sirracha

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

8 oz. mushrooms of your choice

8 oz. package of seitan, cubed or cut into strips

2 tsp. grated ginger, fresh

1 good pinch of cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 big handful of snow peas

2 green onions, sliced thin

1/4 cup diced cilantro

3 cups steamed rice

Make the sauce by combining the first six ingredients together in a small bowl.

Place a large wok or skillet on medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and stir fry the mushrooms and seitan until they are lightly browned. Add the snow peas, scallions, and cilantro and and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the spices and stir fry another 3-5 minutes.

Add the sauce to the pan, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened. Serve over the steamed rice.

Try not to smack your lips while eating.

Serves 3-4, depending upon how many sides you have.

Vegans are always ready to try something new and tasty.

This recipe has been adapted from the cookbook, Chloe's Ktichen.

Friends don't let friends eat bad food.

Meet my friend Judith Levine. She is someone who always lights up a room with an abundant smile and a quick wit. She is a native of Fayetteville who lived for a number of years in France before coming home to marry the love of her life. Her life is lived with passion and flair and she possesses a curiosity in everything around her. Not only that, she is a fabulous cook. And I do mean fabulous. Every meal is an event and an adventure. And she never picks up a cookbook or uses a recipe!

Judith and I recently started a business together called www.conegratulations.com . We sell petal tossing cones to brides and florists along with display cases. Lest you think this is just a shameless plug(okay, it is...) there is a food connection. The cones are food grade and perfect to hold snacks, canapes, pannise(great vegan treat by the way), hors d'ouvres, candy and the like. Perfect for parties and catering. So every week, Judith and I hold a strategy session at her house and she makes lunch. Sometimes it is more lunch than strategy but really, you should not mix business with food anyway right?

Today my sweet friend made us a lovely soup with ingredients she had on hand. There was no recipe, no prior planning and it took all of ten minutes to make. Coincidently it was vegan(she is not) and it was incredible. I never even thought to ask if it had a name and am constructing a recipe on the hoof.  Come to think  of it, I don't even know if it has a name.It is a delicious quick vegan meal and I urge you to try it.

Judith's Mushroom and Tofu Coconut Soup

1 container silken tofu, drained
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
   juice of one lemon
6 cups or so vegetable or No Chicken stock
1 oz shredded dried shitake mushrooms
a handful of scallions, chopped
a handful of cilantro, chopped

Bring the liquids to a boil with the shitake mushrooms. Simmer five minutes. Add the tofu and simmer a few more. Throw in the scallions and cilantro and serve. Now how easy was that! And oh, so good.

Thanks for the wonderful meal my friend. I hope we have many more together!

Greek Appetizer

My inspiration came from the Celebrate! cookbook by Sheila Lukins. In her Greek Easter section, there are several appetizers that are vegan. Pictured above are skordalia, baba ghanoush, bean and beet salad, and pita triangles. Their rich, snappy flavors wowed my husband and brother. However, the preparation of these dishes was labor intensive. So set aside 2 hours and put on some Mediterranean polka music (Lukens suggests Nikos Gounaris, or Nana Mouskouri).

Skordalia

1yukon gold, red, or white potato (4 0z)

4-5 slices stale white bread

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 cloves garlic

1. Cut potato into quarters and boil until tender; I used a microwave oven. Once potato is cool peel off skin and put into your food processor or strong blender.

2. Dip your stale white vegan bread ( I needed to use up some sourdough and it seemed to work, if you like that added taste) into water to saturate, then squeeze gently until bread is no longer dripping profusely. Your bread is not stale? I put mine out on the stove while the eggplant was baking. Or put some slices out of it's package a day ahead, or toast it slightly. Set aside.

3. Mix the lemon juice, vinegar, oil, salt and sugar together and set aside.

4. mash the garlic through a garlic press and add this and the almonds to the

potato. Pulse your machine on and off just until smooth. Don't over mix.

5. With the machine running, add a little of the lemon juice mixture and bread, alternating between until all is processed and smooth. Transfer to serving bowl.

Baba Ghanoush

2 eggplants (about 2 pounds)

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon tahini (sesame paste)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

salt and pepper to taste

1. 
   
   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. 
   
   Poke the eggplants with toothpick or tines of a fork a few times. Wrap them in aluminum foil. Place on baking sheet and roast for an hour until very soft.
3. 
   
   Finely chop the garlic with the salt and set aside.
4. 
   
   Remove the eggplant from oven. Carefully unwrap the foil as soon as possible to expedite cooling. When safe to handle, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds. Yes they are tiny and pervasive! You will end up throwing away much of this fruit, but the seeds will make the dip bitter. Scoop out the remaining flesh or peel off the skin, which ever is easier and place in a food processor or blender.
5. 
   
   Add all remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper. Blend just until mixed. Transfer into serving bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bean and Beet Salad

Vinaigrette

1/4 red wine vinegar

2 small cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoons coarse (kosher)salt

Fresh ground pepper

Salad

1 can cannelini beans, 14 oz.

1 can sliced beets, 8 oz.

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 /2 cup chopped walnuts

2 scallions, chopped

1. 
   
   Mince the garlic into the salt. Put into a closeable container. Add vinegar and oil and shake vigorously before pouring half into the salad.
2. 
   
   Drain and rinse and pat dry the beans. Mix with the parsley and toss with the vinaigrette dressing.
3. 
   
   Drain beets and cut into fourths. Gently fold in beets. Transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle walnuts and scallions.

These dips should be served with warm pita bread. I covered and refridgerated all of them. They kept for a few days. Today I ate them for breakfast just before a road trip. My companion did not partake, therefore she will be subjected to my garlic breath. Sometimes I am so cruel. Bru Ha Ha.

Quick Taboule

Whole Wheat Couscous Taboule
2 1/2 cups packaged w.w.couscous
1 cup boiling water
1 cup olive oil
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 can diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons roasted salsa
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup diced onions
1 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste




Growing up in the 70s, whole wheat bulgar sold by bulk at health food stores somehow transformed into fresh, tangy toboule. It was a mystery how. I recently came across Whole Wheat Couscous sold at Trader Joes. It has a taboule recipe right on the package! So I decided to make the whole box into a salad that I could take to a party. As usual, I am not organized enough to plan ahead and never have the exact ingredients, but this taboule salad pictured impressed my friends and family. I will be making this all the time now, since it is super quick and easy but also very satisfying and flavorful. For those like me who are afraid of making bulgar wheat, this is the taboule recipe for you

1. Prepare all the vegetables by dicing and chopping, shown above. I didn't have nice tomatoes available at the market so I used canned, which worked just fine.

2. Boil water and add 1 cup to the dry couscous, along with the olive oil and lemon juice. Stir and let sit 5 minutes. If it looks too dry add the salsa and tomatoes too, or a tablespoon or two of hot water.

3. Add the other ingredients. Stir and spice to taste. You can eat immediately or store for later. It packs great and keeps nicely for 10-14 days.

Here's to all you Moms:

Happy (up coming) Mothers Day!