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Featured Recipes
New Tamale Pie
The original
recipes for tamale pie in this newsletter called
for soy cheese. I am trying to cut down on my
use of soy cheese in recipes and have found that
tofu sour cream makes an excellent substitute in
this recipe. I have also added some roasted red
pepper and black olives for color and flavor.
This version may become your new favorite! This
may be made ahead of time and refrigerated until
baking. It reheats well and is delicious the
next day.
Preparation Time:
10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Resting Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4-6
5 cups frozen
corn, thawed
½ cup masa flour (for tamales)
¼ cup vegetable broth
1 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons chopped roasted red peppers
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
½ cup tofu sour cream (recipe in the June 2002
newsletter)
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
Preheat oven to
350 degrees.
Place the corn,
masa flour and broth in a food processor. (If
you have a small processor, do this in
batches.) Process until fairly smooth. Scrape
into a large bowl. Add chilies, chopped
peppers, olives, tofu sour cream and salt. Mix
well. Turn into a casserole dish. (To prevent
sticking, lightly oil the dish first with
a small amount of oil on a paper towel.) Cover
and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let
rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with salsa,
enchilada sauce or guacamole to spoon over the
top.
Potato Salad
This is my
family’s favorite potato salad. Tossing the
potatoes with a bit of vinegar after cooking
gives them a real burst of flavor. We think
this tastes best when eaten slightly warm.
Preparation Time:
20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
2 pounds Yukon
Gold potatoes, peeled and chunked
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ cup finely chopped celery
½ cup chopped green onions
½ cup shredded carrots (optional)
Dressing:
½ cup Tofu Mayonnaise (see Hints)
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon parsley flakes or chopped fresh
parsley
¼ teaspoon dill weed
¼ teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place potatoes in
a large pot with cold water to cover. Bring to
a boil, reduce heat slightly and cook potatoes
at a slow boil until just tender, about 10-12
minutes. Drain, place in a large bowl, toss
with the vinegar and let rest for 30 minutes.
Prepare vegetables and set aside.
Combine all
ingredients for dressing in a small bowl and
whisk until smooth. Set aside.
Mix vegetables
into the potatoes, add dressing and toss gently
to mix. Serve at once.
Hints: Use any
type of mustard that you like in this recipe. I
usually use yellow mustard, but Dijon also is
delicious. This may be refrigerated before
serving, if desired. It keeps well in the
refrigerator up to 24 hours. Tofu Mayonnaise is
made with a package of soft silken tofu, 1 ½
tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½
teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon dry mustard, ⅛
teaspoon white pepper. Place all ingredients in
a food processor and process until smooth.
Fresh Tomato Wraps
My garden is
filled to overflowing with fresh tomatoes of all
shapes and sizes this year, so I am preparing a
lot of easy recipes using these tomatoes. The
best part is they don’t even need cooking which
is wonderful on those hot August nights.
Preparation Time:
15 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4-6
2 cups chopped
fresh tomatoes
1 15 ounce can beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped avocado
½ cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped, seeded jalapeno (optional)
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
dash hot sauce
dash sea salt
4-6 fresh corn or flour tortillas
chopped lettuce for garnish
Combine first nine
ingredients in a bowl and mix gently. Cover and
refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. To
serve, place a line of the tomato-bean mixture
down the center of a tortilla, top with some
chopped lettuce and more hot sauce of you wish,
roll up and eat.
Hint: Use any
type of bean that you wish. I think black beans
and pinto beans work best in this recipe.
Tomato Couscous
Salad
Here is another
fast and delicious use for summer tomatoes.
Preparation Time:
10 minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2-4
1 cup uncooked
whole wheat couscous
1 ½ cups boiling water
2 tomatoes chopped
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and
rinsed
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
fresh ground pepper to taste
Place the couscous
in a bowl and pour the boiling water over it.
Stir, cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a strainer to drain off any excess
water. Return to bowl, add remaining
ingredients and toss gently to mix. Let rest
another 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
Serve at once or refrigerate for later use.
Hint: Serve on
lettuce leaves for a beautiful presentation.
Quinoa Salad with
Lime-Cilantro Dressing
By Roberta Joiner
Roberta made this
delicious salad during our last 10-Day McDougall
Live-In Program and when I sampled it, I
immediately asked if I could print the recipe in
the newsletter. She says you can also make this
with 4 cups of any leftover grain that you have
instead of the quinoa, if you wish.
Preparation Time:
30 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Resting Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
2 cups uncooked
quinoa
4 cups water
8 dried apricots, finely diced
¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 ears of corn, cut off cob
6 small green onions, sliced in rounds
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
½ cup finely diced colored bell peppers
1 can artichoke hearts or bottoms, drained and
chopped (reserve 2 bottoms for the dressing
recipe below)
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
1 avocado, chopped
Toast the quinoa
in a dry skillet for a few minutes. Add boiling
water, apricots and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover
and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Add the
corn kernels and let rest for 10 minutes.
Transfer to a fine mesh strainer and allow to
rest for another 10 minutes so it is well
drained. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the
remaining ingredients and mix well.
Dressing:
2 artichoke hearts or bottoms, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed well, stems removed
4 stems basil, rinsed, stems removed (optional)
1 tablespoon honey or Agave nectar
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
juice of 3-4 limes
Place all dressing
ingredients into a food processor or blender and
process until well mixed. Taste and adjust
seasonings as desired, adding salt to taste
(optional). Toss with the quinoa mixture and
serve. The grains will absorb some of the
tartness of the dressing, and it will seem
milder when served with the grains.
Tamales
I have had several
requests for tamales lately and although this
recipe takes quite a bit of time to prepare, the
results are well worth it. The masa filling is
nice and moist because of the mashed potatoes
used in the dough. The idea for using mashed
potatoes in the dough came from one of the chefs
years ago on one of our McDougall Adventure
trips to Costa Rica where every morning for
breakfast they served us tamales wrapped in
banana leaves. If you prepare this recipe with
friends, it will seem to take much less time.
It also makes a lot of tamales, but they may be
frozen for later use if you can’t eat them all
in one week.
Preparation Time:
2 hours
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Servings: Makes 40-50 tamales
Wrap:
Banana leaves or corn husks (see hint below)
Filling:
¼ cup vegetable broth
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup roasted red pepper, chopped
1 small fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped
(optional)
Dough:
5 cups fine masa flour, plus extra for kneading
as necessary
4 cups room temperature water
6 cups mashed potatoes
½ teaspoon salt
several twists freshly ground black pepper
Thaw the banana
leaves or soak the corn husks in warm water
until soft. (Separate the husks to make
softening easier.) Rinse both to make sure they
are clean.
Place the
vegetable broth in a medium non-stick skillet.
Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring
occasionally for 4-5 minutes, until softened.
Add the remaining filling ingredients and cook
over low heat for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Place the 5 cups
of masa flour in a large bowl. Add the water
and mix with a spoon until it sticks together
and starts to come away from the sides of the
bowl. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of the
extra masa flour on your work surface. Remove
dough from bowl, place it on the masa flour and
knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth
and stretchy, adding more masa flour as
necessary to keep it from sticking to your work
surface. Place the ball of dough in a very
large clean bowl. Add the mashed potatoes and
mix together well using your hands. Season with
salt and pepper.
Cut the banana
leave into pieces approximately 7-8 inches by
12-14 inches. Keep the corn husks covered with
a damp paper towel until ready to fill.
Spread ⅛ to ¼ cup
of the potoato-masa mixture in the center of
either the banana leaf or corn husk. Make a
small indentation in the center of the mixture
and fill with 1-2 teaspoons of the filling
mixture. Fold the wrapper over lengthwise to
cover the masa mixture and fold again
lengthwise. Fold both ends under and set aside
with the folded ends down. The filling should
be completely enclosed. If your corn husks are
on the small side, tie the ends instead of
folding under. Repeat until all the mixture is
used. Put the completed tamales under damp
paper towels until all are assembled.
Arrange the
tamales in loose layers in a steamer. Steam
over boiling water for 1 hour, adding more water
as necessary. (If you steam them in a single
layer in batches, they will only take about 30
minutes to cook.)
To serve, remove
the wrapper and discard. Serve with enchilada
sauce or salsa to spoon over the top.
Hints: Dried corn
husks are sold in the specialty food section of
most supermarkets. If you can’t find them,
check with your local Mexican market. Banana
leaves can usually be found frozen in most
Mexican markets. Banana leaves are much larger
than corn husks so they hold a greater amount of
the dough and filling. Masa flour is also sold
in Mexican markets, although some supermarkets
do carry it. The filling put into the dough is
entirely optional, tamales are delicious just
plain. Or instead of the filling given here, try
them filled with mango salsa, mashed pinto or
black beans, or seasoned rice and vegetables.
Curried Mushrooms and Chickpeas
By Greta Weingast
This is a favorite of mine since
I love garbanzo beans (chickpeas). It is very
similar to a wonderful garbanzo bean dish that
we enjoyed on the McDougall Adventure trip to
Costa Rica this summer.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8
½ cup water
2 large onions, chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated, or 2 teaspoons
ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
1 ½ pounds cremini mushrooms (or white), sliced
1
28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
Heat the water in
a large pot over medium high heat. Add the
chopped onion, cover and cook until soft, about
5 minutes. Add the turmeric, coriander, cayenne,
ginger and salt. Cook for 2 minutes stirring
occasionally.
Add the mushrooms,
cover and continue to cook for about 5 minutes,
stirring occasionally until “saucy”.
Add the tomatoes
and garbanzo beans, cover and cook 30 minutes
until the mushrooms are tender and the flavors
are well blended.
Serve over
couscous, baked potatoes or rice.
Summer Salads
Remembered
Try these
wonderful, easy summer salads from previous
newsletters:
Summertime Bread
Salad April 2003
Cantaloupe Summer
Salad July 2002
Tomato Avocado
Pasta Salad July 2002 |
