Featured Recipes

The United States Mint has released the designs for the new 2009 Native American $1 coin. The heads side features Sacagawea, the young Shoshone woman who accompanied Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their historic expedition. The tails side of the Native American dollar will bear a new design each year. The design for 2009 is by U.S. Mint sculptor/engraver Norman E. Nemeth, and is based on an agricultural theme, a significant part of American Indian culture. This design depicts a Native American woman planting seeds in a field of corn, beans and squash, representing the Three Sisters method of planting. John has ordered many of these coins and gives them out at lectures to remind people how important a starch-based diet is to good health. This colorful and flavorful stew is based on these “three sisters” of corn, beans and squash.

1 ¼ cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 15 ounce cans fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 10 ounce bag frozen corn kernels
4 cups peeled, chunked, butternut squash
1 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Place ¼ cup of the water in a large pot with the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion and peppers soften slightly, about 4-5 minutes. Add the remaining water and all the other ingredients. Mix well, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes, until squash is tender. Serve in a bowl with some hearty whole wheat bread on the side.

Hints: This may be made with red or green bell pepper. Fresh corn may be used instead of frozen, if desired. And any type of hearty winter squash may be used in place of the butternut squash. If you would like a bit more heat, use one or two fresh chopped jalapenos instead of the canned green chilies.

This is a very quick and flavorful version of “fried” rice that I make often when I have leftover rice in my refrigerator. Any vegetable cut into bite-sized pieces may be used in the recipe, depending on what you have available at various times of the year. We like to use a hot pepper sauce over the top of this dish, such as Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce or A Taste of Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes (cooked rice needed)
Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Servings: 4

8 ounces extra firm tofu
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Dash sesame oil
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 cups chopped vegetables (see hints below)
½ cup green onions, in 1 inch pieces
¼ cup vegetable broth
4 cups cooked brown rice

Combine the next 7 ingredients in a shallow bowl with a tight fitting lid. Add the tofu cubes and shake well to mix. Shake occasionally over the next few minutes as you are preparing the vegetables.

Place the cabbage, vegetables and green onions in a large sauté pan or wok with the vegetable broth. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables soften slightly, about 5 minutes or so. Add the tofu and marinade and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until heated through.

Hints: I almost always have shredded cabbage in my refrigerator because I like to add it to soups, stews and rice dishes. And I usually have frozen brown rice in my freezer as the base for a fast meal, so this meal can go together quite quickly. This is great with snow peas, asparagus, broccolini, broccoli, carrots, or even bell peppers. Cut your chosen vegetable into bite-sized pieces so they cook fairly quickly.

Make this early in the day, if possible (or even a day ahead), to allow flavors to really mingle together.

1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
8 cups water
2 cups mixed lentils (see hints below)
4 cups garnet yams, peeled and chunked
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon crushed fenugreek seeds
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek

Place the onion and garlic in a large soup pot with about ¼ cup of the water. Cook, stirring frequently until onion softens slightly, then stir in the ginger. Add the remaining water, the lentils, yams and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 40 minutes, until yams and lentils are done. Add the spinach, lemon juice and Sambal Oelek. Mix well and cook an additional 5 minutes or so until spinach is tender.

Hints: I like to make this with mixed lentils packaged by Cassoulets, USA called “Chicken Scratch”. It is a combination of red, black, green and brown lentils. I have also made this with all red lentils and all brown lentils producing delicious results. This may also be made with other winter greens, however the final cooking time will increase slightly because the heartier greens take longer to cook.

This is a very thick and hearty stew, wonderful served with a loaf of crusty whole grain bread.

1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 ¼ cups vegetable broth
2 cups peeled and chunked red potatoes
1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons peanut butter
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Place the onion, celery and garlic in a soup pot with ¼ cup of the broth. Cook, stirring frequently until vegetables soften slightly, about 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining broth and the potatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are fairly tender. Add the remaining ingredients, except the spinach, and simmer over low heat until stew has thickened and potatoes are falling apart, about 20 minutes. Stir in the spinach and continue to simmer gently for another 10 minutes.

Hints: When using only small amounts of tomato paste in recipes, I recommend freezing the leftover tomato paste in 2 tablespoon amounts (it’s easy to add to recipes while still frozen), because leftover tomato paste does not keep for long in a jar in the refrigerator. Tomato paste also is sold in tubes which makes it easy to squeeze out just the amount that you need for a recipe.

Kale is a very nutritious vegetable, loaded with phytonutrients. This is delicious, healthy, and quick to put together and makes a complete meal for John and myself. We like this with Sriracha red chili sauce over the top for even more heat.

3 cups chunked Yukon Gold or red potatoes
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 cups chopped exotic mushrooms (see note below)
6 cups packed, coarsely chopped dinosaur kale, stems removed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons chili paste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the potatoes in water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until fairly tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the onion, garlic and mushrooms in a large nonstick sauté pan or wok. Do not add any liquid. Dry fry over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5-6 minutes, until onions and mushrooms are fairly tender. Add the kale and stir gently to combine. Continue to cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes, then add the potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, then add the soy sauce, chili paste and pepper. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes, until kale is tender and potatoes are somewhat browned. Serve warm.

Hints: Use any assortment of firm small potatoes or fingerlings, cut into bite-sized pieces. Watch carefully during boiling, don’t let them get overcooked. If you can’t get dinosaur kale (also called Lacinato Blue), use regular kale. To easily remove the stems from any kind of kale, grasp the bottom of the stem with one hand and gently but firmly grasp the leafy part with your other hand and pull upwards along the stem.

Assorted exotic mushrooms, such as clamshell, trumpet, oyster, chanterelle, etc. are available in most markets at this time of year. Many mushroom growers will sell an assorted specialty mushroom package in your local market. Use about 1 pound in total.