Almond Pesto
Wonderfully simple and dairy-free, this pesto is great on spaghetti.
Makes 1 quart
Time: 5 minutes
2/3 cups almonds
10 cloves garlic
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup umeboshi vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 quart green or purple basil leaves, rinsed
Grind the nuts in a food processor. Add basil, olive oil, umeboshi vinegar, garlic, and water. Puree. Taste, and adjust the seasonings if desired.
Marinated Tofu
Serves 6
Time: 30 minutes
1 pound extra firm tofu
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 inches of ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon mirin
Press tofu for 10-15 minutes to remove excess water: Put tofu between two cutting boards. Place a heavy book on top. Cut tofu into 1/4 inch by 1 inch pieces. Put tofu in a mixing bowl with all the other ingredients. Mix them together. Marinate at least for 15 minutes. Serve as a side dish or as part of a salad.
Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Salad
Serve hot or cold, on a bed of pasta, rolled in tortillas with lettuce, or stuffed inside pita bread.
Serves 4-6
Time: 2-3 hours
1 medium eggplant, sliced (2 cups)
2 teaspoons sea salt
juice from 1 lemon
1 onion, sliced (1 cup)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 peppers (any color), sliced (2 cups)
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 zucchinis, sliced in quarters
1 1/2 cups cooked beans such as chick peas or anasazi
1 handful or bunch of fresh basil, torn or cut into bite sized pieces
Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds and then into quarters. Place sliced eggplant into a large mixing bowl. Marinate eggplant in lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of sea salt for 1-2 hours. (The salt draws out liquid from the eggplant.)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Discard the excess liquid from the eggplant.
Place eggplant in a covered crock or baking dish with the sliced peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil, and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Mix them all together and bake covered for 50-60 minutes until the eggplant is tender.
Put the roasted vegetables in a large bowl. (Optional-let them cool off before adding the other ingredients.) Add the cooked beans, zucchini and basil. Mix well.
Ancient Goddess Spring Tabouli
Spelt Cous, cracked spelt grain is similar to bulgar or cracked wheat.
If you don't have spelt cous, you can substitute couscous, quinoa, or bulgar for it. Use 6 cups of water, if you do.
Serves 6
Time: 30 minutes
4 1/2 cup water
3 cups Spelt Cous
1/2 teaspoon and a pinch of sea salt
1 small red onion, sliced (1/3 cup) or bunch of scallions, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced in match sticks
1 bunch parsley, chopped (2 cups)
juice of 2 lemons (1/2 cup) or to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
1/2 cup olives
Boil water with a pinch of salt, and add spelt cous. Simmer a few minutes until all the water's absorbed. Transfer hot grain to a large mixing bowl to cool. Then add carrots, onions, lemon juice, parsley, and olive oil. Stir and season with salt and oregano. Garnish with olives.
Improvisations
1. You can substitute other vegetables and herbs in season such as string beans, radishes and fresh dill, or use a more traditional vegetable and herb combination: tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, scallions, and fresh mint.
3 Bean Dill Salad
Serves 4-6
Time: 15 minutes
2 cups cooked chick peas
2 cups cooked navy beans
2 cups raw string beans, sliced
1 bunch of radishes (6-8), sliced
1 bunch of sweet, small summer carrots, 1 1/2 cups sliced
1 red onion, sliced, 1 cup
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1 bunch fresh dill, minced, 1/2 cup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if desired.
Improvisations
1. 3 Bean Summer Salad with Cilantro and Capers: Substitute the juice of 1-2 lemons for the apple cider vinegar. Substitute an equal amount of cilantro for dill. Omit the radishes.
Substitute (3.5 ounces) 1 package Gaeta capers, (well rinsed) for the sea salt. Mix up all the ingredients. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if desired.
2. You can substitute yellow, green and purple string beans for cooked beans.
Italiano Arugala Salad with Cauliflower
Serves 6-8
Time: 15 minutes
1 medium cauliflower, sliced into bite sized pieces (1 quart)
1 large bunch arugala, cut or torn into bite sized pieces (1 quart)
1 large carrot, sliced into match sticks
juice of 1-2 lemons (1/2 cup or to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
Option #1: Garnish with olives
Option #2: Garnish with pine nuts, roasted pumpkin seeds or almonds.
Put all the ingredients into a serving bowl and mix them together. Add a pinch of salt and about 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or season to taste. Let it marinate for 10 minutes or more before serving.
Japanese Rainbow Salad
Black and delicate, with a mild, semi-sweet flavor, arame has a pleasing texture like a very thin noodle. Use your imagination to create endless variations of this salad. Remember black goes with everything. Combine organic vegetables in season. Marinated arame salads keep well in the refrigerator for several days.
Serves 4-6
Time: 10 minutes
1/2 cup dry arame
2 cups water
1 cup or a small bunch of chopped parsley
1 quart of chopped red or green cabbage
1 large carrot, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or sesame oil
2 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar, shoyu or tamari
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
First, look arame over, and remove any tiny seashells. Cover the arame in 1 cup water. Rub together and whirl to release any sand. Next, lift out the arame, and discard the water. Soak arame in 1 cup of cold water for 5 minutes. Drain the water. Put arame in a mixing bowl. Add the chopped vegetables, oil, umeboshi, and rice vinegar. Stir all the ingredients together, taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
Improvisations
1. Steamed beets are wonderful in arame salads. See Ruby Red Salad on the next page for recipe.
2. Try fresh garden peas, mustard greens and radishes in arame salads. Fresh chopped scallions, and red onions are also great in arame salads. Check the quick salad vegetable list on page -- for other suggestions.
3. You can add mirin for a sweeter dressing.
Salad dressings
Green Queen
The marriage of basil and cilantro creates a sensational dressing for fresh green vegetable salads, cooked grains and pasta.
Serves 8 or more
Time: 5 minutes
1 bunch fresh basil, 2 cups, rinsed
1 small bunch cilantro, 1 cup, rinsed
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/3 cup or to taste)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Blend all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Improvisations
1. Substitute parsley for cilantro, omit the black pepper and add fresh garlic cloves or garlic tops.
Lemon Fire
Makes 1 cup
Time: 5 minutes
Juice of 2 lemons, 1/3 cup
1-2 tablespoons ginger juice, 1-2 inches grated and squeezed ginger
1/2 cup water
drop of tamari
Grate the ginger onto a cutting board. Gather the grated ginger in your hand and squeeze the juice out into a mug or measuring cup. Combine and stir all the ingredients together. Serve over boiled salads, salads and steamed vegetables.
Leslie
Cerier is a gourmet organic caterer, cooking teacher, expert in nutrition
with a Masters in Physical Education. Her first cookbook, The Quick
and Easy Organic Gourmet, (Barrytown Ltd.) published May 1996, went
into its second printing after only 6 months. It continues to be Barrytown
Ltd’s best seller. Leslie also contributed a chapter, "The Culinary
Pleasures of Organic Foods," for the book, Taste Life! The Organic
Choice; published by Vital Health in September 1998.