Heat the wok over a high flame for 1 minute. Add the oil until it is very hot – look for a wisp of smoke. Add the salt, garlic and bok choy. Use enough oil to coat the vegetables thoroughly. Serves 4.
Break cauliflower into flowerets. Cut steak into 1/8-inch thick strips (if you semifreeze it ahead, it will be easier to slice thinly). Combine 1 Tbs. of the soy sauce, the sugar, and 1 Tbs. of the cornstarch with 1 Tbsp. water and 1 Tbsp. of the peanut or corn oil. Pour over steak, marinate for 15 minutes. Mix 1 tsp. cornstarch with 2 tsp. water; add the remaining soy sauce, sherry and sesame oil; set aside. Heat the remaining oil in a wok or large saute pan until very hot; reduce heat slightly. Mash garlic; add to oil along with ginger. Stir in cauliflower pieces, tossing to coat with oil. Add a dash of salt and the broth or water. Cover; steam-cook for 3 minutes. Uncover, spread the meat on top, cover, and steam for 2 minutes. Add the chard, spinach or other greens, cover and steam 1 minute longer. Uncover, turn the heat to high, and toss all together. Add the reserved sauce, and stir for 10-15 seconds before serving.
Serves 2-3.
From The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
To make the miso-almond sauce, place miso and almond butter in a medium-sized bowl. Add a small amount of hot water (about ½ cup) and mash with a spoon until it becomes a uniform paste. Add remaining water and mix until well combined. Cut broccoli into 2-inch spears. Slice optional carrots into ¼ inch thick slices. Cut onion or leek into 1 inch cubes. Quarter the mushrooms. Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes. Get two pans of water boiling. Steam vegetables over one while boiling soba noodles in the other. Both soba and vegetables should be ready in 6-8 minutes, depending on your taste. Drain noodles, transfer to a bowl, add about ½ cup of miso-almond sauce and mix well. Serve vegetables on top od lightly sauced noodles. Ladle additional sauce over vegetables and top with toasted cashews or almonds if desired.
Serves 4.
From Still Life with Menu Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.
Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Cream butter, add sugar and beat until light. Add eggs, lemon juice, squash and milk. Beat together, then gradually add dry ingredients until well combined. Pour batter into a buttered, medium-sized loaf pan. Bake in a pre-heated 3500 oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for ten minutes, remove and cool on rack.
From The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash.
Mix the mustard with 3 Tbs. water and set aside. Heat 2 quarts of water with the sliced ginger and one Tbs. salt. When it boils, add the bok choy, scallions and broccoli and cook for 1-½ minutes. The water will not return to a boil. Drain the vegetables, rinse them with cold water, wrap in a clean towel, and squeeze several times until dry. Combine them with the tofu, minced ginger and garlic. Sprinkle with sesame oil, sugar, vinegar and ¾ tsp. salt. Toss well, and taste the mixture to be sure it’s seasoned sufficiently.
Lay one egg roll wrapper on the counter at a diagonal with a corner facing you. Heap 3 Tbs. of the filling crosswise near the base. Lay a cilantro sprig on top, fold up the lower corner, fold in the outer corners, and then wrap. Repeat, using the rest of the filling. Place the egg rolls on a plate, cover with wax paper, then with plastic, until ready to cook. To cook, heat a ½ inch of peanut oil in a medium skillet until hot enough to quickly sizzle a corner of an egg roll. Add 2 egg rolls and fry until golden, about 2 minutes. Turn and fry the second side, then remove to paper toweling to drain. Continue frying the rest. Serve hot with the mustard sauce.
From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.
Chop chicken into small pieces. Boil pasta in salted water until al dente. Slice green garlic (bulb and stem), then sauté in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add greens and ½ tsp of salt. Sauté until greens wilt. Add chicken and heat through. When pasta is done, drain, rinse under hot water, and empty into large bowl. Toss with greens and chicken sauté mix and sprinkle with 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar if desired. Serve, topped with Parmesan.
Prepare a dough as you would for pizza crust.
Chop the spinach coarsely. In a heavy pan, sauté the garlic in 1 Tbs of olive oil until limp. Add the spinach with some salt and pepper and cook until the spinach is wilted and the water it releases is boiled off. Remove from heat and toss with the lemon juice. Beat one egg into the ricotta along with the parmesan cheese and mix with the cooked spinach mixture.
In another pan, sauté the onion in the remaining olive oil until it begins to brown. Add mushroom and continue cooking until they begin to brown. Add salt, pepper and vermouth and stir until the vermouth evaporates.
Lightly oil a cookie sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll out the dough to about 15×20 inches and place on cookie sheet. Spread the Ricotta and spinach mixture onto the dough leaving approx. 3 inches around the edges and cover the cooked mushrooms over the spinach. Pull the edges of the dough over the filling and fold together. Beat the remaining egg with a spoonful of oil and brush onto the dough. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes. When it is fully cooked, allow it to cool for a few minutes before slicing into wedges for serving.
Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the turnips. Cook 1 – 2 minutes. Add the spinach and paprika. Cook 2 – 3 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. Mash the mixture to the best of your ability and remove from heat. Heat the oil in a second saucepan over low heat. Add the ginger and onion and cook 2 – 3 minutes. Add the vegetables from the first saucepan. Mix well and toss until everything is well seasoned. Serve with the lemon juice.
Heat 1/4 cup oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add potato and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups broth and green onions; bring to boil. Cover and simmer until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Add spinach, 3/4 cup mint, and cilantro. Simmer soup 1 minute. Puree soup in blender in batches; return to same pot. Thin with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls, if desired. Season soup with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in small skillet over low heat. Mix in paprika; cook 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with paprika oil; garnish with 1/4 cup mint.
Add short ribs to hot oil in a heavy skillet with a tight fitting lid. Cover and brown meat on all sides. Pour off excess fat. Add a mixture of mustard, salt, pepper, oregano, and sage then bay leaf, onion, celery or celeriac and a mixture of water and vinegar. Cover and cook slowly about 1 ½ hours or until meat is almost tender. Add cabbage wedges, cover and cook about 25 minutes or until tender. Add more liquid if necessary during cooking. Serve ribs on a heated platter and surround with wedges of cabbage.
Serves 4.
Pumpkin Ridge Gardens 