Fried Rice

Precook 1 cup of brown rice and cool completely. I usually make this on Sunday and use it all week or pop some in the freezer.

Ingredients
Onion - scallion, red, white, or whatever you have
Garlic
About 2 cups of veggies like corn, mushrooms, peas, greens, thinly sliced cabbage, sprouts, etc.
1 well scrambled egg
Soy sauce


Heat oil in a frying pan (add egg and cook- remove when cooked) and saute onions and garlic. Stir fry for a minute. Add rice and cook until well heated and add veggies. Stir fry until veggies are done and add soy sauce. Add egg and enjoy.

Fattoush Salad with Falafel

Salad:
Chopped Lettuce (you need crunchy – I used half romaine, half iceburg)
Tomatoes, chopped
Cucumber, sliced
 Red onion, sliced thinly
Feta cheese
Pita chips

 Separate pita layers and toast until very crispy. Let cool and break into smaller pieces. Reserve. Toss together salad ingredients with dressing. Add pita chips and toss with salad right before serving (or they will start to get soggy.) Serve with falafel (heated) and Tahini lemon dressing.

 Lemon Mint Vinaigrette:
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon dried mint
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
 Kosher salt

Combine first 5 ingredients. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly, until well blended. Season with salt. (can add more lemon juice, molasses or vinegar, to taste.)

 Here is the link for the falafel recipe http://ohsheglows.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6028856 I made 8 patties 1 cup dry chickpeas (or 2 & ¼ cup cooked)
3 large garlic cloves
½ cup red onion, roughly chopped
3 T. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup packed fresh cilantro
¼ cup packed fresh parsley
¼ cup ground flax
¼ cup breadcrumbs
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
½ tsp fine grain sea salt, or to taste

 1. In a food processor, with the processor running, drop in 3 garlic cloves to mince. Now add most of the chickpeas (reserving about ¼ cup to stir in later), and process a few seconds to chop. Now add the oion, lemon juice and herbs. Process until just combined, being careful not to over-process. You want to leave texture.

 2. Scoop the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the ground flax, breadcrumbs, cumin, reserved chickpeas, and salt and pepper to taste. Shape into patties, about ¼ cup each and really pack the dough in tightly so it holds together.

3. Grease pre-heated skillet with cooking oil (I used EVOO) and then cook the patties on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden.

Serve with Tahini Lemon Dressing. Tahini Lemon Dressing – makes about a cup.
¼ cup tahini
2 garlic cloves
½ cup fresh lemon juice
2-4 T olive oil
1 tsp salt and pepper
3 T. water, or as needed In a food processor, mince garlic first. Add tahini, lemon juice, olive oil and process. Add water gradually, to get the consistency you want. Season with salt and pepper. This is really strong, so you could make less if you didn't use a food processor.

Spinach and Cheese Calzones with Tomato Sauce

Here is the recipe for pizza dough. This made 2 large calzones. http://casseroleclub.blogspot.com/2009/09/pesto-pizza.htm

I made the dough and separated them into 2 balls before letting them rise.

 Filling for 2 large calzones:
 9 oz fresh baby spinach
24 oz whole milk ricotta (I used whole because it’s less watery)
Mozzarella cheese,
freshly grated, about 4 oz Pecorino romano cheese,
 maybe 2 Tablespoons Olive oil, to brush top

 Steam spinach until it is wilted. Strain out water. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out water. Chop finely and blot more water out with paper towel. (I didn’t want any leaking liquid!) Stir together with cheeses. Romano should make it salty. Roll out pizza dough to about a 14 inch diameter circle. Note – this makes a very thick crust for the calzone – make a smaller one if you want thicker crust. Brush a little water around half of the edge. Spread filling on half, allowing 1 inch of dough edge. Fold over and press edge. Cut a few air vents. Brush olive oil over top. I baked these on a pizza pan (metal pan with holes) on the bottom shelf of the oven (525 degrees) for about 14 minutes. Make sure you watch it so it doesn’t burn. Serve with tomato sauce.

 Here is the recipe for the tomato sauce http://www.casseroleclub.blogspot.com/2011/09/fresh-tomato-sauce.html

Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

From King Arthur catalog
 1 cup (4 ¼ oz) AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 T cocoa powder
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (3 ½ oz) sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (8 oz) mashed banana (about 2 medium bananas)
½ cup (4 oz) sour cream
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips, mini preferred

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 3 ¼’ x 5 ¾” pans, or one 9” x 5” loaf pan. (This made 3 small loaves for me.)

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla, banana, and sour cream. Gently mix in the dry ingredients and chocolate chips until well incorporated.

4. Pour the batter into the pan(s) and bake for 45 minutes (smaller loaves) to 60 minutes (large loaf) until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan(s) for 10 minutes. Turn the bread(s) out onto a rack and cool completely.

Wheatberry Salad

From the Barefoot Contessa, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/wheatberry-salad-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 1 cup hard winter wheatberries
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup finely diced red onion (1 onion)
• 6 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 scallions, minced, white and green parts
• 1/2 red bell pepper, small diced
• 1 carrot, small diced
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the wheatberries and 3 cups of boiling salted water in a saucepan and cook, uncovered, over low heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until they are soft. Drain.

Saute the red onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.
In a large bowl, combine the warm wheatberries, sauteed onions, scallions,red bell peppers, carrot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes for the wheatberries to absorb the sauce. Season, to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Curried Carrot Soup

8 cups shredded carrots

2 leeks, white and light green parts, thinly sliced

2 tbs oil

¼ tsp baking soda, heaping

1 tsp curry powder

Salt to taste

4 cups water

Cook the carrots, leeks, and baking soda over medium heat. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes until soft. Add curry and cook 30 seconds. Add water and simmer for a few moments. Using a hand blender, puree until smooth.

For CC:  I only added 3 cups of water. Use as is for a very thick soup or sauce for rice or greens. Add a cup of water, broth  or milk for a soup.