1. 2 lb spinach, chopped (I used frozen – it’s easier because it’s already chopped!)
2. ¼ c minced onion
3. ½ lb feta cheese + ½ lb cottage cheese, mixed together
4. 4 eggs
5. 1 tsp dill
6. pinch parsley & salt
7. 1 stick butter, melted
8. ½ lb phyllo dough, thawed according to directions

Directions:

1. Combine first six ingredients together.
2. Butter 9×13” pan.
3. Place 4 leaves on bottom of pan, buttering each leaf with a basting brush.
4. Place ½ of spinach mixture on leaves.
5. Place 4 buttered leaves on mixture, buttering each leaf with a basting brush.
6. Place remaining mixture and 4 more leaves on top, buttering each leaf with a basting brush.
7. Turn edges of dough toward edge of pan.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown.

NOTES:

You need to work really quickly with the phyllo dough. This takes a bit of practice.

The above recipe is for a casserole. To make appetizers, instead of using one pan, use two – this will make a thinner spanikopita, which you can cut into small squares.  These are a huge hit at parties!

• Add 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernals
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2-3 chopped red peppers
• 1 teaspoonful cumin
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 T olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lime
• fresh thyme and basil (optional)

Toss it all together and serve warm or room temp. Great way to get protein and veggies into a meal. Also great for BBQ’s and potlucks. Enjoy!

• 2 1/2 pounds collard greens, leaves halved lengthwise and stems and center ribs discarded
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

• Stack half of collard leaves and roll into a cigar shape. Cut crosswise into very thin strips (1/8 inch wide) with a sharp knife. Repeat with remaining leaves. Or, if you’re lazy like me, use the food processor.
• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a heavy 12-inch skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook half of collards, tossing, until just tender and bright green, about 1 minute, and transfer to a serving dish. Cook remaining collards in remaining 2 teaspoons oil in same manner, then toss all of collards with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Alternate:

Sautee a few cloves of garlic in the oil. Delish! And healthy!

We get a lot of potatoes with our organic produce box and I’ve been frying them! The time investment and the nutritional sacrifice of fried potatoes is big, so I insist that they come out right! With a lot of advice from my friend, Mart, who has been successfully practicing the art of the fried potato over many years, they came out crispy and perfect this time.

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium potatoes
• canola oil
• salt
• black pepper
• optional spices: red pepper, cumin, or rosemary.
• optional veggies: chopped onions, bell peppers, kale
• optional cheese: any type that melts

Directions

1. Cut up the potatoes in small 1/2 inch pieces and shake generous amounts of salt, pepper and other spices over them.
2. Fill a large frying pan with canola oil. Leave at least an inch of room between the oil and the top of the side so the oil doesn’t escape the pan.
3. Heat the oil on high heat. Test if the oil is hot enough by tossing in one piece of potato – it should bubble and fry vigorously. If the oil gets smoky, then you’ve waited too long! Be careful and stand back at an arm’s length from the pan as you add the rest of the potatoes to the hot oil. Arrange the potato pieces so that they are all mostly covered by the oil.
4. Monitor the stove temperature so the oil doesn’t boil over, but don’t touch or stir the potatoes. Let them fry as long as it takes to see them browning. This will take awhile – about 25 – 35 min.
5. In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350 – 375 and chop 2 onions into large pieces. Toss the onion pieces in olive oil on a baking sheet and put them in the oven.
6. After the potatoes are browned in the skillet, drain the oil and add them to the onions. Bake for 15 min.
7. Sautee the other optional vegetables while the potatoes finish in the oven.
8. Combine the potatoes with other vegetables and/or shredded cheese and serve while hot!

1. Make some egg noodles.
2. In a pan or bowl if you’re feeling a little lazier mix: peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil (or olive if that’s all you have) Tb honey, sesame seeds if you like, squeeze of lime juice.
3. Thinly slice red/orange/yellow bell pepper
4. Mix noodles with sauce and top with peppers.

Nice to serve with Edamame.

Eli and Leo really dig this. It’s just as quick as mac & cheese and it’s not.

This will serve a crowd:

2 cups red lentils, washed and picked over
olive oil
1 onion chopped
1/2 apple thinly sliced and cut in quarters
3 cloves garlic, minced
just over half of one box of lo sodium veggie/chicken stock/water (stock makes them more flavorful.)
3 whole peeled canned tomatoes and a splash of their juice
hefty pinch dark brown sugar
big pinch: cumin
lesser pinches: curry powder, cinnamon, turmeric, salt, sage
splash of apple juice
2 handfuls raisins

basmati rice

1. Heat a stock pot on high. Heat olive oil. Saute onions until translucent.
2. Turn down the heat. Add Lentils to pan and dry and toast them a bit.
3. Add apple to the pan stirring and cooking until some of the juices are released.
4. Add minced garlic. Saute until just fragrant.
5. With your fingers break up the tomatoes and add them and the juice to the pan.
6. Add stock and remaining ingredients.
7. Bring mixture to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and cover the pot.

MAKE RICE.

Check after around 25 minutes to be sure their is still some liquid. The beans will take between 30-45 min to cook. If you need to, add more stock.

Boil the syrup in a relatively small-diameter, high-sided pan. Use a candy thermometer. (Yes, I know you don’t own a candy thermometer, but it’s worth your while to get one. They’re cheap, and they’re useful not only for candy but for cheesemaking and deep-frying as well.) Keep boiling on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the boiling temperature reaches 242 degrees F, or 30 degrees above the local boiling point of water if you don’t live near sea level. If the syrup starts to boil over despite the low heat, you can add a small dab of butter to settle it down.

Remove the boiled syrup from the stove and leave it to cool without stirring until it’s at about 170 degrees F. Then remove the thermometer and stir gently but continuously until the syrup goes from transparent and dark brown to a more opaque, lighter brown. When you see that happening, quickly pour it into molds, or pack it into the molds if it’s already hardened too much to pour. De-mold when the candy cools.

What’s that? You waited too long to put it in the molds, and the candy solidified in the pan? No problem. Scrape it out, mix the scrapings with a small amount of water, and restart the process from the beginning. No problem. Maple sugar is very forgiving.

What? You say it never hardened at all, no matter how long you cooled and stirred it? You must not have boiled it enough. No problem. Reboil, starting at the beginning. Maple sugar is very forgiving.

It’s hard to argue for a U.S. contribution that justifies the term “Pan-American” (french fries are probably Belgian in origin and vegetarianism is far older than our country) but we’ll take the credit for being the critical middle man, until a bridge is built from Mexico to Canada.

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen oven fries (my favorite brand is Ore-Ida crispy fries)
• 8 oz queso fresco
• about 1/2 of this mushroom gravy recipe
• green onions, chopped
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• optional: red pepper flakes, minced garlic

Directions

1. Prepare the mushroom gravy and preheat the oven.
2. Toss frozen french fries in olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread the fries on a baking sheet (and sprinkle the optional red pepper flakes and garlic on top) and bake the fries according to the instructions on the package.
4. 5 minutes before the fries are done, top them with queso fresco.
5. Once the fries are done, top with mushroom gravy, green onions, and serve while hot.
6. Enjoy the delicious advantage of living between Canada and Latin America!

Serves 4-5 people.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds of baby portobello mushrooms
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 yellow onions, chopped fine or food processed
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 cups of cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons of chopped fresh Italian parsley
• sea salt and pepper

Directions

1. Clean and slice the mushrooms.
2. Cook the garlic and onions in the butter over medium-low heat until onions are translucent and tender.
3. Add the mushrooms and soy sauce, turn up the heat to boil, and cook until all the liquid from the mushrooms is evaporated.
4. Add the wine and balsamic vinegar and cook until the liquid is evaporated.
5. Add the corn starch and water mixture and simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Stir in parsley and season with sea salt and pepper.

The gravy can be made ahead of time and reheated with 1/2 cup of extra water.

serves:  4

INGREDIENTS

8 oz. mushrooms (any type), finely chopped (I used a food processor)

1 cup cooked chickpeas

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

about 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp. dried

about 1 tsp. chopped fresh sage, or 1/4 tsp. dried

1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

olive oil for brushing before grilling or panfrying

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium-sized skillet, cook mushrooms in 1 T. olive oil over medium heat with a pinch of salt until well-colored and most of the moisture is evaporated, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mash chickpeas together with 2 T. olive oil until no whole chickpeas are left.  Add the remaining ingredients, including the cooked mushrooms, and knead for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.  The texture should be moist but firm (if it seems too mushy, add a bit more bread crumbs or wheat gluten, if it’s really dry, add a few drops of water, soy sauce or vegetable stock).

Form into 4 patties (burger shaped if you want to serve them on a bun, or “cutlet” shape if you want to eat them with a knife and fork).  Brush with olive oil on both sides, grill until browned on both sides and warm throughout.  Or, to fry in a pan, add a thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of a heavy skillet, cook burgers/cutlets on each side for 6-7 minutes, adding more oil as needed.