Mango Grapefruit Sorbet

I don't normally like sorbet. I like bold intense fruit flavors, so watering down tasty fruit with water and sugar never really appealed to me. But now I have an ice cream maker, which means I get to make intensely flavored sorbets.
Here is a version of mango sorbet with minimal sugar and tart fruit juice instead of water.

Ingredients:

• 2 large, ripe mangoes
  
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup grapefruit juice
• 1/6 cup rosewater
• 1/6 cup cream (or water, for the non dairy or low fat version)
  
• 4 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• zest of one lime
• zest of one grapefruit
  
• 1 tbsp. dark rum
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

• Peel and pit the mangoes and cut the flesh into pieces.
  
• Place them in a blender or food processor with the sugar, liquids, zest, rum and salt. Purée the mixture until completely smooth.
  
• Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  
• Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Vegan Spinach Mac n' Cheese

ingredients:
Cheese:

• 3 cups milk (i use 1-2%. soy milk also works wonderfully)
• 1 tbps paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic or 3 cloves minced (generous w the garlic is fine)
• 1/3 c. braggs liquid aminos (or 1/4 c. soy or tamari sauce)
• 3/4 c. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 block of firm tofu ( i sometimes put in 3/4)
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach- defrosted (you could use fresh, steamed, but its much more work for the same result).
  

Casserole:

• 1 box macaroni noodles
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Blend cheese ingredients in blender. make sure the spinach really gets pureed.
• Cook noodles according to package directions, place in casserole dish. mix in mustard.
• Pour soy cheese over the noodles until they're just covered. Mixture should be pretty liquidy. Make sure the cheese isn't too dry because it will thicken in the oven.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese darkens slightly and begins to
• bubble on top.

Chana Masala

ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes, or an 8 oz can of diced tomatoes (you can add quite a few more fresh tomatoes if you prefer, but I wouldnt add more than 16 oz of canned tomatoes because they just aren't all that exciting)
  
• 3-4 medium onions
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 5 tsp cumin
• 3 tsp turmeric
• 5 tsp coriander powder
• 1.5 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick (the stick is best)
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves (optional)
  
• 1 tsp ginger powder (optional)
  
• 1/4 -1/2 cup heavy cream OR 1/3-1/2 cup of sour cream, yogurt, greek yogurt or labne
• 3-4 cans chick peas
• 1 large bunch cilantro- chopped (or 2 bunches if you're a big cilantro fan)

Directions:

• open the cans of chick peas and rinse them
• saute onions in olive oil till translucent in a large pot. add the spices.
• When the onions are well coated, add 3 -4 cans of chick peas. let simmer for a while. If you wait too long to add the chick peas, the spices will start to burn.
  
• add the tomatoes and the tomato paste. let simmer. if its drying out add small amounts of water. when it looks well steeped and flavored, add the cream. Let simmer for about 5-8 more minutes. add the chopped cilantro. stir till it slightly wilts.

Vegetarian Chili

(a super easy recipe)
ingredients:

• 2 cans pinto beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 cans black beans
• (or you can do 1 pinto, 2 kidney, or any other similar bean. just don't use chick peas or lentils. )
• 1 can corn, or about 1- 1.5 cups frozen corn (I prefer the frozen)
• 1 small can tomato paste (this is crucial- otherwise the chili will be watery).
  
• 1 16 oz can diced or chopped tomatoes (in a pinch, you can do without this).
  
• olive oil
• garlic (jarred is fine)
• tumeric
• cumin
• chili pepper flakes

Directions:

• add about 4 tbs olive oil to a large pot.
• Add in about 4 tsp crushed garlic
• Let garlic brown. Add about 1.5 tsp chili pepper flakes. This wont make it too spicy and its important to let the pepper sauté at this point
• Add about 1 tbs cumin and 2 tsp tumeric.
• Quickly stir in all the beans. If cant stir them all in make sure to stir in at least one can so that the spices don’t burn.
• Let simmer for about 5 min.
• Then add in all the tomato products
• Let simmer.
• Will be done in 5 min, but gets tastier if you let it simmer on low for closer to 20 min.
• If you want to make it spicier- put in more pepper flakes at the beginning and then add some ground cayenne pepper while its simmering.

rice with greens

(a super quick recipe for busy students who just got a huge volume of collard greens in their CSA)

this is what you call a studying friendly recipe: you do minimal work and let it sit.



Ingredients:
1.5 cups uncooked rice

• my favorite is a wild rice mixture, such as the kind sold at Trader Joes or the bulk goods section of fairway
• if you dont have wild rice, try a short grain brown rice. After that, any brown rice will do.
  
• Feel free to make it 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup lentils (red or brown. brown are more filling. red give it a more porridge-like homey texture).
  

4-7 cups chopped greens. Bok Choy is great, but any green will do. You can add more to taste.
soy sauce
dash of olive oil
optional- chopped onions and/or garlic. feel free to use the jarred chopped garlic.



about the proportions:

the recipe is very flexible in regards to the rice to greens ratio. The ratio you select depends on if you want an even rice to greens mixture or if you want rice with a touch of greens ( a 3:1 rice to greens ratio once cooked). Keep in mind that the greens will shrink to approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of their original size once cook.

Instructions:

• place rice and/or lentils in a large soup pot. add appropriate amount of water or vegetable stock, but be on the generous side.
  
• add the dash of olive oil.
• turn the rice on high. when it starts to boil, turn it down to a simmer
• wash and chop the greens. coarsely chopped is best
• when the water is almost entirely absorbed into the rice, place the greens on top of the rice. DO NOT STIR. cover with the lid (basically, you are allowing the greens to steam while the rice still cooks)
• when both the rice and the greens are cooked (yes, you will have to open the pot and poke the rice for a sec to figure this out), add 2-4 dashes of soy sauce to taste, and stir.

enjoy! tastes great alone, with yogurt, with almost any cheese.

zucchini with thyme

a super simple recipe. great for serving a large crowd or for when you are running short on time.

Ingredients:

• zucchini
• olive oil
• sea salt or kosher salt
• fresh black pepper
• dried thyme

Notes on the recipe:

• use a large skillet. a non-stick or cast iron is great. the main thing is that you want a large cooking surface, not a narrow pot.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: this is a quick recipe. It is best to cook the zucchini when all pieces can sit on the bottom of the pan easily. If you have a lot of zucchini it is best to cook it in batches rather than all at once. It will take only a tiny amount more time, and is well worth it.

Instructions:

• chop the zucchini into 1/2 inch to 1/3 inch thick semi circles
• heat the oil in the skiller
  
• flick one zucchini slice onto the heated oil. if it starts to sizzle and blister, you know its ready. dont put the zucchini on when the heat is too low.
  
• add all the zucchini and start stirring around. you can cook the zucchini till its super dark and carmelized, or cook it for a short time until the outside has a golden blistered look.
  
• add about 1-2 tsp of kosher salt. this draws out moisture from the zucchini helping it cook faster.
  
• add a generous amount of dried thyme (approx 1 tbsp per medium sized zucchini is a good estimate).
• add the fresh black pepper.
  
• you're done!

Variations:

• add chopped bell peppers towards the end. cook them until they are just slight wilted
• add cooked butter beans along with the black pepper

Celery, Quinoa, Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

equipment:

• 1 large soup pot
• 1 immersion blender (you can do it with a regular blender, but its such a pain...)
• 1 pyrex bowl
• 1 microwave
  

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of celery from the CSA (this is about 2/3 the size of the bunch you would get in a store)
• 2 medium onions
• 3-5 cloves of garlic, to taste
  
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa.
  
• 1/3 lb jerusalem artichokes
• vegetable broth (if you dont have, add a dash of cumin and turmeric (translate: about 1/4 to 1/2 a tsp of each per 2 cups of water).
• olive oil for sauteing
• salt and pepper to taste
• thyme (dry is fine)
  
• sage (fresh or well ground. dont use any big dry leaves).
• yogurt or cheese- optional
  

Notes: in short, the recipe uses 1/2 the celery and 1/2 the artichokes you got today. feel free to double.

Instructions:

• place the quinoa in the pyrex bowl with a touch more than 2 cups of water. place a lid or plate on top of the pyrex bowl and microwave it for 20 minutes on high. (NOTE- if the quinoa is not pre-rinsed, you will need to rinse it ahead of time. Other note to self- this is why you should always buy pre-rinsed quinoa. final note- this is a great way to cook quinoa).
  
• wash the jerusalem artichokes well. chop em small.
  
• heat olive oil in the bottom of the pot. add the jerusalem artichokes and start to saute.
  
• chop the onions small and add them to the pot.
• chop the garlic and add it to the pot.
  
• chop the celery. feel free to include the leaves.
  
• when the onions are translucent and the jerusalem artichokes look cooked, add the celery. stir.
• when the celery looks slightly wilted, add the quinoa.
• add the thyme & sage
• add enough vegetable broth so that it covers the mixture by about 2 inches.
  
• let it simmer
• puree with the immersion blender. if you want it thinner, add more broth and let the mixture simmer again.
  
• serve hot or cold. great with a dollop of yogurt on top. or some grated cheese.