Collard wrap tacos with citrus slaw

 https://www.loveandlemons.com/collard-wrap-tacos-citrus-slaw/

I want to try this recipe.  I didn’t realize collard greens would be easily edible with just blanching. 

Red Bean and Arugula Salad with Mango Balsamic Dressing

This is from How Not to Diet Cookbook, Michael Greger, M.D., Recipes by Robin Robertson

I prepared this for one of the shelter nutrition talks.  The salad can be adjusted as needed.  I used some arugula, some spinach and other mixed greens.  I also added some strawberries and mango to the salad.  

The mango dressing was very good.  The mango was quite ripe and blended very easily in the Magic Bullet.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (better with 1 Tbsp balsamic and 1 Tbsp rice vinegar)

1 Tbsp minced scallion

2 tsp minced fresh parsley or cilantro (I used cilantro)

1 tsp white miso paste

1/4 inch fresh turmeric, grated, or 1/4 tsp ground

6 cups chopped arugula or baby spinach

15 oz (1.5 cups) dark red kidney beans or adzuki beans, drained and rinsed

1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

DIRECTIONS:

1) In a blender, combine the mango, vinegar, scallion, herb, miso and turmeric.  Blend until smooth.  Set aside. 

2) In a large bowl, combine the arugula, beans, cucumber and tomatoes.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine.  Serve immediately.

Photo is from Michael Greger's Cookbook.  Take another next time the salad is made.  The mango dressing is worth repeating!

Stuffed Baby Eggplants with peanut curry

 https://www.cookshideout.com/stuffed-baby-eggplants-curry-with-peanuts-recipe#recipe

Aruna advised me to buy these when we were shopping at Patil’s, and then shared this recipe.  Loved it - made double of the peanut mixture, but used 1/2 teaspoon of red chili powder per recipe.  I didn’t have curry leaves, so I used a little curry powder instead. I had some okra left over, so I added that as well.  The peanut mixture is really good - the recipe said it can be used on pasta.  Can consider serving as a first course.  Need to have the tomatoes and onions with it, not just to pick up the eggplants by the stem.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup Peanuts
• 1/2 -1 teaspoon Red Chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
• To taste Salt
• 8~10 Baby Eggplant
• 2 tablespoons Oil
• 1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
• 4~6 Curry leaves
• ¼ cup Water, plus more if needed
• 2 Medium Tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Cilantro

Get Recipe Ingredients

INSTRUCTIONS

Make the Stuffing:

• In a small pan, dry roast peanuts until evenly golden brown. Let cool and transfer to a blender along with red chili powder, turmeric and salt. Blend into a coarse powder. 
  ½ cup Peanuts, 1 teaspoon Red Chili powder, ¼ teaspoon Turmeric, To taste Salt

Prep the Eggplant:

• Make a “X” cut on the bottom of the eggplant, about ¾th of the way up. Make sure that the eggplant still holds together and does not break apart. I like keeping the crown on but you can remove it.
  8~10 Baby Eggplant
• Stuff each eggplant with about 1 tablespoon peanut powder. Reserve any remaining peanut powder.

Make Stuffed Eggplant Fry:

• Heat oil in a medium size sauté pan on medium flame. Add onions, curry leaves and cook till they are lightly browned around the edges. Add the stuffed eggplants, water and gently mix. Cover and lower the heat. Cook until the eggplants are tender, about 10~12 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure eggplants cook evenly on all sides.
  2 tablespoons Oil, 1 Medium Onion, finely chopped, ¼ cup Water, plus more if needed
• Stir in chopped tomatoes, remaining peanut powder and cook till the tomatoes turn mushy, about 4~5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice or roti.
  2 Medium Tomatoes, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons Cilantro

Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

Basil Vinaigrette Recipe

• AUTHOR: SYLVIA FOUNTAINE | FEASTING AT HOME
• PREP TIME: 5
 
• TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES
• YIELD: 1 CUP

DESCRIPTION

Bright, bold, and beautiful, this Basil Vinaigrette is a summertime favorite! Make it in under 5 minutes, using your blender. Vegan and Gluten-free.

No lie - it really did take 5 minutes.  Very good on roasted veggies, and a thick dressing for salad as well!  Just takes a LOT of basil.  Had to buy some rather than just use what was in the yard. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups packed basil leaves (roughly 3 ounces)
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar or lemon juice)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons shallot, sliced
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Place all ingredients in a blender or mini blender and pulse repeatedly until almost smooth.

Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

NOTES

Serve over grilled veggies, drizze over caprese salad, or toss with pasta or greens for a flavoful salad dressing.

NUTRITION

• Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
• Calories: 165
• Sugar: 0.2 g
• Sodium: 291.8 mg
• Fat: 18.7 g
• Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 0.9 g
• Fiber: 0.2 g
• Protein: 0.3 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg

Find it online: https://www.feastingathome.com/basil-vinaigrette/ 

Honey Apricot Frozen Yogurt

from https://www.spachethespatula.com/honey-apricot-frozen-yogurt/

will try with mango instead

Honey Apricot Frozen Yogurt

YIELD: 6 servings at around 110 calories each!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups non-fat greek yogurt, strained over night in the fridge
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 apricots, chopped
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to your food processor, and pulse to combine. (I like to leave the apricot a little chunky for texture.)
2. Pour into the bowl of your ice cream maker, and churn for around 20 minutes.
3. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze.

 

Sabza - Afghan Spinach

 From Afghan dinner prepared by Mhrangiz

Steam a few bags of fresh spinach for 15 minutes, then ‘smash them’ gently.

In a separate pan, fry one chopped onion with 2 cloves of garlic and a bit of salt in olive oil.

Mix everything until fully combined.  Let rest about 5 minutes before serving. 

Toasted Turmeric Cashews

https://www.afghancultureunveiled.com/humaira-ghilzai/afghancooking/2013/03/toasted-turmeric-cashew-nuts.html 

I prepared these for an Afghan-themed 65th surprise birthday party.  They were VERY turmeric-y, possibly moreso because I added a twist of pepper to increase the absorption of curcumin.  I also skipped the colander step, which might have been more important than I realized.  In any case, they were very easy to make, and I might try again with a different spice mix. 

https://www.afghancultureunveiled.com/humaira-ghilzai/afghancooking/2013/03/toasted-turmeric-cashew-nuts.html

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons ground turmeric

1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt (adjust to your taste)

1 pound unsalted, dry-roasted cashews

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add oil, turmeric and salt; quickly stir to make a paste.  Immediately add the cashews and stir-fry for 1 minute, turning the cashews in the pan to coat with the spices but don’t burn them.  Pour into a colander.  Shake the colander for 1 minute to eliminate extra spices; you may need to brush off extra coating of turmeric.  Let cool and store in a jar with a tight lid.

Note:  Trader Joe’s has well priced and really fresh cashews.

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this blog is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.

Borani Kadoo Afghan butternut squash

https://thespicespoon.com/borani-kadoo/ 

I made this for an appetizer for an Afghan-themed dinner for a friend's 65th  surprise birthday party and it was really good.  

For the cumin, I ground it from seeds.  And increased the spices by 50-100%.  I used Siggi's skyr yogurt, which is very thick.  Mhrangiz suggested using water to thin it out so that it could be spread more easily on the bottom of the bowl.  I washed the mint the night before and let it dry overnight, so it was perfect for chopping when I went to add it to the dish.  It's easy to cut the veggies (I used a combo of sweet potatoes and butternut squash) the night before, roast them and let them cool in the fridge day of, and assemble just before serving.  It should be at room temperature.  For vegan, use non-dairy yogurt instead (Greek style Kite Hill would be my preference.)

Be generous with the mint, and add a generous sprinkle of salt. 

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 medium-sized butternut squash halved lengthwise, peeled, de-seeded and and sliced into 1/4 inch slices (they will look like arcs)
• ▢ olive oil for roasting
• (note: would increase the following spices by at least 50%)
• ▢ *1/4 tsp turmeric powder haldi
• ▢ *1/2 tsp coriander powder
• ▢ *1/2 tsp cumin powder (grind seeds)
• ▢ 3/4 cup thick Greek-style yoghurt (dairy or non-dairy)
• ▢ sea salt to taste
• ▢ dried mint + extra for garnish

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 400F
• In a large mixing bowl, combine sliced butternut squash with a good drizzle of olive oil (enough so it coats each piece), turmeric, coriander seed powder and cumin seed powder.
• Transfer to cookie tray, (spread evenly across it) and place in oven for 20 minutes.
• When roasted, sprinkle with sea salt and allow to come to room temperature- around 15 minutes.
• Spoon yoghurt into individual glasses and layer with butternut squash slices. Or you could slather a layer into individual small plates and place butternut squash slices on top.
• Dust with dried mint and a drizzle of olive oil.
• Serve with pillowy bread like nan-e-barberi from an Irani store. Or you could use pita bread.

Gluten free chickpea brownies

 From Pinterest.  See if these are like the ones Melinda made for the weekend of the baby naming.  Try using less maple syrup.  Cut them into smaller pieces than recommended.

The BEST Flourless Chickpea Brownies are fudgy and full of delicious chocolate flavor. These protein-packed brownies are the perfect vegan, gluten-free dessert or snack for any time of the day!

Prep Time10minutes mins

Cook Time25minutes mins

Resting Time30minutes mins

Total Time1hour hr 5minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

 

Servings: 9 brownies

 

Calories: 393kcal

Author: Sarah Pilley

Equipment

• Food Processor or blender

Ingredients

• 15.5 ounces chickpeas 1 can
• ½ cup almond butter or any nut or seed butter
• ½ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup mini chocolate chocolate chips

Instructions

• Place chickpeas, almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla in a food processor.
• Blend for about a minute until a smooth batter has formed.
• Add cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
• Blend until combined. Scrape down the sides of the food processor as needed.
• Add ½ cup of the chocolate chips and mix with a spoon into the batter.
• Spoon the batter into an 8” x 8” brownie pan lined with a parchment paper sling.
• Use a spatula to spread the brownie batter into an even layer. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top.
• Bake at 375°F for 22 to 26 minutes (please see notes about how to check when they are done!)
• Let the brownies sit for 30 to 35 minutes to cool. Then, remove the brownie using the parchment paper sling and slice it into 9 pieces.

Notes

See more expert tips, pictures, and variations above for making the best flourless chickpea brownies!

Yield: 9 brownies

Serving Size: 1 brownie

Top Tips:

• Wash your Chickpeas! Give your can of chickpeas a thorough rinse and remove some of the skins that fall off in the process. This is key to removing any chickpea flavor from the brownies. 
• Don’t Overbake the Brownies! Like regular brownies, overbaking will lead to a dry and crumbly brownie instead of fudgy. Test to see if they are done by touching the top of the brownie. It should be fully cooked but still feel moist instead of completely dried out. When you stick the brownie with a toothpick, it will not come out completely clean, which is okay. What’s most important is that it isn’t completely runny inside.
• Let the Brownies Set! These gluten-free brownies need at least 30 minutes to rest and gel together after leaving the oven. Flourless chickpea brownies taste better as the day progresses because they just get fudgier and firmer.

Storage: 

• Store fudgy chickpea brownies in an airtight container once they are fully cooled. If you're stacking the brownies within the container, place parchment paper between the layers to prevent the brownies from sticking together. 
• Store in a cool, dry space at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Mine have never lasted more than a day, though.
• I have not tried freezing these brownies, but they should be able to be frozen for a couple of months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator before enjoying them.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 236mg | Potassium: 426mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 24g