Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely diced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 head of fennel (sweet anise), cut into 1cm slices then into 2 -3 cm pieces.
1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste
Method
Ingredients
210g carrots (3 large carrots)
700g leeks (2 large leeks, roots and topmost part of greens trimmed off - use at least 6 " of green parts)
50ml olive oil for soup, 10 ml olive oil for cooking chicken
300g celery (1/2 head)
50g shallot (1 medium shallot)
1300ml chicken broth (1 and 1/2 box TJ's chicken broth)
300g collard greens
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
zest from 1 lemon or half a Seville orange
50g steel ground pinhead oatmeal (optional)
1 large chicken breast
1 teaspoon sea salt
Method
Slice the carrots and one of the leeks into pieces no more than 2cm x 1cm.
Put the olive oil and most of the black pepper into a large heavy based saucepan (6 or 8 quart capacity for this volume).
Ingredients
275g carrots (2 large carrots)
520g celery (1 head)
600g leeks (4 leeks, roots and topmost part of greens trimmed off - use at least 6 " of green parts)
100g sun dried tomatoes in olive oil (1/2 jar)
50 ml olive oil (add oil to the oil from the tomatoes to make this volume)
410g chopped roasted tomatoes (1 tin TJ's fireroasted tomatoes)
425g garbanzo beans (1 tin water packed TJ's beans) Garbanzo beans are also known as chickpeas
450ml soy ginger vegetable broth (1/2 box TJ's soy ginger broth - vegetable broth with a tablespoon of soy sauce will substitute)
225g mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice powder
at least 2 teaspoons Szechuan sauce (more if you like highly spiced foods). Alternatively, use Worcester sauce with Tabasco - a few drops, or more, if you know you like it.
Method
Slice the carrots, celery and leeks into pieces no more than 2cm x 1cm.
Put the olive oil and 5 spice powder into a large heavy based saucepan (6 or 8 quart capacity for this volume).
Ingredients
1 shallot (or half a mild sweet onion)
2 heaped teaspoons chopped garlic
1 large head of fennel (Florence fennel, sometimes called 'anise' in the USA)
1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
450g shrimp
ground black pepper
parmesan cheese (optional) - alternatively, 1 teaspoon flax oil per person
Method
Take the skin off the shallot and slice it into 2mm wide strips, then chop.
Trim the root end off the fennel, and slice it into 1 cm wide strips, then into bite size lengths.
Ingredients
750g Swiss chard
4 garlic cloves, or 2 heaped teaspoons of TJs crushed garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
400g peeled and chopped tomatoes
400g Portobello mushrooms
1 lemon
sea salt, black pepper
25g grated Parmesan (optional)
Method
Prepare the Swiss chard by rinsing well then stripping the white stalk part from the green leafy part. Chop the stalks into sections 1cm wide.
Peel and chop the garlic finely, fry in a tablespoon of olive oil for a few minutes in a big non-stick saucepan. Add the chopped white chard stalks. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 5 minutes until the stalks start to soften. Add the tomatoes, season well with sea salt and ground black pepper. Turn down to a very low heat.
Adapting from MFK Fisher's 'How to cook a wolf', here is her suggestion for food which will contain adequate vitamins and minerals, while costing as little as possible, both in ingredients and in energy. The book was written in 1942, during the 2nd World War.
Assumptions : you have access to a medium sized cookpot (say, 8" diameter), a chopping knife and board, a stove top for cooking (alternatively, nowadays, use a microwave oven and a glass or plastic bowl), and somewhere to keep the cooked food cool.
Ingredients
6 carrots
2 onions
1 head of celery
1 small head of cabbage
at least 8 oz of coarsely ground whole grain cereal (steel cut oats would be a good choice .. don't use a breakfast cereal containing sugar)
Following on from the recipe for steamed greens , Deborah was right to be suspicious about a recipe which suggested boiling them for 35 minutes. The University of Warwick, in the UK, which used to be another source of badly overcooked vegetables, has published a paper explaining why greens should be microwaved, steamed briefly, or stir-fried.
press release 15 May 2007
Deborah asked for ideas about preparing collard and mustard greens.
Steamed greens
Make the leaves into a stack, and partly roll them up. Using a sharp knife with at least a 5" blade, on a chopping board, shred the stack into slices 1/4" (1cm) across, and then chop that into 2" (10cm) lengths, more or less. Pack the result into a bowl (I use a 40 fl oz (1 litre) Pyrex jug with a handle), put in the microwave oven with a plate on top, heat on full power for 5 minutes. The volume will reduce by about half.
Dress as you would a salad - balsamic vinegar and olive oil, maybe with a teaspoon of flax oil too.
1/2 onion, chopped fine
2 carrots, chopped fine
4 zuchini, thinly sliced
1/2 head of celery, thinly sliced.
1/2 jar (4 oz) sundried tomatoes in olive oil
1" of fresh root ginger, thinly sliced and chopped
2 teaspoons of pureed fresh ginger in lemon juice
4 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
8 - 16 fl oz soy ginger broth
4 oz black lentils, rinsed
Pour the olive oil from the tomato jar into a large non-stick pan.
Add the onion and carrots, and cook gently until the onion is transparent.
Add the ginger, the celery, the zuchini, and the tomatoes. Cook for another few minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add some of the broth. (If you don't have soy ginger broth, chicken or vegetable stock with a tablespoon of soy sauce is a reasonable substitute).
Salad Topper #1, Marinated Mushrooms:
For every 100g crimini or chestnut mushrooms (or any small and spongy mushroom such as button), add 1 Tbsp good balsamic vinegar (regular or white), a teaspoon of olive or other favourite oil, and chopped fresh or dried herbs to taste. I like a mix of basil, thyme and lavender. If the mushrooms are absolutely tiny I keep them whole, otherwise I cut in half or quarters. Stir well and leave to marinate in the fridge 1 hour or more, though the mushrooms will get wrinkly and tough if you leave them much longer than a day. The spare liquid that runs to the bottom I use as salad dressing.
From Miss M , 25 April 2007
