Apple and Celery Salad with Gruyere

Apple and Celery Salad with Gruyere

serves 4 - 6
3 oz Gruyere
1 tbsp tarragon vinegar
1 small shallot, finely diced
1 tbsp walnut oil
1 tbsp sour cream or mayo
1 cup finely diced celery heart
2 crisp apples, unpeeled, finely diced
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts, roasted
2 tbsp chopped parsley, celery leaves, or a mixture

Dice the cheese into small cubes and put the cubes in a large bowl. Season with a little salt and plenty of pepper. Cover and let stand at room temp for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, shallot, 1/8 tsp salt, and pepper to taste in another bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Whisk in the oil and sour cream, then taste for salt. Add the celery, apples, and nuts to the cheese, pour on the dressing, add the parsley, and toss well.

From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, who never lets us down.

Quinoa Mushroom Burgers, Potato Salad, Fresh Corn

Quinoa Mushroom Burgers

I love these burgers and hope you did too! I need to find a better whole wheat bun though. I think the ones from Central Market are too thick. I cut the middle out for my leftovers and it was so much better - I could really taste the burger and cucumbers - delicious!

http://www.marthastewart.com/340249/veggie-burgers

Buttermilk Potato Salad

I thought this was good - but I think I've made another version with more buttermilk and no horseradish that I liked better.

http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/buttermilk-potato-salad

Poblano Squash

The directions for this one are fuzzy. It isn't from a recipe; it is just thrown together.

Roast 3 poblanos. I use the broiler. Wash them then stick them under the broiler, just inches away. Blacken and turn, blacken and turn, until they are charred all over. Then set them aside. Once they cool, peel the charred skin layer, core, seed, and chop. You are going to use just the nice fleshy part.

Bake two acorn squash. Cut them in half, core them, then put them cut side down in a baking dish on top of some butter or oil and salt.

Once the squash is very tender, scoop them out, add the chopped poblano and crumbled white Mexican cheese. Mix, leaving the squash as chunky or as blended as you see fit. That's it.

love Dinner Co-op

I've got the night off -- by myself. Curled up with the dog and a book on the sofa. Eating baked beans, lovely homemade bread, and carrot salad (not shown) added just yet another layer of great to the night. I added left-over bits of brie from Sunday. It's as good as a dinner could possibly be. And I thought worthy of a photo op. I wish I'd thought to take a photo of Zoe and Marc's beautiful salad with the tinier-than-I would-ever-bother apples that arrived last night. I love dinner co-op.

Tempeh and Wild Mushroom Fricassee, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Salad

Tempeh and Wild Mushroom Fricassee

This is a great recipe. We made it as the main vegetarian dish on Thanksgiving and loved it - so I thought I'd make it for co-op too. We had 4 of the recipes from this article over the Thanksgiving weekend - thanks Cynthia!

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html?ref=health#Tempeh_and_Wild_Mushroom_Fricassee

Rosemary Roasted Vegetables

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rosemary-Roasted-Vegetables-236313

Peas Pilau, Cucumber Salad, and Naan

This is one of our favorite meals and from the feedback I think everyone else really enjoyed it too! My sister got me Cooking with my Indian mother-in-law for my birthday (yay!) so the library will finally get its copy back. Really one of the best cookbooks I've ever used. I feel like every meal I've made from it is really good restaurant quality. Plus it's been a bit of a cooking course with fun pastes and spice mixes.

Peas pilau

I tripled this recipe to make sure there would be leftovers too. I'm including the recipes with my modifications (e.g. brown rice, no chilies, potatoes with skins, etc...)

2 c. brown rice

5 cloves garlic

1 1/2 in ginger

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

4 in cinnamon stick, broken into 2 pieces

6 cardamoms

4 cloves

8 peppercorns

3 tbsp oil

1/2 onion, quartered and thinly sliced

4 sm potatoes, cut into 2 in dice

1/3 can of diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 c frozen peas

4 eggs, boiled for 6 minutes and shelled

Wash the rice in several changes of water, then soak in warm water for at least an hour. Use a mortar and pestle to pound the garlic, ginger, and salt into a paste and set aside. Put the cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, and peppercorns in a glass filled with water and soak for 5 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large stock pot and fry the onion over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to turn golden brown. This step takes longer than you think especially if you are using non-stick pans - so make sure and keep at it for at least 10 minutes. Drain the soaking spices (reserve the liquid and add to water you'll be using in a few steps) and add them to the onion. Cook for a few minutes and, when aromatic, add the garlic-ginger paste. Stir well, reduce the heat and cook gently for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and turmeric and bring up to simmering point. Cook over medium heat until the oil pools around the sides of the pan. Add the 3 cups of water (including the reserved liquid) and the frozen peas, and bring to a boil.

Drain and add the rice, stir and bring back to simmering point. Cover and cook for 5 minutes before reducing the heat to low to cook the rice slowly, for at least 30 minutes, without stirring. Then gently tuck the eggs into the rice and continue cooking with the lid on until the rice is just cooked. Don't stir the rice yet, but watch the water level - take a spoon and gently part a little of the rice from the side of the pan to allow you to peek down at the bottom. If the water has been absorbed before the rice is cooked, add more boiling water (say half a cupful at a time) and continue cooking and checking the water until the rice is just cooked.

For Sunday before Thanksgiving

We are still working on Monday but we have a plan for Sunday...
Tofu a la Bourguigonne on a bed of quinoa and spinach (recipe from allrecipes.com)
Beet salad with almonds and chives (also from allrecipes.com)