You are what you eat

Chicken and pasta salad, Southwestern style

This is more of a guideline than a recipe, since I threw this together on the spur of the moment. It came about when my spouse bought cilantro instead of flat-leaf parsley by mistake (why oh why is the cilantro always right next to the parsley? I've done this myself!). I had made a very large chicken the day before, so I had lots of left-over chicken to use up, too.

We love cilantro, but many people don't. If you're in the latter group, omit cilantro and use parsley, if you want, for color and added flavor. I read recently that whether or not you like the taste of cilantro depends on genetics. For some people, cilantro has a soapy taste, while those of us who love it find it citrusy and fresh-tasting.

We prefer Barilla Plus pasta, as it has a lower glycemic index and added protein from bean flours.

This salad would also be good with diced Monetery jack cheese added--I didn't have any on hand when I made this.

Chicken and pasta salad, Southwestern style

8 oz. rotini pasta
1 1/2 to 2 cups cut-up cooked chicken
1 cup or more cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained well
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
diced fresh tomato to taste
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro, or to taste (we like lots)
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, or to taste
red pepper flakes (opt.)
juice of one large, juicy lime
1/2 cup or more olive oil, or to taste
minced garlic to taste (I used about a teaspoon)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin, or to taste (I like more)
1/4 tsp. crushed dried Mexican oregano
salt to taste

Cook the rotini according to package directions. Rinse under cold running water and drain well. Toss with the chicken, beans, bell pepper, tomato, cilantro, onion, and red pepper flakes, if you're using them.

Combine lime juice with olive oil to taste. I probably started with less than half a cup of oil and just added until the balance seemed right. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly emulsified. Toss with the pasta, but don't add all the dressing at once--you may not need it all. If you don't, save the remainder, as pasta can really soak up dressing and you might need to add some before serving.

Quick vegetarian meals, part one

This post is in response to a friend who asked for some fifteen-minute vegetarian recipes. I laughed and said, "Well, maybe 30-minute recipes ..." and she replied that even that would be helpful.

I was a vegetarian for nine or ten years, and believe me, it was no hardship (except, as my friend pointed out, in restaurants, which can be a problem in that you always end up having a pasta dish or the meatless pizza or some such). At the time I didn't object to soy-based meat substitutes, but today I'd balk at that, so I'm not going to include these in my menus or recipes.

Most vegetarians depend on legumes for much of their protein. I love beans, lentils, and split peas, and I relied on them for many of our meal plans. During my vegetarian years, I didn't have a pressure cooker, which was foolish of me. A pressure cooker makes fast work of dried beans, even if they're unsoaked.

But let's start at the beginning. (I want to state right here that my friend probably knows all this, and I'm just throwing it out there for anyone who hasn't stopped to consider these points.) I'm a believer in meal planning, and I plan meals covering one to two weeks. This simplifies grocery shopping, I never have to wonder "what's for dinner," and I don't rely on those nasty processed foods. I have all the ingredients I need to make dinner on a given night. It also ensures variety and gives me the advantage of being organized, so that I know I have to soak beans on Tuesday night for Wednesday's dinner. I'm not rigid about this stuff, but having a general plan works great for me.

So, the first thing to do is to plan your meals around your schedule. A busy day followed by an evening of work or social obligations is not the time for an elaborate dinner. Save that for weekends or whenever you have the luxury of time.

Second, I can't emphasize enough how much a pressure cooker can help. I can whip up split-pea soup in under half an hour, including chopping the veggies. In the smaller of my two pressure cookers, I make risottos whose taste cannot be differentiated from the time-consuming stove-top, constant-stirring-required version. Dried beans are cooked through very quickly compared to the hours of simmering they otherwise require, and they're far superior to canned beans (cooked dried garbanzo beans, in fact, seem like an entirely different vegetable from the canned variety). Vegetable broth is done in a matter of minutes.

The slow cooker (crock-pot) is also extremely valuable, especially for the working person. I had forgotten this handy tool until one summer when I had so much to do out in the garden that I never felt like cooking at the end of the day. Putting dinner in the slow cooker before noon meant that we were guaranteed a decent meal after the busiest (and grimiest!) of days. And it doesn't heat up the kitchen much, either. Among other conveniences, the crock-pot cooks previously soaked dried beans overnight so that they're ready for the next day's meal.

Next, let's consider the meal itself. Your meal should include protein, so if you're having, say, spaghetti with marinara sauce, it's a good idea not only to sprinkle your pasta with parmesan, but also to have a side salad that incorporates feta and chickpeas, or whatever cheese and bean varieties you like. To simplify putting a balanced meal together, it's helpful to have the following on hand:

• Washed salad greens. Either buy pre-washed salad greens, or wash the greens, spin them dry in a salad spinner, lay them on paper towels, roll them up in the toweling, and put them in a plastic bag. Don't add juicy veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers until you put the actual salad together, as they will cause wilting and sogginess.
• Cooked dried beans, or canned beans. These can be added to salads and pasta (and pasta salads!) and soups and casseroles ... you get the idea. Having a bean salad in the fridge is even better; use two or three kinds of beans for variety, throw in some scallions, tomato, bell pepper, sliced black olives, celery, or whatever, and toss with a vinaigrette, and you've got lunch or a dish to round out a dinner. Add cooked pasta for a great main dish salad.
• Hummus, if you like it. Spread it on a pita, topped with some fresh veggies and/or sprouts and some good yogurt, and you've got an instant lunch.
• Cheeses that you like. These can be shredded into salads, rice, pita sandwiches, quesadillas (I'll get to that), refried beans, vegetarian chili, etc. to complete the protein in a meal.
• Hard-cooked eggs. These add protein to a tossed salad, fit well in many pasta salads, and are good to eat out of hand or as deviled eggs. I love egg salad, which can be used to stuff a tomato as well as serving as a sandwich filling.
• Tofu, if you like it. I don't, but I wish I did. It can be used in all manner of dishes, including salads, soups, stir-fries, breakfast eggs or shakes, etc.
• Better Than Bouillon, vegetarian or mushroom type. This is somewhat expensive, but even a little really strengthens the taste of soups and stews. You can also make a good mushroom gravy using fresh mushrooms and the Bouillon.

Of course, I never had all these things on hand at all times, but having some of them, at least, does make things easier when time is at a premium.

Other things to consider:

• When you cook dried beans, cook more than you'll need, and freeze the rest in some of the cooking liquid for another recipe down the line. Toss cooked beans into salads, rice dishes, pasta, soup, etc. for a protein boost.

• Cook more rice than you need for a recipe, and plan to use it as fried rice in the next day or two (more on this to come).

• Freeze leftover soup, or dishes like lasagna or eggplant parmesan, in amounts suitable for lunch or for another dinner. The freezer is your friend!

• Make veggie stock when you have time and freeze it in amounts you're likely to use for your favorite recipes.

• Think about how to use one recipe two ways. For example, leftover vegetarian chili is great as a burrito filling (just simmer the excess liquid away) or even an omelet filling.

Neither of the above lists exhausts the possibilities, of course, but it should give you some ideas about planning, using ingredients efficiently, and so on.

Next up, I'll post some ideas and recipes for quick meals.

When it's too hot to cook ... What's for dinner?

Wouldn't you know it, our air conditioner broke down right before the recent heat wave here in Michigan. And when it's in the 90's in Michigan, it's humid as well. The thought of operating even the range under such conditions--use of the oven was right out--was repulsive.

We'd already done our cheese/fruit/bread/olives/wine dinner; we'd grilled and had a tossed salad and bread to go with the seared animal flesh; we considered pasta salad, but the thought of all that steam being created in an already hot, humid environment defeated that idea.

It's a good thing there are other ways to avoid the stove and still have an excellent meal.

One menu that works well is a Middle Eastern one that includes tabouli (also known as tabouleh or tabbouleh), a cucumber-yogurt salad, and black olives; pita wedges and hummus would make this a more substantial meal and add protein. Tabouli is made with bulgur wheat, a grain that has been parboiled, dried, and (usually) de-branned. The parboiling means that soaking, not cooking, will soften the grain and make it edible. You can find bulgur wheat at many supermarkets these days, certainly at Whole Foods and health food stores.

American versions of tabouli often reverse the ration of grain to finely chopped parsley, particularly the tabouli mix that comes in a box at the supermarket. Middle Eastern tabouli has as much or more parsley as it does bulgur. It may or may not also contain mint and other herbs and spices.

I make a very basic tabouli using parsley, bulgur, scallions, tomatoes, lemon juice, and olive oil. I sometimes add cucumber and/or black olives (the deli kind), but since I was serving those on the side, I left them out this time. The final product may be eaten using the inner leaves of Romaine lettuce as scoops, but we usually just use forks. The recipe is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's in World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.

Tabouli

3/4 cup bulgur
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced fairly small
4 T. finely minced scallions
2 cups very finely chopped parsley
3 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
2 T. olive oil

Soak the bulgur in 4 cups of water for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the other ingredients. When the bulgur is done soaking, line a sieve or colander with a clean, lint-free kitchen towel and pour the bulgur and soaking liquid into it. Draw the towel together so it closes around the bulgur and squeeze as much water out of the bulgur as possible. Empty the bulgur into a bowl.

Add the chopped ingredients, the lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and/or lemon juice if necessary. The salad should be pleasingly tart.

Yogurt and cucumber salad

I've seen versions of this in both Middle Eastern and Indian cookbooks. This salad is very refreshing on a hot day. Traditional versions use twice as much yogurt as I do, so feel free to up the amount of yogurt if the idea appeals to you. You can use cucumber alone, or finely chop other vegetables and add them to the salad. I had a lot of radishes and scallions on hand, so I minced them and tossed them in.

If the cucumber is very seedy, cut it in half and use a spoon to scoop out most of the seeds before dicing it.

My favorite yogurt at the moment is Stoneyfield Farms whole-milk yogurt, but any plain yogurt, including no-fat, works fine.

1 large cucumber, small dice
1 cup plain yogurt
2 to 4 scallions, minced
2 or 3 radishes, minced
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 to 3 T. minced fresh mint

Combine all the ingredients and serve.

Minestrone

Yes, there are a hundred minestrone recipes out there, but this one came out so beautifully that my husband couldn't stop commenting on it.

I really believe the pressure cooker makes a difference. It seems to concentrate all the taste into the broth. I can't believe I did without one for so long, especially once I went vegetarian.

In addition to using homemade vegetable stock, which I had in the freezer, I used my time-tested "secret ingredient"--Better Than Bouillon vegetable base. Every vegetarian needs to keep this stuff on hand, I'm telling you. If you use the stuff, do not add salt until you've tasted the finished product. (Their mushroom base is also excellent.) If you don't have vegetable stock, commercial or homemade, then just substitute water.

I used home-grown frozen tomatoes, romano beans, peas, and zucchini; fresh celery, carrots, cabbage, onions, garlic, and parsley; and home-grown dried leeks, oregano, and basil. And canned beans--I hadn't planned ahead enough to cook up my own.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, you'll need to cover and simmer the soup for 45 minutes, or until all the veggies are tender.

My husband dislikes pasta in soup, so I usually omit it. I did not end up using any added salt, due to the bouillon and the pecorino romano I used for garnish, which is quite salty.

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
3 large carrots, sliced (not wafer thin)
3 stalks celery, sliced
14-oz. can plum tomatoes with juice (you may need extra tomato juice)
1 cup romano or green beans, raw or frozen, cut in thirds or so
3 cups shredded cabbage (core removed, of course)
1/4 cup or so minced parsley
2 or 3 T. crushed dried basil
1 tsp. crushed dried oregano
3 cups water
3 cups vegetable stock
2 T. Better Than Bouillon

1 large zucchini, halved and sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup small pasta (mini-shells, orzo, etc.)
1 can kidney, garbanzo, or navy beans, drained and rinsed
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

grated fresh Parmesan or Romano to taste

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker (or soup pot) and saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add carrots, leek, celery, tomatoes, romano or green beans, cabbage, herbs, water, stock and bouillon. Locke the lid on, turn the heat up to high, and bring to high pressure. Maintain at high pressure for 20 minutes. Let the pressure drop naturally, or use a quick-release method. Remove the cover.

Add the zucchini, peas, pasta, and beans. If the soup seems to thick, add a little water (or, if you think it could stand to be more tomato-y, some tomato juice). Cook until the zucchini and pasta are tender. Serve, garnishing bowls with grated cheese.

Middle Eastern pureed lentil soup

I love any kind of lentil soup, but I especially love those with Middle Eastern spicing. This particular recipe is wonderful on a cold, wintry night when you need to be warmed.

Most pureed lentil soup recipes are on the thin side, which I assume is the traditional way to prepare the soup. But I like mine a little thicker. I worked from a couple of recipes that called for only a cup of lentils, but over time I've discovered that a cup and a half, or even two cups, of lentils suits me better.

Split lentils are more traditional, if you can find them, as are red lentils. But plain brown lentils work just dandy as long as you puree them thoroughly.

I like to use a pressure cooker for my soups. If you do, too, then after adding the appropriate ingredients to the cooker, bring the soup to high pressure and cook for 11 to 12 minutes--you want the lentils to be falling apart. Let the pressure come down naturally.

2 T. olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 small hot pepper, chopped (I use jalapeno, but it's up to you)
8 cups water
1 cup lentils, picked over, rinsed and drained (more for thicker soup)
1 tsp. ground cumin (I like a little more)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
pinch of saffron
2 T. raw white rice
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup lemon juice

Heat the oil in a soup pot or pressure cooker. Add the onion and hot pepper; saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except for salt and lemon juice. Cover and cook over low to medium heat for an hour and a half (about half an hour if you're using split or red lentils), or cook according to my note above if you're using a pressure cooker. The lentils should be very soft and falling apart. Puree the soup in batches and return to the pot. Add salt and lemon juice, and reheat for a few minutes before serving.
 

Akara

Hoppin' John is a traditional New Year's Day dish among Southerners, eaten on that day to bring luck in the new year. It is thought to have evolved from a Northern African dish, taking on more or less its present form--black-eyed peas, rice, and ham hocks or other smoked meat--from the slaves who prepared the dish.

In honor of the new year, I bring you black-eyed peas in a completely different, but still African, form. Akara is a dish popular in western and central Africa. We like these fritters as a main dish, with sauteed greens and perhaps sweet potatoes on the side, but they would make excellent appetizers as well. If you want to get fancy, you could serve these with a homemade spicy dipping sauce, but we find that mustard or Dijon-style mustard suits us fine. Some like these with seafood cocktail sauce, ketchup, or salsa. Any way you serve them, akara are wonderful.

The peas need to be soaked overnight. For reasons that will become obvious, you can't use the stovetop "quick soak" method. So plan ahead, but don't let the necessity of forethought stop you from trying these. You do need a food processor for this recipe, although it might be doable in a blender.

You may add some cayenne pepper if you want a spicy version, or do as I do and add a jalapeno pepper or two, chopped into two or three pieces, to the food processor when you process the beans.

2 cups black-eyed peas
1 medium onion, chopped
4 or 5 T. water
1 tsp. salt (or more, to taste)
black pepper to taste
peanut or canola oil for frying (palm oil was traditionally used)

Soak the peas overnight, or for about 16 hours, in cold water. Drain the peas and place them in a large bowl. Rub the peas between your hands so that the pea skins loosen and fall off. Fill the bowl with more water. Many of the skins will float. You can either pour off the water and the loose skins, being careful not to pour out the beans, or you can use a sieve or slotted spoon to skim off the skins. I usually pour, refilling the bowl and pouring several times, giving the peas a quick swish with my fingers before pouring. I don't find that the skins always float as they should, so this method is the one I think works best. You may think differently, so try both methods.

Drain the beans well. Place them with the onions, salt, pepper, and, if desired, cayenne or jalapeno in a food processor. Scrape down the sides of the work bowl as necessary and process until you have a grainy paste. Continue to process while you slowly add water until the mixture is one that will fall easily from a spoon without being too runny. It should look light and airy but still grainy. You're going to fry these, so keep in mind what kind of "body" the paste will need for that.

Put about an inch of oil in a deep skillet and heat it until it's very hot (I test by dropping a minute amount of paste in and seeing if it starts to sizzle immediately). Working quickly, give the mixture a stir and drop a tablespoon of the batter into the skillet. Repeat until the pan is full. Fry for about a minute at medium heat, turning them over as they darken, and then turn the heat to low. Continue to fry for another 6 minutes or so, turning now and then.

When you have fritters that are a reddish-brown color and are cooked through--they will feel firm--remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Turn the heat under the frying pan back up and let the oil become very hot again. Give the batter a stir, and repeat the process outlined above. Do this until you've used up all the batter.

Serve with or without a dip or condiment of your choice. If you have leftovers, place them in a closed container in the fridge, and tomorrow you can eat them in a pita like falafels, if you want. Just heat them up a bit in the microwave, and don't forget the lettuce, tomatoes, and tahini or yogurt sauce!

Mushroom Salad

Mushroom salad is an Italian dish, very simple and very delicious. I like to serve it with a pasta-centered meal like lasagne or pasta al cardinale; the lemony flavor of the salad is a nice counterpoint to the richness of these dishes.

1 lb. mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and sliced
6 T. olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley

Beat the oil and lemon juice with the salt and pepper until the mixture is emulsified. Add parsley to mushrooms, pour dressing over, and mix thoroughly. Allow the mushrooms to marinate in the mixture for at least half an hour before serving.

You may add some minced garlic if you like, and/or garnish the salad with a few shavings of fresh parmesan.

Hungarian-style braised mushrooms

I made this recipe for a family birthday dinner for my mother-in-law when she celebrated her 84th birthday. James's siblings and families were here, as well as our own kids and granddaughter. We had a wonderful time, not least because of sister-in-law Pat's fabulous carrot cake.

What to serve? That had been my question for several days. I needed something a bit different, but not too different. Ken Bergeron's Professional Vegetarian Cooking came in handy once again, especially since I was cooking for twelve.

The Hungarian-style mushrooms sounded good. I made a couple of alterations in the recipe, since we don't have any objection to dairy products. I served it over buttered noodles. I'd taken the precaution of heating up some spaghetti sauce in case there was a mushroom-hater in the bunch, and sure enough, one diner did have the sauce over her noodles.

I went Eastern European and served the dish with sauerkraut and sliced buttered beets, knowing that my mother-in-law likes fresh beets. I also cooked up some green beans, our own home-grown ones that I'd frozen last summer, since not everyone likes beets. Jim even bought some Eastern European beers to go with the feast. But this would go beautifully with just about any salad and/or veggie you'd care to serve.

I've cut the recipe in half here, since you may not need 10 servings (I'd made one-and-a-half recipes of the 10-serving version, but you probably won't need that much!). This tastes heavenly. I put it into a crockpot to stay warm, but the mushrooms lose a little mass when you do this as they lose their moisture as they sit there.

2 C. sliced sweet onion
2 T. olive oil
1 T. minced garlic
1 C. julienned sweet red peppers
6 C. mushrooms, left whole if small, or halved or quartered (using partly baby bellas makes for a               nice rich dish)
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
pinch cayenne
2 1/2 T. flour
2 T. tomato paste
2 C. hot vegetable stock
1 1/2 T. soy sauce
1/4 to 1/2 C. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

Sauted the onion in olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and red peppers and saute for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes.

Stir in the salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, and flour. Stir in the tomato paste, then slowly stir in the stock and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add sour cream and vinegar. Season to taste.

Serve over noodles.

Chinese Vegetable Soup, Fried Rice, and Chinese-Style Broccoli

Chinese Vegetable Soup

This is from Mollie Katzen's wonderful Still Life with Menu Cookbook. I recommend it if you are looking for good meatless or low-cal dishes. This particular soup is fat-free unless you use the tiny amount of sesame oil for drizzling on top.

The first 6 ingredients are simmered to make stock. While that's simmering you can clean and prepare the vegetables. If you can't get the dried black mushrooms, try to get shiitake; if you can't get those, do without or use more fresh mushrooms. The flavor won't be quite the same, but the soup will still be good.

1 large onion, chopped
6 to 8 large cloves garlic, peeled and halved
2 oz. dried Chinese black mushrooms
4 or 5 thin slices of fresh ginger
7 C. water
1 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
12 fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 8-oz. can sliced water chestnuts
2 T. soy sauce
4 to 6 stalks bok choy, stems and leaves chopped separately
1/2 lb. firm tofu, cut in small cubes
1 C. fresh or frozen peas
1/3 lb. fresh or frozen snow peas
4 scallions, minced--keep whites and greens separate
small amounts of rice vinegar and sesame oil for drizzling on top (opt.

Combine onion, garlic, black mushrooms, ginger, water, and salt in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain the broth and discard the solids, then return the broth to the pot.

Add fresh mushrooms, water chestnuts, soy sauce, bok choy stems, and tofu. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer partially covered for about 10 more minutes.

Heat gently 10 or 15 minutes before serving time. When the soup gets hot, add chopped bok choy leaves, peas, snow peas, and scallion whites. Simmer another 5 minutes, then serve. Top each bowlful with finely minced scallion greens and, if desired, a light drizzle of rice vinegar and/or sesame oil

Basic Vegetable Fried Rice

For this dish you need leftover chilled rice, so if you don't have any lying around, you may want to make the rice the night before or early in the day and then chill. This is a necessary step or the rice grains will not separate properly. I used brown rice, but you can use plain white rice. I don't recommend converted rice for this dish--it doesn't fry right.

You can use whatever vegetables you like in the rice, cut into small pieces, including greens like spinach or kale. I used much more soy sauce than the recipe calls for, so be sure to adjust to your taste. I also used a tad more ginger and garlic. The peanut oil and sesame oil really add flavor, but you can make do with other vegetable oil if need be.

Recipe makes 4 or 5 generous servings; you can easily halve it.

1 C. carrots, diced
1 C. zucchini, diced
1 C. mushrooms, chopped
1/2 to 1 C. frozen peas
3/4 C. celery, diced
3/4 C. onion, diced
1 T. peanut oil
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 T. mince garlic
4-5 C. cooked rice
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 1/2 T. soy sauce
salt to taste
sliced scallions
toasted sesame seeds

Blanch the carrots, zucchini, celery, and zucchini in boiling salted water; cool; drain well and set aside. Saute the onions in peanut oil over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for another minute or two. Add mushrooms; turn the heat up, as mushrooms lose a lot of liquid and you don't want the vegetables steamed, but sauteed.

Add the blanched veggies to the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add frozen peas. Add the rice to the pan and sprinkle with sesame oil and soy sauce. Mix the rice and vegetables, breaking up the rice with your spoon to separate the grains. Allow to brown a bit to develop flavor. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and scallions, if desired, and serve.

Chinese-Style Broccoli

1 lb. fresh broccoli
1 1/2 tsp. slivered garlic
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp. peanut oil
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp. water
1 T. (or more) soy sauce
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sugar

Trim off the woody stems of the broccoli. Peel the stems, split lengthwise, and slice diagonally into bite-size pieces. Break or cut the broccoli tops into bite-sized florets and set aside.

Saute the garlic and ginger in peanut oil over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds or until they barely begin to brown (do not burn the garlic--it will become bitter). Add broccoli and saute another minute. Combine cornstarch with water and set aside. Add remaining ingredients, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes or until broccoli is bright green and just tender. Stir the cornstarch mixture once more and then stir it into the pan to thicken the sauce. Season to taste and serve.

Black Bean Burritos

Here's a recipe some of you will know from my cookbook. It's a staple at our house. Hard to believe this rich-tasting meal is so low in fat. If you're not concerned about fat, top the burritos with shredded cheese and heat in the oven, or sprinkle the filling with cheese before wrapping. You can heat the burritos all at once in a 350-degree oven, tightly covered with foil, or you can heat them in the microwave, one at a time, covered with plastic wrap.

1 large onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 or more jalapenos, minced
2 T. vegetable oil
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp ground cumin
12 8-inch flour tortillas, warmed
salsa, if desired

Cook the onion, garlic, and jalapeno in oil over moderately low heat until the onion is softened. Make sure the rinsed beans are well drained. Add the beans to the pan and mash about half of them with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. Add the tomato sauce, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the mixture, stirring often, for at least five minutes (I usually let it simmer for 10 or 15 minutes). Warm the tortillas one at a time in the microwave, 5-10 seconds or until they are soft and pliable. Take the warmed tortilla and spread about 3-4 T. of the filling down the center of it; roll up tightly, enclosing the filling but leaving the ends open. Now you can bake them for ten minutes in a lasagna pan, with or without cheese but tightly covered in either case, or you can heat individually in the microwave. Top with salsa, if desired (and/or sour cream, if you're not watching your fat intake!).