Fried Green Tomatoes...

Pete's Market had the most lovely green tomatoes and I couldn't resist.  However, I bought way too many and had slices of tomato all over the kitchen.

Fried Green Tomatoes

a recipe from Martha Stewart

Not enough gumption to type it out right now so here's the link:

fried green tomatoes...yummy!

Note:  I used way less oil and I used canola, not olive oil.

Watermelon Salad...

I threw this together last summer and we liked how it turned out.

Watermelon Salad

a recipe from the Horjus Kitchen

one seedless watermelon
several limes, zest and juice
several sprigs of fresh mint

Cube watermelon and place it in a large bowl.

Zest limes and add both zest and juice to the watermelon.

How many limes you ask?  Good question!  I used four normal sized limes for one normal sized seedless watermelon.  That seemed like enough but your mileage may vary.

Give this a good stir and put it in the fridge.

Cut fresh mint into confetti (chiffonade).  Keep the mint confetti in the fridge and stir it in to the watermelon right before serving.  The leaves off three or four sprigs should be plenty.  I used maybe 2 tablespoons of confetti for one watermelon, again, ymmv.

Note:
The mint will get stronger and stronger.  Once the mint is in, this salad does not keep until the next day.
Seriously, the mint gets strong.  If you take this to a party don't add the mint at home...take the mint in a separate container and add it right before the meal is served.
mint right before serving = Yum!
mint hours before serving = not yummy
Sorry if you are now terrified of mint.

Zesty Cranberry Sauce...

This is required for Thanksgiving to even happen. See: The dish that saved Thanksgiving...  It is delicious for other holidays as well!  Yum! 

Zesty Cranberry Sauce

a recipe from the Horjus Kitchen

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup undiluted orange juice concentrate

2 ripe pears, finely chopped

1 medium apple, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Put everything in a saucepan and simmer, uncovered until the cranberry skins pop and the mixture is slightly thickened.

Notes:
If you don't like it tart you can add sugar at the end (we like it without).  This is great hot, cold or room temp.  We would eat this in a box or with a fox.

Chinese Noodle Salad...

This is always well received at potlucks and it keeps well.  It reminds me of the Gruner salad at Good's Furniture in Kewanee, Illinois.

Chinese Noodle Salad

a recipe from Jennifer Raymond

Salad:

6-8 cups finely shredded cabbage

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3 green onions, thinly sliced or 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

1 package ramen noodle soup (see notes)

Dressing:

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar or other sweetener

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Toast the almonds and sesame seeds by baking at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned.

In a bowl, toss together cabbage, toasted almonds and sesame seeds, onion, crushed dry ramen noodles and ramen seasoning packet.

Mix together the dressing ingredients and pour over salad.  Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes:  Be kind to the veg people in your life and look at the ingredients.  Mass market ramen all have meat products in their seasoning.  However, many health food brands have vegan ramen but the noodles are soft, not crunchy (seems like soft noodles wouldn't be right). I get around this by using the mass market noodles and the health food store seasoning packet.  I continue to be on the lookout for crunchy ramen with vegan seasoning.

Black Bean Salad...

This is the first of many recipes that will be from Jennifer Raymond (see below*).  Most of my favorite recipes seem to come from her.  This salad is named both Fiesta Salad and Aztec Salad but I would never remember what that means so we call it by the very original name of 'black bean salad'.

Black Bean Salad

a recipe from Jennifer Raymond

For the salad:
3 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 large tomatoes, diced (or petit diced from a can)
1 green pepper, diced
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3/4 cup chopped cilantro, optional

For the dressing:
2 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 lime or lemon, juiced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper or pinch of cayenne
1/2-1 teaspoon salt

Combine the salad ingredients.  Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.  Toss gently to mix.  Can be made in advance.

Notes:  I like to use green, red, yellow and orange peppers if they look good.  I also prefer to use petit diced tomatoes from a can when produce tomatoes look tasteless.  I just substitute what looks like a good amount to me at the time.  I prefer lime and cayenne for the dressing.  If starting beans from scratch use 11/2 cups dry beans.




*We were introduced to Jennifer Raymond's recipes in the back of Food For Life by Neal Barnard.  Many of those same recipes are in The Peaceful Palate by Jennifer Raymond.  All the recipes are vegan, made with 'normal' ingredients and are 'keepers'!  The recipes in the two books are not absolutely identical and sometimes go by different names.  If a recipe I post comes from Jennifer Raymond it will be from one of these two books.