garlic pizza dough

let soften for about 10minutes:
1 C warm water
1.5 tsp active dry yeast
some honey

mix in:
2 Tb olive oil
3C bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
1tsp + fresh minced garlic
dried basil if you wish

if using your handy-dandy kitchenaid mixer, mix with the dough hook for a good 5-10minutes. add in more olive oil as needed to form a nice soft but not sticky ball. feel free to add more garlic & dried herbs as you desire! let rise in a greased bowl, lightly covered for an hour or so until doubled. punch down & form into 2 medium sized pizzas. top with your favorite stuff! bake at 450 until cheese is melted.

Avocado Mango Salsa

Avocado Mango Salsa

• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 mango, large diced
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 c. onion, diced
• Juice of one lime (or lemon juice if that's what you have)
• Several dashes Frank's Red Hot sauce (all the rage around here)
• salt and garlic salt to taste

Serve with Coconut Rice, Black Beans, and Tortilla Chips for a meatless wonder.

Coconut Rice

• 1 1/2 cups rice (Jasmine is best)
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 can Coconut Milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• more chopped cilantro leaves

Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

coconut tofu curry with spinach & tomato

I needed a tofu recipe & was in the mood for curry, coconut milk & using up fresh veggies from the CSA farm. I adapted the recipe from this one. no picture of the actual dish, sorry. but it sure was pretty. and tasty.

• 14 oz. coconut milk
• 1TB red curry paste
• 1 TB curry powder
  
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• small scoop minced garlic (1 tsp? I don't measure garlic)
  
• 14 ounces extra firm tofu
• olive oil
  
• 1/4lb fresh spinach, washed (duh) & chopped
  
• 1 tomato, diced
  
• 1/2 onion, minced (I used vidalia)

1. Drain tofu, cut into little cubes & pat dry with papertowel. In large skillet (I used this one), heat oil over medium heat. Cook tofu in a single layer without stirring about 5 minutes or until slightly browned on bottom. Stir gently. Then continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thouroughly cooked, about 5-7 minutes.
2. While tofu is cooking, be your own little soux chef & mix curry paste, curry powder, soy sauce, and garlic.
3. Add onion & cook for a few minutes until onions are translucent.
4. Add coconut milk, tomato & spinach & and mix from #2 above. cook, stirring, until veggies are warmed & spinach is barely wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
5. serve over rice & with warm naan. add salt & pepper to taste!

Cornucopia Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 c. slivered almonds
2 T sugar

1 head green leaf lettuce, torn into pieces
1 head Romaine lettuce, torn into pieces
1 c. chopped celery
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 avocados, cut into chunks
2 apples, diced
1/2 c. dried cranberries or pomegranite seeds

Dressing:1/2 c. sugar
1 t. grated onion
1/2 t. salt
1 c. oil
1/3 c. vinegar
1 t. dry mustard
3/4 t. poppy seeds

Directions:Combine dressing ingredients and refrigerated until ready to use. Carmelize slivered almonds by mixing with sugar in a small skillet and stirring constantly over low heat until lightly browned. Cool. Toss salad ingredients, almonds and dressing just prior to serving.

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

This is a slightly different poppy seed dressing from the one that Briste posted a while ago.

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons minced onion
1 cup salad oil (vegetable oil)
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Mix all the ingredients together except for the poppy seeds. Beat until creamy and then add the poppy seeds. Mix well.

Enjoy with your favorite greens!

Morrocan Chickpea Chili

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup pre-chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste

2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in cumin and next 7 ingredients (through red pepper); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups water, tomato paste, chickpeas, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.Yield4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 215(23% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 2.9g,poly 1.9g); PROTEIN 7.7g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 102mg; SODIUM 534mg; FIBER 9.8g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 36.3g

This is a very yummy vegetarian dish for fall. Don't be deterred by all of the ingredients..this is really easy to make! You can also substitute ingredients and change around some of the flavoring. I added a little light sour cream and cheddar cheese over the top and served with warmed pita bread.

Dal

we had our first BOOK CLUB meeting last night! we met to discuss THE KITE RUNNER & eat lots of yummy afghan food. here's what I made: DAL. this is actually an indian dish - a lentil puree - but it had similar ingredients to most of the afghan dishes I found online. I doubled this recipe.

rinse & place in large saucepan:

• 1 C red lentils (or yellow split peas)

add:

• 2 C water
• 1 small sliced onion
• 3/4 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 3/4 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric

simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 20-25min. puree in food processor & return to saucepan. stir in:

• 1 C water
• 3/4 tsp salt

simmer, partly covered, until the dal is thickened to the consistency of split pea soup, about 20 mins. stir in:

• 2 fresh jalepeño peppers (sedded, cut into 1/3rds)
• 1.5 plum tomatoes, diced
• 3 Tb chopped fresh cilantro

serve over:

• kashann's afghan rice!

from the joy of cooking

crystal beach olive salsa

Here's the olive salsa I served tonight at our gathering at crystal beach. We had it with tostitos SCOOPS tortilla chips. Recipe credit goes to Melissa Davis on this one.

3 cans large black olives, drained
2 cans diced green chiles
1 (28oz) can peeled whole tomatoes (undrained)
1 bunch green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb. lime juice (or juice from 2 small limes)
2 Tb. white vinegar
1/3 C. olive oil

to taste:
sugar (large pinch)
chili powder
season salt
ground cumin
fresh cracked pepper
cholula hot sauce - I would have added some but I was out of it...

coarsely chop onions, tomatoes, cilantro, olives. add oil, vinegar, lime juice. stir together. chop about 1/2 of mixture in food processor (or blender), taking care not to over-chop. mix together & add remaining ingredients to taste. chill. this makes a lot of salsa!!