Last Class - Shirley's Apple Salad

We're getting economical now with directions. Do the obvious with the following:

2 apples
1 cup wheat berries, cooked in 1 1/2 cup water for 1 hour
3 scallions
parsley, coarsely chopped
diced fennel
1/2 cup raisin or currants
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
dressing - olive oil, red wine vinegar, juice of 1 lemon

Last Class

The final round-up: Everyone's bringing something for a potluck vegetarian lunch.

Here's Ruth's dish:

Beans and Rice with Polenta OR Gazintas and Gozontas

Layer the bottom of a baking pan with rice and quinoa (or similar)
Put a layer of this mixture over the rice: beans, sautéed onions, garlic, canned tomatoes, black olives, ground cumin, chilli powder, chopped tomatoes, and salsa (or whatever you like).
Then put a layer of shredded cheese (cheddar, provelone, parmesean, mozzarella all good choices) over the vegetable mixture.
Finally, slice a polenta log and layer that on top with some more cheese. Then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or so.
May be served with sour cream, salsa, guacamole or nothing.

So easy, and yet seems to be well-liked by all.

What's Next

I've asked seminar members to write down their thoughts about the seminar. Here's what Kathy Hazen says:

1) what if anything I learned about vegetarian cooking

It can be a lot more work than ordinary cooking, cutting up umpteen vegetables for instance, and take more time to cook some whole grains. But it’s worth the effort. Most vegetarian dishes taste great.


2) why I think it's important to eat a vegetarian meal now and then (assuming I do think so).
I think it’s important to eat most meals as vegetarian, making sure you get enough protein. By vegetarian, I mean cutting out red meat, keeping in fish, eggs, dairy products.


3) what I expect and hope to do in the future with respect to eating less meat.

Just that. Eat less meat. Make other things the central point of a meal.


4) what I would be willing to give up eating, and why.


I’m not willing to give up anything completely, not even beef. Except the fast food joints, MacDonalds, places like that—and I gave them up years ago. I believe it is healthy to eat a wide variety of foods, and not overdo anything.


5)anything else you would like to say on the subject of a "once-a-week vegetarian" eating habit.
 
This seminar has been a lot of fun, more people should try it—they would like it. Also, we should do a lot more experimenting with a broad range of spices and other exotic foods that place little emphasis on meat as an ingredient. For example Japanese, Thai, and Indian cuisines, and also the Mediterranean diet.

Seventh Class. Hmmm... good. That's What Kathy's Soups Are

This is her version of a soup she tasted at River Valley Market

Coconut Yam Curry Soup
Yield- 1 gallon

2 cups diced yellow onion
2 cups peeled diced carrots (I used 2 pounds of organic carrots because I like carrots)
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger (more or less to taste)
1 tsp. minced garlic (more or less to taste)
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
this part can be done ahead, and I would add the curry spices here (see cooking directions below)

5 pounds peeled and diced sweet potatoes I used only 3 lbs and boiled these to make them easier to peel and less wasteful as they were organic and very uneven etc. .

2 quarts vegetable stock or water I used water because I didn’t want to transport a half gallon of stock

1 12 oz can coconut milk (don’t use the ‘light’ kind, not enough flavor)
1 Tbsp. curry powder (I used Madras curry with a little extra turmeric)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt to taste (I didn’t use any salt at all)

- Sweat the onion, carrot, ginger and garlic with olive oil and a bit of salt until the onions are translucent
- Add tomatoes and stir
- Add sweet potatoes and vegetable stock- the stock should just cover everything in the pot
- Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft
- Add coconut milk and curry, more salt too, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes (I followed these directions and think it would have tasted better if I had added the curry at the beginning and let it mellow overnight.)
- Adjust seasonings and it's ready to go
- You can also puree this for a smooth soup (It’s prettier pureed)
- You can substitute pumpkin puree for the sweet potatoes as well. (Haven’t tried this yet.)

Notes: a couple of days later the flavor had mellowed nicely, and I served the curry over white rice and I thought it tasted much better.