Devshirme

Let’s end the year with a recipe:

4 large leeks – greens removed and finely chopped

4 potatoes peeled, quartered and sliced

3T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 C water

1/4 C miso, mild

salt and freshly milled pepper

1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed

Soak leeks in a bowl of water once chopped to remove dirt.  Heat olive oil in a large stock pot.  Add leeks, garlic and potatoes and cook covered over low heat until softened (about 10 minutes).  Add the water and salt and bring to a boil.  Simmer partly covered for 30 minutes.  Process 1/2 the soup in a blender until creamy then return to pot.  Add miso (optional).  First, melt it in a bowl with broth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add beans and stir well.  Serve hot.

This recipe was inspired by the late, lamented One Night Seafood dish at Bangkok Bistro, a great restaurant near BC that was a frequent Friday night destination for us while in seminary.  They changed the menu at some point and whatever replaced ONS was a little different and not quite as good, although everything is awesome there (they don’t seem to have a web site).  I was harvesting the remaining basil from the garden and was overcome by memories and a strong desire to eat One Night Seafood, so this is my attempt at it.

3 sprigs of basil, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1 cayenne pepper, chopped

1 small head of broccoli or green cauliflower, chopped up

Soy sauce (preferably low sodium and gluten-free)

1 green onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1lb frozen seafood (I use Trader Joe’s seafood medley, but any kind of shrimp/scallop/squid combo will do, and it doesn’t have to be frozen I suppose)

Heat up a large frying pan on the stove, medium heat with a little canola oil.  Add the vegetables and seafood until the seafood is cooked (poke the shrimp until it is firm) and the broccoli/cauliflower is softened.  Add desired amount of soy sauce over the whole thing as it is cooking – I wait until some of the water from the frozen seafood has burned off.  You can serve this over rice if you wish but I find it filling as is.

Here is a fast, easy, healthful and delicious meal:

1 can fava beans

1 can chick peas

1 bunch parsley

1 pickling cucumber (or 1/2 of a regular cuke)

Juice of 1 lemon

Cumin, salt and olive oil to taste

Rinse and drain the beans and then put them into a bowl.  Chop up the cucumber and parsley and toss them in.  Add the lemon juice, salt and cumin, and drizzle in olive oil.  Toss thoroughly and serve, or chill if desired for a a colder dish.  I made this tonight for Prez to take to work tomorrow, but if personal interaction is not a concern you can throw in a chopped red onion and garlic.

This recipe comes to us from Fr. Ephraim.  Friday is his name day, so if you see him be sure to greet him properly.

5 cups vegetable stock

2 cups of brown lentils

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped bell pepper (I use red and orange)

4 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 cup prepared barbecue sauce of choice

Hot pepper sauce to taste (I would say use it liberally – Ed.)

Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving, optional

Bring the broth to a boil in a soup pot. Meanwhile, pick through the lentils checking for stones or debris. Rinse and drain the lentils. When the broth boils, add the lentils and salt and pepper to taste. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook at a very slow boil, covered (crack the lid to vent if the pot threatens to boil over), for 20 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice to the pot. Add the onion, pepper, garlic and barbecue sauce. Simmer 15 minutes, covered, stirring frequently.

Remove the pot from the heat. Add the hot pepper sauce to taste, if desired. Serve topped with cheese if desired.

Combine the following in a food processor and mix until crumbly and uniform in texture.  Then press a tablespoon full of mixture together and roll into balls (about the size of a large marble).  These are great for quick energy or just a tasty snack or dessert:

10-12 dates

1/4 c. cocoa

2T flax seeds

2T tahini

1/3 c. cashews

1/3 c. coconut (optional)

This is recipe comes from fellow Little Angels parent Toula.  Prez made it last night – absolutely delicious soup.  We didn’t have any celery but it still tasted great.

- 2 lbs. fish (any white fish works well), cut into cube-chunks
- handful fresh fennel (use top of fennel only (maybe you can save the bulb for the green apple & fennel salad)), leaves roughly chopped
- handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 celery sticks, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- olive oil
- 1+ cups boiling water
- salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil on medium heat, then add garlic (careful not to burn the garlic). Add tomatoes and celery, cook for 15 minutes. Add fish, fennel, parsley, seasonings, hot water (add more or less hot water, depending how soupy or stewy you’d like it). Simmer another 20 minutes.

This recipe is really flexible so feel free to adjust the amounts of the ingredients to suit your taste (like less garlic, more or less tomato, etc).

1 can (14oz or so) Alaskan wild sockeye salmon, w/ bones

1 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, ground pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 c water

1 cup quinoa

1 tsp veg. bouillon

1/3 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, juiced

Bring water to boil with bouillon.  Add quinoa.  Reduce heat, simmer for 12 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Drain salmon, remove larger bones leaving smaller ones (high in calcium).  Place in large bowl.  Add quinoa and remaining ingredients.  Mix well, form patties, and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.  Bake, broil or pan fry until medium brown, regardless of cooking method.

This hearty soup is probably more of a winter dish but, this being New England, you never know when winter-like weather will pop up again – I think it is about 40 degrees out as I write this.

3 potatoes, sliced thinly

4 stalks celery, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 chicken sausages, cooked, cut up and casing removed

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

In a pot heat a 1/4 cup or so of olive oil.  Add the celery, garlic, green onion and onion and heat until they start to soften a bit.  Add water – the amount depends on how soupy you want the soup – and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, throw in the potatoes and bring back to a boil – it takes about 5 minutes to get the potatoes cooked.  Turn off the heat and add the beans, bouillon and sausage.