My Favorite Recipes
Hot and Sour Soup
6 dried Chinese mushrooms (I user regular mushrooms)
8 cups water
4 vegetable bouillon cubes
6 green onions, sliced
1/2 lb tofu, slivered
2 T dry sherry or Chinese rice wine
1/4 cup cider vinegar or Chinese rice wine vinegar
2 T tamari (soy sauce)
2 T cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup carrot, cut into 2" matchsticks
1/4 cup bok choy, cut into 2" matchsticks
black pepper to taste
Soak mushrooms in 2 cups boiling water for 15 minutes. Place 6 cups of
water and bouillon cubes in pot. Add mushroom water and bring to a
simmer. Sliver mushrooms and addthem, along with white part of green
onions. Simmer 5 minutes and add tofu. Simmer 5 more minutes and add
sherry, vinegar, and tamari. Dissolve the cornstarch in the 1/4 cup of
water and stir it into the soup. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring.
Drizzle in the beaten eggs, stirring with a fork. Add the rest of the
vegetables and cook just until softened. Add the pepper.
Creamy Potato and Spinach Soup
1 T butter or Safflower oil
1 diced onion
1-2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups diced potatoes
4 cups water
2 bouillon cubes
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
2 10oz. packages of spinach, thawed
1 cup milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1-2 T dry white wine
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
black pepper
Heat the butter or oil, saute the onion, the garlic, and the potatoes.
Add the water, bouillon, and tamari and bring to boil. Simmer for 15
minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 5 more minutes. Puree half the
mixture in a blender and return to pot. Add the milk, yogurt, wine,
lemon juice, and black pepper. Heat and add the Parmesan Cheese.
Southwest Kidney Bean Dip
Ingredients:
1 can kidney beans (I've used black beans):
1 can salsa
1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped
lettuce, shredded
cheddar cheese, shredded
black or greek olives, chopped (optional)
Combine ingredients. Add lettuce last so it won't get soggy. Serve with
tortilla chips.
Chinese-Style Vegetables with Couscous
For Sauce:
1/4 c tamari or soy sauce
2 T water
1 T dry sherry
1 t honey
1/2 t grated ginger
1 T sesame oil
1/2 t crushed anise seed
Vegetables:
1 1/2 c warm water
1 c couscous
1 T + 1 t safflower oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small sliced onion
2 cakes (1/2 lb) tofu, diced
1 lb sliced zucchini
1/2 lb asparagus/ cut in 1" pieces
Mix together ingredients for sauce and set aside.
Mix couscous and water and set aside.
Heat 1 T oil over medium heat and saute the garlic and ginger. Add onion. Stir-fry
until the onion begins to soften. Add tofu and some of the sauce. Stir-fry for 2
min. and add zucchini. Add water, if needed, so mix won't stick. Stir-fry for
a few minutes until zucchini starts to turn translucent. Add asparagus and more
water, if needed. Stir, cover, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 t oil to pan and
add the couscous. Stir together and add the sauce.
Black-eyed Peas and Spinach
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped,
1 Tbsp olive oil,
1 10-oz package frozen spinach,
2 15 oz cans black-eyed peas,
1 cube bouillon,
cayenne pepper,
ground black pepper,
This isn't the official recipe, but this is how I make it and it tastes great!
Saute the onion until translucent. Meanwhile nuke the spinach until it's pretty
much thawed. When the onion is ready, add the bouillon cube, the spinach, and
the 2 cans of drained black-eyed peas. Add cayenne pepper and black pepper to
taste (I like a lot of cayenne pepper). Cook until everything's hot and mixed.
Serve over orzo or grits(and you can add parmesian cheese to the orzo or cheddar
cheese to the grits, but you don't have to because it tastes perfectly fine
without it).
Tofu Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs tofu,
2 Tbsp butter,
1 med onion, chopped,
10 mushrooms,
1/4 tsp salt,
1/4 tsp pepper,
2 Tbsp chives,
1/2-1 tsp garlic powder,
1 cup sour cream,
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce,
1-2 Tbsp cooking sherry
Drain tofu on paper towel to remove excess water. In the meantime, melt 1 Tbsp
butter in a large saucepan. Saute chopped onion. Slice mushrooms. Add to onions
and saute till tender. Add spices and let them blend together. Remove mixture
from pan. Slice drained tofu into long strips, about 3" by 3/4" and 1/2" in height.
Fry tofu on both sides in remaining Tbsp of butter until golden brown. Add
mushroom-onion mix. Before serving, add sour cream, tamari, and cooking sherry.
Let cook for a few minutes to blend together. If sauce is too thick, add more
sour cream. Adjust sherry to taste. Serve over noodles.
Orzo with Feta Cheese
(Orzo is a type of pasta that looks sort of like rice. You can get it most grocery stores.)
Ingredients:
8 oz Orzo,
olive oil,
feta cheese,
2 T chives,
3T parsley,
6-8 black olives
Cook and drain Orzo. Add chopped olives, seasonings, a dollop of olive oil, and
feta cheese to taste (about 1/2 cup?). I sometimes put about 1/2 tsp salt in too.
Skillet Eggplant Parmesian
Ingredients:
1 small eggplant (peeled and sliced about 1/2" thick),
1 15-16oz jar of spaghetti sauce,
1/2 tsp salt,
1/4 tsp pepper,
4 oz mozzarella cheese (thinly sliced),
2 Tbsp grated Parmesian cheese
In skillet mix eggplant, sauce, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat
20 minutes or till eggplant is tender, turning occasionally. Arrange mozarella
slices on top and sprinkle with Parmesian; cover and continue cooking til cheese
is melted.
Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake
Cream: 1/4 lb margarine, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs
Combine: 2 Cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda
Topping: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 cup chocolate chips.
Add dry mixture to creamed mixture alternately with 1 cup sour cream and 1 tsp vanilla.
Put half the batter in 9 x 12 ungreased pan. Put half of topping on. Pour on rest of
batter and top with remaining topping. Bake at 350 degrees, 30 minutes
Walnut Crescents
Cream: 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup confec. sugar
Add: 1 1/2 tsp water, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 cups flour, 1 cup chopped walnuts
Mix well. Shape in rolls. Bake at 375 degrees, about 15 minutes. Roll in
confec. sugar and again when cool (ungreased cookie sheets).
Jewish Apple Cake
Ingredients: 3 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 3 tsp baking powder, 1/3 cups orange juice,
2 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 cup oil, 4 eggs
Also: 6 apples, peeled and sliced
Topping: 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon, mixed.
Beat together Ingredients til smoothe and light. Spread half of batter in greased
10" tube pan. Cover with layer of apples. Sprinkle with half of Topping. Put remaining
batter on top and again layer apples and then sprinkle with rest of Topping. Bake at
325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or til tester comes out clean.
Scotch Shortbread
Ingredients: 1 lb butter, 1 cup sugar, 6 cups flour
Cream butter, add sugar gradually and beat till light and fluffy. Ad flour gradually
and knead well. Make into 4 cakes, 1/2" thick on ungreased cookie sheet. Prick with
fork. Bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour.