Incredibly easy.

Drain

2 25 ounce cans whole roma tomatoes.

Chop coarsely;  drain, pushing liquid through strainer.  (Save this juice for bloody marys)  To a blender, add

1/2 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 T cumin, roasted and ground
3 dashes smoke seasoning
2 red jalapeno peppers, whole
1t smoked paprika
juice of one lime

Put drained tomatoes on top.  Blend thoroughly.  To the blender, add

2t kosher salt (more or less to taste)
1 small bunch cilantro, stemmed (about one small handful of leaves)

Pulse until cilantro leaves are in small pieces.  Drain one last time, adding juice to the bloody mary mix.  Serve with freshly fried flour tortillas (if you have time to make them!).

This recipe is very easy, and almost anything can be adjusted.  If you are not in a hurry, use fresh tomoatoes and roast the tomatoes, onion, and pepper at 400F for 30 minutes.  Omit smoke seasoning.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Taste:  [rate 3.5]
Ease: [rate 5]

Split a

Medium butternut squash

lengthwise.  Scoop out any seeds.  Brush skin and flesh lightly with

about 1 T peanut or canola oil. 

Place face-down on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 375 F for 45-55 minutes or until flesh is soft and easily removed with a spoon.  While squash bakes, peel

2 large red apples (overripe is fine).

Chop into very fine dice, about 1/4 inch cubes.  Immediately toss cubes with

juice of one small lemon.  In a small bowl, combine

2t cinnamon
1t allspice
1/2t freshly ground nutmeg
1/4t pickling salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed

Toss seasonings with apples until well combined.  Set aside until squash is done baking (at least 20 minutes marination).  When squash is finished, remove from oven and turn broiler to medium.  Turn squash halves flesh-side up and carefully scoop out flesh with a large spoon.  Leave a 1/2 inch border of flesh so that the skin stays firm.  Gently fold squash into apple mixture; refill the squash skins with this filling.  Cut

3T unsalted butter

into pats.  Place pats evenly on top of the stuffed squash.  Broil squash for 2-4 minutes, or until butter is melted and stuffing begins to turn golden.

This side dish was invented based on looking around my kitchen at what was on hand.  Feel free to do spice substitutions such as ground cloves.  The type of apple should be a red or pink sweet; granny smith and other tart apples are too firm and too tart once the lemon juice is added.  The apples need to marinate in the sugar/juice so that the flavors meld- the broiler cooking time is to short for the cooking process to marry the flavors.  I’ve added 1/4 cup slivered almonds for additional crunch; don’t let them marinate with the apples or they’ll be mushy.  This recipe can also be done with two medium acorn squash instead of the butternut.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Taste: [rate 4]
Ease: [rate 2.5]

Looking for a quick recipe that tastes long-simmered?  Look no further…

Into a large, heavy pot, over medium high heat, add

¼ c extra virgin olive oil (or butter)

and heat until oil shimmers (or butter stops foaming).  Roughly chop

1 medium yellow onion
12 ounces Portobello mushroom caps (or baby bellas, aka criminis)

Sauté onions until soft; add mushrooms.  Sauté mixture until onions are golden and mushrooms have given off all water.

Turn heat to high; deglaze pan with

3/4 cup Burgundy wine (white or red)

and allow to reduce by half.  Turn heat to medium; add

1 1/2 c vegetable or chicken stock
1 T fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1-2 t freshly ground black pepper
Tiny pinch cayenne pepper

Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.  Add

1 c heavy whipping cream
2 green onions, chopped, green part only
2 sprigs parsley, chopped fine
Salt to taste (about 1t)

Bring to a simmer again.  Use an immersion blender to blend about half of the soup, leaving some chunks of onion and mushroom.  Taste and adjust salt/pepper as needed.

Makes 4 servings. This is delicious with toast dressed in extra virgin olive oil and shredded parmesan, toasted until golden.  The mushroom caps are very robustly flavored and I recommend the red wine version.  Using baby bellas lends less woodsy flavor and the white wine will not overpower the more delicate flavor.
 
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Taste [rate 5]
Ease [rate 4]

This is one of my favorite craves, so I looked at some recipes online and improvised based on ingredients on hand.  Pretty delicious…but definitely NOT low fat!

To a spice grinder, add

1 T kosher salt
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T paprika (smoked, if available)
1 T freshly cracked black pepper
1 t Mexican oregano, whole

Buzz until all is a fine powder.  This is your cajun seasoning.  Set aside.

Into a large saucier, cut

8-10 dry sundried tomatoes

into strips with scissors and soak in

4 T warm olive oil

for at least 2 hours. With tongs, remove the tomato strips and heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add 

6 green onions, chopped white part only
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

and saute until golden and transparent. Turn heat to high; deglaze with

2/3 cup dry white wine

and reduce by at least half.  Reduce heat to low-medium low and add

1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream

and reduce by half.  Add about

2 T cajun seasoning
1/4 c Parmesano-Reggiano, ground to a very fine powder in a food processor

Taste; add more seasoning, if desired, to increase spiciness.  Meanwhile, in a large pot, bring

1 gallon water

to a rolling boil.  Add

2 T kosher salt
1 pound brass-cut fettucine;

boil 8-10 minutes or until al dente.  With tongs, move finished pasta to saucier; toss with sauce.  Garnish with

6 green onions, chopped, green part only

and serve immediately.  Garnish with walnuts, if available.
Makes 4 servings. I actually used dry sundried tomatoes; if you can only find pre-marinated (which are much more expensive), skip the warm oil step. Use the drained sundried tomato oil to fry onions and garlic.  Using brass-cut pasta will greatly improve the sauce’s adhesion to the pasta and the overall creaminess of the sauce.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Total time: 2.5 hours (30 minutes if using premarinated tomatoes)
Taste [rate 4]
Ease [rate 3]

Note: all amounts on vegetables/herbs are approximate.  Do not change the amount of cornstarch added.

To a large crockpot, add in this order:

1 bulb fennel, cut into chunks
4 ribs organic celery, cut into chunks (or the base of one bunch of celery stalks, degritted)
4 carrots, chunked
two large or three small onions, chunked
Mushroom stems from 8-16 ounces cremini or button mushrooms (optional)
2 t dried Mexican sweet oregano, uncrushed (optional)
10-20 black peppercorns
6-10 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
1/2 bunch fresh italian flat leaf parsley (about 1 cup)

Fill crock pot with water until barely covering ingredients.  Simmer on low for 8 hours (or high for 4), uncovered for the last half hour.  Remove from heat.  Strain through a chinoise (then strain again through cheesecloth for really clear stock…but I’m too lazy for that step!).  While stock is still hot, make a slurry of

1 T corn starch
2 T water

While stirring stock, add slurry until well mixed.

Organic celery is more flavorful; if not using organic, increase celery to 6 ribs or add 1/4 teaspoon celery seed.  This stock can tend to have some residual bitterness; to combat this, replace one cup of the cooking water with one cup beer.  I freeze this stock in 2-cup containers; 4 cups takes forever to thaw and is often too much for a non-soup recipe.  To amp up the flavor, add fennel, celery, carrots, onions in the crock pot insert and roast in a 450F oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and roasty-smelling.  Remove from oven; allow to cool, then proceed with recipe as written.  If the container is not cooled before adding water, the cold water could crack your insert.

Prep time: 15-20 min
Cook time: 8 hours
Taste: [rate 4]
Ease: [rate 5]

How, oh how, can I beg for people to start making their own chicken stock??  Not only is it easy and cost effective, it is delicious!

Note: all amounts are approximate.

To a large crockpot, add in this order:

bones of two chickens
4 ribs organic celery, cut into chunks (or the base of one bunch of celery stalks)
4 carrots, cut into chunks
one large or two small onions, chunked
2 t dried Mexican sweet oregano, uncrushed (optional)
10-20 black peppercorns
6-10 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
1/2 bunch fresh italian flat leaf parsley (about 1 cup)

Fill crock pot with water until barely covering ingredients.  Simmer on low for 8 hours (or high for 4), uncovered for the last half hour.  Strain through a chinoise (then strain again through cheesecloth for really clear stock…but I’m too lazy for that step!).

Organic celery is much more flavorful, so if not using organic, increase celery to 6 ribs or add 1/4 teaspoon celery seed.  I freeze this stock in 2-cup containers; 4 cups takes forever to thaw and is often too much for a non-soup recipe.  To amp up the flavor, add chicken, celery, carrots, onions in the crock pot insert and roast in a 450F oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and roasty-smelling.  Remove from oven; allow to cool, then proceed with recipe as written.  If the container is not cooled before adding water, the cold water could crack your insert.

To keep this as cheap as possible, I have a big container in my freezer into which I throw chicken bones until full.  I almost always buy whole chickens for economy (free-range organic is expensive!!), but if you’re using bones from thighs, wings, etc, it can take a while to have enough bones for a batch.  If my carrots/celery are starting to look less than fresh, I’ll throw them in the freezer too.  I make stock when I have enough rejects to fill the crockpot.

This stock is not only more flavorful than store-bought, it contains much more collagen- which makes the mouthfeel more velvety and recipes will require less fat as a result.

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 hours
Taste: [rate 5]
Ease: [rate 5]

Had friends over, experimented with her favorite recipe to make it animal friendly. Here’s what we made. The tofu is delicious; like fried cheese but meatier. Serve with fried vegetable rice:

Using a clean tea towel, press

two 12.5 ounce blocks of extra firm tofu

under ~5 pounds of evenly distributed weight. Press for one hour, changing the towel once. Cut tofu into 1??? cubes.

Place a large wire cake rack over a jelly roll pan or yesterday’s newpaper. Place the tofu in a medium bowl. Add

2 T soy sauce
1 T sake
1 t toasted sesame oil

and mix well. Allow tofu to soak for 10 minutes. Drain any excess liquid and add

one egg, beaten lightly

and mix again until well coated. Put

2/3 cup cornstarch

in a covered container. Add the tofu and shake to coat. Add more cornstarch if needed; pieces should not stick together. Place tofu on the wire rack without the pieces touching each other. Set the bowl of cornstarch aside. Refrigerate to set the coating, at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours, the longer the better. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before deep-frying.

In a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water, cook

3 cups broccoli florets

until bright green and crisp-tender, 1-2 minutes. Using a wire mesh skimmer, transfer the broccoli to a bowl of cold water and set aside.

Heat a large flat-bottomed wok or deep Dutch oven over high heat until very hot. Add enough

peanut oil (2-3 cups)

to come about one third of the way up the sides of the wok or to a depth of 2 to 3 inches in the Dutch oven. Over high heat, heat the oil until very hot, but not smoking (the surface of the oil will shimmer slightly), or to 400*F (200*C) on a deep frying thermometer.

In a small bowl, combine

1/4 cup strong ale (substitute vegetable broth if needed)
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 T sake
1 T sugar
1 1/2 T rice vinegar

stirring to dissolve the sugar as much as possible. In another small bowl, dissolve the remaining

1 T cornstarch in
2 T water.

Roll the tofu again in the bowl of cornstarch until white and powdery. Shake off excess. In batches without crowding, deep-fry the pieces until the coating sets, about 30 seconds. Using a wire-mesh skimmer, remove the tofu and count to 10. Return the chicken to the oil and cook until the coating is crisp and golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to the wire rack and set aside while deep-frying the remaining tofu.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the wok. Return to high heat and add

10 dried chillies.

Cook until the chilies are dark red. Stir in the soy sauce mixture; then stir in
2 T garlic.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30-45 seconds. Turn off heat. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Add the tofu pieces; drain and add broccoli; stir to coat. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings. If vegetable broth is used instead of beer, increase sugar to 2 tablespoons. This is not one of my easy recipes, but it is worth the effort.
Prep time: 45 minutes
Total time: 3-4 hours
Taste [rate 4]
Ease [rate 2]

After the annual carving, my friend Amy and I were lamenting (greenies that we are) that so many gourds are wasted on just being decorative. Well, my pumpkins supplied the seeds for the following recipe. If you like popcorn or roasted nuts, you will LOVE these:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Under cold running water, in a colander, rinse

Seeds from at least one large pumpkin

to remove all pulp. While still in the colander, drizzle seeds with about

2 tablespoons peanut oil

and stir to coat. Place parchment paper/Silpat on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread seeds in a single layer over the sheet. If you have too many seeds, use more than one sheet or bake in batches. Sprinkle seeds with

1-2 teaspoons kosher salt (to taste).

Bake for 10-20 minutes or until toasty GBD (golden brown and delicious). Try not to burn your fingers while you wolf them down!!!
If you use cooking spray (but it’s more expensive and less environmentally friendly), you can just spray the seeds after spreading them on the parchment. It is very important to use kosher, not table salt; it is very easy to oversalt with the fine granules of table salt.
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Total time: 30-45 minutes

Taste [rate 4]
Ease [rate 5]