Watercress

Great article on watercress in today's Dining section in the NY Times. Three recipes -- two vegetarian and one that easily could be -- included in the sidebar.

Lentil Pecan Pate

I first had this at Cafe Flora in Seattle and reversed engineered a recipe I was (and am) quite happy with. The recipe for their version eventually became available in their cookbook and mine is quite different. But since I'm happy with it, I'm sticking with it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of lentils
2 bay leaves
2 cups water

1 onion, halved and sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
olive oil

1 cup pecan pieces

1/4 cup tahini
water

2 T minced onion

Salt to taste, at least a teaspoon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
ground pepper to taste


Cook the lentils in the water until quite soft, adding more water if necessary.

Saute the onions in oil until they start to brown. Add the garlic and continue to cook until the garlic is no longer raw.

Heat the oven to 350 and toast the pecans until they just start to brown, four to five minutes.

Put the tahini a food processor and blend, adding water until the mixture is the texture of thick cream. Add the onion garlic mix, raw onion, lentils and half the pecans and process until smooth.

Add the salt, pepper and spices and combine well. Correct seasoning as necessary. The mix should be slightly overseasoned at this point, as the remaining pecans are still to go in, and because the mix will mellow over time.

Chop the remaining pecans fairly fine and combine them with the puree in a mixing bowl. Correct seasoning if necessary. This can be served right away, but it improves by sitting for 24 hours to allow the flavors to mellow.

Serve with olives, cornichons, caper berries, onion confit, and baguette slices or crackers.

This recipe makes enough to serve 12 to 15 as part of an appetizer buffet. Leftovers make wonderful "meatloaf" sandwiches. In fact sometimes I mix up a batch of this specifically for sandwiches. It freezes well.

Blender note: It's possible to make this in a blender, but you will need to process the mix in batches and will need to add some additional water. But it will still turn out fine. If there are a few lentils that aren't fully pureed, that's fine too.

Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

This was inspired by the dressing on the Apple Glazed Parsnip Salad at Feast. I don't think that dressing had tahini in it, but I thought it might make a good base.

1-1/2 Tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup water
1 small garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
Scant 1/2 Cup olive oil
salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

In a blender, combine the tahini, water and garlic and process until throughly combined. Add the vinegar and mustard and process briefly until combined. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a stream. Correct the seasoning as necessary with salt, pepper and/or lemon juice. The first time I made this, I found the dressing a tad on the sweet side until I added the lemon. Hasn't been the case subsequently.

Carrot Ginger Soup with Curry Leaves and Cumin Seed

2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon asafoetida
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 ounce ginger, peeled and chopped
5 cups of water or vegetable broth
1 pound of carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Generous pinch red pepper flakes
6 cardamom pods
15 curry leaves


Put the oil in a stockpot and heat until almost smoking. Add asafoetida and cook 30 seconds, then add the cumin seed and cook, stirring, until the seeds are evenly golden brown – 30 seconds to a minute. Add the ginger and cook until fragrant. Immediately add the water or broth to keep the mix from burning.

Add the carrots, salt, pepper flakes, cardamom and curry leaves. Bring the pot to a simmer and cook until the carrots are very soft, 20 to 30 minutes.

Allow the soup to cool enough to handle. Remove the cardamom pods (just like a surgeon with clamps and sponges – count ‘em going in, count ‘em coming out). Puree the soup in batches in a blender. Taste for seasoning and correct as necessary.

Reheat the soup and serve. Like almost all soups, this tastes better if made a day ahead reheated.


Serves four.

Double Corn Pudding

This is basically a cheese strata (remember the 70's?), but it uses cubed polenta instead of bread. It can be made ahead, and it's familiar enough, at least to those of a certain age, that it won't frighten carnivores. The key is to use good sharp white cheddar -- you don't want some neon orange monstrosity. I use Trader Joe's Cabot Extra Sharp, $5.99 a pound. It can be served hot, warm or at room temperature, and it travels well, cut in slices or still in the pan, making it perfect for picnics or potlucks.

I always have cooked polenta in the freezer, but if you're making it from scratch, a pound of dried polenta makes a bit over 3 pounds of cooked. I suppose you could use the store bought polenta that comes in rolls, but I haven't had to try that, and you could probably substitute frozen or canned corn, but I haven't had to try that either.

1 pound cooked polenta, cut in 1/2" cubes
3 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cobs
4 eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
1/2 t curry powder
1 t vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
2 t Dijon mustard
4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
grated parmesan cheese
olive oil for pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, corn, eggs, buttermilk, curry powder, Worcestershire sauce and mustard, and stir well until thoroughly mixed.

Lightly oil a glass pie plate with the olive oil. Sprinkle a little parmesan over the bottom to promote a brown crust. Add one third of the corn mixture, top with one third of the grated cheese. Repeat twice. Sprinkle additional Parmesan on top.

Bake until nicely browned and puffy, an hour or so.

This recipe serves four to six, depending upon what else is going on.

Three Layer Chocolate Cake

This cake is a birthday tradition in our family, and has been since 1968 when I found the recipe in the Time/Life American Cooking cookbook. The frosting is about the only thing I still use sour cream for, having discovered Trader Joe's 2% Greek yogurt. As good as that yogurt is though, I don't think it would cut it for frosting.

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares
12 T butter (1-1/2 sticks), at room temperature
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 t vanilla

2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 t salt (omit if using salted butter)

1-1/2 cups of milk

FROSTING

3 ounces walnut pieces
21 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 t salt
1-1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature


Melt the unsweetened chocolate and cool it to room temperature. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs singly incorporating well after each addition, then the melted chocolate and vanilla.

Sift together the dry ingredients. Add 1/4 cup of the dry ingredients into the batter, then 1/4 cup of milk. Continue alternating milk and dry ingredients, incorporating well after each addition until the batter is smooth.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a baking sheet, toast the walnuts until they are lightly golden and fragrant. If you are over 45, set a timer so you don't forget about them. Remove and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, butter and flour three 9" cake pans, and line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Divide the batter equally AMONG (NOT between -- bad grammar is almost as bad as bad food!)the pans. Bake the cakes for about 20 minutes -- until the cakes are pulling away from the sides of the pan a bit and are firm to the touch. A toothpick or cake taster should come out clean. Turn the cakes out on racks to cool and remove the parchment paper.

Make the frosting: Melt the chocolate. Add it to the sour cream and salt and blend until well combined.

Frost the top of each cake(about a quarter of an inch thick). Stack the layers on a cake plate and frost the sides. Add additional frosting to the top if you have it. Strew the walnut pieces on top of the cake and push them gently into the frosting so that they adhere.

Avocado Buttermilk Soup

This is quick, easy and delicious -- a great soup for when the weather is hot. Makes a wonderful light meal accompanied by a salad and a baguette, or an elegant starter. Quantities can be multiplied, although for very large quantities you'll need to blend it in batches. This soup can be made ahead and kept chilled in the refrigerator. If you do this, bring it to near room temperature -- that is slightly chilled not cold -- before serving.

1 avocado, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 small cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup of buttermilk, or more to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lime juice
chives for garnish

Combine all ingredients except the chives in a blender and process until everything is smooth and well incorporated, scraping down the sides with a spatula as necessary. If the soup is thicker than you would like, thin with additional buttermilk.

Pour into indivual bowls and garnish with chives. I think zest of lemon and/or lime would be a nice garnish as well, and next time I make this I want to see how it is with a bit of pimenton as a garnish.

The quantities given here make enough soup for two to three people.

Asparagus Risotto

1 small bunch of asparagus
1 quart homemade vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
½ stalk of celery, minced
1 shallot, minced, or equivalent amount of red onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
¾ cup of Arborio or canaroli rice
¼ cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
Zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped

Trim the woody ends from the asparagus and reserve. Slice the rest of the asparagus on the bias into pieces about an inch long. Blanch the asparagus in the broth until just barely cooked through (time will vary with the thickness of the asparagus). Remove it to an ice bath with a slotted spoon, drain when cooking has stopped and allow to come to room temperature in a colander.

Put the woody stem ends and the bay leaf in the broth and simmer. (Recipe can be prepared ahead to this point.)

Cook the shallot, celery and garlic in 1 tablespoon of the butter until soft, about four to five minutes. Add the rice and cook stirring constantly until the rice is well coated and starting to become translucent – two to three minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until it is all incorporated. Stir in the stock in ladlefuls until the rice is cooked al dente, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the lemon zest, parsley, cream, and reserved asparagus, and cook until just heated through. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese.

Black Bean Chili

This recipe is adapted, simplified basically, from one in Deborah Madison's The Greens Cook Book. It makes eight very generous servings at a cost of 62 cents (Seattle) or 40 cents (Tucson) exclusive of garnishes and polenta. Like most soups and stews, this is better made a day ahead and reheated, making it excellent for entertaining. Additionally, chili is a familiar concept and won’t frighten the carnivores.


2 cups black beans
1 bay leaf
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons sweet (mild) paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium yellow onions, ¼ inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes, including juice
½ teaspoon chipotle puree, or to taste
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or to taste


Garnishes:

pasilla peppers, roasted, peeled and diced
green onions, sliced
crumbled cotija or feta cheese
sour cream or Greek yogurt


Put the beans and bay leaf in a large kettle and cover them with water by a couple of inches. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Put the cumin in a large ungreased skillet and toast until they begin to color. Add the oregano and chili powder, stir and continue to toast until the mix is very fragrant but not scorched. Turn off the heat, add the paprika and cayenne and stir to combine. Remove the spice mix and reserve.

In the same skillet sauté the onions in the oil until they are soft. Add the garlic and spice mix and cook five minutes. Add the tomatoes and chipotle puree and simmer 15 minutes.

Add the tomato mixture to the beans and continue to simmer until the beans are quite soft. Season to taste with salt, vinegar and additional chipotle, if necessary.

Serve over polenta, garnished with cheese, peppers, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and green onions.

Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Blueberry Sauce

This quick and easy cake is an adaptation of a recipe I found on epicurious.com. You don't even have to get out the mixer, and it cooks in about half an hour. It has been very well received every time I've made it. In place of the blueberry sauce, you can substitute sliced, lightly sugared stawberries and whipped cream.

Cake:
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup sugar
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
Zest of two lemons
¼ pound butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

Glaze:
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted
Juice of two lemons

Sauce:
4 cups whole fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Zest of one lemon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9” pyrex pie plate with deep sides and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Combine buttermilk, eggs, lemon peel vanilla and butter in small bowl and stir to combine. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and fold in with spatula until just blended. Pour the batter into the pie plate and bake until the cake pulls away from the sides and a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze: Put lemon juice into powdered sugar and stir until well combined and free of lumps. If the glaze is too thick, add a bit more lemon juice or water until glaze is of spreadable consistency.

When the cake is done, remove it from the oven, place a plate over it, and, using oven mitts, invert the cake onto the plate. Remove the parchment paper and, while cake is still hot, ice the top with glaze. Cool completely to room temperature.

Make the blueberry sauce: reserve half the blueberries. Combine the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring, until the berries are soft and the mix is syrupy. Remove from the heat and add the reserved berries. With the back of a wooden spoon, gently crush some of the fresh blueberries. The sauce can be made up to two days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Before serving, bring to room temperature, or rewarm

Sugar Snap Pea Salad, Endive Cheese Tart

Today's NY Times Dining section has a good recipe for sugar snap pea salad with radishes, mint and ricotta salata.

The endive cheese tart also sounded good, if a bit on the rich side.

"Pork" with Red Peppers

In the late 1960's the Time/Life company had a "Foods of the World" cookbook series. My family had just returned from a year and a half in Europe, and we came back to a pretty dismal food scene. Even though I was only in high school, I subscribed to the series and taught myself to cook from it. These cookbooks, which I still have, are now widely and cheaply available in used book stores and thrift shops and each and every one of them has at least a few recipes I make over and over again. Hard to believe I've been making some of these recipes for forty years!

My mother was a fairly adventurous cook and used to make a fabulous Portuguese pork dish (Lombo de Porco com Pimentos) from the The Cooking of Spain and Portugal book. I suspect part of the fabulousness was the quarter cup of lard the original called for. My vegetarian version substitutes butter -- and less of it -- and I think it's still good.

Ingredients:

6 oz faux chicken strips, thawed and cut into uniform pieces
2 generous tablespoons butter
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine or white vermouth
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 lemon wedges

Method:

In a nonstick pan, melt a scant tablespoon butter and saute the strips until they are lightly browned. Remove and reserve.

Remove any bits of the strips sticking to the pan and melt the rest of the butter. Add the minced garlic and cook until it is just beginning to brown lightly. Add the red pepper slices and saute for a couple of minutes until they soften slightly. Add the wine, stock, and salt. Simmer over very low heat for about half an hour (adding more stock if necessary) until the pepper is very thoroughly cooked and the liquid has a sauce-like consistency. Add the reserved strips, stir to combine and cook until they are just heated through.

Serve over rice, garnished with the lemon wedge. Serves two. Recipe can easily be doubled, tripled or quadrupled.

NY Times: Bibimbap, Mexican Chocolate Pudding,

Today's NY Times Dining section has a recipe for Bibimbap, a traditional vegetable casserole on top of crispy rice. I'm not familiar with this dish, or Korean food in general, but it sounds quite good. I like one dish meals.

If this were anybody but Mark Bittman, I wouldn't trust it, but he has a recipe for vegan Mexican chocolate pudding, made with tofu. It looks very easy to make and I can't wait to try it. There's also a video of Bittman making the pudding. The recipe calls for a teaspoon of vanilla; in the video he says a quarter teaspoon. I think I'd be inclined to go with the latter, at least for starters.

Finally, there's an interesting article on the ubiquitous Sriracha hot sauce. It's made in Los Angeles. Who knew? The article includes a recipe for Sriracha Mayonnaise Sauce, although you probably don't really need a recipe. It's just mayo, sriracha, condensed milk and salt. I'm not so sure about the condensed milk...

Sonoran Cheese Soup - Caldo de Queso de Sonora

Photo by Greg Bryan, Arizona Daily Star.

Yesterday's Arizona Star had a feature on Mexican cheeses that included a recipe for Caldo de Queso (inexplicably titled Caldo con Queso) from Adolfo Cabrera, executive chef at the Doubletree Inn in Tucson. Caldo de Queso is a Sonoran specialty, and I found several recipes online from Sonoran cooks. The recipe that follows is my adaptation of these.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 red or white boiling potatoes, 3/4" pieces
1 white onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1-1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
6 cups of vegetable broth
1 cup of tomatoes, diced
1 cup of roasted Anaheim peppers, diced
1 large or two small ears of corn, cut in 1" slices
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter
red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
1/2 cup milk, half and half or cream
8 ounces queso fresco, diced
8 ounces queso panela, diced
salt and pepper to taste

For garnish:
tortilla triangles
cilantro leaves

In a non-stick pan, saute the potatoes in half the olive oil until they are lightly brown, but not fully cooked. Set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan and saute the onion, carrot and celery until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and oregano and saute a couple of minutes longer.

In a stockpot, combine the sauteed vegetables, the vegetable broth, the reserved potatoes, the tomatoes and peppers and simmer until the potatoes are nearly done. Add the corn and simmer a minute more.

Meanwhile, in a clean, dry pan, toast the flour until it is lightly golden brown. Add the butter and cook until it is melted and mixed well with the flour. With a spatula, scrape this mixture into the stock pot (along with the optional red pepper flakes) and simmer for five minutes.

Add the milk and cheeses and simmer two minutes, or until fully heated through. Garnish with tortilla triangles and cilantro. Serve with hot tortillas or French bread.

Bittman's Zuppa Arcidossana

In today's Minimalist column, Mark Bittman has a terrific sounding recipe for Zuppa Arcidossana.

I see a couple of ways to make this into a vegetarian recipe. You could replace the four ounces of sausage with vegetarian sausage. Or you could just omit sausage altogether and season the soup with sausage seasoning -- fennel seed, marjoram, thyme, nutmeg, red pepper flakes. You could substitute four ounces of garbanzo or white beans for the sausage and also add sausage seasoning. Or, as Bittman suggests in the video, you could simply leave out the sausage.

Fideos - Sopa Seca de Fideos

4 cloves of garlic
6 oz. fideos
olive oil
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 14 oz can tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon chipotle puree, or to taste
1/2 Mexican grey squash, chopped
2 Anaheim peppers, roasted, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1/4 cup peas
crema, sour cream or Greek yogurt, to taste
1/2 avocado, sliced
cotija cheese, crumbled
green onions
pickled onions and/or green olives
chopped cilantro or Italian parsley

Roast the garlic in foil in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Saute the fideos in oil in a nonstick pan, in batches if necessary, until they are light golden. Remove and dry on paper towels.

In the oil remaining, saute the sliced onions for a few minutes until they are translucent. Remove the garlic from the foil and peel.

Put the garlic, onion, tomatoes and chipotle puree in a blender and process until smooth. Return the puree to the pan and add the fideos, the squash,the chile peppers and the oregano. Bring to a simmer and cook until the fideos are done and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. If necessary you can add a little additional hot water or broth. Add the peas and cook until they are heated through.

Put the fideos on plates and garnish with the crema, avocado, cheese, onions, olives and cilantro or parsley. These quantities make two servings, or three if you have other courses.

NOTES: If you don't have Mexican grey squash, zucchini is a fine substitute. If you don't have cotija cheese, feta will work well. If you don't want to bother with roasting the garlic, you can sautee it with the onion. If you don't have a white onion, use red or yellow. No one will notice.

"Pork" in Chile Verde

This is based on a pork in chile verde dish my carni-vorous friends enjoy at the Chile Pepper Mexican restaurant in Seattle. (I usually have their excellent chiles rellenos, although their cheese enchiladas in mole are pretty terrific too. But I digress).

I make this dish using either Trader Joe chicken-less strips or Morningstar Farms meal starter chik-n strips. In fact I often use faux chicken strips in recipes calling for pork and even white fleshed fish.

If you prefer not to use meat substitutes, you could use garbanzo beans instead. Or this would be a fabulous brunch or supper dish with hard boiled eggs, chopped, added at the last minute. (Or poached eggs for masochistic cooks.)

4 to 6 ounces faux chicken strips
1 tablespoon butter, oil, or a combination
1 white onion, quartered and sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
4-6 pasilla or anaheim chiles, roasted and chopped
1-1/2 cups salsa verde
1 t dried Mexican oregano, crumbled
3/4 cup broth, water or a combination
chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the strips into fairly uniform chunks. Heat the butter and/or oil in a nonstick frying pan and saute the strips until they are lightly browned. Remove from the pan.

Saute the onion until it is becoming translucent. Add the garlic and saute for a couple of minutes more. Add the chiles, salsa, oregano and broth. Stir well to combine and simmer for ten to 15 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and the strips and cook until the strips are just heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over white rice.

This makes about three servings. Two if ravenous, four if there is a lot of other stuff going on. If you have the salsa verde already on hand and can buy roasted chiles, this is a pretty quick and easy supper. If you're starting from scratch, better start before lunch.

Green Sauce - Salsa Verde

1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds tomatillos
3 or 4 poblano or anaheim chiles, roasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, quartered
chopped cilantro to taste
salt and pepper to taste, if necessary

Husk the tomatillos, rinse them and cook them in simmering water for five to ten minutes until they are soft and have lost their bright green color. With tongs, remove them to a blender. Reserve the cooking liquid. Add the chiles, onion and garlic to the blender and process until well combined.

Put the sauce in a non stick frying pan. Add about a cup of the cooking water to the blender and process briefly to get the bits sticking to the sides of the blender. Add the water to the frying pan, stir to combine. Simmer the sauce for about ten minutes, until it is the thickness you want and the onion and garlic have lost their raw taste.

NOTE: Traditionally this sauce would be sauteed in lard or butter. If you want a richer sauce you can melt butter in the frying pan before adding the liquid ingredients, but I don't think it's necessary. The roasted peppers give the sauce a rich, smoky taste.

Add cilantro, and salt and pepper if necessary. I find that salt and pepper are usually unnecessary. The salsa is best if used promptly but will keep for a day or two in the refrigerator.

Mole Verde de Cacahuate - Green Mole with Peanuts

This is adapted from a pork recipe in Diana Kennedy's 1978 cookbook Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico. The original recipe is from Veracruz state.

5 ounces shelled peanuts, unroasted, unsalted
1-1/2 pounds tomatillos
1/2 white onion
4 cloves of garlic, whole
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs of cilantro
jalapeno or serrano chile(s) to taste, seeds and stems removed
salt and pepper to taste


Toast the peanuts in a 350 degree oven until golden.

Husk the tomatillos and rinse them in cold water. Put them in a saucepan along with the onion, 2 cloves of garlic and bay leaf. Cover generously with water and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the tomatillos are done.

Transfer the tomatillos, onion, and garlic to a blender, reserving the cooking liquid. (The sauce will puree more easily in the blender if you chop the onion and garlic a bit. If you are using a food processor, this isn't necessary.) Add the remaining 2 cloves of garlic, the cilantro, the jalapeno or serrano pepper(s) and the roasted peanuts. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of the cooking liquid and process until smooth. If it seems too thick, add a little more cooking liquid. The sauce will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and it freezes well.

I use this with faux chicken, either Trader Joe's or Morningstar Farms. Cut the "meat" strips in uniform sizes, and saute briefly in butter or oil in a nonstick pan until they are just starting to brown. Remove from the pan. Add more butter or oil and saute some white onion (sliced, slices cut in thirds) until it is becoming translucent. Add some of the mole to the pan along with a cup or more of the tomatillo cooking liquid (or broth or water if you are using mole from the freezer) and simmer the sauce and onions for about 15 minutes. Just before serving, add the "meat" and cook just to heat through. Serve over rice.

If you prefer not to use faux meat, this is also good with sauteed mushrooms, garbanzo beans, or both.

Spanakopita Pie

This is basically spanakopita, but baked in a pie shell instead of filo dough. I don't have the patience for filo dough. This is a forgiving recipe, and you can vary the amounts of everything. The dill is essential, but you can substitute a smaller amount of dried dill for fresh if necessary. You don't need salt at all because the feta is so salty.

This is a good dish for a picnic, or a potluck. It's what I always take to friends when there's been a death in the family because it will keep for several days, and it's familiar enough that it doesn't frighten carnivores. You can serve it at room temperature, or reheat it in a moderate oven until heated through. It also freezes well.

2 10-ounce packages frozen spinach, thawed
2 small yellow onions or one large, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
4 eggs
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
3 to 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
1 pie crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Squeeze all the water from the spinach and put the spinach in a mixing bowl. Saute the onions in the oil until they are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook a couple of minutes longer. Add the onions and garlic to the spinach and mix well to combine. I find bare hands work best for this.

Add the eggs, dill and feta, and stir well to combine (NOT bare hands!).

Put the crust into the pie plate and poke holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork. Add the spinach mixture and spread it evenly. Bake the pie until done -- about 50 minutes to an hour. Check the pie occasionally and if the exposed crust is getting too brown, protect it with a pie crust shield or strips of foil. I find the crust shield usually needs to go on at about 40 minutes. If you are going to be serving it right away, let it rest for five to ten minutes.