Lentil and cilantro soup

It's winter, so soups are in order. This one was inspired by a simple lentil and cilantro soup that came with a meal Josh and I enjoyed last winter break in Montreal at an afghani restaurant called Kyber Pass. I've added carrots because their taste just marries well with lentils and I also added onion and garlic.

Pick over 1/2 cup of green lentils and add them to a pot with 5 cups of vegetable broth or cold water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until the lentils are soft, about 4o minutes. Don't salt the broth or water; doing so will prevent the lentils from softening.

Meanwhile, peel 4 carrots and cut them into very small pieces. Mince half a medium onion and three cloves of garlic. Wash and mince about half a cup of fresh cilantro. Sautee the carrots, onions and garlic with in a generous amount of olive oil over low heat until the carrots are just soft, about 10 minutes. While this cooks, add about a teaspoon of cumin and salt and pepper to taste. At the very end of cooking, add the cilantro, stir and cook a few more minutes.

When the lentils are done, add the carrot, onion, garlic and cilantro mix. Add more water if you want a more liquidy soup, and adjust the salt if necessary.

Makes two generous portions or four first course servings.

Purity Soup

If you have vegetable stock already made, or if you choose to use store-bought stock, this soup is really easy and very quick to make (30 minutes max). There is no set recipe as far as the vegetables are concerned; pretty much whatever you have in your fridge works well. For onions, stick to small green onions or chives.

While the stock is heating over high heat, peel and cut a variety of vegetables, keeping the scraps to make more stock for later soups. When the stock is boiling, add the vegetables. Allow the water to come back to a boil, reduce to a good simmer and cook for five minutes. It is important not to overcook in order to keep the vegetables will be firm and flavorful.

Serve hot over cooked soba noodles or rice for a wonderfully light yet surprisingly filling winter evening meal.

KAPS (Kick-ass pasta sauce)

Since the eggplants and tomatoes were abundant at Paisley's Farm Stand this fall, and I was tired of making ratatouille, I experimented one night and came up with this delectable accompaniment for pasta. This sauce, when allowed to sit overnight, gathers in flavor and serves as a lovely side dish with rice and roasted vegetables, so make plenty!

1 large eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, chopped
About 5 cups fresh, chopped tomatoes
1 large summer squash, shredded
1 large garlic clove, minced
basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme (fresh is best, but dried is okay) and salt to taste

Sautee the onion over low heat in a generous amount of olive oil. After a few minutes, add the eggplant and stir to coat with oil. Cook for a few minutes, then add the summer squash and the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer until everything is reduced to mush, at least 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve over hot pasta and top with grated parmesan cheese, or store over night and eat the next day as a rich side dish. It's excellent both ways.

Green Machine Soup

This is the easiest, no-nonsense soup you will ever make. What's more, it tastes good!

Roughly chop up the edible part of one large leek, and peel and crush a few cloves of garlic. Wash and trim the stems of a large bunch of swiss chard (about enough to overfill a large collander) and chop roughly.

In a large pot, melt two generous tablespoons of coconut oil (olive oil is fine). Sautee the onion over medium low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and the greens and stir to cover with the oil. Sautee for a few minutes, then add some water. Don't cover the greens with water, as they will wilt, so a few inches is fine. You can always add more if necessary later.

Bring the water to a boil and cook the greens until they are completely wilted and soggy.

Spoon some of the greens into the container of a food processor with some of the liquid. Process until completely smooth. Repeat until all the greens and liquid have been processed.

Serve hot with a sprig of parsley and some fresh bread.

French toast stuffed with cottage cheese

If you live near a farm where homemade cottage cheese is sold, I recommend it for this recipe. The commercial cottage cheeses tend to be watery (not to mention that they're packed with a few too many sketchy ingredients) so they wouldn't work well here. The cheese I used here, as well as the wheat bread, comes from Nezinscott Farm in Turner, Maine.

In a flat-bottomed bowl, mix three eggs with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk (rice or soy is fine) and salt to taste. Spread about 1/4 cup of cottage cheese on a slice of wheat bread, trying to stay away from the edges. Cover with another slice of bread and pat down. Place the cottage cheese sandwich in the egg-milk mixture, letting each side soak to the degree of sogginess you like. Be careful when turning the sandwich over, especially if it is soaked. Fry in butter on a heavy skillet until brown on both sides. Serve hot with more butter and applesauce and whatever fruit you like. Cinnamon is always good as well.

Curried tofu and mixed vegetable salad

This salad is both warm and cold, soft and crunchy, and bursting with flavor. It makes a great main dish when served with another salad and hearty wheat bread. Followed up with a nice cheese and then a couple squares of dark chocolate, the meal seen here is perfectly balanced and purely healthy and satisfying. All of the fresh ingredients seen in the picture come from either my mom's garden, Nezinscott farm in Turner, Maine, or Josh and my own's garden. Vive l'automne for healthy eating!

Cube half a block of firm tofu and half a large summer squash. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add the tofu and summer squash with about 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric, a teaspoon of curry and salt and pepper to taste. Sautee over medium-low heat until just browned and set aside.

In a large salad bowl, mix a large garlic clove, minced, with about a teaspoon of salt. Add a generous tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice (or vinegar if you don't have a lemon). Mix well, and then add two generous tablespoons of olive oil.

Peel and chop two large carrots into thin rounds. Half peel, quarter and chop a cucumber. Thinly slice a very small onion (about 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup).

Strain and rinse half a can of red kidney beans.

Add all the ingredients to the salad bowl and stir to cover with the dressing. Add a generous handful each of fresh chopped parsley and basil and mix again.

Red lentil mush

This is a simple, warm side-dish to add protein to any vegetarian meal or color to a meat and potatoes dinner.
For two to three people, add about 3/4 red lentils and 1 1/2 cups cold water in a pan with a generous teaspoon of turmeric and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the lentils have turned to mush (about 30 minutes). Before serving, finely chop a good handful of fresh basil leaves and stir into the lentils and adjust salt if necessary. Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives and serve with a slice of lemon.