Carrot salad

This little side-dish of shredded carrots loaded with garlic and onion will give your immune system a boost, not to mention keep the vampires away! Scroll down to see a second recipe made with the leftovers of this salad.

In a large bowl, add 2 or 3 large garlic cloves and half a small onion, both minced. Add a generous teaspoon of salt and mix. Add 3 generous tablespoons or so of olive oil and stir. Peel and shred about 5 or 6 large carrots. Add to the dressing, stir to coat, and then add a few heaping teaspoons of hemp seed if you have any. Serve at room temperature with a slice of lemon.

Sautee a can of drained, rinsed chick peas in a tablespoon or so of olive oil until browned. Mince a large handful of fresh parsley. Stir the chick peas and parsley in a large bowl with about a cup and a half of leftover carrot salad described above. Serve a side dish. (For the curious out there, the dish behind this one in the picture is creamy rainbow chard, which is simply one chopped leek sauteed in olive oil with chopped chard to which I added salt and creme fresh when the chards were nicely wilted. It's very yummy, too.)

Hemp seed and parmesan dressing

I really enjoy the subtle, nutty flavor and the unique texture of raw hemp seed. Try it in this simple dressing for green salad and you may be converted as well!

Pour a generous tablespoon or two of olive oil into a large salad bowl. Add a few teaspoons of raw hemp seed and 3 to 4 tablespoons freshly shredded parmesan cheese. Salt to taste and stir. Add washed, cut-up fresh lettuce to the bowl and mix. Serve the salad garnished with lemon.

Soupe épicée à l'indienne

When I set out to make dinner last night, my intentions were to make a chinese style, clear-brothed vegetable soup, but when I discovered I still had a bit of fresh ginger left, it morphed mid-stream into this hot indian-style soup inspired by the spice concoction I picked up recently from a woman friend from India. The following recipe feeds two to four people, depending on if you serve it as the meal or an entree.

Mince one small onion and 3 large garlic cloves. Peel a small piece of ginger and mince. You should have at least a heaping tablespoon's worth. Sautee in olive oil until tender and translucent over low heat. While the onions, garlic and ginger are cooking, add a teaspoon of ground turmeric and about a half a teaspoon or more of coriander. Stir to coat and continue cooking.

Meanwhile, bring to a boil about 8 cups of water or vegetable broth or a combination of the two. Wash and cut up about 10 mushrooms and a good handful of green beans. Chop up 4 scallions.

When the water and/or broth is boiling, add the mushrooms and green beans. Drop to simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes or so. Add the scallions and continue to cook until the vegetables are just tender, about 10 more minutes.

In the meanwhile, put the onion, garlic and ginger mix into a blender with a little of the soup's broth and puree until smooth. Add this to the soup while the vegetables are still cooking.

Serve piping hot in deep bowls.

Curried onion pizza pie

To make this simple, filling dish, all you need is pizza dough (I followed Bittman's recipe, using whole wheat flour), one large onion, curry powder, ground coriander, frozen peas and a little creme fraiche.

Thinly slice the onion and sautee in olive oil over very low heat until translucent and very soft. While the onion is cooking, add salt to taste and a teaspoon or so of curry and a bit of coriander. Near the end of their cooking, add the frozen peas and a couple dollops of creme fraiche. Stir and allow to cook for a few more minutes.

Roll out a small ball of pizza dough to the desired thinness. Spoon a generous amount of the curried onion mix on the center of the dough. Pinch up the sides and bake in a 400 degree oven until the crust is golden brown. Time will vary depending on the thickness of the crust.

Serve hot with a green salad on the side. Enjoy!

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.