Meat-eater salad

There's no meat in this salad, but it does have potatoes, every traditional meat-eater's perfect side dish. The lettuce is there for the fun and the color of it, but since it marries so well with the potatoes and the warm oil from their frying, no meat-eater will be able to resist, no matter what his or her take is on the leafy green stuff.

For two servings, peel and boil about 5 or 6 small to medium potatoes in salted water for about 10 minutes. Drain, allow to cool for a while, then cube. Heat about 4 or 5 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the potatoes and sautee until the potatoes brown a bit, maybe 5 minutes or so.

Mince a garlic clove and add to a large bowl with salt to taste and mix well. When the potatoes are done, pour the oil from the skillet into the bowl and stir again. Allow to cool for a while and then add the potatoes and a handful of fresh minced parsley. Stir to coat the potatoes with the oil and parsley, the add fresh lettuce and mix again. Serve the salad lukewarm as a side dish. It's delicious!

Squash, spinach and gorgonzola pizza

This simple pizza has the most flavorful, full-bodied taste. It's quick to make if you happen to have left over roasted squash in your fridge. All it takes is dough (I made Bittman's recipe in my food processor) spread thinly on a pan which you then drizzle with olive oil and cover with roasted squash cut into small pieces, thawed and drained frozen spinach, gorgonzola cheese. Bake at 450 degrees until the crust is golden brown. Enjoy with a nice cold beer!

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.