Fish with Sage, Wine and Shallots

For delicate, moist fish, we use a bed of shallots to prevent the fillets from directly touching the skillet.  We stumbled upon this method of cooking fish when Ezra was in utero and we wanted a quick, delicious way to squeeze in a serving of low-mercury fish every week.  Now that we have a toddler on the outside, it is still our family's favorite way to serve fish--Ezra likes it so much we didn't have time to get a photo of him eating it, so here is one of him grinning after polishing off his portion.

Fish with Sage, Wine and Shallots

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, sliced into rings
10 leaves sage, chopped
2 fish fillets -- delicate white fish like tilapia, basa, petrale sole or cod
salt and pepper
dry white wine

Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Saute the shallots and sage for just a minute.  Carefully lay the fish on top of the shallots and turn the heat to medium-low.   Add enough white wine to immerse the fish halfway, season with salt and pepper and cover.  Cook for a few minutes, then turn the fish over and cook, covered, until it is white throughout.

Asparagus and Leek Quiche

Ezra helped with this recipe by breaking the asparagus into pieces (while eating most of the tips),  spreading the cheese into the pie pan (while breaking off pieces of the crust to eat) and cutting the butter (and eating it, then cutting again, and eating it, and then finally cutting one last piece for the recipe). 

Maybe I should have fed him before we started.

I experimented with putting the eggs and milk in a jar so he could shake instead of stir.  (I'm not willing to see my precious backyard chicken eggs splattered all over the kitchen.)  His chubby toddler arms didn't really have the strength to blend the eggs, but it was fun.

Asparagus and Leek Quiche

1 tablespoon butter
1 leek, trimmed and chopped
1 cup of chopped asparagus
1 cup shredded cheese (I mixed gouda and parmesan)
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
black pepper
1 pie crust

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Heat the butter in a skillet, then saute the leeks and asparagus until the asparagus is al dente. 

Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and black pepper.

Spread the cheese in the bottom of the crust, then add the asparagus and leeks.  Pour the egg mixture over the top. 

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is set.

South Indian Pancakes

We've been working on our recipe for dosas--savory fermented rice and dal pancakes--for years now. Sometimes the batter came out well, but we had trouble getting it to rise consistently. Our eureka moment about dosas happened in India last winter, watching the cooking instructor pour perfectly bubbly batter onto a hot griddle. It's hot in India! That's why the batter ferments so perfectly and gets so bubbly. So, if we could just get our dosa batter to India temperatures at home, we could make real Indian dosas that stay together and fold nicely. Success!

Making dosa batter takes a few tries to master, so don't bust this one out for that big first date until you've practiced a few times. You can also use dosa batter for uttapam, which thicker and sturdier, like a personal pizza. We've provided recipes for both here. If you want to make some of each, make the uttapam while the batter is still thick, then thin it down for dosas.

1 cup parboiled rice (boil 1 cup rice in a large pot of water for 5 minutes; drain.)
2 cups raw rice
1 cup urad dal
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon salt

This works equally well with brown rice, white rice, or a combo.

Combine everything, except the salt, in a large bowl with enough lukewarm water to cover and allow to soak overnight. Drain, reserving the liquids. Blend until you have a consistency like thick pancake batter, adding only enough of the soaking water to lubricate your blender. Pour into a bowl that leaves room for the batter to double in size.

Cover with a towel and place somewhere warm. The batter likes to be 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit. In Kerala, that's just room temperature. Here in Berkeley, we use our dehydrator, which has adjustable temperature settings. We've heard of other creative solutions like leaving it in the oven on low, with the door propped open, or near a radiator. Within eight hours, the dough will double and fill with tiny bubbles. You should detect a pleasantly sour, yeasty smell. If your dough doesn't rise after the first eight hours, you don't have to give up! Try adjusting your heat source and give it another eight hours. Once your batter has risen, mix in the salt and proceed with one of the following recipes.

Uttapam

1 batch of batter, risen
coconut oil for frying (Coconut oil is solid in cold weather, but will quickly become liquid if you leave the bottle somewhere warm. Liquid oil is much easier to drizzle!)

Choice of toppings:
chopped red onion
finely minced green chili
chopped cilantro leaves
chopped tomato
chopped nuts
minced fresh herbs
cubed feta (not traditional, but quite delicious!)

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or crepe pan over medium-high heat, and coat the pan lightly with oil. When the oil is as hot as possible without smoking, pour about a 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan. Quickly toss on some toppings, plus a little drizzle of oil around the edges.

When the pancake looks firm enough to flip (3-5 minutes), gently loosen it with a clean, greased metal spatula. Flip it over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Carefully scrape away any bits that stuck to the pan and add a little more oil. When the oil is hot, begin your next pancake. Serve warm, with a selection of curries and chutneys.



Dosas

1 batch of batter, risen
coconut oil for frying

Stir a little water into your batter for a crepe-like consistency. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or crepe pan over medium-high heat, and coat the pan lightly with coconut oil. When the oil is as hot as possible without smoking, pour about a 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan, spreading it around in a spiral pattern with the back of your ladle. It should be thin, with some lacy areas, but no large holes. Pour a fine drizzle of oil around the edges to help them get crispy.

Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the dosa easily lifts from the pan. If your dosa is nice and thin, you won't need to fry on both sides -- just transfer to a plate, fill with a thick curry and serve. If your dosa came out a little too thick, there's no harm in flipping it over to make sure it's cooked on both sides.

Broccoli Noodle Casserole

What can we say?--it was rainy out and we were feeling nostalgic for the vegetarian casseroles of the 1970's, so we crafted this adaptation of a noodle casserole recipe in our favorite Eastern European cookbook. Parents, consider this dish a useful weapon in the battle to get your pasta-worshipping kids to eat their broccoli. It's Mollie-Katzen-tastic with both sour cream and cottage cheese, and we've tinkered with it to ensure that the broccoli doesn't get overdone during the baking process.

16 ounces whole wheat fusilli or rotini
1 head broccoli, broken into bite-sized pieces
2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
black pepper
1 onion, chopped fine

Optional toppings:
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
olive oil
more paprika

Preheat oven to 350. Cook the pasta until al dente. Steam the broccoli (try this in a steamer basket over the pasta!) until barely fork-tender. Meanwhile, mix the cottage cheese, sour cream, salt, paprika and pepper. Grease a casserole dish. Combine all of the ingredients, except the toppings, in the casserole dish. Drizzle the top with a little olive oil, then breadcrumbs, then a sprinkling of paprika. Bake for 45 minutes.

Nettle Frittata (not to be confused with Nelly Furtado)

Our outdoorsy friend Tanya makes an annual pilgrimage into the wilds to pick nettles. Then she makes some of them into a savory pie for her yearly Pi Day party. This year, we went along for the nettle harvest and made a frittata variation on her delicious pie. If you would like to try Tanya's version, she uses a mashed potato crust from Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest, and a spinach pie recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Why nettles? They're full of iron, calcium and antioxidants. They taste like sort of like spinach, but with more integrity and less sliminess. You can substitute spinach if nettles are inaccessible in your area. If you do get your hands on some nettles, make sure those hands are gloved--nettles, when raw, are covered in stinging hairs.

A big bunch of nettles (two cups, once steamed and chopped)
1 tablespoon ghee (or butter or oil)
1/2 an onion, chopped fine
3 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped dill
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put on some heavy gardening gloves and remove the stems from the nettles. Steam the leaves until wilted. (This will kill their stingers.) Rinse and drain well, then chop.

Meanwhile, melt the ghee in a 10-inch cast-iron pan on medium heat. Saute the onion until softened, then add the scallions and saute for two more minutes. Remove from heat; stir in the nettles and dill.

Combine the eggs, sour cream, cottage cheese, salt, pepper and lemon zest in a separate bowl. Once the cast-iron pan has cooled for a few minutes (enough to keep the eggs from cooking on contact), fold the egg mixture into the nettle mixture. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.

Bake at 350 until the eggs are set and the top is browned (about 30 minutes).

Paprika, Green Bean and Potato Stew

Phoebe was a pretty picky eater as a kid, but always made an exception for her mom's paprika-flavored potato stew. The recipe, which originally included chunks of hot dog or sausage, was passed on to Phoebe's mom by a Hungarian girl back in the 70's and Phoebe's mom started using green beans instead of hot dog chunks. Phoebe's family always called this dish paprikash, but a little wikipedia research revealed that paprikash is a chicken and sour cream sauce over noodles, while this dish is actually called paprikás krumpli.

3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
4 cups green beans, chopped into 1" pieces
4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
2 cups canned tomatoes (diced or pureed)
3/4 teaspoon salt

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, then saute the onions until softened. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the paprika and cayenne. Add the rest of the ingredients and enough water to cover the vegetables. Return to the heat and simmer until the potatoes and green beans are cooked, but still tender.

Bubble and Kraut

Bubble and Squeak is an English dish made with leftover mashed potatoes and cooked cabbage. We like cabbage fine, but we like kraut a whole lot better, so we made the substitution and were thrilled with the results. Phoebe meant to take a picture of the full turnout, but she accidentally ate the first batch while the second was frying. It's that good.

The egg is not traditional or necessary, but we like how it helps the potatoes hold together. If you're vegan, just skip it and enjoy the softer texture. We served ours on a bed of sauerkraut with a dollop of sour cream. They're also good plain!

2 cups mashed potatoes*
3/4 cup sauerkraut (we use the fermented kind)
1 egg
Butter for frying

Stir together the egg, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Melt about 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, but not smoking, add heaping tablespoons of batter, smashed down with the back of the spoon. When the bottoms are golden brown and crisp, flip and cook the other side.

*Simple mashed potato recipe:
Peel and dice 3 small Yukon gold potatoes and boil until soft. Drain all but 1/2 cup of cooking water. Add butter, salt and pepper, and mash. For extra fluffiness, whisk vigorously for several minutes.

Warm Lentil Salad with Spiced Kabocha

Another recipe from Hannah's sister, this dish is a great way to pack your entire meal into a salad. It can be served by itself or on a bed of arugula, and is good hot or room temperature, making it an excellent choice for packed lunches--this batch was for a cross-country plane trip! The spicy roasted kabocha cubes are absolutely addictive and worth making by themselves if any of you CSA subscribers are looking for a nice winter squash showcase.

4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups peeled and diced kabocha squash (1 small squash)
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 cup brown lentils
1 and 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Optional finishing touches:
Arugula for plating
Crumbled goat cheese, for garnish

Stir together 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, paprika, cumin, cayenne and salt. Toss the spiced oil with the kabocha cubes and spread out on a cookie sheet. Loosely cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes, until squash is fork-tender, and then uncover and bake about 10 minutes more, until squash starts to develop browned edges.

While the squash is baking, heat remaining olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry the onions over 7-10 minutes, until browned, then add the lentils, water and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer 25-30 minutes, until lentils are tender and water is absorbed.

If you're serving this on a bed of greens, arrange some arugula on a serving plate. Top with lentils, kabocha cubes and optional goat cheese and enjoy!

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Mashed potato pancakes are an excellent way to turn leftover mashed potatoes into a whole new meal with minimal effort. If you're truly lazy and can't even work up enough energy to fry your potato pancakes, we've discovered that baking works just as well.

2 scallions
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
2 eggs
4 cups leftover mashed potatoes
Canola oil

Mix together all of the ingredients except the canola oil.

Choose your cooking method: baking or frying.

The Easy Way: Grease a cookie sheet and dot with tablespoons of batter, pressing each mound down to flatten it. Bake at 450 until the bottoms of the pancakes are golden and crispy. Flip the pancakes over, return the tray to the oven and bake until the undersides are golden. It should take about 10 minutes on each side.

The Hard But Deliciously Fatty Way: Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a cast iron skillet, medium-high. Drop 1 tablespoon of the batter into the pan. Flatten the mound of batter slightly with the back of a spoon. Add as several more mounds, then fry for about 5 minutes on each side, until the bottom is golden and crispy. Transfer to paper towels to blot the oil.

Serve with ketchup.

Almond-Battered Veggies

The concept for this batter came from Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe. Katzen only uses mushrooms, but guess what we added? That's right: okra! The batter doesn't stick to the okra as easily, but it's worth the trouble. Phoebe's sister substitutes nutritional yeast for the parmesan -- a tasty option for the lactose-intolerant among you.

3 cups vegetables:
portabello mushrooms, caps sliced into 1/2 inch strips and stems sliced into 1/4 inch strips
okra, sliced in half lengthwise
gypsy peppers, sliced into long strips
zucchini, sliced into 3/8 inch strips
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, chopped roughly
dash of salt
1 egg
oil (something that can withstand heat, like canola)

Grind the almonds, cheese and salt in a food processor until the consistency is a little thicker than cornmeal, then pour onto a plate. Beat the egg into a pie pan. Dip the vegetable slices into the egg, then press them into the batter -- you'll want a nice, thick crust. Heat a skillet on medium-high with just enough oil to keep the pan greased. Cook until golden brown, about five minutes on each side, and serve immediately, preferably with ketchup.

Fig, Basil and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Basil, basil, basil--it's everywhere this time of year, and we're taking advantage of the period before tomato season starts up in earnest to try some more adventurous basil pairings. The latest entry: this sizzling and decadent pizza, which combines whole basil leaves with the luscious, oozy figs that are just starting to grace our farmer's market. We've sauced this pizza with a caramelized onion and black pepper puree, which plays very nicely with the sweet figs.

A note about pizza dough: we're not providing a recipe here because the toppings--not the crust--are what makes this dish, and we don't want to deter anyone from eating this due to dietary restrictions or fear of making crust from scratch. Use a pre-made crust if you want. Our intrepid gluten-free friend Denise makes a mean crust with Pamela's baking mix. Also, full disclosure: we used the ready-made whole wheat pizza dough from the Berkeley Bowl for this. (We know, not what you've come here to hear--but until that glorious day when we can blog full-time, we've both got day jobs that sometimes preclude making crust from scratch on a weeknight).

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. pizza dough
6 figs, quartered and tossed with a little olive oil
2 cups packed grated mozzarella
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves
More olive oil for greasing the pan and drizzling on top

First, caramelize the onions: heat a medium-sized cast-iron skillet, add olive oil, and cook onions over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are completely wilted and have turned brown, about half an hour to 45 minutes. Remove from heat and puree in a food processor with the black pepper.

Next, assemble the pizza. Preheat oven to 450. Roll out pizza dough on a floured surface, transfer to a greased pan, and spread with the caramelized onion mixture. Sprinkle on the cheese and top with the basil leaves and figs. Bake about 8-10 minutes, until cheese is bubbling.

Lentils with Red Wine

We have a bit of an alcohol problem in our house...by which I mean, people bring booze when they come over for dinner, and the leftover wine sits, neglected, in the fridge for about a month. We just kind of forget to drink wine unless we have company, and that means we end up with a lot of half-drunk bottles of wine slowly turning to vinegar. This particular recipe came about because we threw the remaining 1/2 cup of Shiraz from our Seder into Hannah's breakfast lentils, immediately elevating them to lunch lentils!

Twenty cloves of garlic may seem like a lot, but browning them whole and them simmering them with the lentils really softens them up, leaving you with a sweeter taste and no garlic breath!

2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or a combination
20 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 cups green lentils
4 cups water
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
Za'atar and/or yogurt for topping

Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add garlic and stir for 5-10 minutes, until it starts to color a bit. Add the cumin and stir for 30 seconds to temper. Pour in lentils, water and pepper, bring to a boil, and simmer until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Add wine and salt, stir, and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, sprinkle in the chopped mint, and top individual portions with yogurt and/or za'atar.

Cauliflower Paneer Masala

Another recipe we learned at cooking school in India. Our instructor battered his cauliflower before frying it, but we're lazy and generally not inclined to batter anything, so we tried throwing the cauliflower right into the hot oil. The result -- still fatty and delicious! Also, we can hardly be blamed for giving in to the temptation to throw a little non-traditional paneer in the oil, since it was already nice and hot. Everything is better with cheese.

1 head of cauliflower, floretted and dried
1 cup of paneer, diced into 3/4 inch cubes
1/3 cup oil (high-heat friendly, like coconut, peanut or canola)
2 large shallots, sliced into half-moons
2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 inch ginger, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups pureed tomatoes (canned okay)
salt to taste

Optional batter:
8 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
sprinkle of water
salt
black pepper

Optional: If you want to make a batter, mix the batter ingredients in a large bowl and toss in the cauliflower, stirring to coat.

Heat the oil in a wok until it's hot enough to sizzle on contact with cauliflower, but not smoking. Add the cauliflower in small batches, frying until it's tipped with brown, then remove to a paper-lined plate to drain. Repeat with the paneer, frying until it's golden brown on all six sides.


Pour off the extra oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Set the heat to medium-high and add the curry leaves, allowing them to sizzle for 30 seconds before adding the sliced shallots. Stir continuously until the shallots are soft and brown, then add the garlic and ginger. Once they are browned and the raw smell is gone, add the tumeric, chile powder, coriander and garam masala. Stir until the onions are well coated, then pour in the pureed tomatoes. Simmer until the tomatoes are reduced, then stir in the cauliflower, paneer and salt and allow to simmer a few more minutes to meld the flavors. We served ours on a bed of upma with red cabbage.

Smoky Chana Masala

Okay, we're back to blogging Indian food, but we're taking a northerly detour from curry leaves and coconut to bring you one of our favorite North Indian treats, totally bastardized so it could almost be considered Latin food. We're big fans of anything smoky-tasting, and this dish jazzes up the chana masala you're used to with several smoky accents: chipotle chile, smoked Spanish paprika and fire-roasted tomatoes.

Have some rice or a good Indian bread on hand to soak up the delicious sauce!


1 tablespoon oil or ghee (if you're a carnivore, you could try bacon grease for extra smokiness)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 large shallots, sliced (about 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon smoked spanish paprika (aka Pimentón)
3 cloves garlic, ground
1 1/2 inches ginger, ground
4 cups chickpeas, cooked (canned okay)
1 dried chipotle chile, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes (or you could use the kind that are canned in adobo, or just chipotle chile powder)
3 1/2 cups roasted, pureed tomatoes (fresh or canned)*
3 tablespoons tomato paste
cayenne
salt

*If you're using fresh tomatoes: Chop the tomatoes into large chunks, toss with a little oil and roast in the broiler until burnt spots appear. Stir well and roast until more burnt spots appear, then puree. If you're using canned tomatoes: Try to find Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes to get a nice smoky flavor. Puree.

Melt the ghee in a wok over medium-high heat. Once the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds. Allow the seeds to pop for 30 seconds, then add the shallots. Fry, stirring continuously, until browned. Add the tumeric, coriander and pimenton and stir. Once the onions are well coated with spice, stir in the garlic and ginger and fry until lightly browned. Add the chickpeas, chipotle, tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes have reduced somewhat. Taste for salt and cayenne before serving.

Egg Masala

On our last night in Kerala, we slept on a houseboat stationed near a rice paddy. When we awoke, our personal chef had prepared a rich egg masala and fluffy upma for breakfast. We floated along the backwaters, stuffing ourselves with spicy eggs, and we were in heaven.

Somehow, our homemade re-creation, while delicious, doesn't conjure the same kind of bliss. Maybe we missed some key ingredient that unlocks the secret of the masala. More likely? Nothing else tastes as good as what you eat while lounging in wicker furniture. Maybe you can convince someone else to make this and bring it out to you on the porch with a nice gin and tonic.

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal
4 sprigs curry leaves
2 cups of shallots, sliced into rings
1 green chile, sliced in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned okay)
1/2 cup coconut milk
5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
cayenne to taste

Heat the coconut oil in a wok over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, but not smoking, add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the mustard seeds have popped, add the curry leaves and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the shallots and keep stirring continuously until they are nicely browned. Add the garlic, chili, coriander, cumin and tumeric and stir to coat. When the garlic and spices have lost their raw smell, add the tomatoes.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down considerably, then add the coconut milk, eggs and 3/4 cup water. Continue simmering for another 15 minutes, then taste for spiciness. Add as much cayenne as you can handle, and serve over rice, upma or bread.

Paneer with Tomatoes and Ninja Kale

We made this recipe from Mangoes and Curry Leaves several times with moderately tasty results before we read the ingredient list closely. Where we had been throwing in the typical 2 cloves of garlic, it calls for a full 1/2 cup -- and not just one onion, but three! We tried it again with the full dose of garlic and onions and were delighted with the spicy, filling results, not at all like the curried marinara sauce we had ended up with before. We kept tinkering with cooking methods (the original recipe takes all evening to make) and have finally arrived at the best variation yet, one that gives you a full serving of kale, so stealthily slipped in among strong flavors that you'll never know what hit you.

3 cups pureed canned tomatoes (or 2 pounds fresh)
1 pound paneer
canola oil or ghee
1 chopped onion (or go ahead and try three!)
1 full head of garlic, peeled and minced
3 inches of ginger, minced
2 small thai chilis, left whole
6 leaves of dinosaur kale or three leaves of collard greens, sliced into thin ribbons
5 green cardamom pods, smashed
2 cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste

Slice the paneer into 1/2 inch rectangles. Arrange the paneer on a well-greased pan, and drizzle some extra oil over the top. Broil for about five minutes, or until the tops of the paneer rectangles look like toasted marshmallows. Flip and repeat on the other side. Set the paneer aside to cool. (I prefer to chop my paneer slices into bite-sized squares once they are cool enough to touch, but you can also leave them whole.)

Heat 1/3 cup of oil or ghee in a large wok over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and continue frying until the onions and garlic are golden and fragrant. Add the tomatoes and one cup of water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, and add the kale, paneer and spices. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. You may want to add a little cayenne to boost the spiciness. Serve with cardamom-scented rice or spinach parathas.

Gruyere-Crusted Root Vegetables

You can use whatever kind of root vegetables you want here: try a mix of potatoes, something assertive like turnips or rutabagas, and something sweet like beets, parsnips or sweet potatoes. If you use parsnips or sweet potatoes, be careful not to put them on the bottom, since they'll burn easily. If you're going the beet route, use golden beets or chioggia beets so you don't turn the entire dish pink. We served this with a dollop of kale pesto.

3 lbs root vegetables (we used chioggia beets, golden turnips and Yukon gold potatoes)
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Slice root vegetables 1/8 inch thick (please, for the love of all things holy, do this with a mandoline if you've got one). Melt the butter and toss with the root vegetables in a medium-sized cast-iron skillet. Cover with aluminum foil (or a lid, if you were smart enough to register for a cast-iron skillet with a lid. Next time we get married, next time...). Bake for half an hour, then uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake another ten minutes, until bubbly and golden-brown on top.

Pasta & Kale with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This point in mid-September is a really great time for pasta sauces, because you still have seasonal tomatoes and bell peppers but it's finally cooled down enough to slave over a hot stove. Roasting the tomatoes along with the red peppers concentrates their sweetness and dries them out a little, which keeps the sauce from getting too watery, and a little tomato paste finishes the job. Fried shallots and fragrant oregano sing backup -- a nice change from garlic and basil.

We've also used the 101 Cookbooks kale and pasta trick: add kale to boiling pasta just as it finishes, count to six and drain. It really works! We made this with brown rice rotini, but ziti, fusilli or any other small shapely pasta will be work too. (And while we ordinarily heart rice pasta, this batch met with an untimely end: a DNC canvasser knocked on the door at a critical moment, which meant that the pasta got overcooked. Score: Barack Obama 1, rice pasta 0).

4 red bell peppers
4 medium-sized tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 lb. pasta
10 leaves kale, de-stemmed and thinly sliced

Place the red bell peppers and the tomato halves (cut side up) on a cookie sheet and broil for 15-20 minutes, until peppers are blackened (check periodically to turn peppers, so that they blacken on all sides). Remove cookie sheet from broiler, transfer tomato halves to the blender and place peppers in a paper bag to steam for about 15 minutes. When the peppers have cooled down, peel off the charred skins, discard cores and seeds and chop roughly. Add the chopped peppers to the blender and pulverize with the tomatoes until well blended.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil or butter over medium-high heat and add the shallots, salt and crushed red pepper. Fry for a few minutes, until shallots start to color, then remove from heat. Add the tomato-pepper mixture, tomato paste and fresh oregano and return to a very low flame. Simmer and stir for 5 minutes, just to blend the flavors.

Cook your pasta according to package directions (unless you made your own pasta, in which case: feel superior! We're jealous). Just before the pasta is ready, add the kale, count to six, and drain. Mix in the sauce and serve.

Mom's Tofu Reubens

Some people say there's nothing like their mom's meatloaf. Well, those people weren't raised by a pack of tofu-gobbling hippies; for Phoebe, there's nothing like her mom's tofu Reubens.

This recipe will make enough tofu for six sandwiches; we only made sandwiches for the two of us, but the leftover tofu will find a home in kale salads and over rice later this week.

For the Tofu:
1 pound extra-firm tofu
1/3 cup olive oil
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
2 cloves garlic
salt
pepper

First, press the water out of the tofu: lay your tofu block on a plate, put another plate on top of it, and weight down with a can of beans. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, during which time the weight will press out the extra water, leaving your tofu thirsty for some marinade!

Slice the tofu width-wise into 12 rectangular slabs, 1/4 inch thick, and arrange in a 9 x 13 inch broiler-safe casserole dish. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper and pour over the tofu, shaking the dish around so both sides of the tofu get coated. Marinate for at least 15 minutes (longer if you have time). Broil for about 10 minutes on each side.


For the Sandwich:
Rye Bread (or whatever hippie sprouted rice loaf you're into)
Butter (or whatever vegan substitute you're into)
Swiss Cheese
Thousand Island Dressing (we use Annie's) or just mustard
Sauerkraut (warm it up if you prefer!)

Surely you know how to make grilled cheese sandwiches? Butter two pieces of bread. Place one, butter side down, on a frying pan over medium-low heat, then add a few slices of cheese and top it off with the second slice of bread, butter side up. Fry until each side is golden brown and the cheese has melted.

Open up the grilled cheese and add a little thousand island, a couple slabs of tofu and a big pile of saurkraut. Delicious!

Whole Grain Strata with Oregano and Myzithra

Strata is delicious for brunch or dinner, a really filling rustic concept: an egg custard, cubes of bread, and whatever cheeses and vegetables you want. This variation has a Greek flair, with a generous amount of fresh oregano and some crumbles of aged myzithra. Myzithra is a hard, salty Greek cheese; if you can't find it, feel free to use feta instead, or just skip it.

We used Alvarado Street sprouted wheat bread, but if you have something more normal around, go crazy. Also, this would probably work with rice bread for you gluten-free folks; let us know if you try it!

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
5 slices of bread, cut into 1-inch squares
1 1/2 cups milk (we used rice milk, but you could use whatever you want)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup crumbled myzithra cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat butter or olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute 5-7 minutes, until translucent, then add garlic and stir for 2 more minutes. Add bread and continue to stir until evenly coated and just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Stir in oregano, pepper and myzithra.

Take skillet off heat, fold in egg mixture and mix until well-combined. Bake for about 15 minutes on middle rack, until strata is puffed up and eggs look set. Cut into wedges and serve.