Chickpea Salad (Tuna Salad Substitute)

Prior to giving up meat, tuna salad sandwiches were a staple of my diet. They're cheap, easy, and quick. A few years ago I stumbled upon a recipe on an online BBS for a tuna salad substitute made with chickpeas. I was dubious, but it actually turned out well. At a work potluck, we were doing a sandwich bar, and I decided to bring this in. I had it on my sandwich, but the meat eaters ate it as a side salad, and liked it a lot.

You'll Need:

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 large celery stalks, chopped into 1/4 inch thick slices (or more, if you prefer)
1/2 an onion, minced
Mayonnaise or Vegenaise
Salt and pepper to taste

How to:

• Add the chickpeas to a bowl and mash lightly with a fork or potato masher. You don't have to smash it into a paste, but gently crushing the chickpeas adds texture, and makes it easier to put on a sandwich without the peas rolling off.
• Add the mayo and mix until desired texture is achieved (It shouldn't be swimming in mayo, just creamy)
• Add the minced onion and celery
• Add salt and pepper to taste

If you're planning on making a sandwich to take to work, I would recommend toasting the bread first, that way it doesn't get soggy by the time lunch rolls around. There are lots of other spices you can add to this for variety, a good one is curry powder.

Savory Pumpkin Soup

My friend Erica experimented with pumpkin soup recipes several years ago, and this was my favorite. I've removed the stuff we decided not to use and made it vegetarian.

You Need:

1/2 stick butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. can pumpkin
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 bay leaves

The Plan:

• In a medium soup pot, melt butter. 
  
• Saute onions, stirring occasionally until soft. 
  
• Stir in pumpkin, veggie broth, salt, spices and bay leaves. 
  
• Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  
• Remove bay leaves. 
  
• Puree the mixture in batches in food processor or blender (I skip this step, I like the onion in the soup for texture). 
  
• Return to soup pot. 
  
• Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally until heated through. 
  
• Adjust seasonings. 
  

I actually just double the recipe, dump everything into the large crockpot I own, and cook on low all day when I serve this for Thanksgiving, so that's another option.  You could easily make this vegan by substituting margarine for the butter.

Migas (Scrambled eggs with salsa and cheese)

My first introduction to eggs with salsa were some Migas a friend/coworker made late at night when we were hanging out at her place. These are not fancy restaurant food (migas means crumbs) but they're downright tasty.

You'll Need:

1 package of fresh corn tortillas
Butter
2 eggs per person
1 jar of salsa or Rotel tomatoes and chilies
1 package shredded mixed Mexican cheese

Make the Migas:

• Melt some butter in a pan
• Chop up one tortilla per person, in large pieces
• Cook the tortilla in the butter until crispy
• Beat two eggs per person and add salsa/Rotel, cheese, salt and pepper
• Add the eggs to the butter and tortilla chips and cook like scrambled eggs
• Serve

You can serve potatoes on the side for a great late night or breakfast meal.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These have a couple unusual ingredients, but they are my favorite chocolate chip cookies, and make a good change from the usual Tollhouse recipe.  This one was also found as a reader submission to Gourmet years ago.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

How to make them:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• In a bowl, cream shortening and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs 1 at a time.
• Add vanilla and vinegar and combine well.
• Stir flour mixture into shortening mixture gradually.
• Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.
• Form into balls of heaping tablespoons and arrange 3 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
• Flatten each ball of dough with the palm of your hand into a 1/4 thick round.
• Bake in the middle of oven in batches for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Transfer to wire racks and cool.

These are relatively large, but not gigantic.  You can leave out the nuts if you'd like.

Egg Patties with Tomato Sauce

These first appeared as Fay's Egg Patties as a reader-submitted recipe in Gourmet magazine. The original recipe included a homemade tomato sauce component, which I've removed, since I find it unnecessary. I've got suggestions for sauce.

Now, let me just say that prior to moving to Texas, I didn't put tomato products on my eggs. I was never the type to eat scrambled eggs with ketchup, for example. When first faced with the prospect of breakfast tacos with salsa, I honestly thought the concept was appalling. It turns out they were really good, and I was hooked. I still had some trouble making the leap to putting spaghetti sauce on egg patties, but trust me, these are worth trying.

You Need:

1/2 cup dry plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan (3 1/2 oz.)
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 small garlic clove, minced
6 large eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 can of Italian seasoned tomatoes and onions (You can find these at Central Market, Whole Foods, and that type of store, or possibly your regular grocery store if it doesn't suck.)

The Plan:

• Stir together bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, and garlic, then stir in eggs and salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.
• Working batches, drop rounded tablespoons of egg mixture into skillet.
• Cook patties until golden and puffed, about 2 minutes on each side.
• Transfer to paper towels to drain and add oil to skillet as needed.
• Add canned seasoned tomatoes/onions to cleaned skillet.
• Add patties and simmer, turning once, 7 minutes total.

You would not normally think of freezing eggs, probably, but you can get these cooked to the pre-tomato sauce stage, throw them in a zip lock bag, and keep them in the freezer. Then, just thaw and finish cooking in the sauce.

Easy Spinach Lasagna

I'm not sure that this recipe ever had an official origin, at this point, I just make it from memory. It does have traditional elements, though.

You Need:

1 package "no boil" lasagna noodles (I've been told you can bake regular lasagna noodles without boiling them, but why risk it?)
1 large can Hunt's tomato sauce (no, I'm not kidding. This sauce is really simple, not too sweet, and doesn't over-complicate the flavors in the lasagna)
1 package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry in a colander
1 large tub of ricotta cheese (skim or low fat is fine in this case)
1 package shredded mixed Italian cheeses
1 egg
1 tsp nutmeg
Grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

The Plan:

• Beat the egg lightly with a fork
• Add egg, ricotta, spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper to a bowl and mix until combined and spinach is evenly distributed
• Put a thin layer of sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole dish
• Place a layer of the no boil noodles on top of the sauce
• Spread a layer of of the ricotta/spinach mixture on top of the noodles
• Sprinkle this with some of the grated Italian cheeses
• Top with sauce, another layer of noodles, more ricotta, more shredded cheese
• Repeat until you run out of room in the dish.
• The very last layer should be a layer of noodles topped with tomato sauce, shredded cheese, and a generous sprinkling of parmesan
• Bake at 350 for up to 90 minutes (or until the cheese is melted, the sauce is bubbly and the noodles are tender)
• After removing from oven, let rest for up to 30 minutes, as it will be molten hot =)

Serve with salad and you have a complete meal.

Baked Goat Cheese with Garlic Croutons

This recipe has been a favorite of mine since I was little, and never ceases to impress friends. It's fairly simple, and really really tasty. It's an appetizer, so you could follow it up with a big meal.

You need:

1 stick of butter

1 log of Montrachet (or other) goat cheese

Olive oil

1 tsp. dried thyme (plus a bit more to mix into the bread crumbs)

Pepperidge Farm rolls (any small narrow white bread should work, say, a baguette or ficelle)

Garlic cloves

Bag of mixed baby greens

Vinaigrette (dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and chopped garlic to taste)

The Plan:

• Cut the goat cheese log into half inch round slices (dental floss cuts it really well without breaking it up to much, or use a knife run under really hot water)
• Marinate the cheese rounds in olive oil with thyme mixed in, turning every once in a while over the course of a day.
• Cut six slices of bread per person, less than 1/2 inch thick.
• Melt a stick of butter, and brush butter on both sides of the bread slices.
• Bake these bread rounds at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes (or until golden brown)
• Peel the garlic cloves and cut them in half.
• Rub the raw garlic on your butter toast rounds when they've cooled.
• Coat the marinated goat cheese rounds in bread crumbs seasoned with thyme.
• Place them in a baking dish that contains 1/4 cup olive oil and bake at 400 degrees until bubbly and golden, about 6-10 minutes.
• Toss the greens in the vinaigrette and serve one goat cheese round per person on a bed of dressed greens with the garlic croutons arranged around it.

Red Bean and Tomato Curry

This is mostly what my mother calls a "dump" recipe (as in you dump cans of stuff into a pan), but it's yummy.  I got it from Classic Home Cooking

I made a few small modifications

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. vegetable oil (They call for corn or sunflower oil, I sometimes use olive oil instead)

1 large onion, sliced 

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1-2 fresh green chilies, cored, seeded, and sliced (I used jalapenos, but you could use serranos, if you like pain)

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground coriander

pinch of cayenne

salt (to taste)

13 oz. can of chopped tomatoes

20 oz. can of red kidney beans (drained)

1 tbsp lemon juice

(They suggest fresh cilantro leaves to garnish.  I've never done this.  Instead, for a pop of green color, I add some frozen peas.)

The Plan:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the onion, garlic, chilies, and ginger, and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, until all the aromas are released and the onion is softened but not browned.
2. Add the curry powder, turmeric, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, and salt to taste, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes with most of their juice and cook for about three minutes.  Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes longer (This is when I add the frozen peas.) or until the beans are warmed through and the sauce is thickened.  Add the lemon juice and serve hot, garnished with cilantro leaves (or not, really).

I also serve this over couscous, since making perfect rice like an Indian restaurant is beyond my grasp.  You can also substitute chickpeas for half of the kidney beans.

Black Bean Quesadillas with Pico

These are a quick, easy recipe I came up with to use up pantry ingredients and add some freshness.

For quesadillas, you'll need:

1 can of black beans with jalapenos added (or one can plain black beans, and a jar of pickled jalapenos)

1 package of shredded cheese, preferably a Mexican blend

1 tsp. or two of cumin 

Salt and pepper

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 package small whole wheat tortillas (in this case, I don't recommend the freshly made ones, since they puff up a lot)

For the Pico, you'll need:

1-2 fresh tomatoes (in the off-season, I like the tomatoes on the vine)

1 red onion

1 bunch cilantro (you won't use all of it)

1 fresh lime or some bottled lime juice

Salt and pepper

The plan:

• Drain the beans and add them to a sauce pot
• If they don't contain jalapenos already, add the desired amount from your jar of pickled peppers
• Begin to heat the beans, then add cumin and salt and pepper to taste
• Cook over medium heat and let it cook down a little
• Set it aside, since this tends to thicken as it cools

Next:

• Chop a tomato or two up into half-inch bites and place in a bowl
• Chop half of the red onion into roughly the same size as the tomatoes, and add to the bowl.  If the onion is small, you can chop up some of the rest of the onion as you wish.
• Chop up cilantro to taste.  I would go for at least a tablespoon or two, but I know it's an acquired taste.  Rough chop is fine.  Add to the bowl as well.
• Add a gentle amount of salt and pepper, then add the juice of one lime and toss.
• Let it sit.  You can actually make this the day before.

Finishing up:

• Heat up the olive oil in a medium non-stick pan
• Add one tortilla, and sprinkle cheese on top.  I like a fair amount, but keep in mind that there will be cheese on the other side, too.
• Add a generous dollop of beans over the cheese and spread them out.
• More cheese on top of the beans, then add another tortilla.
• Keep an eye on the bottom tortilla, when it starts to get crispy and brown, use two spatulas to flip the whole thing over
• Once the second tortilla is browned on the bottom, slide the whole thing to a plate
• You should be able to make two-three servings.  
• Once done with the tortilla assembly and cooking, toss the pico again and taste it.  Adjust seasonings as needed.
• Put a generous scoop of pico de gallo on top of each quesadilla.  You can garnish with sour cream if you need additional "stuff" but frankly I think it's fine without.

Enjoy!