Surprisingly Good Prune Bread

This is sweet, delicious, and higher in fiber than your average quick bread. I found it online when I was looking for a recipe to help me use up a half-finished bottle of prune juice.

1 cup prunes, cut into quarters
1 cup prune juice

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup buttermilk + 1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup corn oil or canola oil
3 eggs

Cook prunes in prune juice until soft, then let cool.
Preheat oven to 300.
Combine dry ingredients.
Combine remaining wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Stir dry ingredients into wet, and then stir in prunes and juice.

Spread into loaf pans (I use 5 small ones) and bake until tester comes out clean. 1 hour + 10 minutes for small loaf pans; closer to 90 minutes for large loaf pan.

Baked Bean Soup

Perfect for cold winter nights. I served this with sautéed collard greens and plain white dinner rolls (the amazing ones from Whole Foods). Simple and so good! The soup recipe is from Moosewood Restuarant Daily Special.

2 cups chopped onions
1 Tbsp olive oi
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
1 Tbsp chili powder
2-3 tsp dijon or German-style mustard
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups undrained canned stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz. can)
1 2/3 cups cooked white beans (15 oz can)
2 tsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp unsulphured molasses
1 Tbsp soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste

In a soup pot on medium-high heat, sauté the onions in teh oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent. Add celery, carrots, and chili powder and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in mustard, water, tomatoes, beans, vinegar, molasses and soy sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and gently simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Curried Lentil Dip

Easy and nutritious . . . and wicked yummy. Serve with crudites or crackers or wedges of toasted naan. From Moosewood Restaurant New Classics.

1 cup red lentils
2.5 cups water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1.5 cups peeled, cored, diced apples
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
0.25 cup raisins
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala (optional)
0.25 cup reduced fat coconut milk (or use apple juice for lower fat)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
0.5 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils and water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are very soft and most of the water absorbed -- about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onions, apples and garlic with a dash of salt, for a bout 5 minutes on medium heat. Add raisins, curry, and garam masala. Continue to sauté for 10 more minutes, until tender.

Combine lentils, onion mixture, lemon juice and coconut milk in food processor and puree until smooth-ish. Add salt to taste.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

My Auntie Blanche's Anise Cookies

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine:
2 eggs
2 tsp anise extract (or just use the whole bottle)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar

Add in:
4 cups white flour
6 tsp baking powder

Drop by tablespoon into cookie sheet and bake about 8 minutes.

Icing:
3 Tbsp milk
1.5 cups confectioner's sugar

Optional: sprinkles on top of icing

Baked Seasoned Tofu

This goes well with Curried Rice Noodles. This recipe is slightly adapted from one in Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special. (Yes, I rely heavily on the Moosewoods.)

1 cake tofu
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ground anise seed

Preheat oven to 375.

Slice tofu into 12 rectangles and lay on a cookie sheet in a single layer. (I like to cover the sheet with foil for easy cleanup).

Mix remaining ingredients and pour over tofu.

Bake tofu about 40 minutes and serve.

Curried Rice Noodles

From Moosewood Restaurant Low Fat Favorites. Serve with baked tofu and a steamed veggie on the side. I like green beans.

1/2 pound rice stick noodles

DRIED SPICES:
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander

SAUCE:
2 Tbsp dry sherry
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tsp sugar

VEGETABLES:
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp grated ginger root
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup peeled, julienned carrots
1 cup sliced yellow oe red bell pepper
4 cups thinly sliced bok choy or napa cabbage
salt and pepper to taste

GARNISH: (optional - one or some)
lime wedges
minced fresh cilantro, basil or scallions

METHOD:

Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover the bowl and set aside.

Mix together spice mixture, and in a separate bowl, sauce ingredients. Set aside.

In a large nonstick pan, combine garlic, ginger and oil. Sauté on medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Add red onion and carrots and cook for 3-5 minuts more, stirring often. Add bell peppers and continue to cook another 4 minutes. Add cabbage and spice mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes. Pour in sauce, cover and simmer for 2 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

Drain the noodles and stir into the sauté. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish as desired.

Cape Cod Tofu Salad

This is my best guess of how a local chef, her company is called Cooking from the Heart, makes her tofu salad. I think my version is a pretty good replication of hers. This is really yummy on a sandwich, or straight out of the bowl.

7 oz package baked tofu, teriyaki flavor, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 large stalks of celery, diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use Vegannaise)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and chill.