Tofu Felafel Salad

My friend Earl told me he made a recipe with chicken breaded in felafel mix that came out great.  I figured I'd try it with tofu and see how it went.  I'd call it a great success.  For those who don't mind the oil, I'm sure frying would also produce delicious results.

For each meal-sized salad:
1 cup chopped lettuce
1/4 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup diced cucumber
1/8 cup diced red onion
1/8 cup fresh cilantro
1 serving of felafel tofu (see recipe below)
Tehina sauce

Place salad ingredients on plate in order listed. Place felafel tofu on top. Drizzle with tehina, season with fresh ground pepper.


Felafel Tofu
Per serving:
4 oz firm tofu
1/8 cup dry felafel mix (look for one without wheat if you are on a gluten free diet)

Cut tofu into 1/4" strips. Coat on all sides with dry felafel mix, and place on foiled baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove and cool. Cut into 1/2" pieces.

Enchilada Pie

This is one of the easiest main courses I can think of.  We have "burrito/taco night" in our house almost every week because I can put that dinner on the table in about 20 minutes from starting to prepare to sitting down to eat.  This is close to the same thing but baked, with corn tortillas instead of flour and enchilada sauce instead of salsa.  That makes it gluten free and allows it to be prepared in advance.

4 servings.

1 cup Enchilada Sauce*
6 Corn Tortillas
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
1 cup Corn Kernals, fresh or frozen
1 cup Olives, sliced
1 cup canned Black Beans, rinsed
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated (or Mexican Mix)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 2 tablespoons of Enchilada sauce on bottom of a baking dish that will just fit the tortillas. Top with one tortilla. Spread more sauce on to cover, then top with 1/5 of the onion, corn, olives, beans and 1/6 of the cheese. Continue stacking with 4 more tortillas, then place the last tortilla on top, and top with sauce and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, until completely heated through and cheese is melted.

*Emeril Lagasse's Easy Enchilada Sauce found at foodnetwork.com is great, or you can use your own or canned sauce.

Zucchini Soufflé with Cucumbers in Yogurt

I got this recipe from a cooking class taught by my friend Miriam over 10 years ago.  I still have the original recipe Miriam handed out that day, and it is torn and retaped, faded and messed with food droppings.  The souffle originally called for 2 tbsp of matzo meal, but I've been making it for years without it.  She calls it "Fritada de Calabaza" with"Jejik".  I call delicious.  


6 servings.

Zucchini Souffle:
4 cups Zucchini , grated, excess liquid removed
4 Eggs
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
3 large cloves Garlic, minced
2/3 cup Feta Cheese, grated
Dash of Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish and bake uncovered for 1 hour, until just browned. Serve warm or at room temperature with the Cucumbers in Yogurt (see recipe below.

Cucumbers in Yogurt:

4 Persian Cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin (if skin is thick peel first)
3 tablespoons Fresh Dill, chopped
1 1/2 cups Plain Yogurt
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 large cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt

Toss all ingredients together and chill. Garnish with chopped dill. Serve with Zucchini Souffle or as a dip.

Greens and Beans with Garlic and Red Pepper

I was part of an organic fruit and vegetable co-op for a while, and picked up a prepared basket of whatever was in season every week.  I had never really cooked with greens before, so found a few recipes that looked interesting and combined the best of them.  This is what I came up with.

Serves 4 as main course, 6 as a side dish.

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

6 cloves Garlic, sliced thin

8 cups chopped Greens (Kale, Escarole, Curly Endive, Collards, Beet Greens, and/or Chard...)

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 15 ounce can Cannellini or Great Northern Beans, drained

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Heat olive oil on medium low heat. Saute garlic two minutes, then add chopped greens and vegetable stock. Saute for 2 minutes until slightly wilted, then cover and turn heat to low for 5 minutes until greens are softened. Mix in red pepper flakes and salt. Add beans and stir over heat until warmed through. Remove from heat. Can serve with Parmesan cheese.