Alan's Favorite Recipes

Tofu/Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients	Instructions
3 T soy sauce 1 t rice wine vinegar 2 cloves garlic (minced or pressed) 1 t grated ginger dash of hot pepper sauce, red chili paste or cayenne 10 - 14 oz firm tofu cut into 1/2" cubes 2 T vegetable oil 1 large carrot (peeled and chopped) 1 head broccoli (bite sized chunks) 3 T water green onions for topping (cut into 1/4" tubes)	Combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic and grated ginger in small bowl. Add pepper sauce (if desired). Add tofu chunks and turn to marinate with mixture (overnight is good but even 15 minutes will do in a pinch.) Heat skillet over high heat 2-3 minutes. Add oil, heat 30 seconds. Add carrots, stir for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add broccoli, 3 T water and stir 2 minutes (until broccoli is bright green.) Add tofu and heat until liquid boils away. Top with green onion. Serve with white rice. Serves 2-4.
This is nice and light. Its also easy to change around by adding different veggies or using different spices in the tofu marinade.

Asparagus in wine
Ingredients	Instructions
1 lb fresh asparagus 2 T unsalted butter 3 T shredded Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup salted water 2 T dry white wine 1/2 t salt 1/2 t pepper	Wash asparagus then snap off and discard tough ends. In a wide frying pan, bring 1/2 inch of salted water to a boil. Add asaparagus, cover. Cook over medium heat until asparagus is tender-crisp when pierced (approximately 5-7 minutes). Drain well and turn into a shallow 3-4 cup casserole dish. Melt butter in a small frying pan over high heat. Add wine then cook uncovered until reduced by half. Pour sauce over asparagus, sprinkle with salt, pepper and cheese. Place under broiler (2-3 inches from heat) until cheese melts (approximately 2 minutes.)
Quick and tasty.

Vegetable Pullao
Ingredients	Instructions
1 1/2 large onion, diced fine 4 cloves garlic, diced 1 inch piece of ginger, diced 2 green chilies, diced 3/4 inch cinnamon stick 8 cloves 5 small bay leaves 5 T butter 3 medium carrots, diced into 1 inch pieces 1 cup cut green beans 2 medium potatos, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes 1 cup green peas, fresh or defroasted 1/2 t turmeric 1 1/2 t salt 2 cups rice	Soak the rice in water for about an hour. Drain and set aside. Put 1/2 an onion and all the garlic, ginger and chilies into a blender along with 4 or 5 T of water and blend into a smooth paste. Break the cinnamon into small pieces. Also break each of the cloves into 2. Heat a large pan (preferably non-stick) on a medium flame. Put in the butter and as soon as it melts, add the cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves. Stir for a few seconds and add the rest of the diced onions. Stir and fry until the onion starts to turn brown. Now add the mixture from the blender and fry for about a minute, stirring often. Take care to see that the mixture doesn't get burnt. Add the drained rice to the pan and continue frying until the rice becomes translucent (you may have to add more butter.) Now add 4 cups of water to the pan. Put in all the vegetables, salt and turmeric. Cover and cook until the rice is done.
Great with an Indian bread and yogurt.

Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients	Instructions
1 medium butternut squash, diced into 1 inch cubes 1/4 onion, cut into 1/2 inch wide slivers 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch wide slivers 3 cloves garlic 2 1/2 cups of water 2 T butter 1/2 t cinnamon 1/2 t onion powder 1 t white pepper 1/2 t white pepper 1 t salt 1/2 t sugar 3 T cream (optional)	Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the onion, garlic and squash pieces. Cook until the onion softens. Before the onion and garlic brown, add enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then return to a simmer. Add the red bell pepper and the spices. Cook until the squash is soft. Puree half the vegetables in a blender and add back to the soup. Thicken things up with some cream, if desired.
All spice measurements are approximate. I just add a dash of each until things taste right.

Vegetable Curry
Ingredients	Instructions
2 large potatos, diced into 1 inch cubes 1/2 onion, cut into 1/2 inch wide slivers 3 cloves garlic 8 mushrooms, sliced into slivers 1/2 head broccolli, broken into 1 inch clumps 1/4 head cauliflower, broken into 1 inch clumps 2 turnips, cut into 1 inch cubes 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch slivers 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch slivers 3 T butter 2 t salt 1 T pepper 3 T curry powder 1/2 cup water	Get a really large pot. Peel and boil the potatos until they soften. Pour the water and potatos out of the pot. Melt the butter. Saute the onions and garlic until the onions soften. Add curry powder, salt and pepper. Once the onions turn golden, add the other veggies (broccolli, cauliflower, turnips, bell peppers, etc). Let the veggies cook in the butter until slightly browned. Add some water to make things a little saucy. Add more seasoning. Add additional salt to bring out the flavors.
This is another seat of the pants recipe. All spice measurements are approximate.

Portobello Mushrooms in Port Wine Sauce
Ingredients	Instructions
2 Portobello Mushrooms, sliced into 1 inch wide strips 1/2 t salt 1/4 t nutmeg 1/4 t black pepper 1 - 1 1/2 C cream 1/4 C port wine 4 T butter	Heat the butter in a large skillet. Brown the mushroom slices, then remove them from the skillet. Add 1 cup cream to the hot skillet, bring to a boil. (Don't boil vigerously, just a few bubbles is sufficient.) Add the port wine, the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add back the mushrooms and let cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
Recipe adjusted from a chicken recipe (the chicken was breaded with flour and the spices). Its just to decadent for a vegetarian to miss. Enough fat to cause coronaries in three counties.

Tuscan-Style Fettuccine With Artichokes
Ingredients	Instructions
1 lb. fettuccine 2/3 stick butter 14 oz canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro 2 T chopped fresh oregano 2 T minced garlic 1/2 t black pepper 2 to 3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese	In large skillet over medium heat heat, melt butter. Add artichokes, cilnatro, oregano, garlic and pepper. Cook, stirring, for several minutes until ingredients are combined and mixture is hot. Cook fettuccine "al dante". Drain. Pour artichoke mixture over warm pasta and toss to coat evenly. Divide onto hot plates, sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese and serve.
Really easy. Original recipe called for 1/2 cup margarine instead of butter. Should work equally well with a light oil. Tastes great with fresh fettuccine.

Paprika Mushroom Soup
Ingredients	Instructions
12 oz Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 2 cups chopped onion 1 clove garlic, crushed 4 T butter or margarine 3 T flour 1 cup milk 2 t dill weed 1 T Hungarian Paprika 1 T Tamari 2 t lemon juice 2 cups vegetable stock 1/4 cup fresh parsley 1/2 cup sour cream black pepper, to taste salt, to taste	Saute onions and half the butter in large pot for five minutes. Add mushrooms and crushed garlic, along with dill, paprika, vegetable stock and tamari. Simmer covered for fifteen minutes. In a seperate suacepan, melt remaining butter over medium heat and stir in flour. Whisk while heating for 2 minutes, then stir in milk. Stir often for 10 minutes or until thick. Combine mushroom mixture with sauce and simmer for 15 inutes. Add sour cream. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste before serving. Top with chopped parsley.
This takes awhile but is excellant. The only snag is making the flour/milk mixture. If you aren't diligent, you'll end up with something resembling Play-Dough(tm). In addition to the parsley, I garnish with a thin slice of lemon.

Mushroom Barley Soup
Ingredients	Instructions
1/2 cup barley 6 1/2 cup water 1 t salt 3/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce) 1/2 cup sherry 4 T butter 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup onions, chopped 1 lb mushrooms, sliced pepper, to taste	Cook barley in 1 1/2 cup water until tender. Add remaining water, tamari and sherry. Saute onions and garlic in butter. When soft, add mushrooms and salt. When mushrooms are tender, add to barley and simmer on low heat. Season with pepper.
This soup ages well. After a few days in the fridge, the mushrooms soak up the soy/sherry flavor.

Cheese Grits
Ingredients	Instructions
1 1/2 cups uncooked grits 1 lb cheese, grated 6 cups water 2 t salt 3 eggs, beaten dash of Tabasco sauce 1 stick butter	Bring water to boil and add grits slowly and cook until done. DO NOT ADD SALT TO WATER. Beat eggs and add other ingredients to hot grits. Stir until cheese and butter melts. Turn into a large baking dish. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. The grits can be frozen before the baking, just take them out of freezer the day before using. I have also been known to cook at 300-350 for less time.
This is a traditional southern dish, often served with fried fish. I got the recipe form my Aunt Carole Gordon.

Fire-Roasted Garlic Soup
Ingredients	Instructions
Seasoning Mix: 2 t salt 1 1/2 t garlic powder 1 t dried basil leaves 1 t cayenne 1 t dry mustard 1 t onion powder 1 t white pepper 1/2 t black pepper Soup Ingredients: 2 onions, roasted (see instructions) and chopped 3 heads garlic, roasted (see instructions) and chopped 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup couscous 6 T all-purpose flour 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup tamari 5 cups rich vegetable stock 1/4 cup honey 2 13.5 oz cans unsweetened coconut milk	Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl. Mix the couscous and flour together in a small bowl. To roast the onions and garlic, if you have a gas range, simply place them right on the burner, in a high flame, and roast, turning with tongs until the outer skin is charred all the way around. If your range is electric, you can roast in a preheated 500F oven. Plunge the roasted vegetables into ice cold water to stop the cooking, then rub off the black charred skin under running water. It should slip right off, but if there are stubborn spots, just remove them with a sharp knife. When roasting garlic, first remove the loose papery skin. After roasting garlic, gently remove the cloves by pulling off the burned outer husk, which will be fairly hard and can be removed like a shell. The cloves inside will be a rich brown color and fairly soft. Removing the cloves is easy if you work from the bottom of the garlic head, gently prying the head open with your fingers and removing the cloves one at a time. Heat the olive oil in a 5 quart pot over high heat just until it begins to smoke, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the couscous and flour mixture. Lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Add the seasoning mix, onions, garlic, vinegar, and tamari and continue to cook, stirring, and scraping the bottom of the pot for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the stock and cook, stirring constantly, for 4 minutes. Add 2 cups of the stock and cook, stirring frequently, for 8 minutes; then remove from the heat. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor then return the mixture to the pot and stir in 1 cup of the stock. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the remaining stock, the honey, and the coconut milk and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir gently and serve.
This recipe is from Paul Prudhomme's Fiery Foods cookbook.

Mint Julep
Ingredients	Instructions
2 oz. Bourbon 4 sprigs fresh mint 3 T sugar 1 C ice 1/4 water (optional)	Put half the sugar and the mint in a tall glass. Use a spoon to bruise the mint into the sugar. Fill with shaved ice (preferably shaved). Add Bourbon and stir. Add additional sugar if the Bourbon taste is too strong. Garnish with mint, orange slice and/or a cherry.
I hate the pre-made syrup. Use good alcohol and fresh mint and this is infinitely better.

Sangria
Ingredients	Instructions
750 ml of adequate red wine 1 nectarine 1 orange 1 lime 1 granny smith apple 1/4 cup rum or brandy 2 T superfine sugar soda water ice	Combine wine, sugar, and rum/brandy in a large pitcher and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Slice the nectarine into segments and add to the wine mixture. Core the apple, slice into segments and add them crushing slightly with a wooden spoon to release the flavor. Cut the lime into wedges, crush them and add to mixture. Stir together and taste. To make is sweeter, add more sugar. To make it more tart, add more citrus fruit. Add ice and serve.
The beauty of sangria is that nearly *any* fruit will work and even cheap grocery store wine is acceptible. Cheap and easy for a party drink too.

Thai Iced Coffee
Ingredients	Instructions
6 T whole rich coffee beans, ground fine 1/4 t ground coriander powder 4 or 5 whole cardamom pods, ground 1 or 2 t sugar 1 C boiling water 4 T sweetened condensed milk (optional) ice	Place the coffee and spices in the filter cone of your coffee maker or in the top of a Thai coffee maker. Add boiling water to make coffee as usual. In a tall glass, dissolve sugar in an ounce of coffee. Add 5 or 6 cubes of ice and pour coffee to within 1 inch of the top of the glass. Rest a spoon on top of the coffee and slowly pour whipping cream into the spoon. This will make the cream float on top of the coffee rather than dispersing into it right away. Can be made sweeter by adding sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar.
Watch the caffiene. Two of these and you'll be out running 440 sprints in the front yard.