For a Veggie Thanksgiving

Sweet Potato Soup

I consulted a few recipes and then made up two options . I liked it!

First Option:
1)  Saute:

1 onion 

3 cloves garlic

Ground ginger and cumun to taste in 

1 T butter

2) While this is happening, skin and cube 2 larege sweet potatoes

3) Add the potatoes and 1 qt chicken or vegetable broth plus 1 can light cocanut milk

4) When potatoes are soft enough , blend with  hand held immersion mixer

5) Add 1  or 2 T red curry paste

Serve with yogurt mixed with lime zest, chopped cilantro and/or toasted pumpkin seeds

Second Option:

1)Saute
1 oninon in olive oil spray

2)microwave sweet potato cubes with skin on

2) place in vitamix with ginger and cumin to taste  on top of Almond milk. mix on low

3) turn to high and mix for 5 minutes

Hot soup!

Rabbi Margaret's Winter Breakfast: Persimmons and Avocado Salad

My dear friend and colleague Rabbi Margaret Holub features this recipe as the very first in her self published cookbook of winter recipes. I had never heard of fuyu persimmons, but as soon as I read this recipe and learned that Margaret ate this salad for breakfast during the winter months, I had to make it immediately. First, I had to find fuyu persimmons. Turns out, fuyu persimmons are from Japan, but they now grow  in Northern California  as well, which explains Margaret's attachment. (She lives in Mendocino). I found them at the local yuppie Farmer's Market and then, for much less money, in the local independent Produce Junction.  This salad tastes great and is gorgeous to look at too. Serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Thank you, Margaret!

2 small fuyu persimmons
1 large avocado
thinly sliced radishes (to taste)
handful of pomegranate seeds (unless you are too lazy --it really tastes fine without them)

fresh lime juice, salt, pepper

Slice the tops off the persimmons and cut into segments (you can leave the skin on)
Cut up the avocado however you like (skin off!)
add radishes and pomegranate seeds (Seth thinks the seeds  simply "gild the lily;" Margaret responds:
"Gild the lily R Us."

Dress with lime, salt and pepper.  

My Old Stand by Mitzvah Lentil Soup

1. Simmer, covered, 1 hour: 2 lbs lentils

10 cups water w. salt

2. saute in olive oil: 2 tsp minced garlic

1 c chopped onion; 1 c chopped celery ; 1 c chopped carrots; 1 c chopped tomatoes

1/2 c sesame seeds

1 grated lemon peel

2 bay leaves, fresh basil to taste

3.mix 1 and 2 and add 2 tbl molasses

2 tbl lemon juice

3 tbl vermouth

cranberry sauce

cook whole cranberries with a whole unpeeled clementine, ground cloves, minced shallots plus a peeled green apple, cooked in oil and then finished with sherry vinegar.

sweet potato fries

RECIPE

Sweet Potato Steak Fries With Crunchy Spices

Published: November 15, 2011

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Time: 40 minutes

Related

• What's an Updated Way to Do Sweet Potatoes? (November 15, 2011)

3 pounds sweet potatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons paprika, sweet, hot or a combination

1 tablespoon coarse or kosher salt

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar.

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the skins off the sweet potatoes, squaring off the round sides to make each potato into a large rectangle. Cut into long fries about 1/4-inch thick and 1 inch wide. (If not using potatoes immediately, soak in water for up to 1 day. Drain and pat dry before cooking.)

2. Put two large sheet pans in the oven to heat. Toss the potatoes, and skins if you like, with oil, paprika and 2 teaspoons of the salt. Arrange in one layer on the hot pans. (Don’t use parchment paper; it will make the potatoes soggy.) Roast until tender and starting to brown on the bottom, about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, grind the cumin, coriander and 1 teaspoon salt together. Mix in the brown sugar.

4. Remove pans from the oven and raise the heat to 450 degrees, or set to broil. With a spatula, carefully loosen the fries and turn each one over. Sprinkle with the spice and sugar mixture. Return to the oven and bake just until the fries are blistered and sizzling vigorously, about another 5 minutes. (If your oven has a convection feature, use it.) Do not overcook, or the fries will become leathery. Cool slightly.

Yield: 10 servings.

deconstructed sushi

Brown Rice Bowl with Citrus Dressing & Tofu A nourishing bowl of short-grain brown rice topped with crispy tofu, avocado, toasted nori, and a bright citrus-shoyu dressing. Servings 5 Ingredients 2 cups short-grain brown rice 3.5 cups water 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt 2 nori seaweed sheets (4-inch square) 6 ounces extra-firm tofu 1 orange, zested and juiced 0.5 lemon, zested and juiced (half) 2 tablespoons raw brown sugar 2 tablespoons shoyu or soy sauce 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar 4 green onions, chopped 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted Steps 1 Cook the rice: Rinse and drain the rice two or three times. Combine 2 cups short-grain brown rice, 3.5 cups water, and 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes 45:00 . 2 Toast the nori: Toast 2 nori seaweed sheets (4-inch square) in a preheated 300°F oven or a medium-hot skillet for a few minutes. Crumble or chop coarsely and set aside. 3 Cook the tofu: Drain 6 ounces extra-firm tofu and pat it dry. Cut the block lengthwise through the middle to make four ¼- to ½-inch thick sheets. Two at a time, cook in a dry or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes until browned on one side. Flip gently and continue cooking another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Let cool enough to handle, then cut crosswise into matchsticks. Repeat with remaining sheets. 4 Make the citrus dressing: Combine the juice from 1 orange, zested and juiced and 0.5 lemon, zested and juiced (half) with 2 tablespoons raw brown sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1–4 minutes 04:00 , then add 2 tablespoons shoyu or soy sauce and 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the zests from the orange and lemon. 5 Assemble the bowls: When the rice is done, stir in ⅓ cup of the dressing and add more to taste. Scoop the rice into individual bowls and top with the toasted nori, 4 green onions, chopped, tofu matchsticks, 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced, and a sprinkling of 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted. Notes Regular white sugar works fine in place of brown sugar. Soy sauce can be substituted for shoyu. The dressing can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to a week. There you go! The recipe is now formatted with a proper ingredient list and step-by-step instructions. You can also adjust the serving size and the ingredient amounts will scale automatically.