black bean soup

1 pound dried black beans, rinsed and drained
8 cups water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 medium onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 ham hock (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon whole cloves
1/8 teaspoon mustard seed
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup dry sherry
crumbled feta
pepperocinis to garnish

1. Thinly sliced green onions, crumbled crisp bacon, sour cream, sieved hard-cooked egg, and thin lemon slices, for garnish

2. In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the beans and 4 cups of water to a boil.

3. Boil briskly for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 1 hour.

4. In a 5-quart Dutch oven, melt the butter.

5. Add the onions, celery, carrot, and garlic, and cook until soft but not browned.

6. Add the ham hock, the remaining 4 cups water, parsley, salt, cayenne pepper, cloves, mustard seed, bay leaf, and beans (with their liquid).
   Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 3 hours.

7. Remove the ham hocks and let cool slightly.

8. Remove and discard bay leaf.

9. Place about half of the beans with about 1 cup of the liquid from the soup in a blender or food processor.

10. Process until smooth.

11. Return the puree to the soup in the Dutch oven.

12. Remove the ham from its bone and add the meat to the soup. (Discard fat, bones and skin.)

13. Reheat the soup over medium heat.

14. Stir in the sherry.

15. Serve hot soup with choice of garnishes to sprinkle on top.

jamaican beans and rice

1 fresh coconut, cracked and meat removed from shell
4 cups water
1 cup dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight in 3 cups of water
1/2 pound smoked pork hocks, tails, or other meat for flavoring, optional
4 cloves garlic, smashed
4 scallions, crushed*
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3 teaspoons salt
1 scotch bonnet, halved and seeded
2 1/2 cups long grain rice, washed and drained

1. Break the coconut meat into small chunks with your hands.
2. Add the water to a blender, and blend on high speed, adding the coconut chunks little by little until the mixture resembles a coarse puree.
3. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and press to extract as much liquid as possible.
4. Discard the solids, measure the coconut milk, and set aside.
5. Place the beans, along with the soaking liquid into a large heavy pot or dutch oven.
6. Add the pork hock and garlic and bring to a boil over high heat.
7. Cover the pot, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until beans are just tender, about 1 hour.
8.  Add the coconut milk, scallions, thyme, allspice, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
9. Stir in the rice and, once the mixture has returned to a boil, stir, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the liquid.
10.  Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving.
11. Remove the thyme sprigs and scotch bonnet pepper halves and serve.

**It is traditional to “crush” scallions by placing them on a cutting board and lightly tapping them with the handle of a knife. They can then be removed before serving but still impart their wonderful flavor to the rice and peas.

coconut couscous

1 1/4 cups couscous
1/2 cup water or chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter, optional
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

1. Bring water and coconut milk to a boil.
2. In a mixing bowl, place couscous, butter and salt and pepper, pour the boiling liquid over and mix well, let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in chopped cilantro or parsley and serve.

singapore noodles

1 pound thin rice noodles, soaked in cold water for 2 hours, and drained
1 pound baby shrimps, without shells, deveined, rinsed and drained
1 skinless chicken breast, 1/4-inch strips
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Canola oil, to cook
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 cup scallions batons, 1-inch lengths
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 pound bean sprout, picked
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 onion, julienned
2 eggs, lightly scrambled
2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
Salt and white pepper to taste

1. Marinate shrimp and sliced chicken together in soy sauce, wine, cornstarch and white pepper for 20 minutes.
   
2. In a hot wok coated well with oil, stir fry ginger, scallions and garlic.
   
3. Add marinated shrimp and chicken to oil and stir fry quickly for 30 seconds to one minute. Remove shrimp and chicken and set aside.
   
4. Use same oil to stir fry bean sprouts, peppers and onions.
   
5. Season and cook for 1 minute and set aside.
   
6. Wipe out wok and coat well with oil.
7. When oil is smoking hot, add 2 beaten eggs and rotate the pan so as to quickly spread the eggs into a pancake shape.
   
8. While the egg is still partially fluid, add rice noodles to the wok.
   
9. Stir and fold noodles and the eggs should be broken up into small pieces and dispersed uniformly.
   
10. Continue to stir to avoid noodles from sticking to the pan.
    
11. Add curry powder and check for seasoning.
    
12. When noodles are steaming hot, add back shrimp, chicken and vegetables to the noodles and continue to mix and stir until everything is steaming hot.

stir-fry cabbage

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 head napa cabbage, cleaned and sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the canola oil and heat.
2.  Add the onion, garlic and ginger and saute, stirring, for 1 minute.
   
3. Add the cabbage and cook until just starting to wilt, about 2 minutes.
   
4. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar and stir well and cook just until cabbage is wilted, about 3 minutes.
   
5. Remove from heat and drizzle with the sesame oil.

poached salmon with tzatziki

2 cups dry white wine
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 lemons, unpeeled, sliced
1 (2 pound) salmon fillet with skin
1 scallion, top only, thinly sliced
1 cup Lemon Mint Tzatziki (see below)

1. Put the wine, water, bay leaves, parsley and of the sliced lemons into a large deep skillet and bring to a simmer.
2. Add the salmon, skin side down.
3. Add more water, if necessary, to cover the salmon.
4. Cover the skillet and simmer over a low heat until the fish is just cooked through, about 8 minutes.
5. Transfer the fish to a plate, cover it and chill it completely in the refrigerator, about 3 hours.
6. To serve, peel the skin from the fillet and scrape away any brown flesh.
7. Put the fish on a serving plate, garnish with scallion and the remaining lemon slices.
8. Serve with Lemon Mint Tzatziki.

Lemon Mint Tzatziki:
1 cup non-fat yogurt
1 English cucumber
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves
Salt and pepper

1. Line a strainer with paper towel and put the strainer over a bowl.

2. Put the yogurt in the strainer and place it in the refrigerator to drain and thicken for 3 hours.

3. Seed and coarsely grate the cucumber. Drain it well.

4. In a medium bowl, stir together the thickened yogurt and olive oil.

5. Stir in the cucumber, lemon juice, garlic, zest and mint.

6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

mango salsa

1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup peeled, diced cucumber
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper

1. Combine the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and cilantro leaves and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Goat Cheese, Herb and White Bean Salad

12 ounces pre-washed mixed salad greens (about 8 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (about 28)
1 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 ounces goat cheese (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn, or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1. Place greens into a large bowl.
   
2. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt and pepper, to taste.
   
3. Drizzle the dressing over the greens and toss.
   
4. Divide the greens onto 4 plates, top each with about 7 tomatoes, 1/4 cup of beans and 2 tablespoons of goat cheese.
   
5. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

peanut-lime noodles

3/4 pound spinach linguine or whole-wheat spaghetti
2 cups (about 9 ounces) broccoli florets
2 cups (about 6 ounces) snow peas, trimmed
2 cups (about 6 ounces) sugar snap peas, trimmed
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 scallion, cut into pieces
3/4 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup shelled unsalted peanuts

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of water according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2.  While the pasta is cooking put the broccoli in a steamer basket over a large pot of boiling water and steam it for 3 minutes.
3. Add the snow peas and sugar snap peas and steam for 2 minutes more.
4. Toast the peanuts in a dry pan over a medium heat until they become fragrant, about 3 minutes.
5. Set them aside to cool.
6. Make the sauce by pureeing the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, sugar and red pepper flakes in a food processor or blender until smooth.
7. Right before serving, toss the pasta with 3/4 cup of the peanut sauce. Divide into 6 serving bowls and top each serving with the vegetables.
8. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the vegetables.
9. Coarsely chop the peanuts, sprinkle them on top and serve.

balsamic chicken and baby spinach

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
8 ounces baby spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup low-sodium canned chopped tomatoes with juice
2 cups whole wheat couscous, cooked

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat.
2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove the chicken and set aside.
4. To the same pan, add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Remove from the pan and set aside.
6. Lower the heat to medium and add the balsamic vinegar and chicken broth to the pan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits.
7. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Place the couscous in a serving bowl. Top with the spinach, chicken and balsamic-tomato sauce.