Peel and then grate the potatoes...should have about 4 cups of grated potatoes.

Mash up the cream cheese with the flour, eggs, salt and pepper.

Stir in the cheese cubes and grated potatoes. Stir in cream. You should have a mixture that is the consistency of cole slaw...not too runny.

Melt oil and butter in large skillet. When foam begins to subside, pile batter into skillet. Lightly brown potato pancake on one side...when the pancake is holding together (you might find ubble holes have appeared on the surface after 3 minutes or so) flip the pancake over and brown the other side.

You can serve these with a fried egg on top, with some herbed tomato sauce and cheese--heated under the broiler.

Mix dried spices together in small bowl. Brown the meat, breaking it up into small pieces. Add dried spice mix, catsup and water. Cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. You can add salt if you like, but we've never missed it using this spice mix!

Adapted quite generously from Desperation Dinners by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross, 1997.

Ingredients:

Have the fresh spinach leaves ready---washed and drained and in bite-size pieces and in a ceramic or metal bowl.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and add the garlic and hazelnuts. Cook over low heat 5 minutes...stirring at times.

Add the hot oil mixture directly to the spinach leaves.

Toss until all the spinach leaves are coated. Splash on the vinegar. Throw on the onion slices if desired. Add salt and grind in some pepper. Toss and serve immediately.

Adapted from the 'Still Life with Menu' cookbook by Molly Katzen.

Serves 3 or 4.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss shrimp with tomatoes. Toss with olive oil, garlic and lemon or lime juice. Put it all in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the shrimp in a single layer.

Roast until shrimp are white throughout. This takes usually about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and add some freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot over rice!

Inspired by a recipe I found a couple years ago in The Simpler the Better by Leslie Revsin, 2004.

Filling:

Biscuit topping

Filling:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until deep golden, about 7 minutes. Add next 6 in-gredients and stir 1 minute. Add broth and 1 cup water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in cream, peas and chives. Season to taste with salt. Bring mixture to simmer. Mix remaining 1 tablespoon butter and flour in small bowl to blend. Stir into vegetable mixture; simmer until mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Divide vegetable mixture among 2 casserole baking dishes--or whatever you have; set aside. (Can be prepared 1 1/2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) For biscuit topping:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture re-sembles coarse meal. Add eggs and milk and stir until soft moist dough forms.

Turn dough out onto generously floured surface. Knead gently just to combine. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces; pat out each piece to 31/2-inch round. Place 1 dough round atop vegetable filling in each dish. Place dishes on large baking sheet. Bake until topping is golden and vegetable mixture is heated through, about 18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mixture will be quite thick. Put into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-35 minutes.

Serve with ice cream!

The amounts in the ingredients are changeable---depends on what you have, what you like and what you need to eat up---but here's a typical mixture:

To prepare the bell peppers:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put peppers on baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, turning every few minutes, until the skin is fairly blistered all over. Immediately put the peppers in a paper bag for about 5 minutes. Remove from the bag, and when they're cool enough, peel off the skins and remove stems and seeds. Slice the peppers in strips and put in large bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the pasta and Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Cover and let marinate for a few hours...even overnight.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water. Drain, combine with marinated vegetables and cheese. Serve immediately.

Heat olive oil in skillet and then add the zucchini and other possible squash and garlic. Saute over low heat 20-30 minutes...yes, a long time. The squash will have a golden glaze over the surface, in Madison's words, and be caramelized in places. Toss with the herbs, some salt and pepper, and cheese and eat up!

Optional: Can be mixed with a batch of bowtie pasta and even some sun-dried tomatoes.

You can play with using your own favorite beans in this recipe. The varieties named are the ones I used because they were on my shelf, but you can use whatever you like. Ingredients:

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous sprinkling of salt and the fresh beans. Cook the beans until just tender for a few minutes. Drain the fresh beans in a colander and shock them in ice water to stop their cooking process. Drain again and set aside.

Place the fresh and canned beans, scallions, bell pepper,parsley and herbs in large bowl. Toss. Add vinaigrette and toss to combine. Season the salad to taste with salt, pepper and hot sauce.

Vinaigrette:

Whisk all ingredients, except olive oil, together. Slowly whisk in the olive oil in a stream.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the orzo pasta, while you steam the fresh peas in a steamer for a few minutes.

Cook pasta until al dente--doesn't take long for orzo! Drain well, and reserve about a cup of the pasta water.

Heat oil over medium heat in large Dutch oven, and add onions and prosciutto. Saute until onion is soft. Add garlic and saute another minute until fragrant.

Reduce heat to very low and stir in the peas. Add the pasta to the peas, and then add the Parmesan cheese and pepper. Toss together, and if it needs some liquid pour in some of that reserved pasta water.

Toss in the basil leaves at this time.

Optional additions:

Mix all the dressing ingredients together. Mix /li>into the warm fava beans. Sprinkle hard-boiled egg, and other optional ingredients on top.

Serve warm, or cold as a left-over, and dip into it with pita bread or flatbread, carrots, asparagus, broccoli, etc.!

Ingredients:

Topping:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together cake ingredients one at a time in order given.

Blend together topping ingredients. Stir half of topping into cake batter. Pour cake batter into 9x14 baking dish.

Sprinkle reserved topping on top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

In small bowl combine: half of the onion, all of the garlic, ginger and sugar. Stir in the vinegar, oils and soy sauce. Mix well.

If using chicken, fill saucepan with salted water and bring to boil. Add chicken breasts, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let sit for 15 minutes. Then drain the chicken and let cool. Bone and skin them, and cut into bite size pieces.

If using tofu, drain tub of tofu, slice tofu into 1/2 inch slabs, cut into triangles, set on plate with teatowel or papertowels to absorb moisture. Weight the tofu and let sit for 15 minutes. After the moisture has been absorbed, heat some oil in a cast iron skillet and fry up the tofu, both sides, until golden. Turn off heat and then add some soy sauce to skillet to coat the tofu pieces.

Boil chow mein noodles until soft. Drain in colander. Place cabbage, rest of the red onion, red bell pepper, cucumber and noodles into big salad bowl. Add chicken or tofu, or both, to salad bowl. Pour dressing over all. Toss and serve with cilantro and peanuts sprinkled on top.

I've made this for several Mardi Gras dinners with my daughters through the years...and this year included. See photo of a finished decorated King Cake on my webpage. Look for the Feb, 24, 2009 entry.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Pour the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle yeast and 2 t sugar into it. Allow the yeast and sugar to rest for 3 minutes, then mix thoroughly. Set bowl in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until yeast bubbles up and mixtures almost doubls up in volumn. Combine 3-1/2 cups flour, remaining sugar, nutmeg and salt, and sift into a large mixing bowl. Sitr in lemon zest. Separate center of mix to form a hole and pour in yeast mixture and milk. Add egg yolks and using a wooden spoon slowly combine dry ingredients into the yeast/milk mixture. When mixture is smoooth, beat in 8 T butter, 1 T or so at a time, and continue to beat 2 minutes. This is an arm workout!

Place ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and knead it like bread. During this kneading add up to 1 cup of flour, a Tablespoon at a time, sprinkled over the dough. When dough is no longer sticky, knead 10 minutes or until shiny and elastic.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with one T softened butter. Place dough ball in the bowl and rotate until the entire surface is buttered. Cover bowl with a moderately thick kitchen towel and place in a draft-free spot for about 1-1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in volume. Using a pastry brush, coat a large baking sheet with one T of butter and set aside.

REmove dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface. using your fist, punch dough down with a heavy blow. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top. Pand shake dough into a long cylinder. Twist dough to form a curled cylinder, a wreath shape, and loop cylinder onto the buttered baking sheet. Pinch the ends together to complete the circle. Cover dough with towel and set in draft free spot for 45 minutes until the circle of dough doubles in volume. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush top and sides of cake with egg wash and bake on middle rack of oven for 25 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Place cake on wire rack to cool. If desired, at this time, you can 'hide' the plastic baby in the cake.

Icing

/Combine sugar, lemon juice and 3 T water until smooht. If icing is too stiff, add more water until spreadable/pourable consistency. Spread icing over top of cake. Immediately sprinkle the colored sugar crystals in individual rows consisting of about 2 rows of green, purple and yellow.

Cake is served in 2" -3" pieces.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

optional: black olives to scatter on top

Cook spaghetti acording to package directions. Drain. Return to pan and combine milk and egg. Stir into hot pasta. Transfer to an oiled 3 qt. rectangular baking dish.

Meantime, in large skillet cook meat, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain fat, if any. Stir in chili powder, salt, cumin, oregano and black pepper.

Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for another couple minutes. Spoon over pasta in baking dish and sprinkle with cheeses.

Bake uncovered in 425 degree F oven about 10 minutes or until bubbly around edges. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe can be switched to an italian theme using bottled spaghetti sauce and italian sausage in place of the meats and tomato sauce can.

Heat or melt oil or butter in med. saucepan. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute for a few mintues. Stir in ketchup and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 min. Stir once in a while. Makes about 8 1/2 cup servings.

Adapted from a reader's contribution to Cooking Light magazine.

Combine greens, apple, pear and grapes in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing mixture (recipe below). Toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts.

Dressing:

Bring 1 cup apple juice to boil and cook until reduced to 3 Tablespoons...about 10 minutes. Whisk together reduced apple juice, 2 T cider vinegar, 1 t olive oil, 1/2 t salt, freshly ground pepper.

Ingredients:

Rinse the asparagus and trim the stalks. Cut each asparagus into 2 or 3 pieces.
Melt 2 T butter in deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion and saute for 1 minute. Then add asparagus and saute for 5 minutes. Add the rice and pour in the wine. Stir well.
When the wine has been absorbed, begin adding the boiling stock, a little at a time, stirring frequently. The risotto will be cooked in 15 minutes or so.
Add any remaining butter, if desired, and the parmesan. Mix well. Season to your taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The recipe is a bit modified from the one I use in the book Zuppe Risotti Polenta! by Mariapaola Dettore.

Ingredients:

Serves 6.

In a medium skillet large enough to holdthem in a single layer, cover the chicken breasts with water. Add 1 t. salt, set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Turn the chicken breasts and simmer until just cooked through while remaining juicy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the water and cool to room temperature. Trim off any fat and cut the chicken into 1/2 inch cubes.

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli and 2 t salt and cook uncovered, stirring once or twice, until crisp tender, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli to a bowl of icy cold water. Add the asparagus to the water and cook, stirring once or twice, until crisp-tender. Transfer the asparagus to the icy cold water w/the broccoli. When cool, drain the vegetables.

Bring a second pot of water to a boil. Add the linguine or noodles and some salt and cook according to package directions until just tender. Drain well, rinse under cool water and drain again. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with the sesame oil. Cover ingredients and hold at room temperature.

Just before serving, add the dressing, chicken, broccoli, asparagus, sweet pepper and green onions to the bowl and toss well.

Spread the cabbage in a layer on a single large platter, or on individual serving plates. Divide the salad over the cabbage. Sprinkle with the peanuts and cilantro.

Peanut Dressing

Use a food processor if you have one, otherwise just beat this up in the blender or by hand. Combine all the ingredients until smooth. Can be used immediately or maybe refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.

Ingredients:

While you cook the pasta in boiling water, place flour, salt and pepper in large saucepan. Add milk and stir with a whisk until well blended. Heat on medium-high while you add cream cheese a teaspoonful at a time, and bring to a boil stirring constantly.

Reduce heat and simmer a couple of minutes until thick and cream cheese melts, stirring.

Stir in mustard, worcestershire, and garlic; stir 1 minute.

Remove from heat.

Ingredients:

Cut 3 deep slashes into the skinned side of each chicken breast. Place them in a single layer in a non-metallic dish.

Put the garlic, chili, ginger, cilantro, lime rind, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and coconut milk in a food processor or blender and process until a smooth puree forms.

Pour the puree over the chicken breasts, coating them evenly. Cover dish and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Lift chicken out of the marinade and let excess marinade drain off. Place chicken on baking sheet and broil under a preheated broiler for 12-15 minutes until thoroughly and evenly cooked.

Meanwhile, place remaining marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer on lowered heat for several minutes to heat thoroughly.

Note: Instead of broiling the chicken, you can simply cut it into bite size pieces and fry up in a wok. When chicken is cooked, remove from wok and pour extra marinade in wok. Bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes.

Recipe from "What's Cooking Thai" by Christine France 2000.

Wash 1 batch of rainbow swiss chard and cut into small pieces, separating stems from greens.
Heat a couple Tablespoons of olive oil in large saucepan over medium high heat. Add swiss chard stems first and saute for 3-4 minutes, then add leaves, several cloves of minced garlic and 1 small minced onion. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more, stirring all the while. Add can of diced organic no-salt tomatoes, 1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt (or sour cream), 1/2 cup milk, freshly ground black pepper, and a bit of crumbled feta cheese or parmesan cheese-which ever you prefer.

Drain pasta and ladle swiss chard sauce over pasta. Add some crumbled feta cheese and/or lightly browned pine nuts on top. Eat right now!

Toss the cut up vegetables with a generous sprinkling of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Annoint with a bit of kosher salt! Spread on foil lined baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Set aside.

Cook pancetta in a Dutch oven over medium high heat 8 minutes, or until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside. Add shallots and onions or leeks to pan and cook 15 minutes or until golden brown. Add a Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, along with the thyme, garlic and pepper. Add pancetta, lentils and 4 cups broth to pan. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups of broth and roasted vegetables to pan. Simmer 15 minutes uncovered. Add chard and cooke a couple minutes until it is wilted.

My additions:

1. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold wter to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.(This is when I throw in the sundried tomatoes so that they can soften in the hot water)

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the corn and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes, or until the corn is tender. Stir in the chili powder and scallions. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until the green onions soften. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander. Return the hot potatoes to the pan and mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth. Gradually add 1/2 cup hot milk, the salt and pepper, mashing the potatoes until fluffy. Add the remaining milk if necessary.

4. Return the pan to low heat and stir constantly until the potatoes are hot. Stir in the cheeses and the corn mixture (and the cilantro and tomatoes) and serve.

Adapted from "50 Best Mashed Potatoes" by Sarah Reynolds, 1997.

Ingredients:

Combine cottage cheese, parsley, and chiles; set aside.

Heat oil in a 4 to 5 qt. saucepan. Add onions, garlic and bell peppers. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until onion is tender. Add salsa, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain well. Coat a 9x13 inch pan with vegetable oil.

Arrange a layer of cooked noodles on the bottom. Spread 1/2 of cottage cheese mixture, then 1/2 of chicken over noodles. Spread 1/3 of salsa mixture, then 1/3 of cheese over chicken.

Repeat layers with noodles, 1/2 cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 chicken, 1/3 salsa, then 1/3 cheese.

Finish with remaining noodles, salsa and cheese. Bake, covered with foil, at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. (I put the baking pan on a cookie sheet, because it tends to drip juicey juices in the oven.) Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving! From the cookbook 'Savor the Flavor of Oregon.' The Junior League of Eugene

Ingredients:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until smooht, about 2 mintues. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in the granola, almonds and white chocolate.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Place the sheets in the refrigerator and chill for 20 min. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes (In my oven these cookies were done at 10 minutes!) Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

*The cookbook author likes to use Quaker 100% natural cereal (the Oats and Honey variety---without the raisins) to make these cookies. Alyssa Torey says it is a little bit sweeter than most granolas and has a touch of coconut in it.

**To roast the almonds, place on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over low heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking for sticking. The onions should be clear, limp and sweet-tasting.

Uncover the pan, raise the heat to medium-high and saute the onions to pale gold, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic, basil and red pepper. Cook 1 minute. Cover and set aside.

Cook the pasta in fiercely boiling water, stirring often, until tender yet firm to the bite. Drain in a colander.

Quicly rewarm the onion mixture, tossing with the hot pasta in the pan. FINALLY toss in the tomatoes. Season to taste. Turn into a heated bowl and serve hot. The cheese is totally optional. If the tomatoes are sensational, it gets in their way.

Variations:

Serves 6-8 as a first course, or 4 as a main dish.

From The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Filling ingredients:

Topping ingredients:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place peaches in an 8x8-inch baking pan. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, spices and cornstarch; mix well. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour the syrup over the peaches.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter, and mix with your fingers or pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in the egg and then the milk, one tablespoon at a time, to make a moist but not too sticky dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface a few times until it is smooth, and pull into a shape that covers the baking pan. Place the dough over the peaches; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix.

Bake 25 minutes or so, or until golden brown and bubbly around the edges.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.

From a favorite dessert cookbook of mine, "Buttercup Bakes at Home" by Jennifer Appel.

Dressing:

Serves 4.

To make the dressing, reserve a few cilantro leaves, then put the rest in a blender. Add the chiles, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice and sugar dand blend until smooth. Set aside.

Blanch the beans in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then refresh in cold water. Mix the cabbage, beans, tomatoes and scallions in a bowl. Pour the dressing on top, toss well to coat and let marinate for about 30 minutes.

Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with the ground peanuts and reserved cilantro leaves, then serve.

From a cookbook I turn to often--New Vegetarian: Bold and Beautiful Recipes for Any Ocasion by Celia Brooks Brown.

For the Cake:

For the topping:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x12 baking pan.

For the cake: place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and crumble with your fingers or a pastry cutter.

In a large bowl, whisk the egss. Add the buttermilk and zest, whisking until blended. Add the flour-butter mixture and stir just until blended. Spoon into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula (this batter is quite thick).

For the topping: Place the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. With a pastry cutter, or your fingers, work in the butter until the mix is the consistency of coarse meal. Chop the nuts and stir into the mixture.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter in the pan. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, covering lightly with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes of baking, utnil a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a bowl, blend sour cream and flour together with a fork until it JUST comes together. On a well-floured board, roll out dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Using a floured 1 inch biscuit cutter (we use an upside down juice glass), cut out 12 rounds, reworking the dough as little as possible.
Place biscuits on a greased cookie sheet and bake in the top third of the oven for about 12 mintues, or until biscuits are lightly brown.

Your own self-rising flour:
For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix to combine.

Serves 6 to 8.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook until just tender, 12 to 14 minutes.

Drain the macaroni and add half of it to the prepared dish. Sprinkle half the cheese over the macaroni, then spread the tomato sauce over the cheese. Sprinkle the zest and oregano over the sauce. Distribute the remaining macaroni evenly over the top.

In a mixing bowl, combine the bechamel and the eggs. Whisk until smooth. Spread the mixture over the top layer of macaroni, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over all. Bake until golden on top and crisp around the edges, 55 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes, then serve.

Quick Fresh Tomato Sauce

This recipe makes twice the amount you'll use in the Pastitsio. You can freeze the rest, or use it spread on bread, as a sauce for meats, or as a topping for yellow lentils.

Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent,about 5 minutes.

Add the tomoatoes, oregano, chili pepper and salt. Simmer briskly, uncovered, until the tomatoes collapse and separate from their skins and the liquid thickens slightly, 12 to 15 minutes.

Note: Fresh oregano is the key to making this sauce come alive. If you must use dried oregano, use 1 teaspoon. And please don't add wine to the sauce. The essence of this sauce is in its naturalness. Adding wine makes it more 'cooked.'

Saltsa Bechamel

Melt the butter in a saucepan until foaming. Add the flour, whisk until the mixture is smooth, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to turn golden, 2 minutes.

Whisk in the yogurt, milk and salt and cover and medium heat, whisking frequently, utnil thickened and creamy, 12-15 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg.

Use right away.

You can eat this from a bowl or serve it over a bed of rice. Make it hotter if you like, and change some of the vegetables. I use half the chili powder the recipe calls for, but I throw in 2-3 teaspoons of ground chipotles from a can. I just like their flavor a lot.

Heat the oil in a large chili pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers, sweet potato, corn tomatoes, chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, salt and water or stock to the chili pot and stir to combine. Bring to a boil stirring frequently. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 min., or until veggies are tender. Add the beans and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes longer to heat through and thicken.

From The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Butter the outsides of the bread for grilling. Then spread the insides with the chipotle puree, putting a scant 1/2 t on each slice, or more of you like your sandwich very hot. Layer the cheese, tomato, onion and cilantro on a slice of bread and place the other on top. Grill the sandwich over moderate heat in a skillet or on a griddle; turn to brown it on each side. Use a lid over the sandwich to help the cheese melt. The sandwich will be nicely browned and the cheese melted in under 8 minutes. Cut in half diagonally and serve.

Chipotle Puree

Blend chipotles chilies from a can in a blender with enough light vegetable oil to make a smooth paste.Cover and store in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. HOT

Meanwhile, toast garlic cloves in small skillet over medium heat, shaking pan occasionally, until frangrant and color cloves deepens slightly, about 5 or so minutes. When cool enough to handle, skin and mince cloves. Using dinner fork, mash garlic, butter, cheese and salt in small bowl until thoroughly combined.

Spread cut sides of loaf evenly with garlic butter mixture. Transfer loaf halves, buttered side up, onto baking sheet; bake, reversing position of baking sheet in oven from front to back halfway through baking time, until surface of bread is golden brown and toastd, 8 to 10 mintues. Cut each half into 2-inch slices and serve immediately!

Serves 4

In a large bowl, toss together all the ingredients except the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss gently to coat.

Dry roasting the nuts intensifies their flavor...Put the nuts in a a skilet over medium heat and cook just until they begin to release their frangrance, 2 to 4 minutes, constantly stirring or shaking the pan to prevent burning. Remove the nuts from the skillet so they don't continue to brown.

David teaches classes through PCC Community Education, and his Split Pea Soup is so easy and soooo good! I make a big batch often and freeze it.

Pick through split peas and discard any discolored peas, stones or other foreign matter. Rinse peas.

Combine all ingredients in pot. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce hat, cover and simmer 1 hour, or until peas are tender.

Refrigerate leftovers and use within 5-7 days, or freeze for longer period.

Yield: 4 servings

Note: For a smoky flavor, add 1/2 to 1 t liquid smoke to the ingredients in your soup pot.

Dana's Note: I like to add some barley (and of course, extra water) to the soup pot too.

Put ravioli, melon, tomatoes, basil and green onion in a bowl. Toss.

Whisk 1 t salt and 1 t pepper with 4 T oil and 3 T balsamic vinegar

Dress ravioli mixture and toss gently.

Chill.

Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

In a large bowl, toss cucumber and watermelon with lime juice, 3/4 t salt, and 1/8 t pepper. Serve immediately.

Note:
If not served immediately, leave out the salt. Refrigerate salad, covered, up to 4 hours; just before serving, toss with salt.

Use only ripe, delicious, summer tomatoes. Be sure to 'ripen' the roasted tomatoes at room temperature for 4-6 hours before eating. Store them covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. They freeze beautifully for 3 months--and taste even better for it.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Core the tomatoes and halve vertically. Do not seed. Leave small tomatoes in halves; cut slightly larger tomatoes into 4 wedges, medium ones into 6 and large tomatoes into 8 wedges.

In a half-sheet pan, or two 2-1/2 quart shallow metal baking pans (not glass or enameled metal), arrange the tomato wedges cut side up, about 1/2 to 1 inch apart. coat the tomatoes with the oil and sprinkle w/salt.

Bake 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees F and bake another 30 minutes. Turn the heat down to 300 degrees F and bake 30 more minutes, or until the edges are slightly darkened.If the edges are not yet colored, turn the heat down to 250 degrees F and bake another 10 minutes or so.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and cool 20 minutes. Transfer to a shallow glass or china dish and pour their oil over them. Let mellow, uncovered, at room temp for 4-6 hours.

Layer the tomatoes in a storage container, pouring their oil and refrigerate. Or freeze the tomatoes in tehir oil in sealed plastic containers up to 3 months.

Serve at room temperature.

Place vinegar in a large salad bowl. Add 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper. Slowly add the oil in a steady stream, whisking to emulsify.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss well to combine

To serve:

Serves 4

Heat a wok until very hot, then add the oil. Add the eggs and noodles and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until the eggs are lightly scrambled. Addd the remaining ingredients and stir-fry for another 3-5 minutes, until the noodles are cooked.

Divide between 4 warmed bowls and serve sprinkled with the peanuts, scallions and cilantro.

Ingredients:

Buns

Cream Cheese Frosting

To prepare buns:

Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and spices in large bowl.
In a saucepan, heat milk and butter to very warm and add to flour mixture. Beat on medium speed of electric mixer for 1 minute. Add 2 eggs; beat another minute. Stir in currants, orange and enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
Turn dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Place in a buttered bowl, turning to butter top. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk about 1 hour. Punch down dough and turn onto floured surface. Divide dough in half; divide each half into 9 pieces. Form each piece into a smooth round ball.
Place balls of dough in 2 buttered 8-inch square baking pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush buns lightly with egg yolk mixture. Bake rolls 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.

To prepare Cream Cheese Frosting:

Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add up to 1 t milk to achieve drizzling consistency. Drizzle frosting across top of each bun in the shape of a cross.

In a medium skillet, melt butter over med. heat. Add asparagus, bell pepper and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. In a large bowl, combine bread cubes, 1 cup cheese, ham and asparagus mix. Mix well. Spoon into buttered 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, milk, and spices. Mix well. Pour evenly over bread mix. cover and refrigerate 12 to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, uncovered, until golden and puffed, 45 minutes. Evenly sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese over top and bake until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Let sit about 5 minutes before serving.

Ingredients:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. On UNgreased cookie sheet, place cookie dough, spaced at least 2 inches apart. Into each side of dough insert wooden popsicle stick.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, depending on cookie dough recipe you use, or until cookie edges are light golden-brown. Cool 2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely.

Frost one side of each cookie and decorate with candies. Tie curling ribbon to popsicle stick into a bow near the cookie.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Peel the vegetables, onions and shallots.Cut everything into pieces roughly the same size, except for the parsnips, sweet potatoes, and turnips, which cook faster and can be slightly larger than the rest.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Make crust for 2-crust pie. Line pan with crust. In a large bowl, gently combine remaining ingredients and spoon in to the pie pan. Top with second crust. Seal edges and flute.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Combine sugar and corn syrup in large saucepan; bring JUST TO A BOIL over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in peanut butter. Stir in cereal. Press into greased 13x9 inch baking pan.

Melt in microwave chocolate and butterscotch chips in medium, microwave-safe bowl for one minute. Stir. Microwave at additional 10-20 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Spread over cereal mixture. Chill in pan for 20 minutes or until firm. Cut into bars.

These sell fast in a bake sale!

In a large bowl, combine the cannelini beans, red onion, roasted pepper, basil, parsley, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cheese, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and refrigerate until chilled.

Note: substitute canned cannellini beans. Rinse before using.

Note: use canned roasted peppers or do your own. To roast peppers, place on broiler pan and broil about 5 to 6 inches from source. Put in paper bag and allow to 'sweat.' Peel skin off after a few minutes and slice.

This recipe comes from the former Rustica Italian Cafe that used to be on NE Broadway in Portland. Served as a side dish or salad with a meal.

Crunch Topping:

Fruit Filling:

Vanilla Ice Cream, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare the crunch topping by combining the oats, flour, cinnamon and brown sugar in a medium bowl. With fingers or a pastry blender, blend in the butter until the topping is crumbly. Add the pecans, if desired and set aside.

To prepare the filling, mix the peaches and the berries with sugar and flour. Coat the fruit well in a medium bowl. Spoon filling into a 6x9 glass baking dish. Spread crunch topping evenly over fruit. Bake for about 40 minutes...or until the top is a golden brown color and the fruit bubbling. (The book recipe says to bake for one hour, but my Crunch would have been toast by that point!)

Serve warm wtih vanilla ice cream. Or eat this at breakfast with a little cream or yogurt!

Ingredients:

In a medium nonreactive saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are limp and translucent.

Add the bell pepper and cook 8 to 10 minutes longer, or until soft.

Add the ketchup, molasses,liquid smoke and 1 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.

Stir in the vinegar and simmer for 2 more minutes. Let the sauce cool to room temperature. Transwer to a storage container.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a hot grill. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Season chicken breast halves, with bone in, with salt and pepper. Place them on the grill skin-side down and grill for about 2 minutes. Using tongs, turn the meat 45 degrees to creat a crosshatch mark and grill for 2 more minutes. Trun the breast over and grill 2 minutes longer. Transwer to the baking sheet, skin side up.

Brush on a generous amount of barbecue sauce and bake for 20 minutes, or until the flesh is opaque and cooked through.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread oats evenly on baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant and lightly browned, 7 to 9 minutes. Cool. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Line second baking sheet with parchment paper. When oats are cooled, measure out 2 T and set aside.

Whisk milk, cream and egg in large measuring cup until incorporated; remove 1 T to small bowl and reserve for glazing.

Pulse flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking power and salt in food processor until combined, about 4 one-second pulses...or use a pastry blender to blend these ingredients. Scattere cold butter evenly over dry ingredients and pulse (or mash with pastry blender) until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and stir in cooled oats. Using rubber spatula, fold in liquid ingredients until large clumps form. Mix dough by hand in bowl until dough forms cohesive mass.

Dust work surface with half of reserved oats, turn dough onto work surface and dust top with remaining oats. Gently pat into 7 inch circle about 1 inch thick. Using chef's knife, cut dough into 8 wedges and set on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Brush surfaces with reserved egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 T sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool scones on baking sheet or wire rack. Serve with berry jam!

If using frozen strawberries, partially thaw the berries, but do not drain them. Slice berries. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the sugar and the tapioca. Add the berries and their juice, fresh or frozen rhubarb, lemon peel and lemon juice. Gently toss until fruit is coated. Let mixture stand about 15 minutes. (let stand about 60 minutes for frozen berries) Stir mixture occasionally.

Prepare and roll out pastry for pie. Line a pie plate w/half of the pastry. Pour in fruit mixture and top w/crust. Cut slits in top crust. Seal and crimp edge of pastry.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes for fresh fruit (50 minutes for frozen fruit). Cover crust edges with foil if needed and continue to bake for 20 more minutes or so...keep checking to see bubbly juices and a golden pie top. Cool on wire rack.

Dressing:

Salad:

1. To prepare dressing, combine first 8 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk.

2. To prepare salad, place potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water. Add 1 t salt to pan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until almost tender. Add benas, and cook an additional 4 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well. 3. Quarter potatoes. Place the potatoes, beans, chicken, onion, and greens in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine chocolate wafer crumbs and butter, tossing with a fork until well combined. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9" springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; cool completely.

Pour brewed coffee into a medium microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin mixture over coffee; let stand 10 minutes.

Combine cheeses and milk in a food processor; process until smooth. Microwave coffee mixture at HIGH for 20 seconds. Add coffee mixture to cheese mixture and process until well combined. Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Spread the whipped topping evenly over filling; sprinkle cocoa over pie. Chill 1 hour before serving.

Yield: 10 servings of 284 cal. each

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook barley until al dente, 30 to 35 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place eggplant in a large colander and sprinkle with 1 T salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water and squeeze firmly to remove excess moisture.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until beginning to color, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in prepared eggplant, tomatoes, 2 T basil, lemon juice and honey. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until eggplant is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in reserved barley and beans and heat for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in remaining 2 T chopped basil. Serve hot, garnished with whole basil leaves.

Makes 6 cups, for 4 servings.

This goes great with crackers, and a cucumber salad with yogurt! I got the recipe from Eating Well magazine in 1997. It is a comfy winter vegetarian stew, low in fat, and high in fiber.

Ingredients:

Butter the outsides of the bread for grilling. Then spread the insides with the chipotle puree, putting a scant 1/4 tspn on each slide, or more if you like your sandwich very hot. Layer the cheese, tomato, onion and cilantro on a slice of bread, and place the other on top. Grill the sandwich over moderate heat in a skillet or on a griddle; Turn to brown on each side. Use a lid over the sandwch to help the cheese melt. The sandwich will be nicely browned and the cheese melted in about 8 minutes. Cut in half diagonally and serve.

Chipotle Puree:

Use the canned chipotle chiles. Blen the chilies with enough vegetable oil to make a smooth paste. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

From 'The Greens Cook Book' by Deborah Madison

From Cook's Illustrated magazine, Jan/Feb 2002

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1/2 cup sugar for dipping in bowl.

Whisk flour, baking soda, spices and salt in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

In standing mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fuly incoporated about 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incoporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft.

Using tablespoon measure, scoop heaping tablespoon of dough and rol between palms into 1-1/2 inch ball; drop ball into bowl with sugar and repeat process. Toss balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with rest of dough. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake.

Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack. Cool cookies to room temperature and serve. (Can be stored at room temperature in airtight container or ziplock plastic bag up to 5 days.)

Ingredients

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and then slice each half into 4 spears, up to 1 inch wide.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly oil. Toss the potato spears with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the salt in large bowl. Scatter them on the prepared pan in a single layer and place in oven. Roast, turning once, until fork tender and lightly browned, about 25 minutes...sometimes it takes longer to get them nice and brownded.

Meanwhile, whisk together the maple syrup, vinegar and remaining 1 t oil. Brush this glaze lightly over the roasted spears and return them to the oven and continue roasting until they are caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the thyme, and serve. They're good hot, warm, room temp, or cold!

Dana's notes:

I have never been exact with these ingredient amounts---I find I need more olive oil than the original recipe states, and I like more glaze. I also glaze them as they roast a couple of times thru the roasting time.

Ingredients:

In soup pot over medium high heat, melt butter. Add diced vegetables. Saute until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sherry, salt and pepper, herbs and tomatoes. Let marry well for 3 to 5 minutes. Add fish stock and bring to gentle boil. Add 3 T roux, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until mixture thickens. If it doesn't thicken to your taste, you may add more roux, a T at a time, cooking for a few minutes before adding more. Cook soup about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequestnly to keep vegetables off bottom. Add potatoes and cook over medium heat until they are turning tender. Raise the heat to a rumbling boil and add fish pieces. Cook at rolling boil for 4 minutes. Add clams and cook for a minute more. Serve with sprinkled parsley and crackers or french bread.

Any type of fish can work in this chowder...and you can add crab, or mussels, or crawfish, or prawns if you like...whatever is the 'catch of the day.'

Ingredients:

In a large saucepan, cook potatoes, covered in a small amount of boiling water for 20 minutes or so until tender; drain. Cool, chill, peel, and thinly slice. Using a mortar and pestle, coarsely crush the spice seeds. Combine seeds, beer, vinegar, mustard, cornstarch, sugar, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce; set aside.

In small skillet, cook onion, celebry and cabbage in hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes or just til crisp-tender.

In an ungreased 2-quart rectangular baking dish layer HALF of the cabbage mixture, sausage, potatoes and cheese.

Stir seed mixture. Spoon HALF of the mixture atop cheese.

Repeat layers, reserving cheese for later.

Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining cheese. Makes 6 main-dish servings.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Ingredients:

Put berries in a 9x13-inch pan and sprinkle with 1 cup sugar and tapioca.

Lightly flour a pastry cloth. Measure the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until it resembles cornmeal. Add 3-4 T water and form the mix into a smooth ball.

Place dough on the pastry cloth and roll out from the center to the shape of the pan, turning it over once. Place the pastry over the berries and trim the edges to fit inside the pan.

Brush the milk over the pastry. Cut several vents in the dough and sprinkle on the remaining 2 T sugar. Bake for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until thickened.

Serve the cobbler while still warm with dollops of sweetened whipped cream.

From Janie Hibler's 'Dungeness Crabs and Blackberry Cobblers' cookbook.

In a food processor or blender blend together all ingredients with salt and pepper to taste until smooth. (Pesto keeps for 1 week, chilled and covered with a thin layer of olive oil on top. Or freeze it in batches.)

Makes about 1-1/4 cups

From Gourmet Magazine, August 1995

Ingredients:

In a chilled bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes, scallions and arugula.

Whisk the oil, mustard, lemon juice and vinegar together in a small bowl. Season to taste with the salt and pepper, and toss into the pasta and vegetables. Crumble in the bacon, toss and serve.

This is a very easy dessert that came from a Better Homes and Garden magazine in 1997. It is a hit everytime I've served it!

Ingredients:

Prepare pudding mix according to package directions using skim milk; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and yogurt with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in pudding.
To assemble trifle, in a 3-quart glass bowl or two 1-1/2 quart glass bowls, layer 1/3 of the cake cubes, 1/3 of the pudding mixture, and 1/3 of the berries. Repeat layers twice. Cover and chill 4 to 24 hours. Spoon Berry Sauce onto individual serving plates, top with trifle. Garnish with frsh mint if desired. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Berry Sauce:

In a blender or food processor, combine 2 cups strawberries or raspberries, 2 to 3 T sugar, and 1 T raspberry liqueur, rum or orange juice. Cover and blend or process till smooth. Sieve to remove seeds, if desired. Cover and chill till serving time. Makes 1 cup.

Topping:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, apples, honey, cornstarch and cardamom. Pour fruit into 8x8 inch baking pan and smooth the top.

To make the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter bits and stir to coat. With your fingertips, rub the butter into the mixture until coarse crumbles form. Stir in the almonds. Sprinkle the crumbs all over the top of the rhubarb filling.

Bake 50 minutes, or until the topping is brown and the filling is bubbly. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Heck---serve it at any temperature you want! In the middle of the night straight out of the refrigerator it is really good too!

Adapted from 'Quick Vegetarian Pleaures' by Jeanne Lemlin, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Heat 2-3 T oil in a heavy-based skillet and saute the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion has softened.

Add the chopped tomatoes, cinnamon and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Stir and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Add the cauliflower to the tomato mixture, cover and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is just tender. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the cauliflower and tomato mixture to a large shallow dish and drizzle over the remaning olive oil. Sprinkle over the lemon juice and feta cheese. Bake for 45 or so minutes until the cauliflower is soft and the cheese is melted. Serve warm!

Ingredients For Topping:

For Filling:

Vanilla Ice Cream

Make Topping:

Mix oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in large bowl. Add butter and rub in until coarse crumbs form. Mix in almonds and ginger. (Topping can be prepared a day head. Cover and refrigerate.)

Make filling:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the pan or cups you intend to bake Crisp in. Combine apples, cherries, sugar, lemon juice, flour and cinnamon in large bowl. Mix to blend well. Pour filling into prepared baking pan or pans.
Sprinkle topping over apples. Bake until topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

Serves 12. From Bon Appetit, November 1998

Ingredients:

Mix all except the corn chips into a casserole bowl. Sprinkle corn chips over top and bake at 375 degrees F for about an hour. I add salsa and yogurt to my bowl!

Filling:

Dough:

Cream butter with the sugar. Gradually add flour, nuts and vanilla. mix thoroughly. Chill.

Filling:

Combine candy and sugar. Reserve about one fourth for topping cookie. Blend cream cheese and milk and add to remaining candy mixture. Add food coloring, if needed. Mix well. Remove dough from refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Shape into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Make a deep hole with your finger in center of each ball and fill with about 1/4 tspn. of filling. Seal with a small bit of dough. Place on ungeased cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until set but not brown. Cool slightly on wire racks. While cookies are still warm, sprinkle with reserved candy mixture.

With permission from "Afternoon Tea at the Pittock Mansion: Recipes and Remembrances"

Cook onion and garlic in oil in large saucepan until onion is tender but not brown. Add chicken, tomatoes, beans, green bell pepper, picante sauce, cocoa, cumin, oregano, salt, cloves, nutmeg and allspice. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Serve with additional picante sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

I got this out of the Oregonian FoodDay section almost 10 years ago...it is easy and full of flavor for a cold evening

Cook pasta in boiling water according to directions; drain. Return to pan and keep the pasta warm.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, cook the nuts in butter and olive oil until toasted and butter begins to brown, stirring frequently. Add nut mixture to pasta; add the cheese and fresh basil. Toss gently to coat. Transfer to a serving platter.

Makes 6 side-dish servings or 3 main dish servings.

From Better Homes and Garden magazine several years ago.

Ingredients:

Toss the eggplant and zucchini with about 2 t salt, spread them out between 2 triple-thicknesses of paper towels (I just use tea towels!), place a baking sheet or cutting board on top, and weight with several cans for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, blend together the remaining ingredients except the garlic and fresh tomatoes with 1-1/2 T of the olive oil. Let stand at room temperature.

After 30 minutes, if possible, add the eggplant and zucchini to the other vegetables. Set a large shallow heavy roasting pan (a half sheet pan is ideal) on the oven's middle rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

With oven mitts, remove the hot pan from the oven. Sprinkle with the remianing 1 T olive oil. Spread the vegetables over the pan and roast 30 minutes, turning occasionally for even browning. Scatter the garlic and tomatoes over the vegetables and continue roasting 15 to 30 minutes longer, turning occasionally or until the green beans are tender.

Turn the vegetables out onto a platter, taste for seasoning, and serve hot or at room temperature.

I got this from the El Paso Chile Company's Texas Border Cookbook!

Ingredients:

Steam corn on rangetop for 5 to 8 minutes. Meantime, in a small bowl, combine butter and lime zest. Remove corn from steamer, brush with oil and grill over hot coals until marked by the grilll...about 2 to 3 minutes. Spread with lime butter, sprinkle with chili powder.

Makes 2 servings.

Ingredients:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add leek and asparagus and saute over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and cook 1 minute.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until broth almost evaporates. Repeat 3 more times. Taste rice. If creamy and tender, it's done. Otherwise add another 1/2 cup broth and repeat stirring and cooking.

When done, stir in cheese and cook over lowest heat just until melted. Taste and salt accordingly. Add plenty of pepper. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, water and salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, black beans, and more water, if needed. Simmer 15 minutes longer, or until desired consistency is reached. Just before serving, swirl in the Cilantro Pesto.

Cilantro Pesto

Combine the cilantro, almonds, and garlic in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the parmesan, oil and salt, and puree to a smooth paste.

Ingredients:

Mix all ingredients except fruit, or mix all ingredients and then gently fold in the fruit. Either way! Cook pancakes on a hot, well-oiled griddle until bubbles form, flip and finish cooking. Serve pancakes with fresh fruit if you didn't mix it into the batter already.

Now put on the maple syrup!

Serves 3.

This recipe is combined from two versions---from 'Savor the Flavor Oregon' and 'The Turtleback Farm Inn' cookbooks.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon into a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until bubbly.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1. Prepare spaghetti--drain and return to pan.

2. While spaghetti is cooking, cut each pear lengthwise into eighths; core pieces, and slice them crosswise about 1/4 inch thick. In a bowl, gently mix the pears, lemon juice, gorgonzola and parsley. Set aside.

3. In a 1-2 qt. pan over high heat, stir broth and cornstarch until boiling. Gently mix into drained spaghetti along with pear mixture. Scatter pecans on top and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sunset Magazine's 1998 Recipe Annual

Ingredients:

*Make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice by combining equal parts of ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice, and half as much ground cloves.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 12 muffin cups

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Blend in the egg, pumpkin puree, and orange juice. (The mixture will appear curdled, but will pull together once the dry ingredients are added.)

3. In another mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spice. Toss in the raisins, separating any clumps, along with the walnuts. Make a well in the center and add the pumpkin mixture. Blend until all the dry ingredients are moistened.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full, and bake until nicely colored and risen, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes. Then turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving.

This recipe is adapted from the "Hay Day Country Market Cookbook."

Ingredients:

To make the sandwich:

Prepare grill.

Lightly brush bell peppers and eggplant with oil and grill on an oiled rack about 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Cut peppers into strips.

Lightly brush cut sides of bread with oil and grill, cut sides down, about 2 minutes, or until golden. Spread each piece of bread with lots of pesto (4 T or more, bec. it is so good!) and divide peppers, eggplants and mozzarella between them.

Grill sandwiches, covered, just until cheese melts. (Alternatively, this whole recipe can be done under a broiler.)

Sprinkle each sandwich with basil and cut in half.

Eat.

Enjoy.

Makes 8 servings---or fewer if you eat big huge servings like I do!!

Crumble Topping:

Fruit:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 1-1/2 qt. baking dish.

2. Prepare Crumble Topping: Stir together vanilla wafer cookie crumbs, flour, melted margarine, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

3. Prepare fruit: Gently stir together blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, flour, lemon peel, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle fruit evenly with crumble topping.

4. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until topping is lightly browned and filling is bubbly. If topping begins to brown too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Remove pan to wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature---WITH ICE CREAM!

Ingredients:

1. Press the salt onto both sides of fish fillets, and sprinkle with the lemon juice.
2. Squeeze out the excess moisture from the grated potatoes, and press a think layer onto one side of each fillet, covering the entire surface.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet, large enough to hold all 4 pieces of fish without touching, over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, slide the fillets in, potato side up. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then, using a large spatula, carefully turn each fillet over onto the potato side. Cover and continue to cook until the potato crust is brown and crisp and the fish is just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, spread a portion of the Fresh Avocado "Mayonnaise" on each dinner plate, using the back of a spoon to make a pool of sauce for the fillet. Position the fish, potato side up, on the sauce. Garnish with the lemon wedges, and serve immediately.

Fresh Avocado "Mayonnaise"

Makes a generous 1/2 cup

Combine the avocado, lemon juice and cilantro in a food processor or blender and process to form a chunky puree. With the machine runing, add the oil in a slow thin stream, and continue to blend until the sauce is smoooth and thickened. Season to tase with salt and pepper and set aside. Covered tightly and refrigerated this will keep well for 2 to 3 days.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
2. Cut the chicken breast crosswise into 1/4th inch thick strips. Place the chicken in a small bowl.
3. Add 6 T of the lemon juice, 2 T of the cilantro, the cumin, cornstarch, salt and pepper and mix gently until the chicken is well coated; set aside.
4. Stack the tortillas and wrap them in foil. Place them in the oven to warm for 5 to 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a bowl, stir together the salsa and the remaining 2 T lemon juice and 4 T cilantro.
6. In a medium skillet, warm the oil over medium - high heat. Add the chicken and saute until white and firm, about 5 minutes.
7.Place the tortillas, the chicken, sauce and sour cream in serving dishes.

The name sounds gross but it tastes great!

Source: 'Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood' webpage

Ingredients:

1. Whisk together the egg, milk, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in the flour. Place cornflake crumbs in shallow pan. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then corn-flake crumbs to coat completely. This is messy. Place chicken fingers on ungreased baking sheet. Lightly brush chicken with melted butter or margarine.

2. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thru and the coating is crispy. Serve with Barbecue Sauce or a Honey-Mustard dressing.

Family Circle magazine June 6, 1995

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and extracts; beat well.

Mix flour, cocoa powder and baking soda and add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well. Pour into pan.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool.

Sift powdered sugar on cake. Garnish with Maraschino Creme.

12 servings

Maraschino Creme:

Beat 1 cup whipping cream, 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. almond extrat and 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract until stiff. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries. Makes about 2 cups.

INGREDIENTS

Combine the soy sauce, oil, chipotle or cayenne pepper, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the almonds and coat well. Let sit 1 hour, stirring often.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. With a slotted spoon, remove the almonds from the bowl and spread in a baking sheet in a single layer. Discard any remaining marinade. Bake 20 minutes, removing the baking sheet from the oven every 5 minutes or so and tossing the almonds with a spatula. (When done, the almonds will be somewhat dry and crusty looking and have a dark coating, but they should not be burnt.)

Spoon the almonds into another baking sheet and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or wrap well and freeze up to 1 month.

From 'Quick Vegetarian Pleasures' by Jeanne Lemlin

Combine all ingredients, except yogurt, in a 3-1/2 qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 6-7 hours or until sweet potatoes are tender. Serve in bowls with dollop of yogurt.

274 Cal. per serving. 2 grams fat (.5 gm Saturated fat)

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a 5-1/2 qt. Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the red onion, red peppers, garlic and red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often to prevent the garlic from burning.

Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and summer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken.

Add the chicken stock and pasta. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 to 10 minuts, or until the pasta is tender but not mushy.

Add the half and half, smoked salmon, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Heat to just below a boil.

Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese and parsley and serve at once.

I reworked this recipe from a favorite soup book. The original recipe includes 1/4 cup of pepper vodka! In my family, we didn't think that was necessary. This soup is terrific without it---my young daughters, who are not fish fans, love it!

Makes 4 main course servings.

Heat 3 T olive oil in large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat.
Add tofu; stir gently until starting to brown around edges, about 4 mintues. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl.
Add 3 T oil, ginger and garlic to skillet; stir 1 minute (this part smells so good).
Add mushrooms; stir-fry about 5 minutes. Add broccoli, bell peppers and green oinions; stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
Return tofu to skillet; stir to mix. Stir in sake (wine, water), soy sauce, and sesame oil. Simmer 1 minute.
Season with salt and pepper, if needed.
Transfer to large bowl and serve.

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, heat the preserves over low heat until just melted. Transfer to a bowl and combine with the mustard, lemon juice, orange juice, ginger, soy sauce and brown sugar.

2. Light a fire in a charcoal grill. When the coals are medium hot, move them to one side of the fuel bed.

3. Place the chicken on the cooking rack over the coals skin-side down (I remove the skin, so this is not an issue.) Baste with the sauce. Cook for 5 minutes to sear. Then turn, baste and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. Move the chicken to the other side of the grill, not over the coals. Cover the grill, open the vents and cook, turning and brushing with the sauce every 5 to 10 minutes, until juices run clear when pierced with a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Heat any remaining sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook to reduce it by half, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl and serve on the side.

Adapted from the cookbook "Patio Daddy-o" by Gideon Bosker, Karen Brooks, and Leland and Crystal Payton--'50s recipes with a '90s twist.

Serves 8-10 (makes a big, big batch)

Ingredients

1. In a 5-1/2 qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and pour out some of the fat if you don't want it all. Add the onions, garlic, baby carrots, celery and green onions. Cook until the vegetables are just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.
2. Add the chicken stock , rosemary, and bay leaf. bring to a boil. Add the beans, salt , pepper and red pepper flakes. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in the red cabbage and cook until the navy beans are tender, about 30 more minutes.
3. Stir in the bread and simmer for a minute until the bread begins to fall apart and the soup thickens.
4. Stir in the fresh basil and adjust seasonings with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Top the soup with grated cheese and ladle into bowls. Drizzle each serving with olive oil and eat up at once!<