Thanksgiving Dinner: 2008

It was a very vegetarian and eclecting Thanksgiving Dinner this year. Here is the menu:

Appetizer

Breaded eggplant with Thai Chili Aioli
Wontons with Piquant Dip

Soup
Hot and Sour Soup

En tree
Stuffed Bell pepper and tomatoes
Gemili Pasta with Chili pepper and Tomatoes
Rice noodles with coconut curry sauce
Baked Potatoes
Fried Rice

Dessert
Fruits
Madagascar Vanilla Ice cream
Cardamom Ice cream

I will post the recipes of some of these items shortly.

Interesting vegan cooking blog

I found this interesting vegan blog.

Za'atar recipe

Adapted From Mark Bittman's book.

2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp ground sumac
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds (toast in a pan for 5-10 mins)
salt and pepper to taste
optionally add red chilies for heat (perhaps 10 of them)

Grind all in a coffee grinder, put in a covered cup and keep in fridge. Otherwise sesame could get rancid.

Use it for spicing soups, adding to humus, on top of toasted pita, adding to yogurt to make a quick dip, etc.

North African Couscous Soup

Adapted from Mark Bittman's book

The soup is very comforting and spicy for the winter months. The basic idea is veg stock + tomato paste providing the base with cumin or zataar and couscous providing the comforting texture. it is very simple and takes only around 20 mins to make

o 3 tbsp olive oil
o 1 small red onion minced
o 1/2 cup chopped celery or fennel (or use other veggies if these are not at hand)
o 2 quarts veg stock (or water)
o 1 cup couscous
o 3 tbsp tomato paste
o spice: 1tbsp zataar or 2 tsp powdered cumin (if using cumin also use 1 tsp thyme if avail)
o heat: 5 red chilies minced or pepper according to taste
o Put olive oil in saucepan, add onions and celery and cook until soft covered.
o put chilies or pepper and then add spices and leave for 2 mins
o then add couscous and toast the grains for 2 mins
o then add tomato paste mixing it with couscous
o finally add stock and bring to boil
o then simmer and leave for 10-15 mins

The soup can be made watery by reducing couscous. But it makes a good meal with 1 cup couscous.

Pad Thai - No Garlic, No Eggs, Vegetarian Version

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's book.
Basic idea of Pad Thai is this:
o It is a dish made with flat rice noodles.
o When made with eggs it has eggs scrambled and cut into thin strips added to it. But this can be optional.
o It has tangy flavor that come from Thai sauces (like fish sauce). But the tanginess can be added through other means.
o It has beansprouts stir fried as well as added as garnish, which can provide the protein in lieu of eggs. Additionally Firm Tofu can also provide the protein.
o It has lime juice added to give the acid and the zing.
o The crumpled peanuts give the characteristic peanutty flavor for the dish.
Despite the long list, this is a very simple dish to make.

Recipe:
o 1 box (12 oz) dried flat rice noodles (wide cut)
o 2-5 tbsp oil
o 2 scallions minced
o 1 tbsp ginger (opt)
o 3 thai chilies, deseeded
o 1 cup bean sprouts
o 1/2 tub firm (or extra firm) tofu cut into cubes
o Seasoning Sauce: 2tbsp Soy sauce + 2 limes squeezed + lime zests + 2 tbsp brown sugar or jaggery
o 2 tbsp tamarind paste + 1 tbsp ketchup
o 2 tsp brown sugar
o 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
o 1/4 cup cilantro
o 1 lime cut to wedges

o Put noodles in boiling water until they are covered. soak for 15 mins and then drain them
o put oil in the wok, add scallions, tofu, ginger, chilies and 1/2 beansprouts and cook for 5 mins. transfer to a plate.
o heat oil again, add tamarind paste (+ ketchup), add noodles. After it is coated well, add seasoning sauce and cook for 2 mins.
o finally add tofu scallions, etc. to this noodles.
o mix well. garnish with rest of bean sprouts, cilantro, peanuts, etc. and serve.

Curried Coconut Soup with Lemongrass

I made several Thai dishes using recipes adapted from Mark Bittman's How to cook Everything Vegetarian book. I am happy to report that all of them came very well.

2 tbsp oil
1 large chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic (opt)
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
3-4 thai chilies, deseeded (dont mince it or it could get too spicy)
3 stalks lemon grass, peeled trimmed and minced
1 tbsp curry powder (MTR all purpose curry powder worked great for me)
1 quart veg stock (from store or homemade)
2 cups coconut milk (from 3/4 can of canned coconut milk)
2 tbsp soy sauce
Fresh Squeezed lime juice
Cilantro for garnish

o Peel skin, chop woody parts of lemongrass and mince the soft parts
o Put oil, add ginger, garlic, chilies, onion and sautee until soft; Then add lemongrass cook 2 mins, finally add curry powder and cook for 3 mins
o Then add stock and boil until raw flavor goes away
o Finally add coconut milk cook atleast 5 mins and until raw coconut flavor goes away
o You can strain the lemongrass stuff to get a smooth soup
o Before serving add soy sauce, lime juice, salt, pepper etc. and garnish with cilantro

This can be made quite spicy to clear your sinus. It is a great soup for the winter days. You can use low cholesterol coconut milk to make it healthy. This is quite easy to make and comes out flawless.