This hearty main is one of the most requested recipes from Whitewater Cooks (Whitecap, 2008) by B.C. chef Shelley Adams. Named after a favourite ski bowl at Whitewater Ski Resort in Nelson, B.C., it embodies healthy, fun West Kootenay living. This recipe makes more dressing than you need, but leftovers are excellent on chicken, rice, noodles or salad.

Ingredients
2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
2 cups (500 mL) cubed extra-firm tofu
8 cups (2 L) hot cooked brown rice
2 cups (500 mL) grated carrots
2 cups (500 mL) grated beets
2 cups (500 mL) packed baby spinach leaves
2 cups (500 mL) slivered almonds, toasted

Glory Bowl Dressing:
1/2 cup (125 mL) nutritional yeast flakes
1/3 cup (75 mL) Tamari or soy sauce
1/3 cup (75 mL) apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup (75 mL) water
2 tbsp (30 mL) tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup (250 mL) olive oil

Preparation
In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; fry tofu, stirring often, until brown and crispy, 10 minutes. Drain on paper towel–lined plate. [I like to marinate my tofu and then don’t worry about the ‘brown and crispy’ so much]

Glory Bowl Dressing: In blender, purée together nutritional yeast flakes, tamari, vinegar, water, tahini and garlic. With motor running, add oil in slow, steady stream. Blend until smooth. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week [good on many different salad ingredients too])

To serve, divide rice among 8 bowls; drizzle each with 1 tbsp of the dressing. Top each with tofu, carrots, beets, spinach and almonds. Drizzle each with 3 tbsp of the dressing. [I prefer to chop up the spinach and put a good handful in the bottom of the bowl, then top with hot rice, grated veggies next (side by side, not on top of each other), then tofu and nuts and go easy on the dressing as you want to taste the ingredients too].

Vegebeanarian Chili

¼ cup (or more as need) stock for sauteing
2 onions, diced
6 carrots, diced
6 stalks celery, diced
1 each yellow, orange and red peppers, diced
2 zucchinis, diced
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, minced finely
1 tbsp garlic, minced
¼ cup chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp basil
2 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
2 – 28 fl oz cans diced tomatoes
1 – 19 oz can chickpeas, drained/rinsed
2 cans black beans, drained/rinsed
1 – 19 oz can red kidney beans
2 cups corn (frozen or fresh)
1 tsp chipotle in adobo paste (in a can)
water or stock
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2-3 limes

In a large pot, saute onions, through garlic in stock until soft. Add chili powder through bay leaves. Saute 2-3 minutes more, (adding small amounts of stock if seasoning sticks to pot) then add chickpeas through chipotle paste. Add water or stock to cover and let simmer for an hour, stirring often. Add 1 bunch cilantro, juice and zest of limes and salt and pepper to taste.

Frosting
1 1/4 c. icing sugar
2 tbsp. butter
2-3 tbsp. dark rum (for those of us without rum around I’m sure the following substitutions are acceptable: 1/2 to 1 tsp. non-alcoholic vanilla or rum extract OR 2 tbsp. pineapple juice or syrup flavored with almond extract)
extra freshly grated nutmeg to baker’s taste

Method
In small bowl sift flour and nutmeg, set aside. In large bowl, cream together butter & sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg & vanilla extract. Gradually stir in flour. Form pieces of dough into long 1/2″ thick ropes. Cut ropes into 3″ pieces. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. until just brown on bottom.

Icing is made by creaming butter and icing sugar, then stirring in flavouring until creamy smooth. Spread on top of cooled logs, drag with fork tines and sprinkle with nutmeg. Optional decoration is red and green cherries.

Lynn’s version of Sabina’s Aush
1 tablespoon oil
2 diced onions
3 cups water
1 cup dry brown lentils
5 cloves garlic mashed
1 to 2 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. curry paste
10 cups water approximately
2 boullion cubes (vegan preferred)
1 19 oz can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 19 oz can red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup cooked white beetroot roughly chopped
4 cups chopped fresh or frozen spinach
1 cup broken spaghetti (cooked)
2 tsp. dried mint
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 c. chopped parsley

Directions: In a soup pot or large Dutch oven, saute onion in oil briefly, then add next four ingredients and continue stirring for about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups water and brown lentils, stir then cover pot and cook for about 20 minutes or until lentils are almost done. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and then simmer for a further 10 to 20 minutes or until lentils are soft and flavours have developed. This did make for a very full pot!

Oh, and I haven’t done very much food photography so this is just a starting point for me!

1 pkg extra-firm tofu

3 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos

3 tbsp Toasted sesame oil

3 tbsp Sesame seeds

1 tsp Cumin, ground

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Slice tofu into sticks and toss with remaining ingredients. Allow to marinate 30 minutes or overnight. Place tofu on a baking tray and bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy hot or cool. Yields 24 sticks.

2 cups uncooked yellow split peas
8 cups water or vegetable stock
2 tsps canola oil (optional)
1 cup onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh giner, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups spinach or kale, chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp cayenne

Wash peas. Add to water or stock in large pot. Bring to boil, then cook on low heat for 45 minutes, partially covered. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, about 30 minutes into the cooking time, heat oil (or small amount of water or stock) in skillet and saute onions, garlic, and ginger until soft. Add spices and heat until fragrant (1 minute). Add kale or spinach* to skillet, stir about to collect the spices and then add contents of skillet to the soup pot. Use some stock from the soup pot to further clean up the spices in the skillet. Lower heat to simmer, cover and cook additional 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add a bit of pepper if you want. Enjoy!

*if using spinach, you may choose to add it later on in the cooking process, so it retains its flavour and colour.

This soup freezes extremely well; I divide it up into individual servings. No doubt the addition of some lentils, carrots, or even beans would be good.

5 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
4 cups water

Put this into your medium size soup pot and cook until potatoes are soft. Then blend them in your blender until completely smooth. (I have scooped out about a third of the potatoes and kept them whole for a change).

1 red pepper, diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 tsp. olive oil (optional)

4 cups corn (frozen, fresh, or canned)
Other fresh vegetables if you are so inclined (I used broccoli once, chopped kale another time)
2 cups regular soya mik
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or fresh dill
freshly ground pepper to taste

In a skillet, saute the pepper and onion in the oil (or small amount of water or stock) until they are soft and start to brown. Add corn and other fresh vegetable and cover skillet until vegetables are steamed to desired doneness. Add entire skillet contents to pureed potatoes in soup pot (add any potatoes removed before blending) then add soya milk, fresh parsley or dill and pepper. Simmer for several minutes. Don’t allow to boil as soya milk will separate, edible but not lovely to look at! Remove from heat and cover until ready to serve.

I’m sure you can see the potential for all sorts of combinations. Have fun mixing it up! By the way, this can be frozen, but it isn’t the easiest to warm up and return to the nice creamy texture it has when fresh. It is easy enough to make quickly so I’d recommend sticking to this quantity unless you are expecting a crowd. This quantity feeds the two of us with a salad for supper and then two more lunches each.

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup berry sugar
seeds from 10 cardamoms
8 oz puff pastry, thawed if frozen
3 ripe fresh pears

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Spread the butter over the base of a 7 inch heavy-based cake pan or an ovenproof omelet pan. Spread the sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. Scatter the cardamom seeds over the sugar. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to a circle slightly larger than the pan. Prick the pastry lightly, support it on a cookie sheet and chill.

Peel the pears, cut in half lengthwise and cut out the cores. Arrange the pears, rounded side down, on the butter and sugar. Set the cake pan or omelet pan over a medium heat until the sugar melts and begins to bubble with the butter and juice from the pears. in any areas are browning more than others, move the pan, but do not stir.

As soon as the sugar has caramelized remove the pan carefully from the heat. place the pastry on top, tucking the edges down the sides of the pan. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the pastry is well risen and golden.

Leave the tart in the tin or pan for 2-3 minutes until the juices have stopped bubbling. Invert the pan over a plate. It may be necessary to slide a spatula underneath the pears to loosen them. Serve the tart warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Notes:
A very heavy pan is necessary as is a lower temperature while caramalizing the sugar.
Choose fairly large, round pears rather than the more elongated varieties.
Use a mortar and pestel to break about half of the cardamom seeds for a more intense flavour.

My version from The encyclopedia of herbs and spices.

Toss ingredients well, set aside.

Dressing

1/4 cup each white vinegar and sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper

To prepare dressing, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, heat over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil and sugar dissoves. Add to cabbage mixture and stir until well blened. Cover and chill about 2 hours. Keeps well in the refridgerator for several days.

8 servings