I just had a plateful of the quinoa salad (Taste of the Aztec salad) at Mustard Seed Market, and thought it was fabulous.  So I asked for the recipe, and Abraham Nabors, second-generation owner of Mustard Seed Market, said “Sure!”  So here it is:

Taste of the Aztec Salad

1/4 lb. quinoa
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup canned black beans
1/4 pint grape tomatoes
1/4 bunch green onions
1/4 red bell pepper
1/4 yellow bell pepper
1/8 bunch cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil
1 T rice vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1/2 T dry parsley
1/2 T cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Steam quinoa with water for 35-40 minutes and cool.
Thaw corn and rinse beans.  Halve tomatoes, chop green onions and cilantro, dice peppers.
Mix dressing and combine with vegetables and quinoa.
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Mustard Seed invited me to come see what they’re all about: a commitment to the health and wellbeing of their customers, knowledgeable owners, and — for the first time ever — a 20% off Customer Appreciation Sale on regularly priced items all day this coming Saturday, June 11th!

Full disclosure:  They fed me wonderful salads for dinner, treated me to a $25 gift certificate which I spent mostly on dried fruits and nuts, and made me a “green juice” from parsley, cucumbers, celery and other greens.  Let’s help them make this first-time-ever sale a big success.  They have been in this business for 30 years!

My husband has a very relaxed approach to making smoothies.  They’re
very good.  Today I decided to try and pin him down once and for all. 
This was the best I could do.

2 bananas, fresh or frozen (it depends)
a buncha-buncha frozen berries (he means whatever happens to be in the freezer…)
fresh berries ‘n’ berries (…and whatever is in the refrigerator)
plenty of ice

How much?, I ask.

“I make as much as the food processor thing’ll hold and then let it chop.”

Water?

“Sometimes you hafta put in a little water to get it to swirl.  Depends how much is in there and how frozen it is.”

That’s it.  He’s a purist.  This makes enough for about 5-6 smoothies.
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If you’re the kind of person who thinks about stuff like the degree of deliciousness per amount of energy required to prepare it, this recipe ranks right up there.  No kidding, this is one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made.  Okay, it’s not as easy as eating grapes.  But close. 

Slice up a large onion with a little olive oil, and let it sizzle for a bit until the onions are getting clear. 
Toss in 3-4 chopped tomatoes, and about a cup and a half of okra (sliced in 1 inch pieces). 
The okra has to be fresh from the grocery store, but the tomatoes can be fresh or canned.
Add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and cayenne pepper.

Let the mixture simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes.  That’s all. 

Best of all, you can serve it hot, cold, or at room temperature.  No matter which, it’s really good.

I ate my first carrot-mint salad at the table of my dear neighbor, Betty, who was born in Morocco, grew up in Israel, came to Cleveland as a young mother, and became a gifted and inspired cook somewhere (everywhere!) along the way.  She taught me that there’s something about the mix of sweet carrots and mint that makes my tastebuds very happy.  Here is a different carrot salad, more or less from Claudia Roden’s Book of Jewish Food, that 18 people made disappear from my table the other night. 

1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds (less than 1/4 in)
4 stalks of celery, sliced twice as thick as the carrots (approx 1/4 in)
1/4 cup cured black olives
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
6-8 leaves mint, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt (1/2 t) and pepper (1/4 t)
water

Cover carrots just barely with water, bring to a boil, and allow to simmer at low heat for 30 minutes until the carrots begin just barely to soften.  Add the celery for the last 15 minutes of cooking.  Then pour off most of the water leaving just enough to make a sauce, approx 1/2 cup.  Add olive oil, parsley, mint and olives.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix.  Let sit for at least a few hours to allow flavors to blend.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

This is the time of year when I clean out my cabinets and use up all the stuff that’s been there since last year.  I’m looking forward to growing season, and anything that’s been in my cabinets for an entire year needs to get eaten!  So here’s an idea for something to do with some brown rice and a can of black beans.

1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
the juice of 1 orange
1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dry basil
1/4 teaspoon dry oregano
1/4 teaspoon dry thyme
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 finely diced jalapeno pepper

Mix everything together and serve.  Goes great with salmon, or with canned tuna if you’re trying to use that up, too.

This one is my own invention!  It’s not super sweet like canned beans, but the molasses, onion, and slow cooking give it a complex mix of spice and sweet that’s extremely flavorful and satisfying.  It’s guaranteed to warm the bones of anybody who went downtown tonight to watch the Cleveland Indians play baseball in 39-degree weather.

2 medium potatoes, diced
1 large onion, in thin slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 c. dry garbanzo beans
1/2 c. dry adzuki beans (small, dark red beans).  If you can’t find adzuki beans, use 3/4 c. garbanzos.
1/2 c. dry red lentils
6-8 small tomatoes (like Roma) or 3 very large tomatoes
4 c. water
1 t. fresh ground black pepper
salt to taste

Add all the ingredients together in a crockpot, and turn it on low.  Leave for 8-12 hours, and that’s it.  Serves 6-8.

If you don’t have a crock pot, make it in a covered soup pot in the oven at 250 degrees.  You can leave this to cook overnight or all day.  Check it about two hours after it starts cooking, and then once or twice more later on.  If it looks like it’s starting to dry out, add 2 cups of very hot water, and stir.  It should be very wet, but not watery like soup.  Add more water as necessary.

This Passover, we have something new to celebrate: Joan Kekst’s fresh new recipes.  She’s pretty unhappy about the fact that so many family members now have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.  So this year she’s cooking plenty of veggies, roasted meats and poultry, and fresh fruit.  Just in case you haven’t noticed, Joan’s family isn’t the only one in this boat.  Thanks, Joan, for showing us how to deliver ourselves from yet one more type of slavery: chronic illness.

MUSHROOM and OLIVE APPETIZER (pareve/vegan)

1 lb. large white mushrooms

2T fresh lemon juice

4T olive oil

1/2 cup fresh celery leaves

Kosher salt

Freshly grated pepper

12 pimento-stuffed Israeli green olives, sliced

Trim stems of mushrooms and slice as thinly as possible.  Spread mushrooms on a ceramic platter and drizzle with lemon juice; stir well.  Drizzle with olive oil and coat well.  Can be made to this point several hours ahead; cover with damp paper towel.  Season with salt and pepper, scatter celery leaves and olives.  Serve at room temperature.  10 -12 portions.

SPRING VEGETABLE SOUP (pareve/vegan)

1T olive oil

1 large sweet white onion, chopped

1 cup celery, thinly sliced

2 lb. carrots, sliced

1 turnip, peeled and sliced

1 baking potato, peeled and diced

12 cups water or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of half a lime

2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

3 cups cabbage, shredded

Long strands of chives

Heat oil in a large stockpot on medium heat, and saute onion until transparent.  Add celery, carrots, turnip, potato and saute 5 minutes.  Add water or vegetable stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.  Cool slightly.

With a slotted spoon, remove half the vegetables to a blender or processor and puree.  Return to the pot; add thyme, season to taste with salt, pepper and lime juice.  Add tomatoes and cabbage.  Simmer until cabbage wilts, about 15 minutes.  Adjust seasoning, garnish with long chive strands.  Serve hot with mini matzo balls if desired.