March 26 Cooking Klatch Recipes

Chilled Pear Soup 

Friendly Foods by Brother Ron Pickarski

Yield: 4 Servings; Time: 30 minutes

8 pears, peeled, cored and diced

2 cups water

¼ tsp sea salt

4 Tbsp brown rice syrup

½ tsp peeled and finely minced ginger (or ½ tsp. ginger powder)

¼ tsp anise extract (optional)

Mint leaves or fresh strawberries, garnish

Bring the pears, water and salt to a simmer. 

Add the rice syrup and ginger, and optional anise extract. 

Simmer 3 more minutes.

Allow the mixture to cool. Then purée the mixture and chill.

Serve garnished with mint leaves or strawberries.

Ginat’s comments:

I think any tree fruit would work here–apples, peaches, plums, apricots, or whatever’s in season

Instead of water, make the soup richer with coconut- or other faux-mylk

Substitute rice syrup with apple concentrate, stevia, xylitol or…

Could a substitute for anise be fennel (grated? minced? …); Other options: ¼ teaspoon licorice flavoring/extract; 1 Tbsp anise-flavored liqueur (Anisette, Pastis, Ouzo, Galliano, Sambuca).

I would think blending is optional, or maybe partial blending…

It seems like a few slices of fresh pear would be a nice garnish.

Quinoa Casserole 

Serves 6 | Prep Time 10 minutes | Cook Time 45 minutes 

1 cup white or red quinoa, washed and drained 

1⅓ cups boiling water

1 tsp sesame oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp cumin powder (optional)

1 cup celery, chopped

2 cups broccoli, chopped

1 medium organic tomato, boiled to remove skin and chopped

1 Tbsp shoyu or salt, to taste

2 Tbsp brown rice vinegar

Preheat oven to 350° / 180Cº. 

Roast the rinsed quinoa in a dry skillet until it pops, stirring constantly to evenly roast and prevent burning. 

Place quinoa in a casserole dish and add the water. 

Heat oil, sauté onions and cumin in skillet until onions are translucent. 

Add celery, broccoli and skinned tomato. Sauté briefly and add to quinoa. 

Add shoyu and vinegar. 

Mix, cover casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes or until quinoa is tender.

Nutritional Info

Per serving: 150 Calories, 3g Fat (20% calories from fat), 6g Protein, 24g Carbohydrate, 9g Fiber, 0mg Cholesterol, 193mg Sodium

Carrots, Pecans, & Fennel

Friendly Foods by Brother Ron Pickarski

Yield: 4 Servings; Time: 15 minutes prep + 20 minutes cooking

2 cups peeled and julienned (matchstick) carrots

½ cup thinly sliced fennel

1 Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup sweetener–maple-, rice-, or barley-syrup

¼ cup roasted pecan nuts

2 tsp kuzu or arrowroot

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Steam the carrots in a small amount of water, just until tender-crisp. Be sure not to overcook them.

In a skillet, sauté the fennel in oil for 2 minutes. Add the sweetener, pecans, and carrots, and simmer.

In a small bowl, mix the kuzu and water together. Add this mixture to the carrot mixture.

Finally, stir in the chopped parsley and serve hot. 

Sunburst Zucchini

An extra recipe, just in case there’s time, or you feel like it…

Yield: 6 Servings; Time: 25-30 minutes

Friendly Foods by Brother Ron Pickarski

1 cup peeled and diced butternut squash (or carrots)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced dark zucchini

1 cup diced yellow squash (or light zucchini)

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp minced ginger (or 1.5 tsp ginger powder)

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp white pepper

¼ cup finely diced red bell peppers for garnish

Steam the butternut squash until tender.

Heat the oil in a skillet. Sauté the zucchini, squash, garlic and ginger along with the salt and pepper, until the vegetables are tender.

Stir together these vegetables and the butternut squash.

Serve hot, garnished with the diced red bell peppers.