Food for Life: How the New Four Food Groups Can Save Your Life (41 page)

Dressing

In a large kettle, sauté onions in olive oil until soft and golden. Add the rice and salt, and continue cooking over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir in lentils and water. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook until rice and lentils are tender, about 50 minutes.

While the lentil mixture cooks, prepare salad. Mix ingredients for dressing.

Toss salad with the dressing. To serve, place a spoonful of the lentil mixture on a plate and top with a generous serving of salad.

Firm tofu makes a quick and delicious taco filling. You can also use frozen tofu in this recipe. Freezing tofu gives it a meaty texture. To use frozen tofu, first thaw it, then squeeze out the excess water in it by squeezing it just as you would squeeze a sponge. Then crumble the tofu and proceed with the recipe.

Sauté the onion, garlic, and bell pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes, then add tofu, chili powder, yeast, cumin, oregano, and soy sauce. Cook 3 minutes, then add tomato sauce and simmer over low heat until mixture is fairly dry.

Heat tortillas in a heavy, ungreased skillet, turning each from side to side until soft and pliable. Place a small amount of the tofu mixture in the center, fold the tortilla in half, and remove from heat. Garnish with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, salsa, and avocado if desired.

These burgers are quick and easy to make. The ingredients can be mixed in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Form and cook the patties as needed. Or you can make and cook all the patties at once, then store them in the refrigerator and reheat them in a toaster oven or microwave. For barbecued burgers, precook the patties as directed, then put them on the grill.

Mix burger ingredients and knead for a minute or so, until mixture holds together. Shape into patties. Brown on both sides in a nonstick skillet or oil-sprayed skillet. Serve on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and red onion slices.

Variation: To bake burgers, place patties on a nonstick or oil-sprayed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

These are perfect for a barbecue or summer outing. Grill them and serve with cooked brown rice or bulgur.

Vegetables

Press the tofu to remove some of its moisture. Place on a cutting board or baking sheet and cover with a second cutting board or baking sheet. Put 2 or 3 heavy items (like cans of beans) on top of this and let it stand at least 30 minutes.

In the meantime, toast the oregano in a large, dry skillet over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining marinade ingredients and stir to mix. Remove from heat. Cut the pressed tofu into 1-inch cubes and add to the marinade. Allow the tofu to marinate for at least 1 hour, occasionally turning it gently.

Cut the onion into 1-inch chunks. Seed the peppers and cut them into large pieces. Clean the mushrooms. Slice the eggplant and zucchini into ½-inch-long pieces.

Place an assortment of vegetables and marinated tofu onto each skewer, and grill under a broiler or over coals, turning every few minutes to expose all sides to the heat. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are lightly browned and everything is hot.

The original version of this recipe called for 2 teaspoons of cayenne and was a real eye-opener. I have reduced the cayenne to ½ teaspoon; if it is still too hot for your taste, decrease to ¼ teaspoon. Serve with curried lentils and rice.

Braise the onions in water for 2 to 3 minutes, then add cumin seed and mushrooms. Continue cooking over medium heat until onions are soft and mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juice to the onions along with the chickpeas and spices. Cook 20 to 30 minutes, or longer if time allows, until the mushrooms are tender and most of the liquid has disappeared. Add salt to taste.

Red lentils are available in health food stores and markets that sell Indian foods. If you are unable to find red lentils, substitute yellow split peas. This dish is delicious with rice or Couscous and Apple Chutney.

Sort through the red lentils and pick out any small pebbles, then rinse and put them in a kettle along with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until completely tender, 15 to 20 minutes (45 minutes if you are using yellow split peas).

Begin heating the oil in a large skillet, then add all the spices and cook over medium heat until the mustard seeds begin to pop. Slowly add the cooked lentils to the skillet, and stir to mix. Simmer gently, stirring often until thickened. Add salt to taste. Serve hot.

A wide array of nondairy frozen desserts are now available, particularly in health food stores. Be sure to read the label to determine that the dessert is actually nondairy (contains no cream, milk, or milk products such as whey). Also check the fat content, as some of these products are notoriously high in fat.

In addition to these commercial products, be sure to try the Strawberry Freeze and Banana Freeze in this section. They are delicious and simple to make, fat-free, and significantly less expensive than the commercial counterparts.

The ingredients for this delicious fat-free dessert and the one that follows are identical to those for the Fruit Smoothie and Banana Shake. The amount of liquid is decreased, resulting in a rich, thick, soft-serve dessert. To freeze strawberries and bananas.

Place all ingredients into blender and process on high speed until thick and smooth. You will have to stop the blender frequently and stir the unblended fruit to the center.

Place soymilk and banana in blender and blend until thick and smooth, stopping the blender occasionally to stir the unblended fruit to the center.

Variation: For a banana date freeze, add 3 pitted dates to the banana and soymilk, and process as above.

This delicious, old-fashioned pudding contains no eggs and no added fat.

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until pudding is thickened. Pour into individual serving dishes and chill for at least 1 hour.

Who ever dreamed that prunes could taste so good?

Place prunes and water in a covered saucepan and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then transfer the prunes and any remaining liquid to a blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth. Spoon into small serving dishes and chill for at least 1 hour.

This natural, vegetarian version of Jell-O uses agar, a sea vegetable, which is available at health food stores and Asian markets.

Combine fruit juice and agar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in fresh fruit. Pour into individual serving dishes and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

This dessert contains no added sugar or fat, yet it is delicious and satisfying.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Wash apples, then remove core to within ¼ inch of bottoms. Combine dates and cinnamon, then distribute equally in the centers of the apples. Place in a baking dish filled with ¼ inch of hot water, and bake for 40 to 60 minutes. Serve hot or chilled.

These are delicious, and deceptively easy to prepare.

Peel pears, then slice in half and remove cores. Place in a saucepan. Mix the apple juice concentrate and water with the spices, then pour over pears. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cover and cook about 15 minutes.

Remove pears and place into individual serving dishes. Continue to simmer the juice until decreased by half, about 5 minutes. Pour over pears. To serve, top with a scoop of vanilla nondairy frozen dessert.

This simple dessert seems indulgent, almost decadent. Layers of bananas and dates are covered with a rich soy beverage. The liquid soaks into the fruit, and all the flavors meld beautifully.

Peel and slice the bananas. Cut the dates lengthwise into quarters. In a serving dish, make alternate layers of dates and bananas. Pour Westbrae Vanilla Malted over all. The fruit should be almost completely covered by liquid. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.