Cranberry Barley Pilaf (Another recipe for Desiree)

I think that this would be the perfect dish for Thankgiving, possibly in lieu of stuffing (if you dare), whether or not you're serving traditional turkey or one of those delectable Tofurkys. Okay, I've never tried Tofurky, and it's probably quite good. I still find turkeys a beautifully delicious bird, but I've never made one myself and since I hate to touch meat, I'd probably make a Tofurky if left to my own devices. Okay, onward! Here it is!

Cranberry Barley Pilaf
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup unsweetened apple juice
2 Tbsp canola oil
½ medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
8 fresh mushrooms, quartered
¾ cup pearl barley
2 cups chicken stock (vegheads can substitute mushroom or veggie stock)
½ cup toasted whole almonds

Preparation:
In a small bowl, soak cranberries in apple juice for 30 minutes.
In a large skillet, heat oil and add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until tender.
Stir in cranberries, apple juice, barley and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until barley is tender and liquid has been absorbed (about 30 minutes).
Remove from heat and stir in almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

I found this recipe on the Internet (credit given to the wonderful people at the Canadian Chicken Board). The link is http://www.chicken.ca/DefaultSite/index.aspx?ArticleID=1263&lang=en-CA.

We served this dish with Moroccan Turkey Burgers.

Gado Gado (Recipe promised Desiree)

Gado Gado (Indonesian salad with peanut sauce)

from The World Vegetarian Cookbook

Ingredients

2 tbsp peanut oil

2 carrots, cut into thin strips

2 potatoes, cut into thin strips

1 cup of green beans, trimmed

1 cup of Chinese leaves, shredded (I used cabbage, and I'm sure bok choy would work well, too)

1 cup bean sprouts

Half a cucumber, cut into (yes, for real) batons

Peanut sauce

Okay, I found this to be the hardest part of the dish, so I might recommend that you just buy the peanut sauce. Or if you're desperate to do this from scratch, look it up!

Garnish

Sliced or quartered hard-boiled eggs

Cucumber slices

1. Heat a wok or frying pan and add tbsps peanut oil. Add the carrot and potato and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add green beans and Chinese leaves. Cook for 3 minutes.


2. Add bean sprouts and cucumber and stir fry for 2 minutes. Remove veggies, place in serving dish and chill.


3. Make the peanut sauce or warm up store bought stuff. If you make it from scratch, my husband tells me that you can make it thicker by adding a little peanut butter...or simply using peanut butter instead of frying peanuts and pureeing. I believe him.


4. Garnish the veggies with slices of hard boiled egg and cucumber and serve with peanut sauce.

P.S. The picture in my cookbook is a lot prettier looking. This picture is just to give you a rough idea serving wise.

My new favorite sandwich (or sandwish), now named the Autumn Harvest Sandwich

1. Saute spinach (I'm sure that kale would be good, too) and slices of apple in a little olive oil.
2. Toast two pieces of whole wheat bread.
3. Add pieces of farmer's cheese to the toasted bread, and then add the hot veggies & fruit to make it get all melty.
4. Squirt ample honey mustard on the other piece of toast and there is a lovely sandwich.
5. Eat it while it's hot.