Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained, halved and quartered
• 1 cup pecans, toasted
• 1 cup large couscous (e.g. ptitim, also known as Israeli couscous or Jerusalem couscous)
• 2 & 1/2 cups water
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 2 cups rucola or argula leaves, trimmed and hoped
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• simple herbed vinaigrette
• 2 tablespoons fine olive oil
• 3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar or other fine vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons mixed Italian herbs

Directions:

1. Bring the water and vegetable bouillon cube to a boil.
2. Add the large couscous balls and cook.
3. Once the liquid has almost completely evaporated, put a lid on the pot and remove from the heat. Allow the couscous to absorb the rest of the liquid and cool.
4. Dry roast the pecans in a frying pan. Be careful to watch that they do not burn. Remove from the pan and set aside.
5. Slice the shallots and halve the cherry tomatoes.
6. Clean the rucola and chop roughly.
7. Slice the artichokes in quarters.
8. The cooled couscous may stick together, either separate with a fork, or place in a colander and rise under cool water. Shake dry.
9. Place the couscous in a large serving bowl.
10. Add the sliced shallots, chopped rucola and halved tomatoes.
11. Add the artichoke pieces.
12. Mix the herbed vinaigrette.
13. Pour over the salad and mix gently.
14. Sprinkle the pecans on top and lightly mix a few into the salad as well.
15. Enjoy the salad cold or at room temperature.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups macaroni (we used corn macaroni)
• 2 cups fava beans, peeled and blanched
• 6 nice green asparagus spears

for the pesto:

• 2 large handfuls arugula, cleaned and spun dry
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3-5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (or pine nuts)
• pinch salt
• splash lemon juice
• pinch Cajun seasonings (optional)

Directions:

make the pesto first:

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Place in a bowl until later.

and then:

1. Prepare the asparagus by cutting the tough woody end off, then slicing on the diagonal about 1 inch pieces.
2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil.
3. Cook the asparagus until al dente.
4. Remove from the pot of water and place in a bowl.
5. Put the peeled fava beans in the same boiling salted water and cook until al dente (when they begin to float – about 3 minutes or so).
6. Remove from the water and place in a bowl.
7. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil and cook the macaroni.
8. When the macaroni is cooked, drain off the water.
9. Add most of the pesto and mix well.
10. Gently add in the asparagus and fava beans.
11. Serve the macaroni with dollops of pesto.

Notes:

Any macaroni is fine. We were happy to find this unusual biological corn macaroni at a health food store.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain soy yogurt
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs. oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 2 Tbs. nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 lemon or lime, juice and zest
• 2 tsp. cornstarch, dissolved in a bit of water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbs. oil
• large bunch rucola (also known as rocket or argula), (ca. 75-100 grams)
• 4 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
• 100 grams pine nuts, toasted
• 300 grams spaghetti

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a sauce pan.
2. Gently saute the shallots and garlic until glassy.
3. Add the soy yogurt, lemon juice and zest, and crumble the vegetable bouillon cube into the mixture.
4. Mix well and heat.
5. Add the nutritional yeas, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. At the end, add the dissolved cornstarch and stir until the sauce become thick.
7. Turn the heat low to remain warm until needed.
8. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil and cook the spaghetti.
9. Meanwhile, chop the rucola into medium sized pieces, and remove and very long stems.
10. De-seed the tomatoes and chop fine.
11. Toast the pine nuts for 2-3 minutes in a dry pan until the are golden, remove from the pan and set aside for later.
12. Heat the other 2 tablespoons of oil and quickly wilt the rucola. remove from the oil and put in a bowl.
13. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain well.
14. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and mix well so that the spaghetti is evenly covered.
15. Add the rucola and tomato pieces and mix well. (I save a few tomato pieces raw as garnish).
16. Serve the spaghetti garnished with the toasted pine nuts and additional tomatoes and rucola.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 300 grams macaroni
• 200 grams fava beans
• 500 grams green asparagus, cleaned and sliced in bite sized pieces
• 50 grams rocket (arugula or rucola)
• 200 g spinach, blanched
• 10 basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• 100 ml olive oil

Directions:

1. Blanch the fava beans in boiling water and remove the hard outer skins.
2. Clean and slice the asparagus.
3. Place the asparagus in boiling salted water with a bit of olive oil and cook until al dente (10-15 minutes).
4. In a food processor, place the rocket, spinach, basil, pine nuts, garlic and vegan Parmesan and start to whiz.
5. Add the oil and season with salt and pepper.
6. When the asparagus are done, remove from the water with a slotted spoon and set aside.
7. Put the fava beans in the same water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
8. Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water until tender.
9. Strain and place into a saucepan.
10. Add the asparagus and fava beans and rocket pesto and stir gently until the macaroni is nicely coated.

Notes:

adapted from http://www.justbeanrecipes.com/bea-0133866.html

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

• 600 grams very small potatoes, washed and quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 60 ml. extra virgin olive oil
• 180 grams spicy tofu pieces
• 350 grams cherry or grape tomatoes
• 2-3 Tbs. rosemary, chopped or minced
• salt and pepper to taste

for the rucola pesto

• 120 grams rucola
• 3 cloves garlic
• 100 grams hazelnut, almond or walnuts
• 125 ml. extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 (F).
2. Put the sliced potatoes, garlic, olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in an oven proof baking dish.
3. Mix them all together well so that the potatoes are well coated.
4. Place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the pesto.
6. Put all the ingredients for the pesto in a blender and puree.
7. After 20 minutes in the oven, stir the potatoes and test for doneness.
8. Add the tofu pieces and tomatoes and continue to cook for 10 minutes more.
9. Serve the dinner with the pesto drizzled on top, or in a serving boat for each to help themselves.

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients:

• handful rucola
• 1 eggplant
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 large tomatoes
• 150 grams soy yogurt
• Italian herbs or salad dressing herbs
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Wash the rucola and cut off the stems.
2. Was the eggplant and cut it into bite sized pieces.
3. Saute the eggplant in a bit of olive oil, set aside or in the refrigerator to cool.
4. Clean the bell pepper, slice and saute in a bit of oil.
5. Set aside to cool until needed.
6. Make a dressing using the soy yogurt salt, pepper and Italian herbs.

The salad is made by layering the ingredients one on top of each other.
Begin with a nice layer of rucola, place the yellow bell pepper on top of that.
The slices of tomatoes, and the eggplant goes on top of them.
Top with a dollop of soy yogurt salad dressing and enjoy.