Most of the time, we think of dahl as being made out of lentils or split peas, but other legumes can stand in too. We particularly like this mildly spicy dahl made from black eyed peas. I used the canned form to save time, but if you’ve got the time to soak and cook up the dried beans, the meal will be even more inexpensive.

Black eyed peas dahl

Ghee or mild vegetable oil
4 whole cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 small onion, chopped
1 T fresh ginger, minced
6 to 8 oz plain yogurt
2 cans (15 oz) of black eyed peas
1/2 t ground tumeric
1/4 t ground red pepper
1/2 t garam masalah (prepared or my favorite mix)
2 t coriander
Salt to taste

In a large heavy skillet with a cover, saute the cinnamon and cloves for a few minutes. Add the onions and ginger and saute until golden. Drop the heat and add the yogurt and beans. Add the spices. Heat through and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes. Serve over rice if desired, as a side or main dish.

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Black eyed peas dahl

There are so many variations that you can make on the basic latke, or potato cake. They can be baked instead of fried, but we really love the crispness that you can only get with pan frying. You don’t have to use tons of oil…just a smidge of olive oil will do the trick.

Potatoes can be joined by many other vegetables, and I suggest that you experiment to see what you like best, but try the basics first! Carrots, parsnips, green onions, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, leeks, and many other veggies make good latke companions. Additionally, many folks add some matzo meal, or flour and leavening ingredients to make them more pancakey. We like them that way too, but our favorite is still the stripped down potato and vegetable version.

Basic Potato Latkes

2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, shredded
Large yellow onion, shredded
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Optional for serving: applesauce, sour cream

Mix potatoes through salt and pepper together in a large bowl. Dip out by 1/3 cup measures and fry in olive oil until golden brown, turning once. Turn them carefully, as they fall apart easily. Serve immediately as they are finished; they lose their crispness quickly.

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Basic latkes

Grilled sandwiches are a great way to use up leftovers! Whenever I cook chicken, I try to cook up some extra so that later in the week we can have a really tasty grilled sandwich or panini. My kids have always liked chicken with hot spicy coating, served with blue cheese dressing, so I decided to put together a combo sandwich that they’d like.

Barbecue Chicken Panini

Thick sliced bread
Pre-cooked chicken, shredded
Spicy barbecue sauce, as hot as your family likes it
Chopped celery
Blue cheese dressing

Coat each slice of bread with a thin layer of blue cheese dressing. Mix the shredded chicken, celery, and barbecue sauce in a bowl and pile the sandwiches high. Wrap in foil to heat in the oven or on the grill, or grill without wrapping on a griddle or panini grill.

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Barbecue chicken panini

Asian casserole is a hot dish of comfort food! It has lots of familiar tastes if you grew up before the time that we’d discovered a lot of now-common ethnic cuisines. This was about as exotic as my family got, back in the day, and of course we called it “Oriental Casserole” back then

The casserole is an easy thirty minute meal, and can also be made as a Once-A-Month-Cooking dish. Make a double batch, and you can have one tonight and save another for later in your freezer!

Asian Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 c water

2 T cornstarch
1 t sugar
1/2 t ground ginger
2 T water

16 oz can of mixed Asian vegetables
10 package frozen peas

Brown the meat in a deep skillet, and add the vegetables to saute as well. Drain off the fat and add water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer.

Combine the cornstarch through water and blend well. Add to the beef mixture and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the Asian vegetables and peas. Cool, cover, and freeze, or serve immediately.

To serve after freezing, cook the unthawed casserole at 400 for an hour. Serve with those wonderful crunchy chow mein noodles that you loved as a kid!

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Asian casserole (OAMC)

Ok, it’s a stretch to claim that this is Indian food, because I made it up as a way to use up some leftover sweet potatoes. But I used my own spice mix instead of “curry powder,” so I feel somewhat justified in claiming Indian inspiration

Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth if you’d like, and you’ve got a great vegetarian meal! Serve with some good crusty bread, and it’s a filling meal too. This is easily a thirty minute meal as long as you are using pre-cooked sweet potatoes. Whenever I make them, I throw in some extras to make soup.

Lightly Curried Sweet Potato Soup

2 T canola oil
2 t curry powder or spice mix
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 – 4 medium sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and mashed
4 – 5 c chicken broth (or vegetable broth) and milk, in whatever proportion you want
1 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Cook oil and curry powder in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring for a couple of minutes. Add celery and onion; toss to coat in oil and spices. Stirring frequently, cook for about 10 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in milk (if using), lemon juice, salt and pepper.

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Sweet potato soup…lightly curried

Hot or cold, this one works either way. I loaded up thick slices of whole wheat bread, wrapped them in foil, and heated them, but they are really good cold too

I’ve never measured the proportions, just mixed the ingredients together until it seemed right.

Tasty Tuna Fish

Tuna
Soy sauce
Lemon zest
Lemon juice
Mint, chopped
Sesame seeds
Greens, preferably dark like arugula

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Tasty tuna fish sandwich

This fruit salsa goes beautifully with any firm-fleshed fish, or it can be a nice side salad on its own. It doesn’t keep well overnight, so I recommend making and eating pretty much right away. Fortunately, there’s not much problem with that!

Fruit Salsa for Salmon

1 c fresh blueberries
1 avocado, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 kiwi, peeled, sliced, and quartered
1 T soy sauce
1 lime, grated zest and juice
2 T canola oil
2 t fresh ginger, grated
Parsley or cilantro (optional)
Cayenne pepper flakes, to taste

Mix all ingredients together, toss lightly and serve with fish.

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Fruit salsa for salmon

I got this recipe a million years ago from my good friend Kathy. My children never liked it much when they were little, so Mike and I only had it occasionally until they got a bit older and their tastes changed a bit. Sometimes I forgot how much I loved this dish in between times!

It’s quick and easy, wonderful for scallop lovers (that was the sticking point for our kids!), and pretty healthy to boot!

Pasta with Scallops and Wine Sauce

12 oz cooked fettucine or penne

12 oz scallops
1/2 an onion, chopped
Clove of garlic, chopped fine
1 T butter
1/2 c dry white wine (cooking wine is fine)
1 t dried basil or 1 T fresh
1/2 t dried oregano or 1 T fresh
2 t cornstarch mixed with 1 T cold water
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c fresh parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper if desired

Thaw scallops if frozen, and halve any that are large. Start water boiling for the pasta and cook according to package directions while you make the scallop sauce.

In a large heavy sauce pan saute the onions and garlic in butter until tender but not browned. Stir in the wine and spices, and bring to a boil. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the boiling and cook for about two minutes, stirring. Lower the heat and add the tomatoes and scallops. Heat for a few minutes just to cook the scallops; don’t overcook them or they become tough.

Toss with the pasta and grated cheese and serve immediately. Add salt and pepper if needed.
Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Pasta with scallops and wine sauce

This is a great Once-A-Month-Cooking recipe that you can double, triple, or quadruple very easily. For extra speed in preparation, you can use one of those 1.25 oz packages of taco seasoning and a can of prepared chili. Usually, I would prefer that these things be homemade, but sometimes for OAMC recipes, we’ll make an exception!

Even if you don’t get into OAMC, this is a great recipe to make ahead, either early in the day or even a couple of days ahead.

Taco Soup

2 – 15 oz cans chicken broth
15 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can chili mix (your favorite)
15 oz can corn
5 – 6 green onions, sliced
1.25 oz package Taco seasoning (or a mixture of chili, cumin, oregano, cayenne, paprika, garlic, and salt)

Monterey jack cheese, shredded
Sour cream

Mix all the ingredients except for cheese and sour cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat a simmer for 10 minutes. Can be frozen for later. To serve, thaw and heat, and serve with cheese sprinkled on top and a dollop of sour cream if desired. You know you want them both!

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Taco soup (OAMC)

This recipe appeared in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Eating Well magazine. The original recipe was written to serve 4, so I’m not sure why the online version was cut to 2. No matter, you can double this recipe and end up with the right proportions; just add a little more cornstarch.

I chose to use a leg cut instead of ground lamb, so I pre-cooked it for several hours in my crock pot. The meat fell apart and the little fat there was peeled right off by the time I was ready to assemble the stew. The added benefit was that I could use lamb stock instead of beef stock! I highly recommend doing this if you can manage it…not counting the time the meat was in the pot (and I was off doing other things!), this meal clocked in as a thirty minute meal easily.

Lamb, Fig, & Olive Stew for 2

8 ounces lean ground lamb, preferably leg
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic, divided
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped dried figs
2 tablespoons finely chopped, pitted green olives
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add lamb and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a sieve set over a bowl to drain; discard the fat.
2. Wipe out the pan; add oil and heat over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons garlic and herbes de Provence and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.
3. Stir together broth and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the pan, increase heat to high, and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, figs, olives and pepper and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved lamb and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes.
4. Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon garlic, parsley and lemon zest in a small bowl. Serve the stew topped with the parsley mixture.

Image: Cyndi Lavin

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Lamb, Fig, & Olive Stew from Eating Well