Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ

Weight Watcher’s Salsa  (from Margaret McClung)

10 cups tomatoes (diced, no need to remove skins)
2 large green peppers
2 large sweet red peppers
2 large green onions
1 - 4 jalapeno peppers (or 2 tabasco peppers)
2 cloves garlic
1 cup white vinegar (or 3/4 cup cider vinegar)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp each of cumin, oregano & cayenne pepper

Chop all vegetables (puree if desire thinner salsa). Add vinegar and spices. Cook in a large (6 qt) pot and simmer until desired thickness is reached. Let cool a bit. Scoop into ziplock freezer bags in 1-cup quantities. Expel as much air as possible. Flatten out the bags and stack in the freezer.
Tip: When cutting up tomatoes…First, core out the stem and cut the tomato in half. Then, gently squeeze each half (like a lemon) to get out some of the juice and seeds. Then dice.

Brussels Sprouts in Cider With Onions and Apples
(Vegetarian Table: France)

1 pound Brussels sprouts
2 apples (golden delicious work well)
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, cut into small chunks
1 ½ cups apple cider
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 star anise
¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Trim sprouts and halve lengthwise. Cut apples into ½ inch cubes. Melt butter and oil in large skillet over low heat. When mixture foams, increase heat to medium and add apples and onions; sauté until apples are soft and onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add sprouts; sauté 3-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients except vinegar. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until sprouts are easily pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes. Discard anise. Remove contents of pan with slotted spoon to warm serving dish; cover. Heat liquid in pan over medium-high flame until reduced by half. Add vinegar; cook 2-3 minutes, stirring. Pour over sprouts; serve immediately. 4-6 servings. Great with pork chops.

Marinated beet salad

3 beets
1 cucumber peeled and sliced
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, or mare as needed
1 small red onion, sliced
MARINADE
3 Tbl sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 shallot minced or 1 Tbsp combination of onion and garlic minced
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
5 Tbsp olive oil

Boil beets in water for 45 minutes to 1 hour until knife goes through easily.
When beets are cool enough to handle slip off skin and then cut into ½ - 1 inch cubes. Make marinade by putting ingredients in bowl and whisking until well mixed. Pour marinade over beets and stir. Add sliced red onion (if onion is strong soak the sliced onion in ice water for 15-20 minutes and then drain)) and mix. Before serving add sliced cucumber and top with feta cheese.

Crustless Chard Pie

1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp oil
1 bunch swiss chard
6 eggs
1 cup peeper jack cheese or cheese of choice
I cup sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brown onion and garlic in oil and then add mushrooms and cook until done. Add chard to pan and cook until chard has wilted. Beat eggs in a bowl; mix in cheese, salt, pepper and chard mixture. Pour into slightly greased pie plate. Bake for 30-40 minutes until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Ratatouille

¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion
Salt (1-2 tsp)
1 small eggplant
3 Tbsp dry red wine
½ cup tomato juice
1 tsp dry basil or 1 Tbl fresh
1 tsp dry marjoram
½ tsp oregano
Dash of ground rosemary
2 small or 1 medium zucchini or summer squash, cubed
2 medium bell peppers
2 medium tomatoes, in chunks
2 Tbsp tomato paste
Freshly-chopped parsley

Heat oil in large, heavy cooking pot. Crush the garlic into the oil. Add bay leaf and onion; salt lightly. Sauté over medium heat until onion begins to turn transparent. Add eggplant, wine and tomato juice. Add herbs. Stir to mix well, then cover and simmer 10-15 minutes over low heat. When eggplant is tender enough to be easily pricked by a fork, add zucchini and peppers. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well. Continue to stew until all vegetables are tender. (How tender is tender? Do a taste test and decide what seems right to you.)
Just before serving, mix in the fresh parsley.
Good with bread, over pasta or plain.

Quick whole Wheat Bread

Oil or butter for greasing pan
1 2/3 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt ( or use milk with 2 Tbls vinegar)
1 egg
½ cup honey
3 cups whole wheat flour or, use 1 ½ c whole wheat flour and 1 ½ c whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 x 4 inch or 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Mix together dry ingredients. Mix together wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir, just enough to combine
4. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake until firm and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Zucchini-Feta pancakes

4 cups coarsely grated zucchini
4 eggs separated
1 heaping cup finely-crumbled feta cheese
½ cup scallions or about ¼ cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Butter for frying
Sour cream or yogurt for topping, but they are good just plain

Place the grated zucchini in a colander in a bowl, salt it lightly and let it stand for 15 minutes. Rinse it, and squeeze out all excess water. Combine squeezed zucchini, egg yolks, feta, scallions or onion, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. Beat the egg whites until they form peaks. Fold into first mixture.Put a small amount of butter on frying pan or griddle and fry one pancake first to see if it will hold together. It should hold together when the pancake is flipped. If it falls apart add more flour to mixture before frying up the rest of the pancakes. Fry on both sides until golden and crisp. Serve with toppings or plain.