Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (39 page)

8.
Dinner in Italy

Menu:

Minestrone con Crema

Garlic bread

Tossed green salad with Caesar dressing

Poppy Seed Cake (
this page
)

Minestrone con Crema

6 to 8 servings

Seems like a lot of vegetables? Believe me, it works—this soup is truly delicious. A friend who swears he dislikes both greens and turnips ate it with gusto.

½ cup fresh basil, spinach, or parsley

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

1½ cups barely done cooked garbanzos (½ cup uncooked), undrained

5 kohlrabis or turnips, with leaves

chopped and bulbs diced (about 2 cups)

1 head cabbage, finely chopped or grated

2 cups beet greens or spinach, without stems, chopped

¼ cup fresh parsley

Salt to taste

3 cups low-fat milk

In a mortar or blender, make pesto by mashing or blending basil, garlic, and Parmesan cheese with enough oil to make a smooth paste. In a large pot combine the beans, bean cooking liquid, kohlrabis, cabbage, beet greens, parsley, and salt with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Add milk and simmer 15 minutes more; do not let it boil. Stir in the pesto, heat 5 minutes, and serve at once.

Complementary protein: beans + milk

9.
Oriental Specialty

Menu:

Sweet and Sour Vegetables with Tempura

Fried rice with sesame (stir-fry precooked rice with ¼ cup ground toasted sesame seeds)

Sweet and Sour Vegetables with Tempura

6 servings

Stir-fry the vegetables while the tempura is frying. You can make the rice (about 5 to 6 cups cooked rice and soy grits; 2 cups uncooked rice and ¼ cup uncooked grits) ahead of time or at the last minute.

Tempura

Oil for frying

3 cops sliced raw vegetables (carrots, broccoli, onion, cauliflower, zucchini, etc.) and tofu (optional)

1 batch Quick Mix pancake batter (use 2 eggs; beat egg whites until stiff and fold them into batter just before frying vegetables)

Shredded cabbage

Pour oil into a wok, deep skillet, or pot to a depth of 2 inches. Heat to very hot but not smoking. Using chopsticks, tongs, or your fingers, pick up a vegetable slice, dip it into the batter, and drop into hot oil. Cook, turning once or twice, until golden brown. Cook several slices at a time, but do not crowd. Remove from hot oil with another set of chopsticks, tongs, or a slotted spoon. Drain on shredded cabbage (beautiful for serving) or paper towel.

Stir-fried Vegetables

2tablespoons peanut oil

3cups sliced raw vegetables (same as above) and tofu (optional)

1 or 2 sliced onions

One 1-pound can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve juice)

Heat oil in a large pan and sauté vegetables briefly. Add onion and pineapple chunks and sauté for 1 minute or so.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

2½ tablespoons cornstarch

Reserved pineapple juice

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soysauce

Make a smooth paste of the cornstarch and a few tablespoons pineapple juice and combine with remaining ingredients. Add to the stir-fried vegetables and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and is clear and glutinous.

To serve, spoon the cooked (and reheated, if necessary) rice onto a large platter (you may need two). Spread the tempura vegetables (on shredded cabbage, if you used it) around the edges and spoon the sauced stir-fried vegetables over rice. If you like, sprinkle some finely chopped scallions over all. A beautiful dinner.

Complementary protein: wheat + soy + rice

10.
Harvest Dinner

Menu:

Walnut-Cheddar Loaf

Steamed broccoli with lemon sauce

Fried sliced apples

Indian Pudding or Soybean Pie (
this page
,
this page
)

Walnut-Cheddar Loaf

5 to 6 servings

This is especially nice served with a cheese sauce, with whole walnuts sprinkled on top.

2 tablespoons oil for sautéing

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup coarsely ground black walnuts

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 eggs, beaten Salt to taste

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1¼ cups cooked brown rice (½ cup uncooked)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil and sauté onions until translucent. Mix with remaining ingredients and put in an oiled loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Complementary protein: rice + milk product

11.
Pizza Party

Menu:

Complementary Pizza

Caesar salad

Complementary Pizza

4 ten-inch pizzas

The pizza looks like work, but it makes a wonderful supper dish—high protein in amount
and
quality.

2 tablespoons dry baking yeast

1¼ cups warm water

3 teaspoons honey

¼ cup olive oil plus 3 tablespoons for sautéing

1 teaspoon salt (optional)

2½ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup soy flour

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups canned tomatoes, chopped

1 small can tomato paste

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Cornmeal for dusting

1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Garnishes (optional): sliced garlic, onion, mushrooms, green pepper

Dissolve yeast in water with 1 teaspoon honey. Mix with ¼ cup oil, salt, and flours in a large bowl. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Oil the bowl, return the dough to it, and set in a warm place for about 1½ hours, until dough doubles in volume. Punch down and knead again for a few minutes to make dough easy to handle.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot and sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, remaining 2 teaspoons honey, and salt and pepper and bring to a boil; lower heat and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. If you want a smooth sauce, sieve or purée it.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Divide dough into quarters and stretch each into a 5-inch circle, then roll out to a circle 10 inches in diameter and about ⅛ inch thick. Dust baking pans with cornmeal, put pizzas on top, and pinch a small rim around the edge of each. For each pizza use ½ cup tomato sauce, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Top with your choice of garnishes and bake 10 to 15 minutes.

Complementary protein: wheat + soy + milk products