Oat Groats on the Stove

Oat Groats with Kale and Carrots

1 cup oat groats
3 cups water

• Put groats and water in a pot and bring to a boil. 
• Lower heat and cover pot. Simmer 1 hour.
• Add seasonings and cooked vegetables to make a side dish or tasty snack. Sometimes cheese is also a nice addition.

Cucumber Salad

• This recipe comes from The Art of Jewish Cooking by Jennie Grossinger.
• My mom used to make this salad most every summer. Momma often served it with fried fish. I believe she used white vinegar, so I wonder if she used a similar recipe from another cookbook.
• I changed a few things: switched the pepper to cayenne, and left out the scallions. The vinegar seems too strong to me; I might increase the water from 2 tablespoons to 3 next time. I used salad cucumbers, which were not waxed, so I did not peel them. I prefer the milder flavor of kosher salt for this recipe.
• Serves 4-6. 

Tomato Almond Pesto

• This is a great harvest-season dish. It's quick, simple, and tasty. The flavor is similar to "standard" pesto -- minus the heaviness.
• I started with a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated e-newsletter, and made a few tweaks -- like doubling the garlic and decreasing the cheese. They recommend linguine or spaghetti for the pasta. I've used penne, riggatoni, chili macs, and even star-shaped soup pasta!
• The pesto is gluten-free. Obviously, some pasta is gluten free and others are not.
  

Millet Cauliflower Bake

This dish is versatile. In truth: because it tastes so good, I've found many ways to eat it. It can be served hot, warm, or chilled. It can be used as a side dish or a meatless entrée. In the summer, I like to serve it cold with a green salad. It's an easy lunch to bring to work. Sometimes I even have it for breakfast or brunch. This recipe has tons of cauliflower, a whole grain (millet), and it's low-fat.

Two final comments:

• Many other recipes combine millet and cauliflower but they use a lot less cauliflower, they have no eggs, and they are not baked. The latter two differences are what makes this side dish a potential entrée.
• Brown rice or quinoa can be substituted for the millet, but millet is my first choice because of it's flavor and texture.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Brussels sprouts can be eaten right from the oven, or as cold leftovers. They also taste great in an omelet.

Chopped (Eggless) Eggplant

Chopped Eggplant with Watercress

Like chopped liver, chopped eggplant can be served as an appetizer on greens, but it also makes a great sandwich -- espeically on rye bread with sliced tomato. It's also a great first course (served on lettuce) for a Passover seder.

Red Quinoa and Cranberry Salad

This recipe is a very loose adaptation of Wild Rice with Cranberries. I deleted the dried cranberries, and increased the walnuts and fresh cranberries.

In my grocery store, fresh cranberries are only available in the fall, so this is a true seasonal recipe -- a rarity in this day and age!

Polenta (Fool-Proof Polenta)

This recipe is fool-proof. No hassles. No lumps. Every time. Who ever said polenta was tricky?

Kale with Garlic

Chopped kale -- not yet cooked.

If you like to sing and cook at the same time, listen to May Erlewine's Greens song. The lyrics are here. "I'm talkin' 'bout jubilation in a pan. It's mighty fine stuff!"

Green Noodles

 Note: Most of the green pasta is under the peas.

This has become my favorite comfort food.

Brown Rice

Decades ago, my friend Wendy gave me her recipe for white rice, which was given to her by a native Hawaiian who worked in her parents' home. I've adapted that recipe for brown rice and use it all the time.

Roasted Radishes and Root Vegetables

Wild Rice and Cranberry Salad

In my grocery store, fresh cranberries are only available in the fall, so this is a true seasonal recipe -- a rarity in this day and age!

Turnips with Maple Syrup

Kasha Varnitchkes