Cheese and Nut loaf

From : Deborah Madison -The Greens Cookbook

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups of walnuts, roasted
1/2 cup of cashews, roasted
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
Salt, pepper
2 garlic gloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup of mushrooms, wiped cleaned and chopped
1 oz of dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh parlsey, chopped
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 tablespoon of fresh majoram or 1/2 teaspoon of dried majoram
1 bunch of fresh sage, chopped or 1/2 teaspoon of dried sage
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup of cottage cheese
9-12 oz of grated cheese depending on what you like and have on hand and taste good together : gruyère, cheddar, muenster, fontina, jack,...

Preheat the oven at 350 degree. Begin by cooking the rice. Roast the nuts for separated 5-7 minutes and chop them finely.
Cook the onion and dried herbs in butter or olive oil, until translucent, add  fresh mushrooms until liquid start to reduced then add chopped shiitake or porcini mushrooms, garlic and fresh herbs, cook for a 2-3 minutes or until flavor combines. Set aside. Combine rice, nuts, cottage cheese and grated cheese, season with salt and pepper. Combine onion, mushrooms mixture with the the cheese, nuts, rice mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and drop the mixture in. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes. You can place a foil paper after 45 minutes if you don't want the top to be overcook. If you don't  use a convection oven, time of baking can vary.

I make it every year during Winter. Serve it with a béchamel sauce or just ketchup.

Pâté au Saumon

Ingredients :
- double pie dough recipe of your choice
- one large salmon filet
- 8 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
- one bunch of both parsley and dill, chopped
- 2 lemons
- salt and pepper
- one egg, beaten or 2 tablespoons of milk

Prepare the dough, cut in half and refrigerate for 1 hours. I use Martha Stuart pâte brisée.
Preheat the oven at 350. Press juice from one lemon, cut into slices the second lemon and set aside. Chop parsley and dill and set aside. Rinse salmon filet, place it on a foiled or parchemin paper onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle lemon juice onto salmon, parsley and dill and arrange lemon slices on top. Bake for about 23 minutes, time could vary according to type of oven. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Remove skin and lemon slices. In a large bowl, combine mashed potatoes, salmon with herbs using a large fork, season with salt and pepper. Roll the dough onto a 9 inch pie plate, place the mixture into the plate, press with a spoon then roll the top to finish. Brush the top with egg or milk. Bake for about 40 minutes or intil golden brown.
The next day, I take it out of the fridge, cut the remaining of the pâté in individual portion in plastic wrap, then put it in a large freezer bag and freeze it.

Asparagus Soup

From : Deborah Madison Vegetable Cooking for Everyone
Ingredients :
- 2 bunch of asparagus
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of raw white rice
- 6 cups of homemade vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoon of olive oil
- salt and pepper
- fresh lemon juice to taste

Slice asparagus in 3 parts : ends, middles, and tips. Chop middles in 1 inch pieces and set aside. Drop ends into boiling salted water and cook until tender for about 4 minutes. The cooked tips are added later to the finish soup.
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the leek, onion and rice, sauté until onion are slightly colored. Add one cup of stock and stew for about 10 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus, the remaining stock and simmer partially covered for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool the soup briefly and add 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice. Puree in a food processor, adding fresh coriander, salt and pepper to taste. Separating vegetables from the broth and then adding the broth when puree, give you a better control over texture.

Carrot Soup

Ingredients :
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- one medium onion, chopped
- 2 pound bag of organic carrot, peeled and sliced
- 1 teaspoon of dried caraway seeds, crushed
   or dried dill
- 4 cups of homemade chicken stock
-  sea salt and pepper

Variation - Ginger-Orange carrot soup :
Omit the caraway seeds or dill and add a 2 inch piece of fresh ginger,1/2 cup of fresh orange juice



Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion, then the carrots for about 10 minutes or until the onions are soften. Season with salt and pepper. Pour chicken stock, add the ginger if using and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 45-55 minutes, or until the carrots are very soft. Cool the soup slightly, take out the ginger if using, pour orange juice if using. Puree in batches in a food processor. I separate the vegetables from the broth in a coriander, puree the vegetables, then adding the broth to obtain the consistence desire.

Pumpkin-seed-crusted trout

From : The bon appétit fast easy fresh cookbook
Ingredients :
- olive oil
- 3/4 cup of roasted pumpkin seed
- one bunch of fresh coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder
- 2 boneless trout filet
- one egg beaten
- half of a lemon or lime.

In a food processor, chop pumpkin seeds, coriander and chili powder until paste texture. Brush olive oil onto a skillet or electric griddle over med-high heat. Place trout oven skin side down, sprinkle flesh with salt, pepper, a splash of lemon or lime juice. Brush flesh of both filet with egg. Using your hand put half of the paste firmly over each filet, flip side and repeat. Don't over cook, the filet should be opaque in the center.

Tender Tomato Tart

From : Deborah Madison - Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Perfect end of summer weekend lunch.
Ingredients :
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 celery ribs
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 6 tomatoes coarsely chopped
- 1 onion finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley chopped
- 5 fresh basil leaves to one bunch
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano (my peronnel addition)
- 3 free run organic eggs, beaten
- tart pastry recipe

Warm the oil in a heavy pot add vegetables and herbs, and stew, covered over low heat for a hour. Stir occasionally, make sure nothing is sticking, add a few tablespoons of water if it seems dry. Puree in a food processor, whisk the eggs, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, pepper to taste and pour into the pre-baked (or not) 9 inch pie shell. I prefer using 5 small pie plates. Bake in a convection oven at 350 degree until it appear set for about 35-55 minutes. Place the tarts onto a cookie sheet into the freezer. The next morning put the tarts into medium size freezer ziplock bags. Dethaw uncovered on a cooling rack at room temperature. Warm up in the oven at 350 degree uncover for 20-25 minutes.

Apple or Pear Oatmeal Pancakes

My personnel favorite !

Made differently from : Deborah Madison - Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Ingredients :
- 1 1/2 cups of organic rolled oats
-  2 cups of low fat buttermilk
- one organic apple grated or one pear
- 2 organic free run eggs
- 2 tablespoons of organic brown sugar or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of organic canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup of organic six grain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon if using a apple
   or 1/2 teaspoon organic ground cardamom if using a pear
-  1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking soda

In a 4 cups measuring cup, measure buttermilk, add rolled oats and let it sit four 2 hours or over night in the refrigerator. Later or the next morning, peal and grated the apple or the pear, you can leave the skin on if you prefer and stir into the soaked rolled oats, add the sugar and stir to dissolve. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and oil, add the oats mixture and stir. In a separate small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon or cardamom. Add into wet ingredients, stir to combine. Drop a 1/4 cup of the better onto a lightly oil skillet or griddle over medium heat (med-high heat if using electric griddle) cook until bubbles appears, flip and cook for 30 seconds to a minute. Because of the moisture of the batter, the cakes need more time to cook. Serve with maple syrup.