Avocado Pesto Pasta - A better pesto

So simple, and so obvious, and yet we have only recently discovered this recipe.

The pesto is creamy in texture without adding cheese, just by substituting avocado.  The avocados we get in Sweden travel quite far and therefore this recipe is perfect here as the quality of the avocado does not need to be perfect.

This recipe is for between 4-6 people

1 pound of fresh (if possible) linguine

1 bunch of fresh basil (saving a few sprigs for garnish)

1/2 cup pine nuts

2 avocados, pitted and peeled (adjust this amount as you like)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

(you can also add fresh or sun-dried tomatoes which we did not do this time)

Cook your pasta per normal - drain and set aside

Make your pesto by combining basil, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and oil into your food processor.  Process until smooth and season as you like

Toss your sauce and your pasta until well mixed, add your tomatoes if you like or just top with a bit of fresh basil.

Quick, and easy.

-This blog has been inactive if you have been paying attention because 'Zok' has been renovating a large part of our home and cooking has fallen out of favor- with the exception of baking breads.

 

Tupelo Honey Cafe: Sweet Potato Coconut Bisque, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluton Free

Sweet potatoes are a vegetable that I think I should like, but when face to face with say 'mashed' sweet potatoes I don't get past a few bites.

However, I love this soup.

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced

4 cups plus 4 1/2 tsps water

1 can of unsweetened coconut milk (our can was 12 oz)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. pure maple syrup

1 1/2 tsp. honey (of course the book calls for tupelo honey but if you live in Australia, you will have a hard time finding that and besides we say 'go local!'.)

2 1/2 tsp. sea salt (we use Murray River salt)

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (we used a wee bit of nutmeg/cloves)

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

4 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (you could use just paprika if you are adverse to the spice level of cayenne)

In a large saucepan (if you really get into soups, and stews like chili, a good investment is a cast iron/ceramic coated saucepan- larger is always better because everything has room to cook evenly).

combine the sweet potatoes and 4 cups of water over high heat, bring this to a boil, and boil for about 20 minutes, or until your potatoes are tender.

Then reduce your heat  to medium and then using a potato masher, mash the potatoes in your pot.

Now, add in the coconut milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, salt and spices and lastly your ground pepper.

Stir and simmer this for about 15 minutes or until you notice the soup thickening.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and the remaining 4 1/2 tsp. of water to form a thick paste.

Add this mixture and your cayenne pepper to the soup and reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes longer (or until the soup coats the back of a spoon).

Now use a hand held mixture to puree the soup (while it is still in the pot) to a smooth consistency.

(You could also in small batches transfer the soup to a stand mixer or processor).

Now your soup is ready to serve!

 

Tupelo Honey Cafe; Cornucopia Salad

Cornucopia Salad

*This can be prepped ahead of time, as the salad needs to marinate at least 2 hours*

All vegetables chopped into half inch-1 in. pieces (or 1 to 1.5 cm) 

(As I try to type this Zok is reinforcing the fact that especially with this type of recipe, one would just add in more of what they like and less of what they don't - "It's a salad.")

1 cup sliced cucumber (the original recipe calls for "baby seedless cucumber", Zok used a peeler and quartered the cucumber, then scraped the seeds out.

1/2 cup fresh green beans 

14 grape tomatoes

8 baby carrots (of course you can use regular carrots, the baby ones tend to be sweeter)

1/2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced (Zok chopped his)

4 medium shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced 

1 tablespoon minced sweet onion (our only option has been white)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon fresh tarragon

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons peppered vinegar (recipe on blog)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

 The recipe also calls for fresh rye croutons, which I think go really well with this, but the salad is as good without, we keep them to the side as we have many friends not eating gluten.

 The trick in making all these good raw vegetables so delightful, is making sure you refrigerate-marinate them for at least two hours.

Combine the cucumber, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and tarragon in a large sealable plastic bag.  Add the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to the vegetables.  Seal the bag and shake to blend all of the ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend.  Serve topped iwth Rye Croutons and add extra Peppered Vinegar to taste (Zok thinks both the croutons and extra vinegar are unnecessary)

 Here is what Zok actually used, except he used half the zucchini and only the 1 cup of string beans

 Here the vegetables are after the 2 hours

 Here are the vegetables as they looked going into the refrigerator

Fresh Spring Rolls

Time to prepare- about 30 minutes

No cooking!

This is another recipe you can change to suit yourself.  We adjust for the amount of people, I can easily eat 5 by myself

But here is what we do:

Dried Rice paper wrappers

Dried rice vermicelli

Fresh Thai basil leaves (I admit we makes these during our Thai basil season, if you don't grow your own, you should, it is easy-peasy)

Coriander/Cilantro (optional) personally I hate it

Fresh mint leaves

Carrot cute into short thin strips

Cucumber cut into sticks

a bit of grated lime rind

If you think these are too 'dry' you can add a bit of sweet chili sauce,

we dip ours in just some soy sauce with a lot of grated ginger and we don't think you need anything else.

Many people used hard boiled egg cut into 1/6 ths.  But we quickly toast some thin tofu squares in butter, and then cut them like the carrots into matchsticks.

 Soak the rice vermicelli in a bowl you fill with boiling water for about ten minutes to soften them, and then drain them in a colander 

We use a class baking tray and fill it with warmish to almost hot water and then soak each rice paper wrapper as we use them, just immerse, soften and then spread it out on your work surface next to all your prepped ingredients and wrap them up

Basically you layout your wrapper, fill as desired (Zok puts in some chopped chillies - no surprise there...)

Then wrap them sort of burrito style, or just fold up the ends and roll them

Sort of tap down the filling as you do this

If the rice wrapper gets brittle just sprinkle it with a bit of water

That's it!

Healthy, quick and very tasty

 

 

 

Spanish Rice

I call this 'Spanish rice' but I think the name is a misnomer from childhood.

This is not common in Australia so I make it more than I used too as a 'bring a plate'.

This dish keeps for a long time and transports easily.

It can also be made early in the day, and re-heated to serve, so I make it when we have people over for burritos, or something in the Mexican food vein.

I have also taken this camping twice, and it kept well for days in a cooler no problems.

 

Here is my recipe.

I make about 3/4 of a cup of rice and twice that water and add it to our rice cooker. I let the rice finish before I do anything else.
I boil about a 1/2 cup of water and add some vegeta or any time of vegetarian dry soup making mixture- but vegeta is my first choice. I set this aside.

I then take a tablespoon of olive oil, and about just one clove of chopped garlic and heat that.

Then I add in about 3 chopped tomatoes (no seeds or core)

As many peas as I can get my hands on

 (I used all ripe peas from our garden)

I put in about as much carrot, and again I just use what is on hand, here we have the small variety of carrots, so I just cut them and it was as if they were already diced, you want the pieces to be about pea size

I saute the carrots just for about 3-minutes, then I add the tomatoes and the peas for just about another 3 minutes

Then I add in the cooked rice

After I mix it all through

I start adding in the vegeta mixture slowly- and I keep stirring until the consistency seems pleasing.

 

So easy, even I can make it.

Vegetarian Soup Stock

Stashing away processed jars of food, or freezing supplies to save time and waste is not really Zok's thing, but it is mine.

I tend to make stock when I realize I have the supplies that will go to waste.

Stocks are improvisational and hard to get wrong.

I usually have more fresh herbs (except in the dead of winter) than I can use, so I use a lot of them in my stocks.  I always seem to end up with some onion, celery, and carrot in the crisper that seem left behind, or worse starting to lose all crispness. This is exactly when I would make some soup stock either to freeze or I would jar it up and boil the jars to seal them this way I could store it for a longer period of time.

Here is the basic recipe that I follow.

I will clean and roughly chop my vegetables.  Because you will be straining out the cooked veg, feel free to add parts you might not normally, like the leafy part of the celery or all the carrot.  If this seems too strange - you don't have too, but it won't hurt.

Mostly I use a large stock pot or soup pot to make this, I like it all to have a lot of room to simmer around in.

I use maybe 1 tbl. spoon of olive oil

This is first in the pot.

Roughly chop my veg into 1 in. chunks.

(the below amount should give you about 5-6 cups)

1 large onion

2 large carrots (or many small)

1 bunch scallions

8 garlic cloves (peeled and smashed is best)

8 parsley branches

6 thyme spriges (you could use dried 1/2 tsp.)

3 bay leaves

Handful of fresh, chopped rosemary

Salt 

(Again, you can add in stuff, mushrooms are good, oregano, lettuce leaves, leeks, nutritional yeast, miso, and so on)

Heat your oil, and add in your garlic, herbs and cook for about 5 - 10 minutes

Stir this frequently
Add in all your chopped vegetables

and then add your salt and 2 quarts of cold water (for the amount of veg above)

Bring to a boil

Lower and simmer for about 30 minutes- uncovered

Strain (we compost so veg mush is excellent for compost)

Now you can take your strained stock and either fill jars and reprocess them by boiling for 20 minutes to seal the lids

Or you could let it all cool, and then freeze.

If you really think your mixture was bland you could add more miso, soy sauce, or just add a veg. cube or some vegeta.  But you won't need too.

Zok also uses this same recipe to make his chicken stock for his spicy, shredded chicken

 

Spicy Soba Noodle Soup

Spicy Soba Soup

 

There are easy ways to vary this soup.  Some recipes call for snow peas, and/or bean sprouts. Sometimes we use lemon grass instead of ginger, or we get wild and use both.

 

I love this soup, but Zok is unimpressed, and I only get it when I make it (!) or as a special request.

 

This soup always takes under .5 of an hour.

It also re-heats nicely.

 Which is why we always make it for 4, even though we are only 2.

 

250 g or 9 oz soba noodles

2-4 shiitake mushrooms (you can use dried, we usually use fresh)

2 litres (8 cups) vegetable stock- this soup is fine with one of those cubes you can get, or if you have soup stock on hand*

2 small carrots, cut into thin matchsticks

(in the photo they are short because we used small carrots from our neighbors generous garden)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 spring onions (scallions) cut in short lengths and sliced again a bit like the carrots

3 cm or 1 1/4 piece ginger cut into matchsticks (its a theme)

80 ml or 1/3 cup soy sauce

60 ml or 1/4 cup mirin or sake (cooking sake is fine)

Small diced dried pepper (seeds or no seeds depending on how hot you want it to be)

 

Your soba noodles are likely dry, so just cook them as directed on the package, and set them aside in a strainer.

If your mushrooms are dried, you need to soak them in some boiling water until soft (about 3/4 a cup for 4)

Drain them so you can slice them put keep the liquid aside.

Combine your vegetable stock in a pan (we use a large sauce pan) with the mushrooms, the extra mushroom liquid, carrots, garlic, spring onion and ginger. (This is when you'd also put in other options like snow peas)

Bring to a soft boil, then reduce to a simmer

Usually about 5 minutes softens your vegetables.

Now add your bean spouts (if you are inclined) more importantly add your mirin and soy sauce, (and pepper if desired)

Get your bowls, put in the wanted amount of noodles in each, and then ladle the soup mixture over the top.

Easy!

 

*I have a vegetarian soup stock recipe up if you want to search for that.

 

 

 

 

 

Rigatoni Pasta with Pumpkin and Pine Nuts

1 kg (2 lbs) pumpkin

2 medium leeks

40 g (1 1/2 oz) butter

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) rigatoni pasta 

300 ml. (1 1/4 cups) cream

40 g (1/4 cup) toasted pine nuts

Peel your pumpkin, discarding the seeds (or saving and roasted them!) and then dice your pumpkin pieces into small cubes

Discard the outer most leek leaves, clean them, and slice finely.

Heat butter in large pan over low heat.  Add the sliced leek and cover the pan to cook about 5 minutes.  You might need to stir it a couple of times.

Add your nutmeg and pumpkin, and cover again for about 8 minutes.

This is a good time to cook your pasta, I always put a bit of salt and olive oil in my water.

Cook until tender- drain it, you might want to put the pasta in a covered bowl to keep it warm.

Roast your pine nuts in a small hot pan- this only takes a minute or two. Alternately you could roast them in the over on a sheet and roast your pumpkin seeds at the same time.

Add your cream after the 8 minutes is up, and also a bit more water about 1/4 cup.  Bring the mixture to boil.

Let it condense down a bit and make sure your pumpkin is tender.

Divide your pasta into servings and top with your sauce and lastly sprinkle your pine nuts on top.  The pine nuts taste really nice with the pumpkin so don't skimp on them.

You could of course adjust this sauce with the type of pumpkin you use, some like butternut squash are a bit sweet.  I like nutmeg so I added a bit more to my serving.

 

Farfalle Salad with Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach

This is a really good and quick summer salad.

We use semi-sundried tomatoes a lot, and usually have some in the refrigerator and we usually have both spring onion and spinach growing in the garden during summer.

550 g or 1 lb 2 oz farfalle bowtie pasta (spirals would work, you want a pasta that can catch the dressing and spinach in its crevices)

3 spring onions (scallions) trim these and chopped them finely

50 g or 1 3/4 oz sundried (semi are a bit juicier which is nice) tomatoes, cut them into strips

1 bunch spinach, trim the stalks and then shred the leaves also into strips

50 g or 1/3 c. toasted pine nuts (Zok usually toasts them himself quickly, probably as an excuse to validate his tiny pan)

1 tbl. chopped fresh oregano

The Dressing

60  ml or 1/4 c. olive oil

1 tsp. fresh chopped chilli (remember its the seeds that are super spicy so leave them out if you want)

1 garlic clove, crushed

Use a small jar to shake these up.

Cook your pasta, then rinse it in cold water, strain it and set it aside.

Take all your ingredients and add them with the pasta into a large bowl

Add in your dressing and mix well and serve immediately

Fresh Salsa with Mango

I am pretty sure I got the idea to add mango to my salsa from a Martha Stewart magazine.

I am not a huge fan of spicy or onion(y), and I find that the mango off sets both making this a good compromise.

Of course you can always just leave out what you don't want.

Australians make a lot of salsas that they jar up and put away from winter, this is not that type of salsa, this is a more light, garden fresh quick appetizer for when friends drop in.

It is also good when you have too many strawberries and limes because of course a margarita can be nice.

I prefer firm tomatoes, or larger tomatoes than can be chopped down small over cutting up the small varieties.

I love mango, and I always scrap the skins as well and eat that bit as I am cutting up the rest.

If you feel that there is a large portion that isn't attached to the large center seed,that is a good place to make your cut, then you can twist it a bit (like an avocado) and pull it into two halves.

I usually cut both direction on the fleshy side so that I can then just scrape near the skin and get small already cut squares of mango.

 I think if your tomatoes are good, tasty tomatoes you can skip adding in fresh lemon juice, but if you prefer not to put in the guts of the tomatoes, or if the tomatoes need a flavor boost then lemon is a good way to go.

I tend to use sweet roasted chilli powder, salt and pepper sprinkled on top and then mixed in right before serving.

 This is another dish that really is about ratio and not measurement.

If I am really trying to estimate I put in about 2 tomatoes per person, if I have more than 2 people, I will use more than one mango.

I always use less onion than Zok would.

Tomatoes- chopped fine enough to work with the type of corn chip or tortilla you are eating this salsa with

Mango

White onion

Fresh lemon juice

Chilli powder (just a pinch and at the end, because the taste will get stronger as it sits)

Salt

Pepper

Pineapple with Cashews and Fried Tofu or Chicken

Zok and I first had this dish on vacation in Phuket.

When Zok first made this, he always hollowed out the pineapple to use it as the dish, however we don't do that generally anymore.

It is easier to just chop up all of the excess ingredients for the compost (feed the worms!) all that once.

Oddly of course this for us is a Christmas time dish as pineapple comes in season, and we make Chi-chis to drink while trimming the tree.

As this is basically a stir-fry, the cooking time is only about 10 minutes.

Sometimes we have just Tofu, or if there are meat eaters around that feel tofu isn't enough, Zok cooks up some chicken in the small wok, to add it in.

This is technically for four people-of course if you are a couple (as in two) you can just estimate how much you want to eat.

Prepare your rice in a rice cooker (if you don't have a rice cooker, you need a rice cooker)

Fry your tofu in small squares/and set aside with your other prep.

*Remember that stir fry is ALL about the prep.  cut and tidy all your ingredients ready to all be at hand and ready to put into the wok quickly.

1/2 cup of raw cashews

2 tbl. oil (Zok uses peanut for this dish)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large onion, cut in large chunks (or small, sneaky chunks if someone like me is eating and doesn't want to actually see any onion)

2 tsp. chopped red chillies (omit this for a less spicy dish)

1/2 red capsicum, chopped

1/2 green capsicum, chopped (Zok uses 2 full small ones, I just put the capsicum I don't want to eat back onto his plate when he isn't looking)

2 tbls oyster sauce

1 tsp fish sauce (you can switch out these for vegetarian sauces if you have a strict veg/vegan around)

1 tsp. palm sugar (or brown)

2 cups chopped fresh pineapple (it needs to be fresh the canned is already so soft it will deteriorate when it is being stir-fried)

2 spring onions chopped

2 tbls shredded coconut toasted (as a fancy garnish)

Roast the cashews on an oven tray for about 15 min. at 180 c or 350 f until golden (or cheat and just use already roasted ones)

Heat oil in your wok and first stir fry your garlic, onion and chillies over medium heat for 2 minutes 

Increase heat to high and then stir-fry your capsicum, when they are just about done, add in your sauces, sugar, pineapple and tofu and thoroughly toss for about 2-3 minutes coating everything evenly.

Add your cashews and quickly toss-

Have your assistant scoop out the already cooked rice and add your stir fry over the top

Garnish with spring onion and coconut as desired

If you are adding in chicken- add it pre-cooked after you have dished out the tofu-version to your vegetarian friends.

Tips!

Why not make a nice blended Pina Colada or Chi-Chi with your extra pineapple?

Oil-clean cans are commonly found at Asian markets, so you can clean and store you oil to use more than once.

 

 

Mee Goreng or Zok's version of Mee Goreng

1 brown onion, chopped finely

2 garlic cloves, chopped finely

2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped (or not* says Colleen)

2 cm aka 3/4 in. of fresh ginger grated

60 ml or 1/4 c. oil (Zok would mention here you want an oil that can take the high heat and not burn away so Sunflower is better than Peanut)

350g about 12 oz. of Hokkien noodles, gently pulled apart

A package of firm Tofu first fried then cut

4 spring onions

1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks

1 tbls. kecap manis

1 tbls. soy sauce

1 tbls. tomato sauce

extra spring onions, to garnish 

Combine chopped onion, garlic, chillies, and ginger into a mortar and pestle (or use short bursts in a food processor)

pound until ingredients are paste-like (you can add a bit of oil if needed)

Set this aside.

In your wok use about 1 tbls. of oil  and stir fry your noodles until they are plump and warmed through. Place them in a covered bowl when done to keep them warm.

Add another tbls. of oil to your wok and stir-fry your paste mixture until golden.

Add your carrots, then your tofu

(Stir-frying all the while)

and then your kecap manis, soy and tomato sauces

Spoon the finished mixture over your noodles.

Notes:

You could at the tofu step substitute some sort of meat- you know- if you are in to that.

Roberto's Beans and Tortillas

One of the foods we missed the most while in Tasmania was Mexican food.

We have lived here since 2006, and just this last year have small Mexican food stalls started appearing here in Hobart.  I love Mexican because it is one of the easiest vegetarian "really don't" hate meat eaters meal to make for everyone.

Sometimes you need a friend to get you from "We really should." into "Gee that was easy."

Our friend,Roberto, was the catalyst for us making our own beans and tortillas and we do, quite often.  Zok has gotten a tortilla warmer and two tortilla presses.

An advantage to tortilla is that corn meal is a great substitute for the gluten intolerant.  

Here are Roberto's recipes that got us started.

I will put up the corn recipe in a separate post.

Flour Tortillas:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder (not soda!)

3/4 cup of 'hot'! water (we use the tea kettle)

1/4 cup of vegetable shortening *

1. Mix all the dry ingrediants: flour, powder, salt

2. Cut in the shortening*

3. Add hot water, if the mixture feels too sticky (it should at the end come cleanly from your hands and the bowl) add more flour (tip: have a flour shaker so adding in flour is easy, even, and gradual)

4. Knead the dough for 5 minutes (Zok now uses his Kitchen Aid for all and any mixing)

5. Cover dough for 10 minutes

6. separate dough into balls to either press with your tortilla press or to roll out with your rolling pin.

7. Fry in a hot pan- the dough will bubble up a bit and that is a good time to flip it.  Otherwise you can just continually flip until done 

*In Australia and Sweden the vegetable shortening is some form of coconut, and it comes cold and we have to grate it with the small part of a cheese grater.

If you are using soft American shortening you could just put in small scoops at a time.

The tortilla warmer does keep the tortillas hot.

Pinto Beans: (We actually use a variation of Bolito beans because that is what we can find here and in Stockholm-they work really well).

2-3 cups beans

6-8 cloves garlic

1 medium onion (I use white or yellow as I find they dissolve in, leaving flavor but not too concentrated a flavor)

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

1 tbl. cumin seeds

1. Separate and rinse beans (compost any funky looking ones or sometimes there are non-bean bits depending on how you buy your beans)

2. Chop onion and half the garlic

3. Crush your cumin seeds, and then crush the rest of your garlic into the crushed seeds, I use a mortar and pestle, and then use water to rinse the whole lot into the pot

4. Add all to a pot with a large bottom (wide as opposed to deep)

5. Add enough water to cover to about 2 inches above the beans.

6. First bring to a rapid boil for about 8 minutes, then lower to a simmer.

Cover and remember to check often, and stir often.

I cheat a bit and crush my beans towards the end with a potato masher, but I do spend hours letting them slow cook.  They always seem to taste best when I don't speed up the process.  You can always add more water if too much evaporates off.  This will happen if you are cooking them faster.

If the flavor isn't quite right I will add more cumin or garlic.

Coconut Rice and Pineapple Mint Salad

This is my favorite dish that I've talked Zok into making.
I can't express in print how much I love it, but if you know me, you can probably imagine me going on about it.

My friend Jeannie was like 'Oh yeah, I made that the other day'. But I don't think most people I know would casually make coconut rice.
But if you HAVEN'T made coconut rice, I am telling you - right now- that you should. I really think the combination of these two dishes together is what really makes the flavor great.

This recipe is for 4 people.

Steamed Coconut Rice
500 g (1 lb) long-grain white rice (we used basmati)
1 1/2 cups (375 ml/12 fl oz) coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt

Pour 2 cups (500 ml/16 fl oz) of water into a wok. Place a large sheet of baking paper in the base of a large bamboo steamer and spread the rice in the base of the steamer. Bring the water to a boil, sit the steamer over the wok (it should not touch the water) and put the lid on the steamer. Steam the rice for 35 minutes, turning the rice over halfway through the cooking time, and replenishing the water, if necessary.
Gently heat the coconut milk, with the salt, in a medium-sized pan. Add the steamed rice, bring to a boil and stir well. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and remove from the heat. Set aside for 45 minutes, or until the coconut milk is absorbed.
Spread the rice back into the paper-lined steaming bamboo basket and cover. Check that there is water in the wok and them steam for another 30 minutes.

Mixed Vegetable Salad
300 g (9 1/2 oz) fresh chopped pineapple pieces
1 cucumber, chopped
250 g (8 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
155g (5 oz) green beens finely sliced
1/3 cup (80 ml) rice wine vinegar
2 tbl lime juice
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
30 g (1 oz) mint leaves to garnish

In a bowl combine the pineapple, cucumber, tomatoes, beans and toss well, cover and refrigerate until chilled. Stir the vinegar, lime juice, chillies, sugar and salt in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
Arrange the chilled salad on a serving platter, drizzle half the dressing over the top and garnish with the mint leaves.
Serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.

*We usually pair this dish with a cold Sake.

Let's talk about cook books

Zok and I are firm believers in books.

We are both self taught in the kitchen.  Zok had to battle against a culture that does not allow for men in the kitchen, and I against my early propensity towards eating take out, and using the kitchen cupboards as space for my shoes.

Zok likes cook books with photos so he can compare his creations to the ones in the book.  This is exactly how he got hooked onto cooking.

When I still lived in Bellingham, I was busy between University classes and working at the 3B so Zok decided to cook.

He used a small book I had called 'Pasta Harvest' by Janet Fletcher.

His first recipe was 'Baked Conchiglione with spinach-ricotta filling.  This recipe is still a standard 'go-to' recipe when visitors come over.  

I think the most valuable cookbooks are instructional about the basics.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison has very few photos but most of what you could want to know about the basics.

Each time of bean, how to cook them, how much a cup will yield when cooked and so on.

The index is also really good.  I like to use the index when I am faced with an odd assortment of items in my pantry that need to be used up before they spoil.
If you are not a person that cooks much, but would like to, I recommend a book such as Deborah Madison's, it is an investment but you'll only need that one book for quite awhile.  If you are looking for inspiration I would recommend the style Zok likes, cheap and easy.

Here is the pasta recipe. Zok always uses fresh spinach and wilts it with great care.  His favorite pasta is rustichella d'abruzzo.  This is a dry pasta but found in speciality Italian markets.

1/2 pound spinach leaves, thick stems removed (this will usually mean you are buying about 3/4 pound untrimmed)
2 garlic gloves minced
1/2 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese (about one cup)
1/2 pound whole milk mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten (medium egg)
1 tablesppon finely minced fresh basil
20 jumbo conchiglione shells 
2 tbl olive oil
1/2 cup freshly graed pecorino romano cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F (175 C) Wash spinach and with cold water.
Transfer spinach to large skillet with just a bit of water clinging to it (Zok takes it from the bowl of water with tongs and wilts them quickly about 3 minutes)
Puts them aside, and washes the lot in cold water again, squeezing them dry by hand and then transferring them to the chopping board to chop finely.

(This is about the time I open a bottle of wine and sit on the counter top, while listening for the door bell to ring- this early glass of wine is responsible for my never getting a decent photo of the finished dish)

Cook shells in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain them when they are about a minute shy of being done (remember they will cook a bit more in the oven) Transfer shells to a bowl and toss them iwth olive oil to keep them from sticking together.

Put half the tomato sauce on the bottom of a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold the shells in one layer.
Fill each shell.
Arrange your shells nicely and spoon the remaining sauce over and around the shells.
Top with pecorino cheese.
You can cover with foil or just bake open (Zok likes the crispy edges so he bakes his open).
Cook for about 30-40 minutes depending on your oven.
Serve directly.

*A nice thing about this dish is you can prep it early, and then only have your appetizers to make.  Or if your Zok the several side dishes and dessert...