By Pamela Lee, from the July 1999 Newsletter

Summer and salad seem a natural pairing. Who wants to spend all day cooking?

These summer salads can easily become the main course. Serve them with soup or bread, or heaped on top of a bed of fresh, tossed greens. Make extra. Double the recipe and tonight's salad can become tomorrow's picnic. Summer salads can be packed in a cooler and taken along on road trips.

In summer, I keep a blanket and a backpack in the trunk of my car, stocked with picnic utensils, plates, napkins, etc. This makes roadside picnics quite effortless. Simply pack a hearty salad, some fruit, a thermos of iced tea, and all one needs on a day-trip is the right shady spot.

Here are some of my favorites:

Roasted Vegetable & Potato Salad with Oregano Relish & Feta

1 lb. Red Bliss potatoes, cut in rough 3/4-inch cubes (about 6 cups)
1 medium eggplant, cut into 2-inch sticks, inch-thick
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin, slices cut in half crosswise
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin, slices cut in half crosswise
1 lb. okra, bias-cut into inch slices (about 2 cups)
1 small sweet onion, sliced inch thick
1 head garlic, cloves smashed and peeled
2 T. olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 t. salt; more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5 oz.)

For the relish:

2 T. chopped fresh oregano
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. snipped fresh chives
2 T. chopped scallions
1 cup lime juice
1 cup honey
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a very large roasting pan or ovenproof skillet, toss the potatoes,
eggplant, peppers, okra, onion, and garlic with some olive oil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Roast, stirring often, until evenly browned, 50 to 60 minutes.

Make the relish while the vegetables are roasting. In a large serving bowl, mix the herbs, scallions, lime juice, and honey, and then whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream. Add the roasted vegetables and the feta and toss. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

This salad can be served warm or cool. Yields 6 cups. Serves four to six.
From Fine Cooking Magazine, September 1996

Grated Carrots with Black Olives and Dried Currants

2 T. dried currants
1 cup black olives
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch lengths
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 T. canola oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Soak the dried currants in barely enough warm water to cover for 30 minutes. Pit and coarsely chop 1 cup black olives. Grate the carrots by pushing them lengthwise along the teeth of an old-fashioned grater. Grate one side of the carrot sections until you get down to the woody core. Rotate the carrot a half turn, grate again down to the core, give a quarter turn, and repeat until you've grated all 4 sides and are left with only the core. Discard the cores.

Toss the carrots with the oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt, white pepper, currents, and olives.

Make 4-first-course servings. From Vegetables by James Peterson.

Rice, Tomato, and Olive Salad

1 to 2 cups cooked long-grain white rice, at room temperature
1 tomato, chopped
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 t. salt
1 cup minced red or green onion
20 tart green or oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup minced fresh parsley

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Turn gently with a wooden spoon until well mixed.

Serves 4. The recipe is from The Food and Flavors of Haute Provence, by Georgeanne Brennan. Ms. Brennan notes that in Haute Provence, this salad is made from the previous night's rice and served at midday. The olives give their deep flavor to the otherwise bland rice, and the tomatoes add texture and acidity. Other ingredients can be added, such as chopped sweet peppers, and basil can be used instead of parsley.

This last recipe has become standards in my kitchen. They are so good; I've made it repeatedly over recent years, and am sure that I will again.

Pasta Salad Nicoise

2 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
1 t. salt
2 7-oz. cans solid white tuna packed in water, drained and flaked
1 cup diced bottled roasted red peppers
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup chopped fresh chives or scallions
1 cup chopped pitted black olives
2 T. drained capers
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 t. red-pepper paste (optional)
1 lb. small pasta shells

With a chef's knife, mash garlic and salt into a paste. Transfer to a large bowl and add tuna, peppers, basil, chives or scallions, olives, capers, oil, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper and red-pepper paste. Toss gently to combine. Let stand for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook shells until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water until cool. Press to remove excess water. (If not serving immediately, toss the shells with 1 t. oil. Refrigerate the shells and the tuna mixture separately for up to 1 day.) Add the shells to the tuna mixture and toss gently to combine.

By Kelly Kingsland, from the July 1999 Newsletter

I grew up in a house that used very little electricity, built a house largely using hand tools, and recently moved to a cabin with no electricity at all. I support the breaching of dams, and wish we spent as much federal energy researching and subsidizing alternative energy sources as we did building and dropping bombs. With these perspectives in mind, it surprises me how much I love our Robot Coupe food processor in the Deli.

Robot Coupe plugs ino an outlet, and makes a loudish electric motor sound when turned on (uh!). But its potential in the kitchen is enormous! I especially like to drop tofu down into the whirling blades. Even a firm tofu becomes smooth and creamy when the Robo Cop (as we affectionately call him) does his job.

Food processors have definitely brought a whole new dimension to cooking. I think that my recent unplugging from the power grid has made me consider the use of this electrical apparatus, and while I will probably never have one in my own home, I recognize the convenience that one provides. This month I've decided to focus on some of the things we make in the Deli using our food processor. If you haven't got one, for whatever reason, don't feel left out. Many of these recipes can be made with a wire whisk. Grating the tofu with a cheese grater is a great way to begin the creaming process.

Kelly's Tofu Whip-Up
I use this as a sandwich spread (most often on our Eggplant _Tofu Sandwiches), as a Pizza topping (often on the Vegan), and as a dip for veggies or chips. It's pretty versatile and the ingredients aren't set in stone. The main idea is that using tofu as a base. By adding any flavorings you think go well together, you can create a healthy, yummy, quick product. So as usual, I advise playing around and finding a mix that you like. Here's a base recipe:

1 block tofu
½ tsp. minced Garlic
1/8 c. Tamari
1/8 c. Olive Oil
½ tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/8 c. Red wine
1/8 c. dried Basil
1/8 c. Oregano

Even though you're using a food processor, the garlic needs to be minced before the rest of the ingredients go in—so add it first. Crumble the tofu a bit before adding it. The olive oil adds a creamy quality, but isn't mandatory. Drop all the ingredients into the bowl and press the "on" button. Blend till smooth, taste and adjust seasonings.

Kelly's Tahini Spread
This one also appears on Deli sandwiches, especially with Marinated Tofu.

1c. Tahini
½ bunch Cilantro
1/8 c. Tamari
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1/8 c. Lemon Juice
½-1 c. water

Dump all ingredients into the bowl, push "on" again, and blend till smooth. Tahini has this weird quality of getting thicker at odd times, so the water quantity varies. You may need to add more as you blend. As usual, I encourage using the base ingredients and playing with the flavorings to taste.

Erika's (The Hummus Queen) Roasted Pepper Hummus

4c. cooked Chickpeas
3 cloves minced Garlic
2Tbsp. Tamari
juice from one Lemon
2/3c. Tahini
1/4c. minced Parsley
1/4c. minced Green Onions
1/2c. roasted Red Peppers
Pepper and Cayanne to taste

Heidi's Tofu Chiffon Pie

Crust:

20 crushed chocolate graham crackers and 3 tbsp brown sugar OR 2 1/2 cups cookie crumbs
3 tbsp Spectrum Spread

Mix together and press into greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling:

2 cups chocolate chips
2- 10.5 oz pkgs of Silken Firm tofu
2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt chocolate. In food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour immediately into baked and cooled crust. Refrigerate until cool and well set.

Last month, I also promised the infamous Oatie recipe. Here it is. It comes with a warning however that it is touchy and often doesn't work well at home (yep, you're still going to need buy them). The original recipe was created by Mike Brockman, a baker who worked here so long ago we have almost forgotten his name.

Oaties

6c. Brown Sugar
1# Butter
1c. Canola Oil

Cream in a mixer on high till fluffy

Add 12 Eggs and continue to cream on a lower speed

8 c. Oats
8 c. Oat Flour
1 Heaped Tbsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Baking Soda
5c. Choco Chips
4c. slivered Almonds

Chill dough 24 hours. Scoop and Bake @ 350 for 14 minutes, spinning tray ½ way through. I've entered this recipe at full Deli quantity as it is famous for its inflexibility. I would not try to reduce it, but it does store well in the fridge. Good Luck!

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