Recipe for Stuffed Tomatoes with Quinoa

• 4 tomatoes
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup fresh spinach, sliced
• 1 large banana pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon good Italian seasoning
• 1/2-1 teaspoon lemon juice, to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Garnish: Shaved Parmesan cheese, optional

Combine quinoa, water, and garlic in a small pot. Cook according to manufacturers directions. (Likely like this: get to boil, turn down to low, simmer until the water is gone, about 15 minutes.)

Meanwhile, cut the tops off the tomatoes and put them aside. Remove the seeds and flesh from the inside of the tomato. Reserve this for the quinoa.

Heat the oven to 350°F. When the quinoa is cooked, lightly grease a small oven-safe dish with sides and place the tomatoes inside. Add lemon juice, seasonings, banana pepper, spinach, and tomato flesh to the quinoa and stir to combine. Stuff the quinoa mixture into the tomatoes, mounding it. Replace tomato tops and bake for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes are heated through. Remove the tomato tops and garnish with shaved Parmesan.

Recipe for Morrocan Quinoa Salad

• Quinoa about 1.5 cups uncooked
• 1 cube frozen celery onion mixture
• 1 lb. carrots
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 8 olives, sliced
• 3 banana peppers, sliced
• 1/8 cup red onions, diced just large enough to appreciate the color
• 1.5 teaspoons cumin
• .5 1 teaspoon herbed salt
• 3 T Olive Oil
• 1 T lemon juice
• Parsley or cilantro garnish

Slice carrots equal size and put in microwave safe bowl. Add the cube of frozen celery instead of additional water. Microwave on high 4-5 minutes until carrots are easily pierced with a fork. Remove bowl from microwave, add half the cumin and all the garlic. Stir. In serving bowl, put quinoa, add carrots scraping liquid and flavors out, too. Add olives, onions, and peppers. Stir. Drizzle olive oil, lemon, and sprinkled and remaining cumin salt over top. Stir. Serve room temp to warm. Garnish if desired.

Recipe for Baked Eggrolls

• 6 Eggroll wrappers
• 2 cups very thinly cut cabbage
• 2 small carrots, julienned
• 1/2 cup onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pice Frichik, diced (optional)
• 1 teaspoon each, garlic and onion powder
• 3 Tablespoons or less olive oil, divided
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked

I've learned in my travels that different people may use different amounts of oil for the same tasks. At most, I would use 3 Tablespoons. Hopefully, we would all use less.

Put cabbage, carrots, garlic, and optional veggie meat in a bowl. Stir-fry onions in 1 Tablespoon or less olive oil. Add vegetables and seasoning. Stir fry the vegetables down.

Pull out eggroll wrappers and lay on plate at an angle. Dish large spoonful into wrapper. Fold the corner closest to you up. Wet remaining sides with dash of water. Fold corners on sides in and corner farthest from you toward you. Brush with remaining olive oil and lay seems down on jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Bake on 425' for 15 minutes, turning halfway through. Serve over rice.

My preferred sauce recipe is taken from Moosewood Restaurants Cooks at Home--lime, ketchup and soy sauce. Since I didn't have lime, I mixed 1/2 tablespoon tahini in 3 tablespoons soy sauce. It does have a strong flavor, but I think it works.

Cooking a Spaghetti Squash

Stab a few holes in the squash and microwave for 60 seconds to soften skin. Cut squash in half from stem to base. Seed the squash. Place face-down in a microwave-safe dish, add 1 inch of water, and cover with a dish towel. Microwave for about 8 minutes, depending on the size of the squash and the power of the microwave.

Let the squash cool upon removal from the microwave because it will burn your hands. Turn the squash over and scrape the inside out with a fork and scoop into an oven-safe bowl. The "strings" resemble spaghetti--hence the name.

In the bowl with the squash, sprinkle 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp. sea salt (or more to taste), 2 Tab. unsalted butter (or margarine of choice), and 1 Tab. dried parsley. I only needed to "bake" my squash in the oven just after I turned it off from the 400 degrees it was heated at to cook muffins. You can cook the squash at about 350 until the garlic is cooked and the edges of the squash brown, which is great for color.

For the primavera, I cooked fresh and frozen veggies (like julienned carrots, sliced onions, broccoli florets, and bell pepper sticks) in oil and added the leftover spaghetti squash to cook through.

Roasted Vegetable Salad

From watching Marsha Bloom

• Select equal portions of fresh sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and beets.
• Cut the brussel sprouts in half, peel the potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces, cut beets as well.
• Place top rack in oven just above center and the second rack a notch or two below for space to get a second pan in and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Grease jelly roll pans with a light coat of spray. (Marsha had only two pans, and cooked the brussel sprouts first. Again, this is the beauty of a vegetable for a large group that doesn't have to be served hot.)
• Spread each vegetable individually and evenly over pan.
• Sprinkle olive oil semi-generously (although excess will not hurt) over the vegetable.
• Sprinkle fresh ground black pepper and salt evenly over vegetables.
• Top with three cloves each pan of chopped fresh garlic.
• Chop fresh rosemary (about 3 long sprigs per pan) and sprinkle around pan.
• Place pans in oven until bottom of vegetables are golden brown. The time varies depending on the veggie.
• Serve divided, but in the same bowl.