My menu plan for Monday night required me to feed 20 for a church function. The only stipulation when serving is that it needs to be vegan-friendly because of allergies of some of the participants. I prepared the soup a day in advance because I didn't expect much time between work and the serving time. I was able to purchase the bread, lettuce, and cucumbers across the street and next door to my office, respectively.
The black bean burger recipe from Parents Magazine was so fabulous, I figured the recommended switch to chickpeas or garbanzo beans would also be a success. After all, we love the falafel recipe from a previous issue of the magazine.
Recipe for Dilled Yogurt Dressing
2 (heaping) Tablespoons plain yogurt
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/8 teaspoon herb salt
Whisk together ingredients. Pour over and have extra on the side of wraps and salads. I have been using an herb salt we acquired on one of our trips. I'm sure regular table salt would work just fine.
I won a gift pack from Right at Home and SC Johnson! I was quite excited as I rarely win anything. Most everything in the box was something I would use regularly. . .except the Ziplock containers. We like glass. I took the freebie supply and this great post and came up with a foodie gift plan that I intend to use regularly from now on.
Ranch Dressing a la Claire
1 C mayonnaise
1 t onion powder
½ t garlic powder
¼ t celery seed powder
dash red pepper
1 t lemon juice
½ t sugar (optional)
1 t sweet basil
2 t parsley
1 t chives
¼ t salt or to taste
¼ C milk or ½ C milk
Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, and dry ingredients. Add ¼ cup milk for dip or ½ cup milk for salad dressing. This makes a good dressing for cole slaw.
Variation: 1,000 Island: Add ¼ cup dill pickles, finely chopped and 1 tablespoon ketchup.
Pastry Shell
1 C sifted all-purpose flour
¾ t salt
¾ t Sugar (optional)
¼ C vegetable oil
2 T skim milk
Preheat oven to 475° (very hot), or according to recipe for filling. Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Combine oil and milk in measuring cup and pour all at once over flour mixture. Stir with fork until mixed.
Shape into a ball, place on sheet of waxed paper, flatten, and cover with another sheet of waxed paper. Roll out with a rolling pin (dampen table top if necessary to prevent slipping) and peel off top paper. Turn dough upside-down over pie pan, peel off bottom paper, and fit dough into pan. Trim. If dough tears, mend without moistening. Flute edge. If crust is to be baked before filling is added, prick pastry all over with a fork and bake about 10 minutes. Cool before adding filling. If filling is to be baked with pie, do not prick crust, and follow directions of your recipe. (For a 2-crust pie, make double amount of pastry and divide into two balls.) Makes one 8- or 9-inch pie crust.
Shortcake Biscuits
1 3/4 C sifted all-purpose flour
4 t baking powder
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/2 C butter or margarine
2/3 C milk
Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cream of tartar. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and stir with fork until soft dough is formed. Turn out on lightly floured board and pat or roll lightly until dough is 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 2-inch biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Yield: 16 biscuits.
Waffles
1 C sifted al-purpose flour
1 ½ t baking powder
1 ½ t sugar
½ t salt
2 eggs
¾ C milk
2 T cooking oil
Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Beat eggs until thick; add milk and oil. Add flour mixture and blend until smooth. Pour 1 cup batter onto preheated grid. Close unit and bake until light goes off. Yield: 4 large waffles.
This is another one of my mother's popular recipes. She makes her own ranch dressing. Because it doesn't have a strange aftertaste that sometimes comes with buttermilk ranch, isn't as salty, and can be made dairy-free, it's quite popular. In fact, I know people who don't like ranch dressing at all who each this dressing. It also works great as a dip. The dip in the photograph was slightly thicker because I didn't add milk due to known food allergies of the guest of honor.
Recipe for Ranch Dressing a la Claire
1 C mayonnaise
1 t onion powder
½ t garlic powder
¼ t celery seed powder
dash red pepper
1 t lemon juice
½ t sugar (optional)[I don't ever add this.]
1 t sweet basil, dried
2 t parsley, dried
1 t chives, dried or fresh
¼ t salt or to taste
¼ C milk or ½ C milk (optional or soy, if preferred)
Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, and dry ingredients. Add ¼ cup milk for dip or ½ cup milk for salad dressing.
For 1,000 Island Dressing: Add ¼ cup dill pickles, finely chopped and 1 tablespoon ketchup.
This is a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a Mediterranean food store attached. It has a Greek menu and has been voted Orlando's Best for a few years, with framed advertisements above the cash register. However, when you look at the plastic table covers with pictures of different kinds of pasta and the "silk" leaves and plastic grape clusters hanging from the ceiling, you might get slightly confused. Paul had a falafel sandwich in a great thick bread wrap. I had the hummus and tabouleh sandwich. Both had lettuce and tomato added with a creamy cucumber dressing coating every bite.
