POETRY AND RECIPES FROM 01/20/2022

Our January meeting was about all about Tu B'Shvat! Rivka Ben Daniel, our speaker, taught us lots of interesting things about the holiday itself, about eating vegetarian, presented some recipes, and encouraged us to write poems about our favorite fruits and vegetables. The presentation was excellent! Here are the poems we composed and the recipes she presented.

Ode to a tangerine
I love the tangerine
So easy to peal, so easy to eat
And just the right size for an afternoon treat

Ode to an apricot
Oh, apricot how I love you
A vegetable you are not,
You are an apricot
A fruit so orange, so sweet and delicious
Take out the pit and envelope your lips around its juicy goodness
Not too large; not too small
It’s the perfect fruit for all

Ode to Strawberries
Strawberries, the summer fruit you can eat all year round

Ode to a sweet juicy peach
Fuzzy skin
Golden color embellished with pink overtones
With a gentle slice of a knife
It reveals the delicious supple, juicy flesh
As the sweet nectar runs down my chin
I savor the sweet taste of this distinctive flavor

Ode to 2 fruits and 2 vegetables
Don't eat an unripe persimmon
You'll swear your tongue has hair

Costco has wonderful pineapple
The price went up but it's still fair

Zucchini can be long or round
It can also be yellow or green

Artichokes are a little more work
But the heart is a prize to be seen

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Coconut Fall Soup 

Ingredients for about 10 people
 
1 large onion – chopped to about ½ inch size
About ½ cup canola oil to sauté the onion
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. curry
About 5 large carrots sliced into 1 inch size pieces
2 cups butternut squash—cubed to 1 inch size pieces
I large sweet potato, cubed to 1 inch size pieces
1 can (15 oz) coconut milk. (you can use nonfat, low fat or regular, it does not matter. It depends on what you like)
Salt to taste
 
Preparation:
1.  Heat up the oil. When it is really hot, add the onion and sauté until light brown.
2.  Add black pepper and curry. Mix well.
3.  Add carrots. Cover the pot and let it simmer (no water) for about 5 min
4.  Add potato, squash, and boiling water to cover the veggie.
5.  Simmer for about 20-30 min. until all vegetables are very soft.
6.  Remove from heat and add one can coconut milk and mix
7.  Add salt to taste.
8.  Use hand blender to purée the soup
9.  Add boiling water if the soup comes up too thick.


Quinoa Salad 
 
Ingredients:
 
I pack quinoa
2 Persian cucumbers
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 red onion
1 package Italian parsley
I can black beans
I package cilantro
I package fresh mint leaves.
I cup pine nuts
I cup dry currant or blueberries or small raisons
 
Dressing
½ cup olive oil
½ cup rice vinegar
½ tsp mustard
1 tsp curry
Salt and pepper to taste
 
Mix all ingredients in a closed jar and shake well
 
Preparation
 
Cook Quinoa per direction on the box.
Wait for quinoa to cool down
Chop all vegetables really small
Mix all ingredients together and serve cold
Enjoy a healthy yummy salad!
Rivka
 
Main Dish- Lentils 

Ingredients
1 white onion
2-3 Tbsp oil
1 cup chopped fresh carrots
3 oz tomatoes paste
2 zucchinis
Spices: (quantity is flexible, up to your taste)
1 tsp mustard, 
½ tsp sugar, 
1 tsp cumin 
1 tsp curry, 
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt, 
Juice from ½ lemon 
4 fresh tomatoes
1 bunch cilantro
I cup boeing water
Preparation
Finely chop onion, sauté in hot oil until lightly brown
Add one ingredient at a time, following this order:
chopped garlic
Finely chopped carrots, sauté for about 5 min
Finely chopped zucchinis
tomatoes paste 
mustard, sugar, cumin curry, salt, lemon juice,
chopped tomatoes

Simmer 5 – 7 minutes with 1 cup of boiling water
Simmer for about 20 min.
Add finely chopped cilantro
 
In a different pot cook 1 ½ lentils until soft. (maybe around 20 min?)
Strain water
Add lentils to the mixture above.
Adjust spices and water as needed
Cook for another 5 min.

Serve with white or brown rice
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Enjoy the food for your soul and food for your stomach!

See you next month for cyber-security!