cool | Pamela Toman

North African Chickpea Kale Soup

Not truly North African, of course. But it does feature some nice warm spices.

This recipe makes enough to feed 2 people for a couple meals (it's only 4 cups of stock). To feed more people, double it.

Ingredients	Step
1 small onion, diced 1 carrot, diced	Brown in the bottom of a soup pot.
2 cloves garlic, diced	Add the garlic to the onion. Let cook about 1 minute.
¾ t. cumin ¼ t. paprika ¼ t. ginger ⅛ t. allspice ⅛ t. cayenne pinch saffron, lightly crushed 1 bay leaf ½ cinnamon stick	Add. Let cook about 1 minute, stirring.
1 can chickpeas, rinsed	Stir into spiced onion mixture.
4 c. stock	Add. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes with a lid.
4 c. kale, torn to bite-sized pieces	Add & stir. Ensure the kale is submerged. Serve once the kale is cooked to your liking (maybe 5-10 minutes?).

Source: Fat Free Vegan

It's a good amount of work to fold dumplings. But then again... dumplings.

It is worth the extra step to fry them.

Start with the filling so it has a chance to cool completely:

Ingredients	Step
¾ c. brown lentils 2 bay leaves	Boil in a large pot for 30-40 minutes. Season at the end. Drain the lentils and discard the bay leaves.
2 T. butter 1 onion, diced	Cook in skillet until soft.
3 garlic cloves, sliced ¾ t. coriander, ground ½ t. cumin, ground	Add. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
½ c. sundried tomato, rinsed if needed and chopped finely 1 T. soy sauce	Add. Stir to combine. Remove from heat, then add lentils. Season with salt and pepper. Cool completely, then use as filling in dumplings.
	Boil in well-salted water containing a splash of oil. Once the filled pierogi float, set a timer for 1-2 minutes more and then remove them to drain.
1 T. butter	Heat butter in skillet. Fry pierogi.
parmesan	Serve with parmesan.

You'll also need a dough:

Ingredients	Step
450 g. AP flour 1 t. salt ¼ c. / 60 ml EVOO 1 c. warm water	Combine the dry ingredients, combine the wet ingredients, and then mix both together. Knead 4-5 minutes, until smooth and supple. Invert a bowl on top of the dough and let rest 15 minutes.
	Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Roll each to ~⅛" thick. Cut out 2.5" circles, then roll each circle even thinner. (Don't stack them; they'll stick together.)
	Fill pierogi into each dough circle by tablespoonfuls. Press edges to seal. (Using water shouldn't be necessary — the dough should want to stick to itself.)
2 floured towels	Transfer each filled pierogi to a floured towel covered with another floured towel. Then boil in salted water with a bit of oil until they float, plus 1-2 minutes more.

Source: Michal Korkosz in Fresh from Poland

Serve with cranberry sauce, applesauce, and/or sour cream.

Can fry in morning & leave on paper towels at room temperature, then reheat on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees or under a broiler.

1½ pounds of potato serves 4 people.

Ingredients	Step
2 onions	Grate on a box grater. Squeeze excess juices out over sink.
3 lb. boiling potatoes	Grate on a box grater. Rinse & squeeze excess juices out over sink.
oil	Start heating oil in a skillet.
6 T. flour 1 t. salt 3 eggs	Combine, then mix in onions and potato.
	Fry.

Source: Aaron's Aunt Leah

Sounds ridiculous, but it isn't. Goes well with Breton Beans, or with pierogi.

Ingredients	Step
10.5 oz. / 2 c. sauerkraut	Drain and finely chop.
¾ c. milk 1 egg 1 t. caraway 1 t. savory (opt.)	Mix wet ingredients together in a large bowl.
oil	Start heating oil in a skillet
1 c. (130 g.) flour	Add flour to the wet ingredients. Then add chopped sauerkraut.
	When a drop of batter sizzles in the hot oil, pour by 2T-fuls and spread to 3-inch rounds. Cook until the bottoms brown (about 5 minutes), then turn and repeat. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

Source: Michal Korkosz (Fresh from Poland)

It's nice to bake one extra potato so they can be extra-stuffed, and as insurance against breaking one of the shells.

Ingredients	Step
	Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
4 baking potatoes, scrubbed	Bake until tender -- ideally in oven so the skins firm up, but microwave is fine too. If in microwave and they are normal sized, stab all over with a fork then microwave it for 5 minutes, flip, and 5 minutes more.
½ c. milk 1 t. Dijon ¾ c. cheddar, grated ½ t. salt ¼ t. pepper	Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh. Mash it all together. Maybe whip until light & fluffy. Spoon into reserved skins.
¼ c. cheddar, grated	Sprinkle.
	Bake another 10 minutes at 400 degrees, to brown the tops.

source: my grandma