Adapted from The Tasting Room, New York City Ingredients: 2 pints of oyster mushrooms 1 cup sugar snap peas, destringed 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar 4 large eggs chicken stock 1 tbsp butter 1/3 cup crushed hazelnuts 2 tbsp chives, minced salt and pepper 1. Clean mushrooms, using your fingers to brush away dirt and…

These baked stuffed peppers were a good start to jerk chicken. Ingredients: 2 small red bell peppers, halved lengthwise through stem, seeded 1 small box of cherry tomatoes, halved crumbled feta cheese 10 leaves of basil a handful of fresh thyme pepper, olive oil 1. Preheat oven to 400º. In a large bowl, toss tomatoes,…

Ingredients: 16 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes 1 red bell pepper, julienned 1 green bell pepper, julienned 1 orange bell pepper, julienned 2 stalks of scallions, sliced diagonally a handful of cilantro, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups of Chinese cabbage, shredded 1/2 cup peanut oil 2 tbsps sweet chili sauce 2 tbsps…

Ingredients: 1 pound okra, rinsed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 egg 1/3 cup of milk 2 cups dry breadcrumbs 2 cups corn oil a dash of red pepper flakes salt, pepper, frying oil 1. In a bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Use another bowl for the bread crumbs. Toss half of the okra…

I love how rich the green of this soup is. If your guest is adamant about eating soup with meat, brown some bacon and chop to smaller pieces. Add the bacon at the same time you garnish the soup with the asparagus tips. Ingredients: vegetable stock 1 bunch of asparagus, chopped, reserving the tips 1…

Vegetable stock? Even the biggest carnivore would want a simple soup without meat. Ingredients: leeks, greens only, roughly chopped carrot, peeled and chopped celery stalk, chopped parsley branches bay leaf salt and olive oil 1. Sauté leeks in a stock pot with hot olive oil. Add and lightly brown the rest of the ingredients. Add…

I love Everyday Food because they have simple recipes like this pastry snack using the frozen kind. I’m sure Martha would prefer that you make your own pastry shell from scratch and pick raspberries from your own garden, but frozen pastry and raspberries in a jar work, too. Ingredients: 1 box or 6 pieces of…

Vichyssoise, pronounced as vee-shee-swaz, is a fancy term for a thick creamy potato soup flavored with leeks, usually served cold. Ingredients: 3 medium-sized leeks, roughly chopped and thoroughly washed minus the hard green leaves 1 clove garlic, minced 4 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled; 2 cut into smaller chunks and the other julienned 3 medium-sized…

A very nutritious and green salad that children may hate. Ingredients: 2 pounds of fresh green beans, ends snapped 1 small box of frozen lima beans 2 tbsps fresh tarragon, finely chopped, plus more for garnish 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar 3 tbsps Dijon mustard 1 shallot,…

This is one of my mother’s favorite side dishes adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. Ingredients: 1 block of extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 16 equal pieces half a package of peeled baby carrots 4 scallions, sliced thinly, lengthwise 2 tbsps vegetable oil 3 tbsps soy sauce 2 tbsps rice vinegar 2 tbsps sesame oil…

Ratatouîa, also known as ratatouille, is a traditional French vegetable stew of tomatoes, eggplant and bell peppers. Ingredients: 1 medium-sized eggplant, peeled and diced 2 zucchinis, green and yellow, diced 2 bell peppers, red and yellow, seeded and chopped 1 can of diced tomatoes 1 onion, roughly chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp dried…