Lent Without Lent-ils

Serves: about 4

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1 14.5 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 15.5 oz cans black beans, unrinsed
• 1 small 12 oz bag frozen corn
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• Dash of cumin
• Dash of red chili powder
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Dice onion and thinly slice jalapeno. Add all ingredients to a large pot, and stir them together to mix. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Serve just moments after boiling, or turn down and let simmer for a few minutes to allow flavors to combine.

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion
• 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp Coleman’s dry mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• Olive oil
• 1 15.5 oz can red kidney beans, unrinsed
• 1 14.5 can roasted tomatoes
• Butter
• 4 green bell peppers
• 2 handfuls raw spinach

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place peppers on a large baking sheet, on their sides. Pour a small amount of olive oil into a bowl and use a brush to coat all sides of the peppers with olive oil. Once the oven is preheated, put the peppers in for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, flip the peppers onto the other side. The skin of the peppers should look slightly blistered. Cook peppers another 20 minutes.

While the peppers cook, pour beans and tomatoes into a pot and cook at medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

Melt butter in a frying pan and add sliced onions. Cook on medium heat, stirring the onions and butter until the onions are softened.

Take two handfuls of raw spinach and tear into small pieces. Add this to the onion, mixing it in. (Don’t forget to keep stirring the bean/tomato mix.)

After the beans have boiled, turn the heat down to low. In a small bowl, mix balsamic vinegar, thyme, cumin, ginger, mustard, and garlic. Add this mix to the beans, as well as the onion and spinach.

After removing green peppers, allow them to cool, then slice the top just below the stems from each pepper. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and membranes inside, careful not to poke a hole through the interior. Set peppers upright on plates. Use your fingers to pull them open if needed, and fill each pepper with the bean mixture.

Serves: 3-5

Ingredients:

• • 1 orange bell pepper
  • 2 yellow squash
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 8 oz packages whole baby bella mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 28 oz crushed tomato
  • 18 oz tomato paste
  • 22 peeled pearl onions
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1 cup water, adding more until desired thickness

Unique Tool used in the Kabob recipe:

• Skewers

Kabobs:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Core and slice the orange bell pepper into large squares. Slice the onion into large square pieces as well.

Cut and discard the ends of each squash. Slice somewhat thinly.

Place the sliced vegetables inside a large mixing bowl. Pour olive oil over them and mix until each vegetable is thoroughly covered.

Place vegetables on skewer in this order: squash, onion, mushroom, pepper. Repeat until the skewer is full, and place in a row on a large cookie sheet.

Cook 15 minutes, then remove. Flip the skewers over, careful not to lose any vegetables, and cook another 20 minutes.

Tomato Soup:

Pour crushed tomato, tomato paste, peeled pearl onions, garlic, vegetable broth, cayenne pepper, oregano, and water into a large pot. Heat until boiling, then bring to a simmer, stirring frequently.

Let cook until pearl onions are soft, adding water if necessary.

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 3.2 oz Buckwheat soba noodles (available in the international section of most grocery stores)
• 1 small 12 oz bag frozen broccoli
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• Ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• Butter

Peel and slice onion. Core out bell pepper from the top, and slice evenly.

Boil water for broccoli in one pot, and water for soba in another pot according to package directions. Add ingredient to its respective pot after water begins to boil, cooking soba for 5 minutes and broccoli until tender.

While broccoli and noodles are boiling, pour some olive oil into a frying pan. Add garlic, onion, and bell pepper, and cook on medium heat. Use a spatula to turn these frequently so they don’t burn.

After boiling, strain broccoli and soba. Pour the broccoli into the pot with the soba. Pour soy sauce into the pot and stir, then add ginger and stir again. Add vegetable mix from your pan, and stir again.

Add butter to a pan, and melt. Break both eggs into the pan, and fry them. Add pepper to taste, but do not add salt as the soy will already taste very salty.

Serve the soba mix into two bowls, and put one egg on top of each dish. Break the yolk and enjoy!

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• Butter
• 1 zucchini
• Olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 salmon fillet
• Salt
• Pepper

Unique tool used in this recipe:

• Zoodle slicer (you can serve the fish without zoodles, or buy pre-sliced vegetable noodles in the produce section of your grocery store)

Fish:

Smash blueberries in a small mixing bowl. Add lemon juice, thyme, and a small slice of butter. Stir to mix the blueberry-lemon sauce.

Place salmon in a large plastic bag with the blueberry-lemon sauce, and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Place a frying pan on the stovetop, and coat the inside lightly with olive oil. Heat to medium, then place salmon skin side up with sauce into the pan, making sure the salmon is fully coated in sauce. You may use a basting brush to coat it completely, if needed.

Leave the salmon to cook in the pan for 6 minutes without touching it.

Flip salmon over and cook another 4 minutes, again basting to completely coat in the sauce around it. When done, the fish should fall apart easily.

Zoodles:

Cut the ends off zucchini, then cut in half. Peel the zucchini like you would a potato. Use zoodle slicer to shave zucchini into zoodles.

Place a frying pan on the stovetop, and coat the inside lightly with olive oil. Add garlic to pan, then heat to medium.

Add 1/2 tbsp of butter. After melting, add zoodles, using spatula to coat them in the butter. Salt and pepper to your taste as they cook . When done, the zoodles will be soft.