Blog

Summer Recipes from Our Staff

Jul 3, 2014

We have compiled a few of our staff’s favorite, organic recipes for you to try. Take a look and happy cooking!

Sue Chiang, Pollution Prevention Co-Director –East Indian Rice & Lentils Soup (and/or Split Peas)
Ingredients:

  • 3 T Olive Oil
  • ½ to 1 med onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1-1/2 C lentils, etc. (I use a mix of green and red lentils, yellow and green split peas), rinsed
  • 7 C vegetable stock (could use 3 c stock and 4 c water)

Spices:

  • ½ tsp. coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp mustard seed (ground)
  • ¼ tsp fenugreek (ground)
  • ¼ tsp black pepper (ground)
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • pinch cayenne
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • optional: 2 Tbs parsley or cilantro
  • 1 C brown rice

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in large pan over medium heat.
  2. Add onion, sauté 5 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and cook 1 min. more.
  4. Stir in lentils and stock and bring to boil.
  5. Add spices and rice and simmer 35 minutes*.  (Optional: Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro).

*I sometimes use an immersion blender and blend up some of the soup to make it a little thicker.

Laura Hoover, Manager of Corporate and Foundation Relations –Bread Salad for Summertime and Living Easy
*serves 4*
Ingredients:

  • 1 loaf of French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes and toasted into croutons
  • 4-5 heirloom tomatoes (assorted colors and varieties) sliced into ½-inch chunks
  • 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, more or less according to taste
  • Fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 roll of goat cheese (12 oz) crumbled into mid-size pieces
  • Dressing: 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, herbes de provence (whisked)
  • Optional additional ingredients:  Sliced red onion and/or fresh corn

Directions:

  1. Mix tomatoes, garlic, basil, dressing (and optional ingredients) together and let them sit for at least three hours.
  2. Toss in bread and goat cheese before serving at room temperature…preferably with a chilled rosé on a warm, summer evening!

Charles Margulis, Media Director –Veggie Burgers
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 c rice (cooked in tasty stock till mushy)
  • 1/2 c lentils (soaked in water and cooked in tasty stock till soft)
  • yellow onion
  • a couple ribs of celery
  • a couple carrots
  • a few mushrooms
  • finely chopped walnuts and almonds (lightly toasted)

Directions:

  1. Sauté onion, celery, carrots for a few minutes.  Add mushrooms at the end.  Add the nuts.  Mix together.  Run through the food grinder.
  2. Stir in salt and spices to taste (e.g. chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and jalapenos). The mix should hold together well.  If it’s dry, add something tasty and wet (e.g. soy sauce, veggie oil, veggie stock).  If it’s too wet, add some flax seed or something else that’s dry.
  3. Make patties, smooth them into disks about ½” thick (on greased wax paper or parchment or foil) and bake at 375 about 30 minutes.

Finally:  you are now a dirty hippy.  Take a freaking bath, wouldja?

Matt Nevins, Research Assistant –Organic Hot Dogs
Directions:

  1. Buy Nathan’s hot dogs (not veggie dogs-yuck); cook as directed.
  2. Buy organic hot dog buns (organic whole wheat a plus), lightly grill or toast.
  3. Buy your fixins (Deschutes Brewery mustard (ketchup only goes on greasy fries), relish, sauerkraut, onions, organic canned chili if you’re going full-chili dog); spread liberally on dogs.
  4. Eat, preferably in the sunshine at an A’s game.

Laura Liu, Research Assistant –Summer Fruit Crepes
Ingredients:
For crepes:

  • 1 cup sprouted flour of choice
  • 1 T sugar
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1 ½ C organic milk
  • 4 large organic eggs
  • 1 T grass fed butter
  • ½ tsp organic vanilla

For filling/topping:

  • 1 C organic heavy whipping cream
  • 2 T organic powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp organic vanilla

Fruit: organic strawberries, blueberries, peaches, cherries, blackberries, melons, or any other summer fruit(s) of choice!

Directions:

  1. Put a metal bowl in the freezer before you start (for making the whipped cream later).
  2. In another bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the crepes together, either in a blender or with an electric mixer, until bubbles form on top of the batter.
  3. Allow the batter (should be thin) to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, take the metal bowl out from the freezer. Add heavy whipping cream to the bowl and use an electric mixer to whip the cream. When the cream gets thicker, add the vanilla and powdered sugar and continue to mix until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
  5. To make crepes, heat up a stainless steel pan for about 2 minutes, and then butter the pan before adding about 1/3 cup of batter to it. Swirl around and fill the pan, then cook for about 2 minutes. Repeat for the rest of the batter.
  6. Pull the sides away, flip the crepe, and cook the other side for less than a minute.
  7. Take the crepes out of the pan as you cook them and fill or top them with freshly whipped cream and fruit(s) of your choice. Enjoy!

*Other great toppings are: organic chocolate sauce, organic chocolate hazelnut spread, and powdered sugar.

Tiffany Chang, Intern at CEH NYC –Organic Egg Salad
Ingredients:

  • 12 large organic eggs
  • 2 tablespoons organic mayonnaise or vegan mayo (like Nayonaise)
  • 1 tablespoon organic whole-grain mustard
  • 2 stalks organic celery, washed and chopped
  • 1 small organic dill pickle, washed and chopped
  • ¼ organic red onion, washed and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by about an inch. Close the pot tight with a lid.
  2. Bring to a boil and let boil for one minute. Cover; remove from heat, and let sit for 8 minutes.
  3. Prepare a large bowl with ice water, and after the 8 minutes are over, place the eggs inside of it and let sit for 3 minutes. Now you can peel the eggs into a large bowl, and if they’re difficult to peel, don’t worry – that just means they are very fresh!
  4. In the large bowl, add the mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic powder and lemon juice. Chop it all together with your fork, but don’t mush it up too much – you want there to be chunks of eggs.
  5. Add the onion, celery and pickle. Mix it all together lightly and enjoy!

From http://www.organicauthority.com/salads/organic-egg-salad-recipe.html