Weekly Recipe #133: Vegan Almond Biscotti

by Jessica Lahrs, Open Arms Client Services Assistant and volunteer St. Joseph Worker. 

I decided to make this recipe as a surprise for the women I live with. Who doesn’t want to wake up and have cookies with their coffee? These lasted all about two mornings in my home. That is what happens when you put seven young women in one house! 

Photo courtesy: Xanthia, Food.com

Vegan Almond Biscotti
Adapted from Food.com
(40 Servings)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unbleached cane sugar
3/4 cup smooth unsweetened applesauce
1-3 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups almonds, chopped


Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°F and lightly spray two cookie sheets. (I didn’t have non-stick spray so I used Earth balance butter on the pans to keep the cookies from sticking)

2. In a large bowl, combine together the flours, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, applesauce, oil (1TBS for a hard biscotti, 2-3 TBS for a softer biscotti), and extracts.

4. Stir the sugar mixture into the flour mixture, add the almonds; finish mixing with your hands.

5. With floured hands, shape the dough into two 3-inch wide “logs” about ¾ inch thick, with the ends squared off. (Floured hands are key because the mixture is very sticky!)

6. Place these on the cookie sheets and bake for about 25 minutes.

7. Remove the pans and reduce the oven heat to 300°F.

8. Cool the logs on a rack for around 15 minutes

9. Cut the logs carefully with a sharp knife straight across into ½ inch wide slices.

10. Place the slices cut side down on the cookie sheets and bake 5-10 minutes, or until golden on the bottom.

11. Turn the slices over and cook 5-10 minutes more, or until golden on bottom.

12. Let them cool and enjoy them with a hot cup of coffee or plain!

Weekly Recipe #132: Spinach Zucchini and Potato Soup

by Jessica Lahrs, Open Arms Client Services Assistant and volunteer St. Joseph Worker. 

I made this recipe last night for eight people. It was a big hit even among the picky eaters. It is a nice soup because I was able to set out a plethora of seasonings and people could flavor it anyway they wanted ((people at my house mainly chose Sriracha (hot sauce)). I paired it with some baguettes for dipping. If you are looking for a creative way to use up your garden's zucchini give this a try! 

Photo by Jessica Lahrs

  

Spinach Zucchini and Potato Soup
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
(Servings 10)

Ingredients 7 ½ tbsps extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
4 medium onions, roughly chopped
3 pinches salt
4 medium potatoes, loosely chopped
3 medium zucchini, loosely chopped
10 cups vegetable stock
9 oz. package fresh spinach
2 ½ cups cilantro, loosely chopped
¼ cup lemon juice, or to taste


Instructions:1. In a large pot pour in the olive oil and place over medium heat.

2. Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the garlic and onions and sauté for a few minutes along with a pinch of salt. Just until they soften up a bit.

3. Stir in the potatoes and zucchini. Then add the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft. This will take between ten and fifteen minutes.

4. Add the spinach and stir until they wilt. This will only take about ten seconds. Then add the cilantro.

5. Next step is to puree the mixture. A hand blender would be easiest, but I don’t own one so I used my blender. Blend the mixture until it is smooth.

6. Add lemon juice and salt to taste.


**This soup goes well with many different seasonings. I added a little Sriracha (hot sauce) to mine to give it a little kick. Since it is mainly vegetables it can be flavored anyway you like, go ahead and be creative!

Weekly Recipe #131: Mexican Lentil Stew

by Jessica Lahrs, Client Services Associate and volunteer St. Joseph Worker. She's a graduate from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

I found this stew on a budget recipes website. I adore making soups and stews because they are easily adaptable to whatever you have in your cupboard. This recipe yields a lot of product so be warned! You might want to cut it back if you do not like a lot of leftovers. I also paired it with a leftover baguette baked at Open Arms. It was perfect for soaking up the left over broth. Tortilla chips also go perfect with this dish.

Photo by Jessica Lahrs

Mexican Lentil Stew
Adapted from Budget Bytes
(12 servings)

Ingredients:2 cups dry red lentils (brown works too)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 large carrots, finely chopped
1 cup of corn
Two 14.5 oz. cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
¼ tsp each paprika and cumin
1 tsp each chili powder
10-15 dashes hot sauce
2 medium limes
1 bunch cilantro
* Vegetables can be swapped for whatever you have. I added in the corn and carrots on my own because we had them in the house.


Instructions:
1. In a medium pot, bring the 2 cups of lentils and 4 cups of water to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and let sit with a lid on for about 20 minutes.
2. While the lentils are cooking, begin the stew. Finely dice the onions and cook over medium heat in 2 Tbsp of olive oil. While the onions begin to cook, finely dice the garlic and add to the pot.
3. While the onions and garlic cook, finely chop the celery and then add to the pot. Cook the onions, garlic and celery until they are soft but not brown.
4. Once the onions, garlic and celery are soft, add the cans of diced tomatoes, carrots, corn, vegetable broth, paprika, cumin, chili powder and the hot sauce. Continue to cook over medium heat until hot.
5. At this point, the lentils should have absorbed the water and become soft. Add the lentils and any remaining water to the soup mixture. Stir well.
6. Once the entire mixture is hot, add a handful of chopped cilantro and season (hot sauce or salt and paper) to taste.
7. Cook the stew until the carrots are soft. The cooking time can vary with your taste and texture preferences.
8. Add the juice of the limes to the pot or serve the bowls of stew with a wedge of lime. (I did both because I love the hint of lime in food.)

Weekly Recipe #130: Rossi Cannoli's

This recipes come from Ashley Majer, a nutrition student at St. Catherine University. Ashley became involved with Open Arms last fall when her Food Service Management class participated each week in our morning pack-out. Since then, she's continued volunteering in the kitchen, at the farm and by submitting some of her favorite recipes, like this one below.

ROSSI CANNOLIS

For Shells: 
1 cup all-purpose flour plus any needed for dusting
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup melted butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons sweet Marsala wine
3 eggs
1 large egg white, whipped
About 3 cups coconut oil for frying

Cannoli tubes

For Filling:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 pint whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon almond extract
¼ cup blanched slivered almonds
¼ cup unsalted pistachios
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Maraschino cherries

Preparation of shells:
In a large bowl mix together the sugar, cinnamon, butter and marsala. Add eggs. Slowly add four to the bowl kneading with hands till smooth. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes.

On a lightly flour dusted surface, roll the dough very thin and cut out 4 inch circles. Wrap the circles around the cannoli tubes sealing the ends by slightly finger dabbing with the egg white. Deep fry the dough on the tubes in the coconut oil until golden brown and set on paper towel to cool.

Preparation of filling:
Remove the shell from pistachios. Crush the pistachios and almonds as fine as possible.

In a large bowl stir together the ricotta and sugar until mixed. Add almond extract, almonds and pistachios to the bowl and stir together. Add the whipping cream last as to not over whip. Let the mixture chill for 30 minutes.

Assembly:

Squeeze the filling mixture into your shells. Blot the maraschino cherries to remove excess red liquid, then add cherries to the ends of the canonoli for garnish.