What's for Dinner?

• Appetizers- Check out the party foods, like the Fruit Kabobs with Pineapple Coconut Dip. The homemade Ranch dip for the Veggie Tray is also a hit.

• Soup Recipes- If you're cooking light, the Barley Mushroom Soup's a great choice, as is the Black Bean Soup. An upcoming addition will be a creamy potato soup recipe that we call Potato Swiss Soup. (Meanwhile, you can get that recipe and others in the Milk and Honey cookbook).
  

• Salads- The recipe for Broccoli Salad may be a simple recipe, but it's so popular. The German-style potato salad recipe is nice for a change. One of the all-time favs is the 7 Layer Salad; quite a classic. My own favorite is the Pecan Pear Salad. The salad dressing recipe for that uses poppy seeds and a sweet/sour base. Delish!

• Bread Recipes- My specialty is the cornbread recipe, as you can tell. I like that it's whole grain (if you get it from the health food store).
  

• Pasta Salad Recipes- If you like using whole foods, check out the Sesame Noodles, made with whole grain buckwheat noodles. More recipes can be found in the Milk and Honey cookbook; one of the most popular is a cold pasta salad recipe called Pasta Parmesan. I'll probably post that recipe here too, at some point.

• Side Dishes and Sauces- These can make a meal, especially when the main course is simple. Many side dishes are vegetarian recipes; serve these and the non-meat eaters in the group won't go hungry. I have a few pilaf recipes here: The Hawaiian Rice Pilaf is a treat, made with coconut, pineapple, and macadamias. The Wild Rice Pilaf a favorite as well. Also: The Hollandaise Sauce really adds elegance, great for fish.
  

• Dinner Ideas- You'll find some quick and easy recipes for dinner, like the Ginger Chicken and the Tri-Tip Roast (in a simple marinade). Another dinner idea, great for company, is the Chicken Stuffed with Wild Rice. I love it. You'll find one or two chicken salad recipes too. I plan to add a few pork loin roast recipes soon; a great dinner idea when pork loin is on sale!
  

• Vegetarian Recipes- I'm partial to the Black Bean Enchiladas. I came up with a killer enchilada sauce recipe, using paprika (as opposed to tomato) for the base. I've just posted a hummus recipe too; perfect as a dip or sandwich spread.
  

• Dessert Recipes- I've included my best cake recipes, made with genoise cake and various frostings; more will be coming this fall. The Chocolate Raspberry Torte is for chocoholics, but I also like it because I don't have to worry about the cake "falling". It's so dense, you don't need to worry!
  

Milk and Honey

From the Land of Milk and Honey, is available for $13.95 from Winepress Publishers, or Amazon.com. As a Christian devotional and cookbook in one, scripture and commentary are included, plus eighty-five recipes (including many favorites from The New Deli); photographs too. It makes a great gift. Plenty of the cookbooks are still in stock; order now for Christmas!

The New Deli is Cooking

Fruit Dip Recipe

Make an easy party appetizer by spearing fresh fruits onto bamboo kabob sticks. Make a great dip using whipped cream cheese flavored with coconut and frozen pineapple juice concentrate. Packed with flavor! Good for spearing: Pineapple, strawberries, mango, and melons. They won't turn brown on you; they look great and taste great.

Hummus Recipe

Within days of Trader Joes's Pinole store opening their doors, one of my friends had brought in some of that Trader Joe's hummus dip. Everyone loved it, and I knew: It's time to start making more hummus! Check out the hummus recipe to the right, under appetizers, and under the vegetarian recipes.


Jello Salad Recipe

The last time I made a jello salad with the typical boxed jello mix, I was pretty disappointed. So I went back to my favorite: A naturally-flavored jello salad recipe using frozen fruit juice concentrates. I add unflavored gelatin; stricter vegetarians might prefer to use agar agar powder. The same amount of the powder can be substituted for the gelatin. With healthy recipes like this, I can even give it to my little granddaughter!

Cold Pasta Salad Recipe

The Angel Hair Pasta with marinated mushrooms was always a big hit at our deli. It's convenient that it can be served cold, although a few people have been known to heat it up, topping with some parmesan. Either way, it's a treat. It's full of flavor; after coating the noodles lightly with olive oil, they get tossed in a saucy mix of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Fancier cooks would call it a reduction sauce, which makes it sound complicated. But it's not, really! You're just boiling some of those juices down so they'll be a little thicker and cling to the pasta. Deluxe.

Tomato Basil Soup Recipe

One of the many soup recipes we use at our deli is this creamy one. The original recipe was shared in an old Bon Appetit magazine my mom had on hand; it was the signiture soup of a renowned eatery. I streamlined the recipe, foregoing the original directions of simmering fresh-squeezed orange juice in with the soup, and used a touch of frozen orange juice concentrate instead. The full flavor of the delicate, fresh garden basil comes through by adding it just before serving time.



 Ginger Chicken Recipe

Whenever I'm cooking for a crowd, I think of this quick and easy recipe. It's simple to make a big batch of it; you can marinate the chicken right in a few zip-lock bags, and cook it up in the oven on serving day, or on the grill. We made countless pounds of this for our oldest son's wedding, and I think everyone was happy. It's usually the first thing to disappear...


Brownies, Brownies, Brownies

Some of my best chocolate recipes are simple recipes, like for Mint Chocolate Brownies. A lot of folks like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate in the Peanut Butter Brownies. Check them both out!



Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Some folks have called these Oatmeal Millet Cookies "Bird Seed Cookies". Then those birds have it made! I like this recipe because it uses whole foods: Millet, sunflower seeds, nuts, raisins, and whole-grain oatmeal. It's actually wheat-free too, which can be nice for a change.

Appetizers

• Belgian Endive, Stuffed
• Fruit Kabobs w/Pineapple Coconut Dip
• Hummus Dip
  
• Pesto Torta
• Red Pepper Tartlets
• Stuffed Mushrooms
• Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
• Veggie Tray w/Ranch Dip