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Easter Lunch By Nava Atlas
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Fried Potato Cakes With Tomatoes
Make-Ahead Suggestions For This Menu A day ahead:
About The Author Nava Atlas is the author and illustrator of more than eight vegetarian cookbooks. The best known are Vegetariana, Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons, Vegetarian Express and Vegetarian Celebrations. Her recent cookbooks include The Vegetarian Family Cookbook (2004), and The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet (2001). Her articles on healthy cooking with natural foods have appeared in Vegetarian Times, Veggie Life, Great Life, and other natural health magazines and newspaper features.In addition to her website In A Vegetarian Kitchen www.vegkitchen.com/ , Nava is working on a new book on website, Every Day Traditions, which offers food for thought on perspective, balance, and lifestyle philosophies. . Nava has also written humor and is active as a fine artist. Her work has been shown in galleries and museums around the country. She enjoys exploring, hiking, reading, daydreaming, the ocean and chocolate. Her home is in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, where she lives with her husband and two school-aged sons. Ed. Note: For more wonderful vegetarian recipes and healthy lifestyle suggestions, visit Nava Atlas's website:
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The movable Christian festival of
Easter, celebrated on the Sunday following the paschal full moon, is above all a day of
rejoicing. The parades, the hunts for colorful, decorated eggs, festooned bonnets, among
other symbols of the holiday, all add up to the marvelous certainty that spring has
arrived. In celebrating the resurrection of Christ, Easter carries many connotations of renewal of life. Brightly painted eggs are symbols of the seed of life, representing fertility; the Easter rabbit, purported to have laid the eggs that children search for in the grass, originated from the idea that rabbits are prolific and, thus, also appropriate symbols of fertility. The festive meal following Easter services marks the end of the austere Lenten period. Though the centerpiece of the traditional American Easter dinner, the ham, will be notably absent from the vegetarian table, the fresh produce of early spring is emphasized in vegetarian menus. This will enliven the palate dulled during the lull between the early winter holidays and the eagerly awaited arrival of this holiday. In choosing A Pennsylvania Dutch Easter Lunch, I wanted to include one with a basic American theme. Down-to-earth Pennsylvania Dutch cookery fills the bill nicely. A friend who grew up as an Indiana Mennonite (a branch of the Dutch with more progressive ways than the Amish, yet still a solid, salt-of-the-earth people), recalled that the meal following church services was not terribly out of the ordinary, save for the ham. The latter has been eliminated from this menu, of course, but included are some very typical Dutch dishes that he remembers as likely accompaniments. The only dish related to Easter per se, here, is the first, Beet-dyed Eggs, in which the magenta color of the egg whites plainly states that this day is out of the ordinary. Ed. Note: All of the following recipes are from Vegetarian Celebrations ~ Festive Menus For Holidays And Other Special Occasions, Updated, ©1996 by Nava Atlas.
7 hard-boiled eggs, peeled Place the whole, peeled eggs in a shallow container and cover with beet juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight. To serve, cut the eggs open (the white will be stained a glorious red, as will be part of the yolk) and arrange on a plate. Garnish with the parsley. Makes 7 Servings. Per Serving: 80 Cal; 6 g Total Fat; 1 g Carb; 213 mg Cholesterol; 71 mg Sodium; 7 g Protein. Exchanges: 1 Medium-Fat Meat; 1 Fat.
2-1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour Preheat the oven to 425°F. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Work the margarine in with a pastry blender or with fingertips until blended throughout. Work in the buttermilk, a bit at a time, first with a wooden spoon and then with hands, to form a soft dough. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour. Pinch the dough off in small balls, enough to allow 2 biscuits per guest (i.e., 12 balls for 6 guests, etc.) Flatten the balls slightly to form nice biscuit shapes, and arrange on a lightly oiled (or vegetable spray-coated) baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Transfer to a plate and serve hot. Makes 7 Servings (14 Small Biscuits). Per (2-Biscuit) Serving: 83 Cal; 1 g Total Fat; 14 g Carb; 1 mg Cholesterol; 188 mg Sodium; 3 g Protein. Exchanges: 1 Starch.
FRIED POTATO CAKES WITH
TOMATOES Potato Cakes: 4 or 5 medium potatoes Fried Tomatoes: 2/3 cup cornmeal *Note: Optional salt not included in nutritional analysis Cook or microwave the potatoes until they are about half done (a knife can be inserted with some resistance). Peel and then grate them in a food processor or on a coarse hand grater. In a mixing bowl, combine them with the eggs, milk, flour, onion, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly. Spray the bottom of a heavy, nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking oil spray. Spoon enough of the potato mixture onto the skillet to make 3-inch cakes. Fry on both sides over medium heat until golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in a covered casserole dish as the rest are being made. Combine the cornmeal and thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spray additional oil onto the same skillet. Dredge the tomato slices in the cornmeal mixture and fry over moderate heat on both sides until the breading is golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Arrange the potato cakes and tomato slices on a platter, either in overlapping rows or on opposite sides of the platter. Serve warm. Makes 7 Servings. Per Serving: 196 Cal; 2 g Total Fat; 38 g Carb; 61 mg Cholesterol; 44 mg Sodium (w/o optional salt); 6 g Protein. Exchanges: 2 Starch; 1 Veg.
2 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced Place the cucumber slices in a colander. Salt them lightly and let them stand for 30 minutes. Pour them out onto several thicknesses of paper towels, and pat out as much moisture as possible. Combine the cucumbers with the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss to combine thoroughly. Transfer to a serving container to serve. Makes 7 Servings. Per Serving: 46 Cal; 2 g Total Fat; 5 g Carb; 9 mg Cholesterol; 324 mg Sodium; 2 g Protein. Exchanges: 1 Veg.
CORN RELISH 1-1/2 cups cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels (from *Note: Optional salt not included in nutritional analysis Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pack into 1 or 2 glass jars with lids. Make up to 2 days ahead of time, or at least 2 hours before serving. Makes about 2 Cups. Per (approx. 1/3 cup) Serving: 55 Cal; 00 g Total Fat; 13 g
Carb; 00 mg Cholesterol; 2 mg Sodium (w/o optional salt);
SHOOFLY PIE Crumb Mixture: 3 Tbsp reduced-fat margarine, softened and cut into bits Filling: 1/2 cup molasses 1 Basic Pastry Crust (recipes follows) Preheat oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the crumb mixture. Work the margarine into the mixture with a pastry blender or the tines of a fork until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. In another bowl, dissolve the molasses in 1/2 cup boiling water. Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir until it dissolves. Add about 2/3 of the crumb mixture and stir together until the crumbs are moistened; the mixture need not be smooth. Pour into the prepared crust and top with the remaining crumbs. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the crust and crumbs are golden and the filling is set. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 8 Servings. Per Serving: 264 Cal; 5 g Total Fat; 51 g Carb; 00 mg Cholesterol; 294 mg Sodium; 4 g Protein. Exchanges: 3 Starch; 1 Fat. BASIC PASTRY CRUST 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour To make by hand, combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut the margarine into the flour with a pastry blender, 2 knives, or the tines of a fork until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Work the ice water in, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together. Shape into a smooth ball. To make in a food processor, place the flour and salt in the container fitted with the metal blade or the dough blade. Add the margarine and pulse on and off several times until it "disappears." Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, through the feed tube, until the dough masses together. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes to an hour. Roll the dough out evenly into a circle on a well-floured board until large enough to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Line the pan with the crust and trim the edges. Crimp the edges and fill as directed in recipes. Makes 8 Servings. Per Serving: 75 Cal; 3 g Total Fat; 11 g Carb; 00 mg Cholesterol; 191 mg Sodium; 2 g Protein. Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1/2 Fat.
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