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J: When I was in San Francisco, I was reading some of Denise's cookbooks and two that she had were particularly good. The first was _The Greens Cookbook_, from the Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. I actually went there last month and it was terrific. It is all vegetarian, but not hippie-tofu-brown-rice vegetarian. They have real dishes that have no meat. The cookbook is really good too, so I bought it. The second book was _Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home_. I have _The Moosewood Cookbook_ but this one was better - more ethnic stuff and more flavorful. So, I bought it too. I'm not sure when I made this meal, but it was definitely after my trip to San Francisco so it had to be this year; I'm not too far behind. Both dishes are from _Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home_. I'll type them in verbatim, because that's how I made them. Greek Diced Vegetable Salad 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced 1 large ripe tomato, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 scallion, finely sliced or minced 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive iol juice of 1/2 lemon (or more to taste) 1 large garlic clove, pressed 1/4 tsp dried oregano, crumbled 8 black Calamata olives, whole or potted and sliced salt and ground black pepper to taste romaine lettuce leaves crumbled or grated feta cheese (optional) Combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, scallions, parsley, oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and olives in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper, and toss well. Although you can serve the salad immediately, it is even better if it sits for about 30 minutes before serving. Mound the salad on the lettuce leaves, and top with feta if you like. [I doubled this, at least. I also chopped the letuce and mixed it with the rest of the stuff, after letting it sit with the dressing for about 30 minutes.] Winter Vegetable Stew 2 onions, chopped (about 2 cups) 2 celery stalks, chopped 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 medium carrots 2 parsnips 2 large potatoes 10 oz green beans (about 2 cups trimmed and halved) 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill (1 tsp dried) 1 Tbsp chopped fresh marjoram (1 tsp dried) 1 cup beer or vegetable stock 1 1/2 cups water 1 green or red bell pepper 2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 6 oz) 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard (or more to taste) 1 Tbsp molasses salt and ground black pepper to taste In a heavy pot, saute the onions and celery in the oil until the onions are translucent. While the onions saute, peel and coarsely chop the carrots and parsnips. Stir them into the pot. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes, and stem and halve the green beans. Add them to the sauteing vegetables along with the dill, marjoram, beer or stock, and water. Bring the stew to a low boil. Coarsely chop the bell pepper, and stem and slice the mushrooms; stir them into the pot. Add the mustard and molasses and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve. [I doubled this. I needed to add a little more liquid. I used a combination of beer and stock. Also, the parsnips were a little overpowering, so I'd cut down on them next time.] Bruce