The recipe collection project

In Higher Ground Cohousing we started the ’Food Block’. One of the projects of this tour-block is to collect recipes from people we meet, interview them, and put it all together in a little cookbook.

In this post you can see and read about the different dishes and the persons who participated with a recipe. More are coming up!

Click on “continue reading” below to see more.

Judith and Barts vegan recipies

Names:         Judith and Bart Clements

Ages:             70 and 80

Where:         Higher Ground Cohousing, Bend, OR

From:            Judith found the recipe in Mark Bittmans vegan cookbook ”Eat Vegan Before 6:00” She has a lot of cookbooks and reads them as other people read novels.

Last time:     Black Bean Tacos with Tangy Cabbage is an every day dish and Judith made it for Bart last Saturday. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups is one of their favorite vegan desserts. Judith had made a batch some days before our visit, and she gave us some so we could taste how great they are.

Why vegan?

When interviewing Judith and Bart about their vegan life-style it was remarkable how well balanced they appeared. In their younger days their choice of food was more a part of an overall political and environmental concern, than what it is today. It felt like they have found peace with the fact that you cannot change anybody but yourself, and that physical health is crucial to human wellbeing. Thus their vegan life-style is mostly a reflection of what is necessary for them to fell good inside.

10 years ago Bart was diagnosed with a serious heart condition, and he soon realized that some thing more than medical treatment had to be done in order for him to regain his former health. Judith started a thorough research on food and health, which resulted in a one-month trial of vegan lifestyle for both of them in October the same year. If they could go vegan in the month of family gatherings and come to terms with not sharing the traditional Thanksgiving dinner abundant in meat with their beloved, they figured they could do it all year around. Luckily it went beyond all expectations. Within a short time Bart’s cholesterol levels decreased and his chest pain disappeared. Put together with Judith’s excellent skills for vegan cooking there was no doubt whether they should continue this new lifestyle. Bart’s body spoke very clear to them – vegan was the way to go!

Judith and Bart still cook the traditional meals for their children and grand children when they invite them over for holydays, but they always make sure that a vegan option is available on the dining table. Just before we ended the interview, Bart made a funny and quite inspiring analogy: Ones choice of food is a little bit like ones choice of religion. It is something private that nobody but your self has the right to question. We should respect each other for what ever we believe in, stay friends across differences, and continue to invite people over for dinner even if it means that not the food, but only a nice evening can be shared.

Black Bean Tacos with Tangy Cabbage

Makes: 4 servings             Time: 30-45 minutes

8 6-inch cirn or whole wheat tortillas

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Black pebber to taste

4 cubs shredded green cabbage

1 red bell pebber, chopped

1 fresh hot green chile (like jalapeno or seranol), minced

½ cup chopped scallions

Juice of 2 limes

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

• Heat the oven to 400 F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Stack the tortillas and wrap them in aluminum foil.  Combine the beans, garlic, chili powder, cumin, half of the salt, and some pepper in a bowl. Mash the mixture with a fork or potato masher; it should still be chunky.
• Spread the mixture out on the prepared pan, drizzle with another tablespoon of oil, and roast, stirring a few times, until the beans are crumbly and crisp in places, 15-20 minutes. Transfer the tortillas to the oven with the beans for their last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Meanwhile, put the cabbage, pepper, chile, scallions, limejuice, cilantro, remaining tablespoon oil and ½ tablespoon salt, and some pepper in a large bowl and toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Divide beans among the warm tortillas; top with the cabbage and serve.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Makes: 12

½ cup earth balance butter

¾ cup crunchy peanut butter (unsweetened and unsalted)

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs or 10 graham cracker squares

¼ cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener

1 cup grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips

¼ cup soy, rice, or nut milk

¼ cup chopped pecans, almonds, or peanuts

• Line a 12-cup-muffin tin with paper liners.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the muffin cups.
• Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted. Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Top with chopped nuts. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

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