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Chinese Vegetable Soup

Chinese Vegetable Soup by John Spottiswood

I love to throw this recipe together when I am in the mood for a healthy and spicy meal. Just about every time I go to an Asian grocery store I end up picking up the ingredients for this tasty soup. This is not from any book...just pieced together from the great bowls of soup I've had in hole-in-the-wall chinese restaurants in the…

3 votes
54013 views
Harira Soup

Harira Soup by John Spottiswood

This is the traditional soup served at sunset to break the daily fast observed during the 30 days of Ramadan. Recipes vary from family to family throughout Morocco and the rest of North Africa. I'm particularly fond of this version. If you have not had this before, you MUST try it. It is truly delicious!

6 votes
24254 views
Easy Persian Rice in a Rice Cooker

Easy Persian Rice in a Rice Cooker by John Spottiswood

Admittedly, this doesn't capture the crunch outside of the normal method of making persian rice. But if you are just looking for a fluffy and buttery rice to serve with a stew or tagine, this works wonderfully and is super easy.

3 votes
13492 views
Garlic Ginger Green Beans

Garlic Ginger Green Beans by John Spottiswood

These are an excellent, healthy side dish to any grilled meat. I highly recommend them with the Chinese BBQ chicken recipe below, but honestly these would go well with just about anything. Unfortunately these were tapped out long before our chicken, so make more than you think you need. They are great the next day too!

6 votes
6284 views
St. Patrick's Day Irish Champ

St. Patrick's Day Irish Champ by John Spottiswood

This is a traditional Northern Irish dish of mashed potatoes with milk and sliced green onions. I thought it was a delicious under our St. Patrick's Day Salmon and Leeks recipe. The leeks and green onions really went well together. That said, the green onion flavor is quite strong so I would caution against serving this with…

4 votes
12479 views
Yellow Split Peas with Vegetables (Dal Takari)

Yellow Split Peas with Vegetables (Dal Takari) by John Spottiswood

Wow, this is such a wonderful dish and so easy to cook! The keys to this dish are the yellow lentils, fried potatoes, and cumin seed. You can change out the other vegetables (spinach is a nice addition as it adds to the creaminess of the dish). Make sure you fry the cumin seed and potatoes over sufficiently high heat that the cumin…

7 votes
7181 views
Japanese Spinach Salad, Ohitashi

Japanese Spinach Salad, Ohitashi by John Spottiswood

This is a delicious way to consume large quantities of one of the healthiest foods on the planet...spinach! I came to love this when I lived in Japan from 1991-1992, and make it frequently now because it is so easy, healthful and delicious. Serve this with any Asian dish, or any meat and potatoes. It's not particularly spicy, but…

2 votes
16005 views
Top SF Chronicle Recipe: Pasta with Broccoli and Spicy Sausage

Top SF Chronicle Recipe: Pasta with Broccoli and Spicy Sausage by John Spottiswood

Our good friend Linda Hansen saved this top recipe from the SF Chronicle in 2004 and it has become one of her and our favorites. It was created at the Last Supper Club restaurant in San Francisco. We've adapted the pasta, broccoli, and sausage…

10 votes
7837 views
Creole Vegetable and Beef Soup

Creole Vegetable and Beef Soup by John Spottiswood

This was a tasty soup that we gladly ate two nights in a row. I added quite a bit of extra creole seasoning to my bowl, because I love the flavor. This soup would still have been wonderful without the meat (I scooped much of mine into our kids' bowls), but I'd keep the meat in in if you are not vegetarian as it adds depth to the…

3 votes
2555 views
Moroccan Bean Dip - Bessara

Moroccan Bean Dip - Bessara by John Spottiswood

If you like hummus, you will also like this simple and tasty bean dip. Fava beans are preferred, but Lima beans work well too. You can thin down the dip with chicken or vegetable stock to make a tasty bean soup.

3 votes
9168 views
Eggplant and Peas Stew

Eggplant and Peas Stew by John Spottiswood

This recipe was invented by my good friend Brian Bedrosian. He recommends that you "Should drink red wine while cooking and eating for best results." I haven't tried this one yet...but every other Armenian concoction I've tasted of Brian's has been outstanding!

5 votes
4635 views
Creamy Lentil and Broccoli Soup

Creamy Lentil and Broccoli Soup by John Spottiswood

This is a creamy, flavorful, and incredibly healthy soup. The next time you're in the mood for split pea soup (also very healthy), try this instead. It has a wonderful body and a great hearty flavor. If you haven't had sumac before as a seasoning, this is a great dish to try it with. Sumac is commonly used in the middle east to…

8 votes
4074 views
Amazing Red Lentil and Tomato Soup

Amazing Red Lentil and Tomato Soup by John Spottiswood

I never thought I would have a red lentil soup that could match the Turkish red lentil soup that I have been served in Turkish restaurants and that I've learned to make. So I had low expectations for this Indian spiced version. It completely destroyed my expectations and was absolutely delicious. It was great last night, and I had…

6 votes
5805 views
Curry Lentil Soup

Curry Lentil Soup by John Spottiswood

This is a surprisingly light and tangy lentil soup. If you are used to thick and heavy lentil soups, this one will surprise you. It's very tasty and was a great complement to the pizza recipe I just put up. This is also adapted from a Greens restaurant recipe.

11 votes
7203 views
Quinoa with Fresh Corn and Mint

Quinoa with Fresh Corn and Mint by John Spottiswood

This is a great quinoa dish to serve alongside fish or chicken. I have grown to love quinoa, and it is perfect for this dish. But this would also be great with Israeli cous cous, regular cous cous, pearl barley or even jasmine rice if you are not a fan of quinoa. The mix of flavors is amazing! Try this when fresh corn is cheap and…

2 votes
1830 views