A smorgasbord the length of two tables, packed with a sampling of fabulous homemade food, two guest speakers to talk about Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and a large, friendly, socially aware group of Unitarian Universalists to go with it! That’s what I found when I recently attended a luncheon hosted by the First Universalist Church of Auburn.

The get-together was organized for two purposes: to provide a sneak peak at a new collection of 130 recipes from the upcoming release of the church’s second  cookbook, and to learn about domestic violence from Victoria Williams from the Abused Women’s Advocacy Project (now called Safe Voices) and Auburn police officer Berni Mowatt.

The UU congregation selects several community service agencies to support each year, based on issues that are collectively important to its members, and domestic violence is an ongoing focus for the group.

Another focus is fundraising, and this year a group of women decided to compile an updated cookbook. Organized by Mary Lou Hofmann, Janet Miles and Linda Borth, recipes were submitted from current and former members of the church. They chose to do a cookbook, Hoffman said, “because people love to cook and share recipes, and there’s a lot of community-building based around food.”

Hofmann said some were family recipes, shared between generations and handed down over the years, some were culled from favorite cookbooks or magazines and adapted by the contributor, and some — because of the huge appeal of cable TV cooking shows — were “borrowed.”

The Rev. Jodi Cohen Hayashida submitted a lovely Tuscan White Bean Soup recipe. Spicy Peanut Sauce, a “famous” recipe from former minister Johanna Nichols, was also included, along with one submitted by former Sun Journal Cook of the Week Michael Giasson.

Hofmann was very happy with the quality and variety of the recipes submitted. “The thing I like about it is, recipes that came in were not “traditional” church-cookbook-type recipes,” she said. “The recipes tend to have a more healthful bent and there’s a greater variety of food. Not a lot of packaged ingredients.”

Many of the submissions were more up-to-date and less run-of-the-mill, she said. As an example, Karen Lane’s Garden Tomato Soup With Garam Masala offers a nice twist on the regular tomato soup recipe. Garam masala is a typical Indian spice that means ”hot mixture.” Doing a little internet research, I learned the word garam refers to spice intensity, not heat. Garam masala is considered pungent, but not “hot” in the same way as a chili pepper. This is one of Lane’s favorite spices. Regarding the tomatoes, she said she likes to blanch, peel and freeze them during the peak of ripeness during the summer, so they are ready to use all winter long. She used half fresh tomatoes and half frozen in this recipe.

The new cookbook covers a wide gamut: Child-friendly recipes, pet treats, a few food-based craft projects, whole food recipes by local holistic health practitioner Andi Locke Mears and a whole bunch of other delicious, healthy and creative recipes — appetizers, main meals, soups, salads, beverages, breads and desserts.

Some highlights from the variety of samples set up that day include a fabulous Chick Pea and Artichoke Heart Stew, which is a Spanish peasant vegetarian recipe borrowed from a classic cookbook in the world of vegetarian cooking. Made by Linda Borth of Auburn, she said she particularly loves this recipe because “it’s hearty and quite filling . . . with the added bonus of artichokes!”

Another fun and slightly spicy dish was Korean Style Bean Sprouts, made by Hofmann. She said it’s a recipe that she’s had for about 20 years. She’d put it away, hadn’t made it in a long time, and thought it was interesting enough to add to the cookbook. “Plus,” she said, “it’s really easy to make!” This recipe was given a nice kick from red pepper. If you are less adventurous with your pepper, you might cut it back a bit.

Other items of interest were the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos made by Mary Ann Larson, and a remarkably sweet and excellent Curry Dip made by Cathy Thorpe. Sara Karam submitted a fun and simple fruit salsa from a recipe given to her by a friend. She said she’s recently found out that it tastes really good as a spread on a grilled cheese sandwich, too.

A very simple and very tasty baked macaroni and cheese recipe was submitted by Peggy Cox, and made for the taste test by Kitsie Claxton.

The many dishes were rounded out by fresh-baked bread, which church member Lorelei Greenwood-Jones has named Lorelei’s (In)Famous Herbed Bread. The nice thing about this bread is you can use any combination of spices that strike your fancy.

Desserts included an apple-pumpkin cobbler along with an amazing mock apple pie, submitted by Hillary Schau, which I truly had a hard time believing was made with zucchini — and not apples.

The new cookbook will be unveiled at the church’s upcoming fundraiser, the Gingerbread Fair, which will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20. Cookbooks may be ordered in advance by calling the First Universalist office at 783-0461. Funds from cookbook sales will be used to support the church general fund.

Ten dollars will get you all these recipes and many more. (For the record, my order’s been placed!)

Korean Style Bean Sprouts

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 pound of bean sprouts

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, crushed

1-1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil

Dash of cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon of salt

3 tablespoons soy sauce

Plunge the bean sprouts into boiling water and cook according to package directions – to just crisp tender. Drain. Mix sesame oil and soy sauce together and toss over bean sprouts with all of the other ingredients and then chill. Can be served cold or at room temperature.

Fruit Salsa

6-8 cups finely chopped fresh or frozen fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, melon (any kind), raspberries, peaches, apples, pears, kiwi, pineapple, etc. Note: bananas do not work!

1 bunch of cilantro

1 medium onion

1 to 3 jalapeno peppers (depending on how spicy you like your salsa)

Puree the cilantro, onion and pepper(s) in a food processor or blender. Mix in fruit. Chill before serving with corn chips, cheese, over beans and rice, etc. This salsa may be frozen for later eating.

If using apples or pears, either use an additional fruit that is high in Vitamin C, such as strawberries, or add the juice from one-fourth of a lime to prevent browning.

Curry Dip (for raw vegetables)

This is a “dump and stir” recipe.

In small bowl, mix together:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

4-1/2 teaspoons grated onion (or dry minced onion)

4-1/2 teaspoons ketchup

4-1/2 teaspoons honey

Fresh juice from 1/2 lemon

About 1 teaspoon or less of curry powder.

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate, if serving later. Can be served with raw vegetables or as a dressing for crab meat, etc.

Lorelei’s (In)Famous Herbed Bread

1-1/4 cup hot water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 packet yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2-3 cups flour

3 tablespoons herbs (oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage, onion powder, garlic powder, rosemary or chives)

Blend sugar and hot water; add yeast and stir. Add salt and herbs. Add flour slowly until a smooth and elastic dough forms. (If it’s too sticky, add more flour slowly; if too dry, add water slowly). Knead for 2 minutes. Let rise in a bowl covered by a clean dish towel, half an hour for rapid-rise yeast, 1 hour for regular. Once it has risen to nearly double, punch down and either place in a greased bread pan or shape onto a greased baking sheet. You can also sprinkle some corn meal on the bottom to help with sticking. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, and butter top when baking is done. Enjoy warm or toasted with butter and honey.

Garden Tomato Soup with Garam Masala

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, diced finely

1 inch fresh ginger, diced finely

8 to 10 large tomatoes, peeled and diced

32-ounce box chicken broth

3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon garam masala spice mix

Half and half or cream to taste

Sautee the onions in a stock pot until clear and starting to caramelize on the edges. Add the garlic and ginger, stir for a few moments; add the tomatoes and let cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add the chicken broth, cilantro and garam masala and cook for 20 or so minutes until tomatoes are very tender. Use submersible blender to blend everything smooth. Continue to cook until the soup is as thick as you want it, 15 minutes or more. Serve with half and half or cream on the side that your guests can add according to their taste (I like a tablespoon or so in a mug of soup).

Garam masala

This easy-to-make spice blend is the heart of most Indian dishes. A combination of different spices, it probably has as many recipes as there are families in India! Here is a basic one. Once you get a feel for the taste it gives your cooking, experiment and alter it to suit your needs.

Garam masala is best made fresh just before you begin cooking, but it also works well to make a batch ahead and store for several months in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 4 minutes

Total time: 14 minutes

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1-1/2 tablespoons black cumin seeds (shahjeera)

1-1/2 teaspoons dry ginger

3/4 teaspoon black cardamom (3-4 large pods approximately)

3/4 teaspoon cloves

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or about two 1-inch pieces of cinnamon stick)

3/4 teaspoon crushed bay leaves

Preparation:

Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.

When the spices are roasted turn off the flame and allow them to cool.

Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.

Grind them all together to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.

Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

Source: About.com

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