The Olive Chef Community

 submitted by Alvi

Yesterday we picked up a donation of about 40 crates of strawberries. As such, I’ve been trying to figure out ways to use them up. Because of that, this and any other recipes from me in the near future will probably involve strawberries.

6-8 servings

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by Delia Smith

(Sir Oliver: Aubergines are eggplant.)

If you don’t possess a ridged grill pan, you could grill the aubergine slices till nicely browned and tender. Either way, this is a truly delicious combination of textures and flavours.

Serves 4 (more…)

(by Kenfrog)

Firstly, I’d like to state that tofu is subject to much unsolicited prejudice. Perhaps some of you tofu haters…(Sandra’s name withheld for protection) have encountered tofu in goopey, distasteful institutionalized dishes that turned your stomach. I don’t blame

you…But I do want you to be open to trying tofu again.

More on tofu later. A fair number of homes get tofu in provisioning. This recipe is a good way to use it up, and it tastes great too! It was originally for a crocuette sized ball, but I recently adapted iyt for the pita bread recipe, as it goes well in the place of hummus. (That’s chickpeas…not an Islamic group)

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(Delia Smith)

In keeping with the principle that outdoor eating needs to be gutsy, these little potatoes are just that. They’re easy too – they don’t need any attention; you just leave them in the oven till you’re ready to serve.

Serves 4-6 (more…)

(Delia Smith)

This salad is made with slightly charred oven-roasted red onions, which are then marinated in olive oil and lime juice and layered with rocket leaves and flakes of parmesan. A truly wonderful combination.

(Kenfrog: This salad goes well with pita bread as a filling.)

Serves 4 (more…)

(by Delia Smith)

This must be one of the greatest salad recipes ever. It’s traditionally made with Cos lettuce, but I like a mixture of lettuce and some crunchy rocket leaves. What it can’t take is anything too soft – only the crunchiest leaves will do. The flavours are gutsy, so it’s ideal for a summer lunch outside or, in small portions, for a quite aristocratic but so-simple starter.

(Note from Sir Oliver: You can add spinach leaves for extra nutrition, too. Red or purple lettuce ook great. Some of these recipes are a bit extravagant, but just work withthem like a canvas…you can build on it or subtract from it…this is the basic idea for a caeser salad, which is really quite a gourmet (yet simple) salad to serve to the home.)

Serves 4 as a light lunch or 6 as a starter (more…)

(News Reprint)Despite hate mail and ‘hunger strikes,’ a California chef sticks it out to help kids build a better relationship to food.
By Jennifer Wolcott | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Ann Cooper is not your typical lunch lady. She is more likely to wear a chef’s toque than a hairnet and her roasted chicken and potatoes bear no resemblance to nuggets and Tater Tots. The former chef, who spent much of her 30-plus-year career working in white-tablecloth restaurants and catering for celebrities, is now best known as the “Lunch Lady” in Berkeley, Calif., schools. In cafeterias there she has tossed out fried, frozen, and sugary foods and replaced them with fresh, seasonal, and mostly organic meals. (more…)

(Sir Oliver: The new GN on Healthy Living has alot of good counsel from the Lord on eating more vegetables. This is the first in a series of articles we’ll be putting up in the next weeks on vegetables and their benefits. Stay tuned!)

(pic colored by Lena)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters)—New research is strengthening evidence that following mom’s admonition to eat your vegetables may be some of the best health advice around. (more…)

(submitted by Aich)

If you’re one of those people like me who shy away from complicated recipes and instructions, you just might love this one. It’s so simple and the cake turns out dark, moist, and very chocolaty. And it’s never not turned out. I started out with another recipe but made a few changes and added a chocolate bar and it’s quite a bit nicer now, imho.  (more…)

(Submitted by Mei)

These can be made quickly and don’t require butter or margarine to maintain its impressively rich flavor.

Ingredients:
-1/2 c. oil
-1 c. sugar
-1 egg (optional!)
-1/3 c. cocoa
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. vanilla
-1/2 c. flour
-1/2 c. chopped nuts (or chocolate chunks)

Beat all ingredients with a wooden spoon in a bowl. Pour into an appropriate small pan (to make thicker brownies), and bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or just until a knife inserted comes out clean. Do not overbake. After cooling, place in the freezer for a couple of hours.

The recipe for eggless chocolate cake (published in Eve 22) has been tried and proven to be a hit on several occasions. Coffee can be substituted for the water for variation.