Peanut Soup

Literary pairing:  I've enjoyed this with a bold poem by Christopher Robinson, followed by the nutty finish of Wallace Stevens.

Hint: we also added chopped carrots to the mix.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped 2 large red bell peppers, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid

8 cups vegetable broth or stock 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional) 2/3 cup extra crunchy peanut butter 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

Directions:

1.	Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic when almost done to prevent burning. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock, pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
2.	Stir in rice, cover, and simmer another fifteen minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in peanut butter until well blended, and serve.

Molasses Spice Cookies

Literary pairing: an excerpt from Nina Budabin McQuown's epic poem, The Cruise Ship, forthcoming.

Hint: don't reduce the amount of sugar, the cookies won't be chewy if you do.

Preparation time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling cookies
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsulphered molasses

Method

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice together in a bowl and set aside.
2 Use an electric mixer and beat the butter for 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes with mixer set at medium speed. Add egg, vanilla extract, and molasses. Beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.
3 Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
4 Place remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Working with 2 Tbsp of dough each time, roll dough into 1 3/4 inch balls. Roll balls in sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart.
5 Bake until the outer edges of the cookies begin to set and centers are soft and puffy, about 11 to 13 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 2 to 3 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks .
Note: do not overcook. The centers of the cookies should be somewhat soft and spongy when you take them out of the oven, otherwise they will end up hard and dry.
Optional Glaze
When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift 1 1/4 cups of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze and dribble over cookies.
Yield: Makes 18 large cookies.

C+C Stirfry

Literary pairings for this recipe might include an excerpt on fame and fame's misfortune, from David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.

Sauce:

Ingredients

3 Tbs. sesame oil (Or peanut or olive oil)
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. minced ginger
2 cups chicken/veggie broth
4 Tbs. soy sauce
4 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. Sriracha / korean pepper paste
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 Tbs. lemon or lime juice
3 Tbs. cornstarch
4 Tbs. rice wine or sherry / OR: white wine (3Tbs)+Wine vinegar (1Tbs)
1 green onion, minced

Heat the sesame oil in a saucepan. Add the ginger, garlic, and scallions and stir-fry 15-30 second over medium heat to bring out the flavor. Add the broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bring just to a boil, stirring. Dissolve the cornstarch in the wine and whisk into the sauce. Heat until sauce thickens and reaches a full boil. Simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Stirfry:

Ingredients

1 Tbs garlic, minced

1 Tbs ginger, minced

1/2 red or white onion, chopped

1/2 head brocolli, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1 green pepper

3/4 can water chestnuts

3/4 can baby corn

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/3-1/2 cup cashews

10-15 large basil leaves, ripped up

4 artichoke hearts, quartered

Heat oil on medium-high heat. Saute garlic and ginger golden brown. Remove garlic and ginger from oil, discard. Stir-fry onions for several minutes, until they start to brown. Add broccoli, carrots; stir fry several more minutes. Add celery and green pepper. At this point, begin ladling in stir-fry sauce every minute or so. After another 5 minutes, stirring and adding stirfry sauce, add in baby corns, water chestnuts, basil, artichoke hearts, and cashews. Stir for five more minutes, slowly adding stirfry sauce until all the sauce is mixed in. Serve immediately over rice. It's a good idea to take a bite of the carrots during the last phase to check on how soft your harder vegetables are getting.