Two Sides to Every (Dinner) Story

Devra Gartenstein's Local Bounty:  Seasonal Vegan Recipes has knocked about my cookbook shelves for some time.  Published in 2008, I was quick to judge the book as, perhaps, too "simple," and it languished, neglected, for these two years.  I should have known better.  Food is not delicious only in proportion to the amount of time, effort, expense and advanced kitchen gadgetry involved in preparing it.  Start with healthy, fresh ingredients and you don't need to suffer over dinner at all.  Witness:

Asparagus with Ginger Sauce
1 tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbs. peeled and grated fresh ginger (I peel and chop the daylights out of it:  good therapy.)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed and chopped (The best you can find.)
2 tbs. soy sauce
1 tbs. rice vinegar
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp. unrefined cane sugar (I use vulgar white sugar.)

1.  Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan.  Add the onion, ginger, and garlic.  Cook on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
2.  Add the asparagus and soy sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes or until the asparagus are tender.
3.  Add the vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar and cook for 2 minutes longer.

I'm usually a purist about asparagus - to the point of being boring.  I roast it with a little olive oil, lemon zest and salt and pepper.  With that always-serviceable preparation in the forefront of my mind, I wondered if the traditional Chinese flavors in this recipe would overpower the asparagus.  Au contraire!  I loved the sauciness of this dish, which is such a change from the naked asparagus I'm used to serving.  In fact, most vegetables would love this sauce, too:  toasty, a wee bit salty, spicy and sweet, it could be the plant's everyman.  One caution:  try as I might, I tend often to miss that perfectly-done, tight-wire moment between tender/crisp and mushy/flabby.  I confess I slightly overcooked the asparagus this time; next time, I'll pay close attention to walk the wire flawlessly.

Afghani Spinach
(I wasn't able to find any bunched spinach yet in stores - used organic rainbow swiss chard instead.)
1 tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches spinach (about 1 pound), cleaned and chopped
1 tbs. chopped fresh cilantro (In retrospect, would have used more.)
1 ts. dried dill weed
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. salt (Don't do it! Too much salt! Try 1/8 tsp. first and add more if need  be.)
juice of 1/2 lemon

1.  Heat the oil in a medium saucepan.  Add the onion and garlic.  Cook on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
2.  Add the spinach, cilantro, dill weed, cumin, cardamom, and salt.  Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often.
3.  Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

Breathe new life into greens the Afghani way. The "uns" drew me in here:  unexpected and unusual, especially the combination of herbs and spices.  Any recipe that invites intrigue earns an A+ in my grade book.  One reiterated note of warning:  1/2 tsp. of salt really is too much.  Perhaps I'm a non-salt freak, but this amount bordered on overpowering.  Go the lesser route.  You can always add more if you like.