4 small eggplants cut into large cubes
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 lbs chopped white onions
7 medium zucchini, cut into strips
2 sweet red peppers, cleaned and cut into large strips
2 green peppers, cleaned and cut into large strips
2 tbs. minced garlic
3 cans (16 oz each) plum tomatoes, drained
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tbs. dried basil
2 tbs. dried oregano
black pepper, to taste
good quality (extra virgin) olive oil.

Sprinkle eggplant with salt and toss well. Let stand (to remove bitterness) while you do the next step.

Pour some olive oil into large frying pan or wok. Sauté onions, zucchini, peppers, and garlic until lightly colored (about 20 minutes). Set aside in a dish.

Add more oil to wok and sauté eggplant. Mix in tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, seasonings. Add back in the onion/zucchini/pepper that you previously set aside. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

1 - 2 lbs. ground beef
3 - 4 cups canned kidney beans
1 1/4 cups canned tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup water
2 - 3 Tbs. bacon drippings or butter
2 tsp. - 2 Tbs. chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 Bay leaf
1/4 tsp. salt

Melt drippings or butter and sauté onion and garlic in it. Add beef and then stir and sauté until well done. Add other ingredients, stir, cover, and simmer for one hour or longer.

1 Large onion, chopped
4 cups medium-size thin skin-skined potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 slices bacon cut into 1-inch pieces.
3 10 oz cans, minced clams reserving the liquid
1 cup chopped celery, including some of the tops
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup water
3 tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 qt regular-strength chicken broth (or 4 chicken bouillon cubes in 1qt water)
1 qt milk
butter or margarine
finely chopped parsley

In an 8 to 10-quart kettle, cook bacon pieces, over medium heat until bacon is limp, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped onion and celery to bacon and drippings and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very limp, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, 1/4 cup parsley, salt, pepper, and chicken broth; cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the minced clams and reserved liquid, add the milk and cook, covered, until the soup is thoroughly hot, but not boiling. Blend the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water until smooth and add to soup; continue cooking until soup boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, pour soup into a tureen and float a generous pat (about 2 tablespoons) butter or margarine on top of soup and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

5 lbs beef brisket
1/4 tsp. saltpeter
1/4 cup warm water
2 Tbs. sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbs. mixed pickling spices
3/4 cup salt
2 quarts water

1 large cabbage
bay leaf
2 large onions
cold water to cover
2 large carrots
ground black pepper
4 potatoes

Place the meat in a large crock. Dissolve the saltpeter in the warm water. Add the next four ingredients. Dissolve the salt in the 2 quarts of water. Mix everything together and pour over the meat. Be sure the meat is beneath the surface of the liquid. Refrigerate for three weeks, turning the meat once or twice per week.

After curing the corned beef. Remove the meat from the crock, discard remaining fluid.

Quarter the cabbage and put aside. Peel and slice the other vegetables. Cover the meat with the water and bring to the boil. Skim the surface, add the vegetables (except the cabbage), the bay leaf and the pepper and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for a further 30 minutes. Serve the meat surrounded by the vegetables with additional mashed potatoes.

Saltpeter, KNO₃, is also known as sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate. It is commonly used in veterinary medicine and some drugstores carry it.

2 Tbs. cornstarch
6 cups prepared chicken bouillon
2 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. distilled white vinegar
1 green onion, minced
3 eggs, beaten

In large saucepan mix cornstarch with small amount of cold bouillon. Add remaining bouillon and other ingredients except eggs. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally. Gradually pour the beaten eggs into the saucepan while stirring. Serve at once.

2 Tbs. margarine or butter
2 cups thinly sliced onions
4 cups beef broth
2 Tbs. dry sherry (optional)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 to 6 slices French bread, toasted
3/4 to 1 cup shredded Gruyere, Jarlsberg, or Swiss cheese

In a large saucepan melt margarine or butter. Stir in onions. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes or till tender and golden, stirring occasionally. Add beef broth; dry sherry, if desired; Worcestershire sauce; and dash pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Sprinkle toasted bread with cheese. Place bread under broiler till cheese melts and turns light brown. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and float bread atop.

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery or green pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. Black pepper
1/4 tsp. Ground red pepper
3 cups chicken broth, heated
8 ounces andouille or smoked sausage, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 1/2 cups sliced okra or one 10-ounce package frozen cut okra, thawed
2 bay leaves
12 ounces frozen shelled shrimp
6 ounces fresh or frozen crab meat

Thaw shrimp and crab, if frozen. Cut up crab.

For roux, in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven combine flour and oil till smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 15 minutes more or till roux is light reddish brown.

Stir in onion, celery or green pepper, garlic, black pepper, and red pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or till vegetables are just crisp-tender, stirring often.

Gradually stir in hot chicken broth, andouille or smoked sausage, okra, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer 15 to 25 minutes, add crab and shrimp, simmer an additional 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serve over rice. If desired, garnish with a carrot top.

2 onions chopped
4 Tbs. butter
1 Lg. can of tomato sauce
1 small can Hunts Garlic Tomato Paste
1 green pepper, diced small
3-4 cups of cooked rice
2 lbs of smoked sausage
1 1/2 lbs of shrimp (optional)
1 lb. smoked ham (optional)
2 tsp. of thyme
1/4 cup water
seasoned salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper

Chop smoked sausage into circles or semicircles. Chop smoked ham into cubes. Sauté onions in butter for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, thyme, and 2 tsp. of seasoned salt. Cook at medium-high for 30 minutes stirring frequently. Add green pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add smoked sausage, ham, and shrimp. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

In a large pot add this tomato mixture and rice. Make sure you add the rice one heaping spoon at a time or you may add too much. Add water and stir the mixture constantly for 10 minutes.

Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add cayenne pepper for a little kick in the flavor.

Serve hot

1 pt. undrained shucked oysters
2 cups milk
1 cup light cream
1/2 tsp. salt
dash tabasco sauce
paprika
butter or margarine (optional)

In a medium saucepan combine the undrained oysters and salt. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes or till oysters curl around the edges. Stir in milk, cream, and hot pepper sauce. Stir in milk, cream, and tabasco sauce. Heat through, seasoning to taste. Sprinkle each serving with paprika; if desired, top with a pat of butter or margarine.

2 lbs. stewing lamb
4 large potatoes
1 large white onion
1 cup consommé
1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
1 Tbs. softened butter
3 tsp. flour
3/4 tsp. thyme
3/4 tsp. salt
fresh ground black pepper

Cut lamb into cubes. Peel potatoes and cut into large dice. Coarsely chop onion. Chop parsley and thyme together, then butter a casserole dish.

Arrange a layer of 1/3 of the potatoes on the bottom of the casserole. Cover with layer of lamb, then a layer of onions. Season with the herbs, salt, and pepper. Repeat to form 3 layers, seasoning between each layer and ending with the onions. Add the consommé. Cover the casserole and bake in a 350 degree. F. oven for 1 1/2 hours until the lamb is tender. Combine the butter and flour in a teacup, and add the paste to the casserole. Continue cooking five more minutes until the juices are thickened. Garnish with parsley.

2 lbs beef oxtails
8 medium carrots
8 stalks celery
2 small onions
1 small turnip
1 small parsnip
1 cup cabbage
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. marjoram
4 Japanese peppers (dried)

Peel the onions and wash the carrots, celery, turnip and parsnip. Cut 1 onion, 4 carrots, 4 celery stalks, the turnip and parsnip into quarters. Crush the garlic. Place the quartered vegetables, garlic cloves and beef oxtails in a 4 and 1/2 quart heavy bottomed pot. Add water to cover ingredients plus 2 inches. Heat to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour. After the first 15 minutes, remove the brown scum that may have formed on the top of the stock.

Remove oxtails and set aside to cool. Remove vegetables and herbs and discard. Strain stock through a colander lined with cheese cloth. If you are concerned about fat and cholesterol, skim fat from the top of the stock.

Chop remaining vegetables into desired size and add to stock. Remove meat from the oxtails and add to stock. Add salt to taste. Bring soup to a simmer and serve.

1 chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), cut into 8 pieces
4 qt. cold water
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 celery stalks, cut into chunks
2 medium-sized onions, cut into chunks
1 Tbs. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Rinse the chicken under cold running water. Place all the ingredients in a soup pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken meat falls off the bones, stirring occasionally.

Remove the chicken from the bones, discarding the bones and skin. Return the chicken to the pot and add an 8-ounce package of medium egg noodles to the hot soup; cook over high heat until the noodles are tender.

2 Tbs. butter or margarine
2 or 3 medium onions, peeled & sliced
1 lb. carrots peeled & sliced
1/2 lb. turnips peeled & sliced
10 oz. potatoes peeled and sliced
5 Tbs. tomato paste
4 cups water
2 cloves sliced, or minced, garlic
2 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. dried basil (or 1 1/4 fresh finely minced)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. pepper
Sour cream and finely chopped parsley for garnish.
(for a spicier version, use cilantro or Chinese parsley)

Sauté the onion in the melted butter in 4 quart pot. Add everything *EXCEPT* the last cup of water, the sour cream, and the parsley.

Simmer covered 15 to 20 minutes, (25 over medium heat stirring occasionally) or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Purée the soup with a blender 1 1/2 to 2 cups at a time rinsing the empty pan with the reserved cup of water to get any remaining purée, and add this to the soup.

Return the soup to the rinsed-out pot and reheat it before serving (use a very low heat to prevent scorching the soup). Ladle into bowls. Place sour cream in center of soup and using a spoon pull it into a spiral (Like the galaxy) and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley along the sour cream.

1 eggplant (peeled and cut into rounds)
3 zucchini (average size)
3 - 4 cups diced tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped
1 bell pepper sliced
3 chicken bouillon cubes
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
3 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano
2 - 3 Tbs. of olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
pepper
rice, pasta or couscous

Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil. Next add sliced bell pepper and eggplant, continue to cook over medium heat eight to ten minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add zucchini, diced tomatoes and bay leaf along with one teaspoon of salt, a few pinches of pepper and three chicken bullion cubes.

Cover with a lid and let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Just before serving fold in about three tablespoons of fresh chopped basil and half a tablespoon of fresh chopped oregano. Add the fresh herbs last so you don't cook all of the flavor out of them.

Serve over pasta, rice or couscous.

2 Tbs. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
3 Tbs. flour
2 lbs tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbs. Tomato Paste
3 cups chicken broth/stock
1 tsp. dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water and remove the skins. Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter, remove from heat when the onion is clear.

Add the sautéed onion and garlic to the remaining ingredients. Using a blender, liquefy the mixture. Return to heat.

Simmer slowly and serve hot with saltine crackers

2-1/2 cups bouillon
1 Tbs. unflavored gelatin

Sprinkle gelatin on 1/2 cup cold bouillon. Add 2 cups very hot bouillon and stir until gelatin is thoroughly dissolved. Serve hot.

3 slices of bacon cut up
2 lbs of beef stew meat
1 cup dry red wine (I like to use Burgundy)
2 cans beef broth
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
3 Tbs. minced (or grated) fresh orange peel
18 boiling onions (the little white ones) OR 1 onion cut up
3/4 LB sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cans of new potatoes
2 sliced carrots
1 can pitted black olives
10 oz frozen peas
2 Tbs. cornstarch (optional)

About 3 hours before serving, brown the stew meat and the bacon in a large pot (8 quarts). Add 1 cup of water and everything else *EXCEPT* the peas, cornstarch, and olives.

Simmer for 2 hours, then add the olives.

Simmer an additional 30 minutes, then add the peas.

Cook for 5-10 minutes more then thicken with cornstarch, if desired.

Serve!