Ingredients:

• 100g unsalted cashew nuts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• ½ small leek, chopped
• 100g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 100g cooked brown rice (50g uncooked)
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 40g gruyere cheese, grated
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 egg yolk
• flour, for dusting
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, for frying

Directions:

1. In a preheated 350 degree oven, roast the cashew nuts on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Watch them closely, for they brown fast.

2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, leek, mushroom, garlic and thyme until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has evaporated. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute.

3. Pulse the cashews in a food processor a few times until they are coarsely chopped. Add to the vegetable/rice mixture with the rest of the ingredients.

4. Form into patties and refrigerate for at least an hour.

5. Dredge the patties with a small amount of flour and saute in the sunflower oil in a non-stick pan, about 3 minutes to a side.

6. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 lbs squash or 1 3/4 lbs pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cubed
1 1/8 lbs tomatoes, quartered
2 garlic cloves, quartered
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 red chili peppers, desseded and chopped
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
7 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, hot
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1) Place the pumpkin, tomatoes and garlic in a roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper, and roast for about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. If the pumpkin isn't tender, cook for a few more minutes.

2) Add the chili peppers, ginger, sugar and broth, and cook for another 20 minutes.

3) Puree or mash up with a potato masher (depending on what consistency you're looking for).

4) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2-1 cup beef TVP, reconstituted
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup green chilis, chopped
3/4 cup rice
1 1/2 cup water
2 chicken bullion cubes
1 small tomato, chopped
herbs/spices: cumin, chili powder, paprika, pepper, bay leaf, oregano, hot sauce

Instructions:

Saute the TVP, onion, garlic and green chilis in a little olive oil until the onions start to turn translucent. Add the
rice and stir so the rice soaks up some of the flavored oil. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then turn
down to a simmer, cover, and let cook until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring once or twice as it cooks.

A note on the herbs/spices: Do these to taste. Recommended-ish: 1/2 T cumin, 1/2 T chili powder, 1/2 t paprika, dash of
pepper, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 t oregano, dash of hot sauce

“Prices started to surge around September,” said Zhao Fangling, the general manager of a garlic processing company in Shandong’s Jinxiang county.

“Garlic was so cheap in the previous two years that some of it was just dumped as trash. Farmers lost money and stopped planting it so supplies dropped by 30-40 per cent,” he said.

The bulbs have been given a boost partly due to renewed fears over swine flu, as traditional Chinese doctors have recommended garlic as protection from A(H1N1) influenza.

While it is commonly used in Chinese medicine, flu experts caution that there is no scientific proof that garlic is an effective way to ward off H1N1 flu. That said, pass the pesto — it sure couldn’t hurt.

Source: The West Australian