eileen's kitchen!

Vegetarian Pho

2012-01-27T10:37:00.000-08:00

St. Louis has a wealth of Vietnamese restaurants, and for years I've been irritated that there was no vegetarian version of pho, the national dish of Vietnam. It always looks so appealing steaming in its big bowl with all sorts of fresh stuff on the side. Then, I spotted this at Local Harvest Grocery, the coolest store in St. Louis, which I can walk to from my house! The thing about making this soup is you have to buy the stuff and use it soon. Bean sprouts and cilantro do not last long in the fridge. I winged the recipe since the hard part was already taken care of with the stock. I was pretty excited to find brown rice vermicelli at Jay's, but I doubt it will be there the next time I look for it.

Above you see my beloved sriracha, pho stock, noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro, a lime, sliced jalepeno and sliced green onions. After I took this photo I decided to throw in kale and seitan, but they are of course optional. Rice noodles are soaked rather than boiled, so besides heating the stock, there's really not a lot of cooking involved. To serve, place noodles, kale and seitan in a large bowl. On the side, serve all the optional stuff to be added during the course of eating this incredibly delicious soup.

Vegan Ceasar Salad

2012-01-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

You know what is gross? Anchovies. You know what is super-gross? Ground up anchovies. I've never had a real ceasar salad in my life, but Kurt is a big fan. Several years ago, at his suggestion, I tried my hand at a vegetarian ceasar salad that involved a coddled egg (which is like a raw egg but without the danger of poisoning yourself.) It was tasty enough, but not really worth repeating in a hurry. There was a big pack of organic romaine on clearance at the grocery store for $1, so I snatched it up and thought it time to try another ceasar recipe. My friend Adam was recently singing the praises of the Post Punk Kitchen, so I checked there first and sure enough they had a much lauded vegan recipe. I followed their recipe exactly, so I won't re-post it. The only difference with mine is that I used some stale homemade spelt and teff bread instead of French or Italian, and kale instead of the optional spinach. The recipe is really clever and uses caper brine for a vague fishiness and ground almonds for texture.

Vegan New Mexican Enchiladas

2011-12-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

We don't go out for Mexican food much because there is always some kind of problem either with lard in the beans, chicken stock in the rice, or tiny bits of beef in my food. But I was reminded how good Mexican food can be when my sister-in-law made what I like to call "stacked" enchiladas for my nephew's birthday party. According to my brother, traditional New Mexican enchiladas are always stacked, and filled with only cheese. Marilyn's were deliciously non traditional and included whole black beans and yellow squash. She served them with Spanish rice and a salad with spicy dressing.

I had been meaning to make the vegan enchiladas I had at Local Harvest Cafe, so I decided to make a combination of those and Marilyn's. Obviously you can make enchiladas out of anything you like, but here is what I made out of what I had in the house. I think it turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:

10 Corn tortillas - organic if you avoid GMOs

1 Can refried beans - vegetarian

1 green bell pepper - sauteed - organic if you can - see The Dirty Dozen

1 onion - sauteed

1 sweet potato

3 T nutritional yeast

Olive oil

2 cups of enchilada sauce or homemade tomato and hot pepper puree

A few handfuls of fresh spinach

1 cup of shredded cheese - I used this vegan mozzarella because I wanted to test it on something other than pizza, on which it is not that great.

First, to make the vegan "cheese" a la Local Harvest Cafe: Bake the sweet potato and allow to cool. Peel and place in blender with nutritional yeast and a good splash of olive oil. Blend until consistent.

Lightly oil the bottom of a baking dish and cover with a single layer of tortillas. Next, spread the refried beans evenly over the tortillas. Top beans with a layer of fresh spinach, followed by a layer of onions, followed by another layer of tortillas. Now spread a layer of the sweet potato mixture evenly over tortillas and top with more spinach and a layer of peppers. Finish with a final layer of tortillas and completely cover the top with enchilada sauce so every bit of tortilla is completely moistened. Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese over the top and bake in 350 oven for 35-45 mins. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving as you would a lasagna.

I also served mine with Spanish rice and a salad of cabbage, avocado and lime juice.

Pig-Free BST Sandwich

2011-12-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my favourite food blogger in the world for hipping me to this veggie "bacon" recipe. After a recent household debate about whether or not to toast the bread on a BLT, it seemed like it was a good excuse to finally try this out. It's a BST because I felt like using spinach. And I used American yellow mustard because that's what I had on my very first BLT at Venture when I was in grade school. I'm on the no toasting side of the argument, so that's what you see here.

Beluga Lentil Shepherd's Pie

2011-12-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

My mom's signature dish has always been shepherds pie (with beef of course), and she's made many previously uninitiated fans of it over the years. I have discovered beluga lentils are a perfect substitute for beef in this recipe. And even though it's a pain, it is worth it to sort the lentils prior to cooking so you don't end up biting into a rock and ruining your meal. So this is pretty similar to my mom's recipe, but with a few more veggies, potato skins, yogurt instead of butter, parmesan instead of cheddar, and no peas because I didn't have any on hand.

2 cups beluga lentils, sorted and rinsed

2 medium carrots chopped

1 onion chopped

1/2 a yellow turnip peeled and chopped

4 medium russet potatoes chopped with skins

1/2 cup greek yogurt

parmesan, salt, pepper, olive oil

In a small pot, cook the lentils until almost all of the water has cooked off. Set aside. In a larger pot, boil the potatoes until soft, drain and mash with the yogurt. Set aside. In a large pot, saute the onion, carrot, and turnip in olive oil until soft. Combine vegetables with lentils, season to taste, and pack tightly into a small casserole dish. Top lentils with mashed potatoes and pack tightly, keeping surface as level as possible. Top with parmesan cheese. Bake covered in 350 oven for 25 mins and finish in broiler for another 5 with the lid off. Serve in squares.

Wild Mushroom Macaroni and Three Cheeses with Truffle Oil

2011-12-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

I love eating healthy most of the time, but I'm also a sucker for creamy pastas. I happened upon this recipe right after I procured some fresh chanterelle and hen of the woods mushrooms in a Central West End alley. Plus I had all of the other ingredients on hand already, so this dish was destined to be a part of our Sunday dinner. I've adapted the original recipe to make it vegetarian, plus a few other changes.
Please see the link for cooking instructions!

1 1/2 cups finely sliced chanterelle mushrooms
1 1/2 cups sliced hen of the woods mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp sherry
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 cup goat milk, warmed
4 oz herb chevre, crumbled
4 oz sharp white cheddar, shredded
4 oz parmigiano reggiano, separated in 2 2oz piles
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp fresh sage, minced
2-3 tbsp white truffle oil, depending on how strong you like it (yes, this is some rich mac-n-cheese)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup panko
10 oz elbow pasta - i used a corn based pasta and it worked well
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Zucchini Cakes

2011-10-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

I used this recipe down to a tee, so I'm not going to bother reposting. But I want you all to know that I was absolutely floored by how much these resembled crab cakes, and not in the gross way that Match crabmeat does. Apparently the flavour is all from the Old Bay Seasoning, but the texture from the potatoes and zucchini is truly remarkable. Here are a few photos of the process and finished product.

Personal Avocado Salad Bowls

2011-10-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

Like guacamole, but not mushed up, and with other salady things thrown in. On this particular evening, I had no lettuce, so in went spinach and radishes, along with the usual tomatoes, cilantro (that's coriander to you Shaheen) onions and garlic. Plus it's fun to eat out of the skin!

Raw Sprouted Hummus

2011-10-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

With raw hummus, rather than boiling the chick peas, you soak them overnight, then leave them to sprout for a few days, rinsing occasionally. This supposedly allows the enzymes that help you digest beans to remain in the beans. So maybe the stupid paleo diet people could eat this.

After the sprouts are a half inch long, blanch the beans in just under boiling water. Then make hummus as you normally would with tahini, lemon juice and salt to taste. And if you want to make it Eileenskitchen style, then add a load of cayenne pepper as well.

Farmers Market Concoction 2011

2011-08-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

When you have awesome produce, but no inspiration for what to do with it, and the following day you're leaving town for two weeks, what do you do? Cut it up, cook it, toss it in a bowl with some stuff and chow down. If you keep it simple, you can't really go wrong, because vegetables are delicious. This year's concoction went as follows:

1 bunch swiss chard, chopped and sauteed with garlic and onionsin grapeseed oil

2 ears corn, roasted over the stove flame, and kernels cut off

3 heirloom tomatoes, chopped

Basil stolen from neighbors alley since I killed mine.

Toss all of this with the thickest balsamic vinegar you can get your hands on, salt and pepper and enjoy!

Quinoa Cakes

2011-08-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

garnished with "mustard" habaneros from the garden

The base recipe for these cakes I got from Vegetarian Times. As usual I added things and left out things I didn't have on hand. They are pretty darn delicious, and turned out to be very handy for throwing into my bag for snacking during a busy week.

1) First make the base: 2 T flour, 3 T tahini, 1 1/2 T red wine vinegar, 1 egg - whisk these together.
2) Then add any combination of the following, about 2 cups worth: grated raw sweet potato, cooked quinoa, cooked millet, cooked lentils, cooked and mashed beans.
3) Then add any combination of the following, about 1 cups worth: Finely diced sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped nuts, thawed and drained frozen spinach, crumbly cheese, thinly sliced hot peppers.
4) Finally, add a few T of diced onion and garlic and herbs and salt to preference.

Set oven to 400 degrees, apply a thin layer of coconut oil to baking sheet, and form mixture into cakes about as big as your palm. Any bigger and they'll fall apart. Bake cakes on sheet for about 15 mins per side or until lightly browned. Serve with sauce made from pureed roasted red peppers and almonds.

Raw Tacos

2011-07-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

If you are not familiar with Charlie Trotter, he is a genius, and one of his mottoes is "food doesn't have to be rich to taste good." Instead of relying on butter, salt and cream, he takes the time to lift and support the natural flavours of the vegetables. Charlie wrote an amazing book of impossible recipes simply titled RAW. So when I ate at his restaurant in Chicago several years ago, I could have ordered the vegetable menu, one of two printed choices, but my friend dared me to ask for a raw menu. I knew that for it to be truly raw, it had to be vegetarian, so I wasn't worried. It was and is the best meal I've ever had. If you are in Chicago, have money to burn, and want to spend 4-5 hours eating, then this is the place for you.

More recently I had a delicious meal at St. Louis' first and only raw restaurant, Puravegan. You really do feel a lot better after eating food like this. It makes you wonder why you ever bother with the stuff that makes you want to lie down after you eat it.

So anyway, I totally ripped off this idea from a really great blog my friend alerted me to called My New Roots. I'll let you get the recipe from her, but I made of few changes of course. I forgot to buy cashews, so I used tahini in place of the cashew cream. I used kale instead of cabbage as taco "shells." I included zucchini and corn in the salsa. And I was worried (unnecessarily) about not being full enough, so I also made a few with sprouted grain tortillas. We both agree that the kale leaves were better than the tortillas for this particular taco filling. And unlike so many raw dishes, this didn't take too long to put together.

Red Salad

2011-07-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

My cousin in law always talks about her green soup, where anything green is a possible ingredient. So I thought I'd apply that method to a salad with all red ingredients. Ends up tasting like cole slaw no matter what you do, but that's a good thing. This incarnation included red cabbage, red onions, red bell peppers, radishes, red beets - all shredded or julienned, and tomatoes in a red wine vinaigrette. What other colors is this possible with I wonder? Orange perhaps? But I bet that would just end up tasting like baby food.

Big Salad

2011-06-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

This is a favorite at our house and we eat it once a week. I don't really like to plan it out too much. I just throw everything salad-y in and it is always good. The tofu is nice for it's texture but it's certainly not necessary with the chick peas and nuts covering the protein requirement. Here are the ingredients:

Baked tofu (see shitake stir fry for recipe,) chick peas, crushed almonds, green onions from the garden, avocado, grape tomatoes, sliced carrots, shredded radish, fresh herbs from the garden, sliced red onion, thin sliced beets, julienne red bell pepper, cucumber half moons (not pictured,) bleu cheese (not pictured,) and your favorite dressing - mine is a simple vinaigrette made of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss all of this with the greens of your choice! Sadly, my romaine lettuce has already bolted thanks to the heat. So I used some leftover napa cabbage and spinach for the base of this salad. Cabbage is more nutritious than lettuce any way, plus it is crunchier, so I highly recommend this for your next big salad! These are all pretty sturdy ingredients, so go ahead and dress the whole thing, and throw the rest in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. It will be different, but I quite like my veggies marinated over night.

Side note, I ended up not using the beets in the salad when I got the idea to make beet crisps. They were delicious, but I will wait to tell you all about it in a different post.

Pasta with Shitakes and Smoked Tomato Sauce

2011-06-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

I still adore the basic preparation of Shitake pasta I posted back in May, but I wanted to try something a little different. However, I had no plan, so I just started digging around the kitchen, hoping for inspiration to hit.

Last summer was so hot that only the cherry tomatoes made it to maturity. Fortunately though, this particular plant was a workhorse, producing twice as many tomatoes as we could eat. I absolutely love my stovetop smoker, and tomatoes are my favorite thing to smoke in it, so every time there were excess tomatoes, into the smoker they went. And every time there were excess smoked tomatoes, into the freezer they went! Even though I recently moved everything from the old freezer to the new, I had forgotten I still had a container of smoked tomatoes.

While waiting for the tomatoes to thaw, cook your favorite noodles, roast some garlic, and saute the shitakes until they start to get a little dry. Once the tomatoes are thawed, puree them with the garlic, a fair amount of salt, and a little olive oil. Heat the sauce in a saucepan, then plate the noodles, mushrooms, and sauce. Or maybe the mushrooms on top, I haven't decided which is better. I served this with some broccolini that I baked with a little oil and garlic for 20 mins at 350.

Ligurian Potato Salad

2011-06-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

We recently watched an episode of Lidia's Italy, where she made Insalata Patate Tedesca, or German Potato Salad. She says it's a popular dish in Liguria on the northwestern coast of Italy. Kurt suggested this be our contribution to our friend's Memorial Day Barbeque and I thought it a grand idea. Especially since I needed an excuse to harvest a couple of scallions from the yard:

Below is Lidia's recipe, with my own changes noted:

2½ pounds red potatoes (she says to peel them, but I only peeled half of them for colour)
1 cup scallions , finely chopped
¾ cup ~~sweet~~ dill pickles, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
~~4 ounces slab bacon, cut in 1/2-inch pieces~~ 1/2 c red cabbage, 1/4 cup red onion diced finely (plus a tiny drop of liquid smoke)3 tablespoons German-style mustard
⅓ cup red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Put potatoes into pot with enough cold water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, and cook the potatoes until a knife can be inserted easily in the center. Drain the potatoes in a colander and as soon as they're cool enough to handle, and slice into 1-inch cubes. Immediately toss the warm cubes in a bowl with the chopped scallions and pickles and 1 teaspoon salt.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil cabbage and onion pieces in a skillet, and set it over medium-high heat. Cook until onions and cabbage are browned. Add drop of liquid smoke and allow it to be absorbed. Whisk in the mustard and vinegar, and heat to a boil. Continue whisking until the dressing is smooth and emulsified, then pour it over the warm potatoes and toss. Sprinkle the chopped parsley, ground black pepper, and remaining salt over it and toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Shitake Pasta

2011-05-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Every Saturday morning I take a short walk accross the street to the Tower Grove Farmers' Market and drop a tenner on a pick your own bag of Ozark Forest Shitake Mushrooms. I first had these at the deeply missed Riddles Penultimate Wine Bar, who served local food way before it was the hip thing to do. I fell very much in love with these mushrooms, and craved them fortnightly. But the only way to get them was at restaurants, and what I really wanted was to experiment with them on my own. Now, thanks to the ultra convenience of the farmers' market, I can do just that! I've decided this is THE best way to prepare these mushrooms. Too many ingredients just distracts you from the beautiful natural flavour of these amazing fungi.

Ingredients:

Approximately 10 medium sized shitake mushrooms sliced into thin strips
3-5 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 lb. whole wheat fettucini noodles boiled al dente
2 T butter (or 1 butter 1 olive oil)
parmesan to taste
truffle oil to taste
salt

Heat the butter until bubbly and add garlic and mushroom strips. Stir to get as many as possible in contact with the butter. Continue to saute and stir until mushrooms release their water and it cooks off. At this point, add a generous pinch of kosher salt and saute for about 1 minute. Plate noodles and top with mushrooms. Sprinkle parmesan and drizzle truffle oil over the top to taste. So simply and an express ticket to umami city.

Shaved Brussels Sprout Pasta with Tempeh

2011-05-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

Shaved brussels sprouts seem to be all the rage at restaurants lately, so I thought I'd try my hand at a dish I recently had at Terrene.

I shaved the sprouts and some garlic and onions on a mandolin slicer and sauteed them along with cubed tempeh in a little olive oil. The pink things you see are actually Japanese turnips, but I boiled them with some baby beets hence the colour. I'm usually a fan of brown rice pasta, but in this case, I wish I would have used a more sturdy whole wheat. Salt and pepper. This isn't really a recipe I realize, but you get the idea. Saute stuff and toss it with pasta. Sprinkle parmesan on top.

Rasika Dinner

2011-01-31T11:36:00.000-08:00

Rasika is an Indian restaurant in DC at which I recently enjoyed a delicious meal. It wasn't the standard Indian menu. They had lots of unique offerings, like flash fried spinach with tamarind yogurt dressing. I couldn't bring myself to do any frying last night, so we just had raw spinach with tamarind yogurt (yogurt mixed with samosa sauce.) But the stand out dish of the evening was the Chestnut Fava Bean Korma. Below is my attempt to recreate it. It wasn't as quite as dreamy or nearly as creamy, but it was just the right compliment to the salad, aloo gobi, and black rice pictured above.


Clock wise from top: Crushed almonds, shelled fresh fava beans, cardamon in and out of it's pod, shelled roasted chestnuts.

Chestnuts are hard to find sometimes, but I hoarded a few jars at Thanksgiving time. I've also had some success finding them at the Asian grocery stores. Strangely, I never seem to have trouble finding fresh fava beans around here. But if you do, the canned ones are fine. The cardamon seeds are what you want. Break open the pods to remove the seeds, and discard the pods. A pinch worth of seeds is all you need, as this spice is quite strong in flavour. Rasika used cashews, but I didn't have any, hence the almonds.

Ingredients:
20 or so cardamon seeds
1 small onion, diced
20 or so roasted chestnuts
1 cups of fava beans
1 cup of chopped nuts (preferably cashews)
1 can coconut milk or cream
1 T oil, butter or ghee

Directions:
In a saucepan, heat oil and toast cardamon seeds for a minute or two. Add onions and saute for about 3 minutes. Add beans, chestnuts, and nuts and cook until onions are brown. Add coconut milk and allow to stew for about 20 minutes. Keep on low heat until ready to serve.

Raw Kale Salad

2011-01-31T11:05:00.000-08:00

This salad is my current obsession. I had it first at the Whole Foods salad bar. But theirs has too much oil and too many cranberries for my tastes. Mine is all savoury, uses less of a more flavourful oil, and is a blank slate for whatever crunchy additions strike your fancy. Warning: It's so addictive you won't be able to stop eating it. But it doesn't matter because there is no such thing as too much of this stuff.

Base Ingredients:
1 bunch kale (well washed in water vinegar solution)
1-3 T pumpkin seed oil (olive oil is also fine, just not as nutty)
2 T apple cider vinegar
2-4 cranks of sea salt
4-? cranks of black pepper (as much as you think you can handle, and the coarser the better)

Additional Ingredient Options:
(Here you see what I had on hand that day, but anything works. I've tried the following with success.)
Carrots
Radishes
Tomatoes
Bell peppers
Onion
Almonds
Sunflower seeds

Directions: Dry the kale as much as you can so the dressing can adhere to it. Tear it into one inch pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle on the oil and toss. Splash on the vinegar and toss. Grind on the salt and pepper and toss. Fire in the veggies and nuts and toss. Taste it! If it needs more of anything, add it!

Seitan Stew

2011-01-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Take everything you see here (potato, celery, parsnip, onion, dried mushrooms, seitan, salt, bay leaf, carrot and garlic) and horse it into a big pot. Cover with water and boil until veggies are cooked to desired tenderness. Add vegetarian gravy granules and stir until dissolved. I know using them is a cop out, but I can't think of any better way to get the broth to turn brown and "beefy." Suggestions welcome.

Cauliflower Sauce

2011-01-17T13:35:00.000-08:00

I used to be completely addicted to Fettuccine Alfredo. But when I went to cook it for the first time, I was horrified by how much fat is involved. So now, if I want the real thing, I go to a restaurant, and suspend my disbelief for the time it takes to eat it. But I also really like trying out healthier versions of things and using bizarre substitutions. This is one that turned out pretty well. It doesn't really taste like Alfredo sauce, but it almost has the same mouth feel, and lots of depth of flavour.

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower (broken into florets)
1 cup of milk (I almost always use goat)
Parmesan cheese (to taste)
Horseradish (to taste)
Garlic (to taste)
Truffle Oil (to taste)
Olive Oil (for roasting)
Salt and pepper

Place florets and peeled garlic cloves in a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and salt. Bake until cauliflower is lightly browned and fairly soft. Once cooled, transfer them into a blender with remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with your favorite pasta.

Celariac Soup

2010-12-16T08:47:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 large celery root, peeled and cubed
1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 quarts vegetable stock

1-2 teaspoons sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Dry sherry

Directions:

Slowly saute onions and celery root in olive oil, stirring often, for about 20 minutes. Add stock and boil until thoroughly cooked, about 45 minutes. Remove from stove and puree in batches in a blender and season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, place a dash of sherry in each bowl and top with cream or garlic crouton (shown.)

Bleu Cheese Souffle

2010-12-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

I had never made a souffle before. And the only reason I finally did is because I needed an excuse to buy more ramekins. I served this as a 3rd course and put it in the oven just as we sat down to our 1st course. Perfect timing. Couldn't believe it. I forgot to take the picture when they came out of the oven, so that's why this one isn't puffy.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the ramekins
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk, warmed
5 eggs, separated
Pinch salt
Ground white pepper
1 T dry mustard
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
Pinch cream of tartar

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 4 (8oz) or 8 (4oz) ramekins by greasing them with softened butter. Make a bechamel sauce base by melting the 3 tablespoons of butter over low-medium heat in a thick-bottomed pot. Just as the foam subsides, add the flour, stirring constantly with a whisk to prevent lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until flour is "cooked." Add the warm milk to the mixture and continue to whisk until smooth and thick. Remove from the heat. Beat in the egg yolks 1 at a time. Season with salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir in the cheese until incorporated evenly. Very small lumps ok. Chill the mixture while whipping the egg whites. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites and cream of tartar just until soft peaks form. This takes a while. Fold 1/3 of the beaten whites into the bechamel mixture. Then gently fold in the rest. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and distribute the batter evenly. Do not overfill! Bake on the middle rack for about 25 minutes. The souffle is done when it has puffed above the rim and the outside is golden.

Quartet of Bruschetta

2010-12-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

While in Montalcino last month, we had a very unexpectedly enjoyable lunch at a little wine store that you wouldn't even expect served food. We had riboletta, bruschetta and a cheese plate, and it was one of the best meals we had in Italy. So that's what inspired this little plate.

Two are recreations and two are my own inventions. Clockwise they are: 1) mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with thyme and sea salt 2) white beans and garlic seasoned with rosemary 3) chopped green olives, tomatoes and gorgonzola 4) artichokes with parmesan and little bit of mayonaise.

Tomato and Barley Risotto

2010-12-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered an extremely elegant vegetarian blog called The New Vegetarian on the The Guardian website. And I'm always on the lookout for an alternative risotto like the cauliflower one I had at this amazing New York restaurant. So while browsing through all of Yotam's beautiful recipes, I found this one, and it was going to make a perfect 5th course at my upcoming dinner party. However, I really only used the recipe for inspiration, as I left out the sugar, feta and coriander, and added spinach and delicata squash. And I only used 12 cloves of garlic, not TWO WHOLE HEADS like the recipe calls for. Is he crazy? I would have to stay in solitary confinement for a week.

Carrot Fennel Soup

2010-12-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

I've been making the same curried carrot soup for so long that almost everyone I know has had it. So I thought I would mix it up when I had my in-laws over for dinner. I had a bunch of fennel in the fridge so I figured I would either make a fennel salad or soup. Then the oven broke, and I needed another hot course, so that was that. I was going to wing it, which has never done me wrong with soup, but then I found a Gourmet recipe and followed it (mostly.) I added an apple I had laying around and I didn't bother making the fennel seed oil. I used pumpkin seed oil I already had instead. And a little sprinkle of paprika to top it all off.

Stuffed Tomato and Delicata Squash

2010-10-25T12:10:00.001-07:00

Simple to make Sunday dinner. I wanted to make "Baked eggs in Tomatoes" but the husband is weird about eggs, so I swapped out the egg for a rice and mushroom mixture. I chose those because that's what I had in the fridge. You could stuff it with anything though. The delicata squash only appears for a few weeks every fall, so every year I mess with the recipe a little more. Serve these separately or together with a salad (frisee and arugala shown here.)

For the tomato:
Sautee mixed mushrooms with diced onion and garlic, mix with a little parmesan and cooked brown rice and set aside.
Cut off top and hollow out the tomato of all liquid and seeds. Then sprinkle the inside with salt.
Stuff tomato tightly with rice and mushrooms and place on oiled baking sheet.

For the squash:
Halfway mash some white beans with some finely chopped spinach and ricotta cheese. You could mix in an egg, but it's not essential.
Halve the squash and scrape out seeds. Pack in the bean mixture and top with panko breadcrumbs. Place on baking sheet.

Bake either or both at 400 degrees until tops are brown.

ONE jalapeno harvest

2010-10-17T18:35:00.001-07:00

One jalapeno plant produces far more peppers than one person can possibly use. I picked a bag this big at least 4 times this summer. Most of the time I would just use one per night for dinner. I also did some jalapeno vodka infusions. But the bulk of them are going to my friends Bridget and Brian so they can make more of their delicious hotsauce, with which I liberally top most of my meals.

Tempeh Cakes

2010-10-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

I have been obsessed with Terrene's tempeh cakes for some time now. These ones were almost as good. I served them with brussels sprouts and mashed butternut squash and spuds. It's also super easy to make if you are willing to be a little carefree with your recipe. You could pretty much use any vegetables (corn, peppers, olives) or herbs (nori, basil, oregano, sage) and steer the flavour in whatever direction you wanted i.e. southwestern, Mediterranean, Asian. I think I steered the flavour in a sort of home-style direction.

Ingredients:
I pack tempeh
3-4 ribs celery diced
1 large carrot diced
1 large dollop of vegan or normal mayonaise
1 T wholegrain mustard
1 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 T minced parsley and thyme
salt and pepper

Directions:
Reserve breadcrumbs, celery and carrots and place all other ingredients in blender and blend until almost smooth. If mixture is too thick, add a little olive oil. Transfer blended mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in reserved ingredients (reserving half the breadcrumbs.) Form mixture into cakes and dredge in remaining breadcrumbs. Place cakes on oiled baking sheet and bake at 425 until both sides are lightly browned. These can also be pan fried if you prefer.

Vegetarian Cassoulet

2010-10-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

So I'm not going to lie and act like I made this up out of my head. Never let it be said that I don't give credit where it is due! I've never even had a regular cassoulet so I had nothing to draw from. The husband has been requesting I try to make a vegetarian one for over a year, so I used this recipe from Gourmet magazine. I did add some Field Roast sausages though, because I knew I would hear about it if I didn't. I served it with roasted brussels sprouts and toasted wheat bread with my guilty pleasure - provel cheese. Sorry about the unattractive squareness of it.

Last Caprese Salad of Tomato Season

2010-10-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

A Vom Fass recently opened here. They sell all kinds of delicious vinegars and oils and I am like a kid in a candy store there. You can taste anything before you buy it, and it is physically impossible to walk out of there without a bottle of Maletti balsamic vinegar after you've tasted it. It is easily three times as thick as normal balsamic and the flavour is unreal. It made our caprese salads that much more wonderful this summer. Since my stupid tomato plants didn't do anything all summer but take up space, the tomatoes you see here are courtesy of the Amish farmers at TGFM.

Mini Savoury Pots

2010-09-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Lentil Pie
While teaching in Co. Cavan at this years Scoil Eigse, I had the pleasure to inhabit and dine at the Cavan Crystal hotel for 8 days. The default vegetarian entree was a puy lentil pie. It was delicious and I had it three nights in a row before I asked if the chef might mix it up a bit for me. The only thing I changed was using sweet potatoes instead of normal ones. Either way it's yummy.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato peeled, boiled and mashed with some yogurt and herbs
1/2 cup puy lentils fully cooked
1/2 yellow onion sauteed until brown

Mix lentils and onions and pack tightly into bottom half of a ramekin. Top with mashed potato and bake until lightly browned on top.

Oyster Mushrooms Rockafeller
I ripped the idea for this recipe off from the Vegetarian Times. But their recipes aren't always authentic enough for me, so I looked up a recipe for Oysters Rockafeller, and switched in the oyster mushrooms for the oysters. I like when nature provides the perfect substitute for a non-veg item. Sort of like the lentils are for ground beef.

Farmers Market Dinners

2010-08-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here are two dinners I made out almost exclusively out of stuff I bought at the market in the park accross the street. They aren't rocket science; just a bunch of sauteed vegetables really; both served with polenta two different ways.
Zucchini, tatsoi, yellow tomato, smoked eggplant, carrots, smoked onions, and polenta cakes coated in panko and baked. Thanks to Bridget for the photo styling! The limes were for drinks.

The corn didn't make the cut for this particular dish, but it was delicious. Precious precious sungold tomatoes, chantrelles and shitakes from ozark forest mushrooms, patty pan squash, kalamata olives, chinese broccoli, pumpkin blossoms stuffed with taleggio cheese on a bed of herbed polenta.

Slightly Out of Control Pumpkin Patch

2010-08-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

One halloween pumpkin left to rot on side of house = yard full of pumpkins!

Chilled Spicy Cucumer and Avocado Soup

2010-08-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

It is crazy hot out, so much so that the thermostat is ten degrees behind itself. So I had the girls over for dinner for some wine and summery food. Rebecca shown here accenting the soup with her awesome shirt.

2 cucumbers - peeled and seeded
2 avocados - chopped
3 cups water
2 tsp. green curry paste
1 serrano pepper - seeded
10 oz. coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro and finely chopped green onion for garnish

Put each ingredient in blender in order until fully blended. Place soup in fridge and chill for at least an hour. Handiest to store it in a pitcher for serving ease.

Smoky Spicy Fava Bean Dip

2010-08-02T13:32:00.001-07:00

I recently purchased a stove top smoker and I've been smoking everything I can get my hands on since. I've also got a cherry tomato and jalapeno plant that won't quit, so I have to keep making up recipes that include them. And I'm constantly looking for ways to reinvent hummus, so that's how this recipe came about.

6 cherry tomatoes - halved and smoked
1/2 yellow onion - smoked
3 smoked jalapenos de-stemmed and de-seeded
1 can fava beans - rinsed and drained
1 generous handful cilantro
2 T Braggs liquid aminos
1 t tumeric - just because this might be true

Salad Towers

2010-08-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

After my gig at the farmer's market near my house, I bought a few treats for myself and incorporated them all into one dinner, the second course of which I forgot to photograph before I gobbled it. It was whole wheat rotini with fresh chanterelle mushrooms and a light garlic cream sauce. The first course was this salad:

1 large yellow patty pan squash - sliced in 1/8 inch slices and sauteed until lightly browned

1 smoked or carmelized onion sliced - i did smoked

1 homegrown tomato sliced

1 head bibb lettuce

bleu cheese - melted into more of a sauce if you like

black pepper and sea salt

balsamic vinegar (optional)

layer them in the following order - lettuce leaf, tomato slice, squash slice, cheese - then sprinkle the onions all around.

Tempeh Cakes at Terrene

2010-07-03T13:38:00.001-07:00

Terrene is one of my favorite restaurants in St. Louis, partially because they always have one reliably delicious vegetarian entree, and partially because the staff there are so sweet and friendly that the dining experience is enhanced by their presence.

These tempeh cakes knocked my socks off! They are smokey, savoury, sweet all at the same time. I think about them all the time now. I am working on getting the chef to give me his recipe. Go eat at Terrene! They will not overload you with butter and salt. And you might just eat something that you can't find ANYWHERE ELSE IN TOWN!

Mashed Frites with Seitan and Mushrooms and Backyard greens

2010-07-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

This one was inspired by one of the courses we had at an "underground dinner" a few weeks ago. Now while I found that whole experience culinarily underwhelming, I did particularly enjoy this dish, especially since it was family style and I was able to sneak lots of extra morels onto my plate. This is about as "home cookin" as vegetarian food can get.

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, boiled skins on

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1 T butter

1 handful parsley

salt and pepper

---------------------

1 cup seitan

4 cups shitake mushrooms (or morel if you are lucky)

garlic

shallots

white wine

butter

a pinch or two of flour (optional)

----------------------

1 large bunch of your favorite greens

splash of apple cider vinegar

1 t honey

raw veg salad

2010-07-03T13:21:00.001-07:00

Inspired by a perfect "fatoosh" salad at The Vine, my favorite local Middle Eastern eatery, I went to the Tower Grove Farmers Market this morning and bought the ingredients for this simple salad. All local and all delicious. It's easy, and you can put in basically anything. Just dice it all up!

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes

1 small red onion

1 zucchini

2 ears corn

1 lemon (juice of)

1 handful parsley

1 handful basil

salt and pepper to taste

A few greens for dinner

2010-05-31T09:26:00.001-07:00

I have three large pots in my garden, each with five plants crammed in them. Here you see a ONE DAY harvest of buttercrunch lettuce, rainbow chard, and kale. The lettuce is especially bountiful and I've been making a huge salad every day. All those greens look like a lot when raw, but it took every bit of what you see here to fill my deep pie plate for a crustless quiche I made and forgot to photograph. I can't believe I never grew these before. It's the easiest thing ever. But you will have to wait until early April if you want your own. Greens growing season is drawing to a close.

Lentil Barley Stuffed Peppers

2010-05-31T08:58:00.000-07:00

This is not rocket science, but tastes so good and hearty. This is the kind of thing I wish local restaurant chefs would dream up for vegetarians. It is a focal point that you can pair with vegetable sides! If all you can think of is pasta and stir-fry then you fail the assignment! Anyway, enough of my rant.....

Ingredients:

1 cup green lentils

1 cup purple barley (or regular barley)

1 red onion chopped

2 eggs

1 t chopped thyme

truffle oil to taste

As many peppers as you want

Equal # pieces of your favorite sliced cheese - I used provel because I am addicted to it.

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

Cook the lentils and barley separately. Fluff the barley and drain the lentils and transfer into large mixing bowl. Sautee onion until it begins to carmelize. Add the thyme and sautee for 1 more minute. Transfer onions to bowl with lentils and barley. Add eggs, salt, pepper and truffle oil and mix thoroughly.

Cut the tops off peppers and set aside. Using your hands, grab as much of the seed cluster as you can. If necessary, go in with a knife and clean out the rest of the seeds and white fibrous bits. Set pepper cups close together in either an oiled deep baking dish or loaf pan. Pack lentil mixture inside pepper cups until completely full. Put tops of peppers back on top and bake for 30 mins at 425. Remove pepper tops and replace with 1 slice of cheese per pepper. Broil until cheese is brown and/or bubbly. Serve with salad, asparagus, or anything you want!

Spinach and Bean Empanadas

2010-04-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Empanadas are delicious, but they are never vegetarian at restaurants for some reason. Why is that when these are so easy and obvious?

1 10oz pack of frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 large onion diced

5 cloves garlic

1 can beans rinsed and drained

1 egg, hard boiled and chopped

queso fresco (or any cheese) to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1 package GOYA "tapas para empanadas" - (lazy, i know)

Saute onion and garlic, then mix with remaining ingredients in large bowl.

Place one tablespoon of filling in center of each dough disc. Lightly wet the edges with water using finger tips. Fold in half and seal edges by pressing together with a fork. Bake for around 10 mins at 350 or until golden brown. You can also fry them if you're in that kind of mood.

Serve with your choice of yummy sauces. Tomatillo chipotle salsa and mexican crema shown here.

Vegetarian Passover Dishes

2010-04-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

The Torah instructs a Jew not to eat chometz all seven
days of Passover. "Chometz" is defined as any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye.) The way around that when you want something starchy? Quinoa! It seems like a grain, but it is actually a member of the beet family.

Enter Greens and Quinoa Pie!

1 c. Quinoa rinsed and drained

1 10 oz. pack of frozen spinach (thawed but not drained)

1 large onion chopped and sauteed.

1/2 c. fresh herbs chopped

1/4 c. goat cheese

1/2 c. plain greek yogurt

3 eggs beaten

salt and pepper to taste

Oil a deep pie plate with olive oil. Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl and transfer to oiled pie plate and bake at 350 for 30-40 mins. Easy!

Serve with Tunisian Carrot Salad:

1 lb. baby carrots chopped

20 kalamata olives chopped

sunflower shoots

olive oil

roasted garlic

paprika

cayenne pepper

lemon juice

chopped parsley

Mix it all together and serve either chilled or at room temperature.

Oh, and since I'm not Jewish, I also had a big slice of whole wheat bread with white bean spread on it. Bean spread recipe to follow.

Whole Foods Rip-Off Dinner

2010-02-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

Whole Foods sells all sorts of lovely expensive salads and pies in their prepared foods section. So sometimes I go and write down the ingredients and make them myself! That's what happened with these two items. I winged it on the recipes, so who knows if these tasted anything like the ones I was trying to recreate. All I know is that they tasted good! And a nice departure from what I usually think of as dinner fare.

Greens and Ricotta Pie:

For the crust:

(Cooks Illustrated says to use Vodka in place of half the water in your recipe for a flakier crust)
1 1/4cups all purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1 T. sugar
6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into slices
1/4 c. chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 2 pieces
2 tablespoons vodka , cold
2 tablespoons cold water

For the Filling:

All the greens in your fridge chopped (I had about a half bunch each of kale and collards, and half a bag of baby spinach.

1 large onion chopped

5 cloves garlic chopped

1 1/2 c. ricotta

nutmeg, salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Crust recipe should yield 2 large crusts, one for the top and one for the bottom. I made four small crusts so I could make individual sized pies. Roll them out on wax paper and refrigerate immediately. Saute the greens, onion and garlic until greens are compacted substantially and most of the moisture has evaporated. Transfer them to blender and add ricotta and spices to taste. Process until greens are well chopped and ricotta is fully incorporated. Press one crust into pie plate, making sure to leave 1/2 inch of overhang beyond lip of pie plate. Fill crust tightly with greens mixture and top with second crust, pressing the edges of the two crusts together to form a seal. Bake until crust is golden brown.

Quinoa Lentil Rutabega Salad:

1 medium rutabega cubed and steamed until tender

1 cup (raw) green lentils cooked until tender

1 cup (raw) quinoa cooked

1 shallot very thinly sliced

1 red or yellow bell pepper thinly julienned

vinagrette - olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper

Arugula (optional)

Seedy Wheat and Molasses Bread

2010-01-30T10:28:00.000-08:00

Garlic and Kale Soup

2010-01-30T10:16:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

1 c. cooked barley

5-6 shitake mushrooms - sliced

8-10 cloves garlic - thinly sliced

brown rice vinegar

at least 4 c. vegetable stock

1 bunch kale - stemmed and chopped

olive oil

Heat oil in large pot. Saute mushrooms (salt optional) for about 8 minutes or until they are slightly browned. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add vinegar and saute until evaporated. Add barley, stock, and kale and cook 10-20 minutes until kale is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. This soup will warm your bones in the winter time. This soup is the soup most likely to send your cold or flu packing.

Parsnip, Chard and Collard Bake

2010-01-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from a fellow blogger, and changed a few things due to lack of ingredients on hand. I used parsnips instead of sweet potatoes, and collards in place of half the chard. And I didn't have gruyere, so I used fontina. Substitution is my middle name. Here is a link to the original recipe. I didn't use quite as much bechamel as she uses, because I wanted to be sure I could cut it into squares easily. It was delicious and very time consuming. I served it with braised seitan in red wine sauce.

Salade Niçoise

2009-12-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

Ingredients for Dressing: Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Dijon Mustard, Salt and Pepper.

2 parts oil, 1 part vinegar, 1/2 part mustard, salt and pepper to taste - whisk together.

Ingredients: Butter lettuce (not shown,) fresh tofu (cubed,) avocado (sliced,) grape or cherry tomatoes (halved,) hard boiled egg (peeled and halved,) green beans (blanched,) red onion (thinly sliced,) new potatoes (boiled and cut into wedges,) green and black olives (sliced,) capers.

Choose an attractive platter and create a bed of salad leaves. Carefully arrange ingredients symmetrically on top of leaves. I tried to keep the colors balanced on each side. How much of each is up to you. Sparingly drizzle a small amount of dressing over top. Other ingredients could include bell peppers and artichokes. Traditionally this salad contains tuna, but that's just gross.

Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin

2009-11-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

recipe somewhat stolen from gourmet.com

I've made this 5 times for various fall parties this month. It's been a hit at every one of them. I didn't have Gruyere or Emmental cheese, so I used Parmesan and fontina. And a couple of times I didn't have cream, so I used milk and it was fine. I left out the nutmeg and added parsley for a more savoury flavour. The only problem is how to serve it. It's an appetizer, but it's not really finger food. You need a plate and a fork to eat it. And a big spoon to serve it.

Butternut Squash Frittata

2009-11-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

Then I made the same thing with leftover butternut squash. I really like making these because I am so bad at making omelettes. I don't know how short order cooks make them so thin and perfectly folded. Anyhow, If it's closer to lunchtime when I have breakfast on a Sunday, I usually serve it with salad instead of more traditional breakfast accompaniments.

Corn Mash Frittata

2009-11-22T12:38:00.001-08:00

The hot sauce is from my friend Bridget. It's yummy, hot, flavorful, and goes well with eggs.

I had leftover corn mush from when I strained the bisque. It was pretty tasty, so I made up a use for it. Whisk 3 eggs, 1 cup corn mush, 1/2 cup natural yogurt, a little cream, salt, pepper. Saute 1 small diced onion with 1/2 of one diced jalepeno in a cast-iron skillet with a generous amount of olive oil. Once onions are soft, pour in egg mixture and bake at 350 until set. Top with cheese and hot sauce if desired.

Corn Bisque

2009-11-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

Ingredients: 4 ears corn, kernels cut off with knife

3 T butter

1 Sweet onion, diced

4-6 cups vegetable stock

2 T honey

Heavy cream (optional)

Paprika

salt and pepper

Saute onion in butter 2mins. Add honey, salt and pepper to taste, and corn and saute until soft. Add 4 cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20 mins. Allow to cool. Blend in batches in food processor. Strain through a mesh sieve. Add a teaspoon of paprika. Add 1/2 cup or more cream if desired. Serve hot or cold!

Tofu Bánh Mì

2009-11-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

The sandwich is a product of French colonialism in Vietnam, and combines both French and Vietnamese ingredients.

Bánh mì is a Vietnamese baguette (I buy mine at Jay International) made with both wheat and rice flour, but more popularly known as a type of sandwich traditionally made with this type of bread.

If tofu isn't your thing, fried eggs also make a delicious banh mi. I get weird looks from most local banh mi joints when I ask for one made with tofu, so I make my own most of the time. This place makes the tastiest tofu banh mi, and the most delicious fried mung bean spring rolls.

Ingredients: Clockwise from upper left: Cilantro, soy sauce, mayonnaise, pickled turnips (any kind of pickle will do,) tofu, diced carrot and onion, daikon, jalapeno, baguette

Cut baguette in half lengthwise. Mix together one part soy sauce with two parts mayo. Spread that on both sides of baguette. Sprinkle on the diced carrots and onions. Add a layer of thinly sliced jalapenos. Add a layer of thinly sliced tofu, followed by a generous bunch of cilantro, and finally with daikon and pickled turnips.

Bourbon Pumpkin Ice Cream

2009-11-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

I'm no expert on sweet foods. And experimenting with ice cream can be dodgey. So I used this recipe, and pumped up the cinnamon a little bit. I also served some bissinger dark chocolate almonds, which were amazing.

Cannelloni Duo

2009-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

Ingredients for the red one: 1 cup French green lentils, 1 big onion, thyme, cannelloni shells, watery tomato sauce

Ingredients for the white one: Butternut squash, 1 onion, goat cheese, sage, cannelloni shells and Béchamel sauce

Soak lentils and then cook them for 30 mins. Saute onion until soft, add thyme and saute one more minute. Transfer the onion thyme mix and half the lentils and puree until smooth. Mix remaining whole lentils with puree mixture and stuff into shells.

Finely dice one half of one butternut squash. Saute squash with diced onion and sage for 5 mins. Remove from heat and mix with 4oz. goat cheese. Stuff into shells.

In two separate lasagna pans, cover bottoms with one sauce each. Lay the lentil stuffed shells about an inch apart in the red sauce pan and cover with more red sauce. Lay the squash stuffed shells in the white sauce pan and cover with more sauce. Cover both pans tightly with aluminum foil and bake 30-45mins until shells are fully cooked. Serve side by side adding extra sauce on top just prior to serving. Garnish white one with a fried sage leaf and red one with parmesan sprinkle.

Check out how pretty this kale is!

2009-11-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

My friend Brian's dad has a farm. He grew it and Brian gave me some. Gorgeous.

Stuffed Delicata Squash

2009-11-10T09:44:00.001-08:00

Ingredients: Delicata squash (1 squash serves 2)

Olive and truffle oil

Garlic

Onion

Kale

Canned white beans

Panko breadcrumbs

Parmesan

Carefully cut squash in half lengthwise. Bake at 350 cut-side up for 30 mins. Scoop out seeds etc and set aside. Sautee 1-2 cups finely chopped kale with 2 minced cloves garlic and 1/2 a minced onion. Mix in 3/4 can drained and rinsed white beans and mush them just a little bit. Mix in some grated parmesan and maybe 1 tsp. of truffle oil. Top with panko bread crumbs and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Bake at 425 for 30 mins and serve with a complimentary salad. Beets, sungolds and arugula shown here. Thanks to Lisa for the inspiration for this one.

Random Fall Dinner

2009-10-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

pretty simple dinner, but delicious variety of flavours and textures. in one big pan roast discs of polenta, halved red bell pepper, and halved delicata squash maybe 450 or so. sautee garlic and shitake mushrooms and sprinkle with a little thyme. then add enough cream to make a very thick "mushroom sauce." finally, roughly chop one whole head of russian kale and sautee until slightly soft with a little bit of olive oil.

Pumpkin Mulligatawny

2009-10-16T14:20:00.001-07:00

Translated, mulligatawny means "pepper water," which is a pretty accurate description of this soup. But this time I wanted more body, so I threw in a can of pumpkin. The base recipe is: 1 yellow onion finely minced, 1 tsp each of ginger and galangal, 4 minced cloves garlic sauteed until soft in some olive oil and some butter. Add 1/4 cup of flour and continue cooking for a minute. Then add 1 tsp each of cumin, cayenne, and tumeric and sautee another minute. Add at least 4 cups of vegetable stock or water to desired thickness. Add 1 can of pumpkin puree and stir over medium heat until homogeneous.

Sweet Potatoes

2009-10-15T14:43:00.001-07:00

I planted 3 seedlings, they completely took over the whole yard and some of the alley, but somehow did not kill the tomato plants. Sweet potato vines are attractive with cute little purple flowers. Harvesting reveals a crazy looking nerve center of roots and tentacles. It is difficult to tell where the root ends and the potato begins. After harvest, you have to let the spuds sit on top of the ground for several days so they can "cure," meaning they need to develop a tougher skin and sweetness, neither of which they have right after you dig them up.

Half Dried Tomatoes

2009-10-15T14:21:00.001-07:00

I had an overabundance of super-ripe tomatoes, so I decided to try the "half-dried" preparation that I had in Spain. I'm pretty sure that's a loose translation, but it works. Halve tomatoes and place cut side up in a baking pan. Sprinkle with lots of garlic, herbs, olive oil and salt. Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees F. Yummy to toss into stuff at the last minute, instead of sauce on pizza, a sandwich with fresh mozzerella. Intense tomato flavour.

Nut Loaf - Ala "Delicious Cafe" in Tullamore

2009-09-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

mix together brown bread crumbs, carrots, pistachios, walnuts, 2 eggs, a cup of yogurt, some tomato paste, salt and pepper and bake at 350 for 45 mins. Slice as you would meatloaf and serve with several salads. Beet and broccoli salads shown here. Also a fruity chutney makes the ideal sauce for nutloaf!

Okra

2009-09-16T11:28:00.001-07:00

turns out you need more than one okra plant to grow enough okra for a meal.

Amazing meal in Barcelona at Sesamo

2009-09-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

from top: malay curry with corn fritters, sticky rice and spicy mango salad; cacao noodles in almond rucala pesto; burrata with rucala and 1/2 dried tomatoes; spicy udon noodles with smoked tofu and cherry sorbet; watermelon gazpacho

Berries

2009-06-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Pre-ripened photos of my blackberry and blueberry bush. I do not have photos of the ripe berries because animals ate all of them. But at least I got berries this year. I have had that blueberry bush for 5 years and thought it was never going to bear fruit.

Carmelized Onion and Kalamata Flatbread

2009-06-11T16:34:00.001-07:00

I carmelized one whole onion very thinly sliced in a skillet with red wine and honey. Spread those over a whole wheat naan, top with sliced kalamata olives and a sprinkle of parmesan.

Mushroom and Provel on Cornmeal Crust Pizza

2009-06-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Eggplant Rollups

2009-05-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

1 large eggplant, 1/2 bag baby spinach finely chopped, 3 large button mushrooms diced, 1/2 onion minced, 2 cloves garlic minced, 1 cup mozzerella shreds, 1 cup breadcrumbs, olive oil, salt............

Slice one eggplant lengthwise as thinly as possible. Salt eggplant and set on paper towels to drain. In a pan, sautee spinach, mushrooms, garlic, onion until soft. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and mix with cheese and breadcrumbs. Rinse eggplant and pat dry. Place 2 tablespoons in the center of each eggplant strip and fold over on itself. Place rolls folded side down on a lightly oiled pan and bake for 15 min at 425. Turn rolls over and continue baking for an additional 15 mins. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve! Makes around 6 rolls.

Vegetable and Ricotta-Stuffed Collard Rolls with Tomato Sauce

2009-05-27T11:21:00.001-07:00

12 large collard leaves, washed well, an 8 ounce container of whole-milk ricotta, 1/4 pound whole-milk mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch dice, 1 large egg beaten lightly, 1 red bell pepper chopped, 1 can or equivalent white beans rinsed and drained, tomato sauce..............Boil whole collards for 10 mins and then plunge into ice water until filling is ready. Mix all remaining ingredients together to form a consistent mixture. Trim collard stem 1/3 of the way up from the bottom, thereby getting rid of the thickest part. Place two heaping tablespoons of filling at the top of the leaf and roll up tucking in sides as you go. Place collard parcels in a bed of tomato sauce in a baking dish, and bake for 45 mins at 375 degrees. Serve with tomato sauce scooped on top, on a bed of whatever you want. Brown rice shown here.

Shaved Asparagus Salad

2009-05-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

1 bunch asparagus, 1 handful of chopped almonds or walnuts, 2 T vinegar, 3 T olive oil, 1 shallot minced, orange zest, salt, pepper. The asparagus in this dish is completely raw, but make sure you wash it!

Snap off the ends of each spear and discard. Then, holding the flowery tip, with a vegetable peeler, shave off thin tendrils of the asparagus, stopping once you reach the tip. Reserve tips for another dish, or steam and eat as an appetizer. Toss with vinagrette and chopped nuts and serve! Can't beat two kinds of crunchy in one dish I always say.

Cannellini Cannelloni

2009-05-09T14:10:00.001-07:00

Lightly oil the bottom and sides of baking dish. Next, lay down a thin layer of tomato sauce. Place uncooked cannelloni shells (that have been stuffed with: 1 can rinsed cannellini beans, 1 egg beaten, sauteed onions and garlic, lots of chopped herbs) in tight rows until you have filled the entire dish. Pour enough tomato sauce to completely cover canneloni over the top and bake covered at 350 for one hour, adding parmesan cheese at the half hour mark.

Charred Tomato Gazpacho

2009-04-28T04:59:00.000-07:00

2 big tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 green chile, 1 jalapeno, 1/2 vidalia onion, 1 red bell pepper, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup fresh pineapple juice, lime.

completely blacken tomatoes in cast iron skillet. you can do the same with the other ingredients, or keep them raw. puree the lot in a blender to desired consistency. garnish with green olives and cilantro (shown) or avocado (not shown.)

Spring Vegetable Risotto

2009-04-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

One bulb fennel cubed, one head green onions diced, one leek minced, 2 cloves garlic minced, one cup arborio rice (or barley if you forget to buy rice like I did,) vegetable stock, olive oil, 2 oz. goat cheese, fresh herbs, 1 cup frozen or fresh peas.

sautee fennel, onion, leek and garlic until softened. add rice and toast lightly until covered in oil. add vegetable stock and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. mix in goat cheese, herbs and peas and serve.

tuscan bean stew

2009-03-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

cannellini beans, kale, canned tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, vegetable broth, water, bay leaves, rosemary, salt, serve over toasted thick cut bread.

macaroni and cheese croquettes

2009-03-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

make whatever kind of macaroni and cheese and then stir in 2 egg yolks. shape into balls. dip first in flour, then in egg white, and finally in bread crumbs. you can deep or shallow fry these depending on their shape (the flatter they are, the less oil you need.) i was feeling decadent, so i went for full-on-spheres.

vegetable stir fry with crispy tofu

2009-02-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

coat the tofu in corn starch and fry in a little oil on both sides. keep in the oven until ready to serve. saute vegetables all at once or reserve the ones you want to stay crunchy until last. above you see tomatoes, carrots, jicama, broccoli, shitake and crimini mushrooms, onions, red bell pepper and garlic., but you can use whatever you want! i made a sauce of soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, rice vinegar and honey.

tempeh in mushroom lager sauce

2009-02-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

brown the tempeh on all sides in a little oil. saute mushrooms until carmelized, and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of flour. add a bottle of beer and some dijon mustard and stir continually over medium heat until thickened. serve over mashed sweet potatoes.

grated yellow beet salad with jicama, avocado and orange

2009-02-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

dressing made of orange juice, lime juice, cumin, cilantro and olive oil

Chili

2009-02-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

ingredients: 3 cloves garlic, 1 onion, 1T chili powder, 1 can black beans, 1 can black-eyed peas, 2 cans dark kidney beans, 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles.

in a food processor, puree garlic, 1/2 the onion, chili powder, 1 can kidney beans,1 can tomatoes. reserve the other half of the onion for garnish. put all ingredients in a big pot and cook until you are ready to eat. salt to taste and top with diced remaining onion. this will make tons of low fat food for less than $5.

options: you can add morningstar crumbles if you're into that kind of thing.

top with freshly shredded white cheddar.

top with sliced jalapenos for color and spice.

add a dollop of lebanese "labna" which is yummier and better than sour cream.

serve over brown rice (seen here) or whole grain small noodles.

eggplant parmesan

2009-02-08T19:40:00.001-08:00

used the cook's illustrated recipe for this one too. first you salt the eggplant so it releases it's water. then you shake it in a bag of flour, then dip it in beaten egg, and coat it in breadcrumbs. then bake on an oiled cookie sheet for 15 min each side. then randomly layer eggplant and mozzarella cheese on a bed of tomato sauce and bake for another 10 or until cheese bubbles. sprinkle with parmesan and basil and serve! delicious! and no need to deep fry!

Tofu Cutlets with Cilantro Pesto

2009-01-13T21:00:00.001-08:00

tofu pressed and marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar and baked. pesto made from cilantro, cashews, and ginger. white rice and acorn squash.

Braised Seitan in Mushroom Red Wine Sauce

2009-01-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

This was inspired by a Vegetarian Times recipe. The title pretty much lists the ingredients, except for the brown rice. It took no time to make, and was very delicious.

Everything I Had for Dinner in 2008

2009-01-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Click Here!

deep dish pizza

2008-12-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

delicious!!! i used the cook's illustrated recipe, but you need a subscription to access it. the crust was unusual in that it contained potato. the main trick is to set the raw dough in a pool of oil so the bottom actually fries while the rest bakes. regular ol' red sauce, topped with provel and mozzarella and filled with yellow squash, red onions and field roast.

weird lunch

2008-11-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

when i don't have to cook for anyone else, i end up eating scraps. what happened here is that i had a few brussels sprouts, a smidge of leftover wine, a slab of tofu, and some sauce leftover from "spaghetti mangia" the night before. so i braised the sprouts cut side down in the wine, then fried the tofu in a little olive oil, and landed it in yet another pool of sauce. i think the sprouts look pretty cool with their two-tone thing they have going on.

"spaghetti mangia"

2008-11-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

my version of mangia's best dish

because i am not privy to mangia's recipe, and because i was too lazy to go to the store, my recipe went like this:

boil a bunch of spaghetti (i used whole wheat,) while that's cooking, mix together in a big bowl

garlic - to taste

ricotta

natural yogurt

some eggs

shredded mozzarella

salt and pepper

then, when the spaghetti is done, drain it of course, and mix it into the dairy festival. then pour the whole lot into a lasagna pan and top with some sort of delicious sliced cheese, i used provel, because i'm addicted to it. then cook in oven at oh, 375 or so, for say 30 minutes? i can't remember. it will be fine as long as the eggs cook. i just keep an eye on the cheese on top; when it is lightly browned, the rest is done. let rest for 10 mins, then cut into squares and serve with your favorite (hot) tomato sauce poured all over the top, or set the square in a little pool of sauce if you prefer.

veg pot pie - bad photo

2008-11-17T18:21:00.001-08:00

crust: 3 c whole wheat flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 c olive oil, 1/2 c water

filling recipe roughly follows this, but i swapped edamamme for chicken, veg stock for chicken stock, i added broccoli, lentils, and turnips, and left out the potatoes.

butternut squash soup

2008-11-11T18:47:00.001-08:00

squash, onions, veg stock, coconut milk, beer!

garnished with: yogurt, thyme bread crumbs, parsley

green tomato chutney

2008-11-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

served with wheat crackers and midnight moon goats milk cheese

green tomatoes in late october

2008-10-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

quadrigeminal tomato salad

2008-10-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

i stole this idea from my brother. i grew the red one. the others were acquired elsewhere. in front you see wedges of fresh ricotta. all sitting in a pool of evoo and balsamic vinegar, with a light sprinkling of sea salt.

butternut and asparagus pasta

2008-10-02T17:13:00.001-07:00

whole wheat linguini, sauteed asparagus and butternut squash, just a little tomato sauce, goat cheese and fried sage

the pile

2008-09-26T09:04:00.001-07:00

grilled polenta, portabella, eggplant, patty pans, field roast on a bed of tomato puree dusted with parmesan

stuffed oversize patty pan

2008-09-08T16:55:00.001-07:00

boil then hollow out squash. stuff with sauteed onions, garlic, red lentils, bulgar wheat, herbs and truffle oil. bake for 30min. sprinkle with grated parmesan and broil.

i went to ireland for two weeks and came back to this

2008-09-03T07:26:00.001-07:00

my southside jungle: went from this to this in one month

2008-08-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

the many faces of patty pan squash

2008-08-07T14:07:00.001-07:00

Pea Turnout = Not Very Many & Not Worth It

2008-07-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

On the right, 5 "Snap Peas" and on the left 16 "Wando Peas" that yielded this pathetic handful you see above. Both were tasty. I think I put these into egg salad, or at least I should have.