New Cookbooks

This summer I got the new Peter Berley cookbook called Flexitarian Table. We have made about three meals out of this book and while all were successful they were all a lot of work. I am going to save this one for special Saturday night dinners for the two of us or for when we are entertaining.

This summer we went for a vacation in the Finger Lakes region. We camped in a state park and made most of our meals at the campsite. One night we ventured into Ithaca so we could try out Moosewood Restaurant. We really enjoyed our meal. I didn't have a positive recollection of their cookbooks but after the great meal we had I thought I would try again. This fall I got the Moosewood low fat cookbook because making good vegetarian food with a big hunk of cheese really doesn't count. This week I made 4 dinners from it (three vegan and one with cheese). They were all satisfying in a hearty hot dish kind of way and pretty easy to make. They did not have the elegance or beauty of the the recipes I had been following but I think they will add a nice mixture to our weekly menus. I found the Moosewood recipes did a nice job mixing in some interesting spices that made for some nice savory hot dishes.

Spinach Fettucini

There is probably some debt here to Andrea Immer who has a recipe for creamed spinach which she said you can make without the cream. I believe I was recalling that recipe when I made this up from food on hand. This served the two of us.

20 oz of bagged spinach
3 shallots, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
8 dashed red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
6 oz whole pasta
dash of olive oil
dash of sherry vinegar

Put water in pasta pot on to stove to boil. Boil one bag of spinach at a time. About a minute of boiling time. Drain, pressing out some moisture. Pile on large cutting board. When all spinach is on the board chop in 1/3 inch dice.

Saute shallot in oil in chef's pot until just browning. Add spices. Add the spinach to the shallots and add the pasta to the boiling water. Mix the spinach in well and cook off some water if necessary. When pasta is done drain and add to spinach. Toss to mix and add salt if needed.

Serve spinach pasta to plates. Drizzle each with olive oil and vinegar. I would guess it was about 1/2 tsp of olive oil and 1/4 tsp of vinegar.

We both liked this and liked it more the more we ate. I would be reluctant to serve it to others because normal people don't eat a whole bag of spinach at a meal.

What is in the pantry Chili

Here is a chili recipe I developed for what we had in the Kitchen. I think you probably do need to have the same brand beans and tomatoes for the same result.

1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 Cup bulgur wheat
2 onions, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 yellow or red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 hot pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can 14oz Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1 can 14 oz Muir Glen fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1 can 14 oz Muir Glen whole tomatoes
1 can S&W black beans with liquid
1 can S&W white beans with liquid
1/2 tsp ground smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 inch piece canned chipotle minced
1 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle

Heat oil in dutch oven. Add bulgur and cook until toasted. Add onion and shallot and cook until soft. Add peppers and cook a few minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute while stirring. Add the tomatoes and beans and bring to boil. Add spices. Adjust pan to simmer. Use a lid for thinner chili. At this point cook at least 15 minutes, adjust seasonings, serve. This is good with some corn chips.

Herbivore Sandwich - Take One

I have decided to try and develop a good herbivore sandwich. It should function like a sandwich, be good for you, and still satisfy like a meat and cheese and mayo sandwich that runs down your arm. Today is try one. This may be a year long process.

For encouragement I watched the Hungry Vegan video. See You Tube ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6N3xkDjrkk).

Today's Sandwhich - Makes 4 (serves 2)

8 slices Pepperidge Farm Whole Wheat Bread - Toasted
8 extra firm tofu slices - 2 oz each
10 oz baby spinach leaves
2 oz vegan mayo
1 oz hot salsa
1 garlic clove - minced
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Mirin
1/4 cup water
1 dill pickle

Microwave spinach in covered bowl for two minutes, stir and microwave another two mintues, stir and microwave one additional minute if needed. Remove spinach to cutting board and chop well. Put spinach in strainer and press out water.

Place tofu slices in non stick pan over medium high heat and cook until browned. Flip and brown the other side. Mix soy sauce, mirin, water, and 2/3 of the garlic clove in a small bowl. When tofu is browned, add soy mixture to pan. Cook down to thick syrup flipping the tofu to keep it coated. Remove from heat.

In a small bowl mix the mayo, salsa, and remaining garlic to create sandwich dressing. Slice the dill pickle in to thin slices. Toast the bread.

Make sandwiches by spreading dressing on bread, adding 2 tofu slices, 1/4 of the spinach, more dressing, pickle slices, and dressing on top slice of bread. Enjoy with napkin at hand.

This pretty much held up as a sandwich but was a little runny with the dressing and spinach. Overall it had decent taste and texture but I was pretty hungry so may have to try again to check.

Another Ugly Dinner

This looked a bit like worms and chewed food on the plate but tasted pretty good. The picture is from my messy kitchen just before serving.

The green beans are from my parents garden but were getting a bit older so I picked a recipe with a longer cooking time. I used Bishop's Braised Green Beans with Tomatoes, Olives, Capers, and Basil from Vegetables Every Day (page 174).

For the green beans I followed the recipe except for I cooked the garlic in two tablespoons of red wine instead of the oil. When the liquid in the pan looked a little low I added a tablespoon of the brine from the olives.

The green beans were tasty but we knew they would be. This is a standard recipe for us. Sometimes I will double the sauce part of it and serve it with pasta with the beans on the side.

The warm broccoli salad was a creation based on what we had around.
In a large bowl I mixed:
1 clove garlic minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 green olives chopped
1 tablespoon of black olive brine
I boiled for about 5 minutes:
1 head of broccoli chopped in bite size pieces
In a colander I placed:
6 baby bok choy stems sliced
I poured the broccoli and water over the bok choy and let cool for a few minutes.
I mixed the vegetables into the dressing.
I then mixed in:
2 Tbsp of basil chopped
2 Tbsp of flat leaf parsley chopped

I liked this odd salad with the bitter and crunchy bok choy set against the soft broccoli. The mild tang of the vinegar went well with the Sauvignon Blanc we had with dinner. I think Matt just found it weird but I would say it has potential.

All of the herbs were from my parents garden - THANKS

Dinner without Photos

The camera battery needed charged and I was too hungry to wait.

I tried the Chilled Tomato Soup with Shallots, Cucumbers, and Corn again from Berley's Fresh Food Fast (page 100). This time I made a half recipe and tried to just use a food mill. This didn't work and I had to dump the mess into the blender and then back to the food mill. So if you are making a whole recipe I suggest blending in two batches.

The soup was still good. I used a whole ear of corn for a half recipe and liked that. Again I didn't peel the cucumber but this one probably should have been.

I also made a side of pan grilled zucchini and summer squash. I cooked about 1.5 lbs sliced in long slabs lightly salted in 3 or 4 batches. In a separate pan I nearly caramelized a small red onion. I then returned all the squash to the pan with the onion and heated through. At the end I tossed in a small handful of chopped basil. The onion really helped this one out.

I had visions of staking these grilled slabs of squash into some sort of sculpture in the middle of my plate but I was hungry so I went for a pile next to the soup. It would have been a waste anyway since the camera was charging.

We indulged and had a little bit of bread with this meal which helped it feel more like a meal. I also had a glass of Moulin-a-Vent which while not really going with the meal is not a bad generic choice for food in general.

I finally wanted some Okra and I couldn't find it

I made the Three Sisters Stew with Okra and Leeks from Berley's Fresh Food Fast without the okra (page 105). I have never gone looking for okra so I didn't know it was hard to find. Berley notes in the intro to the recipe that you should make the recipe even if you can't find okra and I agree.


While this was cooking I made up some Spicy Summer Bean and Chickpea Salad with Harissa Vinaigrette from the same cookbook (page 125). I was planning for this to be for lunch the next day but it was so good we decided to have some with dinner. We were glad to have it also to have some variety of texture to the meal.

On the stew I left out the butter and the olive oil in the cooking and the sour cream in the garnish. This means we ate a soup of nothing but vegetables, water, and salt. It was excellent. I am going to guess it is the leeks that create the decent broth but the ripeness of the vegetables that carry it the rest of the way. If you can get the vegetables, I suggest making it tonight. In a month you may have missed your opportunity. The chopping on this is not to bad since most of the items remain large. I chopped as I cooked to save time.

On the beans I used 2 Tbsp of lemon juice instead of the 3 since I left out the olive oil. I also only used 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. Maybe I will try a little more next time. We found that the chickpeas could use a little salt. Trimming the beans is the biggest time on this recipe.