Vox’s posts tagged vegetarian

This Week's Good Food

nobody@vox.com(Good Food on KCRW) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 22:25:23 +0000

Good Food, July 19, 2008

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Day 660 (Y2/D294): Who can break away to cook dinner when there's a John Hughes movie marathon?

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:30:10 +0000

My silly S.O. Thinking I was going to cook dinner. Just because he's sick. And because, let's face it, I usually do. Couldn't he appreciate that watching Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful was much more important. Plus I was busy, laptop on lap, working away, with only ONE eye on the TV. So, get that cooking idea right out of your head, mister.

Well, OK, truth be told: We only saw the last 15 minutes of Pretty in Pink (raise your hand if you think that pink prom dress is the most unflattering sack ever) but we did watch all of Some Kind of Wonderful. What a silly silly movie, really, it actually makes no sense at all.

And in fact I did get up, during one of the many silly, silly montages, and throw something very quick and easy together. But frozen food and microwaves were involved.

Breakfast:
Organic "Cheerios" with organic Sugar and Rice Milk

Lunch:
Leftover Seitan Stew
Iced Soy Latte

Snack:
Macadamia Nuts

Dinner:
Trader Joe's Penne Arrabiata, with some added Organic Peas, Garlic and Basil
Trader Joe's Soy Creamsicles (Have you seen these? To. die. for. You will re-live your lost youth eating these.)

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Day 659 (Y2/D293): The Clean Out Your Fridge Stew

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:22:29 +0000

Why mess with a good thing? If you're willing to dirty up a pan (and let's face it, we all know I'm not always ready to do such a thing) then you're ready to make a good old-fashioned clean-out-your-fridge stew. And I've been making those a lot.

What they all have in common:

1. Organic Brown Rice (the microwave-in-a-bag-three-minute kind)
2. Some protein source...usually seitan, but can also be one of the now many brands of "chicken" or "steak" strips out there. It can even be soy crumbles, although i tend to save those for either pasta dishes or Mexican dishes.
3. Some combination of fresh and frozen vegetables
4. Nutritional Yeast...which makes it very savory and creates the gravy that pulls it all together. (In fact Nutritional Yeast is such a wonder ingredient that I've discovered you can mostly just use water if you need more liquid...no broth or rice milk or more oil required.)

Saturday night I wanted to continue using the Spinach and Bok Choy I had on hand, and by throwing in some frozen peas that I microwaved a bit, it had a very green-themed dinner. In addition to being pretty, of course it had lots of iron using those dark leafy greens. I even restrained myself from eating the whole thing, so I could have some for lunch on Sunday. That took discipline, I must say.

Breakfast:
Organic Corn Flakes, Organic Sugar, Rice Milk

Lunch:
2 slices of Sourdugh Bread with Soy Margarine and Avocado

Dinner:
Seitan Stew with Olive Oil, Garlic, Bok Choy, Spinach, Peas, Leek, Garlic, Seitan, Organic Brown Rice and Nutritional Yeast
1 ear of Corn
Chery-Chocolate Chip Soy Cream

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Hash Browns

nobody@vox.com(Yeehaw Murghi) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:19:08 +0000

Hash browns

Taters were chopped into 1/4" pieces or so, sautéed and tossed in a little bit of ketchup and Dijon mustard along with salt and pepper. Then, the parsley was mixed in. Very simple, and very tasty.

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Chana Dal

nobody@vox.com(Yeehaw Murghi) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:26:31 +0000

Chana dal

I felt something was missing from my Tandoori Salmon & Chana Dal the other day... So I decided to try do something about it, with the leftovers. I chopped up and sautéed 3/4 of a leftover onion, halved some cherry tomatoes and threw them in also, along with a few drops of soy, and Sriracha hot-sauce. Then, I added the chana dal, just to get it warmed up. It turned out absolutely great. I couldn't be more pleased with this.

It's a damn funny thing, cooking. You struggle for a years, trying to get a recipe right, and then suddenly you stumble onto something like this, that you get absolutely right, almost by accident.

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Day 658 (Y2/D292): It's good to live in California

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:14:50 +0000

Where the fruits and vegetables are so bountiful, and not so crazy expensive you can't afford them even when they're bountiful.

That is all I wanted to say...carry on.

Breakfast:
Soy Latte
Organic Corn Flakes with Vegan Sugar and Rice Milk
Soy Yogurt
Organic Banana

Lunch:
organic Brown Rice
Morningstar Farms Riblets
Marcona Almonds
Nectarine
Diet Coke

Dinner:
Seitan Stew, made with Olive Oil, Garlic, Leeks, Roasted Corn, Bok Choy, Spinach, Mini Portabella Mushrooms, Seitan, Nutritional Yeast and Organic Brown Rice

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Broccoli polenta with pesto

nobody@vox.com(Purplesque) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:08:43 +0000

The first time I tried polenta, it was out of those supermarket tube shaped packages, disappointingly bland, barely rescued by our spicy marinara. This killer homegrown version is a different ~~animal~~ grain altogether, rendering the accompanying pesto superfluous.

Broiled polenta cakes

Broccoli Polenta cakes (recipe adapted from the smashing Veganomicon)

- 1 cup stone ground coarse polenta
- 3 and 1/2 cups water
- salt and fresh black pepper to taste
- 1 cup broccoli, chopped fine ( I used frozen)
- 2 oz Queso Fresco

- Bring the water to boil in a heavy saucepan. Slowly pour in the polenta, stirring constantly with a whisk.
- Add the broccoli, salt and pepper.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and keep stirring for 10-15 minutes until it thickens to creamy pudding consistency. (Be careful of hot splatters.)
- Cover and turn off the heat. Let it rest for ten minutes, until it is thick enough to be picked up on a flat spatula.
- Pour the polenta into greased muffin pans and cool. (Silicone pans are perfect for this..don't even need greasing.)
- Once cooled, turn over on a foil-lined baking sheet, crumble half the queso on top and place under the broiler until the cheese turns golden.

Sun-dried tomato cilantro pesto

- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup almonds, ground
- 1/2 cup cilantro, packed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste

- Soak the tomatoes in boiling water for ten minutes. Then, grind everything together in a food processor or blender.

Serve the polenta over the pesto, with roasted vegetables on the side, and more crumbled queso for garnish. I broiled a couple of zucchinis, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and vinegar, on the same tray with the polenta.

Polenta with pesto and broiled zucchini

* Omit the queso for a vegan version.
* Serves 4. Per serving about 250 calories.

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The week that was D653-657 (Y2/D287-289): The BlogHer edition

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:32:29 +0000

So, BlogHer is next week. Which tempts me to simply say:

"Move along, nothing to see here, come back the week of July 21st...or even the week of the 28th."

But in true obsessive blogger fashion I can't resist trying to keep up!!

So, I have a question for you. I've been thinking about this since the weekend.

I find that typically I have one day during the weekend where I lounge about and don't do much. (By which I mean I sit with my laptop and probably try to catch up on email for a while, but I don't catch up on other chores.) And then I have one day filled with chores. Grocery shopping, laundry, taking out the recyclables, tidying up a bit...that sort of thing.

I have typically made chore day on Sunday, thinking it's better to relax more on Saturday. But this week I started thinking that maybe it would be better to move chores to Saturday, so it didn't feel like I was going back to work right on top of a day filled with chores.

What do you do? Thoughts?

As for eating this past Sunday-Thursday? nothing new and interesting to report. one night at dinner I ate some celery and I ate some grapes. And I thought, it would be so nice if I had actually chopped these up and mad some kind of fancy salad with them...that would be great to report on Veggie Goes Vegan.

But no.

I just ate some celery stalks. And ate some grapes.

I've also been enjoying the nectarines and plums that are in season. I discovered that one of my friends, who has a plum tree, actually does canning, when she brought me some plum conserves. Complete in Ball Jar. I looked at her as though she was a stranger. Who is this woman who cans? Or jars.

Plum conserves, by the way? Quite yummy. especially on Vanilla Soy Ice Cream.

That is all.

We'll see when I can post again...conference crazy time is upon us!!!

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Raviolis

nobody@vox.com(julie) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:35:15 +0000

Last week I was in a ravioli-making frenzy. I ate raviolis five nights in a row. Five. Count them. I'm on what they call the anti-South Beach diet. :) This carb loving girl never says no to fresh pasta. What brought on this carb loading you ask? Well it all started with a simple tiny little unassuming bag of flour. 00 flour (super duper finely milled) to be exact. Most pasta recipes I've seen ask for 00 flour, but since it's not easily or readily available, I normally substitute with all purpose flour. Since I was all stocked up on the good stuff, now was time to see what all the hype was about.

It was love at first knead. The flour is baby powder soft and absorbs the liquid in a flash. I used the proportion of one cup of flour to one egg. A few teaspoons of water helped bring it all together. I gave the dough about 30 minutes for the glutens to relax and rolled it out as thin as possible. I cut out rounds using a large biscuit cutter and then I set everything up assembly line style.

The process of making raviolis

Wrappers, filling and egg wash to seal it all up. Hungry tummys want food fast.

Seal 'em Up

Now let's talk filling. Sky is the limit here. I love mine creamy with a punch of flavor, so the first night we did the classic spinach and ricotta. Even though it would have been perfectly delicious with just butter and Parmasen cheese, I added some sauteed Opo squash, red chili pepper flakes and flat leaf parsley.

Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli with Opo Squash

The next night we had raviolis filled with organic arugula and garlic quark from Spring Hill. I topped it with a quick heirloom tomato sauce. Raviolis are comfort food so I kept it rustic by garnishing it with hand torn basil and lots of Parmasen cheese.

Arugula & Garlic Quark Raviolis

00 flour is awesome. It yields the tenderest most delectably delicious dough.

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Day 652 (Y2/D286): Lazy day, if you count working on the couch instead of at my desk Lazy

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:00:08 +0000

It was a lazy day. I lounged on the couch all day (with my laptop.) But I did even take a nap...wile the S.O. was playing Rock band, if you can believe it.

Got a lot of work done. Whipped a couple of yummy hodge-podge meals too. Loves me that Trader Joe's!

Breakfast:
Shredded Oats Cereal
Rice Milk

Lunch:
Trader Joe's Chicken-less Strips, sauteed in Olive Oil with Fresh Spinach, Garlic, Basil, Organic Corn and Organic Edamame

Dinner:
Trader Joe's Penne Arrabiatta, mixed with Spinach, Garlic, Basil and Meatless Meatballs

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Day 651 (Y2/D285): Happy Fourth!

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:55:58 +0000

As always my family takes care of me at family parties. This time my sister and brother-in-law got the idea to roast a Sweet Potato on the BBQ, along with the usual Portabella Mushroom.Very tasty and healthy too!

Breakfast:
Vanilla Almond Crisp Cereal
Rice Milk

Lunch:
Morningstar Farms Riblets
Corn

Dinner:
Chips and Crackers with Hummus and Guacamole (this was the not-healthy portion of the meal)
Grapes
Portabella Mushroom
1/2 a Sweet Potato
Cauliflower and Broccoli
Vegan Cherry Pie
Diet Dr. Pepper

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Day 650 (Y2/D284): New Vegan Cake at Whole Foods...yummity yum

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:44:31 +0000

You may have noticed I'm a creature of habit. I hope I haven't just started a new one.

Now, whenever I got to Whole Foods down my way in the South Bay and have need of a dessert, I pick up the Black China Bakery vegan chocolate cake. It's dense and rich. This is the Bakery that made my wedding cakes. I love this cake.

It has always disturbed me that when I go to buy cakes up near my office for office birthdays, they don't carry the Black China cake. Instead they carry a vegan cake with a bunch of fruit on top made in their own bakery, and in my opinion, severely lacking.

Until yesterday, when i saw a new breed of vegan cake in the Whole Foods bakery case: A Vegan Mousse Cake.

And it was yummity yummy.

Oh noes! Must. Not. Seek. Excuses. To. "Need". Cake!!!

Breakfast:
Soy Latte
Vegan Scone

Lunch:
Whole Foods salad bar, including Tofu, Edamame, Corn, Beets, Broccoli, Pumpkin Seeds, Giganta Beans, Celery
Cashews
Vegan Mousse Cake

Dinner:
Russet Potato with Corn, Soy Margarine, Tofutti Sour Cream and Nutritional Yeast

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Day 649 (Y2/D283): 12 hours in front of a screen

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:34:30 +0000

Yes, Wednesday I spent 12 hours, literally, sitting at my computer, barely getting up to go to the bathroom and fix some food and occasionally take a phone call from my couch, not my chair.

Before you lecture me: Yes, I realize that is bad for me. Stretching=good. Regularly walking around=good. Sitting in one place for 12 hours=not good.

BlogHer is two weeks away, people, cut me some slack!!

I did, however, go for a nice long walk around the neighborhood with a friend in the evening, before settling down to watch other people exert themselves in So You Think You Can Dance.

Breakfast:
Vanilla Almond Crisp Cereal
Rice Milk

Lunch:
Fried Wonton
Leftover Vegetable Fried Rice and Hunan Tofu and Mixed Veggies

Snack:
Jalapeno Pita Chips

Dinner:
Small Salad
Rice and Bean Bowl with Avocado Salsa and guacamole
Mashed Potatoes
Diet Coke

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Article: This month's Silicon Veggie

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:24:13 +0000

Siliconveggie

This month's Silicon Veggie takes a look at how Oprah and Ellen flirted with veganism over the last month or two.

Is Vegan the New Black? The article asks and answers...in only 400 words!

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Vegan: Animals Over Humans?

nobody@vox.com(Joshua Judd) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:29:32 +0000

Some critics of vegetarianism and veganism say that veg*ns care more about animals than they do about human beings.

I think that vegansim shows compassion for animals as well as human beings, and in this video I explain why.

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Days 645-648 (Y2/D279-282): It's crunch time

nobody@vox.com(Elisa) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:05:00 +0000

BlogHer starts 2 weeks from Friday. But the whole week is pretty much shot. 2 weeks from today we're having a sales offsite. 2 weeks from tomorrow we start activities with the speaker training, editor meet-up and newbie mixer.

It's crunch time.

And whereas some people might lose their appetite and therefore some weight during such stressful times, I am not some people. Clearly.

Sigh.

So in the past four days I cooked one big mess o' [Whole Wheat because the S.O. decided he doesn't like the rice pasta all that much] Spaghetti and Meat[less] Balls, which I ate over two days.

And I went out to and also ordered Chinese food, which I also ate at multiple meals over two days.

Can you guess the other things on my menu over the alst four days? If you guessed:

Some Organic Cereal with Rice Milk
Soy Lattes
Vegan Scones
Cashews
Diet Coke
and a Burrito

You would be right.

Sigh. Even I bore me.

Bear with me...I promise I'll start cooking interesting things again after BlogHer. If I survive it.

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Recipe: Ratatouille

nobody@vox.com(elisabeth) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:37:15 +0000

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a hearty mixture of tomatoes, onions, zucchini, eggplant, and red and green bell peppers that is cooked with olive oil, thyme and garlic to create a sweet and chunky Provençal vegetable stew.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tomatoes—roughly chopped
2 red onions—halved, thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 zucchini (courgette)—sliced into ½-inch rounds
1 eggplant (aubergine)— roughly chopped
1 red pepper (capsicum)—roughly chopped
1 green pepper (capsicum)—roughly chopped
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic—finely chopped
¾ teaspoon dried thyme

Method

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
ADD all ingredients, except the garlic and thyme, and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
ADD the garlic and thyme and cook, uncovered, for a further 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft.

Serving suggestions: Ratatouille is delicious served hot or cold as a side dish with grilled fish or chicken, or used as a filling for a Provençal-style omelet. It can also be served as a meal on its own with some crusty bread or rice.

My notes: A little time consuming to chop all the veggies (I'm not exactly le expert with a knife), but this was suprisingly delicious. I say "surprising" even though this is a fairly well-known dish -- wouldn't have become that way if it were bad -- but the ingredients are so simple that I really didn't think that much could come of them. Well, I was wrong. It was just as the site described -- hearty, rich, and on the sweet side. And filling! If all vegetarian dishes were this tasty and filling, I might enjoy them more often. I added a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste to the dish as it was nearing done -- both because I had it to use, and because I used four small on-the-vine tomatoes and it didn't seem to make as thick a sauce as I desired. I used my trusty Dutch oven (seriously, the best $60 I've spent) because raw, the veggies took up a lot of room -- do not underestimate how much there is!

Originally found at http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_ratatouille.htm

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My Goat Cheese is Better!!

nobody@vox.com(Olivia) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:03:17 +0000

At least that's the battle between me and my friend, Katie.

Katie offered a great suggestion for leftover goat cheese (which happens frequently after a trip to Costco. How can one turn down an economy-size log of goat cheese?)

no recipe needed here, just simply dip your sliced rounds of goat cheese in smoe beatn egg and then in some Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs. Fry them up in some olive oil and once they turn golden brown, you're good to go! Top any salad with these delicious golden medallions or eat them solo. Just make sure you eat them fresh out of the frying pan, because nobody wants a soggy medallion.

Goat Cheese Medallion like YUM

Enjoy!

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Summer Food

nobody@vox.com(INPURSUIT) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:33:11 +0000

I was watching the today show and the focus was sweet corn. I was invited to a team bbq last week. I am on a running team here in K'town. Anyways I was trying to take a dish so my vegetarian wife could enjoy without being sketchy about the sometimes scary ingredients of anonymous potato salad. I had consulted quite a few recipes to find a new way to serve sweet corn in the husk. I settled on a thyme roasted ear. Thats where I fell off the wagon. It just wasn't enough. I took the ears and peeled them back and removed the silks. Next I took the thyme from my garden which is a hybrid not exactly regular thyme. I had a wonderful selection of thyme in my herb garden the first three or four years after I planted it. I had french, english and lemon thyme all in its own little spot. Then the bees changed all that. It seems that they cross pollinated all of it I have some quite exquisitely tasting lemon thyme. It has blooms that are all different but it all has a wonderful lemony flavor. Back to the corn. I chopped the thyme fine and added fresh chopped garlic, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and olive oil. I mixed it all in a bowl with a rubber spatula and the smeared it on an ear rewrapped it in the hush and foil. Next I put it on the top shelf of my grill and let it cook on low for about 20 minutes. It was a joy to serve. Since the silks were gone all I had to do was grasp the corn by the stem break it off and presto change-o I had a husked ear with an amazing aroma and obvious thyme smeared in the top. All that was left is place it on the plate and eat 'em uip.

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A semi-Moroccan meal

nobody@vox.com(Purplesque) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:01:08 +0000

I made a chickpea curry for brunch yesterday (along with the English muffins; hubby craves salt post-call). In the afternoon, we threw some veggies in the oven. We roast vegetables All the time. They are delicious, versatile, and so sin-free. For supper, then, it was only natural to throw it all together with some couscous. This is my favorite way of cooking- when I can combine all the leftovers to make something new and clean out the fridge in the process.

Couscous with chickpeas and roasted veggies

Chickpea curry

- 1 and 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp asfoetida (optional)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp powdered coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp ginger-green chilli paste
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- salt to taste
- cilantro for garnish

- Cook the soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker ( twenty minutes after pressure builds up) or in a pan with 4 cups of water, and 1 tsp salt, until firm but cooked through. Canned chickpeas do not need to be cooked.
- Heat the oil in a sauce pan. Add the asfoetida, cumin, coriander seeds, chilli powder, turmeric (in that order) and wait till they sizzle.
- Add the ginger green chili paste and stir for a few seconds.
- Add the diced tomatoes, season, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas with the cooking water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for ten minutes.
- Adjust seasoning. Garnish with cilantro and garam masala.
- Serve with yogurt, plain rice and flatbreads. This curry is quite similar to the Moroccan chickpea recipes I've seen, a great companion for couscous.

Roasted veggies (Ways to try yellow squash, for RD)-

- 4-6 yellow squash, thickly cut into half-moons (or zucchini, or broccoli, or cauliflower)

- a handful of baby carrots, cut into bite sized pieces

- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

- 1/2 tsp each dried thyme and oregano

- salt and black pepper

- Pre-heat oven to 420 degrees.

- Toss all the ingredients together. Spread out on a baking tray lined with foil.

- Roast for about 30-40 minutes, until veggies start to brown a little bit.

- Serve over couscous, toss with pasta, add to a quesadilla, or make soup.

Pine-nut Cranberry Couscous-

- 2 cups couscous

- 1/4 cup pine nuts

- 1/4 cup dried cranberries (or golden raisins, or chopped dried apricots)

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 3 cups vegetable stock, warm

- Juice and zest of two limes

- 1 tsp garam masala

- salt and black pepper to taste

- a handful of chopped fresh cilantro

- Heat oil in a Dutch oven.

- Add the pine nuts and saute until lightly browned.

- Then add the couscous and toast it for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

- Add stock, salt and pepper, cranberries, lime juice and zest. Mix well, and bring the mixture to a boil. (Should happen very fast).

- Cover, and turn the heat off. Take the pan off the hot surface.

- Open after a minute, fluff with a fork, add garam masala and cilantro.

- Serve topped with the roasted veggies and chickpea curry.

Same dish, different plate

It was so good. We'd gone out to see four One-act plays being performed by local theater companies as part of a city festival, and I surprised A by saying I wanted to go back home for dinner. Usually, I'm the one begging for a restaurant dinner. If you're reading this, dear hubby, I want you to come home with hummus from you-know-where. :)

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