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Posts Tagged ‘vegetarian’

Tomato Bread Salad

23 Aug

I’m hanging on to every ounce of summer. I love fall, don’t get me wrong. It’s my favorite season, but there is one thing I absolutely love about the summer. I love eating fresh fruit and vegetables, but I especially love it in the summer time when you know it was grown fresh near you. So delicious.

REB and I went to one of our favorite restaurants in town, Zingerman’s Roadhouse and I had the most amazing salad there. They feature it on their summer menu each year, and each year we’ve gone, they’ve been sold out of it! So when I found out it wasn’t sold out, I had to have it! It was just as delicious as it sounded and was described to me. And it was light!

I recreated the dish after figuring out what ingredients they used (and what I could taste). I can in no way take credit for this dish, and I know it isn’t exact, but this variation was just as delicious. And the secret? Heirloom tomatoes!!

What you’ll need:
•3-4 heirloom tomatoes (I bought some orange, a huge red one, some green), cut into bite-size pieces
•1 Roma tomato, cut into bite-size pieces
•1/2 loaf sourdough bread (day or 2-day old is best), cut into 1-inch cubes
•1 cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (leave the skin on!)
•10-12 cherry mozzarella balls, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
•1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed (don’t get the kind in oil)
•10 basil leaves, chiffonade
•2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
•2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•S&P to taste

Preheat your oven to 300ºF.

What I found best was to let the bread sit for a day or two, then cut them into 1-inch pieces (you’ll only need about half the loaf). Place on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, toss and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and toasted. I’m not sure if this is what Zingerman’s did, but I figured if it was fresh bread, it would just fall apart with the dressing. By toasting it lightly, it kept its shape and still sopped up the delicious dressing.

In a large salad bowl, add tomatoes, mozzarella and cucumber together. Add the capers, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, basil, and toss well. Add the bread in last, toss lightly. The heirloom tomatoes do it all for me. No, scratch that. The capers. I love capers. I could eat capers all day long, I love them so much. But the tomatoes are the star and they are so juicy and delicious.

Drizzle olive oil on top before serving and enjoy!

 
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Posted in Food, Main Dish, Vegetarian

 

Truffle Mac and Cheese

03 Aug

It was fancy dinner night in our household. REB found a recipe for truffle mac and cheese and so we tried it out. Now, I’m not a huge mushroom person. I’m warming up to the taste of them, but it’s a slow process. However since we’re vegetarians, we need to find protein in other forms, which mushrooms fulfill.

The recipe he found was out of Maxim magazine in a segment about “foods guys can cook”, or whatever. The chef is Graham Elliot Bowles from Chicago, IL, and this dish actually tasted great. We changed it up a bit, but for the most part, it’s great as is.

What you’ll need:
•2 cups pasta (we used Cavatappi, my favorite kind of pasta!)
•1 can cream of mushroom soup (I bought the low fat, low sodium variety)
•1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (more like 1/2 cup for us :-X oops)
•1/4 cup Provolone cheese, grated (more like 1/2 cup of us :-X oops)
•1 tablespoon white truffle oil
•12 Cremini mushrooms, whole
•1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

If you noticed, the star ingredient in this dish is white truffle oil. So what the heck is it?


Truffle oil is basically a cop-out move to add truffle flavor with olive oil, rather than spending a whole lot of money to buy real truffles. And believe me, you can buy real truffles. I saw them in a locked up box in Wegmans store in upstate New York. Crazy stuff. Anyway, I bought this bottle which will last me forever because I have no idea what else I’ll use it for, but oh well. Another pretty something to add to my pantry. It’s a smooth flavor though and believe it or not, we could taste it in our dish.

So start by boiling the water for your pasta. While that’s going, heat up the cream of mushroom soup in another saucepan. No need to add water, let the soup just kind of warm away on low heat. Once it’s heated through and it starts to kind of bubble, whisk in the cheese and the add the truffle oil. You want to whisk and/or stir until the whole thing is smooth in texture. Then take it off the heat and set it aside.

While all this is happening, heat oil in a large saute pan. Add some regular olive oil to the pan and wait until it’s screaming hot (almost smoking), then add in the mushrooms. Now, this recipe calls for 12 whole Cremini mushrooms (baby Portabellas). However if you remember, I said I’m still getting adjusted to the taste of mushrooms, so I sliced a few up. The end result was having some texture to the dish, which is always a plus!

Cook the mushrooms for about 7-10 minutes, then add the sherry vinegar and let it cook an additional 2-3 minutes. The smell. I can’t even begin to describe the smell in our kitchen. It smelled so, so amazing.

Once the pasta is cooked, we scooped out about a cup of pasta water in case we needed it (we ended up not needing it), drained it then tossed the pasta into the mushroom sauce and then added the whole thing to the saute pan to mix with the mushrooms.

For a girl who isn’t 100% sold on mushrooms, I absolutely loved this dish. It was the perfect serving, full of protein and flavor and made me appreciate mushrooms just a little more. Of course, I didn’t eat any of the whole ones, but I did love eating the ones I sliced up!


Add some Parmesan shavings and cracked pepper on top and enjoy!

 
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Posted in Food, Main Dish, Pasta, Vegetarian

 

RLB’s Warm Pasta Salad

25 Jun

REB’s brother makes the most amazing warm pasta salad. We’ve made it a few times and I’ve posted pictures of it on Flickr, but I decided it was time to post the recipe since I actually asked REB to tell me how much of what he put in.

This pasta salad evolved when REB and his family were in Vermont, where they vacationed every year when they were growing up (right through college, actually). They own a share out there and trek out there for a week. Apparently one time while out getting groceries, they wanted to get this pasta salad that looked uber delicious, but cost quite a bit (common in Vermont: the land of organic, delicious food). REB’s brother, who we’ll call RLB (/wink), said he could probably make it, so they bought some ingredients, went back to their share, and he made it. It was a success.

The first time I had this dish I was in heaven. it’s so simple and reminds me of summer and also reminds me of REB’s family. We try to make it a few times a year, but it makes a TON so be prepared to have leftovers for 3-4 days. This easily serves about 8-10. I’m sure it should be served as a side dish, but it always is a main dish for us.

Here’s what you’ll need:

•1 1/2 pounds Penne (that’s 1 1/2 boxes ;))
•1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
•1 red bell pepper, chopped
•1 orange bell pepper, chopped
•1 green bell pepper, chopped (optional)
•1/4 cup (basically cut a smaller half) red onion, chopped
•1 8 oz. block fat free mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes
•1 can medium whole black olives (or whatever olive you prefer…we think black works better than green in this dish though) NOTE: save about half the liquid from the can
•1/2 cup olive oil (I know that sounds like a lot, but you’re making it in a big vat, so it’s not THAT bad
•1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce (more if you want a real kick)
•1/2 cup red wine vinegar
•1/2 the liquid from the can of olives
•Couple splashes of balsamic vinegar (you don’t want this dish to be sweet though, so 1-2 splashes will be fine)
•S&P to taste

A disclaimer:


In addition to the block of mozzarella cheese, we also buy fresh mozzarella. We don’t use the whole thing, but this is what we top the whole dish with (just a few pieces) so it kind of melts into ooey-gooey-cheesy-heaven as you eat it. This is totally optional and you’ll have leftovers of this cheese to make an antipasti platter or Caprese salad or whatever.

On to the cooking!

Boil water and cook the pasta according to the package. Drain and set aside. Add the dressing/liquid, half the cubed cheese and stir. Then you add the vegetables and the rest of the cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Top with the fresh mozzarella if you want, or it’s ready to go! We eat it warm, but it really tastes best if you let it sit a day and then reheat it. I don’t know why, but it does. Or you can have it cold as a side dish.


It’s the perfect summer dish and yes, it has a lot of dressing, but it’s well distributed so it’s actually quite light. I love it! And the best part is eating it for the next three days. Enjoy!

 
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Posted in Food, Main Dish, Pasta, Sides, Vegetarian

 

Tindora Curry (Kundru)

21 Jun

I made Tindora Curry or Kundru (as it’s pronounced in Telugu) tonight. It is definitely not my favorite, but REB absolutely loves it after he had it at my parents house. My mom, of course, makes it the best, but I tried tonight and it actually turned out pretty good. So good that I even had some [gasp].

Tindora, or Ivy Gourd, is actually only found in the eastern side of the world (Philippines, Asia, India, Thailand, etc.). It’s a fruit of the ivy gourd weed (I know, I know) and is most commonly sliced up and cooked as a curry.

It’s super easy to make, too. I’m not sure at all how my mom makes it but I threw something together and the key was: spice!

What you need:
•Tindora (2 cups, sliced)
•1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
•1 small onion, finely chopped
•1/2 tablespoon ginger, grated
•Salt to taste

Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until soft. Add the tindora, and cook for 15-20 minutes. You can even buy tindora frozen at the Indian grocery store and it will take less time to cook. The garam masala gets added next and I grate the ginger right over the pan so it kind of melts into everything (amazing). Add salt to taste.

And that’s it! It’s super easy to make and really good for you, too! It’s full of beta-carotene despite not being orange and full of other vitamins.

Enjoy!

 
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Posted in Food, Indian, Main Dish, Vegetarian

 

Tofu Lo Mein

29 May


Had some tofu in the house and I didn’t want to make stir fry since we eat so much rice in this household! Substitute spaghetti and you got some lo mein!

Here’s what you need:

•1 pound spaghetti – although we probably should have used 3/4 of the box. And whole wheat.
•1 package of firm tofu, cut into 1/2 strips
•1 package frozen stir fry veggies
•1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips
•1/2 large red onion, cut into thin strips
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•Grated ginger, I don’t know how much I used. We love ginger so we used a lot I’m sure.
•1 tablespoon Siracha
•4-5 tablespoons stir fry sauce
•3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
•Couple splashes Teriyaki or Soy Sauce (either or both, whatever)
•2 pinches red pepper flakes

Prepare the spaghetti according to the package. Under cook it a bit since you’ll finish cooking it in the pan.

In a large, deep skillet pan-fry the tofu with a little olive oil until they get crispy on all sides. Transfer to a plate and let them sit until ready to toss in with the veggies.

In the same pan, saute all the veggies with olive oil. Add the garlic and grate the ginger directly over the skillet (it’ll melt right in – yum!). Then add in the sauces. You can basically eye ball that since it’s up to your liking how spicy, sweet, salty, etc. you want the sauce to be. Add the tofu back in and stir carefully so the tofu doesn’t fall apart. Toss the pasta right into the skillet, mix, cook a bit and serve! You might need to reserve some pasta water to help keep the noodles moist. Serve and enjoy!

 
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Posted in Asian, Food, Main Dish, Vegetarian

 

Mexican Lasagna

26 May

If anyone has seen my recipe for the vegetarian enchiladas, this is basically a variation on it.

When I’d make the enchiladas, I’d roll them up, pour the sauce over the whole thing, bake it and then when we’d try to cut into it, it was hard to find where the individual rolled up tortillas were since there was cheese and sauce on it.

So I thought to myself, what if I just layered it all together and made it like a quasi-lasagna?

BINGO!

Worked like a charm.

Here’s what you need:


•1 16-oz. package of Boca meatless crumbles
•1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
•1 15-oz. can diced tomato (I use the kind with green chilies)
•1 10-oz. can enchilada sauce
•1 package of 6-inch whole wheat tortillas (10 usually come to a pack)
•2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
•1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
•1/4 cup low fat sour cream
•Taco seasoning
•Red pepper flakes
•Ground cumin
•Pepper Jack, cheddar, or what ever kind of Mexican-blend cheese


I know it seems like I use cumin a lot. OK, scratch that. I DO use cumin a lot, but I love it. It’s a great spice and it isn’t spicy, but adds a smokey flavor that would otherwise leave a dish kind of bland (in my opinion). Trust me, you’ll love it :) I actually grind up my own cumin but that’s because I have a bunch of cumin seeds, so it works.


Heat up some olive oil in a large skillet or pan and add half the chopped onion (you’ll use the other half for the sauce). Cook the onion for about 3-5 minutes or until they’ve sweat out a bit. Then, add in the Boca crumbles and let them heat through. Of course, if you don’t like Boca and prefer meat you can use your favorite ground meat instead. Just cook it to the way you should.



Use any taco seasoning you want and add it to the pan and stir. Don’t use too much though. This stuff is super high in sodium and you can use other spices to help flavor your dish. This just adds a little something. I actually add a little of that seasoning and then added in the cumin, about 1/2 teaspoon or so.



Next take about 1/3 cup of water (up to that much anyway), and add it to the pan. It’ll help keep the Boca moist and not dry out before you assemble the whole thing.

Once you’ve done that, transfer the Boca to a separate bowl and set aside until ready to assemble.



Drain and rise the black beans. Add the rest of the onion to the pan (and a little more olive oil if you need to) and add the beans to the pan and let them cook a bit.


Add the garlic and let it cook for a minute. Don’t let it cook too long or it will burn – blech!



Next up are the tomatoes. I use the kind with green chilies in them already. Adds some spice and makes it easy. You could just cut up some green chilies if you waned, though.



Then you add in the enchilada sauce and let the whole thing come to a boil and then let it simmer for about 10 minutes. You can also add in some salt, red pepper flakes and any other spices you want.


Necessity. Kthxbai.

So while the sauce continues to cook and get nice and thick, you can prepare your tortillas.


Whole wheat tortillas are a must! They’re super healthy, high in fiber and generally pretty low in fat.



Cut the tortillas in half. They’ll act like the noodles for the lasagna.



The last thing you’ll do is stir in some sour cream. I know, I know…not a huge healthy ingredient, but it helps thicken the whole sauce and adds a sort or tang to the whole thing. You don’t have to add a lot. Add as much as you want or think you need.

Now you’re ready to assemble your lasagna!


Pour some sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. From here, you will layer as follows: tortillas, Boca (or meat), cheese, sauce, tortillas, rest of the Boca (or meat), cheese, sauce, tortillas, cheese all on top.



Like so! Having the cheese between the meat and sauce helps keep the whole thing together.

Bake the whole thing in a 350ºF oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.


Om nom nom nom.

I probably should have waited until it was a little cooled before cutting it, but I couldn’t wait to eat it. It smelled so good! And tasted even better. It’s a very easy dish to make and will surely be a hit! Enjoy!

 
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Posted in Food, Main Dish, Mexican, Vegetarian

 

Jerusalem Garden

04 Feb

Every few days, REB and I have a date night. A lot of people do it, and we do too. It’s nice to be able to forget about work, other people, any thing else really and just focus on spending time together. I love when it happens all the time, though. OK enough gushy stuff.

We went to a place in downtown Ann Arbor called Jerusalem Garden. It’s located right off Liberty St. and is next to another favorite restaurant of mine, The Earthen Jar. We have never been to Jerusalem Garden and I was in the mood for some Middle Eastern food. There aren’t many places around here that have that kind of cuisine. I gave Palm Palace one chance and the place was the biggest disappointment, so we’ve never gone back. Though, I know my close friend B is all about that place.

Anyway, we loved Jerusalem Garden! It’s a quaint, little place that doesn’t seat a whole lot of people, but the prices are very reasonable and the portions are great. It reminded me of my favorite Middle Eastern place in East Lansing, Woody’s Oasis.

When you walk in you’re in the kitchen! You have the option of being seated (sign not pictured, but is to the right), or you can eat at the bar or order take out. If you go past that wooden post on the left, there are high-top tables if you choose to eat up front near the grill.

Should you choose to dine in (which I recommend), simply wait to be seated. You’ll be taken up three little steps and then into the back of the tiny building to the seating area. Bathrooms are located all the way in the back behind the curtain. There is additional seating outside, which is of course used during the warmer months.

As you can see from the prices, this place isn’t that bad at all. And, like many places in Ann Arbor, they have an entire section of vegetarian dishes. This place already was a winner for us!

We decided to get an appetizer and ordered the hommus served with warm pita. We also each got the lentil soup (which to me, is basically like eating dal straight up).

This portion was enormous! Granted, it was the large, but we didn’t expect it to be this much! Overall, it tasted really good. I could definitely taste the tahini and garlic. I wish it was a little more spice though. Fear not! They have hot sauce sitting right on the table. I had to add a few dashes of that into my soup. I love dal, but I need the heat.

I ordered the falafel sandwich with fattoush. I was in heaven. This was an amazing sandwich! It was warm, flavorful, fresh and seasoned so well. All the vegetables tasted fresh and crunchy and the hommus was an excellent condiment. I could only eat half since I was so full from everything else, but the other half came home with me to be eaten later. REB got the plain falafel sandwich, which he gave two thumbs up (and a big satisfying smile).

Overall, I give this place two very big thumbs up. The service was outstanding and our server was really friendly. The prices are more than reasonable. We got all that food for around $20. Not bad at all. Location can kind of stink, since it is downtown, so you either have to find street parking (unless that’s all for residents living on that street), or park in any of the parking garages in downtown Ann Arbor (which isn’t horribly priced for the amount of time we spent downtown after dinner).

Definitely give Jerusalem Garden a shot! I was really pleased with everything there and will most definitely make a trip back!

 
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Posted in Food, Restaurant Reviews

 

Meat-free for 2.5 years and counting…

22 Oct

I’m a vegetarian and have been for about 2 or so years now. It was a pretty easy transition for me. For one thing, my mom is a vegetarian so whenever I’m at my parents, we eat vegetarian Indian food (which, in my opinion, is way more satisfying than Indian meat entrees anyway).  REB is also a vegetarian and has been for almost 9 or 10 years, and many of my friends are vegetarians. So it was easy to do this being surrounded by a lot of meat-free eaters. Not to mention I live in a yuppy, but hippy town, so finding things that are vegetarian or vegan is not hard at all.

What started out as a bet with a coworker, quickly turned into a lifestyle change I’m pretty happy with. When it first happened, it was kind of hard to give up the things I loved (crab legs, salmon, mmm!), but I found myself realizing a lot of things. When I did eat meat, I pretty much ate fish or chicken. I hardly ever ate red meat because it didn’t taste as good to me as the simple stuff. I also already loved tofu and beans, so the fact I got to eat more of it wasn’t a bad deal. As stated above, Indian food is usually all vegetarian and incredibly filling, and the meat dishes don’t do a whole lot for me, so that’s always a home, comfort food for me to eat.

I know it was hard for some people around me though. I was immediately put into the “special dietary needs” category with my friends, and was limited to where I could eat if I wanted to eat out with friends or coworkers. The “Well, is there a vegetarian option there for me?” question is always brought up, and I still feel like I’m inconveniencing a lot of people or frustrating them too much. But then, I snap out of it and realize it’s MY choice I did this and MY decision. No one else’s.  I know it isn’t easy to deal with, but I find that hearing the snide and smart ass remarks of  “Oh, we NEED to make a vegetarian dish because Aparna is coming over”, or “Oh, we can’t eat there because they don’t have vegetarian options” with slight annoyance in the tone is just plain rude and disrespectful. The worst is hearing the “I mean, I know I couldn’t give up eating a burger. How can you NOT want to eat a cheeseburger?” That’s easy. Because I don’t want to. I don’t go around telling my friends “Oh my GOD. Do you realize you’re eating a DEAD ANIMAL?” Why would I do that? It’s a personal choice if you want to eat meat or whatever it is you want. It shouldn’t be judged. I have friends who want to order veal and ask me if I’d be offended. The answer is no. Again, that’s a decision made by the person eating it. Why should it matter what any one else thinks?

I think the hardest thing is weddings. I love all my friends and am incredibly touched they’d invite me to their special day, but out of the 10 weddings I’ve been to in the past 2 1/2 years (yes, TEN), only two of them offered a vegetarian meal. I guess it doesn’t make sense to me why people wouldn’t want to cater to everyone’s needs. I know it’s not about the guests, and it’s about the bride and groom. I get that, believe me. And I don’t mean any disrespect if any of my friends are reading this. However, if you have a buffet, wouldn’t it be nice if your non-meat-eating friends could eat something other than roasted potatoes, salad and green beans as the entire meal? Side dishes are great, but they’re just what I said: side dishes. I know it costs a lot more to have more entrees, I get that, but I suppose if you’re going to have those types of people come to your wedding, it’d be nice if they had an option to eat something they’d enjoy, as well. Everyone else gets to choose what they want to eat, right?

I did recently put fish back into my diet. I realized I wasn’t getting enough protein, so once every 2 or 3 months, I’ll order a whitefish or salmon dish. But for the most part, I eat vegetarian dishes on a daily basis. It’d be hard to be a vegan (for me). My friend JP is one and I admire her so much for it. I don’t know if I could do that. It’d be hard to give up things like cake or cheese that aren’t made of soy. I do drink soy milk, but that’s only because it’s in our household and REB doesn’t drink regular milk, so I learned to adapt. It’s not bad, by the way…

Anyway, I didn’t mean to come off sounding whiny or rude. It wasn’t my intention. I just wish I could receive more respect for my dietary needs like other people have for theirs. As in, don’t talk about it or make it seem like it’s something I’m going out of my way to do to annoy you. It’s a thing, yes, but it’s my thing.

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