Rugelach

My rugelach does not look like Mollie Katzen’s rugelach. Then again, much of what I create does not look like Katzen’s work. Oh well. It’s still edible. Quite.

Burrito Time

Tonight I made burritos in a hurry while I was hungry. Recipe as follows:

Sauté 1/4 of a yellow onion and 1 garlic clove in 2 T of extra virgin olive oil, and then throw in a 1/3 of a cucumber (sliced and diced), 1/2 avocado, a few broccoli florets, and a few diced carrots and celery stalks. Then add a few heaping tablespoons of medium salsa. Finally, warm up a couple whole wheat tortillas while you heat up a package of Zatarain's red beans and rice in the microwave. Not wildly creative, but tasty, healthy, and quick!

Speaking of wildly creative, however, I am currently reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. I liked her novels Pigs in Heaven and The Bean Trees, and then my friend, Hugh (whom I'd also call a foodie), recommended this nonfiction book about her experiment eating only locally grown and her own home-grown food for one year. I'm about half-way through now, and it's an excellent book. Kingsolver is not a vegetarian, but she is a delight to read. This woman makes me want to grow tomatoes in a pot on my fire escape, plant asparagus in our scrap of front yard, and make my own mozzarella cheese from scratch. So cool. She also makes me want to never set another foot in Schnucks but instead keep up with my weekly visits to Soulard market, a large, old farmer's market in St. Louis. I love the market's spring mix and ripe peaches and berries. I like chatting up "cheesy John" and eyeing mouthwatering pastries. I should post pics next time I go!

More updates on Kingsolver to come...

Sunday Lunch

Menu:

Gouda, Onion and Garlic Omelette (2.5 eggs, a splash of soymilk, one garlic clove, 1/4 diced onion, shredded gouda cheese, salt and pepper to taste)
Fried Potatoes with onion and cheese (1 potato boiled and then fried, 1/4 diced onion, one garlice clove and shredded cheese -- gouda, you guesses it)
Peach-Blueberry Smoothie (1/2 c plain yogurt, 1/2 c soymilk, 1 T honey, 1 T wheat germ, 1/4 c frozen blueberries, 1 sliced peach)

Summery Fruit Salad

An easy fruit salad:
Cherries
Frozen blueberries
1 banana
1 peach
red grapes

YUM!

Rice and Curry Dish

Although this is a bit of a repeat, this time I used brown rice instead of quinoa, and I added yellow raisins, broccoli, baked tofu, yellow onion and garlic to the pot. Delish:

Upside-down Vegetable Cake

How I missed cooking this past week as I lived in a dorm room at the University of Minnesota for six days. So tonight I happily prepared this lovely Mollie Katzen recipe from her Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook. I like the way Mollie's books always tell you how to lighten things up, and she adds photographs and some of her own drawings. This recipe is an old favorite.

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease an 8-inch pan with a bit of vegetable oil and then prepare the first layer of your vegetable cake:

1 onion, chopped and sautéd with five cloves of garlic

1 to 1 and 1/2 c broccoli, chopped
1 to 1 and 1/2 c cauliflower, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup corn (I use corn from a can)
salt and pepper and cayenne to taste
Mollie also calls for 5 minced scallions, but we were all out.

After you sauté your onion and garlic, begin boiling a medium saucepan for the rest of your vegetables. When the water begins to boil, Mollie tells you to drop in your veggies for 30 seconds before blanching them in a bowl of ice. Then drain and mix all your vegetables together before putting them in your baking dish. Then sprinkle 1 c of shredded cheddar cheese over the veggies, your second layer.

Then prepare the bread, your third and final layer. This part calls for the following ingredients:

1 c all purpose flour

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 T sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I was out of thyme tonight and skipped it - again, the bread tasted just as good as usual)

2 T dill

1 egg

1 c yogurt (I use Stonyfield's plain yogurt)

2 T melted butter

Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl, along with the sugar and herbs. Then in another smaller bowl, beat the egg, yogurt and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry ingredients. While Mollie instructs you to use your hands until the mixture is combined, I use my spoon instead (just as good). You then spread the dough over the vegetables until they are covered, and then bake for 40-45 minutes. After it cools, flip it over for a more aesthetically-pleasing dinner (I love aesthetic food -- and this is comfort food, too).
Voila!

Biscotti Before I Go

I made Jake and some friends raisin-almond biscotti before I left for the University of Minnesota for a week of research. They're very tasty!

Recipe (borrowed and just slightly modified from a recipe a recipeland):
3 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
1/3 c butter
1 c sliced almonds
1/2 c golden raisins
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 t baking powder

After you mix the yolks, 1/2 the sugar called for, the butter, lemon juice, raisins and almonds, then mix separately the egg whites and the rest of the sugar, and then finally mix the baking powder with the flour in a third bowl. Then fold the flour mix and the egg-white mix into the larger bowl, 1/3 at a time. You then shape the dough into two logs, bake them on a greased cookie sheet for 20-25 at 325, then let them cool so you can slice them into breakfast-cookie sized pieces. Then you bake each side for another 5-7 min. Drizzle with chocolate if you desire:) I used Lindt white chocolate.

Some with chocolate, some without:

Deviled Eggs

Some of my friends think eggs are gross. I've always been one to eat eggs, however. I guess this makes me a lacto-ovo vegetarian. Tonight I made a couple deviled eggs, boiling them, then mashing up the yolks with mined onion, spicy dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. I'd have added sour cream if we had some. I don't like or use mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. Mustard, on the other hand, is a giant love of mine. The other day I asked Jake what condiment he would use if he could only use one for the rest of his life: ketchup or mustard. He said ketchup; I couldn't go without mustard.

Deviled eggs: So simple. So full of protein. Voila:

Nachos (or broken up taco shells with salsa and bits of tomato and avocado)

Most of the time I am hungry. When my friend, Jeff, and I worked in a small town, we were the only two vegetarians in the office and we used to constantly talk about food. What we would eat. When we would eat. Did we need a snack break? Perhaps we could get pizza some time soon. What about a root beer? Did I want to split an avocado? Would my salad from Giant satisfy me for the rest of the afternoon (most likely not)?

It is still sometimes like this, though I don't emote quite as often about food. On occasion I daydream of Dairy Queen banana blizzards. I scrounge for chocolate where there is usually none. I send telepathic messages to Jake about picking up fantastic, enormous salads with candied walnuts and grapes at Dewey's down the street.

And then at times I'm not as hungry for a few days or a week. I get by on a yogurt or piece of fruit for much of the day. Or I have to remind myself to eat -- see the broken up taco shells and salsa, tomato and avocado bits above. It blows my mind. How can I not be my usual hungry self? Does this happen to you, too? Ah, to gaze at one's navel with these questions...

Back Home with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Ah, how lovely to come home after a week of perfect travel: hiking, biking, and eating chocolate. And Chief the cat could not have looked happier. He has never been so cuddly.

Tonight I diced half a yellow onion, browning it, and a clove of garlic, in some olive oil. I then washed asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper, celery, mushrooms and carrots. I cut the veggies into slices and let everything stew together for a while with low-sodium soy sauce, vinegar, sesame seeds, a dash of lime and lemon juice and a box of yellow raisins for a while before serving it on brown rice. A good detox after so much chocolate!

High Tea in Victoria

Hands down, the best "meal" we had on our trip to Seattle and Canada! And how lovely that a random hot dog stand in Vancouver sells veggie dogs.

Ridiculously Decadent Anniversary Cake (We're in Canada!)