I like some types of veggie burgers, and I do eat them on a regular basis. My favorite are the Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime - which are a type that is meant to actually taste like an actual burger. There are lots of veggie burgers out there, though, and many don't really try to mimic an actual meat burger taste... some just taste like veggies or beans or what have you, and are delicious in that way rather than in a meaty way. That is the type of veggie burger you tend to find in restaurants or if it's homemade. I've never actually made a homemade veggie burger; I've always stuck with the pre-made frozen ones. The closest thing I've come to making something like that would probably be the bean cakes - such as black bean cakes or bean and rice cakes that I've made. For some reason today I decided to try my hand at making my own real homemade veggie burger patties so I spent all afternoon fiddling around in the kitchen. I thought I would share my results with you.
I made my veggie burgers out of beans and bulgur wheat. I get bulgur wheat at the bulk section of my grocery store and it can be used for all kinds of things. It's a main ingredient in tabbouleh, and that's what I've mostly used it for. I happened to have some in the house, though, and I thought I might be able to use that in the burger. I cooked some beans (after soaking them for a while), and ran them through the food processor until smooth but still a little chunky (like refried beans).
To the beans and bulgur wheat, I also added a little bit of dried bread crumbs, and some minced onion and shredded zucchini (that I pre-cooked). I was going to serve the burgers with feta and tzatziki so I added marjoram and parsley for a Greek themed flavor. I was very worried about the burgers being dense and gummy so I tried to mix the mixture gently and keep some air in it. I had to decide whether to put in egg as a binder and decided against it and figured I would use it as is first. So I formed a couple of patties and sauteed them with oil on a hot skillet.
The verdict on the burgers was great! They got a nice brown crust on the outside and the flavor was good. However, they did start to crumble and fall apart. We ate the burgers like that, but then I went back and added egg to the rest of the mixture. I made six more patties out of the remaining mix and those are in the freezer right now for some future veggie burger meals. Lack of egg notwithsanding, I'm actually pretty proud of my first foray into veggie burgerdom! The bulgur wheat was actually a really good addition. And even though I wasn't really going for meat flavor, they actually were relatively meaty tasting.
I was worried the results would be somewhere between disaster and meh, but I'm relieved that my burgers turned out pretty good. The addition of the feta and tzatziki made them actually quite yummy. Of course it takes a lot to make something with feta not yummy!
Happy eating!
Showing posts with label New Foods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Foods. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Carrot Butter
I made something that was new to me the other day when I had High Tea with my friends: Carrot Butter. I'd seen it made by Chuck Hughes on his show, Chuck's Day Off, and thought it sounded interesting. He served it over risotto, if I recall correctly. Coincidentally he mentioned juicing your own carrots to use to make the butter and I had recently bought a juicer. So I figured I would give this carrot butter thing a try and serve it as a topping for the scones with our Tea.
It was a very simple process. You simply juice several fresh carrots, or pick up a bottle of carrot juice at the store. I've found bottled carrot juice with the other fresh and organic juices near the produce section. You have to reduce the carrot juice to a syrup consistency by gently simmering it in a saucepan. It can take a while, depending on the amount of juice you have, maybe 45 minutes. Reduce it however much you want - the longer it goes, the more concentrated the flavors are.
When it's reduced, you let it cool a bit, then slowly whisk in about half as much butter as carrot syrup. Chuck melted the butter first, and he used the carrot butter warm and melty. I wanted it to be spreadable, so I didn't want to let the butter melt all the way and separate. So I used room temperature butter and made sure my syrup wasn't too hot before I whisked the butter in. Then I poured it into a container, and let it cool in the fridge. I was using salted butter, but if your butter is unsalted you'd probably want to add some salt. I suppose it would be neat to add other seasonings as well, like curry or cayenne or cinnamon or something. I might try that sometime.
We had the carrot butter with the savory cheese scones I made and they were great. I also had it on toasted french bread later in the week. It is really delicious! It might seem a little out there, but actually it was kind of a nice way to add a little pizazz to such a common spread. I vote thumbs up on the carrot butter.
Happy eating!
It was a very simple process. You simply juice several fresh carrots, or pick up a bottle of carrot juice at the store. I've found bottled carrot juice with the other fresh and organic juices near the produce section. You have to reduce the carrot juice to a syrup consistency by gently simmering it in a saucepan. It can take a while, depending on the amount of juice you have, maybe 45 minutes. Reduce it however much you want - the longer it goes, the more concentrated the flavors are.
When it's reduced, you let it cool a bit, then slowly whisk in about half as much butter as carrot syrup. Chuck melted the butter first, and he used the carrot butter warm and melty. I wanted it to be spreadable, so I didn't want to let the butter melt all the way and separate. So I used room temperature butter and made sure my syrup wasn't too hot before I whisked the butter in. Then I poured it into a container, and let it cool in the fridge. I was using salted butter, but if your butter is unsalted you'd probably want to add some salt. I suppose it would be neat to add other seasonings as well, like curry or cayenne or cinnamon or something. I might try that sometime.
We had the carrot butter with the savory cheese scones I made and they were great. I also had it on toasted french bread later in the week. It is really delicious! It might seem a little out there, but actually it was kind of a nice way to add a little pizazz to such a common spread. I vote thumbs up on the carrot butter.
Happy eating!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
High Tea
In the last few days I have learned a lot about tea and scones. As I discussed in my previous post, I got two tea-related cookbooks from friends: one with scone recipes, and one that had miscellaneous recipes for tea. And when I say tea, I mean Tea, the meal, not tea, the drink. I have never attended nor hosted Tea. I don't know much about it. I have never cooked nor eaten a scone.
Today I wanted to try out a scone recipe from my new cookbook, and I thought, 'why not serve the scones with tea this afternoon for my husband and I?' But if I were going to do that I may as well make a couple other little things to eat as well. Then I figured if I'm going to do all that I should invite over our friends Phil and Jenn, whom we haven't been able to see in quite a while (my darn illness). So instead of having a little tea with my scone, suddenly I was preparing a full High Tea.
High Tea means a tea service that is much more elaborate and meal-like than just Tea, "regular" Tea. It is more often served later in the afternoon and can substitute for dinner. This is all stuff I've learned (from my new book) just in the last couple of days. Despite the trend that many things served at Tea or High Tea are often sweets, I actually made mostly savory things. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for what I was able to put together, considering we only have the last bits of miscellaneous stuff in the pantry and fridge, since I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and hadn't planned on Tea when I last grocery shopped.
I ended up putting together a few finger sandwiches, some mini lettuce wraps, mini lemon tarts, and of course the scones, which were cheese scones. I also served toppings for the scones: mustard, marmalade, and get this: homemade carrot butter. I'm going to talk about the carrot butter in a separate post since it deserves it's own. Then of course we had every type of tea I had in the house, sugar, vanilla sugar, and milk. I didn't have any lemons left in the house to serve as wedges and I'm sure some people would think that was highly abnormal, but oh well. I did what I could.
I got out some of my "good" china (which is nice but not extremely fancy or anything) and put the sugar in the nice china sugar bowl and got out my grandmother's silver footed bowl and did the table up. The odd thing is that, the one thing I don't own is a teapot. Nor do I have anything that can really substitute for a teapot. I just put a pot of boiling water out and we ladled it. Funny having Tea and realizing you don't have a teapot. Anyway, we sat and tea'd and ate and talked and it was wonderful. I will definitely make scones again and also I promised Phil and Jenn that we'll doTea again sometime, hopefully soon.
Happy tea-ing!
Today I wanted to try out a scone recipe from my new cookbook, and I thought, 'why not serve the scones with tea this afternoon for my husband and I?' But if I were going to do that I may as well make a couple other little things to eat as well. Then I figured if I'm going to do all that I should invite over our friends Phil and Jenn, whom we haven't been able to see in quite a while (my darn illness). So instead of having a little tea with my scone, suddenly I was preparing a full High Tea.
High Tea means a tea service that is much more elaborate and meal-like than just Tea, "regular" Tea. It is more often served later in the afternoon and can substitute for dinner. This is all stuff I've learned (from my new book) just in the last couple of days. Despite the trend that many things served at Tea or High Tea are often sweets, I actually made mostly savory things. I'm actually pretty proud of myself for what I was able to put together, considering we only have the last bits of miscellaneous stuff in the pantry and fridge, since I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow and hadn't planned on Tea when I last grocery shopped.
I ended up putting together a few finger sandwiches, some mini lettuce wraps, mini lemon tarts, and of course the scones, which were cheese scones. I also served toppings for the scones: mustard, marmalade, and get this: homemade carrot butter. I'm going to talk about the carrot butter in a separate post since it deserves it's own. Then of course we had every type of tea I had in the house, sugar, vanilla sugar, and milk. I didn't have any lemons left in the house to serve as wedges and I'm sure some people would think that was highly abnormal, but oh well. I did what I could.
I got out some of my "good" china (which is nice but not extremely fancy or anything) and put the sugar in the nice china sugar bowl and got out my grandmother's silver footed bowl and did the table up. The odd thing is that, the one thing I don't own is a teapot. Nor do I have anything that can really substitute for a teapot. I just put a pot of boiling water out and we ladled it. Funny having Tea and realizing you don't have a teapot. Anyway, we sat and tea'd and ate and talked and it was wonderful. I will definitely make scones again and also I promised Phil and Jenn that we'll doTea again sometime, hopefully soon.
Happy tea-ing!
Monday, January 9, 2012
It's Scone Day!
We got an awesome Christmas gift a couple weeks ago from our awesome friends Donna and Bob. They know how I've been entertaining myself while being stuck at home, tethered to my dialysis machine, by cooking foods, old and new, and babbling about it here. They put together a lovely basket with sortof an English teatime theme, including a tea-time recipe book and a scone recipe book. I have never made scones and I'm excited to try a few of these recipes, which sound delicious.
I've been thumbing through the books and I picked out a couple of recipes to try. I'm going to give it a shot and I'll post more when I'm done. Wish me luck!
I've been thumbing through the books and I picked out a couple of recipes to try. I'm going to give it a shot and I'll post more when I'm done. Wish me luck!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Lime-Limoncello
I learned from Alton Brown that Limoncello is easy to make. (Unnecessary aside: Alton Brown is awesome. I'm a little in love with him. Sorry, Mr. Flay, you've been replaced.) Limoncello is a lemon-infused sweetened alcohol from Italy that has been a bit of a fad lately. It can be made with just vodka, fresh lemon peel, sugar, and time.
I actually learned the process for making Limoncello long ago, although I didn't know it at the time. Years ago when I was living in Kalamazoo a friend explained to me how she made cherry cordial. She soaked cherries in vodka for a couple of weeks and then added simple syrup. Essentially, Limoncello is a lemon cordial. I saw it made on an episode of David Rocco's Dolce Vita, but I didn't feel inspired to make my own Limoncello until I saw Alton Brown explain the steps in detail on his show Good Eats. I realized how simple it is, and the next time I had some leftover citrus with which I had nothing to do, I decided to give making my own alcohol cordials a try.
I didn't have lemons, I had limes, so I went for it with limes instead. It's important to zest the fruit while avoiding as much of the white pith as possible, just getting the green (or yellow) parts - since the pith is quite bitter. Alton had suggested several lemons for about 700 mL of vodka, so using three limes for about half that much vodka seemed about right. After carefully zesting as much of the lime peel as I could get off of them, I added the zest and the 350 mL of vodka to a very clean mason jar. A tight lid and a couple of weeks in the pantry is then all it needed. Obviously, since it's alcohol, there's no reason to worry about it going bad. The alcohol works on the peel to extract all the oil and flavor. Alton said to let the jar sit for at least a week, but I left mine for almost three weeks.
Then, just today, I carefully strained the beverage through a coffee filter and then added some simple syrup. I made the simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water, and added about a third as much syrup to the jar as there was cordial. Dan sampled it and said he really liked it. It also smells delicious. There is no better potpourri than fresh citrus oils.
As an interesting coincidence, I now found myself with extra lemons in the house, and with my successful lime cordial experiement, I decided to try my hand at making actual limoncello, too. So I peeled a couple of lemons, mixed it with vodka in a jar, and into the pantry it went. The lime cordial is now in the fridge to keep it nice and cool for sipping or mixing.
I can't believe it took me so long to give this a try. I have some blackberries in the freezer that I'm eyeing for yet another cordial experiment. I'm excited to share my concoctions with my parents when they visit in a few weeks.
Has anyone else out there made limoncello or vodka cordials? I'd love to know what you made or how it went.
Happyeating drinking!
I actually learned the process for making Limoncello long ago, although I didn't know it at the time. Years ago when I was living in Kalamazoo a friend explained to me how she made cherry cordial. She soaked cherries in vodka for a couple of weeks and then added simple syrup. Essentially, Limoncello is a lemon cordial. I saw it made on an episode of David Rocco's Dolce Vita, but I didn't feel inspired to make my own Limoncello until I saw Alton Brown explain the steps in detail on his show Good Eats. I realized how simple it is, and the next time I had some leftover citrus with which I had nothing to do, I decided to give making my own alcohol cordials a try.
I didn't have lemons, I had limes, so I went for it with limes instead. It's important to zest the fruit while avoiding as much of the white pith as possible, just getting the green (or yellow) parts - since the pith is quite bitter. Alton had suggested several lemons for about 700 mL of vodka, so using three limes for about half that much vodka seemed about right. After carefully zesting as much of the lime peel as I could get off of them, I added the zest and the 350 mL of vodka to a very clean mason jar. A tight lid and a couple of weeks in the pantry is then all it needed. Obviously, since it's alcohol, there's no reason to worry about it going bad. The alcohol works on the peel to extract all the oil and flavor. Alton said to let the jar sit for at least a week, but I left mine for almost three weeks.
Then, just today, I carefully strained the beverage through a coffee filter and then added some simple syrup. I made the simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water, and added about a third as much syrup to the jar as there was cordial. Dan sampled it and said he really liked it. It also smells delicious. There is no better potpourri than fresh citrus oils.
As an interesting coincidence, I now found myself with extra lemons in the house, and with my successful lime cordial experiement, I decided to try my hand at making actual limoncello, too. So I peeled a couple of lemons, mixed it with vodka in a jar, and into the pantry it went. The lime cordial is now in the fridge to keep it nice and cool for sipping or mixing.
I can't believe it took me so long to give this a try. I have some blackberries in the freezer that I'm eyeing for yet another cordial experiment. I'm excited to share my concoctions with my parents when they visit in a few weeks.
Has anyone else out there made limoncello or vodka cordials? I'd love to know what you made or how it went.
Happy
Monday, July 18, 2011
Picada
I learned of a new thing the other day that I just knew I needed to add to my repertoire. I was watching a show about Spanish food and a man made a paste in his mortar and pestle that looked and sounded delicious. They called it a picada. I asked Dan if he'd ever heard of a picada and he said yes, it's a name for a preparation of some meats - and I said, oh, no, that's picata, like 'veal picata.' I hadn't even realized that of course, it's pronounced the same.
This new 'picada' is not the name of a preparation, but a paste used in cooking. It was made with fresh garlic, almonds, stale bread, parsley, and a little of the cooking liquid from the dish he was making. The man went to town on it in the mortar and pestle until it was a beautiful, smooth paste. He also added some saffron.
I was so entranced by this thing that I looked it up right away. It turns out that the picada is an important part of Catalonian cuisine. It's always made with bread, nuts (usually almonds), and cooking liquid, and sometimes also with garlic, parsley, and saffron; sometimes it is made with other things, but that's the standard. It is usually used to thicken and/or season a dish, or sometimes as a a topping, such as on top of a casserole while the dish finishes, but isn't eaten raw - always used to cook with. At least, that's what all the stuff I looked up said.
All I could think was that it sounded freaking delicious. I actually made some that very night. I used it as a topping for a layered eggplant dish I made. I didn't get it as smooth as I wanted, and I'll just blame that on my weak little arms - I actually used my mortar instead of a food processor, because I was trying to be authentic. I could get it smoother if I used the processor, and I'll try that next time. So it was a little chunky, but it was tasty. Very garlicky!
I think I will try making something like that as a thickener one of these days when I make soup. That could be interesting. At any rate, I've learned something interesting about Spanish food that I'd never heard of before. I hope you have, too.
Happy eating!
This new 'picada' is not the name of a preparation, but a paste used in cooking. It was made with fresh garlic, almonds, stale bread, parsley, and a little of the cooking liquid from the dish he was making. The man went to town on it in the mortar and pestle until it was a beautiful, smooth paste. He also added some saffron.
I was so entranced by this thing that I looked it up right away. It turns out that the picada is an important part of Catalonian cuisine. It's always made with bread, nuts (usually almonds), and cooking liquid, and sometimes also with garlic, parsley, and saffron; sometimes it is made with other things, but that's the standard. It is usually used to thicken and/or season a dish, or sometimes as a a topping, such as on top of a casserole while the dish finishes, but isn't eaten raw - always used to cook with. At least, that's what all the stuff I looked up said.
All I could think was that it sounded freaking delicious. I actually made some that very night. I used it as a topping for a layered eggplant dish I made. I didn't get it as smooth as I wanted, and I'll just blame that on my weak little arms - I actually used my mortar instead of a food processor, because I was trying to be authentic. I could get it smoother if I used the processor, and I'll try that next time. So it was a little chunky, but it was tasty. Very garlicky!
I think I will try making something like that as a thickener one of these days when I make soup. That could be interesting. At any rate, I've learned something interesting about Spanish food that I'd never heard of before. I hope you have, too.
Happy eating!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Fried Zucchini Blossoms, or I Don't Have A Black Thumb Anymore!
I have been talking a little about my Aerogardens and how I hope they cure me of my notorious Black Thumb. I just have never been able to keep plants, indoors our outdoors, alive for very long. When I first got my Aerogardens, I used one of them for planting starter seedlings that I then transplanted to larger planters. They were indoors for a while but now they spend most of their time outside on the stoop.
And guess what?! They aren't dead! A couple of the plants that I transplanted didn't make it, but most of them are doing fine! I have even started to get lovely little blossoms on them, and a few of them are turning into actual little veggies. Fantastic! Nobody is more surprised than I am.
I planted a couple of types of zucchini plants in my planters, and that's in part because I purposely wanted to get the blossoms to eat. I've been seeing all kinds of things about zucchini blossoms on various cooking shows and thought it sounded like a great idea to cook with them. I saw yesterday that I had a few usable zucchini flowers so I planned to make them into a dinner tonite.
Zucchini blossoms are the bright greenish-yellow flowers which bloom on the zucchini plant; the zucchini sortof sticks out of the back of the flower. They are shaped a bit like a bulb, which make them a natural shape to stuff but also to hide fun things like bees or spiders - not usually, but once in a while, so keep your eye out. Carefully open it by peeling the petals apart and gently clean it out. Gently cut or pull out the stamen. Wipe off any dirt. You can rinse them under water very carefully if you want but it isn't necessary. You want to handle them very delicately.
As a filling, I used a basic ricotta filling - ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt, pepper. But, instead of a basic ricotta filling, you could always add something else - other cheeses, bacon, ham, red pepper, spinach, anything you might think of putting in ricotta for some other dish. Or, you could use blue cheese, goat cheese, or some other creamy cheese instead of ricotta. Tonite, I just used ricotta.
I found out that stuffing them is not super easy. They are very very delicate. The trick is to hold the flower in your palm to support it while one petal is folded down, and fill the "cup" of the flower by using a bottom-to-top motion with your spoon, dropping the ricotta in gently. Then close the petal over the filling and press a little. If a little cheese comes out it's fine; in fact, it will. It's fine.
Then just dip the whole thing in beaten egg and breadcrumbs; or in batter, whatever you prefer. Fry in shallow oil until golden brown, handling them, as always, very gently. I served them with a drizzle of a glaze I made out of equal parts honey and that jalapeno jelly I got at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago. It was yummy. We also had pesto pasta and caesar salad. A yummy summer night's meal.
I'm so glad I kept my zucchini plants alive long enough to cook something from them! As a bonus, I also picked a tiny baby zucchini - I mean it, it's like, two inches long and so so cute - that I am going to fry up when we have pakoras as a snack later tonite. So that's two things I grew! Yay me!
Happy eating!
And guess what?! They aren't dead! A couple of the plants that I transplanted didn't make it, but most of them are doing fine! I have even started to get lovely little blossoms on them, and a few of them are turning into actual little veggies. Fantastic! Nobody is more surprised than I am.
I planted a couple of types of zucchini plants in my planters, and that's in part because I purposely wanted to get the blossoms to eat. I've been seeing all kinds of things about zucchini blossoms on various cooking shows and thought it sounded like a great idea to cook with them. I saw yesterday that I had a few usable zucchini flowers so I planned to make them into a dinner tonite.
Zucchini blossoms are the bright greenish-yellow flowers which bloom on the zucchini plant; the zucchini sortof sticks out of the back of the flower. They are shaped a bit like a bulb, which make them a natural shape to stuff but also to hide fun things like bees or spiders - not usually, but once in a while, so keep your eye out. Carefully open it by peeling the petals apart and gently clean it out. Gently cut or pull out the stamen. Wipe off any dirt. You can rinse them under water very carefully if you want but it isn't necessary. You want to handle them very delicately.
As a filling, I used a basic ricotta filling - ricotta, egg, parmesan, salt, pepper. But, instead of a basic ricotta filling, you could always add something else - other cheeses, bacon, ham, red pepper, spinach, anything you might think of putting in ricotta for some other dish. Or, you could use blue cheese, goat cheese, or some other creamy cheese instead of ricotta. Tonite, I just used ricotta.
I found out that stuffing them is not super easy. They are very very delicate. The trick is to hold the flower in your palm to support it while one petal is folded down, and fill the "cup" of the flower by using a bottom-to-top motion with your spoon, dropping the ricotta in gently. Then close the petal over the filling and press a little. If a little cheese comes out it's fine; in fact, it will. It's fine.
Then just dip the whole thing in beaten egg and breadcrumbs; or in batter, whatever you prefer. Fry in shallow oil until golden brown, handling them, as always, very gently. I served them with a drizzle of a glaze I made out of equal parts honey and that jalapeno jelly I got at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago. It was yummy. We also had pesto pasta and caesar salad. A yummy summer night's meal.
I'm so glad I kept my zucchini plants alive long enough to cook something from them! As a bonus, I also picked a tiny baby zucchini - I mean it, it's like, two inches long and so so cute - that I am going to fry up when we have pakoras as a snack later tonite. So that's two things I grew! Yay me!
Happy eating!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Black Bean and Chard Stew
And yet, here I am, post-dinner, staring down at my giant pot of leftovers and realizing, gosh darn it, it's a stewp. But I still refuse to say the word.
The brothy, vegetabley pot of goodness which led me to my unpleasant revelation is the result of a) wanting to cook (and eat) swiss chard for the very first time, and b) the food-creativity wheels in my head going into overdrive. I've been wanting to try chard for a while now. I'm not well versed in greens in general, being very familiar with spinach but not at all familiar with most everything else. My idea for my foray into the land of chard was to make a stew, and then I got to thinking what sort of stew, and it grew from there.
My Black Bean and Chard Stew, as I'm calling it, is chock-full of flavors and colors. I roasted fresh tomatoes and left them in large chunks so you really notice their sweet taste. I also added butternut squash which adds lovely color and texture. Being full up on nutrient-dense veggies and healthy black beans, this stew is extremely healthy, which means I had to balance that by topping it with something much less healthy: I made goat cheese and green chile pinwheels, which absolutely made the nummy quotient of this meal explode right off the top of the chart. I have to say, I am extremely proud of myself for this one.
The chard I used in this recipe was a striking bunch of Rainbow Chard, but any chard will do.
Black Bean and Chard Stew
veggie oil
3 smallish tomatoes (such as roma)
1 small bunch chard (8-10 stalks)
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, 1/2 inch dice (about two cups)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp each: garlic powder, oregano, cumin, black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
4 oz (1 can) diced green chiles
2 cans black beans (or equivalent amount dried beans, soaked overnight, boiled until tender)
4 c veggie stock
2 c water
2 tsp corn starch
Score the skin of the tomatoes at the base and toss them in a tsp of veggie oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, and peel skins. Roughly chop tomatoes, reserving juice.
Prep chard with a thorough washing and completely separating stems from the leaves. Remove any tough bases and dice the stems. Chop the leaves into 1/2 inch ribbons.
Heat 2T veg oil in a large pot on low. Add chard stems and cook 10 minutes. Stir in onions and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in squash and cook another 5 minutes. Finally, add chard leaves and cook 1 minute or until chard is just wilted. Stir in tomato paste, seasonings, chiles, beans, tomatoes and juice, stock, and water. Whisk a few spoonfuls of water with the corn starch and stir into the pot.
Simmer the stew for 15-20 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust as desired. Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, or with Goat Cheese and Green Chile Pinwheels.
I'll share the recipe for the pinwheels in my next post, coming soon. Happy eating!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Plantain-Green Chile Fritters
I have never cooked with plantain before, nor have I ever eaten them, to my knowledge. By all accounts they are banana-ish, but much less sweet, and much more starchy. So starchy, in fact, that they are used more like a potato than like a banana. When I tried my first bit of plantain this evening, I would say that's all correct.
We went to our local Asian market the other day and brought home a smorgasbord of fresh produce (for an awesome price, by the way. I love that place). One thing we brought home was a plantain. Just one. Just a single, unassuming plantain. I knew I wanted to try frying it. I had seen Ingrid Hoffman ('Simply Delicioso') make what she called aranitas, which means little spiders, by using grated plantain, a little flour, and some seasoning. I wanted to do something similar but bulk it up. I decided to make plantain fritters. I just have to share the recipe with you guys. If you haven't cooked plantain before, I highly recommend giving them a try!
Lairdriin's Plantain-Green Chile Fritters
2 large plantains, medium-ripe, grated
1/4 c onion, minced
1/4 c chopped mild green chiles
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground chipotle pepper (optional)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c flour
veggie oil for frying
cilantro
lime wedges
In a mixing bowl, stir together plantain, onion, green chiles, salt, black pepper, and chipotle pepper. Gently stir in the beaten egg. Sprinkle the flour over the bowl and gently stir it in, just until incorporated.
Heat 2 inches of oil in a pot over medium heat. Do a test fritter; if the outside gets brown before the inside is cooked, lower the temp of the oil. Drop fritter batter in small spoonfuls, bite size pieces, into the oil. Do batches of 4-6 frittters at a time so as to not overcrowd the pot. Let the fritters drain on paper towels and sprinkle them with a little salt while they are still warm.
When serving, sprinkle fritters with fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges for squeezing.
Enjoy!
Happy eating!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Soup's On, Part VI: Curried Peanut Soup
I tried my hand at inventing a new soup yesterday. I'm sure plenty of other people have made something like this before, but for me, I never have, nor have I ever seen a recipe for such, so for me, I was inventing it.
I sauteed chopped onions and carrots in butter with salt, pepper, and garlic, in butter and olive oil until very soft, then combined it with veggie stock and peanut butter and pureed it with my (new for Christmas!) immersion blender until very smooth. I also spiced it up with a combination of a few different curry spice blends as well as cinnamon, dried chiles, turmeric, and a little cocoa-based chili powder.
The veggie stock I used was a little different than normal. With the various veggies and the usual bay leaf and peppercorns, I also threw in curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves, because I knew I was using that batch of stock for the curry-peanut soup, and thought those flavors would be nice. I also used extra black peppercorns for the extra spicy kick.
Anyhoo, after blending the stock, onions, carrots, and peanut butter together and adding the spices, I taste-tested the soup and thought it needed a little tang to go with the herbiness and nuttiness. I had been planning on using milk and flour to make the soup creamy, but after the taste test I thought that maybe yogurt would add the tang I thought the soup needed in addition to the creaminess. So I added a few big spoonfuls of yogurt and pureed again.
The soup came out good but I think it had a touch too much peanut butter. Dan said he loved it and ate two big bowlfuls. I definitely think it was good enough to make again, but I'll probably make just a few changes. A little less peanut butter and a little more stock. And maybe a little ginger in the soup would be good.
Happy eating!
I sauteed chopped onions and carrots in butter with salt, pepper, and garlic, in butter and olive oil until very soft, then combined it with veggie stock and peanut butter and pureed it with my (new for Christmas!) immersion blender until very smooth. I also spiced it up with a combination of a few different curry spice blends as well as cinnamon, dried chiles, turmeric, and a little cocoa-based chili powder.
The veggie stock I used was a little different than normal. With the various veggies and the usual bay leaf and peppercorns, I also threw in curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves, because I knew I was using that batch of stock for the curry-peanut soup, and thought those flavors would be nice. I also used extra black peppercorns for the extra spicy kick.
Anyhoo, after blending the stock, onions, carrots, and peanut butter together and adding the spices, I taste-tested the soup and thought it needed a little tang to go with the herbiness and nuttiness. I had been planning on using milk and flour to make the soup creamy, but after the taste test I thought that maybe yogurt would add the tang I thought the soup needed in addition to the creaminess. So I added a few big spoonfuls of yogurt and pureed again.
The soup came out good but I think it had a touch too much peanut butter. Dan said he loved it and ate two big bowlfuls. I definitely think it was good enough to make again, but I'll probably make just a few changes. A little less peanut butter and a little more stock. And maybe a little ginger in the soup would be good.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Veggie Pancakes
I love my mother's potato pancakes, but tonite for dinner I made a variation of them. I had only one potato, but I did have half an onion, half a zucchini, and a friggin' boatload of carrots. So I made veggie pancakes with all four of the veggies instead of just potato pancakes.
I think any ratio of the veggies would work as long as the onions are a minority. Amount-wise I ended up with mostly carrots, then potato, then zucchini, then onion. Just as with the usual potato pancake recipe, I grated all the veggies and then strained out as much liquid as I could. Then I mixed in a beaten egg and a little flour, along with salt and pepper.
I made small patties out of the mixture and sauteed them in a little canola oil on high heat on each side until golden brown. I quickly discovered that with non-potato veggies, I needed more egg and a little more flour to compensate for the lack of starch that is normally abundant in just-potato pancakes. Some of them fell apart a little while cooking. It was too late to fix this batch, but next time I do this I will add more egg and flour to hold them together a little better.
I served them as I do potato pancakes with plenty of sour cream (no applesauce though). I was a little worried that they would be too carroty but as it turns out they were delicious. Really delicious! Almost as delicious as the regular potato pancake recipe -- and in our family that is saying something. And for a bonus, these veggie pancakes have an extra nutrition kick what with the carrots and zucchini. I actually would like to try them again with mostly zucchini instead of mostly carrot next time. But for a quick throw-together based on what I happened to have in the fridge, these were definitely a success. Luckily I have plenty left over, so I am looking forward to a yummy veggie pancake snack later tonite.
My Veggie Pancake experiment DEFINITELY counts as a success. Happy eating!
I think any ratio of the veggies would work as long as the onions are a minority. Amount-wise I ended up with mostly carrots, then potato, then zucchini, then onion. Just as with the usual potato pancake recipe, I grated all the veggies and then strained out as much liquid as I could. Then I mixed in a beaten egg and a little flour, along with salt and pepper.
I made small patties out of the mixture and sauteed them in a little canola oil on high heat on each side until golden brown. I quickly discovered that with non-potato veggies, I needed more egg and a little more flour to compensate for the lack of starch that is normally abundant in just-potato pancakes. Some of them fell apart a little while cooking. It was too late to fix this batch, but next time I do this I will add more egg and flour to hold them together a little better.
I served them as I do potato pancakes with plenty of sour cream (no applesauce though). I was a little worried that they would be too carroty but as it turns out they were delicious. Really delicious! Almost as delicious as the regular potato pancake recipe -- and in our family that is saying something. And for a bonus, these veggie pancakes have an extra nutrition kick what with the carrots and zucchini. I actually would like to try them again with mostly zucchini instead of mostly carrot next time. But for a quick throw-together based on what I happened to have in the fridge, these were definitely a success. Luckily I have plenty left over, so I am looking forward to a yummy veggie pancake snack later tonite.
My Veggie Pancake experiment DEFINITELY counts as a success. Happy eating!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Eggplant Lasagna
I had used about half a large eggplant to make my eggplant parmesan, and I was trying to decide what to use the rest of the eggplant for. I could make more parmesan, but then I realized that I had a few lasagna noodles left in the pantry, and plenty of mozzarella leftover from the parmesan, so I figured what the heck, I'd give lasagna with eggplant in it a try. I've made lasagna plenty of times, but never with eggplant in it.
I usually make lasagna with lots and lots of cheese. I didn't actually have any ricotta in the house, so I made some with the milk we had. (Yeah, I'm that crazy, spending hours making lasagna AFTER spending hours making my own cheese. Somebody commit me or something). I didn't get much ricotta, but it was enough for one layer. I normally would do two very thick layers of ricotta, but for this lasagna I had one ricotta layer and one thinly-sliced eggplant layer. The skins don't need to be cut off of eggplant for something like this, or for eggplant parmesan, etc., but I personally like the skins off. I also like to salt the sliced eggplant and let it sit for 15-20 minutes or so, to draw some of the moisture out of the eggplant. This helps the eggplant from becoming too mushy.
For lasagna, I like to make a simple tomato sauce without too much seasoning and without chunks in it. It also helps to have a little water in the sauce so that as the lasagna cooks, it doesn't become too dry. The noodles get cooked a little less than al dente in boiling water, so that they can finish cooking in the oven.
After building the lasagna with multiple layers of noodles, sauce, eggplant, and cheese, I topped the lasagna with plenty more sauce and lots and lots of mozzarella. Baking time always varies depending on how thick the lasagna is, but I always cook it until it has darker, crusty edges. Those are the best parts, the crusty edges.
My eggplant lasagna experiment was great, even though I did miss the extra cheese. I just love love love the taste of eggplant!
Happy eating!
I usually make lasagna with lots and lots of cheese. I didn't actually have any ricotta in the house, so I made some with the milk we had. (Yeah, I'm that crazy, spending hours making lasagna AFTER spending hours making my own cheese. Somebody commit me or something). I didn't get much ricotta, but it was enough for one layer. I normally would do two very thick layers of ricotta, but for this lasagna I had one ricotta layer and one thinly-sliced eggplant layer. The skins don't need to be cut off of eggplant for something like this, or for eggplant parmesan, etc., but I personally like the skins off. I also like to salt the sliced eggplant and let it sit for 15-20 minutes or so, to draw some of the moisture out of the eggplant. This helps the eggplant from becoming too mushy.
For lasagna, I like to make a simple tomato sauce without too much seasoning and without chunks in it. It also helps to have a little water in the sauce so that as the lasagna cooks, it doesn't become too dry. The noodles get cooked a little less than al dente in boiling water, so that they can finish cooking in the oven.
After building the lasagna with multiple layers of noodles, sauce, eggplant, and cheese, I topped the lasagna with plenty more sauce and lots and lots of mozzarella. Baking time always varies depending on how thick the lasagna is, but I always cook it until it has darker, crusty edges. Those are the best parts, the crusty edges.
My eggplant lasagna experiment was great, even though I did miss the extra cheese. I just love love love the taste of eggplant!
Happy eating!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Almond Chili
...yeah, I said "Almond Chili." Let me explain.
Several years ago, I was in Indianapolis and my companion and I went downtown to walk around and see the sights. We came across a chili place and decided to check it out. The restaurant had a few types of chili, plus a rotating set of seasonal chilis. You could get a sampler of 5 or 6 types of chilis either as a full meal or to try them out before ordering. We got the sampler to share, as one of their chilis was a vegetarian version. It was made with tvp (textured vegetable protein, which is in many, many veggie meat products and is a reasonable facsimilie for ground beef). But, this veggie chili also had nuts in it. Peanuts, if I remember correctly. It was pretty good chili, not the best, but the thing that really stuck out in my mind was how good the nuts were in it.
Since then, I occassionally recall that chili, and when I do I tell myself that someday I'm going to try doing that. Well, it's been a long time coming, but the other day I finally gave nuts in chili a try. I used ground up toasted almonds. I made a typical chili for me except that I didn't use kidney beans, and I used a few roasted mild green chiles, which I don't normally use. I used my flavour shaker (I love that thing!) to crush the almonds so that they were a mixture of pulverized-into-a-powder and very-fine-tiny-pieces.
Dan and I sampled the chili for dinner that night, and wow, it was really good! The almonds added a nice subtle, nutty flavor which really highlighted the dried chiles well. Also, the not-quite-ground-up little pieces of almond added a little texture which I thought was really nice. If I hadn't told him that it had almonds in it, I don't think he would have known; it was really subtle. But it did work really well! I am so making this again, for sure. If you have a few nuts leftover from something the next time you make chili, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Happy New Year eating!
Several years ago, I was in Indianapolis and my companion and I went downtown to walk around and see the sights. We came across a chili place and decided to check it out. The restaurant had a few types of chili, plus a rotating set of seasonal chilis. You could get a sampler of 5 or 6 types of chilis either as a full meal or to try them out before ordering. We got the sampler to share, as one of their chilis was a vegetarian version. It was made with tvp (textured vegetable protein, which is in many, many veggie meat products and is a reasonable facsimilie for ground beef). But, this veggie chili also had nuts in it. Peanuts, if I remember correctly. It was pretty good chili, not the best, but the thing that really stuck out in my mind was how good the nuts were in it.
Since then, I occassionally recall that chili, and when I do I tell myself that someday I'm going to try doing that. Well, it's been a long time coming, but the other day I finally gave nuts in chili a try. I used ground up toasted almonds. I made a typical chili for me except that I didn't use kidney beans, and I used a few roasted mild green chiles, which I don't normally use. I used my flavour shaker (I love that thing!) to crush the almonds so that they were a mixture of pulverized-into-a-powder and very-fine-tiny-pieces.
Dan and I sampled the chili for dinner that night, and wow, it was really good! The almonds added a nice subtle, nutty flavor which really highlighted the dried chiles well. Also, the not-quite-ground-up little pieces of almond added a little texture which I thought was really nice. If I hadn't told him that it had almonds in it, I don't think he would have known; it was really subtle. But it did work really well! I am so making this again, for sure. If you have a few nuts leftover from something the next time you make chili, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Happy New Year eating!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Peppermint Patties
One of my sisters made a treat over the holidays that I think is my favorite new addition to the traditional holiday treat line-up. She made homemade peppermint patties! You would think they'd be difficult to make, but actually they seemed super easy. Everybody loved them, too. I haven't tried to make them myself yet, but I am going to this week.
The filling is a simple mixture of powdered sugar and a little cream cheese, and of course peppermint extract for the minty flavor. I suppose they could be made with other flavors instead. That might be something to try. Once the filling is made into balls and flattened into discs, you coat them in melted chocolate, and let them cool. Pretty simple, really.
Everyone in the family loved them. Once I make them myself, I'll report on how I did.
Happy New Year eating!
The filling is a simple mixture of powdered sugar and a little cream cheese, and of course peppermint extract for the minty flavor. I suppose they could be made with other flavors instead. That might be something to try. Once the filling is made into balls and flattened into discs, you coat them in melted chocolate, and let them cool. Pretty simple, really.
Everyone in the family loved them. Once I make them myself, I'll report on how I did.
Happy New Year eating!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Fun Flatbread Trick
I discovered something new the other day and gave it a try. It worked great, so I just have to share.
We all have had those pre-made biscuits in the can. You know, the ones where you peel the paper until the can POPS open. Well, I saw somebody on tv the other day use them to make flatbread. I figured I'd try it out.
On the show, they rolled out the biscuits with a mixture of flour and cornmeal, but I was going for something a little different than them, so I used a combo of flour and sesame seeds. I tried it with just flour, though, too, and that worked just as well. You just press them down a little and roll them out the way you would a pie dough. I used two biscuits pressed together to make the size flatbread I wanted, which turned out to be about a 6-inch circle by using two biscuits. If you roll the dough out paper thin, you get a crispier, thin flatbread. If you don't roll the dough out to within an inch of its life, maybe a quarter inch, it will instead puff up just a little, and be a little softer.
After rolling out the biscuit dough, you just cook them in a nonstick pan with a tiny amount of oil, or a couple sprays of cooking spray. You have to add more oil or spray when you flip the flatbread.
Once the flatbread is cooked, you can do all kinds of things with it. I caramelized some slivered onions with some butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and a little sugar to push the caramelization. Then I spread those on the flatbread and topped them with thin slices of fresh mozzarella, and a little basil. I baked them in the oven for about 10 minutes, and YUM, it was great! I am sure I could do all sorts of other things with it, too. I have all kinds of ideas.
The next time you have one of those silly little cans of biscuit dough, give this a try, you won't be sorry.
Happy Holiday eating!
We all have had those pre-made biscuits in the can. You know, the ones where you peel the paper until the can POPS open. Well, I saw somebody on tv the other day use them to make flatbread. I figured I'd try it out.
On the show, they rolled out the biscuits with a mixture of flour and cornmeal, but I was going for something a little different than them, so I used a combo of flour and sesame seeds. I tried it with just flour, though, too, and that worked just as well. You just press them down a little and roll them out the way you would a pie dough. I used two biscuits pressed together to make the size flatbread I wanted, which turned out to be about a 6-inch circle by using two biscuits. If you roll the dough out paper thin, you get a crispier, thin flatbread. If you don't roll the dough out to within an inch of its life, maybe a quarter inch, it will instead puff up just a little, and be a little softer.
After rolling out the biscuit dough, you just cook them in a nonstick pan with a tiny amount of oil, or a couple sprays of cooking spray. You have to add more oil or spray when you flip the flatbread.
Once the flatbread is cooked, you can do all kinds of things with it. I caramelized some slivered onions with some butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and a little sugar to push the caramelization. Then I spread those on the flatbread and topped them with thin slices of fresh mozzarella, and a little basil. I baked them in the oven for about 10 minutes, and YUM, it was great! I am sure I could do all sorts of other things with it, too. I have all kinds of ideas.
The next time you have one of those silly little cans of biscuit dough, give this a try, you won't be sorry.
Happy Holiday eating!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Veggie Meats
When I first became a vegetarian, a whopping 18+ years ago, there weren't a lot of good veggie-meat options. There were a few things out there, like veggie dogs, and veggie burgers that at the time still were obvious veggie patties... meaning, there weren't any veggie burgers that looked and tasted like regular burgers.
Since that time, though, the veggie meat possibilities have exploded. There are all kinds of options for a multitude of uses, and many of them are quite tasty. It could be debated whether they taste exactly like the original, but I don't think that's the point. I use veggie meat substitutes in the same way I would use it's real counterpart, but it doesn't have to taste the exact same as the counterpart - it just has to taste good (and they do). Many options, however, are close enough to the original that they actually fool meat-eaters. For your consideration: I made tacos with burger crumbles once, and at the dinner my carnivorous friend, chowing down on her "meat-" filled taco and noticing that I had "meat" in mine too, asked me if I wasn't a vegetarian anymore. I happily informed her that the taco meat was not, in fact, meat, and she was truly surprised. Then she talked all night about how yummy it was.
Now, none of these items are necessary to be able to create vegetarian meals. You can forgo the meat part entirely and live just fine on veggies, carbs, dairy, all the millions of food options that need no meat or meat substitute. Some would even say that using veggie meats defeats the point of being a vegetarian. But I am not really using veggie meat products simply because I have to make meat-based meals. I make a lot of meat-free and fake-meat-free meals. It's just that there happen to be lots of delicious, protein-packed, healthy foods out there that are tasty, and that vegetarians can use, and I'm gonna use 'em. If I am able to make classic meat dishes with veggie meats that still taste great, then that is a bonus. But, I'm not trying to keep the 'meat and potatoes' formula in our food at all times. I just eat what I like, and sometimes that's meat-free, and other times it is fake meat.
We are so lucky that we have so many good, healthy, tasty meat-free options, and I do use them often. I figured I'd give a little sampling of some of my favorites out of the hundreds I've tried over the years, in case anybody needs info on adding these healthier options to your meals. Even for non-vegetarians, they are tasty enough that it's justifyable to bring these to your kitchen to save a few calories and fat grams. As a bonus, they are way easier to cook than meat, making for much faster meal prep time. This is just a tiny sampling and review of some veggie meats I have tried, with some info to get you started:
Morningstar Farms
Morningstar Farms makes lots of products that are easy to use and readily available in most supermarkets. Many of their products are vegetarian, but they also have vegan versions of some of their products.
Burger Crumbles: MF's Burger Crumbles are frozen and will substitute for ground beef or other ground meats in chilis, tomato sauce, sloppy joes, taco meat, and lots of other things. They are cooked, so they just have to be brought to temp to be ready to eat. This is the veggie meat we eat the most of. I use Burger Crumbles for many, many things.
Chik'n Strips: MF's frozen chick'n strips are great to use in sauce-free dishes, like a simple stir-fry. They soak up sauce, so you don't want to let them cook in a sauce or they will get soggy. If you want a sauce on them, you have to sauce them when serving. They are great just to sautee quickly and serve with mashed potatoes. Their texture and flavor, in comparison to real chicken, is one of the best. Good stuff.
Veggie Bacon: MF's version of bacon strips is also frozen, and the most like the 'real thing' out of the various veggie bacons I've had. They can be sauteed on the stove, but an easier way is just to lay them on a plate and nuke them in the microwave until they are the texture you want - less time for softer, more time for crispier. Veggie bacon is great on BLT's or for a breakfast sandwich.
Veggie Dogs: I like Morningstar Farm's Veggie Dogs better than most other brands I've had, but they are harder and harder to find these days. They taste exactly like regular hot dogs, and should be used accordingly.
Boca Brand
I don't enjoy most Boca products as much as I do Morningstar Farms', but Boca does have a huge selection of items and a few that I really like.
Boca Burgers: Boca brand veggie hamburgers are not my fave, but they seem to be really popular in general, so somebody obviously likes them. The reason I don't love them is that, for me, they tend to have a bit of an aftertaste (the same for Boca breakfast sausages), so I don't usually buy Boca burgers - I stick with Morningstar. They have a huge variety of flavors, and some of my friends love Boca's burgers, so it's worth it to give them a try.
Boca chick'n patties - this veggie version of the classic round, breaded, ready-for-a-bun chicken patty is a good substitute for the original. The breading is nice and crisp. The spicy version of chick'n patties have a nice kick to them. Great with mayo, ketchup, and cheese on a hamburger bun - old school.
Sausages - I really love Boca's selection of main-meal sausages. They have Italian, Bratwurst, and Smoked Sausages. Well, I don't know if they even make the smoked sausage anymore, because I haven't been able to find them. Which is a bummer, because I LOVED them. The Italian Sausages and Bratwurst by either Boca or Morningstar are great. They are super easy to heat and eat, and are perfect on a roll with your favorite toppings or served as-is next to a plate of noodles, sauerkraut, grilled veggies, whatever normally would go. I like to pair veggie Italian Sausage with my eggplant parmesan.
Worthington
Worthington is a company that has been around making veggie substitute products for a very long time. Almost all of their offerings are canned, instead of frozen. There is one product in particular that I love.
FriChik - I talked about using FriChik in my blog about Chicken Paprikash. Unlike MF's frozen chik'n strips, FriChik won't soak up all the sauce it's cooked in, making it great for dishes like Paprikash, or other stews, soups, and saucy dishes. FriChik is really moist and flavorful. It doesn't taste as much like chicken as some other chicken substitutes, but it's similar, and it doesn't matter anyway, because frichick istself is a very tasty item. I can eat it, sliced, straight out of the can. FriChik is super easy to use as it is already fully cooked and it's not frozen, so just heat and eat. However, FriChik can be much harder to find than Boca or MF products. I have had to order it online, but that's not difficult to do.
Weiners - Worthington makes cocktail weiners as well as full-size dogs that I have never had, but have heard are very good.
SmartDeli -
SmartDeli's vegetarian foods are usually refrigerated instead of frozen. Many supermarkets are carrying their products now, so they are easier to find.
Veggie Dogs - if I can't find MF's veggie dogs, my second choice is SmartDeli. Theirs are also a stealthy substitute for real dogs - Serve them and I bet no one would know the difference.
Lunch Meat - SmartDeli has a line of veggie lunch meats, most of which are quite tasty. The bologna is the closest match to the original, because bologna is so processed anyway, it's not hard to mimic. The turkey is also good. As a bonus, they are way less fatty than regular lunch meats, and have lots of healthy soy protein.
Chick'n strips - another type of veggie chicken in strip form, smartdeli's version is good for a few specific uses. They can handle sauces in the way that frichik can (unlike MF's chik'n strips), and they hold up well with frying. I make a breaded version of smartdeli's chick'n strips that tastes just like real fried chicken. I kid you not. When I want something homey, greasy and fried, I make smartdeli chick'n strip fried chicken. Ask my husband, and he'll tell you - it's good stuff.
Yves
This company makes several refrigerated items similar to what SmartDeli produces: lunchmeats, etc. These brands are often found right next to each other at the grocery store.
Pepperoni - when I need pepperoni, I use Yves brand. They can be used striaght from the package (no cooking needed, like most veggie meats) and put on pizzas, sandwiches, or just eaten straight up. The big difference between this and real pepperoni is that it doesn't ooze fat everywhere when you cook it. The taste is mildly spicy and very flavorful; it's not an exact match, but it fulfills the craving just fine.
Quorn
I'm not a huge fan of Quorn products. Unlike some other veggie meats which are soy-based, quorn's structure is based (if I remember correctly) on a fungus - a mushroom, I think- to get their protein structure. In any case, it is noticeably different with the texture than other brands, and I think they are very successful with the texture and overall look of the products. But, I haven't had a quorn product yet that was very tasty to me, or that I would replace with any of my other standbys. That's not to say that you shouldn't try quorn products, because they obviously do an ok busisness, so somebody is enjoying them. And, they have several unique items that other companies don't have: things like stuffed chick'n breasts, and other fully-prepared items.
Veat
Veat products have been around for quite a while, and they have several types of veggie meats that are, once again, frozen. I haven't tried all the veat products, but there is one that I use from time to time.
Veat Chick'n: The taste of veat chicken is not exactly like chicken; but it is a good taste. One handy thing is that they have various cuts of veat that are easy to use; you can buy veat chicken in little cubes for a stir fry or to skewer and grill, or buy long strips for chicken fingers or whatever. I don't buy veat often, but when I do, it's because they have the exact shape and style I need for a specific use.
Hopefully this helps explain a little about veggie meats and demystifies the idea of using them once in a while. Even if you are a meat-eater, there are plenty of veggie meats that anybody would love, meat-eater or not, and it's a great way to add some good soy protein into your diet and reduce some of the fat and cholesterol. Give them a try, you may be pleasantly surprised. And if you have a veggie burger that sucks, rest assured there are many out there that don't.
Happy eating!
Since that time, though, the veggie meat possibilities have exploded. There are all kinds of options for a multitude of uses, and many of them are quite tasty. It could be debated whether they taste exactly like the original, but I don't think that's the point. I use veggie meat substitutes in the same way I would use it's real counterpart, but it doesn't have to taste the exact same as the counterpart - it just has to taste good (and they do). Many options, however, are close enough to the original that they actually fool meat-eaters. For your consideration: I made tacos with burger crumbles once, and at the dinner my carnivorous friend, chowing down on her "meat-" filled taco and noticing that I had "meat" in mine too, asked me if I wasn't a vegetarian anymore. I happily informed her that the taco meat was not, in fact, meat, and she was truly surprised. Then she talked all night about how yummy it was.
Now, none of these items are necessary to be able to create vegetarian meals. You can forgo the meat part entirely and live just fine on veggies, carbs, dairy, all the millions of food options that need no meat or meat substitute. Some would even say that using veggie meats defeats the point of being a vegetarian. But I am not really using veggie meat products simply because I have to make meat-based meals. I make a lot of meat-free and fake-meat-free meals. It's just that there happen to be lots of delicious, protein-packed, healthy foods out there that are tasty, and that vegetarians can use, and I'm gonna use 'em. If I am able to make classic meat dishes with veggie meats that still taste great, then that is a bonus. But, I'm not trying to keep the 'meat and potatoes' formula in our food at all times. I just eat what I like, and sometimes that's meat-free, and other times it is fake meat.
We are so lucky that we have so many good, healthy, tasty meat-free options, and I do use them often. I figured I'd give a little sampling of some of my favorites out of the hundreds I've tried over the years, in case anybody needs info on adding these healthier options to your meals. Even for non-vegetarians, they are tasty enough that it's justifyable to bring these to your kitchen to save a few calories and fat grams. As a bonus, they are way easier to cook than meat, making for much faster meal prep time. This is just a tiny sampling and review of some veggie meats I have tried, with some info to get you started:
Morningstar Farms
Morningstar Farms makes lots of products that are easy to use and readily available in most supermarkets. Many of their products are vegetarian, but they also have vegan versions of some of their products.
Burger Crumbles: MF's Burger Crumbles are frozen and will substitute for ground beef or other ground meats in chilis, tomato sauce, sloppy joes, taco meat, and lots of other things. They are cooked, so they just have to be brought to temp to be ready to eat. This is the veggie meat we eat the most of. I use Burger Crumbles for many, many things.
Chik'n Strips: MF's frozen chick'n strips are great to use in sauce-free dishes, like a simple stir-fry. They soak up sauce, so you don't want to let them cook in a sauce or they will get soggy. If you want a sauce on them, you have to sauce them when serving. They are great just to sautee quickly and serve with mashed potatoes. Their texture and flavor, in comparison to real chicken, is one of the best. Good stuff.
Veggie Bacon: MF's version of bacon strips is also frozen, and the most like the 'real thing' out of the various veggie bacons I've had. They can be sauteed on the stove, but an easier way is just to lay them on a plate and nuke them in the microwave until they are the texture you want - less time for softer, more time for crispier. Veggie bacon is great on BLT's or for a breakfast sandwich.
Veggie Dogs: I like Morningstar Farm's Veggie Dogs better than most other brands I've had, but they are harder and harder to find these days. They taste exactly like regular hot dogs, and should be used accordingly.
Boca Brand
I don't enjoy most Boca products as much as I do Morningstar Farms', but Boca does have a huge selection of items and a few that I really like.
Boca Burgers: Boca brand veggie hamburgers are not my fave, but they seem to be really popular in general, so somebody obviously likes them. The reason I don't love them is that, for me, they tend to have a bit of an aftertaste (the same for Boca breakfast sausages), so I don't usually buy Boca burgers - I stick with Morningstar. They have a huge variety of flavors, and some of my friends love Boca's burgers, so it's worth it to give them a try.
Boca chick'n patties - this veggie version of the classic round, breaded, ready-for-a-bun chicken patty is a good substitute for the original. The breading is nice and crisp. The spicy version of chick'n patties have a nice kick to them. Great with mayo, ketchup, and cheese on a hamburger bun - old school.
Sausages - I really love Boca's selection of main-meal sausages. They have Italian, Bratwurst, and Smoked Sausages. Well, I don't know if they even make the smoked sausage anymore, because I haven't been able to find them. Which is a bummer, because I LOVED them. The Italian Sausages and Bratwurst by either Boca or Morningstar are great. They are super easy to heat and eat, and are perfect on a roll with your favorite toppings or served as-is next to a plate of noodles, sauerkraut, grilled veggies, whatever normally would go. I like to pair veggie Italian Sausage with my eggplant parmesan.
Worthington
Worthington is a company that has been around making veggie substitute products for a very long time. Almost all of their offerings are canned, instead of frozen. There is one product in particular that I love.
FriChik - I talked about using FriChik in my blog about Chicken Paprikash. Unlike MF's frozen chik'n strips, FriChik won't soak up all the sauce it's cooked in, making it great for dishes like Paprikash, or other stews, soups, and saucy dishes. FriChik is really moist and flavorful. It doesn't taste as much like chicken as some other chicken substitutes, but it's similar, and it doesn't matter anyway, because frichick istself is a very tasty item. I can eat it, sliced, straight out of the can. FriChik is super easy to use as it is already fully cooked and it's not frozen, so just heat and eat. However, FriChik can be much harder to find than Boca or MF products. I have had to order it online, but that's not difficult to do.
Weiners - Worthington makes cocktail weiners as well as full-size dogs that I have never had, but have heard are very good.
SmartDeli -
SmartDeli's vegetarian foods are usually refrigerated instead of frozen. Many supermarkets are carrying their products now, so they are easier to find.
Veggie Dogs - if I can't find MF's veggie dogs, my second choice is SmartDeli. Theirs are also a stealthy substitute for real dogs - Serve them and I bet no one would know the difference.
Lunch Meat - SmartDeli has a line of veggie lunch meats, most of which are quite tasty. The bologna is the closest match to the original, because bologna is so processed anyway, it's not hard to mimic. The turkey is also good. As a bonus, they are way less fatty than regular lunch meats, and have lots of healthy soy protein.
Chick'n strips - another type of veggie chicken in strip form, smartdeli's version is good for a few specific uses. They can handle sauces in the way that frichik can (unlike MF's chik'n strips), and they hold up well with frying. I make a breaded version of smartdeli's chick'n strips that tastes just like real fried chicken. I kid you not. When I want something homey, greasy and fried, I make smartdeli chick'n strip fried chicken. Ask my husband, and he'll tell you - it's good stuff.
Yves
This company makes several refrigerated items similar to what SmartDeli produces: lunchmeats, etc. These brands are often found right next to each other at the grocery store.
Pepperoni - when I need pepperoni, I use Yves brand. They can be used striaght from the package (no cooking needed, like most veggie meats) and put on pizzas, sandwiches, or just eaten straight up. The big difference between this and real pepperoni is that it doesn't ooze fat everywhere when you cook it. The taste is mildly spicy and very flavorful; it's not an exact match, but it fulfills the craving just fine.
Quorn
I'm not a huge fan of Quorn products. Unlike some other veggie meats which are soy-based, quorn's structure is based (if I remember correctly) on a fungus - a mushroom, I think- to get their protein structure. In any case, it is noticeably different with the texture than other brands, and I think they are very successful with the texture and overall look of the products. But, I haven't had a quorn product yet that was very tasty to me, or that I would replace with any of my other standbys. That's not to say that you shouldn't try quorn products, because they obviously do an ok busisness, so somebody is enjoying them. And, they have several unique items that other companies don't have: things like stuffed chick'n breasts, and other fully-prepared items.
Veat
Veat products have been around for quite a while, and they have several types of veggie meats that are, once again, frozen. I haven't tried all the veat products, but there is one that I use from time to time.
Veat Chick'n: The taste of veat chicken is not exactly like chicken; but it is a good taste. One handy thing is that they have various cuts of veat that are easy to use; you can buy veat chicken in little cubes for a stir fry or to skewer and grill, or buy long strips for chicken fingers or whatever. I don't buy veat often, but when I do, it's because they have the exact shape and style I need for a specific use.
Hopefully this helps explain a little about veggie meats and demystifies the idea of using them once in a while. Even if you are a meat-eater, there are plenty of veggie meats that anybody would love, meat-eater or not, and it's a great way to add some good soy protein into your diet and reduce some of the fat and cholesterol. Give them a try, you may be pleasantly surprised. And if you have a veggie burger that sucks, rest assured there are many out there that don't.
Happy eating!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Ice Cream Flavorama
For our Thanksgiving dessert-fest I made pumpkin cheesecake, berry sauce, and two flavors of ice cream, in my new favorite way to make a cold creamy dessert: add alcohol. This way, the cream won't freeze solid, and you don't have to agitate the cream as it freezes to keep it from doing so. The alcohol does all the work for you.
This time I decided to try to stick to holiday-ish flavors. I made one ice cream with just loads of cinnamon, and that was deeee-lish. It went really well with the pumpkin cheesecake, or so pretty much everybody at my dinner thought, anyway.
The second kind I tried was cranberry. I was making homemade cranberry sauce, anyway, so I just made a tiny little second batch minus the orange juice/zest, and made it a little sweeter, and added it into the cream before freezing. Actually I added just the juice from the cranberry sauce, mixed it very well, and then added the berries at the end and just barely stirred it, so it was pretty and swirly. The cranberry ice cream was not as much of a hit as the cinnamon, because most of my guests said it wasn't sweet enough for them, but I liked it way better than the cinnamon. But that's me, I have never had much of a sweet tooth, so I almost always prefer less sweet things. The cranberry ice cream was also, I thought, really good with the berry sauce... which was just frozen mixed berries, sugar, and a bit of water, cooked down for a few minutes on the stove.
We attempted to have fresh whipped cream, but after Dan had beaten the cream to no avail for several minutes, I checked the carton, and it wasn't whipping cream at all. It was half and half. Next time I send Dan out for whipping cream, I'll be specific. Luckily my guests said that the cinnamon ice cream took the place of the whipped cream and that it was not necessary. Nice of them, but I still love me some homemade whipped cream. Next time.
Happy Leftover-eating, everybody!
This time I decided to try to stick to holiday-ish flavors. I made one ice cream with just loads of cinnamon, and that was deeee-lish. It went really well with the pumpkin cheesecake, or so pretty much everybody at my dinner thought, anyway.
The second kind I tried was cranberry. I was making homemade cranberry sauce, anyway, so I just made a tiny little second batch minus the orange juice/zest, and made it a little sweeter, and added it into the cream before freezing. Actually I added just the juice from the cranberry sauce, mixed it very well, and then added the berries at the end and just barely stirred it, so it was pretty and swirly. The cranberry ice cream was not as much of a hit as the cinnamon, because most of my guests said it wasn't sweet enough for them, but I liked it way better than the cinnamon. But that's me, I have never had much of a sweet tooth, so I almost always prefer less sweet things. The cranberry ice cream was also, I thought, really good with the berry sauce... which was just frozen mixed berries, sugar, and a bit of water, cooked down for a few minutes on the stove.
We attempted to have fresh whipped cream, but after Dan had beaten the cream to no avail for several minutes, I checked the carton, and it wasn't whipping cream at all. It was half and half. Next time I send Dan out for whipping cream, I'll be specific. Luckily my guests said that the cinnamon ice cream took the place of the whipped cream and that it was not necessary. Nice of them, but I still love me some homemade whipped cream. Next time.
Happy Leftover-eating, everybody!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Red Dragon Cheese Review
Last week, Dan and I bought a cheese called Red Dragon. I had seen it at the cheese counter before, and was always drawn to it because of its name and because of the bright red wax that coats it, which makes it stand out against the forest of white and yellow cheeses. I had been hesitant to get it in the past because it is made with lots of mustard seed, and I am not always a fan of mustard.
We finally decided to give it a try and I am so glad we did! It is absolutely delicious. As it turns out, the mustard taste is not overwhelming at all. The cheese is a light yellow, soft paste speckled throughout with the mustard seed. It is also made with ale. The combination of the ale and mustard flavors adds a nice bite to the background of Red Dragon, but the base cheese stands up to these added flavors nicely. At room temperature the cheese is just spreadable but also sliceable, and the robust nature of the cheese lends itself well to a hearty bread or cracker. No need for delicate wafers with this cheese.
The look of Red Dragon makes a striking conversation piece on a cheese tray. I imagine it would be accented nicely with a dry white wine, but a hard cider or (obviously) a beer is even better. Even a porter would not overwhelm this hearty cheese. I am so happy that we decided to finally give Red Dragon a chance!
Happy eating!
We finally decided to give it a try and I am so glad we did! It is absolutely delicious. As it turns out, the mustard taste is not overwhelming at all. The cheese is a light yellow, soft paste speckled throughout with the mustard seed. It is also made with ale. The combination of the ale and mustard flavors adds a nice bite to the background of Red Dragon, but the base cheese stands up to these added flavors nicely. At room temperature the cheese is just spreadable but also sliceable, and the robust nature of the cheese lends itself well to a hearty bread or cracker. No need for delicate wafers with this cheese.
The look of Red Dragon makes a striking conversation piece on a cheese tray. I imagine it would be accented nicely with a dry white wine, but a hard cider or (obviously) a beer is even better. Even a porter would not overwhelm this hearty cheese. I am so happy that we decided to finally give Red Dragon a chance!
Happy eating!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tomme de Savoie Cheese Review
Anybody who knows me knows how much I love cheese, and anytime I get near a good cheese selection I can go a little nuts if I'm not careful. Therefore Dan and I are frequently trying new cheeses.
The other day we came home with a few new ones, one of which was Tomme de Savoie. Tomme cheeses are a type of cheese made in Europe that were traditionally made from less fatty milks and named for the location they are traditionally made, i.e., Savoie in France. Now they can be made with skim or full-fat milk depeding on the specific maker.
Tomme de Savoie comes in small wheels of creamy, off-white paste speckled with small eyes. At room temperature, our Tomme de Savoie was not quite spreadable, but quite soft, and a little stretchy. It has a buttery, nutty taste, more pungent than I expected, with a distinct grassiness that comes from the pasture feeding of the French Alpine herds. It went well with either bread or crackers, but I preferred it plain rather than with fruit or jam.
Something that appears to be Tomme de Savoie may not be actually be from Savoie; if you want the real deal, you have to check the wheel's label to ensure it has the designation of origin. "Fabrique en Savoie" means it is made in Savoie; "affine en Savoie" means it probably isn't authentic.
If you like grassy, earthy cheeses, this one is a nice option. I imagine it could hold up to a simple sandwich or salad as well as it dresses up a cheese plate.
Happy eating!
The other day we came home with a few new ones, one of which was Tomme de Savoie. Tomme cheeses are a type of cheese made in Europe that were traditionally made from less fatty milks and named for the location they are traditionally made, i.e., Savoie in France. Now they can be made with skim or full-fat milk depeding on the specific maker.
Tomme de Savoie comes in small wheels of creamy, off-white paste speckled with small eyes. At room temperature, our Tomme de Savoie was not quite spreadable, but quite soft, and a little stretchy. It has a buttery, nutty taste, more pungent than I expected, with a distinct grassiness that comes from the pasture feeding of the French Alpine herds. It went well with either bread or crackers, but I preferred it plain rather than with fruit or jam.
Something that appears to be Tomme de Savoie may not be actually be from Savoie; if you want the real deal, you have to check the wheel's label to ensure it has the designation of origin. "Fabrique en Savoie" means it is made in Savoie; "affine en Savoie" means it probably isn't authentic.
If you like grassy, earthy cheeses, this one is a nice option. I imagine it could hold up to a simple sandwich or salad as well as it dresses up a cheese plate.
Happy eating!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Spice Goddess Feast: Golden Eggplant with Sweet-Pea Sauce, and Tomato-Mango Salad
This weekend my sister Shannon, a devoted reader of Lairdriin's Food Blog (teehee!), came to visit me. I put her to work helping me fix some delicious food for lunch on Sunday (as she said, she was my "sous chef"). I have been watching the new Cooking Channel show 'Spice Goddess' regularly, and there were a couple of recipes from that show that I wanted to try out.
The Golden Eggplant is made similarly to frying eggplant parmesan. The eggplant batter uses a mix of wheat and chickpea flours, and a little garam masala. The eggplant came out golden-brown and with a very nice texture from the chickpea flour. We all thought it was great, but I think it would also be good with even more garam masala. The sweet-pea puree was very simple, just blanched peas, yogurt, water, and seasonings, blended in the blender. A squeeze of lemon really went well over the eggplant and pea puree.
On the side, we had tomato-mango salad. Instead of red onions, as it was made on the show, I made the salad with green onions. It also includes fresh mint and cilantro, and a dressing of mango juice, lemon juice, olive oil, and spices. Despite having a not-quite-ripe mango, I thought the salad was very good. I wish I didn't have to limit my potassium intake (tomatoes have a ton of it), or I would have had more!
I think next time I make the pea puree I will add more yogurt than I used this time, and perhaps add lemon juice directly to the puree in addition to the lemon wedge served with it. Overall, I'd definitely say these new recipes were a success. I'll be making all of it again for sure.
Happy eating!
The Golden Eggplant is made similarly to frying eggplant parmesan. The eggplant batter uses a mix of wheat and chickpea flours, and a little garam masala. The eggplant came out golden-brown and with a very nice texture from the chickpea flour. We all thought it was great, but I think it would also be good with even more garam masala. The sweet-pea puree was very simple, just blanched peas, yogurt, water, and seasonings, blended in the blender. A squeeze of lemon really went well over the eggplant and pea puree.
I think next time I make the pea puree I will add more yogurt than I used this time, and perhaps add lemon juice directly to the puree in addition to the lemon wedge served with it. Overall, I'd definitely say these new recipes were a success. I'll be making all of it again for sure.
Happy eating!
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