Pesto Pasta, Garlic Bread and Colorful Salad

My sister-in-law and her sister joined my husband and I for dinner tonight, and I wanted to put together a healthy vegetarian meal that would be quick and easy to prepare on a weeknight.

For the main dish, I decided to do a pesto pasta with grape tomatoes and bocconcini (tiny little fresh mozzarella balls).  In case you are unfamiliar with pesto, it's a green sauce made with olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.  If you have specific nut sensitivities, be aware that sometimes pesto is prepared with walnuts instead of pine nuts.  (I learned this the hard way, since walnuts are my most intense allergy.) 

Pesto was originally made with a mortar and pestle (which explains the name, which refers to, as Wikipedia says, "anything made by pounding").  However, I find that a food processor makes pesto incredibly easy.  This recipe gets the proportions pretty right, but taste as you go to add and subtract ingredients as you see fit.  It's also helpful to scrape down the bowl as you go so that the ingredients combine effectively.
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I haven't tried to make vegan pesto, mostly because all of the vegan parmesan substitutes I've come across have either soy or walnuts.  However, I did use Whole Foods' vegetarian parmesan, which is not made with rennet or derived from cows treated with rGBh.  But, if someone would like to give it a shot, let me know how it turns out.

For the pasta, I used Barilla Plus Angel Hair.  Plus pasta is made with golden semolina and flaxseed, spelt, oats, barley, and legumes.  It is also made with egg whites, so it's not suitable for vegans.  However, if you're a lacto-ovo vegetarian, this pasta has some positives.  One serving has 17 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber, as well as 15% of the DV for iron, 28% of the DV for ALA Omega-3 and 40% of the DC for folate.

The one thing that drove me slightly batty about tonight's pasta is that when I stirred in the tomatoes and mozzarella, they immediately sank to the bottom of the bowl, which killed my presentation.  The pesto combined just fine, however.

The garlic bread I made was suitable for vegans.  During my lunch hour, I went to the Foggy Bottom Whole Foods and grabbed a whole wheat french bread.  When I got home, I made a garlic "butter" using soy-free earth balance, freshly minced garlic, parsley and red pepper flakes.  I spread the "butter" on the bread and let it toast in the oven at 350 for ten minutes.  It came out crusty and gooey, just like traditional garlic bread.

Whenever I do a big pasta dinner, I like to serve a green salad on the side.  I got a pre-washed bag of spring mix, which I topped with pre-shreeded carrots, julienned Asian pear and slivered almonds.  If you're not familiar with Asian pears, it's a round fruit native to China, Japan and Korea.  Since they have a high water content, they are typically eaten raw, rather than in baked goods.

I normally don't eat salad dressing, since it's often laden with soybean oil, but I decided to try my hand at making a vinaigrette tonight.  I used this Epicurious recipe, omitting the sugar and using Grey Poupon horseradish mustard (aka, what we have in the house).  It paired better than I expected with the salad, and we put the leftover dressing in a cruet so I can use it throughout the week.  I've learned to appreciate dry salad, but it's sure nice to have a dressing option when I want it.

Vegetarian Options for Carnivores

Credit: TICNetwork.org

Awhile back, when I was asking for suggestions for future blog posts, my friend Stefanie suggested I do a post on, as she put it, "vegetarian options for carnivores like me."  Well, Stefanie, I finally got around to writing it.

This is not going to be a post on the ethics of vegetarianism, as important a discussion as I think that is.  Rather, this is a post about how to happily feed someone who is used to, for whatever reason, a meal containing meat and have them be satisfied with a vegetarian meal.  To that end, I thought about some of the dining archetypes that might initially be resistant to vegetarian dining and how I would approach each of them.

The Picky Eater - We have all met the picky eater in multiple forms.  The picky eater may refuse to eat unfamiliar foods.  They may want their food to be a starch and a protein, not touching, and refuse any vegetable but iceberg lettuce.  They may look upon my cooking . . . erm  . . .I mean "hypothetical cooking"  . . . and say "Gosh, that's a lot of green stuff!"

The key to dealing with the picky eater is to understand the root of their pickiness.  Chances are, it's one of two forms - they haven't been exposed to the food in question, or they've had it, and it was prepared in some sort of awful fashion.

For those with limited exposure to food in general, the best way to expose them to vegetarian meals is not to hit them all at once with things that scare them, like tofu.  Heck, tofu scares me for a variety of reasons.  Rather, it's best to have them try a vegetarian version of a staple that's typically prepared as a meat dish.  Chili is a great example.  Chances are, the picky carnivore in question has had chili at some point in their lives.  Heck, it may have even been vegetarian!

Some other good items for the limited exposure picky eater include lasagna and other pasta dishes; enchiladas, burritos or fajitas and hearty soups like minestrone.

By gradually exposing the limited exposure picky eater to these types of foods, they will learn that vegetarian cuisine isn't as scary as it seems, and be willing to try new things.  Case in point - when I mentioned to my husband (who will admit he is not the most adventurous of eaters) what blog I was writing tonight, he asked if I was going to tell everyone about the time I made us Seitan Hot Wings.  Ask me if he would have been talking about seitan in a positive light, or even knew what seitan was (admittedly, I had no idea before I went veg!), five or so years ago?  But, since I've gradually been introducing various vegetarian items into our meals and made food he's recognized, he's been willing to taste some of my more off the wall experiments.

Another thing to contend with when it comes to picky eaters is undoing years of vegetable mistreatment.  By this, I specifically mean boiling vegetables into a tasteless mush.  Yeah, I wouldn't want to eat that either!  Chances are, if someone doesn't "like" broccoli, it's because they ate it after it was boiled for an extended period of time, which is a terrible thing to do to a vegetable.

In the case of dealing with Post Traumatic Boiled Vegetable Syndrome, gently expose your picky eater to preparations like steaming (particularly good with broccoli and cauliflower), sauteing (mushrooms, peppers) and roasting (potatoes, brussels sprouts, beets) help bring out the best in vegetables.  One of our family members said to me at Thanksgiving this year, "It's a miracle.  You made brussels sprouts edible."  The secret?  DON'T BOIL THEM.  And, get them fresh and season them well!

Some of my vegetarian cooking experiments I recommend for the picky eater:

Vegetable Enchiladas
Black Bean Burgers
Roasted Vegetables

The Food Snob - If there is such a thing as a vegetarian food snob, it's yours truly.  I watch a ridiculous amount of Food Network.  A happy day for me is hanging out in the Whole Foods produce section.  I love going out to eat at restaurants that serve things that involve the word "emulsion."  I have eaten a mangosteen overseas, before they started showing up here in the states.

But, there are food snobs out there that believe you aren't really a foodie unless you are enjoying some sort of meat.  I remember meat, and, yes, it did taste good and there are some chefs who do amazing things with it.  But, there are also vegetarian dishes that can have the same wow factor.

Food snobs like me appreciate two things - fancy ingredients and awesome presentation.  Like the high school classmates of mine who were proud to have seen Live before they went national and liked Nine Inch Nails before Trent Reznor was a household name, we all like to think we're the first people to discover an ingredient.  So, plan your meals around something schmancy & restauranty- polenta, porcini mushrooms, celery root, farro, etc.  Make a delicious sauce by deglazing your pan with vegetable broth or wine. 

Awesome presentation also goes a long way.  To me, nothing is more boring than slab of meat, plop of starch, sad pile of veg.  I like it when food is art, and so do most carnivore foodies.  So, use the natural color and vibrancy of fruits and vegetables to create a visual dining experience.  Vegetable napoleons are a great example of a vegetarian dish that  presents well.

Some of my cooking experiments that I recommend for the food snob:

Mushroom & Celery Root Lasagna
Polenta Crusted Eggplant Parmesan
Quinoa Cakes with "Meat" Sauce
Kabocha Squash, Farro and Kale
Lasagna Cupcakes

When it comes down to it, the key to having a carnivore enjoy a vegetarian meal, really all it comes down to is to cook them something that looks great, tastes great and is full of love.   By gradually exposing the "carnivore" to delicious tasting vegetarian meals, you open folks' eyes to the worlds of possibilities in vegetarian dining.

Vegetarians - what are the most common objections you hear when you suggest a vegetarian dish?  "Carnivores," what am I missing?  What other questions do you have?

Sunday Night Dinner: Stuffed Peppers

Awhile back, I mentioned that I was looking forward to making stuffed peppers, and I finally got around to it this evening.  After researching a few recipes, I decided to wing it.

There's a number of variations you can do with stuffed peppers.  You can serve them cut in half, with each side of the pepper forming a little bowl, or you can take the top off and stuff the entire pepper.  Either way, you will want to make sure you scrape out the seeds and the inner white parts.  For this recipe, I elected to cut the peppers in half, figuring that it would be easier to store and transport the leftovers for lunch.  I seasoned the insides of the peppers with salt & pepper and put them in a baking dish coated with cooking spray.

For the stuffing, I sauteed red onions and mushrooms, seasoning them with salt and pepper, and let it go until the onions were translucent and the mushrooms were soft.  I then added sliced grape tomatoes, a can of cannellini beans, and four cloves of minced garlic.  When the garlic was fragrant, I stirred in some leftover bulgur and some rough chopped arugula, and seasoned everything with Italian seasoning.  I then took the filling off the heat and stirred in some mozzarella daiya.  Once the daiya melted into the filling, I stuffed the six pepper halves and then topped them with more daiya.

I covered the dish with foil and put it in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes.  When there were 10 minutes to go, I removed the foil to let the tops get a little crispy.

Peppers, mid-assembly proces

I can see many variations on this dish, using the formula of something with a meaty texture, a grain, beans, something to add creaminess, additional veg, and a green veg.  Here are some ingredients you can use in various combinations for your own stuffed peppers:

Meaty Texture: mushrooms, vegan sausage, vegetarian grounds
Grain: bulgur, quinoa, brown rice, couscous
Beans: black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, kidney beans
Creaminess: daiya or other cheese alternative (vegan), boccatini, cotija, feta (lacto-ovo)
Additional Veg: zucchini, corn, onions, garlic, tomatoes
Green Veg: spinach, arugula, kale, swiss chard

My peppers tonight have more of a Mediterranean vibe  I can see a delicious Mexican version with onions, vegan chorizo sausage, quinoa, black beans, cheddar daiya or cotija, corn and spinach, seasoned with cumin, garlic and cilantro, perhaps drizzled with some tomatillo salsa.  You don't necessarily need to use a meat substitute or beans or a cheesy element - feel free to add or subtract any ingredients that you'd like!

Restaurant Review: Founding Farmers Potomac

The original Founding Farmers is located right by my office, so I've been there a few times.  The second outpost of this restaurant recently opened in the Park Potomac development, which is near our home in Maryland.  My parents and I decided to check it out on Friday.

The menu is very similar to the DC location, with a focus on fresh, seasonal and regional foods.  According to one of our servers, the vegan menu that is available in DC is not yet available in MD, but there are a number of vegetarian friendly options available at the MD location.

We started with an apple, brie and onion jam flatbread that was delicious, but immediately tripped my allergies - my own fault for not asking more about how it might have been prepared.  (Side note - This past weekend has been a bit brutal food allergy wise).

For lunch, I opted for the veggie burger.  The server asked me how I wanted it cooked, which flummoxed me a bit.  But, they may have just been used to doing that when they heard "burger."  The flavor was good, but it was a bit overwhelmed by the big bun, and I ended up eating it with a knife and fork.  The accompanying fries were very good - you could taste the potato.

In addition to the veggie burger, some veg friendly entrees on the current menu include a number of the flatbreads, a roasted vegetable and avocado sandwich, a melted squash on ciabatta, the Many Vegetable Salad, and a number of pastas.  Items containing tree nuts and peanuts are noted on the menu, but no other allergens are specified, so ask your server for more details if you have any allergy sensitivities.

Blueberry Rhubarb Pie and Vegan Mashed Potatoes

My final two cooking projects for Thanksgiving were dessert and another side, both vegan!

I did an informal poll of my friends on Facebook to see what pie I should make for Thanksgiving.  My friend Matt suggested blueberry rhubarb, and I thought that sounded great.  I found this Cooks.com recipe to serve as my guide.

For the crust, I used the vegan Buttery Double Crust recipe from the November 2011 issue of Yoga Journal, which comes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's Vegan Pie in the Sky.  The recipe isn't currently online, but it calls for flour, salt, sugar, vegan margarine, vegan shortening and cider vinegar.  I used Earth Balance buttery sticks and vegetable shortening.  Both of them contain soy, but I'm hoping that the small amount of pie I'll have won't knock me over allergy wise.  I used my food processor to make the dough for the crust, rather than cutting in the "butter" and shortening by hand.  I did cut the "butter" & shortening into small cubes first, and then put those cubes in the freezer for a bit to firm them back up.

For the filling, I essentially followed the recipe above, except I used the converted amount of truvia, rather than sugar.  I used fresh blueberries, but rhubarb is completely out of season, so I used frozen rhubarb from Stahlbush Island Farms.  I've used their frozen rhubarb before and it turns out quite well.  I also omitted the butter dotting on the filling - I was planning to use Earth Balance, but I completely forgot to add it in before I put the crust on top.

As usual, I had issues getting the crust to roll out properly.  I used the pastry board my parents  got me, and put waxed paper over the dough, but it still took me two tries to get it not to stick.  I'm sure someone has a suggestion they would be happy to share with me (hint hint!).  And, as also usual, I had to piece together the bottom and top crusts after the dough broke.  Thus, I refer to this pie as "Franken-Pie," due to the repair job I did on the top.

I did manage to do cut outs on top of the crust.  I have some small leaf cookie cutters that work well for this purpose.  I then used a knife to score the dough pieces to make them more leaf like.  Finally, I brushed the pie with almond milk to help the pie brown.  I used  my pie shield for the first 35 minutes of baking, and then removed it for the final 15 minutes.

Fluffier than they look - they're crammed in this bowl!

For the vegan mashed potatoes, I took 3.7 pounds (yes, a weird number  - that just happens to be what they weighed out to) of red potatoes, quartered them, and boiled them in our giant seven quart pot for 25 minutes.  In the past, when I've made a huge amount of mashed potatoes, I had to use multiple pots, so it was nice to only have to do them in one.  Once the potatoes were done, I used my yoga cultivated upper body strength to drain the potatoes, and then I mashed them with soy-free Earth Balance, plain almond milk and generous shakes of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Mom tasted them and said the almond milk added a touch of sweetness that she liked, and that they weren't as heavy as mashed potatoes made with a ton of dairy products.  I think I may need to re-season them when I reheat them tomorrow, but I'll play it by ear.

So, that's all of my Thanksgiving cooking!  We'll see what the verdict is when our family gets to taste everything tomorrow.  Until then, have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!!!

Homemade Cranberry Sauce and Roasted Vegetables

I decided to attempt homemade cranberry sauce this year.  The canned stuff scares me a little bit, frankly, and fresh cranberries are everywhere, so it seemed like a good time to give it a try.

Since I had never made it before, I did some googling, and saw a number of recipes, such as this one, that included pears and ginger.  I also saw a number that included cardamom and orange zest, so I decided to incorporate both of those flavors as well.

Orange zest and I go way back - I love to include it in both savory and sweet dishes.  But, I wasn't as familiar with ginger (beyond the fact that my grandfather loved candied ginger and always kept a container next to his other favorite treat, scotch, as well as knowing that ginger ale helps with an upset stomach) or cardamom.

So, in case you too are unfamiliar with these flavors, here's a quick background.  Ginger is the root of a plant that has roots (ha - unintentional pun) in Southeast Asia.  It's purported to have medical purposes, from helping with arthritis to curing nausea (hence ginger ale).  It can lend a little spicy zing to baked goods like gingersnaps and ginger bread, and it's also found in savory soups and dishes.

Cardamom is a member of the ginger family, and is native to India and Bhutan.  You can get it in the spice section in pod form or ground.  It's most commonly found in Indian cooking, but some Scandinavian dishes also incorporate it.

Most of the cranberry sauce recipes called for sugar, which makes sense given that cranberries have a natural tartness.  I decided this might be a great time to try Truvia, which is a sweetener made from the Stevia plant.  It's naturally sweeter than sugar, but doesn't have the caloric impact.  Also, you can use it in cooking and baking.  I'm a big Splenda user, but a friend who had consulted with an Ayurveda practictioner had great things to stay about stevia, so I'm working on making the switch.   If you are swapping Truvia for sugar, you need substantially less than the recipe calls for.  Truvia provides a handy conversion chart on their website.

Anyhow, here's the resulting recipe for my cranberry sauce:

Two packages of fresh cranberries, rinsed
Four pears, peeled and diced (I used bartletts, but other recipes suggest bosc or anjou - take your pick!)
Four tablespoons of grated fresh ginger root (a microplane is helpful here)
Zest of one large orange
2/3 cup of Truvia
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 cups of water

Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan.  Heat on medium until cranberries pop and mixture looks sauce-like (I was just over the 20 minute mark).  Set aside until cooled and chill overnight.





I've also made my roasted squash with corn and cranberries, as well as roasted brussels sprouts with shallots.  Since I've made both of these dishes before, I won't provide extensive details, but you do get to see a picture before they went in the oven:

Brussels sprouts weren't on my original list of things to make today, but I remembered that I have missed having a green vegetable at Thanksgiving these past few years, so I took matters into my own hands.  ;)  I did omit the parmesan cheese I usually stir in as I'm making everything vegan this year.