Tools I use: Vegetarian Planet

Though we’re not vegetarians, one of my go-to cookbooks is one I’ve mentioned a few times before, Didi Emmons’ Vegetarian Planet. A gift from my friend, college roommate, and pro-commenter Steph, I haven’t even come close to trying everything worth trying in this well-written meatless meal guide. Lucky for me Steph marked some of her favorites when she gave me the book, years ago, and then again with updated favorites this summer (thanks!)

A sure sign of a favorite recipe though, is when the book automatically drops open to the page, all wrinkled from water, stained with food, and with crumbs stuck in the binding. For us the recipe this book opens to every time is the Caramelized Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Caramelized Balsamic Vinaigrette (from Vegetarian Planet)

1 c. sugar
6 T. water
5 T. balsamic vinegar
1 c. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. salt
fresh-ground black pepper

Mix the sugar and 4 tablespoons of water in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until it starts to darken very slightly and then remove from heat and stir in the vinegar (the book warns this could sputter, though I’ve been lucky enough never to have that problem.) Make sure all the sugar dissolves. Next, slowly whisk in the olive oil and then the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. At this point the recipe says the dressing should be fully emulsified though it generally separates for me as it cools and I never mind, I just stir it up when I want to use it (and then lick the spoon!) Add the garlic, salt, and pepper (I do all three of these to taste, never bothering to measure.)

This is one of our favorite dressings, simple to make and delicious on pretty much everything. It’s just one of the many great recipes in Vegetarian Planet, a book worth checking out from the library or even adding to your own cookbook collection.

Thanksgiving plan of action, part one: vegans.

I know it’s not even Halloween yet, but Thanksgiving *is* kind of early this year, so forgive me for skipping ahead in the holiday planning a bit. Writing down some of the things that I keep tossing around in my head helps me to be less distracted by them when I should be doing other things.

How hard can a Thanksgiving menu be, you might ask. Turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes–everyone (in the US) knows what to make on the fourth Thursday in November! True enough, but I really enjoy trying interesting variations on traditional dishes. That, and we have a couple of vegans coming to celebrate Turkey Day with us. Although they’re perfectly happy to bring their own food (and not at all the sort to make nasty remarks about what others are eating), I sort of like the challenge of incorporating food preferences and requests into a menu where there is something for everyone. Check back on Nov. 21 to see if I’m still saying that.

If I were planning an entirely vegan Thanksgiving celebration I’d probably do some sort of grain-stuffed squash as the main dish, but since I’m planning a full traditional menu already, I think a protein-based main dish makes more sense. Mashed potatoes don’t seem right with with stuffed squash (or pumpkin ravioli). I’m not anti-carb, but that sounds more nap inducing than the most tryptophan-laced bird. Instead, I’m looking at a “meat” loaf with mushroom gravy.  Now that looks like it was made to sit on mashed potatoes.

Many vegetarians survive Thanksgiving on side dishes alone, but I’m normally pretty fast and loose with the dairy, a vegan no-no. Luckily most side dishes are pretty easy to adapt–it’s no problem to pull out some of the boiled potatoes to mash with veggie broth instead of milk and butter. I even have a recipe for vegan green bean casserole, a side dish that was not a part of my childhood Thanksgivings but is essential on most tables (including ours, now–it’s one of Jeff’s favorites.) I’m also firmly in the stuffing baked outside the bird camp, so no cross-contamination worries there. Side dishes, along with appetizers and desserts will get their own posts in the next few weeks.

Now, where will everyone sit…?

Vegetarian Recipe Roundup #1

One of the ways we’re trying to keep to our grocery budget is to eat at least two meatless dinners a week. Since I grew up with a lot of vegetarians and was vegetarian myself for five years I didn’t think it would be much of a problem to come up with plenty of veggie meals. We’ve been eating more “South Beach Diet”-style for the past few years though; animal protein from the lower-fat end of the scale along with lots of vegetables and not a lot of pasta, rice, etc.. While it’s not impossible to translate the basic premise of the diet to vegetarian dinners, it takes a little more time for me to plan and prepare these meals than it does for me to grill some chicken and make a salad.

Of course there are lots more quick veggie options out there–we like lentil soup, black bean nachos, and quesadillas to name a few–but when you’re ready for something different, give one of these dishes a shot:

Zucchini Fritters from Claudia Roden’s Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon. (find this book in a library)
Oh these were good! We ate them with rice and plain yogurt–I’d probably add a salad with lots of dark colored veggies next time as the meal looked a little monotone on my celery-colored plates. I’m looking forward to trying more recipes out of this book after I have a chance to visit a Middle Eastern grocery store.

Spinach “frittata” from Jane Brody’s Good Food Book. (find this book in a library)
I don’t really follow the directions for this dish; the first time I made it I didn’t read the recipe carefully and had already mixed everything (eggs, spinach, cottage cheese, breadcrumbs) together before I realized there was more to it. I went ahead and baked it as-is and although I’ve made it according to the directions since, I prefer it all mixed together. This definitely makes it a casserole rather than a frittata. I’m more fond of this dish than Jeff so I usually end up with all the leftovers, but he’ll eat it the first night (and then make himself a snack an hour later, but that’s not unusual anyway….)

Spaghetti with cauliflower, green olives, and almonds: I use Epicurious regularly; their advanced search is pretty much the ultimate searching experience. I found this recipe while browsing through a list of meatless, quick recipes and was surprised how much we liked it (and how satisfying it was.) The leftovers were even better, but they didn’t last long!

I’m going to work on trying more whole-grain focused veggie recipes for the next veggie recipe roundup. I’ll keep you posted!