Category Archives: vegetarian

glazed goodness

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With a title like that you’d expect for this post to be about donuts, right?  Nope.  Afraid not.  I’m talking about glazed vegetables, people.  Might not sound quite as exciting, but I can guarantee they are (nearly) as tasty.

I made this recipe for Thanksgiving a few years back and remember that it was quite the hit.  I believe one of the little kids at the meal referred to the parsnips as “white carrots.”  It was cute.  And parsnips kind of do look like white carrots but don’t so much taste like them.  Where carrots are sweet, parsnips are a little sharp.

The hardest part about this dish is cutting the carrots and parsnips up into little matchsticks but after that it is a breeze and is cooked entirely on the stove-top, thus freeing up space in your oven on T-day for other important dishes like stuffing and the turkey.

You simply cook down the carrots and parsnips in some olive oil with salt and pepper and then add butter, honey, and rosemary after they are tender for the glazing.  Sweet and hardy with a little bite from the parsnips and nice scent and flavor from the rosemary.  I highly recommend it for your Thanksgiving this year, or even just as part of a quick weeknight meal.

Sauteed Parsnips and Carrots with Honey and Rosemary (recipe found at www.epicurious.com)

Yield: Makes 8 servings

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound carrots (about 4 large), peeled, cut into 3×1/4×1/4-inch sticks
  • 1 pound large parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise, cored, cut into 3×1/4×1/4-inch sticks
  • Coarse kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons honey (such as heather, chestnut, or wildflower)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and parsnips. Sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables are beginning to brown at edges, about 12 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Add butter, rosemary, and honey to vegetables. Toss over medium heat until heated through and vegetables are glazed, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Brussels sprouts are your friends

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Why do Brussels sprouts get such a bad rap?  It was always the food used as a threat by mothers in sitcoms when I was growing up so I think as a result I just never even tried one until I was an adult because I just assumed they would be gross.  Boy, was that assumption wrong!  They’re delicious.

I’ve been making them as a side dish at Thanksgiving for the past five or so years and they are almost always a hit.  (I say almost always because small children and my Grandma Molly are not big fans, but that just means more for the rest of us!)  I usually roast them until they get all brown and caramelized but a few years ago I ate them in a gratin at a fancy restaurant in New York and was inspired to seek out a recipe for this cooking method.

The recipe I found also involves cauliflower which is another vegetable that can sometimes get an undeserved bad rap.  Brussels sprouts and cauliflower smothered in cream and Parmesan cheese?  Yes, please!

This gratin also gets a crunchy topping courtesy of bread crumbs and toasted pine nuts.  This dish just might make it to my Thanksgiving table this year!

I will be tagging all Thanksgiving-worthy recipes as such to help you with your menu planning, so check back closer to the date if you are in need of some ideas.

Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts Gratin (found at www.epicurious.com)

Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings
  • 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, quartered lengthwise through core
  • 1 1 1/2-to 1 3/4-pound head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into small florets
  • 2 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup chopped shallots
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
  • 11/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • 3 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Fill large bowl with ice and cold water. Cook brussels sprouts in large pot of generously salted boiling water 2 minutes. Add cauliflower to same pot; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes longer. Drain. Transfer vegetables to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

Combine cream, shallots, and sage in large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until mixture is reduced to 21/2 cups, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs; stir until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl; cool. Stir in pine nuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; arrange half of vegetables in dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly over, then sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. Pour cream mixture evenly over. DO AHEAD: Breadcrumb topping and gratin can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cover gratin with foil. Bake covered 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle breadcrumb topping over and bake uncovered 15 minutes longer.

soup season

Posted in soup, vegetable, vegetarian by

Fall is my favorite time of year for a variety of reasons– the brilliant colors of the changing leaves, the cooler temperatures, and of course for the abundance of foods that are prevalent this time of year: squash, pumpkins, apples, parsnips, Brussels sprouts– love them all.  I also love nothing more on a cool fall day than a nice hot bowl of soup.

When I went apple picking two weekends ago I also picked up a beautiful butternut squash at the same farm and this inspired me to whip up my first soup (chili doesn’t count!) of the season.  This recipe starts with roasting cubed squash for a nice caramelized flavor.

Then you chop up some onions, celery and fresh sage.  Sage is a wonderful herb that does a lot of work this time of year as it pairs very nicely with squash and pumpkin as well as poultry.  Bonus: it makes your house smell wonderful!

After these ingredients (along with some vegetable or chicken broth) had simmered for a solid half hour I busted out my immersion blender and made a beautiful smooth soup.

What goes well with soup?  Bread.  What’s one step better than bread?  Homemade croutons.  I chunked up a few slices of sourdough bread and tossed them with olive oil, more chopped fresh sage, minced garlic, finely shredded Parmesan and a little salt and toasted them in the oven until they were nice and crisp.

Nothing says “fall is here” quite like a hot bowl of butternut squash soup with homemade croutons…

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage and Parmesan Croutons (from recipe from Real Simple magazine)

  • 1 3-pound butternut squash—peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (5 to 6 cups)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 3 stalks of celery, chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
  • 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and the pepper. Place the squash on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in oven for 15 minutes. Turn the cubes over and continue roasting for 15 minutes or until they are caramelized; set aside.

In a Dutch oven or a large stockpot, heat the butter and the remaining oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and sage and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are translucent and tender, 10 minutes. Add the squash, broth, and the remaining
salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the liquid is flavorful. Remove from heat.

Using a blender or a food processor, blend the soup in batches until smooth. Return to the pot and keep warm. Top with Sage and Parmesan Croutons and the grated Parmesan.

Sage and Parmesan Croutons (also from Real Simple magazine)

  • 3 ounces rustic white bread (about 3 thick slices), torn into 24 1-inch pieces
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage (about 6 large leaves)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Toss all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl to coat.  Spread the bread evenly on a baking sheet and toast in oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

slow cooker season is upon us

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This past Sunday it was rainy and gray and gloomy out so I decided to bust out my Crock-Pot and make some chili. 

I do not discriminate against different types of chili.  I like traditional beef chili, Texas style with steak, white turkey chili– they’re all good in my book.  However, the chili recipe I fall back on time and time again is actually of the vegetarian variety.

It involves not one, not two, no not even three, but four types of beans.  It’s very hardy and packed with protein so much so that you do not even think about missing any sort of meat.

The original recipe called for couscous to be added during the last few minutes of cooking but I didn’t have any so I substituted quinoa instead and I really like what it did.  It made it thicker, added some color, (I had red and white quinoa on hand) and added to the non-meat meatiness of it.  So if you haven’t already broken out your slow cooker this season, now’s the time!

Vegetarian Chili (adapted slightly from Robin Miller’s recipe found at www.foodnetwork.com)

  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini) beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup frozen baby lima beans or regular lima beans
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano or regular oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients but the quinoa, shredded cheese and salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Five to 10 minutes before serving (depending on temperature of slow cooker) add quinoa, cover and cook, until quinoa is tender. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper.

Just before serving, top each serving with shredded cheese.

taco tuesday

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I love me some lentils.  I don’t think I had ever even eaten lentils until I was in college and discovered that I liked the vegetarian version of my dorm cafeteria’s shepherd’s pie more than the meat version.  Lentils are super hearty and I hear they are good for you too.  Bonus!

 I’ve done a bit of experimenting with brown and red lentils and recently bought some French lentils which are green in color.  I don’t discriminate against lentils based on color.  They’re all equally good in my eyes.

I must admit, the dish I am about to share with you was not prepared by me but rather by a visiting friend and I immediately deemed it blog-worthy so took photos and asked for the recipe.  (Clearly I was so hungry that I rushed the photo-taking part…  Forgive me.)

 My friend made tacos out of lentils.  Tacos!  Who doesn’t like tacos??  The lentil tacos were so full of flavor and so hearty that I definitely didn’t regret the fact that they were meatless.  In fact, I celebrated that they were meatless.  Even though I love things like bacon and a nice roasted chicken I rarely prepare meat at home so I have a decent repertoire of vegetarian main dishes and this recipe will no doubt be added to it.  I suggest you do the same!

Apologies for the sparse posts lately.  I am in the midst of moving and thus not cooking/baking so much these days since all of my stuff is in boxes and my fridge looks like a total bachelor’s with nothing much apart from condiments in it.  But I will be settled into my new place soon and promise to return to more regular posts in the very near future!

Lentil Tacos (recipe found at www.runnersworld.com)

1 cup onions, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup brown lentils, dry (note: I had French and red lentils on hand and used a combination and it worked just fine)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup water or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons dried black currants or raisins, minced
1 cup salsa, plus additional for topping
8 6-inch corn tortillas
shredded lettuce
chopped tomatoes
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

In a large frying pan over medium heat, sautée onions, celery, and garlic in the olive oil for five minutes or until vegetables are soft. Stir in the lentils, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Cook for one minute. Add the broth and raisins. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender (add more water or broth as needed). Remove the lid and cook an additional 10 minutes (until lentils are thick), stirring often. Fold in the salsa. Wrap the tortillas in a damp white cotton towel and microwave on high for one minute. Spoon the lentil mixture among the tortillas. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.
Serves four.