This recipe is based on the cook’s illustrated beans and greens recipe.  I used to make it with collards or kale, but since I can’t get those greens here I made it with swiss chard and added tomatoes, which blend nicely with the acidity of the chard.  Normally I add kalamata olives but I didn’t have any so I added a few spoonsfuls of capers instead.  I didn’t have any white beans so subbed in chickpeas.

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Heat oil and sliced garlic in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring and turning frequently, until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer garlic to plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
2. Add onion and chard stems to pan; cook until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add half of chard to pan; using tongs, toss occasionally, until starting to wilt, about 2 minutes. Add remaining chard, broth, tomatoes, and salt; cover (pan will be very full); increase heat to high and bring to strong simmer. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, tossing once, until chard is completely wilted. Stir in beans and olives or capers.
4. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in dutch oven or 5-6 quart pan over high heat. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt; cook until pasta is just shy of al dente. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add the greens mixture to pasta, set over medium-high heat, and toss to combine. Cook until pasta absorbs most of liquid, about 2 minutes. Season with black pepper to taste.  Serve immediately, passing garlic chips and parmesan separately.

Note: By draining the pasta before its al dente, and finishing cooking in the brothy sauce, the pasta absorbs the flavors of the sauce and release its residual starch, which helps to thicken the sauce slightly.

Derek really loved this dish, even without the olives.  I thought it was reasonably flavorful, but I’m never as excited about beans and greens as he is.

This is a quick Chinese-inspired dish I whipped up for lunch today.

• 2 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 Tbs.) [optional]
• 1/2 tsp. chili flakes
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 pound medium firm tofu
• 1 pound bok choy
• 2 shallots
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger , minced (about 1 tablespoon) [optional]

1. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic cloves, and chili flakes.  Slice the tofu into long rectangles (about .75” x .75” x 2”).
2. In a 12-inch non-stick skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil until a drop of water sizzles.  Add the tofu in a single layer.  Do not move the tofu once you’ve placed it down.
3. While the tofu cooks, wash and cut up your bok choy.  Break the bok choy into individual leaves, and remove the green part from the white stems.  Chop the stems into bite-sized pieces, halving vertically any particular fat stems.  When the stems are all chopped, throw them into the pan, filling up any spaces not taken by the tofu, and letting the rest of the pieces rest on top of the tofu.
4. When the tofu has browned on the first side, toss everything making sure that each tofu piece ends up on an unbrowned side.  While the second side browns, slice the bok choy leaves into fat ribbons, and slice the shallots into 1/4 inch pieces.  Add the shallots to the pan.  Toss again, getting a third side of each tofu rectangle down this time.
5. When the third side of tofu is browned, throw in the bok choy leaves and the soy sauce mixture.  Stir fry for about 1 minute, until the leaves are wilted.  Eat immediately.

You could serve this over rice or another grain, but we just ate it plain.  It’s salty, but not over the top salty.  The bok choy stems and shallots get nicely caramelized, and the tofu ends up crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.  It’s a satisfying dish.

If you use the ginger, add it about 30 seconds before the soy sauce mixture.

We recently returned from 10 days in NYC, and were scrambling to figure out what to do for dinner given our uncharacteristically empty fridge and unusually busy schedule.  (When you disappear for 10 days there’s a lot to do once you get back!)  I left work too late to make it to the Asian and bio stores, so tofu was out, and the Turkish store was already closed.  My only option was the local, standard grocery store, where I almost never buy produce.  The Brussels sprouts looked reasonably fresh, and both Derek and I love brussels sprouts, so I decided on a simple dinner of pasta with brussels sprouts.  I also bought a few tart apples for snacking on.

When I got home I tried to figure out  what I could add to bump up the protein content of the meal, and make the pasta dish a little more interesting.  I remembered that I had a box of falafel mix in the pantry.  Falafel and brussels sprouts didn’t seem like too odd of a combination, so I mixed the falafel mix with water and fried it up as falafel patties in a little oil on the stovetop.  I removed them from the pan and then used the same pan for the sprouts.  I quartered the brussels sprouts and cooked them over medium heat in my large 12-inch skillet, until browned.  When they were almost done I decided to jazz the dish up a bit more, and added one diced granny smith apple, and a heaping spoonful of minced rosemary (from the plant on my windowsill).  When the sprouts were cooked through I tossed in some whole wheat penne, and crumbled in a few of the falafel patties.  The texture of the falafel crumbles reminded me a little of bread crumbs, but they were more flavorful.  The sweet/tart apple contrasted nicely with the heavier flavors of the falafel and brussels sprouts, and the rosemary added a nice “fall” flavor.  The dish ended up being tasty, if a little odd.  It was also a bit dry, so we ended up drizzling it with a little olive oil at the table.  I wish the dish had had more of a sauce, but I never know how to make a non-red sauce like you get at an Italian restaurant, without using 1/4 cup of olive oil per person.

I want to cook tempeh when I’m in NYC, but I’d prefer not to buy the mediocre stuff from Lightlife or White Wave.  Does anyone know of any tempeh that’s locally made, or at least better than the national brands?  I did an internet search but didn’t find anything.

This morning I got up and decided to use up some of the odds and ends left in the fridge/freezer.  I started by roasting a bunch of parsnips, carrots, and a little bit of leftover cauliflower.  While the vegetables were roasting in the oven, I used the rest of the leftover vegetables to make a creamy kale, leek, and mushroom pudding.  I didn’t measure anything, so all the amounts below are approximate.

• leeks, white and light green parts sliced (~4 cups)
• ~ 1 Tbs. butter
• mushrooms, chopped small (~2 cups)
• kale, finely chopped (I used a 450g box of frozen kale)
• dried oregano (1/2? tsp.)
• ground fennel seed (1/4? tsp.)
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• soy sauce (~1 Tbs.)
• 1 Tbs. nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp. arrowroot
• lowfat milk (~1.25 cups)
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbs. light cream cheese
• ~1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 4 large cloves garlic
• 4.25 ounces cheese (I used a mix of parmigiana-reggiano and manchego)

1. In a 3-quart casserole pan warm the butter over medium heat.  Add the leeks and saute until lightly browned.  Add the mushrooms and cook until the liquid is mostly gone.  Add the frozen kale, cover, and cook until the kale is defrosted.  Add some dried oregano and dried fennel, salt and pepper, the nutritional yeast, and some soy sauce.  Stir to mix.
2. Mix the arrowroot in 1 Tbs. of water.  Make a well in the center of the vegetables, and add the arrowroot mixture.  Cook for a minute or two, until it starts to bubble.  Off the heat.  Mix the two eggs with the milk and light cream cheese.  Beat well.  Add the egg mixture to the vegetables, and stir to mix.
3. In a mini food processor place the cheese, the peeled garlic cloves, and the basil leaves.  Pulse a few times until everything is finely chopped and uniformly mixed.  Mix most of the cheese mixture into the vegetables, reserving a little to sprinkle on top.
4. Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven until the casserole is set and top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

My notes:

This casserole doesn’t have enough eggs or starchy vegetables in it to really set properly.  It’s not sliceable–more scoopable, which is why I called it a pudding rather than a casserole.  If I was going to serve this for company, I’d probably make individual puddings in my 1-cup ramekins.  The flavor was good, although I couldn’t specifically taste the basil, oregano, or fennel seed.  I guess I should have added more.  I think a little nutmeg or allspice would also have gone well with these flavors.  Surprisingly, no one vegetable really stood out flavor-wise.  Each added a distinctive texture however.  The mushroom pieces were  meaty and a tad rubbery.  The kale was slightly fibrous and chewy.  And the leeks were silky and a tad stringy.  The gestalt of the dish reminded me a little of the traditional Thanksgiving green bean casserole cooked in condensed mushroom soup–but in a good, comfort-food way rather than a cheap, overly-processed way.

Derek also liked the pudding–he said it tasted just like escargot.  I suspect it was the strong (almost raw) garlic flavor that he was responding to.

This recipe made approx. 2 quarts of pudding, so I would say 8 side-servings or 4 main dish servings.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/8 recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories	189
Total Fat	7.9g
Saturated Fat	4.7g
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	66mg
Sodium	453mg
Carbohydrate	17.5g
Dietary Fiber	2.8g
Sugars	4.4g
Protein	12.6g
Vitamin A 197% Vitamin C 124% Calcium    35% Iron 13%

Macro breakdown:  37% fat, 26% protein, 37% carbs.

Derek and I are going to New York City soon, and I’m looking for great places to eat.  Although we’ve been to NYC many times, I can’t really think of that many places that I must return to.  I know there must be marvelous places for a vegetarian (and her non-vegetarian foodie husband) to get a great dinner.  Do any of you city-dwellers have some favorites you can suggest? If so, please post a comment with your recommendations.  Restaurants close to the village are preferred.  I’ll post a summary of all our dining experiences after we return.

So far, our tentative plans include Candle Cafe, Blue Hill, Babbo, and maybe Sunday brunch with bagels from Essa Bagels. (Sadly, we can’t get bagels here in Germany).

Fall is here, and parsnips and winter squash are finally in the stores again!  I decided to celebrate by trying this recipe from the fall section of Peter Berley’s Fresh Food Fast.

In a medium dutch oven you melt together butter and oil, then add kombu, garlic, ginger, and rosemary or sage.  On top of this seasoning layer you place 1 pound of tempeh cubes.  The tempeh is then covered with a mixture of water, soy sauce, and maple syrup.  Then come the remaining layers:  onions, winter squash, parsnip, and carrots, all cut into thick slices or chunks.  The casserole is covered, and the stew is brought to a boil, then transferred to a 400 degree oven where it bakes for 25 minutes.  Once everything is cooked, the vegetables and tempeh are transferred to a serving bowl, and a mixture of arrowroot and water and soy sauce is mixed in with the juices remaining in the pan, to make a sort of gravy.  The vegetables are topped with the sauce and some scallions, and served over a bulgur and buckwheat pilaf.

I didn’t have any kombu, so I just left it out.  I cut the olive oil by half, the butter by 25%, and used less soy sauce.  I didn’t make the pilaf since I felt like the dish had plenty of starchy vegetables already.  I used rosemary for the herb, and hokaiido (red kuri) for the winter squash. I forgot the scallions.  Otherwise I followed the recipe’s ingredients exactly.

The first mistake I made was using a 3 quart casserole pan.  I only have a 6 quart dutch oven, and that seemed too large.  But the 3 quart pan was not large enough.  Once all the veggies were layered in the lid couldn’t quite close.  I tried cooking it anyway, with the lid mostly closed, but after 25 minute the parsnips were still hard in spots, so I left it in the oven for a while longer, maybe another 15 minutes.

In the end the vegetables were definitely cooked, but they tasted more like boiled vegetables than roasted ones.  The onions were particularly slimy and unappealing.  The starchy vegetables weren’t overly soft, just bland and not very flavorful.  The hokaiido was particularly unpleasant–overly dry and starchy tasting.  Maybe I should have added more salt, but I don’t think that alone would have been transformed the vegetables from unappetizing to delicious.   I can’t imagine that Berley intended the vegetables to come out as they did.  They were just too gross.  Could I have really screwed up the recipe somehow?

In conflict with the name, the dish really was not anything like a stew.  There was only about 1.5 cups of sauce for almost 3 quarts of vegetables–not even close to a stew in my book.

The tempeh wasn’t bad. It had absorbed all the fat (the vegetables didn’t get any), and was sweet (from the maple syrup and veggie juices) and salty (from the soy sauce).  Plus the garlic and ginger added lots of flavor.  However, I couldn’t taste the rosemary.

Derek and I ended up eating all the tempeh out of the “stew”, and then I pureed the vegetables together to make a creamy soup.  I added some spices and the soup tasted okay, but not great.

Stew: D

Tempeh: B-

Stuffed bell peppers are a standard in any 70’s vegetarian cookbook.  Despite being a pretty easy way to disguise “brown vegan mush”, they’ve never really become part of my repertoire.  Before the summer peppers completely disappear, I decided to try the stuffed pepper recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance.

• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
• 1 Tbs. chile powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 15 oz. tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 4 large red bell peppers
• 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• fresh cilantro for garnish

The technique is to saute the onions until soft, then add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until dry.  Then the chile powder, salt, 1 cup. tomato sauce, water, and quinoa are added, and the mixture is simmered for 20 minutes. Afterwards, the black beans and maple syrup are added to the mixture.  The bell peppers are blanched in boiling water for 5 minutes, then filled, topped with the remaining tomato sauce, and baked at 350 for 15 minutes.  The peppers are garnished with cilantro before serving.

My notes:

I followed the recipe exactly except I added 1 minced jalepeno with the onion.

The biggest problem I had with this recipe is that 1/4 cup of water was not enough water to cook the quinoa.  I think at least 1/2 cup of water, and maybe 2/3 cup is needed.  After 20 minutes my quinoa was still in hard, white balls, and I had to add more water and cook it for another 10 minutes.

The flavor of the mixture is good.  I wouldn’t have known that there was maple syrup in it, or mushrooms.  Since the quinoa is cooked with the veggies and tomato sauce, it doesn’t become extremely light and fluffy–it has more of a gooey texture. The mushrooms and quinoa form a brown, starchy glue that helps the beans stick together, and adds nuttiness and depth.  The cilantro garnish added a lot of flavor.  The bell peppers, although not overcooked or undercooked, didn’t add that much.  They were sweet, and tasted like bell peppers, but the flavor just didn’t meld that well with the filling.  Derek said he wouldn’t make this recipe again, but he would make the filling again.  He gave the whole recipe a B/B- and the filling a B+/A-.  I liked the filling, but didn’t love it. I think the filling might work well in enchiladas or burritos, or maybe could be used to fill zucchini or halved winter squash.  I’d give the recipe a B-, and the filling a B.

I wanted a quick, flavorful green bean dish for dinner last night, and I decided to try this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated “Best Light Recipe” cookbook.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 1 Tbs.)
• 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
• pinch of cayenne
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth (C.I. calls for chicken broth)
• 1.5 pounds green beans, ends trimmed
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbs. water
• salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil, garlic, thyme, and cayenne in a 12-inch skillet, until fragrant.  Then add the broth and green beans.  Turn the heat to medium-high, cover, and cook until the green beans are not quite tender, 6 to 9 minutes.
2. Mix the cornstarch with the water to make a slurry.  Push the green beans to the side of the pan, and add the slurry to the empty side.  Cook until the slurry starts to simmer, then mix it with the green beans.  Cook until the green beans are tender and the sauce has thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat, and add the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the parmesan before serving.

Comments:

I only had about 1 1/3 pounds green beans, but I used the full amount of ingredients.  Despite skimping on the beans, the sauce wasn’t too strong. I used arrowroot instead of cornstarch, but otherwise followed the recipe.  The green beans tasted fine, but the sauce was very mellow.  With all that garlic, I was expecting something with a little more bite (like the lemon/mustard green beans in Modern Vegetarian Kitchen).  Derek said that part of the problem was that I overcooked the beans.  Although I would have preferred them a bit more crisp, I didn’t think they were very overcooked.  They were just very mild tasting.  The parmesan and cornstarch really mellow out the bite from the garlic, and the lack of much oil made the whole thing taste just a little wan.   Also, I’m not sure why the salt is added at the end instead of with the vegetable broth.  The thyme was fine, but not quite the right seasoning for green beans I think.  I don’t think I’d make this recipe as is again.  At the very least I’d save some raw garlic and throw it in at the very end.  Also, I would serve it with rice or another grain to soak up some of the sauce.  However, if you like more mellow flavors, and are looking for an easy, very low calorie vegetable side dish, then give this a try.

Rating: B-

Derek: B-

My blog has languished recently because I haven’t been cooking–I’ve been enjoying other people’s cooking in Scotland.  Derek and I spent a week in Edinburgh and three days on the island of Islay. Both were lovely.

I immediately fell in love with Edinburgh.  I felt at home from the moment we got on the airport bus and started riding through the suburbs. I liked the Georgian monotony of New Town, the touristy cashmere kitsch of the Royal Mile, and the small town friendliness of Stockbridge.  Edinburgh feels like a big, bustling city, yet it’s very easy and fast (and cheap!) to get around on foot and by bus.  Plus they’re rebuilding the trams!

I spent most of my week in Edinburgh just walking around, exploring all the different neighborhoods, and checking out the marvelous thrift stores (of which there seemed to be an infinite supply).  And I ate.  I ate lunch and dinner out every day.  After the unvarying German/Italian/Thai of Saarbruecken, it was a pleasure to be able to sample so many different cuisines.  Still, as the week wore on, I started to get sick of restaurant food.  My normally captious nature blossomed into outright pickiness (as you’ll see in the comments below).  But don’t be fooled by all the criticism.  I had a lovely time in Edinburgh, and would return in a minute.

Scotland is more vegetarian friendly than Germany–almost every restaurant has at least one vegetarian main dish.  That said, the vegetarian fare is pretty predictable.  At most restaurants the vegetarian option is risotto, and if not risotto, then it’s almost always ravioli.  I enjoy a well-made risotto, and I’ve had some excellent ravioli. (The pumpkin ravioli in a sage cream sauce at Girasole in Pittsburgh comes to mind.) However, when I go to a restaurant and the only vegetarian choices are risotto and ravioli, I become unreasonably acrimonious.  So I tried to seek out places with more interesting vegetarian options.

• Tony’s Table:  The first night we went to a small, low-key restaurant around the corner from our hotel.  I was intrigued by the roast cauliflower & pomegranate harissa starter that’s listed on the webpage, but unfortunately the webpage changes everyday and that wasn’t on the menu.  Instead I started with asparagus in lemon butter.  The portion was small but the asparagus was perfectly cooked and deliciously lemony.  One of our dining companions started with the woodland mushroom soup.  I hadn’t ordered it because I figured it would be a creamy soup, but it turned out to be an intensely flavored creamless mushroom broth, with a few mushrooms floating in it.  I only had one taste but really enjoyed it.  For my main I was hoping to get the dal on the webpage, but on that’s night menu the only options were risotto, and ravioli.  I couldn’t believe it!  I had specifically picked the restaurant to avoid the dreaded r&r.  I had no choice so I gave in and ordered the risotto with preserved lemons, broad beans, and peas.  I had to concede that it was excellent.  The preserved lemons infused the whole dish with a strong lemon aroma, and I loved the nutty, chewy broad beans.  The peas added sweetness.  The only downside was that the dish was HUGE.  I would have preferred a larger starter and a more reasonable sized main.  The mains also came with a side of steamed vegetables, which were fresh and tasty.  For dessert I ordered the orange polenta cake.  (I was aiming for a citrus trifecta.)  I wouldn’t have known that there was polenta in the cake, except that the texture was slighty coarse, kind of like a Passover cake made from matzoh meal.  I like Passover cake, and I enjoyed the polenta cake,which went quite well with the fragrant orange sauce.  What I really adored, however, was Derek’s treacle tart.  It was served with some kind of spicy sauce that was full of warm spices that I couldn’t quite place.  The combination of the dark molasses flavor and the warm spices was addictive.  One of our dining companion’s ordered the chocolate soup:  it was basically a big bowl of melted dark chocolate.  My taste was tasty, but I think I would have found it a bit boring if I had ordered it.  Tony’s Table charges 20 pounds for three courses.  I thought the price was very reasonable given the quality of the food.  The atmosphere was pleasant, and the service acceptable, although not especially friendly. I would love to go back, although hopefully the next time I’m there the vegetarian options will be a bit more adventurous.  Rating:  B+
• Valvona and Crolla Caffe Bar:  I was determined to try the pizza at La Favorita, but the restaurant is almost to Leith, and my plans to stop there for lunch never seemed to work out.  On the last day of my stay in Edinburgh I tried to make it to La Favorita, but ran out of time, and ended up at the Valvona and Crolla deli.  I had heard excellent things about the restaurant in the back, so I stopped for lunch.  They had pizza and some other vegetarian options but I opted for a simple pasta with olive oil and some type of mushroom.  It was very rich (almost olive oil soup), but very tasty.  The pasta was perfectly al dente, and the sauce delicious.  It was so good that despite being pretty full I wanted to try a dessert.  I opted for the carrot cake, which was nicely spiced but overly dry, with an unappetizing mascarpone icing.  I felt like the prices were a bit high for lunch, but they’re only open until 5pm.  If I’m back in Edinburgh I’d like to come back, but I’ll make lunch my main meal and only have a light salad or soup for dinner.  The caffe is very informal, but very pleasant with lots of light and a high ceiling.  I would also like to try the associated Valvona and Crolla VinCaffe.  Rating: B.
• Susie’s Wholefood Diner:  I hadn’t planned to try this old-school vegetarian diner, but ended up at the University around lunchtime, and it was full of people and looked cozy, so my friend and I decided to try it.  We went to the counter to see the options and give our order, and after eying the day’s choices I chose a medium plate, giving me a choice of three dishes.  I selected the vegetable enchiladas, a salad of various grated vegetables, and the spanokopita.  My friend got the last serving of spanokopita, so I took my two dishes and said I’d wait until the next batch came out of the oven.  The flour enchilada looked a lot like my own enchiladas, and tasted pretty similar, except it was filled with various veggies rather than tofu.  I normally don’t care for vegetable enchiladas, but this one was quite nice.  The sauce was just how I like it, and the filling was simple but tasty.  The salad was fine, but not exciting (I think it was not dressed).  My friend had gotten the spanokopita, the same salad, and a puree of sweet potatoes, lentils, and millet, topped with a ginger sauce.  She said the spanokopita was fine but the sweet potatoes were really good. I tasted the puree and really liked it, so switched my third dish to the puree instead of the spanokopita.  I think the server was disturbed by giving me a plate that was only 1/3 full, so he gave me this enormous scoop of sweet potatoes.  It was way too much.  The sweet potatoes were really good though.  I wouldn’t have known there were lentils in it, so I’m guessing they were red lentils cooked til they totally lost all shape.  I could easily detect the millet, which added it’s own slightly dry, chewy texture to the dish.  The real crown, however, was the ginger sauce.  It didn’t taste at all like ginger to me–more like the carmelized, reduced juices that leak out of the sweet potatoes when you roast them.  I don’t know how they made that sauce but it was marvelous.  The diner was crowded, but very bright and cozy.  The food wasn’t at all gourmet, but I enjoyed my lunch and if Susie’s opened a branch in Saarbruecken, I’d be a regular.  Despite the counter-service approach, the lunch wasn’t exactly cheap, but I thought that the price was acceptable, especially given the enormous pile of sweet potatoes.  Rating: B.
• Kalpna’s:  I couldn’t quite tell what I thought of Kalpna’s because we ended up eating there in a group of ten, and someone else was paying the bill and asked the waiter to simply bring “some of everything.”  So we got tons of food but I didn’t know what anything was and it became simply overwhelming.  I do remember that I quite liked the tandoor mix (vegetables coated in a spicy yogurt marinade and cooked in the tandoor oven).  It was much, much better than typical grilled vegetable kabobs.  I also really loved one of the dishes that came in an almond, cashew sauce that was incredibly nutty and addictive.  The only downside was that it was almost all sauce, with very little in the sauce.  The carrot halvah was quite good–almost as good as homemade.  The mango lassi was also nice–not too sweet, not too sour, and not too thick.  There were definitely dishes I didn’t care for–one memorable dish with a tomato based sauce was so sweet I stopped after one bite.  I had trouble evaluating the restaurant due to the crazy circumstances, but the prices were quite reasonable and there were a few standout dishes.  I’d definitely try it again.  Rating:  B.
• Wedgwood: I was looking for more upscale restaurants that offered a vegetarian option other than the inevitable R&R, and came across Wedgwood, which happens to be rated number one on TripAdvisor for Edinburgh restaurants.  I don’t know how much that rating means, but the menu looked good to Derek so we decided to give it a try.  I started with a watercress “cappuccino”, a twist on the classic English soup.  I love the peppery intensity of watercress, and was extremely disappointed by the mild, almost bland cup of soup I was served.  Before our mains we were served shot glasses full of some sort of sweet soda (ginger and cranberry maybe?).  Somehow the waitress managed to topple mine all over the table, and into my lap.  She was quite friendly, however, and I was wearing black, so I didn’t mind very much.  We had a good laugh about it.  The soda was sweet and tasty, but not  unusual.  For my main I ordered the intriguing sounding “black eyed peas, beans, vegetables, wrapped in vine leaves, lightly curried saffron broth”.  When it arrived I was surprised to find that the “broth” was actually more of a thick, mustard-yellow sauce that spilled out from underneath the stuffed grape leaves.  The grape leaves were strongly pickled.  I liked the taste but there was simply too much of it, compared to the rather mild filling.  The briny leaves overwhelmed the other flavors, so I unwrapped the leaves and just ate the filling and sauce.  The filling was plain but pleasant tasting:  a mixture of lentils, black eye peas, a grain (bulgur?), and minced vegetables.   The saffron sauce definitely tasted like saffron, and I liked it okay, but it’s not quite what I had been hoping for.  After removing the grape leaves I thought the dish was fine, and certainly different, but I wouldn’t order it again.  One of my dining companions (also a vegetarian) liked my dish alot, and finished off what I couldn’t manage (after finishing her own dish!).  She had ordered the fennel, walnut and tomato risotto, which came with a lovely, very fresh side salad.  The risotto was quite nice.  It was much firmer and drier than the risotto at Tony’s Table, but it was full of flavor, and the walnuts added a surprising crunch to the dish.  I definitely want to try making a risotto with walnuts sometime.  For dessert I tried the peanut butter pudding with banana ice cream and carmelized bananas.  The peanut butter pudding was definitely peanut buttery, and it went nicely with the banana ice cream, but neither the texture nor flavor were quite right.  I also didn’t care for the hard, candied surface on the bananas. I would have preferred a simply grilled banana without the distraction of the too-sweet, too-hard surface.  Derek ordered the sticky toffee pudding, which was tasty but a bit too sweet and not dark enough I thought.  One of our dining companion’s tried the pineapple “gazpacho”, which was light and refreshing.  It kind of reminded me of a pina colada.  Our other dining companion tried the goats cheese semi freddo with honeyed beetroot, passion fruit, and fennel sorbet.  The fennel sorbet tasted like fennel, and the semi freddo was quite nice–it had the sour creaminess that I love in yogurt gelato. Overall I was a little disappointed in Wedgwood.  It has creativity, and lots of potential, but wasn’t as successful as Tony’s Table, and was slightly more expensive (for vegetarians). But it was good enough that I would certainly try it again, especially since it was Derek’s favorite restaurant in Edinburgh.  Rating: B.
• Sprio: I happened into Sbrio by accident.  I wanted to try Sabor Criollo, but there wasn’t much vegetarian, and–more importantly–it was closed.  Hungry, we were searching for someplace in Stockbridge to grab a quick lunch.  Sprio is a little Italian cafe on a side street.  There are seats inside but it was dim and a little depressing, so we sat on stools at a little table out front.  There were a number of vegetarian sandwiches and pastas, but none of the combinations suited my tastes (eggplant and blue cheese kept encroaching on otherwise appealing choices).  I had them make me a custom sandwich with some Italian smoked cheese, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.  Rather than go with the standard panini I decided to try the Italian flat bread, piadina.  It turned out to be quite similar to a flour tortilla, turning my “sandwich” into something more akin to a quesadilla, but not fried.  The smoked cheese was tasty, but the sandwich was a little boring.  Probably the eggplant and blue cheese would have helped!  My friend and I also shared a caprese salad, which was actually tomatoes and mozarella on top of a leafy salad.  The ingredients were all quite fresh and I enjoyed the salad, especially the delicious gaeta olives.  I’d go back if I was in the neighborhood and I needed lunch, but I wouldn’t make a special trip.  Rating: B.
• David Bann:  I had looked at the menu at this more upscale vegetarian restaurant, and dismissed it as the menu looked a little too standard.  However, a friend of mine had been to David Bann before and remembered it fondly, so I figured I should give it a try.  I went with a group of four and we started with a few starters:  the popular thai fritters; potato, olive, caper, sorrel salad; and french fries.  The thai fritters were pleasant–I liked the smoked tofu that made up the “heart” of the fritters, and the banana chutney was quite nice as well.  The salad was also tasty.  I really liked the combination of the briny green olives and the capers, but I could barely detect any sorrel at all.  The french fries were not very good, but since we ordered them vegan they were served with a side of hummus!  When I first tasted it I wasn’t sure what it was–it tasted creamy and savory and delicious, but I couldn’t place the flavors.  Only once my dining companions informed me that I was eating hummus did I figure it out.  French fries (even mediocre ones) are really good dipped in hummus!  For a main dish I ordered the Organic udon noodles with ginger red pepper sauce and home smoked tofu.  For some reason I was expecting more of a brothy dish, but it was actually a big pile of sauced udon noodles.  The sauce was tasty–”red” tasting without being very spicy.  The smoked tofu on top was a little bland–not as flavorful as the tofu in the thai fritters.  I enjoyed my dish, but it wasn’t too exciting or original.  I think next time I would pick something different.  One of my dining companions ordered the roast aubergine chick pea cake with mash and gravy, and seemed disappointed.  He said he couldn’t taste any eggplant, and the small fritters were dwarfed by the huge pile of mashed potatoes they were perched on top of.  The mashed potatoes were fine, but boring, and the gravy wasn’t great.  My friend ordered the butternut squash, cashew and kohlrabi curry.  The presentation was different than I expected–the vegetables were sliced into big, thick rounds, and stacked on top of each other then covered in a thai curry sauce.  It was a nice twist on the standard chunky, brothy curry.  I nabbed a small taste and the curry tasted fine–like a Thai curry.  My friend said that the accompaniments really made the dish however.  He was quite happy with his choice.  For dessert, I tried the strawberry panna cotta which was reasonably tasty, but the pink creaminess was a little offputting.  I don’t know if it was in my head, but it almost tasted a little of artificial strawberry flavoring.  The dining companion who ordered it didn’t finish it, but perhaps he was just full.  I helped him out.  I ordered the orange and vanilla cheesecake, which was fine.  It wasn’t the best cheesecake I’ve had, and the orange jelly layer on top was a bit weird, but it was tasty enough that I finished it all.  The vegan member of our group had only one choice:  raspberry jelly and coconut rum sorbet.  I think it’s a bit sad that a vegetarian restaurant can only come up with a single vegan dessert, but he seemed to enjoy it.  Overall, I didn’t love anything I tried at David Bann, and I thought the desserts were disappointing–but everything was competently done, the atmosphere was pleasant, and the prices were reasonable.  I wouldn’t rush back but if a friend wanted to try the restaurant I would join them.  Rating: B.
• A Room in the Town:  The second night we were in Edinburgh we had a quite large group with several vegetarians and several non-vegetarians who wanted Scottish food, and were trying to come to a consensus about dinner.  We ended up at a Room in the Town.  I was quite excited to try the feta, watermelon & rockette salad with a coriander & pink peppercorn vinaigrette, as I have very fond memories of the watermelon, arugula, feta salad at Kaya in Pittsburgh.  However, the salad was awful.  The watermelon was tasteless and watery, and the dressing was oily and overpowering.   I gave the salad to Derek, who liked it.  For my main I ordered the Butternut squash, yellow courgette & broccoli in a coconut & red curry broth, chargrilled flatbread.  The curry was better than I expected.  It wasn’t anything special, but the veggies tasted good and it hit the spot.  No one else seemed that excited about their food, however, so we left without ordering dessert.  I would be less inclined to return to a Room in the Town than to David Bann, but I would be willing if a friend was set on it.  Rating: B-.
• Dusit: I had read nothing but positive reviews of Dusit, a Thai restaurant in the New Town.  Derek and I went for lunch, only to discover that the lunch menu is quite short, with none of the interesting-sounding vegetarian options that are on the dinner menu.  We asked our waiter if we could order off the dinner menu, and he said sure.  We started with the sweet potato and taro fritters.  The fritters didn’t excite me that much, but I really liked the sweet chili dip that they were served with.  Derek liked the fritters a lot.  For our main course we shared the “Son in Law” and the “Pad Med Mamung”.  The Son in Law was grilled vegetables in a sweet tamarind, white wine, and brandy sauce.  I should have been more cautious–the “sweet” sauce was too sweet for me.  I was hoping the tamarind would make it more sour, but it was mostly just sweet.  There weren’t that many vegetables either–the dish seemed a little small given the price.   The “Pad Med Mamung” was a mix of mushrooms, vegetables, and cashew nuts, in a chilli & chilli jam sauce.  I liked this sauce better than the other one, although I was hoping for something a bit more fiery, like the Thai chili paste I make at home.  The dish was fine but not stellar.  Derek thought the two dishes were best mixed together.  The prices were a little high for lunch (although we did order off the dinner menu).  Also, Dusit charges for rice, and charges quite a bit.  They didn’t have brown rice, but the white rice was quite good–nice and  chewy.  Overall I was disappointed in Dusit.  The menu looked so interesting but I wouldn’t order either of the two “interesting” dishes we ordered again.  Rating: B-
• Mezbaan:  This south Indian restaurant is close to the King’s Theatre, so we stopped in for an early dinner before going to see a play.  The mango lassi was not quite as good as at Kalpna, but nice–not too sweet.  I ordered the onion dosa.  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn’t expecting the dosa with little bits of onion falling out everywhere!  The dosa didn’t quite taste right–not sour enough.  The sambar was awful–not at all what I think of as sambar.  The coconut chutney was not good either.  Derek ordered the masala dosa, and I didn’t think his potatoes tasted anything like masala potatoes.  They weren’t very good. I did like the side order of bhindi bhaji that we ordered.  The okra was greasy but well-flavored and surprisingly crisp.  The side order of channa masala was not as good.  It was fine but I wouldn’t order it again.  It was hard to tell what my dining companions thought of the meal, since we were so rushed.  Once we finally got our food we had to leave for the theatre ten minutes later.  To be fair, we did have a very large group.  Overall I wasn’t that impressed with the food at Mezbaan, especially since the dosas were not up to par, and it’s supposedly a south Indian restaurant.  Still, I enjoyed the okra and I’d try it again if I needed somewhere to eat before the theatre.  Rating:  B-.
• 21212: Derek organized a group to go to this new restaurant which has been receiving glowing reviews since it opened.  None of the dishes were vegetarian, but they modified them all for me to use vegetables instead of meat. The starter was excellent.  It was actually “risotto”, but not a very traditional risotto.  It was a small bowl of soupy rice, topped with various interesting things which I no longer remember, except for the wonderful slices of dried oranges that had an explosive amount of flavor for how tiny they were.   After the starter the rest of the courses were a disappointment.    I can’t recall much about the soup, except that it was white and creamy and tasted fine but not like much in particular.  In fact, all the courses seemed very similar–white, creamy, rich with a bunch of random vegetables thrown in.  In my main course the meat was replaced with white asparagus, which I’m usually not a fan of.  However the asparagus was crisp and pleasant tasting.  In the middle of the dish was this extremely salty, dough ball.  Except for Derek, everyone thought it was gross.  Other than the asparagus and the dough ball, the main dish was unmemorable.  After our main course we were served a cheese course, and the cheeses were very standard cheeses.  Also the wedges of cheese were huge.  All the other courses (for which the chefs actually had to do some work) were quite tiny, then they fill us up with massive amounts of standard cheeses.  It kind of pissed me off.   I ordered the lemon tart for dessert.  It was fine, but not as good as the lemon bars from Fine Cooking–they were a tad too sweet and a tiny bit metallic tasting.  For the price I was expecting something more interesting and refined.  I liked Derek’s dessert better than mine–I can’t remember the details but it was some kind of a banana trifle, but was more interesting than that sounds. Overall I didn’t feel like the food came close to living up to the high prices.  The most unforgivable offense was the lack of variation in the courses.  There was nothing raw, not variation in color, nothing grilled or baked.  Everything was creamy and white and foamy and savory.  Unless the prices go down substantially, I wouldn’t go back for dinner. I might go back for lunch, which has fewer courses but also much lower prices. Rating: C
• Pancho Villa:  I randomly stopped in this Mexican restaurant for lunch, because I was hungry, it was there, and I love Mexican food.  I ordered the enchiladas with lentils and mushrooms, served with refried beans and a salad.  The enchiladas weren’t particularly good–the sauce didn’t have enough chili flavor, the filling wasn’t as interesting as it sounded, and there was too much oily cheese on top.   The beans and salad were fine, but not exciting.  The best thing about the meal was that it was pretty low sodium for Mexican restaurant.  Rating: C

I was so busy walking around exploring Edinburgh that I didn’t get many chances to stop and simply sit and read in cafes.  I did try the hot chocolate at the cafe “Chocolate Soup”, but I didn’t think it was very good.  It was neither chocolaty or intense enough.  I also stopped briefly in the “Circle Cafe” before going to the Botanical Garden.  The cafe had a really nice, neighborhood feel to it.  I tried the “flapjack”, a classic Scottish bar made from rolled oats and butter.  It was kind of like a cross between an oatmeal cookie and a blondie.  Quite tasty.

Other places I really wanted to try but never quite made it to:  La Favorita for the pizza, Chop Chop, Mother India Cafe, Khushi’s or Anna Purna, Nargile, and Wok and Wine.  The food at Urban Angel looked simple but the ingredients seemed to be of extremely high quality.  I’d like to eat there for lunch next time I’m in Edinburgh.    A friend said that the vegetarian Baked Potato Shop made an excellent potato with tofu chili.  I had also wanted to try the cardamom bun or hot chocolate, and a sandwich, at Peter’s Yard.  I had been interested in trying Roti, but several friends went and no one was impressed.

Unlike Edinburgh, Islay is pretty empty.  The scenery is beautiful though, and varied.  Within a short distance you pass by forest, sand dunes, rolling green hills, flat pasture land, and many, many sheep and cows (who always seem to be simultaneously eating lunch and letting loose from the other end).  Compared to Edinburgh, Islay has only a small number of dining options, and they generally serve much simpler food.  Still, every place we checked out had some vegetarian option, and I very much enjoyed the Scottish soups.

• Ferry boat: We ate a bit on the boat over, since we hadn’t eaten lunch and it was dinner time.  We shared a veggie burger, which tasted fried but wasn’t particularly tasty.  A side of macaroni and cheese wasn’t bad.  Also, I hadn’t noticed it but it turns out they had a specials menu with vichyssoise–I think that would have been a better choice, given the high quality of the soups on Islay.
• Maharani: The first night we arrived late, and ate at the Maharani Indian restaurant which was next door to our B&B.  We ordered a vindaloo vegetable dish and a side of aloo gobi.  The aloo gobi was very oily but the taste of the cauliflower really came through, which doesn’t happen so often at Indian restaurants. I enjoyed it.  The vindaloo dish was extremely spicy (and also very oily), and Derek and I only managed to eat half of it.
• Machrie hotel bar: For lunch the next day we ate in the bar at the Machrie Hotel.  I ordered a bowl of lentil broth which was actually just lentil soup, and a peanut butter and banana “toasty”.  The lentil soup was quite nice, and the toasty was simple but satisfying.  Derek had a plate of cheese and crackers, and enjoyed all the different British crackers, especially since we never eat crackers in Germany.  The cheese was fine–Derek said it tasted like Giant Eagle cheddar.
• Harbor Inn: Sunday dinner we went to a more upscale hotel:  the Harbor Inn, in Bowmore.  I started with a bowl of red pepper soup, which tasted like pure blended red bell peppers.  It was fine, but just a tad boring.  I would have liked a little spice or herb in addition to the peppers.  For my “main dish” I ordered an appetizer called a “tartlet”.  I thought it would be kind of like a little quiche, but it was more like a stacked pile of vegetables with a sauce and melted cheese on top.  I didn’t care for it, but Derek like it and finished it off for me.  In return I ate some of the potato gratin which came with Derek’s dish.  It was typically rich but tasty.  For dessert I ordered a chocolate and ginger souffle, with mint ice cream on the side.  The chocolate souffle was not as light as I was expecting, which I was quite happy about.  I enjoyed it, but couldn’t detect any ginger.  I loved the mint ice cream–it tasted like mint tea made from fresh mint leaves, and went wonderfully with the chocolate.  Derek ordered some kind of traditional Scottish dessert made from oatmeal.  It contained layers of sweetened oatmeal, something creamy, and lots of raspberries.  It was pretty doughy tasting, but strangely satisfying.  Even Derek (the berry hater) thought that the raspberries were necessary, however, to cut through the heavy doughiness.  Given that I didn’t care for either my soup or my tartlet, I wouldn’t rush to go back for dinner, but I would go back to try some of their other ice creams, like the basil ice cream.
• Ardbeg cafe: Monday morning we went on a tour of the Ardbeg distillery, and then afterwards atelunch at their cafe.  I ordered the carrot soup, and it was really great.  It was made creamy by pureeing the carrots, but they also added some grated carrot for texture.  There were also detectable bits of leek,  thyme, and I think some other herb.  The taste was complex and delicious.  I also ordered a toasty with cheese and tomato chutney, but the chutney was so sweet that I really disliked the sandwich, and gave it to Derek who likes the sweet/savory combination more than me.  After lunch we went on a distillery tour at the Laphroaig distillery.  They let us taste the barley after it had been malted and smoked under a peat fire (shown in the photo at right).  It was quite nice!  I’m surprised that the local cafes don’t used the malted, smoked barley to make bread.
• An Taigh-Osda: Monday dinner was at an taigh-osda, a new restaurant that just opened up (pronounced anti-AUST-uh).  I found the place a bit pretentious, and the service was a little too fast from one course to another.  I skipped the starters and just ordered a main course.  I can’t remember the details but the bulk of it consisted of thick disks of various vegetables stacked into a tower.  There was eggplant, sweet potato, tomato, onion, etc.  The vegetables were all fine, but the dish seemed awfully expensive for just a stack of roasted, oily disks of various vegetable.  There was some kind of sweet chutney on the side, which tasted strange to me, and I gave to Derek.   For dessert Derek and I shared a sticky toffee pudding, which was tasty but perhaps a tad too sweet.
• Kilchoman cafe: Tuesday lunch we ate at the Kilchoman distillery cafe.  I ordered the zucchini and mint soup, which tasted strongly of mint, perhaps a little too strongly.  I didn’t love it so I gave the end to Derek, who liked it more than me.
• Port Charlotte hotel bar: Dinner on Tuesday we ate at the Port Charlotte hotel, but we ate on the pub/bar side, not at the more upscale restaurant.  I started with a bowl of roasted vegetable soup.  I was expecting something brothy with chunks of vegetables, but it turned out to be a pureed soup.  I could definitely taste parsnips, but I’m not sure what else was in it.  The taste was sweet and savory and salty–delicious, and very comforting.  I’d love to get the recipe.  It was the second best soup I had after the carrot soup at Ardbeg.  My main was pasta puttanesca.  It was okay but not great.  The pasta wasn’t quite al dente enough, the olives were just cheap California black olives, and I couldn’t really taste the capers.  The portion was also too big.  I ate a little but didn’t finish it.  Derek and I shared too desserts:  bread and butter pudding and the sticky toffee pudding (again).  The bread and butter pudding was not great.  The bread was tasteless white bread, and I’m never a huge fan of anglaise sauce.  The sticky toffee pudding was better than the one at an taigh-osda–the cake was moister and a little darker tasting, and the sauce wasn’t quite so sweet.  (It actually tasted like the butter/brown sugar mixture on the bottom of my pineapple upside down cake.)

Given all the excellent soups I had on my trip to Scotland, and the oncoming cold weather, I’m newly inspired to try to find some new soup recipes.  If anyone has a soup recipe they love, please post a comment!