Chard and potato terrine

March 10, 2011 at 12:43 am (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Dark leafy greens, Derek's faves, Fall recipes, French, Georgeanne Brennan, Necessarily nonvegan, Root vegetables, Spring recipes, Winter recipes)

I had some chard and potatoes that needed to get eaten, and found this recipe in Georgeanne Brennan’s cookbook France: The Vegetarian Table.  It looked pretty decadent (lots of butter plus cheese and a bit of heavy cream), but Derek liked how the picture looked and encouraged me to try it.  Read the rest of this entry »

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Celery salad with green apples, walnuts, and mustard vinaigrette

March 9, 2011 at 11:36 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Derek's faves, Fall recipes, French, Peter Berley, Salads, Spring recipes, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)

This recipe is in the winter section of Peter Berley’s Fresh Food Fast, and I’ve been wanting to try it for a while now.  Berley says that the salad is “all about the nuance of crunch. The green apple, celery, and walnut each have a different yet complementary toothsome quality in the mouth.”  It seemed like a great winter salad, but I was nervous about making this recipe because Derek normally isn’t too excited about celery.  I thought I might have to eat all four servings myself.  I shouldn’t have worried though — Derek loved it. Read the rest of this entry »

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My favorite chocolate chip cookies

March 6, 2011 at 7:54 pm (Cookies, Dessert, unrated, Website / blog)

I have a picture in my head of the perfect chocolate cookie.  It’s got to be soft, but substantial.  I don’t want to hear any  crunch when I bite into it, and I don’t want the cookies to stick to my teeth.  I don’t want my cookie to be to dry, but neither do I like a greasy cookie.  And the sweetness level is important.  There needs to be a nice balance of sweet, salty, and buttery.  All other things being equal, I prefer a cookie with some height to a cookie that is totally flat.  I haven’t yet found a recipe that makes my perfect chocolate chip cookie, but I’m working on it.  I’ll document our experiments below. Read the rest of this entry »

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Winter vegetable ragout with caramelized whole shallots

March 6, 2011 at 6:06 pm (Dark leafy greens, F (0 stars, inedible), Fall recipes, French, Georgeanne Brennan, Middle East / N. Africa, Root vegetables, Winter recipes)

I was looking for a recipe that called for turnips, and came across this winter ragout in France: the Vegetarian Table by Georgeanne Brennan.  It’s basically an oven-roasted stew full of big chunks of parnsips, turnips, rutabagas, and carrots.  (I couldn’t find any rutabagas so I subbed in potatoes.) The stew also calls for ribbons of chard and caramelized shallots.  At first glance I thought this recipe was for a French-style stew, but it’s seasoned with turmeric and raisins, and you’re supposed to serve it with yogurt and a mixture of dill, tarragon, mint, and chives.  So there’s definitely a North African influence. Read the rest of this entry »

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Quinoa with brussels sprouts, tempeh, and toasted almonds

March 6, 2011 at 5:23 pm (B_minus (2.5 stars), Fall recipes, Grains, Peter Berley, Quick weeknight recipe, Tempeh)

I’ve been eying this recipe in Peter Berley’s Fresh Food Fast for quite a while now.  I love brussels sprouts and I’m always looking for new tempeh recipes.  The recipe is basically a stir-fry.  You saute onion and caraway seeds, add tempeh and a sliced bell pepper, then toss in the halved brussels sprouts, water, soy sauce, and mirin.  The stir-fry is served over quinoa and sprinkled with toasted almonds and a squirt of lemon juice. Read the rest of this entry »

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