Vegetarian Matzoh ball soup
February 13, 2023 at 11:24 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Jewish, My brain, Root vegetables, soup, Spring recipes, To test on plan, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
I make matzoh ball soup every year on Passover, and usually at least once or twice a year just because I like it. I made it this week and wanted to write down a few notes to remember what I did. Read the rest of this entry »
Black-eyed peas smothered with leeks and tarragon
March 7, 2020 at 10:46 pm (101 cookbooks, B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Beans, Fall recipes, French, Quick weeknight recipe, Spring recipes, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
I first tried this 101cookbooks recipe for black-eyed peas with leeks and tarragon a few years ago, but apparently I never blogged it. I make it probably once a year. Derek’s father loves tarragon, so I always make it when he’s here. It’s a lovely (albeit rich) way to serve black-eyed peas. You saute up a ton of thinly sliced leek until golden, then throw in the cooked black-eyes and the tarragon. If you have cooked black-eyed peas on hand, it’s a pretty fast recipe. Today I served it with the maple-mustard brussels sprouts I just blogged about and a side of wild rice.
The recipe calls for dried marjoram and tarragon, but I never have either on hand. Instead I just chop up lots of fresh tarragon and sprinkle it liberally into the dish. And I put more tarragon on the side for those who like it extra-tarragony.
Derek and I both really enjoy this dish, but Alma doesn’t like the tarragon flavor, and always asks for plain black-eyes instead.
Simple parsnip puree
December 25, 2019 at 9:25 pm (B_(3 stars, like), Fall recipes, French, Other, Root vegetables, Spring recipes, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan) (preschooler-approved)
If I find nice parsnips at the store then about 90% of the time I roast them. I find that if you try to roast them directly them end up dry and burnt. They turn out the best if they are steamed first, then roasted. But occasionally I get a big bag of parsnips from my CSA and I’m not in the mood for roasted parsnips. Then what? I like to grate them and use them to make chard parsnip patties. I add them to soup, like lentil soup or matzoh ball soup. Occasionally I’ll serve them mashed with potatoes and topped with balsamic-roasted seitan. But sometimes I just want pure parsnip flavor, and then this is the recipe I turn to. I first made it last fall and since then I’ve made it at least four times.
This recipe makes a lot. If you’re not having company then I’d probably just make 1 pound of parsnips. Last time we made the whole recipe just for us we ended up throwing out half of it because everyone got sick of it.
Unlike mashed potatoes, parsnip puree reheats well. I’ve even brought it to a potluck before. The recipe is pretty easy, but somehow tastes much fancier than it actually is. This recipe is based on a recipe from the cookbook Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, but I’ve changed it to reduce the cleanup a bit. Moulton says she got the idea of reducing the cooking liquid from Julia Child. Read the rest of this entry »
Oven-roasted Ratatouille
August 31, 2019 at 10:22 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Cook's Illustrated, Italian, Summer recipes, To test on plan, Vegetable dishes, Yearly menu plan)
Before I got pregnant with Alma I hated eggplant. So I never tried making ratatouille. But since my pregnancy I’ve learned to like eggplant. And I got eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and bell peppers from my CSA this week. It was time to try making ratatouille.
I chose the “Walkaway Ratatouille” recipe from Cook’s Illustrated to try. Read the rest of this entry »
Toddler-approved hummus
January 27, 2018 at 10:07 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Beans, Derek's faves, Middle East / N. Africa, Quick weeknight recipe, To test on plan, Website / blog, Yearly menu plan) (toddler-approved)
Alma likes storebought hummus, but never likes my regular homemade hummus. So I decided to try a new recipe. I did a google search and picked this random recipe for “Better than Storebought” hummus from www.inspiredtaste.net I chose it because it had over 700 reviews and an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. Plus it’s a relatively simple recipe, with a slightly different technique than I usually use. It has you blend the tahini and lemon juice first, before adding the chickpeas. Read the rest of this entry »
Asparagus, pea, fava bean, and barley ragout
May 31, 2017 at 9:37 pm (101 cookbooks, Alma's faves, B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Beans, Grains, My brain, Pasta, Quick weeknight recipe, Spring recipes, Starches, To test on plan, Vegetable dishes, Yearly menu plan) (marianna, toddler-approved)
I am embarrassed to admit that I have never cooked with fava beans. All that boiling and husking and peeling of individual beans … Seems like a lot of work. So I thought I’d start easy with basically ready-to-eat frozen, pre-shelled fava beans. But what to do with them? I found this recipe for a spring ragout on the 101 cookbooks blog, and it looked good, and toddler friendly. Alma likes asparagus and peas and pasta, so hopefully she’d like the dish. And she did. I decided to make it a second time, but then Alma got pasta at lunch at daycare, and I didn’t want to serve pasta twice in one day, so I subbed in barley instead. She loved it! Read the rest of this entry »
Celeriac and lentils with hazelnuts and mint
September 12, 2015 at 1:53 pm (Beans, B_(3 stars, like), Fall recipes, Ottolenghi, Root vegetables, Salads, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
This is another recipe from Ottolenghi’s Plenty cookbook. My mom picked it to make last week, as she had never tried celeriac before. I’ve mostly eaten celeriac pureed in soups or raw in salads, so I was also excited to try this recipe—the celery root is boiled but not pureed. I like this recipe, but it’s not something I would want to eat all the time. It makes a nice change of pace, but probably once or twice a year is enough for me.
Roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini & za’atar
January 9, 2015 at 4:09 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Derek's faves, Fall recipes, Middle East / N. Africa, Ottolenghi, Vegetable dishes, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
I had a butternut squash that was starting to go bad, and I asked Derek to choose a recipe to use it up. He chose this Yotam Ottolenghi recipe for roasted butternut squash and red onion with tahini and za’atar, which I was happy about, because it would allow me to use up some of the zaatar I bought to make the last Ottolenghi recipe we tried (this za’atar spiced beet dip). You can find more comments about the recipe (and a photo!) on this seriouseats page. Read the rest of this entry »
Turnip gratin
May 25, 2014 at 7:35 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), breakfast, Cruciferous rich, Derek's faves, Fall recipes, Necessarily nonvegan, Root vegetables, Spring recipes, Vegetable dishes, Website / blog, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
It’s (still) turnip time! So on to new turnip recipe #2 for this year: a rich and satifying turnip gratin inspired by this photo recipe on The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. Read the rest of this entry »
Miso tahini soup with turnips and colorful veggies
May 25, 2014 at 7:00 pm (101 cookbooks, A (4 stars, love, favorite), breakfast, Cruciferous rich, Dark leafy greens, Derek's faves, Fall recipes, Grains, Japanese, Miso, Quick weeknight recipe, Root vegetables, soup, Spring recipes, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
It’s turnip time! My farmer’s market here in Saarbruecken is full of beautiful bunches of white turnip, with the greens still attached. The name for these turnips is Mairübchen, literally “little May root” or “May root-let.” But they’re not little. Each turnip is about 2 to 3.5 inches in diameter. I’ve been buying lots of turnips just so I can eat the greens, but I had to figure out what to do with the turnips themselves.
I’ve never been a huge turnip fan, and I don’t have so many go-to recipe. I like them raw in salads, in soup (with leeks, potatoes, and chard), and in stews (like this tagine or Thai curry). But I had one last delicata squash from the fall that was turning soft and needed to get used up, and some leftover brown rice int the fridge, so rather than making an old recipe, I decided to try a new recipe for miso tahini soup from 101cookbooks. I love Peter Berley’s miso-based tortilla soup with avocados, so the addition of avocado didn’t seem that odd. But a miso soup with tahini and lemon? I could not imagine it. Read the rest of this entry »
Bean, barley, cabbage stew with bear garlic pesto
April 12, 2014 at 10:21 pm (101 cookbooks, B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Beans, Beans and greens, Derek's faves, Grains, Miso, One pot wonders, soup, To test on plan, Vegetable dishes, Yearly menu plan)
I found some small red beans in the Turkish store near my house last week. I snapped them up, excited to add something a bit different to my usual rotation (black beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, white beans, lentils, various kinds of dals, chickpeas, and split mung beans). I cooked up a big pot of red beans, then had to figure out how to make a full dinner out of them. I searched all my cookbooks for recipes for red beans (with the convenient eatyourbooks.com website) and found this 101cookbooks recipe for a farro and bean stew. Amazingly, I had (almost) all the ingredients.
The recipe looked pretty plain. It’s just veggies and beans and grains without any spices or herbs, not even garlic—the only seasoning is salt. So I decided to use the Bärlauch I had in the fridge to make a Bärlauch pesto. I tried to look up what Bärlauch is called in the states, and found a number of translations. Wikipedia says “Allium ursinum – known as ramsons, buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear’s garlic – is a wild relative of chives native to Europe and Asia.” It’s a broad, bright green leaf that tastes strongly of garlic, and (as I discovered this week) lasts quite a long time in the fridge! I had it in a plastic bag in the fridge all week and it didn’t seem at all the worse for the waiting. Read the rest of this entry »
Miso harissa delicata squash with kale and pepitas
December 20, 2013 at 7:30 pm (101 cookbooks, A (4 stars, love, favorite), Derek's faves, Fall recipes, Root vegetables, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
Derek always loves what he calls “harissa pasta“, so I figured I should try out the one other harissa recipe on the 101 cookbooks blog. This recipe was originally called roasted delicata squash salad, but that’s pretty boring so I re-dubbed it with a more descriptive name. The recipe has some problems, primarily that the ratio of vegetables to sauce seems way off. It calls for a pretty small (3/4 pound) delicata squash, 1/2 pound of potatoes, and just 1.5 ounces of kale. We prepped all the veggies and then just stared at them, amazed at how little food it was. So we added another 1/2 pound of potatoes and some more squash, a total of about 1 pound 2.5 ounces before removing the seeds. The only other change we made was steaming the kale briefly, because our German kale was extremely tough and very unpleasant to eat raw. Also, my harissa isn’t the best so I added some cumin to it. The final dish was very rich and very tasty, with strong salty, acidic, umami, and spicy notes, but all in perfect balance. The squash even contributed some sweetness, so it was really hitting all six tastes. Read the rest of this entry »
Smashed potato salad with escarole
July 21, 2013 at 3:52 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Dark leafy greens, Derek's faves, Quick weeknight recipe, Starches, To test on plan, Website / blog, Yearly menu plan)
I’m not a huge fan of mashed potatoes, but I like this recipe a lot. The escarole adds plenty of texture and bulk and the olive oil and lemon juice and zest make it very flavorful. It’s based on a Mark Bittman recipe. He says the olive oil takes mere potatoes and greens from “humble to sublime.” Bittman says to peel the potatoes, but don’t do it–the skins are the best part! Bittman says any bitter greens will work, and recommends trying it with radicchio, dandelion, endive, or chicory. Usually I just make it with quite mild escarole, but I’d like to try it with some of the more bitter greens someday. This dish is good hot, but it’s also good as leftovers at room temperature. It would make a nice dish to bring to a picnic. I tend to make it whenever I get a big head of escarole in my CSA basket, and I happen to have some potatoes on hand. Otherwise I use the escarole to make escarole and beans with tomato sauce. Read the rest of this entry »
Chipotle roasted potatoes
November 6, 2012 at 1:19 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Derek's faves, Fall recipes, Peter Berley, Quick weeknight recipe, Root vegetables, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
This is the recipe that Peter Berley (in Fresh Food Fast) pairs with the baked escarole and eggs recipe that I blogged about yesterday. The potatoes are steamed briefly (to speed up the roasting time) and then tossed with crushed cumin, garlic, salt, chipotles in adobo sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, fresh thyme, and paprika. Then the potatoes are baked on a cookie sheet at a very high temperature until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Berley warns in the headnotes that these are “some really spicy roasted potatoes,” but I chose small-ish chipotles, and our potatoes turned out spicy but not as fiery as I expected. I liked the potatoes a lot, and Derek loved them. There’s something about spicy, crispy roast potatoes that’s just very satisfying on a cold autumn day. And the lemon juice and garlic add a little acidity and bite, which contrast nicely with the dark, roasted, smoky flavors of the cumin, paprika, and adobo sauce. Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
Vietnamese Coleslaw
February 21, 2011 at 11:06 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Cruciferous rich, Derek's faves, East and SE Asia, Other, Salads, To test on plan, Tofu, Yearly menu plan) (marianna, preschooler-approved)
When I was in Austin visiting my family I spotted a new cookbook on my mom’s shelf: Vietnamese Fusion Vegetarian Cuisine by Chat Mingkwan. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make Vietnamese food, so I asked if I could borrow it. My mom had already flagged the recipe for Vietnamese Coleslaw, and so I decided to start there. Read the rest of this entry »
Grilled cheese with cheddar, jalapeno, lime, garlic, and sage
November 1, 2010 at 11:43 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Alma's faves, Derek's faves, My brain, Necessarily nonvegan, Peter Berley, Quick weeknight recipe, Yearly menu plan)
I don’t remember the last time I made a grilled cheese sandwich. But we finally found cheddar that we like here in Saarbruecken, and I decided to celebrate by making grilled cheese. I didn’t want to make just a regular old boring grilled cheese, though, so I pulled out various flavorful additions I had in the fridge: jalapeno, sage, garlic, and lime. Read the rest of this entry »
Jamaican Rice and Beans with Thyme
October 11, 2010 at 10:28 am (AMA, B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Beans, Caribbean, Derek's faves, Fall recipes, Starches, Winter recipes, Yearly menu plan)
Derek and I both really like this dish, based on a recipe from the AMA Family Health cookbook. The appearance isn’t great, and the texture is hard to get right, but the flavor is excellent. The kidney beans and rice are seasoned with a lot of garlic, thyme, and scallions, as well as a little allspice and coconut milk, plus one scotch bonnet (aka habanero) pepper. I don’t make it all that often these days since it’s inherently spicy, and Alma can’t handle the spice. But once she’s more spice tolerant I think it will return to our regular rotation. Other than prepping the fresh thyme, it’s a pretty fast and easy recipe. Read the rest of this entry »
Decadent brownies
June 20, 2010 at 10:32 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Alice Medrich, Alma's faves, Brownies and bars, Cook's Illustrated, Derek's faves, Dessert, Necessarily nonvegan, Yearly menu plan)
This recipe happens to come from Alice Medrich’s low fat cookbook (Chocolate and the Art of Lowfat Desserts). But to my taste it makes the perfect brownie: intense chocolate flavor and a little gooey in the middle but with a perfectly textured brownie top. Read the rest of this entry »
Best ever tofu and spinach enchiladas
January 1, 2010 at 3:42 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Dark leafy greens, Derek's faves, Farm recipes, frozen tofu, Mexican & S. American, Mom’s recipes, Tofu, Vegetable dishes, Yearly menu plan)
Most tofu enchiladas are awful. Normal tofu just doesn’t have the right texture for enchiladas. My mom’s enchiladas are different, however. They’re based on a recipe they used to make on the Farm, which uses frozen, marinated, and baked tofu that has a chewy texture and deep, umame flavor. When I was a kid and my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner, I invariably requested tofu enchiladas. The enchiladas were simple, American-style enchiladas, made from flour tortillas filled with savory tofu chunks and then covered in a tomato, chili gravy and baked in the oven. They were simple, but amazingly delicious. More recently my mom has started adding vegetables to her enchiladas, and I’ve followed suit. I usually add some combination of spinach, corn, peppers, and onions, but I’m sure other veggies would also be good. (Last updated Jan 1, 2014.)
Pasta and Summer Squash with Tomatoes, Basil, and Pine Nuts
July 20, 2009 at 12:33 pm (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Alma's faves, Cook's Illustrated, Italian, Pasta, Starches, Summer recipes, To test on plan, Yearly menu plan) (toddler-approved)
I made this recipe tonight and liked it so much I decided to repost it. It was originally posted on August 17, 2006.
I’ve often tried to make this sort of light/summery pasta dish without a lot of success. Unless I use a large amount of olive oil or parmesan in the past the dish has always seemed rather bland. But this recipe is light and delicious! This is based on a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, but I cut down on oil and pasta, and increased the amounts of squash and seasonings. I give options for a number of ingredients depending on how rich, spicy, starchy etc. you want your dinner to be. Read the rest of this entry »
Moroccan tempeh tagine with spring vegetables
June 4, 2009 at 1:59 am (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Derek's faves, Grains, Middle East / N. Africa, Peter Berley, Spring recipes, Tempeh, Yearly menu plan)
I finally found tempeh in Saarbrücken. I’m so excited! It’s a beautiful tempeh too: big and fat and covered in a soft white layer that looks almost like paper. I tried to take it off at first before I realized it was part of the tempeh. Rather than use the tempeh in one of our old tempeh recipes, we decide to try a new one from Peter Berley’s Fresh Food Fast. We chose one of the spring menus: charmoula baked tempeh with vegetable couscous. Apparently charmoula is a spicy Moroccan marinade. Derek was worried, as he claims not to like Moroccan food but I thought the combination of spices looked good. Read the rest of this entry »
Three Seed Quinoa Salad
October 1, 2007 at 8:14 am (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Derek's faves, Grains, Peter Berley, Salads, Summer recipes, Yearly menu plan)
We love this recipe from Peter Berley’s cookbook The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. It has a great nutty yet fresh flavor, and it’s so colorful it makes a lovely salad for a potluck or a picnic. The prep work is substantial, but it makes a lot of food. We try to make it at least once or twice every summer. We would make it more often but it just takes too long. Read the rest of this entry »
Bill’s Chickpea and Spinach Curry
October 12, 2006 at 4:30 pm (B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Beans, Beans and greens, Derek's faves, Indian, Other, Quick weeknight recipe, To test on plan, Yearly menu plan) (marianna)
After Derek returned from Australia he suggested I check out “Bill’s” cookbooks. Apparently he ate at Bill’s restaurants a number of times in Sydney, and really enjoyed the food. This recipe is from Bill’s Open Kitchen by Bill Granger. It’s a relatively simple curry, but surprisingly tasty. It’s somehow more than the sum of its parts. This curry is very fast and easy to make if you use canned chickpeas and pre-washed spinach. Read the rest of this entry »
Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
October 11, 2006 at 12:44 am (Alma's faves, AMA, B plus (3.5 stars, like a lot), Dessert, Muffins and quick breads, Quick weeknight recipe, Yearly menu plan) (toddler-approved)
This is a great fall dessert. I make it at least once or twice each fall when I first see fresh cranberries in the stores. The pumpkin and cornmeal give this bread a great texture and the cranberries are marvelously tart. I made it last year for Thanksgiving and everyone liked it. This is based on a recipe in the AMA Family Health cookbook. I’ve decreased the sugar, doubled the number of cranberries, and swapped out half the flour for whole wheat flour. It was good to start with, and now I think it’s even better! The traditional look is to bake this in a loaf pan but I think it holds together better and has a better (crispier) texture when baked in a standard cake pan. Read the rest of this entry »
Chilaquiles
October 5, 2006 at 12:43 am (A (4 stars, love, favorite), breakfast, Derek's faves, Mexican & S. American, Mom’s recipes, Quick weeknight recipe, To test on plan, Yearly menu plan)
This was always one of my favorite dishes growing up, and now it’s one of Derek’s favorites too. Whenever I ask him “What should we make” his answer is invariably “chilaquiles.” They’re great for brunch, and along with a vegetable or salad make a great last-minute dinner. Even though my mom gave me her recipe, hers are still always better than mine. I’m hoping to someday learn her secret!
Black Bean Zucchini Quesadillas
July 6, 2006 at 6:45 am (A (4 stars, love, favorite), Alma's faves, Beans, Derek's faves, Peter Berley, Quick weeknight recipe, Summer recipes, To test on plan, Yearly menu plan) (toddler-approved)
Based on a recipe from the cookbook Fresh Food Fast, by Peter Berley. This recipe is definitely one of my favorite quesadilla recipes. The zucchini adds a moist, sweet, delicate flavor, and the added moisture means that less cheese is needed to achieve the silky mouthfeel expected of a typical quesadilla.
The captious vegetarian 