This week in our local basket, we got some of the most beautiful roma tomatoes that I have ever seen. I decided to make Paneer and Tomato Curry with them and attempted to make my own paneer. Paneer is a really simple pressed Indian cheese that you make by bringing milk to 180 degrees and adding buttermilk. It separates and you drain the curds in cheesecloth for a couple hours. It’s pretty much ricotta with less liquid. I’m not sure that I did everything right with the paneer but it still tasted good and it was a nice vegetarian addition to our weekly meals.

I’m still singing the praises of the New Best Recipe Cookbook. This French toast is pretty much perfect and you can make it with simple sandwich bread, which is kinda ridiculous. I have never made a French toast that I want to eat again with regular sandwich bread – it’s always something fancy, like brioche, challah or some sort of raisin cinnamon bread. And then I was introduce to this goodness. It’s amazing. And simple. You should try it!

I had made sushi at home once before, so we decided to give it a go again. This is nice for a couple of reasons – one of which is that you can control the sustainability of the fish. I usually have to turn off that part of my brain when we go enjoy sushi. . . Alaskan sockeye salmon and wild caught blue swimming crab were our ‘fish’ of choice. I wasn’t going to mess with raw fish. The most complicated component is the rice and I used Alton Brown’s simple straightforward recipe. Our other roll components were cream cheese, jalapeños, cucumber, asparagus, avocado, panko, wasabi, ginger, and spicy mayo.

Everyone rolled their own roll and then we all shared. It was pretty delicious. And I think it was pretty beautiful as well!

What have you been cooking lately?

I love bisques, but they typically involve cream and lots of it. I saw the coconut milk listed as an ingredient here and was intrigued. I love coconut milk – it’s rich and creamy, a perfect substitution for milk or cream when you are cooking lactose free. The ingredient list was simple and the preparation was pretty easy. We ate a good portion of the soup for lunch but I reheated the last bowl of it and I think it was even better after it had sat in the fridge for a day. And don’t be afraid of the maple syrup – it really brings out the natural sweetness of the carrots!

Carrot Bisque
Adapted from Vegan With A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
(Serves 6)

3 lbs carrots, peeled and diced into a little smaller than 1/2″ pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp peanut oil (any vegetable oil will do)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt (you may find you need a little more)
a few dashes fresh black pepper
3 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken stock)
1 (13 oz) can coconut milk
1 Tbsp maple syrup

In a stockpot over low-medium heat, cook the carrots and onions in the peanut oil for 7-10 minutes; cover and stir occasionally until the veggies begin to caramelize. Add the garlic, curry, salt, and pepper; saute for 1 more minute. Add the 3 cups of broth, cover, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Turn the heat off. Use a handheld blender to puree the soup until smooth; if you don’t have one, then carefully puree the soup in a blender. Add the maple syrup and stir. Serve hot.

And no, those aren’t scrambled eggs in the picture… It’s actually spiced popcorn! I need to take a better picture of it so I can share the recipe. My friends call it ‘crack’ corn because it’s just that addicting!

Recipe for Portabella Burger

This was another recipe suggested to me in the SewMamaSew Giveaway. I was pretty excited to see such an easily accessible vegetarian recipe. A lot of times I get daunted by the sheer amount of ingredients needed to try and emulate meat. I just can’t get on board with that. This is really just a basic meatloaf recipe that substitutes lentils for ground meat. I wasn’t sure that it was going to work, but lentils are cheap, so I thought I’d give it a shot.

The whole time I was making this recipe, Jason was expressing his doubt as he usually does when I make something vegetarian. What is it with men and their meat? I served up the ‘meat’ loaf and Jason quickly stopped anything resembling complaining and quickly demolished his serving. It was good.

Can I say ‘I told you so?’

Recipe for Vegetarian Meat Loaf

Then I went to a lunch time cooking class at Whole Foods and had these veggie burgers. They are versatile and delicious. And a great way to use up any vegetables that you have that may be languishing on your counter, garden or fridge. The only things in this recipe that are set in stone are the oats, potatoes, rice and eggs. You can substitute any vegetables as long as you keep the quantities the same and cook out all of the water in the saute process. If your mixture doesn’t seem to be sticking together, you can always add more oats, rice or potatoes. It is a very flexible recipe.

I tossed all of the veggies into my food processor with the grater attachment running. It made quick work of all of the veggies. Just note that this is not a quick recipe. It takes a significant amount of time to saute the vegetables so that they are no longer putting off water. You want these veggies dry but not burnt. That is the key.

The muhammara sauce is not an absolute necessity, but it is delicious. It could be served just as a dip or as a topping on the burger. I know I would have missed it if I hadn’t made it with the burgers.

Alright, I’ve talked these burgers up enough. Here’s the recipe:

Recipe for Veggie Burgers
makes 8

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onions, minced
1 cup carrots, grated
1 cup turnips, grated
1 cup zucchini, grated
1 cup golden beets, grated
1/2 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3/4 tablespoon dried dill, tarragon, mixed
1/4 cup oats, rolled, instant
1/4 c water
1 1/2 cup mashed red new potatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts
1/3 cup one day old cooked jasmine/basmati rice
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet. Soak oats in water for five minute, then drain and press out excess water. Add onion, carrots, turnips, zucchini, beets, garlic, cumin and herbs. Saute until vegetables are no longer giving up water. The key is to make the vegetables as dry as possible without burning them. Allow to cool slightly. Add oats to vegetable mixture along with mashed potatoes, nuts and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Form mixture into eight patties. Saute in olive oil for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden.

Recipe for Muhammara

1 bell pepper, roasted
2/3 c fine fresh bread crumbs
1/3 c nuts (I used pecans) toasted and chopped fine
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses (I didn’t use this)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

Add all ingredients except olive oil to a food processor and puree until mixture is smooth. With machine still running, add olive oil gradually. Serve on the burgers or on the side with pita triangles.

Putting a fried egg on anything makes it better, right? This recipe came together very quickly and was very satisfying for so few ingredients. It was rich, but fresh, and also vegetarian! Great for a light, quick dinner!

Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg

Recipe for Black Bean Burger with Mango Salsa

Wow, can I just say that the vegetarian options on my recipes page are sorely lacking? Sad. Must try and fix that.

Back to the tofu. Cooking Light has been doing a great job adding recipes showcasing tofu into their most recent issues so I decided that I would give tofu another shot. Let me say that I really liked this method of broiling the cubes of tofu. It gave the tofu a nice textures and reduced the mushy texture that tofu can sometimes have. And the sauce that is in the recipe is yummy. Very yummy in fact. Definitely spicy though, just a warning. I served the tofu and veggies with some basmati rice and everyone was happy.

Recipe for Szechuan-Style Tofu with Peanuts

Recipe for Vegetarian Black Bean Chili with Orange and Cumin

Recipe for Multigrain Penne with Hazelnut Pesto, Green Beans and Parmesan Cheese