JULY COTM (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone): SANDWICHES, SOUPS & SALADS, SAUCES and CONDIMENTS
Please post the name and page number of the recipe you are discussing.
Tutti a tavola a mangiare!
oakjoan
Jun 30, 2008 09:48PM
Roasted Eggplant with Dill, Yogurt and Walnuts (p. 97 in appetizers)
Sort of a spiffed up baba ganouj. You roast the eggplant with some garlic slivers, then add it to a paste of garlic, dill, olived oil and salt, and then add in toasted walnut bits. The walnuts are what make this fun and special - nice crunchy bits. I think this needs more garlic, but we are liking it. I didn't have the full 1/2 cup of dill, and I think it would be even better with it ... I had probably 1/3 cup.
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Orange vinaigrette, p. 185
I eat a lot of salad, and I'm always looking for different salad dressings. This one caught my eye because it includes orange oil or orange flower water as an optional ingredient, which seemed unusual. I used the orange flower water. Very nice. Not overpowering. I used it on my usual dinner salad with everything but the kitchen sink in it _ blue cheese, arugula, figs, leftover steak, vidalia onion. It would be good on a summer fruit salad also.
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Chilled Mung Bean Noodles with Dulse and Crushed Peanuts (p. 178)
This is a "get back on the horse" recipe. Except I fell off the horse 9 years ago. Will explain at end of this message.
I didn't have dulse (and live in an area where I have to drive an hour to get some), but I did manage to find some wakame at the local health food store. So, I prepped the wakame for salads.
This salad a very refreshing, healthful, and wonderful summer lunch. I deveined and deseeded the jalapeno, so the flavors were somewhat subtle (and I used slightly less cilantro than the recipe called for). I don't think the wakame added much and next time I'd probably just omit it. I used the peanut oil from Spectrum, because it has a strong peanut smell to it, though I don't think it's roasted (Madison calls for a roasted peanut oil). The flavors are lovely, not too overt, and it really did taste better after a night in the fridge. I would definitely consider this as a "heat wave" meal and would make it again in hot weather. That said, it's not something I'd probably serve to guests at a dinner party.
Re: getting back on the horse. When I was a Ph.D. student, I was teaching a summer class to make some extra bucks. One morning I decided to make this salad. I wasn't paying as close attention as I should've been, because my (only sharp!) knife slipped and sliced my finger. Okay, fine, but the darn thing would'nt stop bleeding. After an hour or so, it was still bleeding pretty heavily. I went to the student health center, where they bandaged it up (using what had to be forty feet of gauze) and told me to keep it elevated. So, I went to my class to teach, keeping my finger elevated. I would like to add that it was the MIDDLE finger that I sliced. I just told my class not to take it personally!
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Oh no! Good for you for getting back on the horse.
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Coleslaw with Buttermilk-Horseradish Dressing
I used chervil in place of dill, and a small shallot in place of the small onion, because that's what I had on hand. I loved the dressing until I added the grated shallot, at which point the dressing became overwhelmingly "oniony." If I made this again, I'd add some finely chopped, rather than grated, onion or shallot.
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Glad to read your report now, before I make it. I made the dressing yesterday and plan to put the coleslaw together for tonight, and will be sure to take your shallot recommendations. I have to say, I was impressed with the dressing, the little bit I licked off the mini-prep.
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Made the Coleslaw with buttermilk-horseradish dressing. Given pikawicca's comments about the oniony-ness, I used some green onions I had instead of the recipe's grated onion. We went with the dill. Absolutely loved it.
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Tonight's (Thursday) Dinner:
Napa and Savoy Salad - pg. 153 with Peanut-Ginger Dressing, pg. 189.
Basically, I followed the recipe as written with a few adaptations as is my wont to do....
Cabbages, carrots (grated), scallions, cucumber....I included some almost over the hill tomatoes, Iceberg lettuce, and red onion.
DH made the dressing so I can only hope he followed the directions, but since the salad was spectacular, I guess he gets an A.
Apple cider vinegar (organic from TJ's I'll have you know), soy sauce, minced garlic,
diced Serrano chili ( I used jaleneno which probably explains the extra heat which I loved), chopped mint leaves, cilantro, and Thai basil ( from my garden! )...all whisked together. Ab Fab as they say.
Had some leftovers from the past 2 nights so this salad plus the other stuff made a very nice hot weather meal.....
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That dressing sounds wonderful, except I don't like apple cider vinegar - what would you recommend as a substitute?
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Funny - I feel the same way about apple cider vinegar - thought it was just some weird thing of mine. I haven't tried this dressing yet, but I always sub white wine vinegar for apple cider without problems.
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Actually, I think you could substitute any other vinegar, including the white wine vinegar LuLusMom states below. Probably sherry and rice vinegar would be good as well. I forgot to mention the addition of sea salt and FGBpepper.....
It really was delicious.
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If you really, really don't like apple cider vinegar, then rice wine vinegar.
I used to think I didn't like apple cider vinegar until I bought Bragg (raw, unfiltered, organic, "with the mother") apple cider vinegar at my food coop. So much tastier than the supermarket variety, that I now find myself finding uses for the cider vinegar! (That's one reason I can't give up Frank Stitt's buttermilk dressing!)
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I hope it's okay if I post my experience with an online Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone recipe that I found since I wasn't able to get Deborah Madison's book from the library. I don't have the page number but am putting it under Soups because, well, it's Roasted Vegetable Stock. Here's the link to the recipe I used:
http://www.recipesource.com/soups/sto...
This recipe is a great way to use all the vegetables you have floating around in your fridge and cupboards. I thought the roasting brought out a nice flavour to the stock, though I still think I prefer a stock without any roasting of the vegetables. I provided a picture just to show how dark the Roasted Vegetable Stock is. I'm sure it would freeze well but I used it in a bunch of dishes over the next few days.
I made Risotto with Sundried Tomatoes and Chives, Penne with Carrots (risotto-style too so that I kept adding the stock to cook the pasta), Braised Duck with Lettuce & Peas which I served with Duck Fat French Fries (yum!) and I boiled some Rice with the stock and sprinkled it with Furikake. I think the Roasted Vegetable Stock added a really great taste to all those dishes.
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Wow. That is dark. I'm glad you're following along with the online recipes~
~TDQ
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That stock looks amazing! It must have had a wonderful intense flavor.
FWIW: I've cooked from the online recipes during various COTM cook-alongs.
As long as it's from the author I see no problem....
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Thanks, TDQ & Gio. "Wonderful intense flavor" is actually a great way of describing what the stock tasted like (I tried some on its own right after I finished making it).
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Okay, I guess I am on a roasting kick because I thought I would try this recipe for Grilled Tomato Sauce from Vegetarian Cooking For Eveyone that I found online:
http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes...
I used some really ripe, delicious tomatoes and I'm thinking I need a better way to char the tomatoes because my sauce tasted more sweet than grilled. I broiled them in my oven since I don't have a barbecue. The Tomato Sauce was still good and I cooked it longer to make it more thicker. I also added basil, garlic and vodka to make a tasty sauce for some pasta.
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Sherry vinaigrette, p. 185
A recipe is not necessary for making a vinaigrette, but I do use recipes. And I've used this one before. Olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. It came out very garlicky. Which is fine with me.
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Blue Cheese Dressing, Pg. 189
Tonight it was hazy, hot, and humid NOB so that meant...Salad!
And that means look in the fridge and retrieve anything that remotely could contribute to a dinner salad. Keep in mind tomorrow is shopping day.....
Here's the list of ingredients I came with:
Leftover rice from an Indian takeaway of a few nights ago augmented with some of the veggies.
Chopped Iceberg lettuce
" Cucumber
" Bermuda onion
Sliced hot cherry vinegar peppers
Halved grape tomatoes
Grated carrot
Homemade croutons from an artisnal loaf left over from something or other.
(I had intended to use some diced left over roasted chicken from Sunday's dinner but we decided against it.)
Now for the dressing according to Ms. Madison:
6T EVOO, 2T yoghurt, 3t sherry vinegar, 3 oz. bleu cheese ( I used a bit more).
The garden was being watered so I used finely chopped scallions instead of chives, did not use salt but did grind some Tellycherry peppercorns.
All whisked together keeping the cheese chunky.
Very nice, Very easy and perfect for a light summer dinner.
{Ben & Jerry's chocolate chip ice cream for dessert blew all my good intentions....}
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Green spinach and pea soup p 213
We made so many substitutions that it may not be fair to say we used this recipe, but it was a great starting point, and the soup turned out beautifully. Bright green, fresh, bright and summery tasting. Delicious.
Modifications:
Fried the onions and carrot first, with a chile de arbol, then simmered
No scallions—used a larger onion instead
No celery/parsley—used a cube of vegetable bullion
Added a big bunch of fresh mint—half with the spinach and peas, and half fresh when pureeing the soup
Added a bunch of fresh basil when pureeing the soup
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Romaine Hearts with Parmesan and Lemon Vimaigrette, Pg. 142
Minced garlic, sea salt, FGBPepper, Lemon zest and juice, Dijon mustard, and 1/2 cuo freshly grated Parmesano cheese. I did not croutons since we had grilled sandwiches. Lovely fresh Romaine hearts straight from the farm in the afternoon...I shaved a carrot and halved grape tomatoes just to boost the veggie content. Lovely salad dressing and it's going into the repetoire since I tend to always make the same red wine vinegairette unless I'm prompted like this.
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Here are two of my all-time favorite recipes from this book:
p. 150 Roasted Beets with Anise Vinaigrette
Peel the raw beets and cut into 1/2" cubes, toss with olive, salt & pepper. Roast at 375 until carmelized, 25-45 minutes (I do it for longer usually). Crush 1 tsp anise seeds with 1 clove of garlic and salt. Whisk in 2 tsp sherry vinegar and 1 tbsp olive (she calls for 2, but I think that's too much). Toss beets with vinaigrette. She says to marinate for a few hours or overnight, but we eat it immediately, while still warm. The leftovers are great too, and it even freezes well. Yum, yum, yum.
p. 155 Cauliflower Salad with Green Olives & Capers
We love this salad too, although I have to admit that what I make only somewhat resembles the recipe, since I leave out a bunch of ingredients. Slice the cauliflower thinly, stem and all. Purple cauliflower is particularly pretty in this dish. Toss with sherry vinaigrette (garlic clove, Dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, olive oil. Heavy on the vinegar, light on the olive oil). Add a dozen or so sliced pimento stuffed olives, 1 tbsp capers, and some chopped parsley. I leave out the watercress/escarole, hard-cooked eggs, scallions, celery, green bell pepper, and cucumber. But it's still really good!
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I'd had my eye on that Cauliflower salad, but when I saw the ingredient list I sort of baulked a little. Thanks for letting us know that leaving that stuff out didn't make a huge difference.
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I can't say that it doesn't make a difference, since I've never made it the proper way, but I can at least say that it's great even leaving some of the stuff out. To me, the key flavors are the vinaigrette, the capers, and the olives (and the cauliflower, of course). Hope you like it!
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OK, I'm making those beets. I have all the ingredients. They are officially on the menu!
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I bought golden beets yesterday. I'll try this recipe this week -- hoping to, anyway!
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Finally got around to the caulilflower salad and it was a hit, although we all thought it could use more of the olives/capers/dressing. Left out the escarole (is that what it called for? maybe watercress?) egg, and green pepper, but otherwise did it all. This, again, made a ton of salad even though it says it feeds 4. Not a problem - it will make a lovely lunch. If I made it again I'd bump up the big flavor items. Thanks to Karen Schaffer for the tip on this one.
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So glad you liked it too! I probably do add more of the big flavor items when I make it. Or rather, I use less cauliflower while keeping those items them same, because there's only 2 of us and I don't want to end up with too much. The leftovers are good while fresh, but don't keep it too long because the sulfury notes from the cauliflower start to make it taste a little off.
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We all definitely liked it. My 2 year old daughter is glomming some for lunch right now.
I wondered if somehow I'd gotten an especially big cauliflower. And I think in general what I'm finding with her recipes is that bumping up the flavors is necessary, but then I like really ka-bang flavors.
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And I realize this would make it non-vegetarian, but a little chopped anchovy in this salad would be wonderful too.
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Tofu salad spread (p. 129).
I make this a lot, especially in the summer, when I'm looking for lighter salad fillings. I like it much better than egg salad -- it has a firmer, drier texture. I almost never make it exactly as described in the recipe; it's easy to make substitutions, depending on what I've got in the fridge. (For example, the recipe calls for 1/3 cup each of finely diced celery, green bell pepper, and carrot. I take this to mean "1 cup finely diced whatever crunchy vegetables I've got.") But yesterday, in honor of Chowhound, I made a batch following the recipe closely. The diced vegetables give it some crunchiness, but it's still spreadable (especially if you add a little extra mayo) and has a nice, mild, herby flavor.
My main advice would be to give it several hours for the flavors to develop. Also, the recipe says "makes enough for 3 to 4 sandwiches." I find it goes a lot further than that -- maybe 6 to 8 sandwiches. (One batch fills a quart container.)
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I've found that her recipe portions seem generous (which, I think, is a good thing).
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p. 175 Red Beans with Walnut Sauce
OMG! Shoe leather would taste good with this walnut sauce (DH said exactly that), though I think I'll take the vinegar down just a notch the next time. Whirl 1/2 c walnut pieces and 1 clove of garlic in a food processor, then add 4 tsp wine vinegar, 1 tbsp walnut oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 3-4 tbsp cooking water from beans (or just water if using canned beans). Stir in chopped scallions, cilantro (I left this out), parsley, and basil, then pour over 1 1/2 c kidney beans (or any bean, imho). Garnish with more of the scallions and herbs. Delicious! I had it on a bed of lettuce as a light dinner when I got home from yoga. I'll make this one again for sure.
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Wow--I'm going to have to try this! Sounds easy and delicious. And since I'm decluttering and getting rid of stuff, I'm sure I'll have some spare shoe leather around the house.
And I'll use my basil, which is looking mighty fine out in the yard.
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Karen S:
Ai, ai, ai! That bean recipe with walnut sauce sounds terrific. Can't wait to make it. As you said, the walnut sauce makes the dish (well, those weren't your exact words.... ;+)
I can tell that it would by just looking at the ingreds.
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Thanks for posting such specific directions. I'm going to try it this weekend with green beans, it sounds delicious!
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I made the walnut sauce above, tossed with cooked green beans, and served it as a room-temp side dish with grilled steaks this weekend. We really liked this too - great flavor with the tang of vinegar, garlic, and herbs, and texture from the ground walnuts. I followed Karen Schaffer's ingredients above, but substituted aleppo pepper for the cayenne. For herbs, I used scallions, cilantro, and parsley, and also added minced red onion. This is also a great dish to keep in the fridge for a snack as I thought it was just as good cold.
Not the prettiest pic, but people still had seconds!
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It's true, it's not a particularly photogenic dish, kind of gloppy looking, but it tastes great. If I were really concerned about appearances, I suppose I'd sprinkle chopped parsley over the top of it. So glad you liked it too! What a great idea to use it over green beans instead of dried beans.
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Yes, thanks so much for reporting on it so enthusiastically, or I wouldn't have thought to make it. I definitely want to try it with red beans, and was thinking it might be nice as a lentil salad too.
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Sweet Corn Soup p. 206
I had 5 ears of corn that needed a purpose and after a weekend of heavy eating was looking for a lighter soup to make with them. I pulled out this book and decided to try the sweet corn soup.
I didn't make the vegetable stock but instead simmered the corn cobs with everything else and added a little bit of chicken stock(I know it's a vegetarian cookbook but we're not vegetarians and I often use a little stock or bacon fat in the recipes).
It's a nicely flavored soup with just a little olive oil for fat. It's cooling down now...I'll add about a tablespoon of cream before serving tonight but it doens't even really need that. There are several suggestions for variations/garnishes. I have a lot of red bell peppers and grape tomatoes so I'll garnish with that and either some fresh basil or fresh dill.
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Our family, kids included, love the Ravioli with Masses of Basil recipe, except that we prefer it with tortellini. Delicious, healthy, and easy. Everyone I serve it to loves it. It is a great summer meal. I sometimes embellish with some cubes of fresh mozzarella, chickpeas, etc.
Also, there is a lentil and roasted beet salad that is delicious.
This is one of my favorite cookbooks.
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I love beets, and the Beets with Lemon, Cilantro and Mint (p. 151) may be (correction....my husband says "is") the best beet salad I have ever made. The pure flavor of the beets is only enhanced by the tangy mixture of lemon zest,lemon juice, diced onion, parsley, cilantro, mint, and olive oil. The recipe calls for placing the beets over salad greens along with black olives, but we enjoyed them as is. Really, this is a wonderful dish.
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I thought I had made every beet recipe in the book -- how did I miss that one?! It sounds great. I look forward to trying it (though not in the near future, since I'm not growing any beets at the moment.) Thanks for the pointer.
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All of these beet recipes sound good. I did make the one with anise vinaigrette, page 150, that you mentioned above. Yummy.
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I'll jump in this Beet Parade.....
Last night I made the beet salad on Pg. 155 and dressed it with the Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette Pg. 187
My Oh My what a nice salad this is! Yesterday we bought a beautiful bunch of colorful beets from a local farm (Tendercrop, for those in Boston) and the dressing really brought out the wonderful earthyness of these beets. Instead of grating however, I sliced them thinly then blanched them. We loved this!!!
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thanks for the temptation, and for reporting on what you did. her instructions are really unclear--grate beets, and then blanch? really? what you did makes much more sense. i look forward to trying this when i get my next csa share.
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Many of her instructions, or lack thereof, are really strange. Before I make a recipe I read it over several times to make sure I understand completely exactly what outcome she has in mind. Then If I feel it will be easier, I lean on my past cooking experiences to facilitate that end result. I think this is a book on which I will rely heavily for vegetable side dishes in spite of some of the aberrations.
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I don't see why blanching sliced beets makes any more sense than blanching grated beets. Either way, just toss them in boiling water then drain. Okay, I have to admit I don't want to see the towel that's been used to towel dry them, but that would be true whether sliced or grated. The recipe sounds great, in any case.
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Just think of the towel as tie-dye.
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the other really fantastic beet recipe is the roast beets with lentils and preserved lemons, p174. i always make it with the lemon zest substitution and it's incredibly flavorful.
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What is lemon zest substitution? I've never heard of it.
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