Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

I don't think there are any strict vegetarians in my current personal circle, but there are always some people with food restrictions whom we have to consider whenever we give or contribute to a big party.

I work in an 'ethnically diverse' environment with many people who don't eat 'mainstream', ranging from Jews and Muslims who don't eat pork, to a Hindu who doesn't eat beef OR pork; the occasional vegetarians of varying commitment; and (sigh) one 'raw-foodist'. (Just buy a pineapple for that one.)

Having been largely vegetarian for the first part of my own adult life - and loving veggies for their own sake - the biggest section of my personal loose-leaf cookbook is the vegetable section. I thought this week I'd share some unusual vegetable recipes.

I found this simple but special eggplant dish last year, but don't have a picture. The 'scoring' that you do on the eggplant is a kind of cross-hatching that looks like nice grill marks. (I've also seen similar recipes done by slicing the eggplant into thick slices, instead of two long halves):

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Dressing

2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds total), trimmed and halved lengthwise

coarse sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

DRESSING:

3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons hot water

1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

For Eggplant: Heat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (It helps to first sprinkle the eggplant halves with salt, and let them "drain", flesh side down, in a large colander for about 30 minutes before roasting. It helps to reduce the moisture content of the dish.)

Put eggplant pieces on prepared baking sheet, flesh-side up. With the tip of a sharp knife, score flesh, about 3/4 inch deep. Season eggplant with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. Roast, rotating pan once halfway through, until eggplant flesh is soft and collapsed and edges are deep golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

For Dressing: While eggplant is roasting, in a bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Remove eggplant from oven and sprinkle with salt.

Transfer to serving plates, drizzle with half of the dressing and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with remaining dressing.

One of the most popular vegetarian recipes I've taken to a party was a Mushroom Strudel. I originally found it in some healthy-eating magazine, where it was suggested as an entree for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. I've misplaced the original, but this recipe is identical:

http://www.food.com/recipe/mushroom-strudel-21852

This next recipe from Paula Wolfert's book 'The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen' is one of the most surprising recipes that I've tried, though it appears to be very common in the Middle East. I think we actually cheated the first time by making it with frozen artichokes, and it was still very good:

http://leitesculinaria.com/6844/recipes-compote-of-artichoke-orange-coriander-and-mint.html

Lastly, as Jacques Pepin has often said, you can't do better than excellent bread with excellent butter. This week someone asked to be added to this ping list, and mentioned an interest in Sourdough bread-making. I would like to learn that too, and perhaps some of the folks who have done it can give us tips/recipes. I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but I recently found this interesting article by a microbiologist named Debra Wink, who turned her scientific knowledge to the sourdough cause:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/10856/pineapple-juice-solution-part-1

[lulu16]

Welcome back to the top of the food chain!

[lulu16]

I had friends in California and Hawaii, mostly women, who had these elaborate food restrictions, and the way they were so self-righteous, e.g., nothing with a face, nothing with a mother, cracked me up.

So even when they would say, they’d only eat the side dishes, there would be something in my side dishes, that they found offensive in their dietary piety.

I had to evolve a whole host of dishes that would suit them. Even foods with traditional vegetarian food, like south Indian, contains ghee, de-fatted butter. So I modified even those recipes.

Then I moved to Arizona. People are so much more sensible here.

[Ditter]

;)). Yum bacon!

[Jamestown1630]

In my opinion, if one is going to be so ‘pious’ about food, they have no business eating-out, or eating in someone else’s home. They should just eat alone.

James Michener once wrote this about travel:

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”

I think that works in both directions. I was taught to politely eat what was served to me, if I was in somebody else’s house, or at least to ‘make do’ without complaining.

I try my best to accommodate people whose preferences I’m aware of; but if I go somewhere and what I’m served is something I can’t or won’t eat - I keep my mouth shut, and cover the situation as well as I can. No complaints!

[Jane Long]

Sounds yum. Saving. Thanks.

[greeneyes]

My favorite vegan meal is beans, taters, maters and cornbread, with a big slice of onion. Substitute gelatin, flax seed, or some other vegan approved substance for the egg in the cornbread.

For the rest of us, a good old egg is fine and adds some Vitamin K2 among other nutrients to the meal. Also using a good amount of Kerry gold butter is great in flavor and Vitamin K2.

I was searching for a recipe for asparagus, for my picky eater grand daughter, and found several to try. This is not exact to any one of those, but here's what I'll try:

1. 2 lbs. Asparagus
2. 2 Tbls melted butter and olive oil spray
3.Minced garlic or garlic powder
4.3 drops Sriracha sauce
5.Salt and Pepper - fresh ground
6.Bacon, crumbled and Lemon Wedge
7.Parmesan Cheese, grated

I may add other spices to the butter such as ginger, for example, but I'll have to talk to picky first.

Directions - Break or snip off bottom inch of Asparagus, and clean if using fresh produce.

Spray bottom of pan with olive oil, and place Asparagus on baking dish one layer deep. Spray Asparagus with olive oil.

Put spices in melted butter and mix then drizzle over the Asparagus. Using pepper/salt mill over Asparagus to season toss a bit to mix.

Pop into oven heated to 400 degrees and roast about 15 minutes. Check for color change as it cooks, and when color is vibrant green it's ready to plop on the plate.

The plate will have a wedge of lemon, and condiment container of crumbled bacon and parm cheese, so that picky can add what she wants and as much as she wants.

The next recipe I'll try for her is “Firecracker Grilled Alaskan Salmon.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Firecracker-Grilled-Alaska-Salmon/

She likes salmon, but not tuna. Her aunt made some salmon she still talks about, but none of us remember what it was, so I am just going to try out different recipes for it once every other week or so.

[greeneyes]

I have tried several sour dough recipes over the years, but haven’t yet found one that is to Hubby’s liking and nothing that I’d brag about either. That includes Herman and Herman recipes.

So I’ll be interested in hearing from someone who bakes more often than I do, if they have a particular one they like the most.

[Hardens Hollow]

yum, I love tahini. I just bought 2 lbs of it from Amazon, so I’m glad to see I can do more than make hummus with it.

[Hardens Hollow]

“James Michener once wrote this about travel:

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.”

Sounds like good advice to illegals as well ;)

[lulu16]

Hi Jane. It would be so nice to be part of your family’s recipe repertoire.

[lulu16]

Hi Greeneyes, I wonder if the reason your grand daughter does not like tuna is because it is all mushed up (if it was canned). Some kids don’t like certain food textures.

Since you mentioned Siracha hot sauce, maybe she would like this fish dish. It’s a sandwich, so already she is familiar with the form. It is what my husband and I had for lunch.

Canned mackerel sandwich

2 sub sandwich rolls, heat in a 200 degree oven, while you prep the sandwiches ( ten minutes or so)

1 can sardines packed in oil ( mine had 3 pieces of fish)
2- 3 T mayonnaise
1 tsp or more Siracha hot sauce
1 tsp capers, drained
4X lettuce leaves
tomatoes sliced, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 scallion minced
1 tsp capers, drained and minced

In a very small bowl mix mayo, capers and Siracha together. Taste for intensiveness. You can also double this if you like.

Open buns. Lay bottom on plate. Spread mayo/Siracha/caper on one or both sides.

Put one leaf of lettuce on bottom with the vein curved so it forms a cup. Take one half portion of sardines and lay it on the lettuce. (I gave 1 1/2 pieces of fish each for my husband and myself.)

Layer on the tomatoes and scallions.

Place other lettuce leaf so it is a cap in the opposite direction of the leaf on the bottom. I do this because the capers tend to run away.

Wrap the bottom of the sandwich with a piece of wax paper, so the sandwich holds together for her.

I served this is a tangy salad, because I think fish dishes need a counterpoint of sharp. Mine salad was a coleslaw that I added raisins and half a can of mandarin oranges. I added some of the syrup from the canned mandarins to the salad and a dash of red wine vinegar.

This sandwich is crispy from the warm sub rolls, rich because of the fish and mayo, salty from the capers, impactful because of the Siracha and the scallions and brimming with fresh vegetables. Then she can have a bite of salad to cleanse her palate.

You can substitute any cooked fish. I think that kids that are picky, can be coaxed with complex flavors. If you can manage to introduce her to more types of foods, she will have wonderful memories of you introducing them to her.

[lulu16]

I meant to also say, put the other piece of roll on top. This is not an open face sandwich.

[greeneyes]

As I mentioned a while ago, I am reducing my carbs, and I have egg whites each week to do something with. Strawberry Scrumptious is great, but it has a lot of sugar and even that gets to be too much when you eat it several times a week.

So there’s a couple of things I found to try that should be good enough for me and maybe even healthy for Ms. Picky.

http://www.amazon.com/Famous-Dishes-Made-LOW-CARB-Favorite-ebook/dp/B00XFK4L70/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433471278&sr=8-1&keywords=famous+dishes+made+low+carb&pebp=1433471293385&perid=18PJ5DFM3X7QAJDCV31E

This cookbook has a recipe for low fat low carb Vanilla Cupcakes. The primary ingredients are cocoanut flour, Eggs, Egg whites, and applesauce. The rest is for flavor and levening. I’m going to try it, but I expect it to be too eggy. Similar to that Flaxseed muffin than uses 1/4 cup flax meal, one egg, stevia, and spice/extracts.

Here’s a link to a carrot cake for the microwave:

http://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/sugar-free-carrot-cake-mug-cake/

A bit too high on the saturated fat for me, so I’ll make it following the recipe to see how it goes over, then tweak it to reduce some of the sat. fat.

My docs prescribe Low fat, Low Carb, and Low sodium. Now just how unappealing does that sound? Not to mention that if you are reducing the % of carbs, and fat in your diet that leaves protein, and that’s not a desirable long term good for the body thing either. So what’s the solution - fasting? LOL

Seriously, Docs don’t have all the answers either. On a positive note, coffee and eggs are considered ok again, so I don’t have to defend those dietary choices any more. Tee Hee.

[Jamestown1630]

Absolutely! Why come here, if you don’t want to join the party?

[Stand Watch Listen]

Here's a vegetable (thinly sliced tomato/potato/zuchinni/yellow squash) dish we have enjoyed for years. Even planted more yellow squash for extra ingredients.:

INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium potato
1 medium tomato
1 tsp Thyme
.......to taste...salt & pepper
1 cup shredded Italian cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a skillet
2. While the onion and garlic are sautéing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.
3. Spray the inside of an 8 x 8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic on the bottom of the dish.
4. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and thyme
5. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes
6. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown

[greeneyes]

Thanks for that. Yes, I think that it’s probably the texture. I know that’s true for the veggies. She likes those crisp or raw. Except, she like green beans flavored with ham base and pepper.

She tends to pride herself on liking spicy stuff and cayenne pepper, So I’ll probably set a shaker of red pepper flakes as part of the condiments for the Asparagus.

Getting her to try new stuff is tricky too. Mackeral and sardines would be new too. She never ceases to amaze me as to what she likes. She also goes in cycles. Once upon a time it was hot dogs - now she won’t touch them.

One year, she didn’t want her entrée in the school lunch box to be anything other than peanut butter and jelly with no crusts. So far Pizza is almost always a hit. For a long time she liked the Baked Blue Hake, which had a light crust and was baked in the oven.

Lately she went on a pickled green bean pig out. Today she wanted breakfast for lunch - waffles and bacon - she got it. Same as my Granny used to do for me. We were all surprised when she turned out to like Asparagus and Broccoli, but absolutely no potatoes except for McDonalds French Fries.

I have a couple cookbooks with kid’s favorite recipes, that I want her to pick out some new stuff she would be willing to try. Then, a couple of times a month, we can have a cooking day, and work together in the Kitchen.

[Jamestown1630]

That looks wonderful! If it weren’t for cheese, I wouldn’t eat nearly all the veggies that I do.

-JT

[greeneyes]

That looks great, and veggies and cheese are the all legal right now, except potatoes, which I can work in now and then anyway.

[Stand Watch Listen]

Simple, yet tasty...the 'dressing' makes it.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups water
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Sprinkle minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
2 cups cherry tomato halves


DIRECTIONS: 2. Melt butter/ olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in sugar, garlic salt, pepper and basil. Add tomatoes, and cook stirring gently just until soft. Pour the tomato mixture over the green beans, and toss gently to blend.
Hint/ options:
• sprinkle it with a mixture of italian bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, which gave it a nice touch
• add Italian bread crumbs AND / OR some grated parm. Cheese

[JRandomFreeper]

My idea of vegan is starting with rare ribeye and getting more carnivorous as time goes on. ;)

I don't do vegan or vegetarian or whatever.

I have had the opportunity to speak freely in a commercial establishment.. I don't do vegetarian and I can be loud about it in a commercial esablishment.

/johnny