My Vegetarian Recipe of the Day

So, I’ve been negligent posting here. I’ve been busy working on a new homeschooling wiki that my husband and I have started. So, as a sign of penitence, today I’m going to post three vegetarian sides to accompany your Father’s Day barbecue.

Paradise Couscous Salad (from Fabulous Foods)

1 cup orange juice
1 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups couscous
2 cups fresh orange sections
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1 cup packed baby spinach
1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Apricot Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

In a medium pot, bring orange juice, water, and olive oil to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover; remove from heat and let stand for 7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Add orange sections, cranberries, red pepper, red onions, and spinach, mixing well.

In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat; add pecans. Sprinkle with the sugar and cayenne; sauté several minutes or until pecans begin to brown. Remove from heat and cool, set aside.

Before serving, toss couscous mixture with Apricot Vinaigrette, mixing well. Toss with sugared pecans. Refrigerate until serving.

Apricot Vinaigrette

1/3 cup apricot nectar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together apricot nectar, olive oil, vinegar, mustard and sugar.

Grilled avocado, tomato, and red onion salad (From Food Network)

10 tomatoes, quartered
4 avocados, peeled, halved, and pitted
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 red onion, sliced
1/2 lemon
1 cup pesto sauce
1/2 cup pine nuts
Parmiggiano-Reggiano

Preheat a grill over medium heat.
Cover a large tray with tomato quarters, and set aside.
Place avocado halves in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Place each half on a hot open grill for about 30 to 45 seconds. Remove and place on top of the tomatoes arranged on tray. Drizzle with olive oil again.

In another bowl, cover the red onion slices with the juice from the lemon half and olive oil. Place onions in the empty avocado pit holes. Cover with the lemon/olive oil mix. Then, top with pesto, distributing generously on all sides. Sprinkle pine nuts and cheese on top, to taste.

Grilled vegetables with chipotle dressing (From Epicurious)

1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup olive oil
3 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium-size yellow crookneck squash, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 Japanese eggplant, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 red onion, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 chayote squash, peeled, cored, cut into 12 wedges

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add oil and whisk until well blended. Season dressing with salt and pepper.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place all vegetables on 2 large baking sheets. Brush vegetables with 1/4 cup dressing. Grill vegetables until tender and beginning to brown, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes for tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant and onion and 15 minutes for chayote squash.

Separate grilled onion slices into rings. Arrange all grilled vegetables on platter. Drizzle remaining dressing over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I have a confession. I love biscuits. However, I really hate rolling them out, cutting them out and, generally, the whole process of making any biscuit that doesn’t come out of a can. Until now. I have just discovered a recipe on Epicurious that will allow me to have biscuits without all the mess. You can use this technique to make Mom delicious cream biscuits for her breakfast in bed (or for afternoon tea or as a side for lunch).

Cream Drop Biscuits

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups chilled heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add cream, then stir just until a dough forms.

Drop heaping 1/4 cups of batter about 1 inch apart on an ungreased large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are pale golden and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Makes 12 biscuits

As promised, I’m posting this great salad recipe. It’s really easy and could easily serve as a main course with addition of some hard boiled eggs or some chickpeas, or both. Serve it as a side or a starter for pasta dishes for a delicious meal.

Salad with feta and balsamic dressing

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup olive oil
Salad greens. I usually buy the bagged ones, and my favorite is Riviera and European which I mix
Feta cheese, crumbled (you could also use blue cheese)
Toasted pine nuts

Whisk all ingredients except oil until well mixed. Blend in oil s l o w l y with whisk until thick and creamy.

Add toasted pine nuts and crumbled feta cheese to salad.

I belong to a CSA. Basically, what that means is we get seasonal produce from a local farm. So, sometimes we get things that I wouldn’t necessarily have bought at the grocery store. One of the vegetables that I wouldn’t have picked out but that I’ve grown quite fond of is swiss chard. I like it in frittatas, in particular. But recently I was looking for something new to do with my latest batch of swiss chard, and I came across a recipe for swiss chard pancakes. I haven’t tried it out yet, but it does contain matzoh, so we may be eating them during Passover. In case you’re feeling adventurous, I thought I’d pass along the recipe, so hear it is– courtesy of Epicurious.

Swiss Chard Pancakes

2 bunches Swiss chard, stems cut away, leaves rinsed, chopped
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup unsalted matzo meal
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

5 tablespoons (about) olive oil
Lemon wedges

Stir chard with any water still clinging to leaves in large pot over medium-high heat until just wilted but still green, about 3 minutes. Place in sieve; press out moisture. Cool completely.
Combine eggs, onion, matzo meal, cinnamon, salt, allspice and pepper in medium bowl; blend well. Mix in chard.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop heaping 1 tablespoon Swiss chard mixture for each pancake into skillet; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness. Fry pancakes until golden brown and cooked through, adding more olive oil to skillet as necessary, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm after each batch. Serve pancakes warm with lemon wedges.

Serves 4 to 6.

Sometimes I don’t sleep well at night. Last night I kept waking up thinking about how to turn veggie chicken and dumplings kosher for Passover (we don’t use baking powder). Finally, in my half-asleep state, I thought, “Oh, you could just make veggie chicken and matzoh balls”, only to later half wake up and think, “I bet the veggie chicken wouldn’t be kosher for Passover”. So, so much for my dream of posting my kosher for Passover veggie chicken and dumplings!

But I will share with you one of my favorite kugel recipes. This one appears quite frequently on my Sabbath table. It’s delicious, super easy, and fairly low carb. So, it’s practically the perfect food. Even people who don’t like cauliflower will appreciate this recipe from 1000 Jewish Recipes by Faye Levy, one of my favorite cookbooks.

Cauliflower Kugel

1 large head cauliflower, divided into med florets
2-3 T. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large eggs, or 1 large egg and equivalent of 1 egg in egg substitute
1 T. matzoh meal
salt and pepper, to taste
about 1/2 t. paprika (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Boil cauliflower in salted water 8-10 minutes or until tender. Drain well and cool. Mash with a potato masher, leaving a few small chunks. Transfer to a bowl.

While cauliflower is cooking, hat 1-2 T. oil. Add onion and saute over medium-low 7 minutes, or until onion begins to turn golden.

Add eggs and matzoh mea to cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in onion mixture and any oil in pan

Grease a 8×8 casserole. Add cauliflower. Sprinkle 1 T. oil over top. Sprinkle with paprika, if using. Bake 40 minutes or until set and very lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and run a knife around edges. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot.

Epicurious recently had a matzoh ball contest. The winner was a vegetarian recipe. I’m happy to include it here, and I’ll be happy to include it at my seder, too

Battle of the Matzoh Balls Vegetarian Winner

4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon salt
Dash cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons white onion, grated
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup matzoh meal
7 cups vegetable stock
Additional stock for serving

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt, cayenne pepper, onion, and butter. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the matzoh meal in several additions. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour.
In a large pot, bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Moisten hands with cold water and roll the matzoh mixture into 3/4 inch balls. After all the balls are formed, drop them into the boiling stock. Return to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Serve warm in vegetable stock.

Note: The matzoh balls can be served in the same stock they were cooked in, but the soup will be cloudy. If you do use separate stock for serving, you can cook vegetables such as carrots or parsnips in it and serve them with the soup.

Makes about 20 medium-sized matzoh balls.

I love this kugel. As a matter of fact, it’s one of my favorites all year round. But at Passover, it’s especially nice, as Passover food can sometimes get a bit, um, boring… This is especially good for serving at your seder or for the Sabbath meal that falls during Passover.

Vegetable kugel

3 large zuchinni
3 large carrots
2 baking potatoes
1 large onion
4 eggs, whisked together
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
20 grinds black pepper
1/2 c. oil (use one that is kosher for Passover)
3/4 c. matzoh meal

Select an oven-to-table dish measuring approximately 10 x 8 x 2 inches deep
or use an oval gratin dish about 11-12 inches long. I have used a 9×13 pan, but I don’t think it’s the best option.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cut the ends of the zuchinni and carrots, peel all the vegetables (except
the zuchinni), then grate on the finest disc of the food processor (or
grate by hand) and mix together in a bowl. (You don’t have to use the finest disc on the food processor. If you use the regular grating disc, it will be slightly more rustic. I kind of like it better that way, but the finer grating will be more traditional.)

In a very large bowl, whisk the eggs and seasonings until fluffy, then stir
in the oil and meal, followed by the vegetables. Mix very
thoroughly, then pour into the dish and smooth level. Bake for 1 to 1-1/4
hours or until a rich golden brown.

I know I’ve already posted a cauliflower gratin but I wanted to post recipes for variations on a mashed cauliflower theme for times when you didn’t have the time to prepare the gratin.

Mashed cauliflower and variations, courtesty of Recipelink.

STEAM, BAKE, OR ROAST UNTIL VERY SOFT:
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 large heads of garlic (peeled cloves)
1 onion, peeled and thickly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

PUREE VEGETABLES WITH:
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
sea salt & pepper to taste

Taste and adjust seasoning, butter, and sour cream so that you end up with a rich tasting, smooth puree.

RED CAULIFLOWER:
Stir 1/2 cup Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce or Dried Tomato Sauce into 2 cups cauliflower puree. (I wonder if my daughter would eat this just because it’s pink)

CAULIFLOWER SOUP:
Thin puree with nondairy milk or broth, (and a little cream). Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more liquid if necessary.

CHEESY CAULIFLOWER SOUP:
Stir cheddar, mozzarella, jack, gouda, or edam cheese into Cauliflower S.

I love cauliflower for low carb eating. Actually, my son prefers mashed cauliflower to mashed potaoes. I also really like casserole type dishes. This recipe would work as a main dish with a salad or it would work as a side dish for any meal where you would normally serve potatoes au gratin.

Cauliflower Gratin

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (discard core and large stems)
1 (14 ounces) can vegetable broth (or homemade – about 1-3/4 cups)
2 Tbsp butter
2 ounces cream cheese
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
1/4 cup sliced green onions, white and green parts
2 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Vegetable spray

Place cauliflower florets in a large saucepan. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until very tender, about 12 minutes. Drain thoroughly and pat dry.

Pour cauliflower into food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add butter, cream cheese, sour cream, half of the cheddar cheese, green onion, salt, pepper, and eggs. Pulse to combine.

Spray an oven-proof casserole with vegetable oil. Pour cauliflower mixture into casserole dish and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 F. oven for about 45 minutes.

1 pound of frozen Spinach (thawed and drained)
1 to 1 1/2 cup of egg beater (or 4 or 5 eggs)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups of mixed low-fat cheeses (I use goat gouda, cheddar, mozza, gruyere, fontina, &
parmesan)
1/4 or 1/2 cup of soy flour
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix the ricotta with the hard cheeses.
Add the garlic, onion, and seasonings.
Mix in the spinach and the egg.
Stir in the soy flour. You may need to add more soy flour or egg, depending on the consistency.
Shape into patties and place on an oiled cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375.

Serve as a burger, veggie side dish, etc.

You can add some brown rice to the mixture for a firmer patty.

If you want something light for a romantic meal, try this delicious vinaigrette over a spinach salad with mushrooms. Garnish with extra strawberries.

Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing

1 pint fresh or frozen strawberries,
washed and tops cut off
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp. walnut oil
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper

Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender and blend thoroughly. Dressing will have a creamy appearance. Season with salt and white pepper.

Here is the promised asparagus side dish to accompany your chanterelles risotto.

Steamed asparagus with lemon butter

1/2 pound fresh asparagus
Salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Wash asparagus and trim off bottom of stems by about 2 inches. In a large skillet, bring about 1/2 inch of water to a rapid boil. Season the water with salt and add the asparagus. Cook the asparagus for 2-3 minutes or until bright green and just tender. Drain the asparagus and add butter to the skillet. Stir in the zest and juice. Return the drained asparagus to the skillet and toss to coat. Serve immediately

Variation: After the asparagus is drained, refresh immediately in a bowl of ice water. This will help the asparagus to retain the bright green color. Serve the asparagus cold with vinaigrette.

This recipe will make a pretty presentation. You can serve it as a main course, with an arugula salad on the side, or you can serve it as a side to a nut loaf, for example. The recipe includes several reported aphrodisiacs: raspberries, nutmeg and pine nuts. This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe by Julie Sahni, teacher, food historian and culinary author.

Raspberry pilaf with pine nuts

1/2 pint Red Raspberries
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Grated Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
2 cups cooked Basmati Rice
2 Tbs Toasted Pine Nuts

Set aside half the raspberries for garnish and mince the remaining half.
Combine minced raspberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and 1/4 C water in a nonstick saute pan over med-high heat and bring to a boil.
Add rice and mix until the fruit puree is well distributed.
Continue cooking until the rice is heated through.
Transfer the rice to a heated platter, scatter the reserved raspberries and pine nuts on top and serve.