Eating through the Freezer

I’ve learned a lot of things since I’ve taken cooking and what we eat more seriously. One is, cooking dried beans is easy and way better than canned. And, more notably, beans are really good in tofu scramble. So, I made Mexican-style tofu scramble.

So in my efforts to eat everything in my freezer, I had a bag of cooked kidney beans. Not my favorite beans (sorry!), but still not something I wanted to throw out. I also had some frozen potato cubes, hash browns, whatever they may be called. Those are no problem to eat up, but made a good side.

I threw sauteed green bell pepper and onion in with the taters and topped them with salsa. I seasoned the tofu with spices like your grocer’s packet of taco seasoning. And I tossed in the kidney beans, some corn, and cilantro and green onion. Yum-and-yum.

The best part about this was that by adding so much stuff into the scramble, I had lots of leftovers. So, this morning I enjoyed a breakfast burrito.

What’s left in the freezer? I’m not ready to think about it.

Still Spring Soup

April is almost over, and I’m not sure it feels like spring yet. It seems like for the past two weeks, it’s been both rainy and stormy every day. And it’s been cold. So I took the opportunity to make soup. I considered making cookies, but soup won out.

I pieced together a few recipes for minestrone, and of course I did not measure. But this soup was perfectly delicious. Besides all the goodies in it, I think it’s the broth (Better Than Bouillon and pesto). This soup is made of:

• Onion, Carrot, and Celery
• Potatoes
• Green beans
• Cannellini beans
• Spinach
• Macaroni
• Diced tomatoes in sauce
• Better than Bouillon
• Amore Pesto Paste
• Maybe some other stuff I forgot to mention

Part of what I’ve been doing lately is kind of a pantry challenge, using up stuff I’ve had on hand for way too long. Sometimes those are interesting to read about, but mine seems a little scary.

The green beans were the last of a bag of frozen beans I’ve had a while, and I think the pesto paste was a Christmas gift year before last. Thanks to blog, I can tell you the macaroni was left over from November when I made mac and cheeze. I have been eating this soup for a week and I haven’t been sick. I think I have pretty good judgment when it comes to expired food.

I’m in spring cleaning mode – I’m also clearing out my closets. Cleaning out the pantry is more fun, though. I am too young to have so much junk I don’t want to think about. Have a great weekend, everyone!

I ate quinoa because he doesn’t like it either

I recently cooked a pretty awesome meal, if I do say so myself. I borrowed a cookbook from the library, Veggie Burgers Every Which Way, and actually ended up making two recipes from the cookbook.

I’ve made several versions of homemade veggie burgers or patties, and I’m still looking for my favorite. This one was pretty good. I tried the Quinoa, Red Bean, and Walnut burgers. I was flipping through the book and the author, Lukas Volger, said something that really hit home with me (sorry, quinoa lovers!) – he said he often finds quinoa a little too grassy for his taste.

These patties are made with quinoa, red beans, walnuts, and a steamed potato. The steamed potato is his binder in many of his vegan recipes. They’re flavoried with ginger, scallions, and cilantro. (I used cilantro because I had some, the recipe calls for parsley.) True – the ginger does cut through some of the grassiness of the quinoa.

The other recipe I made from the cookbook was the red cabbage slaw. Actually, I started with the recipe and kept going. This is simply shredded red cabbage and dressed it with rice vinegar, a little toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, scallions, and brown rice syrup. This was a sweet and sour cole slaw, and it was delicious, and the leftovers were great as the vinegar kept wilting the cabbage.

Round out this meal with roasted sweet potato wedges, tied together with more grated ginger. All of this was a little time consuming, but in the end it was worth it. Actually, it was most worth it when I had the leftovers for lunch and the work was already done!

Veggie Burgers Every Which Way has been returned to the library, and I might check it out again if I’m in the mood to try a different kind of patty.

I’ve Got One, You’ve Got One

January was all about eating tried-and-true favorites, like tofu stir fry with peanut sauce:

One of my favorite soups – Moroccan-Style chickpea and lentil from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker:

By mid-January, a month after returning from Italy, I was ready for pasta again, my way. I made my own chunky tomato sauce over a small portion of whole-wheat pasta, with spinach and mushrooms and a salad:

I split the tomato sauce in half and turned half into tomato soup. Goes well with a Rice Vegan grilled cheese:

Now that it’s the end of the month, I’m coming out of hiatus and getting ready to try new things. Like going to a pond hockey game downtown. Standing in the cold for 45 minutes wasn’t much fun, but these minor league hockey players were having a great time. And when one team got to an early lead, the mascot blocked their goal.

After watching some of the game Saturday night, we headed to Honey, a restaurant we’ve been to a few times. It’s a special-occasion kind of place. We thought that arriving around 8 would help our odds of getting a table quickly, but instead we sat at the bar for a long while, munching on fries. There are rumors that the restaurant is closed or will be closing, but it was packed when we were there.

No, the bucket is not filled to the bottom. These fries are good – tiny shoestrings of three kinds of potato. By the time the fries arrived, we were ready to eat. I had one of those moments where I was happy to be with Alex: there was a couple sitting next to us and neither of them touched the fries they ordered. I think they were on an early date. I’m not certain if I was ever a shy eater, but I think there have been plenty of times when I was shy. Saturday night was not one of those nights.

My photo of my entrée makes it look unappetizing, and it wasn’t – it’s actually what I’ve gotten each time we’ve dined there. It’s soft tofu in a crispy basil crust on top of green beans and a root vegetable puree, with coconut milk sauce. The portion of tofu seems to be shrinking, but it’s still generous.

Sunday night we did something else new – we went to The Comet for bluegrass night. I’m not a bluegrass aficionado, but the band was good and enthusiastic. The food was pretty good, too. They serve a small menu with burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. I got a jerked tofu burrito, which included rice, black beans, salsa, and tofu. The prices are low and the portions are hearty. I think I ate 3/4 right away, and nibbled on the rest as I sipped various IPAs the rest of the night.

The bar got really crowded even 45 minutes before the band started, and I noticed an acquaintance standing around with no place to sit. Okay, someone I’ve met precisely twice. I went up to him and he had no idea who I was, but he was happy to take me up on the offer to come sit with us. I have a decent memory for faces and names, but it’s new to me to be friendly like that.

One other new thing I did was make a dessert. I’ve been wanting to make Hummingbird Cake (evidently also called Dr. Bird Cake, as I learned from a co-worker). This is a dense, moist cake, made with banana and crushed pineapple, with pecans and cinnamon. This turned out wonderfully, although it was maybe denser than it would normally be. I used flax eggs and my banana was frozen and then thawed, so either of those could be the culprit. The frosting was delicious, though – Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese makes a great cream cheese frosting!

One more new thing – I’m in a new decade! Yes, that is my birthday cake. I turned 30 on Sunday, can you believe it?

The beginning of winter and the end of Thanksgiving leftovers

You really can make anything into a patty. Getting patties to hold together was a serious challenge for me in the past, but now? Easy. Maybe I’ve finally learned how to be gentle.

When I read about the sweet potato and white bean patties Jenny was making, I knew I needed to give them a try. That, and I had six large sweet potatoes on the shelf and leftovers from Thanksgiving in the fridge. I needed a way to use up what I had and get some variety at the same time.

I used mashed sweet potatoes, cannelleni beans, bread crumbs, and some sauteed diced onions and garlic. I seasoned the mix with salt and garam masala and ate my patty with leftover collards. Alex ate his with ketchup.

We got our first snow this weekend, and I made homemade tomato soup for the first time. Tomato soup + sweet potato patties doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was a great meal on a cold night.

Southwest Stir Fry

I decided to try this as a different way to cook some of my favorite foods (black beans and corn). Then I decided to search the web to see if I was unknowingly copying someone else’s idea of a southwest stir fry. The first few results were very different, so I’m in the clear. Actually, I’m so far into the clear that maybe I should come up with another name for this.

This dish isn’t too different from times I make black beans and rice, and it’s not terribly different from a Chipotle burrito bol. This is just another chance for me to put together some of my favorite foods. I think it’s better than either one.

We started by frying the tofu cubes, cooking the rice, and cooking the collards (for some reason I wanted these as a side dish). After that is done, this is super easy.

My stir fry is onion, green bell pepper, mushrooms, black beans, corn, and diced tomatoes and green chiles (canned, like Ro-Tel).

Oh, yes, and I made a little dressing to go on it. I really like making my own dressings because I like them so thin.

This was simply a spoonful of Vegenaise cut with the juice from the canned tomatoes and ranch-style seasoning. Right now, this means garlic powder, onion powder, salt, smoked paprika, and a little cumin. And lots of black pepper. I’m still working on my favorite ranch proportions, but I love how easy it is to mix up a little batch just as I need it.

MoFo Nachos

This post is yet another in the series of me being too awfully busy to write a proper post, but still enjoying the challenge of posting every day. I was away from home all day today and came home hungry – for nachos.

I love to pile chips on a cookie sheet and toss everything in the oven. This is blue and yellow corn chips, chipotle salsa, smashed pintos, diced tomatoes, and Follow Your Heart shredded cheddar. Cold toppings include lettuce, cilantro, Follow Your Heart better than sour cream, and homemade guacamole. Pair with a beer and enjoy.

One More Round: Restaurant Food at Home

This goes way back to last May, when I visited The Chicago Diner. At the time, I was kicking myself for choosing a quesadilla when faced with more choices from their extensive vegan menu than I could wrap my head around. Still, it was really good. And even as I said to myself that I could make it at home, I never did. Until now.

I stuffed my tortilla with smashed sweet potatoes, steamed spinach, black beans, and grilled onions. After the photo, I added some spicy salsa. Yum! I should make this again.

Have a great weekend – I’ll be around!

Reinventing Leftovers

I typically eat a lot of leftovers. I rarely eat sandwiches or go out for lunch. But sometimes, I want something different from more of the same.

I had extra rice and portabellas from last night’s veggie roast, and also s small batch of frozen cannellini beans after I used most of them in soup last week.

Lunch: wrap with bean dip made with cannellini beans and sundried tomatoes, raw red bell pepper, carrot, lettuce, and leftover rice and corn.

Dinner: roasted asparagus and portabella cap, topped with Daiya.

This concludes your daily MoFo.

Unrelated, I took saw some deer from my window. I hope these guys are okay tonight.

Peer Pressure Pumpkin Chili

I’ve been seeing lots of pumpkin recipes all over. I’m sorry to say that although they all look good, I am not really a fan of pumpkin. Please don’t ban me from the blogosphere! I want to be open to trying new things, and maybe there’s a little bit of peer pressure, so I bought four cans of organic pumpkin puree. I read about people hoarding cans and stores running out, so I figured I should get plenty just in case I liked it.

I didn’t grow up eating pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. My mom would make pumpkin cheesecake. Instead of venturing into that (maybe later!), I decided to make pumpkin chili like I get at Loving Hut. Mine was much chunkier and it turned out really well. I combined so many recipes that I’ll share what I did, as I do consider it my own.

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, diced
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 15 oz. diced tomatoes
• 15 oz. pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked and simmered
• 1/2 cup dried kidney beans, cooked
• 1/2 cup bulgur
• 1 cup water or broth, or more, for desired consistency (I used the sweet potato boiling water)
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or small amounts of nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice)
• A shake of cayenne, or more if you like it hot. Chipotles or fresh peppers might be good here, too.

Method:

This was pretty simple. My beans were prepared, so I boiled the sweet potatoes and sauteed the onions, then just combined everything else and cooked until heated through and the bulgur is done.

I wanted to take photos of the cooking in-progress, but unless you need to see my chopped onions or my sweet potato cubes, this is pretty much it. This was a quick and easy chili that was delicious. I like the two kinds of beans and the sweet-heat, as well as the chunks of sweet potatoes.

So, am I pumpkin convert? Maybe. What’s your favorite thing to do with pumpkin? Or, do you fall for peer pressure?

Kitchen Cabinet and Freezer Soup

I promise I’ll get a little more excited about MoFo next week.

For now, I’m keeping up by doing two things I normally wouldn’t do: I’m telling you I’m not feeling well, and I’m posting on a day I might normally skip. I only mention that I’m not feeling well because it is very relevant to tonight’s supper.

I wanted soup, but I still don’t have much food on hand and wasn’t feeling up to shopping. So this is what I made with stuff I have on hand. This soup requires zero work and is already making me feel better. Or maybe relaxing for the first night in more than a week is helping me feel better.

After lunch, I tossed everything in my slow cooker. I used a large can of plum tomatoes, frozen cannellini beans, frozen chopped green bell peppers, an onion, a shallot, some garlic, a bouillon cube, some tomato paste, and some orzo tossed in near the end. I also used some red and black pepper, dried oregano, and some pesto paste squeezed across the top and then mixed right in.

I served this up in a big bowl wrapped in a kitchen towel and ate on the couch, while watching a movie. I think after some rest tonight and this good soup I should be feeling better soon. Want to know a secret? The frozen green peppers are coming full circle, because they were originally purchased to be an ice pack.

Normally I would say have a great weekend, but instead – see you tomorrow!

Super Easy Taco Soup

I find many, many recipes I want to make from the blogs I read. Among my friends? Not so much. When I learned that a friend made vegetarian soup, I couldn’t wait to try it.

I’ve mentioned my monthly dinners at Ronald McDonald House before. (And after the next time I go, I’ll write more about that.) Everyone brings something, and after the residents eat, we’ll usually eat some leftover food and hang out for a bit. Typically I’ll stick to my own food, but when a friend mentioned that her soup was vegetarian, I gave it a try.

Yes, I quizzed her about any possible chicken broth or other animal ingredients, and that’s when she shared the recipe. This soup is mostly beans, and that’s certainly fine by me! Plus it’s super easy. If you just open cans, it’s really really really easy. I used frozen corn, frozen beans that I’d cooked from dry beans, and mixed my own seasoning from my ever-growing spice cabinet, and it was still easy.

Taco Bean Soup

• 2 cups, or 1 can black beans
• 2 cups, or 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes, or Ro-Tel style green chiles and tomatoes
• 2 cups, or 1 can corn
• Broth or water, or even the liquid from cans, to make soup desired consistency
• 1 can refried beans, or 2 cups pinto beans, pureed
• Taco seasoning mix (recipe here) or store bought pouch

Combine all ingredients and heat through. The refried beans mixed with the water (or liquid from cans) makes the soup broth really thick. I like the sweet pop of the corn, too. This concoction is similar to a chili, but different. At least to me.

Top as desired with cilantro, Better Than Sour Cream, jalapenos, or just eat plain or with cornbread or corn chips.

I used my homegrown jalapeno and a bit of Better Than Sour Cream on top, along with some corn chips. This made a big pot of soup (and next time I’ll include more tomatoes so I expect it to be even bigger) but we both ate all the leftovers really quickly. That’s how I judge a good recipe.

Squash and Beans

Remember when I cooked buttercup squash and adzuki beans with very little seasoning? This time I kicked it up a notch.

I made Maple Glazed Winter Squash with Garlic and Ginger from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. I actually threw this together during work and didn’t have an onion, so this was made with garlic, ginger, acorn squash, water and tamari topped with maple syrup and then slow cooked for a few hours. For sides, I made some adzuki beans and red quinoa. The specks you see on the squash are black pepper. The squash was sweet, hot from the ginger, and absolutely delicious. I think I used more ginger and less sugar than the recipe specifications – and it turned out well.

I like how cooking one acorn squash didn’t give us much more than two servings, and the red beans and red quinoa were kind of neat too, in keeping with the same colors. Even Alex enjoyed the beans; typically, he says he doesn’t like beans, so this is a big surprise.

I do agree the uncooked adzuki look much more attractive than the cooked beans. They lose their little white zipper when cooked. Is this meal too red and orange? Especially on the yellow plate? I don’t care. This was good.

Go Reds! Cincinnati Chili and Beer

In my nearly three years living in Cincinnati, I’ve made fun of the Reds, the local baseball team. I’ve talked about how easy it is to get to a game and laughed at the locals who skip work for Opening Day and then give up on their beloved team before the All Star Break. But now, the Reds are in the playoffs. For the first time in memory.

This afternoon’s game didn’t look good, but I have hope in the Redlegs to at least pull out a win or two. They’re playing the Phillies, who have made it to the playoffs with their core group of players a lot recently and even won the World Series in 2008. I even said that we should cheer for the Reds now because we’ll probably have a chance to cheer for the Phillies later. I think someone phrased it best saying, “The Reds played like the Reds.”

I mention all this because it’s a coincidence that these two teams are playing each other; I lived in Philadelphia for five years and that’s Alex’s hometown, where we met. Plus, I work out of a Philadelphia office, so there’s no Reds love with my coworkers. But I am hopping on the Reds bandwagon, and I think they can do better than they did tonight!

So, in support of the Reds, I made a Cincinnati themed dinner. Cincinnati seems a little behind the times sometimes, but the interesting consequence of that is how many local oddities there are here. People aren’t advocating progress or globalization. So instead, we have old traditions and things done the Cincinnati way.

One big-deal thing here is Cincinnati chili, which is served over spaghetti and is notoriously sweet. I made my own, adapting this recipe from Allrecipes that got great reviews. This chili includes chocolate, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, and chili powder. From what I’ve heard, Cincinnati chili came about when Greek immigrants served a traditional Greek stew and rebranded it as a local food. I know the need to rebrand is true; I have a friends whose Greek grandparents had a successful local restaurant by never telling anyone they were Greek.

I made a few changes. Of course I substituted the ground beef (I used tvp) and I also put some pinto beans in the mix, which normally isn’t done. Cincinnati chili starts as a 3-way (spaghetti, chili, and cheese) and you can make it a 4-way by adding beans or raw onions, and it’s a 5-way when you add both. So mine doesn’t fit any “way” – do you think that’s why the Reds lost?

We drank Little Kings Cream Ale, a local beer that comes in 7-ounce bottles. According to their website, this beer has been delighting the masses since 1958.

The Redlegs play again on Friday. My ’Nati Night didn’t help the Redlegs win, but maybe the can get one on their own. What do you think, are you superstitious?

Food-ful Weekend

Some weekends, I cook a lot. Some weekends, I take it easy and we go out or eat leftovers. This weekend had a major focus on food.

First, Saturday morning, I went to Books by the Banks at the local convention center. This is a celebration of books and authors with a several discussion panels, and the authors were available to talk and sign their books.

I had the pleasure of meeting Tamasin Noyes of Vegan Appetite, author of American Vegan Kitchen. I attended her panel, where she and three other cookbook authors talked about their books and answered questions. I was really pleased to see that when the moderator opened the floor for questions, the first few questions were for her – even if they were “what’s the difference between vegetarian and vegan?” and “my vegetarian friend eats fish and chicken.”*

My favorite part was when the moderator (a chef himself) asked Tami to talk about the flavor gap between meat and vegan dishes. Tami responded, “Good food is good food.” The moderator looked disappointed and unconvinced, but I think the audience’s curiosity in veganism showed his disappointment was unfounded. I loved her answer. She was a great representative for veganism in the Porkopolis.

Saturday night, we had a special visitor – Alex’s sister came into town. Being around this much family is absolutely spoiling me. We talked about going out, but we decided to eat at home instead. She was happy to have some home-cooked food and was amenable to me wanting to use up my produce bin. My wish was my punishment, though, because I stayed at home cooking while they were out playing.

Roasted butternut squash with whole wheat orzo, basil, pine nuts, and lemon.

I had a butternut squash and some collard greens I wanted to use, so I did a quick search through my Reader and found that many blogs have mentioned butternut recently – including some non-food ones! I made two recipes straight from the blogs.

First up: Lemony Orzo with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pine Nuts from Clean Eats in the Dirty South. I love roasted butternut, and this seemed like a filling main dish and it did not disappoint.

I made a side of collards with garlic, dried cranberries, and pine nuts, and I still let them cook for almost an hour (cranberries and nuts added at the end). Alex’s sister mentioned that she doesn’t like vegetables that are cooked for too long, but I made these collards for me. This is what happens when you marry into a family from a different part of the country. No kidding, when I getting ready to move to Philadelphia my grandfather told me not to fall in love with a Yankee. True story. Plus, I had never eaten green beans that were still crisp until I had the ones their mom made.

My plate: equal parts greens and squashy orzo

Also: Curried Squash Hummus from The Kuntrageous Vegan. I used some of my butternut and also an acorn squash, along with some chickpeas and copious spice and heat. This actually got hotter after I tasted it, so this was a pretty fiery dip. But delicious. I was digging in on this before Alex and his sister got home. We ate this with some delicious fresh bread from Shadeau Bakery.

Curried squash hummus. I popped this in the oven to keep it warm and it developed a delightful crust on top.

This was a great weekend, and fall has arrived. Saturday I had a big butternut, and now I have plenty of squash leftovers to enjoy.

*I know this isn’t even a question.

One cookbook, two recipes

Can you guess what it is?

azuki beans with {buttercup} squash, pg. 241

fried udon noodles, pg. 229, with napa cabbage and broccoli

The Kind Diet. I hesitated to purchase this cookbook because I figured much of the introduction wouldn’t really be useful to me. I also don’t like to fall in line with what’s hot, or what some high profile person tells me to do. (Maybe Alicia Silverstone isn’t high profile to everyone, but I was a teenager when Clueless came out and she made a formative impact on my youth.)

Every recipe that I’ve made from The Kind Diet has been marvelous, simple, and delicious. The recipes are more like instructions on how to use what might be unusual ingredients. There aren’t many ingredients and there aren’t too many steps.

I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty good cook, but now that I’m trying so many new ingredients I find myself in need of a little guidance. This book has been perfect for someone like me.

I’m not saying this is my favorite cookbook, but it’s impressing me. Actually, I only have one cookbook that’s not been worthwhile so far, and I’m still giving it more chances. What’s your favorite cookbook?

This is not the Black Bean Burger I ate tonight

But I sure wish it was.

Actually, tonight and last night I didn’t cook. Last night I served at Ronald McDonald House and put out tons of food for “make your own subs” night. I’m still struggling with what to bring to these monthly dinners, even though I’ve been going for almost three years. I bet if I’d brought these black bean burgers, it would have been a hit (although I would be able to identify the locals hollering for sausage). My contribution was from a box – two packages of Suddenly Salad. Yes, they ate every last noodle. I also brought two cucumbers and two red onions, sliced quickly and thinly on my mandolin, my new favorite kitchen gadget.

Tonight I had a meeting at a popular chain family-style restaurant that I dislike immensely. After being our summer hiatus, our monthly meetings have resumed. We see each other pretty much once a month, and I’m new to the club and I have trouble remembering names. Almost everyone orders the same thing each month, though, so I remember Hamburger Girl, BBQ Quesadilla Girl, Chicken Tenders Girl, and our newest addition, Funnel Cake Fries Girl. I guess it’s not bad that I’m Veggie Burger Girl. You are what you eat, right?

I have no problem being veggie burger girl. In fact, I’ve long been seeking the perfect veggie patty recipe. I’ve had several I’ve liked, and this one from Veganomicon is a new favorite. It’s made with black beans, wheat gluten, bread crumbs (I used panko, it was all I had and it turned out fine), cilantro and dried spices, and some garlic and onion for good measure. I’m sure it’s a classic that I’m late on trying.

But the one that gets my vote for the absolute best so far is the bulgur burger I found on Epicurious. I think those win because not only do they have beans and bulgur, but they have walnuts and cilantro. My first attempt on those was crumbly but still delicious.

Not that I’m comparing. Oh, yes I am, but I still liked these so much you’ll see them twice.

I grilled these patties in foil over the weekend along with some thick slices of onion, broccoli spears, and red bell peppers. The patties were perfect with a healthy dose of my favorite condiment, smokey sweet barbecue sauce.

For dessert, a grilled peach.

Falafel Feast and Quinoa Tabouli

The other day, I was having a serious craving for tabouli. This traditionally Middle Eastern salad is something I’ve only recently come to enjoy. I think I had a bad first experience with tabouli in a Lebanese restaurant where it was nearly entirely parsley and was just too much to chew.

Falafel feast with dilly tzatziki, hummus, quinoa tabouli, whole wheat pita, and fresh sliced cucumber, carrots, and celery.

Alex and I talked about going to Myra’s for dinner to enjoy some tabouli, but after having seen several bloggers making falafel recently, I decided to try this at home and make my own feast of falafel, hummus, and tabouli.

The first thing I did was to make tzatziki, and I adapted a recipe so much that I am putting my on tzatziki recipe below. This is something I came up with on my own that was good, though. Really good. I used dill, and I’m not sure that’s entirely authentic, but that’s a whole ’nother question about whether I can make any authentic food. Let me tell you, though, I bought a big bunch of fresh dill and I loved the smell. I think I’ll have to try growing dill next year.

I’ve made falafel before, but only from a boxed mix. The reason I tried making it myself again was because I figured I could bake it instead of frying it. I’m not against fried food, but it’s too much trouble for me at home, and it’s probably best it’s a special treat for eating out.

This was my first attempt in making “real” falafel, and I used a recipe I saw recently on Vegan Epicurean. This turned out wonderfully. I used a mix of garbanzo beans and soybeans and for green herbs I used both dill and cilantro, and I did use her suggestion to include raw sesame seeds. I mixed all the ingredients in my teeny-weeny food processor and it wasn’t too terribly difficult. Alex rolled them for me. He wants to make sure he gets credit.

Vegan Tzatziki

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegan mayo, I use Vegenaise
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• dash cayenne
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method:

Place Vegenaise, garlic, lemon juice, dill, paprika, and cayenne in blender. Blend until smooth. Just before serving, mix in cucumber and parsley.

Tzatziki is usually made with yogurt, and this is one of those things that gets stronger as it ages. I made this in the morning when I realized we would be having falafel, and it was just perfect by suppertime.

I also made hummus in the food processor. Actually, I made that right before I made the falafel and I didn’t worry too much about cleaning it in between.

The final component of this feast was the tabouli. Even though I was craving tabouli and I had bulgur on hand, I decided to veer from the tradition and make mine with quinoa. I used a recipe I found online, and I used red quinoa. Even though I only used one cup of dry quinoa, this made so much tabouli that we will be eating it for days. But hey, that’s what it might take to satisfy this craving.

My biggest mixing bowl, nearly full with quinoa tabouli. I’m adding the tomato a serving at a time, though, to keep it fresh.

Even though all these components were a lot of work, the ingredients went with each other (a few lemons, a bunch of parsley, a bunch of dill, cucumbers all over the place, sesame in the falafel and tahini in the hummus, and so forth). And I’m not going to pretend that this is authentic by any means, but it’s good. Good, good food, and that is the reward for all this work.

Oh my, I feel like I’ve fallen to peer pressure. Again. Do you get cravings just by seeing what someone else is eating?

Restaurant: Myra’s Dionysus

I’ve been to Myra’s Dionysus twice recently, and so I have photos from two wonderful meals to share with you. This is one of the restaurants I went to soon after moving to Cincinnati because it comes up quickly on a Google search for vegetarian food, but it’s become a quick favorite.

Myra’s is in Clifton, near the University of Cincinnati. They’ve been celebrating their 30th anniversary for three years, 1977 – 2007. The menu has an introduction to the restaurant written by Myra herself and it highlights some of the interesting things about the place. For instance, it’s mainly Greek foods, but it’s not limited to a specific theme. And there are eight soups every day. Any many people – not just professional chefs – are trained to cook the menu items.

They have a small dining room and a small outdoor patio. When Alex and I went, we sat out back and enjoyed a leisurely dinner and a glass of wine. Yes, they serve beer and wine. And it’s just as reasonably priced as the food.

The food is inexpensive and the portions are reasonable, so you can get a soup and and a sandwich or a salad and an entree without being overloaded. On this trip, I ordered a plate that is half hummus, half tabouli, and it was delicious, served with a couple of olives, lots of fresh ripe tomatoes, and plenty of wheat pita. This crazy tablecloth may actually be an original from 1977, and that’s okay by me.

Half hummus, half tabouli, $4.00

Alex and I did share this, but I ate most of it because he got his own salad, I think. He also ordered what they call the PC burger, but I only got one blurry photo of it. That’s one of several vegetarian but not vegan choices. He’s becoming a connoisseur of veggie burgers and he really enjoyed it. I got a falafel salad, which was dressed with a lemon tahini dressing and it was absolutely delicious. It looks simple, and it is, but I’ve stopped making fried falafel at home because it’s just too much trouble to use that much oil and then clean up.

Falafel salad, $5.50

I would also like to clarify that although these look like they might be disposable plates, they’re not. No waste here.

On my next, most recent visit, we sat inside. You can see directly into the kitchen both from some of the tables and right as you enter the restaurant. Either inside or outdoors, this is one of those places that just makes me feel comfortable being there. Also note the changing list of available soups – there are also knitted hats along the entryway representing the various soups. They’re all described in the menu and the vegan ones are clearly identified.

This trip was after my delightful wheatberry salad from Third Avenue Cafe, so when I saw they were featuring a wheatberry salad with black eyed peas, I couldn’t resist. You know I love black eyed peas. This salad also includes dried cranberries, onion, garlic, mint, and the lemon tahini dressing. This was good, but the onion and garlic were rough on my breath!

Wheatberry and black eyed pea salad, $3.00

I also selected the baked tofu sandwich, which intrigued me because it was described as being marinated in kecap manis and lime, which is a sort of sweet soy sauce usually found in Indonesian food. It was a thick sauce, but the portion was perfect to flavor the tofu. Again, it looks simple, and it was, but the taste was great.

Marinated tofu sandwich, $5.50

My friends enjoyed their dishes, too, including potato soup, a cheese pita, and a gyro. One of my friends is only employed part-time and asked that we try to keep dinner cheap. Myra’s really fit the bill, but we didn’t compromise on taste at all, and we all had pages and pages of choices. I’ll have to see where we’ll go next and if it does as good a job at pleasing us all.