The Times Are A Changing...

With a new diet, comes a new blog. Due to format and content, I am changing blog names and sites. Please come and join me on Wordpress: http://vegetariansalmon.wordpress.com

Change can be scary, but it is also promise. All the old recipes are on the new site, but better recipes will live there as well.

Tempeh Revisited

What to do with your leftover tempeh?? This sandwich is super yummy. The tempeh is crispy, almost the texture of bacon. Actually, I have to say that a crisp tempeh is better than bacon, and is amazing in sandwiches. I promise for the skeptics, this is REALLY good. I ate it even in the dark years when I ate meat. It's not a substitute, but a food. I hate the concept of substitute, it connotes that vegetarians are lacking and always seeking meat. We aren't. Instead, we are looking for meals. Tempeh is an alternative, something that unadventurous eaters ignore, and the rest of us enjoy.


Tempeh Sandwich

*This recipe makes about 6 pita halves, which you can serve for a crowd with chips or salads.


Ingredients:

• Half of a tempeh loaf
• 2 tb of olive oil
• 2 tb of soy sauce
• 3 Pita pockets (or 6 pieces of thicker whole grain bread)
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 2 tb mayo or yogurt
• 2 tb feta
• roasted red pepper
• mixed greens

Directions:

1. Slice the short side of the tempeh loaf very thinly, about 1/2 inch
2. Warm olive oil a saucepan over medium high heat
3. Meanwhile, pour the soy sauce over the tempeh.
4. When the oil shimmers, lay the pieces of tempeh flat in your pan. Let it simmer in the pan, and gently brown each side. The tempeh should be a crispy brown, but not a burned black (about 2 minutes on each side)
5. Half three pita pockets, making six halves.
6. Stir together the garlic and mayo/yogurt, then put on the inside of the pita
7. Add feta, then lettuce, next red pepper, followed by the tempeh. 

I served them the sandwich homemade potato chips here.

The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook

My brother's wife, JR,  is an extremely generous and thoughtful gift-giver. When she comes across something that reminds her of someone, or hears about something that might help, she is sure to pass it on to people in my family. She has a very big heart- I wish I could be half as thoughtful as she is. Her own family members have similar interests in books, cooking, and running, so my sister-in-law is often the informational bridge between us. When I became pregnant last year, JR followed this path and gave me a copy of The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook, which her own vegetarian sister uses. It is an impressive collection of recipes and information on how to keep up on protein. Now, as reader's of this blog know, the whole not-eating meat during pregnancy thing didn't work for me. Vegetables made me really sick, and the only thing that would stop the naseua was chicken. My theory, supported by my OB/GYN, is that I had stocked up so many veggie nutrients, that my body craved protein. However, soy, beans, and leafy veggies made me just sick. So, I didn't manage to use many of the recipes then.

Now, I am back on track and kind of grossed out by my pregnancy indulgences. So, I am revisiting some of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks. I love the Moosewood collection, which  will have to be another post, but I sometimes get bored with the collection because I don't think my tastebuds always jive with the authors. What I prefer about The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook is that the book is gives very accessible recipes to meals that I was always afraid to cook, such as dahl or veggie burgers. The author also gives variations and alternatives, which reveals an understanding of preferences and varied diets. Additionally, there are some classic meals, like Tortilla Soup, included, and this is the first book where I agree with how she constructed the classics. I can't wait to try them. There are some meals that are overly simple, such as the English Muffin melt, but they are good reminders of how simple foods can even help you maintain a balanced diet. I can also see giving lots of these recipes to children, which means I will be able to give Serafina this diet as well.

So, JR thanks for an amazing gift that keeps giving. I am super excited about cooking vegetarian for our family, perhaps when you come home next, I can make you a special meal!

Trying out Tempeh

I tend to get nervous about adventurous ingredients, mostly because I hate disappointing myself and AAM. Because we eat dinner together nightly, I have to consider his likes (most of my cooking) and dislikes (tofu, mushrooms, and dried fruits). I enjoy my time with him, and love our meals together. In fact, we are so similar that our friend groups basically merged into one happy family. This means that we spend lots of quality time together, and his time on paternity leave round two is no different. Someone close to me once said that she really enjoyed the quiet nights that her family and her husband were out, and I just couldn't understand it. One of the reasons I married AAM is that he is literally the only person I know who doesn't drive me crazy, I actually enjoy when we are 'stuck' together-- we laugh longer and harder. However, because of Serafina, we take shifts to go out with our friends. Tonight, he went out, so I realized it was an opportune moment to cook with tempeh. He saw me preparing dinner and said "Smells great, I am out!"

I first had tempeh in a sandwich at Busboys and Poets, my favorite place in the DC area to grab a sandwich and write a paper. I go so often I know the staff in the Arlington restaurant. They have a superb tempeh sandwich with veganaise, sprouts, roasted red peppers, and onions. I swap the sprouts for spinach, and it is the perfect sandwich.  For those who might be unfamiliar with it, tempeh is fermented soy and whole grains, which is served in a flat cake form. Originally from Indonesia, it is a wonderful food that is packed with protein and nutrients. It can also be sliced, fried or sauteed and can mimic a bacon texture. I hate saying meat substitute, so I would call it a meal substitute. It doesn't try to mimic meat, but replaces a meal you used to eat with meat. I can't make tempeh as delicious as Busboys, but I can try. Tonight I marinated it in BBQ sauce* for a salad, and I will slice it and saute it tomorrow for a Pita sandwich served with lettuce, mayonaise, cucumbers, and sauted onions and peppers.


*People sometimes give us wonderful foodstuffs like specialized BBQ sauce, sometimes I am not sure what to do with meat marinades, but tempeh and firm tofu are the perfect foods to try these sauces.

BBQ Tempeh Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 package of whole grain tempeh
• 1 cup of BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup of corn
• 1/2 cup of sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup of pinto beans
• 1/4 cup of chopped or shredded cheddar
• 2 tb pumpkin seeds
• 2 cups of mixed greens
• 1 tb honey
• 1 tb dijon mustard
• 1 lemon juiced
• Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Marinade the tempeh for an hour in your favorite BBQ sauce
2. Set the oven to 375, and bake the tempeh for 20 minutes
3. Meanwhile, mix the corn, carrots, pinto beans, cheddar and pumpkin seeds
4. Pour the corn bean mixture over your salad greens
5. Slice the tempeh and place on top
6. In a small bowl, whisk honey, mustard, lemon juice and salt/pepper. Pour over salad. 

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Assembling a great meal.....

while cleaning out the kitchen.

As previously mentioned, the past few weeks we have been cleaning out our freezer/ fridge/ pantry/ and porch-farm in an effort to save money, get creative, and clear out food before we leave for the beach. Here is tonight's creation. By the way, please excuse the bad lighting, we are redoing our kitchen lighting, and right now we have one light bulb.....the joys of home ownership.

Fisherman's Wharf Rub: My fantastic mother-in-law buys this for us at a store in Maine. It is essentially oregano, lemon, parsley, garlic, and salt. It is the perfect rub for fish.

+ Frozen Easy Peel Shrimp: We buy this when it is BOGO at Harris Teeter. It is good for making meals in a jam.

+ Tomatoes/Basil: from our porch farm, sprinkle a little salt, perfection.

+ Brown Rice Pilaf= Voila! Assembled.

The "Great's" Pasta Sauce

Today was my grandmother's birthday, who along with my grandfather, my niece called "The Great." Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to her grave in Richmond to celebrate her life with my family, but she hasn't left my mind all day. My little Serafina and I looked at pictures of her at our wedding, and we chatted about her namesake.

Tonight, because I am still in the middle of Mission-Clean-Out-Kitchen, I didn't have the ingredients to make any of her classic dishes. So, I offer you a very simple pasta sauce recipe. We don't do jarred sauce in our house, it is a ridiculous expense that never tastes good. I remember being shocked at my roommates eating Prego/Ragu in college, it is so disgusting and just lazy. Making your Italian sauce makes the house smell wonderful and the food taste good. Just make a batch on Sunday, and freeze what you don't eat in small containers. In making sauce, my grandmother didn't believe in piling on vegetables and fancy spices into your pasta sauce. She felt strongly that if you buy the right ingredients and let it simmer long enough, you should have a rich sauce that won't overpower your foods. So, buy good tomatoes, olive oil, and pasta, take your time in cooking, and you should have an excellent sauce.

The "Great's" Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tbn of olive oil.
• 2 Cans of Progresso Whole Peeled Tomatoes (Muir Glen is acceptable in a pinch, but nothing else)
• 1 can of Progresso or Muir Glen tomato paste

 Directions:

1. Saute the garlic in a large saucepan. Do NOT burn, it ruins the sauce.  
2. Add in the whole peeled tomatoes, and hand squeeze the juices out slowly. You want the whole tomatoes for the chunkiness, but the best juices are inside. 
3. Add the tomato paste, allow the sauce to briefly boil
4. Salt and Pepper to taste
5. Let simmer for two hours on the stove at low heat.

Serve with DeCecco Penne and Pecorino Romano cheese.....and you will be having the typical Sunday dinner at our house.

Tortellini Soup with Wilted Greens and Veggies.

Another night of working through the pantry, freezer, and fridge created this delicious and hearty soup. I almost added cannellini beans, but I worried about the texture. If you wanted beans, replace the tortellini with orzo or risso.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbn of olive oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 2 cups of finely sliced baby carrots
• 1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes
• 2 boxes of Vegetable broth (low sodium)
• 4 cups of water
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 cups of mixed lettuce (spinach and arugula)
• 2 cups of chopped zucchini
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbn dried parsley 
• 1 tbn dried basil
• 2 packages of cheese tortellini. 
• Salt/Pepper/Pecorino cheese to taste

Directions:

1. Saute the onion, garlic, red pepper, and carrots in olive oil for five minutes or until the onion is shimmering.
2. Add in the roasted tomatoes, simmer for one more minute.
3. Pour in veggie broth and water, followed by bay leaf, lettuce, zucchini, oregano, and parsley.
4. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add in tortellini, let cook until the tortellini float, about 3-5 minutes.
6. Serve with sprinkled cheese, fresh bread, and fresh ground pepper.

Farmed vs. Wild vs. Vegetarian

I had a really interesting conversation with a close vegetarian friend last night about how I deal with an internal battle with the eating of fish. He was remarkably open to the ideas I had about farmed vs. wild and eating humanely, and seemed to understand where I am struggling. I really enjoy supportive conversations like the one we had. True vegetarians tend to get defensive around pescetarians. However, I look at all of us as existing on a sliding scale in the efforts to reduce environmental impact and stop cruelty. The reality is that I eat fish at most once a week, and the vast majority of the world consumes pounds and pounds of meat and fish. It is not a race to be the most perfect consumer, and I appreciate camaraderie along the way.

The ideas from the last book that I read, The Face on Your Plate, has me thinking more and more about what I eat and where it is coming from. It emphasized the negatives of farmed fish, especially the antibiotics dumped into the water, fish cages, sea lice, pollution, brutal deaths, and the poor quality of the fish. In contrast wild salmon are fished in a remarkably different way. Using the life pattern of salmon, who are born in a stream then leave their home only to return to lay eggs and die, wild fisheries strategically lay the eggs and wait for the salmon to return. In this regard, the salmon live a long life and are fished when they are going to die. For some reason, this sits with me much better then fish farming. However, the more I think about, the more likely I am to transition out of eating fish. For now, I will stick to the wild salmon, but start to build up an arsenal of vegetarian recipes to ease my transition.

Switching back to a full-time vegetarian opens a floodgate of issues. Am I prepared to work really hard to keep my protein and iron up, as anemia has plagued me my entire life? How do I consider AAM'S feelings when I change the household (he is flexible- but this does affect him)? Do I raise Serafina vegetarian? Am I ready for the backlash on the decision to have no fish in the house? Do I change my blog: the name and the content? I also worry about how my diet, and raising my daughter vegetarian, might negatively affect my relationships with family and friends. These may seem to be trivial considerations, but they become very real matters.  I hate being a dietary pain, and I particularly don't like having to answer to everyone about my dietary choices. I am trying to vote with my plate, but not make a dictatorship out of eating. For now, I will eat wild salmon, and give myself time to decide.


For those who were raised vegetarian or are raising your child vegetarian, do you have anything you would like to share about your experience? Please comment below if you have ideas.

Click here for an article on the farmed v. wild salmon debate

Lunch. Yum Yum

We are still in the process of emptying our fridge and saving money. This Greek influenced sandwich is not a novel invention, but a really good reminder of how yummy being a vegetarian can be.... No PB&J for me!

Whole Wheat Pita (warmed), Mixed Greens, Cucumbers, Chopped Olives, Hummus, Sprinkled with Feta

Healthy, Filling, and Perfectly Yummy.

Easy Pizza

At some later point, I will post a more challenging recipe for handmade pizza dough/sauce/and good toppings. I save that recipe for days where I have ample time to make the dough and let it rise on its own. However, today was not one of those days.

Today, we embraced the second half of AAM's paternity leave and went downtown. The three of us walked from the White House to Chinatown, hitting my old workplace, the National Museum of American History, and the National Gallery on the way.

Observing art at the National Gallery

Resisting the incredibly strong urge to stop for dinner, we commuted home HOV3, which was fantastic by the way. Once home, I realized that the homemade meal I planned did not work, so we went to our fridge staples. Without fail, we always have Boboli whole wheat pizza crust and frozen homemade pizza sauce in the freezer (Simply 4 cloves of garlic simmered, 1 can of crushed tomatoes, and 1 can of tomato paste and let simmer for an hour). I pulled some veggies from the fridge drawer and sauteed them. Sprinkle mozzarella on top, and voila.

The point is that there is time to do things from scratch and there are times to enjoy life's conveniences, without going to ordering junk food. No need for the cardboard pre-made pizzas and this was faster then ordering delivery, and so much better. Before the summer is over, I'll make and post my homemade pizza, but for now we are enjoying the paternity leave!