Wedge Salad (cuz I'm feeling uppity!)

I'm typically not an advocate of iceberg lettuce.  I think I was scarred as a child by getting giant chunks of the core in bad school lunch salad. If I am going to make a traditional salad (which is rare) I typically go for romaine or baby spinach. After all, I've always been told the darker the green, the more nutritional value. (I also grew up pronouncing crooked as crookerd, so you'd probably do well to research that before quoting me at your next dinner party.)

So I will buy and eat iceberg lettuce if it's in a wedge salad, but that is pretty much its only use in my book. In my previous life as a meat eater, wedge salad was mainly a vehicle to ingest as much blue cheese dressing and bacon as possible, typically to get my arteries ready for a giant slab of red meat. Since I've reformed and realized that we only get one body, so we best treat it right, I've tweaked the idea of a wedge salad.  End result is a healthy salad, that through the magic of greek yogurt, has enough protein to stand alone as a meal. 

Also, I use fake bacon in this recipe.  Processed food is processed food, even if it is vegetarian. I know some food purists don't go for the fake meat products, all the power to them. I try to avoid processed fake meat, but sometimes I'll eat it, in moderation. If the idea of using fake bacon makes your stomach turn, then you can skip it.  In fact, I am a giant advocate of skipping everything that makes your stomach turn.

Party Like A Pro: Watermelon Tomato Salad

Mmm hipster watermelon

And we're back. Apologies if you were disappointed with the complete lack of posts, things just got crazy busy. I continued to cook, Jordan kept snapping pictures, I just never got around to writing about it. So I've got a bunch of images and posts waiting to be written. Then I kept procrastinating because I didn't know where to start, finally found this recipe and it was the clear choice. Great story, right? Anyway, here we go, back on the horse!

I've always been intrigued by the idea of watermelon in a salad, but strangely had never had it. I was looking for a quick meal to make one Saturday afternoon and found this recipe on epicurious. I tweaked it of course,  the end result is a great summer salad that isn't potato salad. Note: I don't like potato salad, it almost always has too much mayonnaise and after the bacon incident I have absolutely no interest in eating it in the future, sorry Jordan. 

Party Like a Pro: Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This is one of those recipes that has thousands and thousands of ingredients. Ugh I know. Before you balk and click away, the payoff is that it isn't terrible for you and you don't feel like you want to die after eating it. A similar dish going by the same name at Applebees has almost 1600 calories....but I bet their recipe is much simpler. So when push comes to shove, I'll deal with a ton of ingredients if the payoff could lead to less inches around the waist.

I work in an office of fellow foodies, so potlucks occur on a monthly basis. Aside from being delicious, and relatively easy to make (yes, even with all the ingredients), it's also made in a crock-pot...which makes it a winning potluck dish. You can phone in the dipping hardware and buy some pita or tortilla chips, but I prefer crostini. Just slice your favorite type of bread, brush with olive oil and broil for a few minutes. While its still hot, rub with a little fresh garlic...delicious and more impressive than chips. 

Mashed Potatoes with "Gravy"

Ah mashed potatoes, the quintessential comfort food. A close second would be macaroni and cheese, but there are too many variations of macaroni and cheese, it can sometimes be a giant let down. Although you can do tons of things to mashed potatoes, when you see "mashed potatoes" listed on a menu or posted on a food blog, for the most part, you know what you're in for.

I've always loved mashed potatoes, but have become further enamored since becoming vegetarian. I used to mostly fill up on the sides at the holidays anyway, now I have an excuse to take a "big boy" helping of mashed potatoes. Combine this recipe with some stuffing and maybe a green bean casserole (I have a post coming soon, and it doesn't involve a can of condensed soup), I doubt you'll miss the meat. Also a note on the type of potato, I like russet potatoes even if google tells me it's not the ideal choice for making mashed potatoes.  

Guest Blog Post- Matt's Blueberry-Nectarine Buckle

You may be asking what is a buckle? Well it’s basically a cake topped with fruit. As this dessert bakes in the oven the batter buckles around the fruit (see what I did there?). Devon gets all the credit on this dish because he found this recipe and passed it along. My first attempt at making this dish I had some challenges, but I have perfected my technique, made some tweaks to the ingredients and now I have a go-to dessert that is perfect to share with you.

 

This is big hit for potlucks, parties, office gatherings…and you can use whatever fruit is in season.

Go-To Meal # 4---Eggplant "Parmesan"

So did you know that parmesan cheese is actually NOT vegetarian? Ya, turns out it isnt. So I guess this should be called Eggplant in the Parmesan Style. There are some vegetarian options out there if you want a similar type of cheese, only without the enzyme that comes from cow stomach. So consider yourself educated, parmesan cheese = not vegetarian. I nixed it in favor of nutritional yeast, which I think is a nice replacement. 

I can't post this recipe without giving a shout out to everyone's favorite female guest blogger, Celia from http://eatscreamcry.blogspot.com/. She whipped this up one weekend senior year of college while we were all living together.  Although my recipe differs from her, it would not have come to be without her divine influence! This dish is incredibly versatile, it can be made in advance and be refrigerated for a few days or frozen for a few weeks. It is also a nice dish to prepare for a friend who has too much going on in life to make dinner (new baby, sick family member etc.), just give them a jar of sauce and your favorite pound of dry pasta and it is one less thing they have to worry about for a night.

Party Like A Pro: Jalapeño Poppers

I'm of the school of thought that if you invite people over, you should feed them. Doesn't have to be a three course meal, but I think having a few light options to nosh on is polite. I'm not trying to sound pretentious, it is more an excuse for me to try out new recipes on the masses. Everyone appreciates food, especially when you cook it for them! So I bring you a new series: Party Like A Pro. Check out this tag for recipes to bring to your potluck, bookclub, or live action role playing weekend.

This recipe has been in the queue for over a year. I first tried it last year, when we invited a few friends over for a Oscars viewing party. All the other dishes were pretty big hit, but these little devils burned the crap out of everyone's mouth. The reason? Well I didn't take enough time to de-seed and devein the jalapeños, so they were super spicy. A little over a year later I decided it was retribution time, put more love and attention into removing the seeds, and not only did they come out edible, they were pretty damn delicious! Huzzah!

Not My Mom's Cheesecake

So I grew up with two parents that cooked fairly frequently. Typically my dad cooked dinner, where my mom was the baker, making a set group of dishes per holiday. Some of my mom's recipes are impossible to replicate, like her pie crust, she has made it so many times that she doesn't use a recipe anymore. She claims it's simple...well it isn't.  Although I can't replicate her pie crust, this cheesecake recipe puts hers to shame.

This recipe is not my mom's cheesecake.  It is annoyingly more complicated, but there is a giant payoff. The foundation comes from Williams-Sonoma, but I decided that truck-loads of saturated fat and early onset diabetes were not really worth it, so we switched some things up.  I played around a bit, used reduced fat cream cheese, cut the amount of sugar, and swapped out the sour cream with greek yogurt.  While I still hesitate to call this "healthy", it sure is healthier than it was before.  Eat in moderation.

Go-To Meal #3--- Penne with Tomatoes, Arugula and Goat Cheese

Ah California, let me count the ways I love you. Number one has to be the sheer number of farmers' markets scattered throughout LA. Pick a day and chances are there is a farmers' market close by that you can go explore. We have a great farmers' market close by in Encino every Sunday morning, one on the way home from work on Wednesdays, and one right next to work Friday afternoons. Last week another one started up on Saturday mornings...walking distance from the condo. Dangerous. I don't want to lecture you on buying local, but aside from helping save the planet, it is also cheaper. Also every farmers' market has a unicorn that grants wishes.

A few words on goat cheese. Delicious? Yes. Does it kind of gross me out when I think of where it comes from? Yes. Why?  Probably because one of my neighbors growing up had goats that started bleating at 5AM.  Perhaps it's because bleating goats sound strangely similar to crying babies. It also could have something to do with having their rectangular pupils staring at me while I waited for the bus every morning...surely I don't know, I'm just guessing.  What I do know is that I can't think about where the cheese comes from when I eat it. I try to focus on the deliciousness instead. There is a great goat cheese seller at our farmers' market, and it is unbelievably fresh...something like the goats are milked on Monday and made into cheese to be sold on Saturday.  You can literally taste the crying babies..it's that fresh.

So when it comes to delicious, easy, and cheap...this recipe takes the proverbial cake. The majority of the ingredients can be picked up at a the farmers market, it takes about 15 minutes to make, and is great hot or cold!

Black Out Chili

This is black out in the literal sense, as in we lost all our power while I was making it (Not like blacked out like a college student). This was a couple of weeks ago, we had a giant rain storm with some pretty strong wind. Not sure what exactly happened, but we lost power around 7:30PM. Luckily we have a gas stove so I was able to finish everything up. We carefully staged the opening of the refrigerator to get all the necessary toppings and drinks as to not let out all the cold air. I'm sure we looked like idiots. Also, its a miracle I got a picture of the food.


Oh and don't get nervous about the bulgur wheat, it absorbs water as it cooks and will add a different texture than the vegetables.  Just as important to the chili, is what you serve on the side to top it. I'd go with a grated sharp cheddar cheese, fresh avocado, greek yogurt, crumbled taco chips, wedge of lime, and freshly chopped cilantro.

Meet Celia, Our Newest Guest Blogger!

Hi! I'm Celia! I've known Devon since freshman year of college. By senior year, my husband, then boyfriend, liked to refer to him as our first born. Some of you may know me from http://eatscreamcry.blogspot.com/. I like to think I assisted, just a little, in Devon's decision to go vegetarian after his visit to the East Coast last summer. I decided to go Vegan last April. After years of unexplained stomach issues, bloating and swollen intestines, endless tests were run, with no solution. I was told to cut out dairy and gluten. Both helped, but not all my symptoms disappeared. So I went in search of my own solution.

I decided I needed to change the way I ate, after all we are what we eat. This was a huge undertaking considering there was always some form of meat in every meal I ate. Protein is important, and at the time I wasn't sure where else to get it. After several books and endless websites, I made the switch. At the time, and still currently, we were going through IVF with one failed attempt after being 9 weeks along.  For me, being vegan has more to do with being healthy than saving the planet, although that's a definite perk. I dropped 30lbs when I went vegan, amped up my energy level and am now working out at least 3-5 times a week. It has become my way of life. Although I will admit, on occasion I have given into the beckoning of goat cheese, cause let's face it, how can you live without goat cheese?

Go-to meal #2---Chickpea Chickn'

So this isn't chicken. It doesn't look like chicken and it certainly doesn't taste like chicken.  However there really isn't anything else to call it, so I call it chickn'. I could call it a chickpea cashew patty but that sounds strange, even if it is exactly that. So this recipe may seem a little involved, but it yields a decent amount of protein patties...and it's so easy to double it is kind of a crime if you don't. I have an 11 cup food processor, so it doesn't have quite enough room to double it at once...but since the food processor is already dirty, I just do a quick second batch. If you do this on a lazy sunday afternoon you'll have enough to feed four people for four nights! It freezes perfectly and defrosts in only about 1 hour.  

Also I forgot to mention that it is kind of amazing for you? Chick-peas are high in zinc, folic acid, protein and fiber.  Its also got the nutritional yeast going on and the miso. Cashews, like all nuts are high in fat, but it's unsaturated fat. You also eat less than a handful of nuts per patty!


The other great thing about this chickn' is that you can use it in so many ways. I have a good shot that Jordan took of a chickn' parmesan I made the other night, so I had to include it. I've also used it as a chickn' picatta style dish, and yes I used capers...I've also come around to liking those. Anyway it's a go-to.

Dueling Blog Posts!!! Whole Wheat Shells with Cashew Cheese

So I'm competitive by nature.  It is just in me.  In talking with Matt about being a guest blogger, I got the idea to post a rebuttal to his guest post.  Since we are on separate coasts, we can't actually taste each other's dishes to figure out which we prefer...so this is more just for fun, and to give you all another take on a dish.  This will hopefully be a recurring feature, but it won't be for every one of his posts and he won't always know its happening.  Sometimes I like to scheme.

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Ha.  Cashew Cheese. Weird. Who the hell thinks of these things? Turns out, vegans. So Matt, the kid who doesn't like cheese, was making macaroni and cheese for our dueling blog post. The natural thing, being the kid from Granville, (famous for cheese, no seriously) was to make something vegan.

This recipe appears unapproachable. It's something completely new and alien, includes techniques that I've never seen done before, and I have never tasted the end result. It has tons of steps, strange ingredients that are probably expensive, and seems to be really trying to impersonate something non-vegan. I made one other recipe like this since I converted to vegetarianism, a vegan lasagna, and to my utter shock, it turned out awesome.  The shells and cheese that I made weren't macaroni and cheese, it just had similar qualities and looked like macaroni and cheese. It tasted as good as macaroni and cheese, but entirely different.


A word on agar.  See comment above re: strange and expensive.  Agar is seaweed, but acts as a thickening agent when boiled.  Its expensive, but it has a great recipe suggestion on the back for meat jelly!  Delish!  One ounce set me back $8 from whole foods, but good cheese is as expensive, right?  So that's how I justified it.  I found the incredibly small packet with the asian noodles and seaweed in Whole Foods' Asian section.  

Guest Blog Post- Matt's Shells and Cheese

                                                                                                  About our guest blogger!

My name is Matt Jones and I have known Devon for about 10 years, although we've only cooked with each other a handful of times!  My love for cooking started when I was really young, as my dad is a Chef.  I really enjoy making good, but healthy, comfort food.  I hope you enjoy my dishes.

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So I pretty much like all types of food, but there are exceptions,one of those being cheese. When I share this with friends they look at me like I am from another planet and say “HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE CHEESE?!?!?!” I go on to say that it’s complicated because I like certain cheeses, but not on pizza and in certain dishes.

Spicy Tempeh Noodles

Tempeh. It's one of those foods that I think I know how to pronounce, until I get to the counter to order it and I second guess myself and sound like an idiot. Its not an approachable name (something that is a recurring problem in my vegetarian vernacular). Seitan: pronounced say-tan. Fage Yogurt: pronounced fa-yeh (according to the canister). Tempeh is pronounced tem-pay. So there ya have it. Tempeh is a go to for many a vegetarian, but I think more meat eaters should try it out...it's pretty good.


You texture people are either going to hate it or love it. Personally texture is important to me, hence my disdain for tofu. Tempeh tastes good, but to be honest, not great. However, considering it's a protein source that is good for you, cheaper than meat, and takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with, I'd call it overall pretty great. Jordan isn't a giant fan, but doesn't actively dislike it, which I'll take as a green light to cook as often as I want.

Saturday Morning Granola

I write this post cautiously, as I realize the reputation granola has in the world. I also realize that it's already stereotypical for me to move to California and become vegetarian, let alone a vegetarian who makes his own granola. Listen, granola is awesome. This recipe I'm about to share with you is one of the best discoveries I've made in a while, seriously. Unlike Ina Garten's recipe which calls for 3/4 cups of oil, mine calls for none. So I am completely justified in adding chocolate chips to mine.


Why do I really like this granola? Because it has two secret ingredients that are kind of amazing for you. The first is agave nectar, which is a natural sweetener. Most recipes call for brown sugar or maple syrup, which although cheaper, are going to spike your blood sugar more than the agave nectar. The second ingredient is ground flax seeds. Flax seed is just amazing stuff. To make it I bought a bunch of flax seeds and pulsed in the food processor for about 10 minutes.

Panzanella

Panzanella. Pannnnzzzzanelllllllaaaaaaaaa. Salad, but take out the lettuce and multiply the croutons. I've always liked the idea of a panzanella, and figured it would make a good picnic item. So since there are a lot of things to do in LA where you can bring a picnic, its something I make fairly frequently. The one I'm posting is a new creation, although after doing some googling, it appears might be somewhat a traditional panzanella. I have no idea, I am in no way italian. If you are, leave a comment and let me know how wrong I am.

Anyway, this came from taking a caprese salad and putting it into a panzanella. I made something with just the vinaigrette, mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, but it was missing something. So in reworking it, I decided to add the red onion and the olives, I think it was the salt from the olives that was missing the first time. 

Go-to meal #1---Black Bean Tacos with Homemade Guacamole

So the only way I can conceivably cook healthy meals 4-5 times a week is by having a couple go-to meals that I rotate in and out of my weekly menu. They are all favorites of the crew, affordable, and healthy.

Go-to meal #1 is Black Bean Tacos with Homemade Guacamole and is a permanent menu item, and is usually served on Mondays. The first day back to work after the weekend can be such a downer, the last thing I want to do is come home and cook something complicated...if it fails it just seems more devastating than any other day of the week. I like this recipe because its impossible to mess up, its cheap, and insanely affordable. It also gives me the excuse to make guacamole once a week, and I can't help but think about how great it is to live in Southern California. If you aren't as lucky you can omit, or just buy one avocado and mash it up with some lime!

Cookie Cake Pie!

Ah the mythical Cookie Cake Pie.  I first spotted this on thisiswhyyourfat.com (which it seems has been shut down or something).  When I first stumbled upon the Cookie Cake Pie I sent a link to Jordan, who immediately recognized the importance of trying this first hand.  Combining two awesome things together always has positive results.  Ligers anyone? Imagine combining THREE awesome things together...the possibilities!

Sadly, some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth.  Finally the myth of the cookie cake pie passed from our memories.

Until the most unlikely of things happened.  Jordan decided to go to work on his birthday, leaving me to scheme in the kitchen!  I worked diligently to make the cookie cake pie made, which unfortunately is rather complicated.  No-brainer really, you have to make a pie, a cake, and cookies.

Brunchy goodness- Spicy artichokes and baked eggs

Who doesn't love brunch? (Since its a brunch post I think that gives me artistic license to ask asinine rhetorical questions like Ina Garten)  I like brunch, but the good brunch places in LA always have incredibly long waits.  Although they arguably serve delicious food, very few are worth the wait when combined with the price you pay.

We had a hung jury on this dish, but I really liked it.  Turns out Jordan isn't a giant fan of artichokes, which is really unfortunate...for him.  Luckily, there are plenty of other things in this dish that still make it worth while.  If you or someone you might be cooking for aren't giant fans of artichokes, you could easily swap it out for almost any vegetable, they aren't necessary but they do make the dish tasty.

I would recommend making the dish the day or night before, just stop where you add the eggs and bake.  You can either throw the artichoke mixture into a skillet to reheat or toss it into the oven for about 10 minutes to get it warmed up before adding the eggs.  This way the eggs will cook evenly and not be done before the dish has a chance to warm up!