Category: Vegetarian or nearly

April 24, 2007

The warm weather and impending garden are inspiring so many culinary thoughts these days; when the plants wake up it seems crazy not to have every meal centered around them, with meat or fish as a garnish, or a rich side dish. So tonight, on the eve of the garden fence going in (and thus despite the lack of any actual vegetables) wild Alaskan salmon was an appetizer to a very simple plate of rice,…

March 27, 2007

The rare and wonderful presence of galangal in the fridge governed the direction for dinner tonight; absent kaffir lime leaves, or even non-slimy cilantro, (shudder) this magical rhizome pulled the whole meal into Southeast Asian territory all by itself. The chicken carcass simmered with its gravy plus more water, ginger, galangal, and garlic. Minus the bones, and plus coconut milk and lime juice, it turned into a pretty good tom kha gai. (The preserved lemons…

March 20, 2007

I usually try to have the meal come logically from what needs to be eaten, whether leftovers or a veggie that’s getting tired. Tonight the cauliflower Christine steamed for Milo was the jumping-off point. Puréed and mixed with a drop of truffle oil, ume shu, soy milk, salt, and dissolved agar, then chilled, it became a sort of vegan panna cotta. Acorn squash, sweet potato, and carrot curry with coconut milk went around them for…

March 9, 2007

Finally available up here; I’ve been craving them since it’s that time of year and the white beans we’ve been eating call out for them. So I bought four, and one got chopped up and added to the soaked beans along with onion, garlic, a bit of turkey bacon, herbs, and white wine, and simmered for two hours until the aromatics had disintegrated and the beans were tender. Meanwhile the other three artichokes got the…

March 3, 2007

But with a Peruvian slant- stuffed with leftover blue potatoes and quinoa, plus grated cheese, cumin, and a bit of cayenne. On the side, a mango/avo/red onion salsa, and plantains fried in a little olive oil. I broiled the peppers for a couple of minutes first to get the skins off, than baked them for a few more to heat the filling through. Along with a nice cold beer, the winter mess outside receded pretty…

February 20, 2007

Purée #1: kidney beans, canned tomatoes, kale pesto, collards from a few nights back, coconut milk, and some extra spices to round it out. Purée #2: burdock, carrots, and ginger cooked until soft in a bit of water with ume vinegar and two dried mushrooms. Last, basil tofu with a thick nam pla/rice vinegar/ponzu sauce and lots of basil and scallions. All of this went on my patented fake enjera, made this time with whole…

January 30, 2007

First, a pot of brown rice (with plenty extra for leftovers.) Then, dal of red lentils with fenugreek, coriander, cumin, and mustard seeds. Last, a tomato-based curry of tofu, carrots, onions, the last of some sheep yogurt, and various powders and pastes. The dal is really worth te few extra minutes; dried lentils keep forever and it adds so much to the plate to have a rich, creamy counterpart to the much sharper curry. Perfect…