More than Mushrooms: Eating Vegetarian - A Community Blog

Eating vegetarian with arugula

2013-05-31T12:39:26Z

Photo by Becky Cecala

Vegetable soup with arugula

As I mentioned, I’m getting a lot of delicious greens from my CSA share. I had a bag of arugula that was just starting to get a bit old but didn’t think I’d use it up in time in salads. Arugula has an earthy, spicy taste. As I munched a couple of leaves and considered what to do with it, it occurred to me that arugula might serve the same role as spinach in a soup. What follows is my first attempt at incorporating arugula into a pretty standard veggie soup that I make – in my opinion it was a success!

Bring 3 cups of water and one vegetable bouillon cube to a simmer. Add one large russet potato, cubed. Sprinkle in 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, of black pepper, and of curry spice. If you like Italian spices such as oregano or basil, those will work well with this soup as well.

Chop half an onion and add that to the soup, as well as your favorite frozen or fresh vegetables. We haven’t gotten any fresh corn or peas yet, so I added about 1 cup of a frozen mixture of both. Then add three, chopped, medium-sized carrots. Next, stir in ½-1 cup of your favorite pasta/tomato sauce. The sweeter the sauce is the better, because the tangy taste of the arugula can be balanced by the sauce.

Lastly, process 1 bag (about 3 cups) of arugula and add it to simmer in the soup. I processed it, but you could certainly just give it a rough chop if you enjoy larger pieces of veggies in your soup. I simmered the soup for about 30 minutes (from start to finish) because I wanted to give the arugula some time to get soft and a little less potent. I like my potatoes a bit mushy, so if you'd prefer them to be firmer you can just add them to the soup last.

I didn’t add cream this time, but I suspect that if you made this soup creamy it would taste just as good. The arugula did a nice job of standing in for spinach, and now that I’m getting spinach from the CSA as well, I may use it next time. Enjoy!

Eating vegetarian with Chinese cabbage

2013-05-24T16:09:53Z

Well, our CSA pick-ups have begun for the season! Our first pick-up this week is a gorgeous assortment of greens. So many greens, in fact, that we're going to have to be creative in order to use them all up in time.

So, I'm turning to one of my favorite types of food as a solution: soups. Although the 80-degree weather earlier this week was certainly not the kind to inspire dinners of hot soup, I do love soups and decided to give our Chinese cabbage a try in a creamy dill potato soup. My mother's side of the family uses a lot of dill in soups and salads, and I associate the taste with summer. This soup is a great way to use up some old potatoes, carrots, or cabbage.

I used one whole head of Chinese cabbage for the soup, so if you want to use less then I'd recommend adding more of some of the other ingredients, such as potatoes or carrots.

How to make it:

First I shredded the entire head of cabbage (breaking the leaves up into smaller chunks first) in my food processor. You could pick any kind of texture you like - I chose a pretty fine consistency because I wanted a thick soup. Then I processed three whole carrots that I had also first cut up into chunks.

I put the processed veggies into a 5-quart pan with one vegetable bouillon cube and about 3-4 cups of water on medium heat. You could use a 3-quart pan instead, but I wanted some extra room for stirring. While that was heating up I cut up three baking potatoes into 1-inch chunks and added them to the pot. Lastly, I added 1 cup of edamame for protein.

For spice, I added a handful of chopped fresh dill, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (you could certainly add more if you like more heat), and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Turmeric is a spice that's gotten a lot of good press lately for its health benefits, and I like the complex spiciness it adds to soups. I think a small pinch of it would also add nice flavor to this soup as long as you don't add enough to overpower the dill.

I simmered everything together for about 30 minutes and then added about 1/4 cup of half-and-half and a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch (dissolve in water first and then pour in slowly and stir). I think the soup would taste quite good without these last two ingredients, but I have a fondness for creamy soups and my husband likes his soup to be thick.

Voila! One head of cabbage down, three heads of lettuce and one bunch of kale to go. I have a feeling my next post will again be about kale.

Happy eating!

Eating vegetarian with kale!

2013-05-06T23:04:43Z

Photo by Dwight Sipler (under Creative Commons license)

As a member of a local CSA (Prescott's Patch), I decided to try some new recipes to get ready for the summer onslaught of kale! Kale is quite nutritious and holds up to a lot of different kinds of cooking. Even though I do enjoy it baked in the oven as kale chips, I have to admit that I don't enjoy it quite enough to cook and eat as a sidedish every night. So, I've been experimenting with ways to incorporate kale into foods that I already love.

Lately I've been making a kind of thick kale spaghetti sauce with tofu that's been a yummy addition to pasta or rice. I wash and break up kale leaves into pieces and then put them in the food processor with two cloves of garlic and some olive oil to make a kind of kale pesto.

Then I simmer the pesto mixture in whatever store-bought pasta sauce we have handy, and add a pinch of cayenne pepper and curry powder. I let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, then remove it from the heat and let slices of regular firm tofu marinate in it for another 5-10 minutes.

I've served the tofu and sauce over both pasta and rice, and both have been tasty. This can make a fairly hearty dinner, particularly with some crusty bread or a salad on the side. What's nice is that you can prepare a whole pot of the kale-pesto and tomato sauce mixture at the beginning of the week and then take some out of the fridge to use on pasta or rice whenever you need a quick lunch or dinner.

I'll continue to post recipe ideas for kale and other kinds of veggies as they come into season. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather and the garden bounty on the way!

Eating Vegetarian at the City Tavern!

2012-11-25T15:53:06Z

The City Tavern in Philadelphia dates from 1773, and is famous for serving such famous Americans as John Adams and George Washington, as well as hosting the members of the First Continental Congress in 1774. The menus consist of dishes that would have been prepared and eaten by Americans in the 18th century. The Tavern has won a host of awards over the years, both for its food and its preservation of history.

Eating at the Tavern is great fun. The dining areas make you feel like you've stepped back into colonial times, the waitstaff and hostess wear period dress, and the water is served in large pewter flasks. I love the ambience that history gives, but I also love the food. As a vegetarian it's often difficult to find something to eat at a restaurant that specializes in traditional recipes. Not so at the Tavern! Benjamin Franklin himself sent the Tavern's recipe for fried tofu back to Philadelphia while he was abroad, and it is delicious. Substantial slabs of tofu come fried in a light and herby crusty breading, served on top of linguine with veggies (such as zucchini) in what tastes like a light white wine sauce. Food is served with a delicious selection of breads, which this week included some spicy raisin biscuits.

It is true that unless you're a fish-eating vegetarian the only other choices on the menu are soups and salads. However, I enjoyed the atmosphere, the history, and the tofu enough to highly recommend eating at the City Tavern at least once. During the holiday season they have a series of festive and traditional warm drinks with spirits, as well as Christmas and New Year's Eve feasts. It was a delight for me to discover that some of the Founding Fathers appreciated a good fried tofu. Definitely worth the trip!

Eating Vegetarian at Sorrento's

2012-11-04T22:42:05Z

Last night I enjoyed a lovely plate of butternut squash ravioli at Piazza Sorrento in Hershey. Butternut squash ravioli is one of my all-time favorite dishes, so I was happy to see it on the menu. :) Piazza Sorrento serves theirs in a brown butter and sage sauce, which was flavorful and not too heavy. Pasta dinners come with soup or salad, and tasty dinner rolls are served with olive oil and pepper for dipping.

This is the best Italian restaurant that I've been to so far in this area. The pasta is handmade and so are the majority of the desserts. We had the pumpkin cheesecake last night, which had a creamy texture, good spice, and was not too sweet. The graham cracker crust was substantial and tasty. There were at least 10 choices on the dessert tray, and they all looked delicious.

Piazza Sorrento also has a gluten-free menu; certainly impressive for an Italian restaurant.

The prices are reasonable for a pleasant sit-down dinner, and the beer and drink selection from the bar is good. For a pleasant dinner with really good Italian food and a nice atmosphere, this is a good place to try.

Eating vegetarian - with lentils!

2012-10-19T18:48:48Z

Sorry I've been gone for so long - school got in the way of blogging for a while, but not of eating vegetarian!

I love making something warm and hearty for dinner once it begins to get cooler in the autumn, and I'd been meaning to try some new lentil loaf recipes for ages. The one I found here is really quick to make, moist, and delicious. And also, it's vegan!

Moistened flaxseed meal, instead of eggs, is used to hold the loaf together. I haven't kept flaxseed meal in my fridge as a rule, but it's come it quite handy for more occasions than this recipe. It's also an excellent way to thicken and nutritionally enhance a bowl of oatmeal, for example. I purchased Bob's Red Mill flaxseed meal at Giant.

The recipe calls for ketchup as a topping, but an alternative is some heated pasta sauce, which is quite tasty. Another addition I've made is about 1-2 T of grated parmesan cheese, mixed in before baking.

Happy Autumn!

Eating vegetarian at Bube's Brewery

2012-08-18T21:16:30Z

If you’ve never been to Bube’s Brewery in Mt. Joy, it’s brightly painted exterior makes it easy to find. Normally I don’t enjoy dining at either bars or at restaurants that specialize in beer. My vegetarian dining choices at those places tend to include things like French fries, potato skins, or mozzarella sticks. This is thankfully not the case at Bube’s. I’ve eaten there many times now and am really positively impressed.

Bube’s includes four dining spaces: the Catacombs, Alois, Bottling Works, and the Biergarten. I’ve only eaten in Bottling Works and the Biergarten, which share the same menu. There are several options for vegetarians (not surprisingly, fewer for vegans), but I have ordered the Santa Fe burger every time. It’s a scratch-made black bean burger that has actual southwest spice to it, holds together better than most vegetarian patties and also is not so thick that it’s impossible to eat as a sandwich. It comes with cheddar cheese and guacamole on top, which I think are excellent complements to the spice of the burger.

There are a fairly typical but also nice variety of choices for a side dish that comes with entrees, including two types of fries, apple sauce, coleslaw and the vegetable of the day, among others. Since I don’t order burgers all that often I tend to go ahead and get the fries too. At the end of our most recent meal there, my husband and I ordered one slice of peanut butter pie to share. We often order that pie when we eat out because it’s my husband’s favorite. I like Bube’s version quite a bit because the peanut butter filling is not too heavy and not too sweet, and there is a lovely smooth layer of chocolate in between the crust and the peanut butter.

The other vegetarian options on the menu include cheese pizza, Bube’s rice and beans, a portabello sandwich (of course!), and pasta al’olio. I fully intend to try the rice and beans the next time we go because that is a vegetarian dish that can either be really simple and overpriced or really creative and delicious. There is also variety of the traditional bar-type appetizers that you would expect, if you’re just looking to have a couple of beers and a snack. I don’t personally enjoy beer, but my husband and many of our acquaintances are pleased with the variety and the quality of the beer they make at Bube’s. For my part, I appreciate that they usually have at least one hard cider on tap.

It’s great weather to enjoy the outdoor seating in the Biergarten this weekend. Next time I’m going to write about some good local vegan options. I have to admit that I’ve been rather fixated on cheese lately! Happy eating.

Eating vegetarian at Cafe Chocolate

2012-08-10T00:21:18Z

Back in June my husband and I went to Café Chocolate in Lititz for the first time. The menu boasts several vegetarian and vegan options, and "chocolate" is in the name of the restaurant, so I figured it would be my kind of place.

First I'll comment on the chocolate. I love chocolate, and over the years as I've read about the health benefits of dark chocolate I've developed quite an appreciative taste for it. Back in the days when we lived near a Trader Joe's, I delighted in their selection of organic dark chocolate bars from around the world. (As a side note, if you know of a local store with a chocolate selection like Trader Joe's, please feel free to comment!) Café Chocolate has the real deal. The wait staff walks around the restaurant asking if you'd like to try some of their chocolate – of course we did, and it is delicious. Nice and dark and not too sweet.

On that note, it's worth a trip to Café Chocolate just for their drink menu, which utilizes their chocolate. I had the Classic Hot Chocolate, which has 65% dark chocolate with steamed organic milk, and my husband had a mocha. They were both delicious. They also have a wide variety of iced drinks, including several strawberry coolers. The drinks are not cheaply priced, but they're also not cheaply made.

On to the main menu. Café Chocolate immediately gained my approval by having all-day breakfast options. I love breakfast food. They have a nice variety too, including crepes, quiche, and a chocolate, peanut butter and banana panini. In addition, there are several internationally-themed soups and salads with unique ingredients like quinoa and butternut squash, and a sizable number of vegetarian or vegan main dishes. I had the Vegetable Curry Siam with Black Rice Risotto, and my husband had the Cubano Sandwich. Even though we didn't order it during our visit, I also want to mention the Chili con Chocolate, which is literally chili with dark chocolate and 12 spices that's served over brown rice.

I enjoyed my curry very much, but it was definitely sour and tangy. The curries I've had in the past had a little hint of sweet to them, so I found myself turning to my hot chocolate periodically as I ate. My husband also enjoyed the Cubano, but I'm surprised to say that we didn't have dessert – we just didn't have the room. There's an entire menu for dessert, as one might expect, and there are also lovely chocolate truffles on display near the cash register in case you're willing to be tempted.

For those who are looking for gluten-free or vegan options, both are available on the main menu. There is also a nice little selection of items on the children's menu, including oven-baked fries and flatbread pizza. And of course, they have a portobello mushroom sandwich!

I'd recommend Café Chocolate if you're looking for some fun and creative vegetarian breakfast or lunch food, and most certainly if you enjoy chocolate. I think next time we'll be heading to Lititz for dessert!

Eating vegetarian with beets!

2012-08-01T19:42:11Z

Belonging to a CSA this summer has given me a constant and yummy supply of beets. I've been enjoying beets since I was a child, when family picnics often included pickled beets. I had never prepared and cooked beets though until I moved to Central PA three years ago. My husband and I began going regularly to the Market in downtown Lancaster, where there were several vendors with large lovely beets all summer. Beets have vitamin C, iron, and magnesium, and also fiber. Include their really pretty color, and I don't need any more reason to like them.

I don't remember where I got the initial idea for this beet soup, but I think it's ended up being a series of cooking experiments based on some initial internet searches. The soup will taste different depending on the type and size of beets that you use. Larger beets tend not to be as sweet as smaller ones, and some beets have an especially "earthy" flavor about them. When I'm making the soup and it's not sweet enough, or maybe a little too earthy, I add another tablespoon of tomato sauce. I'm not a trained cook, but to me the dominant flavors in this soup are the beet, tomato and thyme. Those three together are really lovely, especially set off by the sweetness of carrot and yam. The brown rice thickens the soup up a bit, while adding more protein and fiber. My husband and I usually enjoy this with a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches.

Beet Soup Ingredients: beets, carrots, onion, tomato sauce, yam, brown rice, thyme, red pepper flakes, vegetable bouillon

- Peel beets with a vegetable peeler and chop into approximately 1-inch chunks (I usually use 4-5 small beets or 3 large ones)
- Peel and chop one large or two small yams into 1-inch chunks
- Chop ½ of a medium onion
- Peel and chop 2-3 carrots into 1-inch chunks
- Bring a pot of water to a bowl (about 3 cups) and add the bouillon, onion, carrots, beets, and about ½ cup of brown rice. Let those items boil for about 5 minutes before adding the yam.
- As those items are cooking, add 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite tomato sauce, about 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, and ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Cook the soup until the veggies are tender and the rice is soft.

Eating vegetarian with carrots and zucchini

2012-07-24T21:05:56Z

Today I'm posting about a recipe that I tried last night in an effort to use up our abundant carrots and zucchini. The cookbook I used is Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More than 200 new vegetarian and vegan recipes for delicious and nutrient-rich dishes, by the Moosewood Collective from 2009.
This spring my husband and I became members of Prescott's Patch, a community-supported local farm (http://www.localharvest.org/prescotts-patch-M7085) which grows its produce in organic conditions. The beginning of the summer brought lots of greens and beautiful blueberries and raspberries, and now we're in the season of zucchini, onions, carrots and beets. I've already made lots of zucchini bread, and zucchini and carrots have made appearances in several summery soups as well. So, last night I was ready to try something different.

The cookbook I used has a small section with three hot veggie sandwiches with cheese. I have a particular weakness for cheese, so I decided to try it. The recipe is simple: I sautéed chopped onions and garlic in about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil until they were translucent. Then I added shredded carrots and zucchini, a pinch of salt, and red pepper flakes. I cooked the veggies until they were tender and then added torn fresh basil leaves to the mix. The recipe suggests that you put the veggie mixture on pieces of whole grain bread and then stick them in the oven at 350 to melt some gruyere cheese on top, making open faced sandwiches. The recipe is easy to cut down or expand based on how many people you wish to feed by changing the amount of carrots and zucchini that you use.

We didn't have any particularly exciting bread in the house, so as a twist on the recipe I decided to make some pizza dough to replace the bread (this meant that I baked the "sandwiches" at 415 degrees instead of 350). I also used low-fat cheddar cheese and some feta instead of the gruyere. In the end we had some nice little pizzas covered in a savory veggie mixture and smothered in cheese. It turned out to be delicious. What I really like about this recipe is that you can take so many liberties with it. The shredded carrot and zucchini are so good sautéed with the onion, garlic and red pepper alone that your choice of bread and cheese can be varied to your taste or mood.

Next time I'll be talking about beets. Enjoy the beautiful season of veggies that we currently have at our fingertips!

Eating vegetarian at Moosewood

2012-07-17T17:22:13Z

             In my experience, there are few restaurants where vegetarians can feel sure to find several delicious choices on the menu. Moosewood is one of them. My blog post is outside Central PA this time, but I couldn't go to Moosewood and not blog about it. The Moosewood is a world-famous restaurant in Ithaca, NY, which is in the Finger Lakes region. The restaurant was begun in 1973 and has been run ever since by a group of people called the Moosewood Collective. Together they have run the restaurant and have written 12 excellent cookbooks. I recommend Moosewood cookbooks to anyone who is beginning the vegetarian lifestyle or who is just looking for some new and creative recipes.
             The Moosewood has a menu which changes daily, with salads, soups, appetizers and entrees, and of course dessert! The Moosewood's menus are labeled to make dining easy for those with different diet needs and preferences. I myself am a plain, old vegetarian – I don't eat any animal meat, but I'm happy to eat dairy. Last night's menu had four entrees, and two of them were labeled with a "v" to indicate that they could be made vegan. The menu also encourages anyone with food allergies to discuss their options with their server. Another nice aspect to dining at the Moosewood is the knowledgeable servers. Servers are happy to answer any questions you have, and in my experience they most often know the answers themselves without having to ask at the kitchen.
             The Moosewood serves a nice variety of both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. My particular favorite is their ginger tea, which is served hot or iced. This tea has some serious ginger flavor, so I love ordering it hot in the winter time. For a summer dinner out on Moosewood's patio this weekend I decided on the cold homemade lemonade. I enjoyed the Vegetable Tajine, which is a Moroccan stew with lots of lovely in-season veggies seasoned with lemon, thyme, and saffron. The stew is served over couscous, and like all entrees, it comes with a side salad. The Moosewood has a really nice selection of freshly-made salad dressings, but I must admit that I've never gotten past the house dressing – creamy spinach-basil. It is by far one of the most delicious dressings I've ever had, and also very light for a creamy dressing.
              Moosewood has great desserts, including carrot cake and their famous brownie sundae. Even the simplest option on the dessert menu – ice cream – is locally made and completely delicious. As with the rest of the menu, there are also delicious vegan options. This weekend we were full enough that my family opted to share a piece of carrot cake, which honestly is what we usually do. I can't say no to the carrot cake.
              It was another lovely trip to the Moosewood. It's a great time of year to visit Ithaca, with Cayuga Lake and several "gorges" state parks to explore. If you're interested in the Moosewood's recipes and cannot make the trip to Ithaca, Moosewood also has a great blog. Moosewood not only gives me the rare experience of being able to eat just about everything on a menu, but also the chance to support a local business that has consistently put local ingredients, taste and customers first. As far as I'm concerned, the members of the Moosewood Collective continue to succeed in making local and vegetarian eating a fun and creative experience for everyone.

Eating vegetarian at Folklore

2012-07-07T21:15:34Z

I'm excited to contribute my first blog for WITF! I hope to share vegetarian recepies and information that will be fun and useful for everyone. As a child growing up in the Midwest (I decided to become a vegetarian at age 8) I had neither the nutritional knowledge that I should, nor the enthusiasm from family members to help me explore my food options as well as I might. Through sheer determination, and likely the chicken that my mother continually hid in my food, I made it to adulthood. I've since studied biology, discovered a wealth of new foods, and now have a good sense of the nutritional lifestyle I signed myself up for as a child.

In this blog I hope to share some of my favorite recipes, some commentary on the wonderful variety of nutritious food that Central PA has to offer, and also some of its most vegetarian-friendly restaurants. Along the way I'll include any opinions that my meat-eating husband chooses to voice, as he has good taste and is my nearly constant dinner companion.

For my first post I'm recommending Folklore Coffee & Company which is one of my weekly favorites in Elizabethtown, PA. They not only have good coffee, but a nice variety of tea and non-caffeinated drinks, and an ever-expanding cold sandwich, panini, salad and soup menu. I've had many of the sandwiches on the menu and especially recommend the vegetarian "jack and the beanstalk" and "don quixote". I've also really enjoyed a ham-less version of the "johnny appleseed" panini - cheddar cheese and sliced apples spread with apple butter on wonderful chewy bread. I should mention that Folklore uses a variety of fresh organic bread for their sandwiches, which really does make a difference with texture and flavor.

Happy eating and please stay cool this weekend!

I'll be posting again soon,

Becky