Hello! It’s been a long time since we posted to the blog, but we thought we’d get back into the groove after making a tasty dish this weekend. And we even used a sophisticated kitchen tool: a mandolin.

The potato gratin creation was easy, fast, surprisingly light and very, very tasty. It was one of the least healthy dishes we’ve eaten is a while, but it sure was yummy. The taters were soft and the cheese was melty and smooth. I considered the dish my entree, but my omnivore paired it with a grilled salmon fillet.

We both had steamed brussel sprouts and a fresh, green salad of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes and shredded carrots. We topped the salad with a homemade mustard vinaigrette dressing, which is supposedly Martha Stewart’s favorite. The mandolin was a breeze. I just set the slicer to one-eighth of an inch, the width called for in the recipe, and slid the potatoes one at time across the blade to effortlessly cut airy, thin rounds.

We fretted over which pan to use and even went to Bed Bath and Beyond in search of a gratin dish. In the end we just used one we already had. It wasn’t round and was probably only about 9 inches wide. Because it was deep, I wish we had more chard to add an extra layer of potato and greenery. Actually, I could have used two heads of chard because it cooked down so much. I have a feeling you can use just about any kind of dish, so don’t worry about trying to use something fancy.

After we sliced the potatoes, I shredded about 6 ounces of gruyere cheese and blanched a head of Green Chard. I put two cups of heavy cream pan, added shallots, garlic and sprigs of thyme and heated it. Then I layered the potatoes, cheese and liquid in a casserole dish. I baked it at 350 degrees for about an hour . You can find the recipe here. The potato gratin was a delight and great the for lunch the next day. And now the dish has a spot in our rotation.

Maybe they could have been spiced better or another cook could have made them tasty, but ours were a Halloween Horror. My Omnivore smothered them in his spicy, dark red home-made enchilada sauce and cheese, but even that couldn’t help.

The worst part: We invited our neighbor and his girlfriend to dinner when they stopped by and asked us out to a restaurant. Since we already had the dinner made and were ready to serve, we invited them to stay and eat with us, forewarning them the meal was an experiment. They’ll no doubt heed our warning next time I’m sure and RUN.

And for us, we’ll think twice before we use others as guinea pigs for our culinary curiosity.

To make the enchiladas we first prepared the sauce and poured it into large, shallow bowl to cool. (The sauce is our secret recipe and always turns out delicious.)Then we opened two cans of pumpkin, put them in bowl and added two medium-sized jalapeno, diced.

We heated the tortillas, let them cool slightly and then dipped them in the warm sauce, scooped about a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin into each of them and rolled them up.

We placed them fold-side down in a baking dish, which we had spread on the bottom with a thin layer of the sauce. We sprinkled grated monterrey jack cheese on top, covered them tin foil and scooted them in an oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. We took them out and let them cool slightly.

They looked delish, but when my Omnivore slid his spatula beneath two to plate them, he groaned. They were very soft and the pumpkin was almost runny like thick potato soup. We paired the dish with brown rice, whole pinto beans–with diced purple onion and dice jalapeno–and fresh crisp cole slaw. But the sides couldn’t save the mushy, tasteless enchiladas.

The best thing about the meal–other then the company, of course–was the icy beer our friends brought. And they were both very sweet. They said it the food was good and actually ate most of what was their plates. But no one asked for seconds. And our neighbor probably won’t beat a path to our door for dinner or any other meal.

Famous enchilada Sauce:
8 ancho chiles
1 dried red chile
1 onion chopped
3 Roma tomatoes chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of cumin
1 Quart vegetable stock
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar at the end

Boil all of the ingredients (except the cider vinegar) in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil and let it boil for two minutes. Remove it from heat and cover it. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Then puree the mixture in batches. Stir in vinegar at the very end. Enjoy!

We love broccoli, but sometimes we have a hard time coming up with ways to use it. We steam, blanch, stir fry and grill it in veggie kabobs. We add it to tofu dishes, soups, stews, and salads. We eat it raw with dips. We wanted to find new recipes to incorporate this truly luscious and nutritious veggie into our meals.

So we turned to our trusty Vegetarian Times, which never lets us down. After a few minutes of searching we hit upon a perfect match: bowtie (farfelle) pasta and broccoli pesto. We had never heard of broccoli pesto, but our terrible culinary faux paus a few years ago with basil pesto and blender made us want to try it. In our basil pesto episode a while back, the recipe required a blender, but we forgot to secure the lid before we revved up the machine. Suffice it to say, we spent several hours wiping green oozy and oily pesto from our kitchen ceiling–not to mention our selves–and we vowed to avoid pesto ever since.

But this new broccoli recipe called for a food processor, and ours, like others, doesn’t start unless the lid is snapped shut–lucky for us. And this broccoli pesto seemed so easy we had to try it. All we had to do was blend the cooked broccoli, mint, lemon, hazelnuts and a few other ingredients in a food processor and cook the pasta. The pesto called for a quarter cup of oil olive, which left a fairly stiff but pliant mixture. We folded the pesto into the warm cooked bowties in a large bowl. And that was it.

We added a fresh romaine lettuce salad with tomatoes dressed with a homemade lemon
vinegarette as well as crispy garlic toast made with about two gloves of minced garlic and a few tablespoons butter. And dinner was served. Total prep and cooking time was about 1 hour. And we couldn’t have waited longer because the pesto looked and smelled divine. In the end however, we think this recipe was a little bland. It was missing the punch that pesto has when made with basil. We could taste the lemon and garlic, but it just wasn’t quite enough to carry the whole dish. The broccoli made for great color, but sadly added very little flavor. But it was a nice change from the basil variety and is a great way to add more broccoli to your diet. You can find the recipe here if you’d like to try it for yourself.

The omnivore was at it again. This time, he dreamed up a tasty pasta dish with jumbo shells and sweet potatoes. We had stuffed the biggy shells with butternut squash in the fall, but now that summer’s in full swing and fall veggies are out of season, he wanted a new twist.

So he peeled two medium-sized sweet potatoes, cut them into chunks and steamed them. About ten minutes later he dumped 18 large pasta shells into boiling water. When the potatoes were soft, he dumped them into a large bowl, added a few hunks of butter, salt and pepper and mashed them till they were smooth. (They were a mellow orange color and looked divine.)

He drizzled a few teaspoons of olive oil on the bottom of a baking dish so the stuffed shells wouldn’t stick. When the shells were cooked, he drained them, let them cool and then filled each one with a few spoonfuls of the sweet potatoes. He placed them open side down on the oily baking dish. We had preheated our oven to about 350 degrees and baked the stuffed pasta for about 20 minutes. While they were warming, we made a light white cream sauce with whipping cream. You can see the recipe below.

We plated the warm pasta pockets and gently ladled the sauce over them. We garnished with Italian parsley. We added garlic bread and a tossed lettuce and tomato salad to the meal. The smooth sweet potatoes melted like butta in your mouth and the shells were just al dente enough to hold the stuffing. This dish is definitely a keeper.

Cream Sauce:

1 Cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 Cloves chopped garlic
1/2 Teaspoon corn starch

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and saute garlic for a few minutes. Add the cream and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and let simmer about 15 minutes. Once the cream thickens a bit, pour it into a blender and add the parmesan cheese a pinch at time until everything is combined. Use a strainer to catch the garlic as you pour the sauce back into the pan. Return to a light simmer. Mix 1/2 teaspoon corn starch with 1 teaspoon water. Pour corn starch mixture into sauce and simmer a few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

We followed this recipe for the batter. We sliced the squash into half-inch medallions and the white onion into one-inch rings. Then we poured about two inches of veggie oil into a 10-inch, cast-iron skillet and heated it up pronto. When it was bubbly hot we bathed the zucchini and onion rings in the batter and carefully slid them into the spattering oil. We used a wire scoop to check them and turned them when the under side was brown (about 2 minutes). We browned the other side, scooped them out and let them drain on paper towels folded on a plate. When they were dry, we dipped them in creamy store-bought ranch dressing and savored their crunchy, crisp goodness.

We paired our deep-fried treats with lentil-walnut burgers on whole wheat buns. With home-made sun tea steeped in the Texas summer sun in our backyard, the feast was like a picnic at our dinner table. I give the deep fried experience a C. The veggie batter was a bit heavy and soaked up the oil, making them taste dense and well, unhealthy. Next time we’ll dredge the veggies in a dry coating made with panko instead of white flour to help the deep-fried veggies lighter.

Sorry for the long hiatus. We were side tracked with new ventures. But now we’re back in the kitchen, so stay tuned and thanks for your patience.

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The Mediterranean Veggie Burgers were delightful. They were crispy on the outside and succulent in the middle. The blend of veggies, beans and quinoa made the patties bulky but not heavy, tender but not mushy. They were yummy!

We found the recipe in the latest Veggie Times. The magazine suggested you make them on the grill, but we fried them in a little olive oil on the stove. We garnished the patties with cabbage slaw, red onions and tomatoes. The patties had a delicate flavor, but were very tasty.

We paired the burgers with fresh Texas corn on the cob for a perfect summer feast.

The recipe would have been helped with few more spices, paprika, garlic powder and a dash of cayenne. But you decide what flavors to add if you try them

The patties held together well when fried and plated.

The recipe is not yet on the Veggie Times Web site so we’re going to commit copyright infringement and type it out for you. Don’t tell the Veggie Times.

Ingredients:

4 oz. Rigatoni
1/2 cup red quinoa
7 oz. low sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
9 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans or one 15 oz. canned white beans, rinsed and patted dry.
1/2 cup steamed broccoli
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. finely shredded green cabbage
3 Tbs. finely chopped red bell pepper
2 Tbs. tomato sauce
6 kalamata olives sliced
2 oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
2 Tbs. canola oil for oiling patties and grill topper (If you grill them)

Directions:

Cook the Rigatoni in boiling water for about 19 minutes or until soft, drain and measure out 1 and 1/2 cups, very tightly packed Rigatoni and set aside.

Bring quinoa and broth to a boil in a saucepan, cover reduce heat and cook 13 minutes or until slightly undercooked. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for one minute add the garlic and cook for one minute more.

Process the Rigatoni and white beans in a food processor for about one minute, or until smooth and paste-like. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in 3/4 cup quinoa, broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper, tomato sauce, olives, sun dried tomatoes, onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Mix to combine.

Form six 1/2 cup sized patties. If you’re going to grill them, the recipe says to brush canola oil on the patties and cook on high heat for about six to seven minutes on one side and about 3 minutes on the other.

Enjoy!

-Rhea and the Omnivore

So, I hope you all go to the park and enjoy a game and a veggie dog. I had a great time tonight. The Astros lost, but I felt like a winner.

Me and my veggie dog. You can't really see it, but it's there under the mustard, ketchup, relish and onions

I plan to launch a “bring veggie dogs back to Minute Maid campaign,” if the park did decide to stop selling them. I’ve got a Facebook page ready to go, I’m only waiting for some confirmation before I launch it. Although the fact that three people searched in vain for veggie dogs might be enough proof. Based on the traffic to my original post, there are tons of people searching vegetarian and Minute Maid before each game. I’m happy they’re find us, but sad no one has been able to enjoy a dog.

While I am obviously a vegetarian, this particular issue is not solely about options for people like me. I believe that in this time of epidemic obesity and heart disease large venues like Minute Maid Park should provide and market healthier alternatives to fans. Lance Berkman himself said he needed to stop eating crap. Ballparks all over the country have vegetarian options that give fans healthier choices, with a few venues adding the option this season. If Minute Maid says they didn’t sell enough to continue them, I would ask what they did to let fans know healthy alternatives were available. It’s hard to buy it if you don’t know it’s there. I’ll get down off my soapbox now. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring some good news. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.