korean bbq marinade

Well, of course we had to try this. It's in the current (June 2008) issue - here's the recipe. I immediately thought that this would be a good addition to the chicago diner burgers. I added about 1/2 cup of sauce to the full burger recipe. I also caramelized the onions instead of boiling them. The marinade really added a lot of flavor to the burger. I got some broccoli and tofu today that I'll have with the rest of the sauce. The recipe calls for sherry, sake, or mirin. I used mirin- sherry might taste a little wierd. Also, I don't see any reason why this shouldn't last a really long time in the fridge. I didn't take a picture of this. It looks like a black liquid with little floaties.

crunchy chocolate truffle pie and tropical fruit tart

Our friends, whose birthdays are only a couple days apart, have opposite tastes in desserts. So I decided to make them each a dessert of their choice for their birthday presents. They are the ones who first introduced me to Vegetarian Times, and got me hooked after making us one great recipe after another. It was no surprise that Jamie's top choice was VT's Crunchy Chocolate Truffle Pie. When you look at the recipe, you may think it's a little odd. Chocolate chips, peanut butter, maple syrup, and, shhhhh....tofu. But it is so rich and fudgy, even the Markivore liked it. I highly recommend this recipe, and I don't even think it would be unethical to forget to mention the tofu. Also, I made the entire thing with my hand blender.

I made Stephanie the Tropical Fruit Tart, which also contains undetectable levels of silken tofu. This one is sooo good- it's coconut tapioca pudding with fruit and toasted coconut. The only problem was that there was too much filling, so I would recommend reserving a small bowl of the tapioca pudding for later so you can get more fruit in. I barely has room for 1 small mango, a kiwi, and a small banana.

Here's the birthday boy and girl:

And the clean-up crew (we don't have a dog for these kinds of things):

The final damage- Chocolate pie- 12 points for 1/8 pie. Tropical pie- 7 points. Oh, well!
Happy Birthday!!!

vegetable pot pie

There are a lot of different veggie pot pies on VT's site, but I made this one because it had a high rating. It turned out good, and even Mark ate it. The only thing I have to say is that there wasn't enough vegetable filling per biscuit. Other than that, I'd say this was a good anyone-will-like-it recipe.

How about next time topping it with the Sunset Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits? That sounds good! At only 5 WW points per ample serving, this is a really healthy and filling recipe.

mango with goat cheese and basil

OK, so this is not from vegetarian times. I just made this up. I don't even know if this is a socially acceptable flavor pairing. All I know is, I just woke up from a loooong nap and went straight to the fridge and started grabbing things I wanted, and ended up with this. The cheese is from the Hollywood Farmer's Market in Portland, and the mangoes are the smaller yellow variety from New Seasons. The goat cheese is so mild, so it doesn't have that 'smells like a goat' kind of a smell. It's just a tiny bit pungent, but so much more creamy than the more mass-marketed brands. Which all adds up to the best after-nap snack you can imagine.
1 oz goat cheese + 3 oz mango = 3 points.

chicago diner burgers with red pepper aioli

Wow, is that a beautiful burger, or what? Here's the recipe for the burger, and here's the recipe for the red pepper aioli that goes with it. This burger has an oatmeal base with onions, celery, mushrooms, and some seasonings. I was very impressed- it was really good! You couldn't really taste the oatmeal. I didn't get out the grill to make one burger, so I broiled it in the oven for a while, which got the outside nice and crispy. However, it did lack that good smoky taste that other burgers have, obviously since I didn't grill it.

The one odd thing I noticed about this recipe is that the onions and celery are boiled in water, then the other ingredients are added. Next time I will definitely caramelize the onions beyond recognition in order to deepen the flavor. I might even add more onion, garlic, or whatever I find. I bet teriyaki sauce in place of part of the water would be good.

Now on to the red pepper aioli. This was the most amazing three-ingredient dish I've ever had (I left out the olive oil). Someone told me once- was it you?- that the best way to make roasted red peppers was to wrap them in foil and put directly over a flame. I don't know if this would work on an electric range, but it's worth a try. I cut off about 1/3 of the pepper, wrapped in foil, and put the skin side down. After a few minutes, smoke was seeping out of the foil. The skin blackened nicely, and the smoky flavor permeated the pepper. I'll never buy the jarred peppers again- this method is the best. It takes a while to get done after it becomes smoky, so be patient. You can open it up to make sure it's done, but wrap it up tight again to let it cool. I made the sauce with Miracle Whip, and it was so, so, so amazing. Three thumbs up.

The burger with a whole wheat bun and sauce (w/out oil) was only 7 WW points.

I have everything I need to make more of these except the mushrooms, so bring some over and we'll break out the grill. Really!

broccoli dipped in wonderful peanut sauce

This is such a great recipe. As I was making the sauce, I had to taste it after every ingredient, you know how that goes. And I kept thinking, 'where are they going with this sauce?' But when I added the garlic- mashed through a press- it all came together. Don't skip anything in the ingredients- I almost left out the vinegar. Don't! The cilantro is so unexpected, and my cilantro-hating taste-tester even liked it.

The only change I made was that I cut the recipe in half and still made four servings. Be aware that you add a cup of water to the cup of peanut butter... that's 2 cups of dip before the rest is even added. You can look and decide for yourself. I ate a half a pound of broccoli for dinner with this sauce, and I was stuffed! It was super fast to make, and for leftovers, takes no time to prepare. For my alteration with 1/2 lb. of broccoli, and 1/8 recipe of sauce, it was 6 WW points. A little high, but filling.

sunset sweet potato drop biscuits

Yesterday our friends came over with some fantastic strawberries from the farmer's market, so I was looking for a relatively healthy biscuit recipe to make for strawberry shortcake. These were really good- very soft, and a little bit sweet. But they weren't flaky and crusty like a traditional biscuit, if that's what you're looking for. However, they turned out much tinier than what I consider a reasonable size for a biscuit. They looked like sad little cookies. I was disappointed until I tasted them- yum! I'll definitely keep these on my list. Instead of rolling them out and cutting out circles, I just rolled the dough into balls and flattened them.

Here's the recipe. 2 WW points per teensy biscuit.

10 bucks for 3 years of vt?

Yup, it's true. Check out the ebay listing here. We buy all our magazine subscriptions on ebay through resellers who buy large blocks of subscriptions to help the magazine hike up their advertiser's rates. It's totally legitimate- we have been doing this for years, and trust me, I am totally suspicious of magazine scams. It took a few years for my husband to convince me, but when I got four years of Bon Appetit for $12, I was convinced. (As it turns out, that's about the right price for that crummy magazine.)

You can't find every magazine you want, and it is wise to check the seller's feedback. Also, do not buy from anyone who charges shipping fees. It's not clear to me whether it's a one-time fee or for every issue, so I just steer clear. The variety changes all the time, so shop around!

One more thing- If you already have a subscription, but want to extend it, follow the seller's instructions for doing so very carefully. I am set until 2011, so I hope to be blogging to you all for at least that long!

Please let me know if you have questions about this- I hate for anyone to miss out on such a good deal.

quinoa, corn and zucchini medley

If you're in my neck of the woods, then you know we have some record heat coming in the next couple of days. Which is why I think it is so fabulous that our fridge is near death. All of my beloved Skinny Cow sandwiches are as soft as marshmallows in the sun. But I'm not going to let that stop me from telling you about my new BVTRE, quinoa, corn and zucchini medley. It tastes just like springtime, and tastes even better if you are standing in the sun. I like it best in its current state of about 46 degrees.

This dish would be perfect for a potluck. I made it two days ago and it is still as good as the day I made it. So it would also be a good lunch-for-the-week food. I nixed the pine nuts (sadly) and all but 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and gave it a big pinch of kosher salt, and made it 4 servings instead of 6, and it totaled 4 WW points per serving.

If you would like some, or some mayonnaise, or semifreddo fruit salad, come on by.

crispy oven-fried okra (made with zucchini)

I was scanning through some of my old VTs when I came across this one. I hate okra, so I decided to make it with zucchini. It is simply zucchini dipped in egg, then dipped in seasoned cornmeal and baked. It turned out pretty good- I will definitely make this again- especially during zucchini season, when you really start thinking up crazy things to do with all that zucchini. It is about the fastest thing you can make, and healthy. I didn't even use oil on the pan- the cornmeal stuck to the zucchini and didn't stick to the pan.

But make no mistake- it tastes baked. The magazine description actually says 'it tastes just as good as traditional fried okra.' I don't think they thought anyone would really believe that. If you wanted to give it a little more fried-crisp (as opposed to cornmeal crunch) you might try spraying it with oil before baking. But as I made it, it was just 2 WW points for a medium zucchini's worth. Yum! Next time I'll experiment with more seasonings- cumin? Dill? Garlic powder! Here's the recipe. Oh yeah- best thing about the recipe- all that dry cornmeal baking makes the kitchen smell like popcorn.

perfect steamed artichokes with jalapeno-orange dipping sauce

I just love artichokes, but I'm afraid that dipping them in melted butter is a luxury of the past. I have been searching for alternatives, usually ending up with something mayonnaise-based, but have not found anything until now. This sauce is so simple, and has a slightly thick texture from the cornstarch. I thought the sauce by itself tasted only OK, but it was sooooo good with the artichoke.
I also usually boil artichokes, but this recipe called for steaming- I liked it a lot better. I usually have to squeeze out all the water (and nutrients, probably) after I boil it, but I was really happy to discover this method- I'll never go back to boiling.
This sauce would be great on so many things- tacos, bean salad, Three Sisters Casserole, scrambled eggs. You could probably keep a jar in the fridge for a while. I go through a lot of the Trader Joe's green salsa, but I think I could use this instead and save some money.
Using a third of the olive oil, one artichoke with sauce is only 2 WW points. I dare anyone to beat that for a lunch!
Here are the recipes-
Perfect Steamed Artichokes
Jalapeno-Orange Dipping Sauce
There were lots of other dipping sauces for artichokes in the May '08 issue, but I haven't gotten to them yet.

three sisters casserole

This is one of those good, healthy, easy recipes that you can make any time of the year. It looks nice, and you can easily adapt it to use whatever ingredients you have on hand. It would also be really good with cheddar cheese under the polenta topping. Also, this is a super cheap and filling meal. I made this with only 1 Tbsp total of olive oil, so it's only 5 WW points for a nice big serving. Here's the recipe.

creamy quinoa with dried cranberries, revisited

I just remade this with the quinoa instead of oat bran, like in my older post. I totally forgot how good quinoa is (sorry mom!). It's a little nutty and a tiny bit crunchy. But I still think the spices are a little intense. Next time I'll make it without any spices at all and add a little chopped crystallized ginger- don't you think that would be good with the cranberries? Also, only 5 weight watchers points when you make it without the nuts.

tempeh with zucchini, peas, and tomatoes

Ok, after a backlash from my friends who apparently love tempeh, I tried again. Yummmmmmm! I retract all former statements about tempeh.

The only reason I made this was because I needed to use up some zucchini and wanted to try tempeh again. OK, so you look at the ingredients and think - 'I know what that's gonna taste like'. Nooo! You have no idea! You must run home and make this now. It tastes... rich, buttery, sweet and salty, meaty... so hearty. I don't know why this is, but I used 5-grain tempeh instead of soy, and reduced the oil to 4 tsp from 2 T. Other than that, you know me, I followed it exactly.

You can find the recipe here. Note however that the instructions are off- I think you are supposed to add half the salt, half the broth, and the spices to the tempeh while it's cooking. The instructions got chopped off for some reason. I know all you smarties can figure it out.

I am now on weight watchers, and this is only 4 points per serving when made with 4 tsp of olive oil instead of 2 T.