soba noodle salad with ginger peanut dressing

Yuuuuuum!   Simple.  Healthy.  Delicious.  What more can you ask from a recipe?  The most brilliant part of this recipe is the sauce, which is without a doubt the best peanut sauce I have ever made.  Peanut, ginger, lime, cilantro, garlic, in perfect balance.  At first glance, it might look a little high-fat because of all the peanut butter, but it takes a bit of water to get it pourable.  And a little of this sauce goes a long way.  Once the sauce is made, you just cook up soba noodles and chop up some veggies.
Summary: Best Sauce Ever.
Recipe from the September 2009 issue.

cauliflower mash with miso and sage

This is really healthy.  And it's not unbelievably delicious, but it is good.  It has a nice nutty flavor.  The browned onions and carrots make the dish look kind of muddy.  It's really not very pretty.  It would be a great dish to make to get kids to eat their veggies or if someone were on a special diet.  The other comment I would make is that it does not reheat well, as it gets thick and pasty the next day, so only make what you're going to eat in one sitting.

ricotta-basil stuffed tomatoes

So here's the deal.  I can't stand food that is stuffed into vegetables.  I just don't want to eat a whole zucchini, or bell pepper, or whatever.  But in this case, the actual reason was that tomatoes are just too darn expensive, and 2/3 of the people in this house would not eat them anyway.  So I made the filling and baked it in a casserole, which ended up being super easy.  Oooooohh, and it was so delicious!  I bought fresh corn (sweetest ever) and cut it off the ears.  I didn't have any parmesan, but I didn't even miss it.  If I were making it for other people, I would definitely put parmesan or bread crumbs on top to make it a little brown.  It was warm and hearty while still being light and fresh and summery.  A perfect dish!!  From July/August 2010, recipe here.

sweet potato wedges with cider reduction

OK, everybody knows how to make sweet potato wedges, and you know whether or not you like them.  I would, however, love a tip on how to get them as crunchy as oven fries, if anyone knows.  But what I really wanted to make here was the cider reduction....and I guess I didn't really like it.  It tasted too much like apple goo, or apple jelly that sat out for a long time.  I tried adding a little cider vinegar to it, but it was just not good.  I think maybe it was too sweet.  Next time I will make a balsamic reduction, which I already know I love.  No picture, what a lame blog.
September 2010 issue.

tangy marinated vegetables

I almost passed this recipe by, because the picture makes it looks like vegetables in water. But when I read the ingredient list, I saw that it was full of red wine vinegar, olive oil, and tons of spices. I used balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, mostly because I absolutely love balsamic vinegar, but also because I am out of red wine vinegar.

The other thing was the spices-this recipe called for 2 Tablespoons each of dried basil, dried oregano, and dried parsley. That sounded a little excessive, and I was out of oregano and parsley, so I used 1 T basil, 1/2 T dried thyme, and a big dash of dill. I know, I really changed this recipe around a lot. It turned out really good, but the spices are strong! I would definitely start small and add more as it marinates if needed.

I was kind of surprised that the liquid didn't fill the jar up, so I shook it and turned it upside down pretty frequently. After about a day marinating, you'll want to drain off the marinade because it is mostly oil. I was originally thinking that it would be something you could keep in the fridge in the marinade for a long time, but I think it would make the veggies too soggy and gross after a couple of days.

This is a nice recipe for times you really don't feel like cooking, or a good way to use up vegetables if you don't have a lot of ingredients on hand. It is also a great way to make raw vegetables a little more interesting and flavorful. But why did they suggest such boring vegetables? I am totally going to keep experimenting with this one-fennel, sweet onion, cauliflower, jicama, there are just endless possibilities. It has a fairly intense flavor, so I don't think you would want to eat a big pile of it, so I would recommend not making too much at once. The recipe in the magazine is just about right.

Here's the recipe!

Check out my picture-I tried to take it so you can see the boring bland magazine picture, too. Why??

aloo palak (spinach and potatoes)

This is actually a reader recipe, and I don't recall if I have ever made a reader recipe before. This is everything that a BVTRE stands for (that's Best Vegetarian Times Recipe Ever): Easy to prepare, not only delicious but tastes better than the sum of its parts, and healthy. Even my kid ate it. And when I offered him a bite of potato, he said, "no, Mama- bite of that one!" while pointing to the spinach. Seriously, this is so easy to make-all you do is throw some stuff into a dish and bake it. I used onion powder instead of garlic powder, since I couldn't find the garlic powder, even though I know it must be somewhere and it's making me crazy that I can't find it. And I used a horrible cheap brand of frozen spinach that was way too stringy, but it was still good. The spices might seem like a shockingly huge amount, but go for it! Two whole tablespoons of curry powder-do it! I will keep this on standby for lots of variations-with peas, caramelized onion, carrots, cauliflower, anything!
Here's the recipe!

seared baby eggplant with mozzarella and basil oil

Recipe
Well, I looked all over the place, and I just could not find any baby eggplant anywhere, even though it's the middle of summer. Since I had a ton of basil threatening to wilt in the fridge, I decided to just make it with zucchini.
The best thing about this recipe is the basil oil-it is so simple to make, and similar to pesto, but so much more versatile. You just puree blanched basil with olive oil, then strain.
I do have one complain about this recipe. It uses up every pot and pan in your kitchen. Why do people write recipes like this? You're supposed to cook all the ingredients individually, then remove from heat, then cook the next thing. I don't think a simple dish like this should need so many steps, so I got the leeks cooking, then threw in the zucchini.
I would love to take credit for this beautiful photo, but I lifted it off VT's site. But mine looked just as good.
Just don't forget the capers-they add a nice layer of flavor to an otherwise simple dish.

nectarine and basil summer rolls with almond sauce

Well, here's another great one! The thing I liked best about this recipe was that it was a whole new mix of flavors for me. Nectarines, almond, basil, and avocado, to name a few! I love spring rolls, but I always end up just putting the same old things in every time. The nectarines I got weren't even very ripe-they were crunchy and wouldn't release the pit. These were still fantastic, though, so I can imagine how incredible they would be with ripe nectarines.
The only thing I changed was to use spinach instead of watercress, due to the fact that watercress is nasty and ruins the flavor of anything you mix it with. Also, the spring roll wrapper made this a nice little package, but is totally unnecessary. This would be essentially the same if you made it with rice or bean-thread noodles, or even with no noodles at all, it would be a great salad.

Here's the recipe! It's from the May/June '09 VT.

chilled noodle salad with mango

This recipe is SO good! I made it two days in a row, once for each person who reads this blog! This recipe is a vegetarian version of the vermicelli-noodle bowls you get at Vietnamese restaurants. That was a lot of v-words. The sauce is such an amazingly delicious substitute for the Vietnamese sauce, nuoc cham, that I think I like it even better than the fish-sauce version. And the salad is so light and fresh, salty and sweet, but still so hearty and filling. Check out the full recipe here.
The only new twist on the recipe was the addition of mango, which was so delicious! However, since mangoes on the mainland tend to be hit-or-miss, you could certainly leave out the mango and put in some kind of seasoned tofu.
The first time I made this, I forgot to put in the cilantro, but it was still great. The second time, I left out the mint, and it was still great. There are so many flavors going on it this salad, which makes it a very forgiving recipe. Just don't leave out the peanuts!
Even though I made it twice, it got scarfed down before pictures could be taken both times. Fortunately, it happened to be the cover recipe, so it was easy to find a picture online.

herb-roasted winter veggies

This is from the January '09 issue. Now, I would normally not make something so boring-looking from a recipe, but it's the middle of this crazy random-snowstorm winter, and I have been eating too much junk. Sometimes I have to eat a big pile of straight veggies to feel better again, so I made this. It is SO delicious!! It must be the lemon juice, which I accidentally added before I roasted it instead of after. Maybe it was better that way; I don't know. The lemon juice did what salt normally does-it made the veggies taste more like themselves. Even Mark liked it-what more is there to say?
Check out the recipe here.
BVTRE!
This is a terrible picture, please don't let it prevent you from making this!

spicy tofu lettuce wraps

I'm so into lettuce wraps lately, so I had to give these a try. This was in the January 2009 issue. They tasted good enough, but I don't know why you have to cook so much of the filling. Aren't lettuce wraps usually like a cool fresh salad? Anyway, if you look at the recipe, all of the ingredients (onion, tofu, water chestnuts, etc) are cooked into a brown glop, which you stuff into lettuce leaves, then top with a few fresh garnishes. I made a 1/2 recipe and ended up throwing out the leftover glop the next day. I mean, it tasted okay, but not in a lettuce wrap. I bet you could turn it into an amazing veggie burger, and instead of adding shoyu, hoisin, and sriracha sauce to the glop, make it into burger topping.
Leaving this recipe uncooked (minus the onion) would make really great lettuce wraps or spring rolls, which I already make all the time anyway. And too, you'll save having to wash a pot.
And by the way, I put on a lot of the garnishes to hide the brown glop and make the picture look nicer. Here's the recipe.

super-fast fondue with steamed veggies

Well, hello out there! Did you think I forgot about you, my devoted follower(s)? I suppose the season distracted me for a while, but I am ready to start the new year with optimism and enthusiasm! Let the countdown to January 20th begin!
OK, so getting back on topic...I had a last-minute new year's eve party here, and had to throw together a few things in a jiffy. The easiest thing for that kind of situation is stuff with dip. I made my old standby, broccoli with wonderful dipping sauce, which all four of my guests loved. I found this recipe for fondue on VT's website, so I gave it a try. Now, I have never made fondue before, so I was pretty happy when this turned out so delicious. So perfectly cheesy and good, even though the texture was more chewy than melty and gooey. However, after it cooled off the first time, the cheese and liquid separated and could not be brought together again. The cheese was too tough for dipping, plus it was sitting in watery broth. There was simply nothing I could do to bring it back. Steph suggested heating it, which I did again and again to no avail. I also added wine, more broth, more flour, but nothing. So my lesson for next time would be to make it in 2 or 3 smaller batches at a time and eat it fast. But I think I will just get a fondue pot and learn how to make it the right way. Sorry I didn't take a picture-it was just too depressing to see all that expensive gruyere go in the garbage all soggy and lumpy. I would like to stress as a final note, though, that the fondue was really fantastically delicious before it died. It really was.

basmati and wild rice over acorn squash with braised vegetables

This recipe, from October 2008, had one of those high-cuisine photos with everything piled up and fanned out like a big vegetable peacock. The veggies looked dry and bland, but I have learned that the picture in the magazine is always a dried-out uncooked looking version of the real thing. No one wants to look at what I made.
So, ok. On to the recipe. This was a good meal, but I don't feel like it was anything I haven't made on my own several times before. If you are just learning to cook, this would be a good standard, but otherwise, it was too much work to make the same old thing.
Here's the recipe.

halloween party mix

This is from the October issue, of course. This is a nice alternative to candy corn and other hi-cal treats that are the start of the binge season. This isn't really low-calorie, but it's certainly healthy. And it's got an addictive crunchy snacky quality that will keep you away from the bad stuff. My only complaint is that there is nothing to make it stick together, and the pieces are really tiny, so it falls all over the place when you eat it. I was most excited about the cocoa nibs, but they mostly sank to the bottom. The flavors all work well together- maybe next time I'll make it into sort of a brittle.
Here's the recipe.

farfalle with feta and chipotle

My friend Sabrina just made me this for me a few nights ago (actually, more like I showed up at dinnertime), and I had to immediately run out and get the stuff to make it. The flavor is cilantro-lime smoky-spicy with a nutty crunch. This is so good that I'm actually making a new category - potluck - that is for food to dazzle people with at potlucks. The key ingredient is definitely the chipotle pepper powder, which is tough to find, but is totally essential. You can get it at Limbo in Portland (next to the Trader's on 39th) or if you can't find it, I would be happy to send you some. Here's the recipe. Also, 9 WW points, but you could cut the olive oil and save a few.

endive, pear & walnut salad with raspberry vinaigrette

Well, I made this salad with hazelnuts instead of walnuts, and spring mix instead of watercress and endive. New Seasons was out of endive. I did buy some watercress, but it was so strong and peppery tasting that I could barely finish one leaf. I guess all I ended up making from the recipe was the dressing, which was very good. Check out the recipe here. I have to say, though, homemade salad dressings are the best, for sure, but there's no sense going out and buying ingredients for them. It's the most fun to just make them up on your own, and anything would taste good with pears and hazelnuts.

provencal lentil salad

This salad was ok, but I probably won't make it again. I think if I am going to spend the time cooking up all those lentils, I might want to make something more delicious. Also note that most of the onion and the garlic gets cooked with the lentils, then thrown out, so it's kind of a waste. I suppose I could have thought of something better to flavor it with, but I wasn't really crazy about the fresh sage. Basil would be better. Mom suggested cilantro. Here's the recipe.

late summer succotash

Nope, it's not late summer. And judging by this cruddy weather, I'd say it's not even springtime. So this was more of a freezer-section succotash. Trader's doesn't appear to carry lima beans, which is too bad since I haven't had them in forever. I got their soy-cu-tash, which is soybeans, corn, and a tiny bit of bell pepper. I used a whole bag in place of the lima beans and corn. This was really good! So fresh and light tasting, but still filling and carb-tasting, you know what I mean? It doesn't taste like you're eating a pile of vegetables. I used regular balsamic instead of white, because I wouldn't even know where to find white balsamic. If you don't love vinegar, it would still be great without- just add more basil. But don't leave out the tomatoes- they really make the dish. I also didn't cook the tomatoes in with the rest of the stuff like they say to-I just stirred them in after taking the pan off the heat. I also gave it a big dash of kosher salt, because nothing tastes better on corn and tomatoes than salt.

Here's the recipe.

2 WW points per serving with 1 tsp of olive oil in place of the butter and oil.

mango-wrapped bananas

Here's something that I made just because it was healthy, but actually turned out tasting really decadent and sweet. The recipe is from the current issue - June 2008. I even had just a so-so mango. I made it with nonfat yogurt, and only one tablespoon of honey instead of two. I also used 1/2 tablespoon of OJ concentrate instead of orange juice. I do that because we don't drink OJ, and Vegetarian Times often calls for a spoonful here and there.

Now, I understand that they like to make nice pictures for the magazine. I am not opposed to nice pictures. However, when you take a piece of banana and wrap it in a strip of mango, you really just end up with a choking hazard. That said, this was one of those recipes where all the flavors together tasted better that the sum of it's parts. And that's what being a BVTRE is all about. I will make this again for sure, but maybe in a salad form. Maybe it would be good cut into bite-sized pieces served on a toothpick with the yogurt as a dipping sauce. Besides, mangoes just don't slice into thin strips.

One serving is just 3 points. My picture shows one choking hazard less than a serving.

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.