The RIGHT Way to Eat Your Veggies!

I wish I had realized sooner what a wonderful resource the Monon Trail is. You really can get just about anywhere you would want to go ON A BIKE! I had discovered earlier that I could get to the Clay Terrace shopping center via the Monon, but when I accompanied a friend on a ride to Broad Ripple a few weeks ago I realized I could have ridden my bike to work, to school, to various friends' houses, and, of course, to Broad Ripple. AWESOME. Especially since my brother has found a new interest in claiming the car we're supposed to be sharing... :/.

But on this particular day I was going to Broad Ripple, a fairly leisurely 60 minute ride from my house, to meet a couple friends for lunch at Ripple Bagel Deli. If you haven't been there, you need to go. Stop reading, start driving, it's delicious. They have about a dozen types of bagels and countless combinations of sandwiches that you can make out of them. Not only are there like four giant blackboards covered with all the combinations that form their menu, but anything that could have been mistaken for free space has been covered by customer concoctions drawn on sheets of printer paper. A dangerous place for the indecisive, but I make do ;). For any sandwich your bagel obviously houses all the ingredients and can be served as is, toasted, or (what they're known for and I definitely recommend) toasted.

I had picked out a really delicious sounding veggie sandwich, something loaded with tomatoes and sprouts and hummus and avocados and other goodness, but when I saw that their soup of the day was gazpacho I changed my mind. What is gazpacho you ask? I had no idea! I looked it up on my ever faithful iPhone and wikipedia told me it was a cold raw tomato based soup. Which sounds kinda gross... but being me I decided, what the heck, and ordered it!

IT'S SO GOOD! It was really hot that day and this chilled soup is frickin delicious. I didn't think pureed tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers or whatever they put in their could be so fantastic but it was delicious and I was hooked. (Better yet, I order a funky bagel type roll called a bialy, steamed of course, that paired with it perfectly.) As I mentioned in my last blog entry I'm going to Turkey Run for a day trip with some friends, tomorrow actually, and not only am I taking the oreos I made yesterday, but I'm also bringing along... you guessed it! Gazpacho!

I didn't think a soup was the greatest of all ideas, but never fear! It comes in salad form! :D So I went to work chopping tomatoes, little cucumbers, peppers, and garlic I picked up at the Carmel Farmers' Market this morning and then powered through fennel, celery, and green onions I resorted to picking up at Meijer this afternoon. I tossed this ridiculously large pile of veggies with a lemon vinaigrette and voila! Gazpacho Salad!

Oh yes, and I added a can of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), an idea provided by my mother that I thought was brilliant.



One of the best parts about making Gazpacho as a salad rather than a soup is the croutons. Homemade from ciabatta bread, these little cubes were pan toasted in olive oil and Italian seasonings. They soak up the dressing on the salad and add fabulous flavor and texture.



If you're fine with chopping vegetables, this is a really simple recipe. It's a great summer salad, especially if you have a Farmers' Market nearby or a vegetable garden. If you're not a fan of a particular vegetable, simply omit it! And if you'd rather go the soup route just add some light chicken broth or water to your vegetables and give it a quick buzz in your food processor. This is a great recipe to make a day in advance because the flavors blend while the vegetables sit in the fridge, it's also a great option because it's light, healthy, and SO GOOD!

Gazpacho Salad

Vegetables
- 6 plum tomatoes, chopped (I seeded beefsteak tomatoes because that's all I could find at the
market, just make sure you take the seeds out of whatever kind you choose to use)
- 1 English cucumber (or 2 to 3 small cucumbers), seeded and chopped
- 1 or 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 6 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 small bulb fennel, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 colorful peppers, chopped
- 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Croutons
- 4 slices ciabatta or 1 to 2 ciabatta rolls, diced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp mixed herbs (I used Italian seasoning)

Dressing
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice (about one fresh lemon)
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper to taste (I used just a pinch of white pepper)

Toss the cubed ciabatta with the olive oil and herbs then pan fry them until browned and crisp. Set them aside to cool. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. In a large bowl, toss together the chopped vegetables, garlic, onion, and garbanzo beans. Pour the dressing over the vegetable mixture and gently toss. You can add the croutons in whenever you like, I have mine reserved in a ziplock because I like them crunchy, but you can put them in the salad well ahead of time if you'd prefer, they'll be a little soggy, but they'll absorb more of the dressing and taste fantastic!

They Come in Peace

I feel like every time I mention veggie burgers everyone runs screaming. I know in my mom's case it's because she won't let go of the preconceived notion that veggie burgers = tofu, so not true. And even if they did always have tofu as a main ingredient, how many of you have really tried tofu (in various forms) to know that it truly is evil? Anyway, veggie burgers come in a number of forms, some tofu-packed and others tofu-free. This particular recipe that I found in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine is of the tofu-free variety, honestly my preference though tofu does have it place. Although it's not a typical beef patty, there really is no reason to shun the idea of a veggie burger, they're a delicious and healthy way to mix up your summer grilling routine.

So what is in a veggie burger, you may ask? Again, recipes vary greatly. I decided that not only would I tell you what I used to make these delectable patties, but show you!





Lentils, couscous, chopped onion, sunflower seeds, shredded carrots, one egg, and a splash of lemon juice were all that when into these. Well, that and a little salt, pepper, and a dash of cumin just because it's my most recent favorite spice ;). I pulsed 3/4 cup cooked lentils, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, and the egg in a food processor until smooth. I then transferred the mixture to a bowl and stirred in the couscous (1/4 cup soaked in a 1/4 cup hot tap water for 5 minutes), 1/2 chopped sweet onion (the recipe called for red, but I don't get along well with red onions...), one medium sized carrot shredded, and another (about) 1/2 cup of lentils. I stirred in 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt (recipe called for 1/2, but I like to cut down on the sodium) and a dash of cumin (my own addition :D) and a tablespoon fresh lemon juice (can used bottled if necessary). I then formed these into patties and let them sit in the fridge for 20-25 minutes uncovered to firm.

The only absolutely wonderful thing about everybody else turning up their noses at the sound of veggie burgers is that I get them all to myself!!! My recipe made six good sized patties, certainly more than I was willing to eat in one sitting, so I wrapped up five and put them in the freezer.



The remaining patty received a generous coat of nonstick cooking spray and sat in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side. Veggie burgers tend to be really crumbling, despite the egg's best efforts they never fail to fall apart a bit, so be super careful when flipping them! I also sauteed some onions with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. These I placed neatly on top of the veggie patty and both went inside a whole wheat bun. DELICIOUS.



Admittedly I was too lazy to track down a camera when I took a second patty out of the freezer the next day (this one I defrosted for about a minute and then cooked according to previous directions) and nixed the whole burger idea. Instead I piled fresh spinach on a plate, topped that with a little lemon juice, fresh cracked pepper, and a layer of tomato slices. My cooked patty went right on top and made for a delicious salad-type meal!

DON'T BE AFRAID OF MEAT FREE BURGERS. Another one of my favorites is Black Bean Burgers. SO GOOD. I like to put them on a bun and top with a little salsa or even guacamole, kinda tastes like a burrito! But again, they fall apart pretty easily, we've grilled all the recipes we've tried on aluminum foil to keep them from slipping through the grill. But anyway, veg it up, you may miss meat less than you thought you would!!! Except maybe if your Taylor... or Taylor's dad...

Immerse Yourself in Good Food

I'm not much of a gadget person, I don't really own that many electronics mostly because I really don't have much of a use or general desire for them. My cell phone and iPod are really the only ones I consider a necessity, and my laptop is just a huge convenience :D. I may have to get a little more interested in gadgets though... because there are so many out there for cooking!

So I'm sitting on my bed, pajamas on, surfing the internet and just hanging out, when Taylor sent me a woot link. When I opened it up my mouth dropped and my heart starting beating at an alarming rate. Me: "OOOOOOOOH, I don't know if I should get! It'ssoprettyIshouldn'tspendmoneybuti'vewantedoneit'sawesomeiloveshouldigetitohno...." Taylor: "It's usually twice that price. You should get." Me: "shouldigetitidon'tknowshouldn'tspendmoneyit'ssocoollookatit!" Taylor: "It's not that much, just get it, it's worth it." This went on for a while, but I did end up getting it. It being an immerision blender.

I'd seen an immersion blender before, on the Food Network or some kind of show like that. In case you don't know what they are, mine looks like this...





The concept is that you you can blend things without putting them in either a blender or food processor. BRILLIANT! The only thing I've seen them used for, and really the only thing I can think of using them for, is soups. So naturally I immediately went in search of a soup recipe, and came up with... um... actually i don't even remember what's it was called. I have to admit I made this soup almost 4 weeks ago. I've been too busy and/or lazy to actually get my latest creations up on my blog page, so this one has been waiting patiently for it's "debut." I guess I made it wait a little too long. I think it was leek and asparagus soup. It had a few other ingredients, but those two were the focus, and honestly it wasn't even really that great, the best part was using my incredibly awesome new hand held blender!!!

Just to give you an idea of the wonder of this thing, I took a before picture...







and an after!







Isn't the blendedness beautiful? And I didn't even have to put together or clean up a food processor. Oh yes. The best part is that not only does it have these amazing blending powers... but it also came with a bunch of other attachments, most of which I haven't had time to explore yet. Taylor and I did test out the whipping attachment, which made a lovely meringue, but I definitely have a lot to learn.

Oh Dear, I've Been Cooking...

My approach to baking and my approach to cooking are polar opposites. When I bake, as you can tell from previous entries, I like to really load things up. I can't bring myself to make a plain pan of brownies, it just feels so wrong! The more I can add to a recipe, the better, except for the fact that anything I bake is usually a heart attack on a plate. Oh well, if you're going to indulge REALLY indulge :)

When I cook I like things simple. Simple in that I don't like the choke ingredients. My mom likes to make casseroles, I think because her mom used to make them all the time or something and they just seem like a natural choice to her. I hate casseroles, I really do. I just can't stand dishes that are primarily cheese and cream of something soup. Gross. Things like that just seem so false, so disgustingly masked that I just can't stand them. By masked I mean that casseroles have all the natural flavors drowned out of them. Like green bean casserole, for example. Can you even taste the green beans in that stuff? Isn't it canned green beans? Canned green beans are an ugly vegetable if you ask me, all limp and army green, I don't know why anyone would want to eat such a depressing looking sodium-soaked excuse for "food." And then rob them of whatever flavor you may think they may have by coating them in cheese and creamy blah, I can't go on or I might be sick. Didn't I start by writing about how I cook anyway? Because I like things to seem natural and I think they are most beautiful that way. Like I hate how people will cover sweet potatoes in brown sugar and maple syrup and marshmallows and things of that nature. It's really quite a travesty. Sweet potatoes, one of my absolute favorite foods, are best when all you add is some salt, maybe a little cinnamon or citrus juice but even that's pushing it. A little salt brings out the flavor of sweet potatoes that make them so rich and so unique in comparison to other potatoes. Adding various forms of sugar turns them into cheap candy.

All this motivates my choice of recipes when I actually decide to cook. I like things that are primarily vegetables, because I think vegetables are the most neglected food group and therefore have the most potential. Vegetables are rustic, again one of my favorite food qualities, and so rich in color (at least for the most part). Best of all they feel clean. Vegetables don't seem to feel like a punishment to your stomach, unless you smother them with cheese, creamy soup, and french fried onions, vegetables make you feel good about what you're eating. I also like things with spices. I think spices enhance the natural flavor of food, whereas sweeteners help you to pretend you're eating something else. I don't want to choke down food by trying to make it something else, I want to find the way to prepare it that makes it the best possible version of itself it can be. It's two in the morning and I'm straying far too much...

All of this leads up to a recipe I came across on, as usual, smittenkitchen.com. Moroccan stew. YES! Pretty much straight vegetables, so right up my ally, and the main spice is one of my favorites, cumin. This is one of those recipes that I absolutely flip out over but nobody else really gets too excited about. Screw everybody else, I made Moroccan stew and loved it.



It's basically butternut squash (one of my absolute favorites!), red skin potatoes, garbanzo beans (also, huge fan), olives... tomatoes... um... onion... that might be it... cooked and poured over couscous. Again, it's on smittenkitchen.com if you decide to give it a try, but I would recommend a little more cumin and maybe some red pepper flakes if you like a bit of heat ;) And I know the pictures aren't that great... oh well, have to work on that I guess.