Vegetarian Hangover Cure

Inspired by this post and a raging hangover, I decided to go hog wild with breakfast.

I sauteed spinach, onions, red and green peppers, and mushrooms together, and added beaten eggs. After that was cooked, I topped it with black beans (the kind with a cumin sauce), chopped up vegetarian sausage, cheddar and monterey jack cheese, salsa, and sour cream. On the side I had an everything bagel with cream cheese.

Damn good stuff.

Verdict: 5 stars

Artichokes with Peas (and Pasta)/Warm Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese

Madhur Jaffrey's "idea of heaven" isn't quite mine. Maybe it's that I used canned artichoke hearts instead of carving out my own. Or that I didn't have the oven-dried plum tomatoes that take 12 hours (I would have used sun-dried tomatoes, but I feared Jaffrey's wrath; she advises against them so strongly for this recipe I thought she might hunt me down if I used them). Or maybe when I eat pasta with peas my mind automatically adds the flavor of tuna.

In any event, we weren't awed, despite our use of asiago and Barilla Plus pasta (which, in our opinion, is better than the regular stuff).

The salad, though. Oh, goodness - the salad!

This is one we first tried at Buca di Beppo: spinach with warm onions and tomatoes, topped with balsamic vinaigrette, goat cheese, and spiced pecans. It's heaven. I've made it several times at home, since, and each version was a little different. This time I used red peppers instead of tomatoes, as I had none on hand.

Warm Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese

Note: no quantities given; alter to fit your own needs

Fresh spinach
Red onion, sliced
Roma tomatoes, quartered (or large pieces of red bell pepper)
Olive oil
Crumbled goat cheese
Pecans (or spiced pecans; I found a dried cranberry and pecan salad topping)
Balsamic vinaigrette (your own favorite recipe or bottled; I made my own by whisking together 1 part balsamic vinegar, 1 part olive oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar)

Saute the onion and tomatoes/peppers in olive oil until just slightly cooked (you want the onions a little crisp). Pour this over the spinach, and top with the vinaigrette, cheese, and pecans. And then down the hatch!

(Pasta recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian; salad recipe my own.)

Verdict: pasta = 2 stars; salad = 5 stars

Beet and Mushroom Curry/Yellow Split Peas with Thyme and Cumin

When I saw the beet and mushroom curry recipe, I thought, "Whoa. That's weird. I've gotta try it." Well, we tried it. It tasted like beets. With mushrooms. In sauce. Needless to say, it wasn't anything remarkable.

The peas were a bit more of something. They had a good flavor, but I should've used more than the one red jalapeno that I did, since it didn't have the bite I was looking for. And I almost forgot to add the thyme. This recipe was one of many in the book from Trinidad; the cuisine is a fascinating blend of Indian, Mediterranean, and North African.

One thing I've noticed with these recipes is that they ask for a lot of salt. Of course, I realize that most of the things I used to cook didn't need a lot of salt because I wasn't cooking the same way. Using cream of mushroom soup isn't quite like making a curry from scratch.

We ate this with basmati rice, which is really the secret ingredient of Indian cooking. With white rice it's okay, but use basmati and it feels like Indian food.

(Both recipes from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.)

Verdict: beet and mushroom curry = 2 stars; peas = 4 stars

Moroccan chickpea stew with six vegetables/Moroccan bread

I tried out my first two recipes from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey: Moroccan chickpea stew with six vegetables and Moroccan bread.



Oh, my lord, was it good. Sweet, spicy, hearty, deep. The bread was incredible, too: chewy and a tad yeasty, just how I like it. The bread's quite interesting in that it uses half white and half semolina flour. I didn't make the chili sauce that traditionally accompanies the stew, but just added some crushed red pepper flakes instead.

This cookbook is incredible. Madhur Jaffrey covers the history and tradition behind the recipes, adding her own personal touch (such as saying "this is my favorite" or "I love this"), and - the best part - suggesting things to accompany the dishes. She doesn't stop at "serve with rice," but suggests several complementary dishes from the book, which really encourages the expansion of one's horizons, and integrates the recipes with each other, creating a coherent whole.

I almost want to do the Julie & Julia thing, but with this book.

Verdict: 5 stars

Goat cheese pizza with peppers, onions, and mushrooms

1 pre-baked pizza crust (or crust from a tube, mix, or scratch)
3 T. olive oil
4 cloves roasted garlic*, crushed
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
4 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/4 c. sundried tomatoes** (not in oil)
2 oz. mozzarella cheese
2 oz. goat cheese crumbles
1 T. balsamic vinegar

*Roast garlic by placing in an ovenproof dish and baking at 350 for about 35 minutes.
**Soak sundried tomatoes in boiling water for about 7 minutes (or to desired consistency) before using.

With half of the olive oil, saute the onions until beginning to caramelize; add red peppers and mushrooms and cook another two minutes, or until vegetables are almost done. Rub the other half of the olive oil into the pizza crust and follow with the crushed roasted garlic. Cover the crust with the vegetables, sundried tomatoes, and cheeses, and drizzle vinegar over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until mozzarella cheese is melted.

Verdict: 5 stars