Posts Tagged ‘vegetarian’
food, recipes, vegetarian
In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on April 1, 2010 at pm
Growing up, my mother made – very regularly – a healthy Chinese bean soup that I really really didn’t like. The memory alone was enough to turn me off of beans in general for many many years. But I’ve decided that they can’t all be bad, so I’m giving them another chance by cooking my way through different types. For example, it turns out that my aversion to all things bean-like was misdirected towards lima beans (Lima Bean Soup recipe here). So for my Cooking with Ali’s 100th post party, I tested out navy beans by making a white bean puree and serving it on toasted slices of baguette. The sweetness and texture of the onions is perfect in this simple bean spread. I also love that the subtle flavour of the garlic takes a few seconds to surface. My guests really liked it too. I owe you an apology, navy bean, for 2 decades of misjudgment.
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food, gluten-free, recipes, vegetarian
In Sides and Sauces, Soups and Salads on March 24, 2010 at pm
I love using blue cheese sauce as a dip for my hot wings and as a dressing on waldorf salads (recipe here). This blue cheese sauce is even better than store bought (in my opinion).
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food, gluten-free, recipes, vegan, vegetarian
In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on March 24, 2010 at pm
I started making my own candied walnuts when I started making waldorf salads (recipe here). These are fantastic snacks, especially while watching a movie or a game. And if you put them into clear gift bags tied with pretty ribbon, you can sell them at bake sales or use them as cute favours for dinner parties, showers, or gifts over the holidays.
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food, gluten-free, recipes, vegetarian
In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on March 18, 2010 at pm
Ed and I used to order potato skins in bars and restaurants all the time, until I started making them at home. It takes a bit of work but they’re really easy to make, they’re perfect for parties, and it’s much more cost efficient to make your own. The bars and restaurants deep fry their potato skins but these are baked in the oven so they’re not as crispy. You could deep fry your potato skins (after you’ve scooped out the baked flesh) in vegetable oil at 350 degrees F.
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food, gluten-free, recipes, vegetarian
In Soups and Salads on March 13, 2010 at pm
I happened to have extra potatoes and leeks on hand so I thought I’d try making this soup for the first time. I’ve noticed that many recipes involve sauteeing the leeks first. But I decided to trust Julia Child’s recipe which also happened to be the simplest soup I have ever made. Potato and leek soup has a very simple flavour and unlike the overly thickened soups that you get in restaurants, Julia Child’s version is very light and smooth.
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Asian food, food, gluten-free, recipes, Thai food, vegan, vegetarian
In Other Asian Foods on March 12, 2010 at pm
Thai green curry is spicier than the red and yellow curries. (See my Thai Red Curry post.) I know this green curry doesn’t look very appetizing – in fact, I served it as “swamp sludge” at a Halloween party once 😉 – but it’s my personal favourite thai dish. Sometimes I make this vegetarian and it’s the only vegetarian dish that doesn’t leave me craving meat. I ate the eggplant and bamboo shoot green curry dish at a local Thai and Cambodian restaurant every day for about a month before I finally stopped being lazy and figured out how to make it myself. Thai curries are incredibly easy to make at home and, like a Chinese stir fry, you can use any combination of meat and vegetables you happen to have on hand. These freeze well too.
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food, gluten-free, recipes, vegetarian
In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks on March 9, 2010 at pm
I watched the mens’ hockey game for the gold (Winter Olympics, Vancouver, 2010) at a friend’s house. It was the gold medal that helped Canada set the new world record for most gold medals at the Winter Olympics. I made this baked cheesy spinach and artichoke dip and served it with thin slices of toasted baguette. I used my new brie baker for this.
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Chinese food, food, gluten-free, recipes, vegan, vegetarian
In Asian, Soups, Soups and Salads on February 27, 2010 at pm
Hot and sour soup originated in Szechuan, a region in China. It’s one of my sister’s favourite foods and unfortunately, it’s incredibly difficult to find a restaurant that serves a truly authentic (and delicious) hot and sour soup. Luckily, it’s very easy to make at home. My family loves it when I make this soup and they can’t get enough of it. 🙂 You could easily make this a vegetarian or vegan soup by omitting the pork and egg, and by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
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Asian food, food, gluten-free, recipes, Thai food, vegan, vegetarian
In Other Asian Foods on February 26, 2010 at pm
Thai red curry is spicier than yellow curry but milder than the green (link to my green curry recipe here). These are incredibly easy to make and like Chinese stir fries, you can pretty much throw in any meat and/or vegetables that you happen to have around. I like to make these with chicken and at least 2 types of differently coloured vegetables. Personally, my favourite thing to put into a thai red curry is fresh Japanese enoki mushrooms. This curry is great when made to be vegetarian/vegan too.
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food, gluten-free, recipes, vegetarian
In Appetizers, Hors D'oeuvres, Snacks, Sides and Sauces on February 21, 2010 at pm
Ed loves twice baked potatoes. Back when I had more time on my hands, I often made these with mini potatoes for parties or pot lucks. It took a lot of work but people really loved them. They were so cute and so easy to eat. Recently, I made miniature twice baked potatoes (photo below) for a miniature bbq lunch.
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food, gluten-free, Indian, recipes, vegan, vegetarian
In Indian on February 20, 2010 at pm
I rarely eat cauliflower because I find it so tasteless. When a creamy, cheesy, cauliflower gratin that I made still wasn’t enough to change my mind, I gave up on this vegetable for a long time. But I recently read about the nutrition and health benefits of cauliflower, so I thought it was time to give it another chance. While searching for interesting ways to cook it, I found aloo gobi, an Indian spiced potato and cauliflower dish. It was perfect because I just happened to be binge-cooking indian this month. This dish still wasn’t enough to make me crave cauliflower, but it’s a great side to a curry meat dish (and Ed loved it), so I’ll definitely make it again. See here for tips on how to get the most flavour out of your Indian spices.
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food, recipes, vegetarian
In Soups and Salads on February 19, 2010 at pm
I love cream of mushroom soup. Campbell’s condensed cream of mushroom soup is what I turn to whenever I’m sick. I received Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking for my birthday and knew that her mushroom soup would be among the first recipes that I would try. This is more sophisticated than canned mushroom soup 😉 but my mushroom cream sauce (adapted from Julia Child’s basic cream sauce recipe) tastes more like the canned soup and is Much less time consuming to make – if that’s what you’re looking for, the link is here.
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Cooking with Alison 