Borscht is a traditional Ukrainian soup with a gorgeous purple-red hue.  It’s a delicious way to use beets and can be served hot or chilled.

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound (about 3 medium) red beets, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 6 cups vegetable stock (see our recipe)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Parsley or dill for garnish
• Sour cream for garnish (optional for vegan preparation)

Preparation

1. In a large soup pot, saute onion and carrots in olive oil over medium-high heat until onions become translucent.
2. Add beets and rutabaga, continuing to saute for about 2 minutes more.
3. Add stock, cover, and bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and continue boiling until beets and rutabaga pieces are soft. Season to taste.
4. Using an immersion blender or upright blender, process soup until smooth.
5. Serve warm immediately or chill and serve cool.  Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh parsley or dill and a dollop of sour cream (optional).

This rich vegetable stock recipe uses roasted vegetables to produce deep flavors.  If you don’t have the exact vegetables listed, you can substitute or add almost any kind of other vegetables in their place. It is a great way to use up some veggies that might be nearing the end of their refrigerator life.

Ingredients

• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut into halves
• 4 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 small bulb garlic, outer paper removed, bottom removed, and cut in half horizontally
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cups water
• 1 medium (about 8 ounces) rutabaga, peeled and cut into large chunks
• Stalks of 1 fresh fennel bulb
• Small bunch of fresh parsley stalks
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• Salt to taste

Preparation

 

Crostini are wonderful little appetizers. These use slices of baked tomatoes which are extremely flavorful.

Ingredients

• 1 baguette, cut into quarter-inch thick rounds
• 2 pounds roma tomatoes, cut into quarter-inch thick slices
• Salt
• Few fresh sprigs rosemary
• 4 ounces feta cheese, cut or crumbled into small pieces
• Olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place roma tomatoes into a deep baking dish or two.  Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and lightly salt. Bake for one hour.  Ideally the tomatoes will have some slight carbonizing on their bottoms.  Use a stiff spatula to scrape the tomatoes from the pan(s), being careful to keep them relatively intact.
2. Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place baguette rounds on a baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes.  Remove from oven, keeping the toasted baguette pieces on the baking sheet, then drizzle (or spray) lightly with olive oil.
3. After the tomatoes and baguettes have finished, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan on high heat.  Quickly fry the rosemary in the hot oil, about 30 seconds.  Remove rosemary and place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.  You can save the excess oil, now flavored with rosemary, for another dish.
4. Place baked tomato slices on toasted baguette rounds.  Add a few of the fried rosemary leaves to each crostini.  Top each with a small amount of feta and season with ground black pepper.
5. Set oven to high broil.  Broil the crostini on the top rack of the oven for three minutes.

These quick radish and cipollini onion pickles can be served with a variety of dishes to add a touch of acidity and sweetness.

Ingredients

• 16 cipollini onions, tops and bottoms removed, skinned
• 12 red radishes, stems and tails removed, cut in half
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into large matchsticks
• 2 cups water, salted slightly
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 15 black peppercorns, crushed slightly
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation

1. Bring the salted water to boil. Add the onions, radishes, and carrot, and let boil for 4 minutes. Drain and place vegetables into a shallow non-reactive bowl.
2. In a small non-reactive saucepan, heat the vinegar, peppercorns, sugar, salt, and cayenne over medium heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
3. Pour the vinegar mixture over the boiled vegetables.  Let cool, then chill slightly before serving.

Store in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

 

Beets give these oatmeal cookies a marvelous purple-red hue!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup raw or turbinado sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup grated red beets

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar until smooth in consistency.
3. Mix in cinnamon, vanilla extract, and egg until incorporated.
4. Add flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until the flour is fully incorporated, but don’t work the dough more than that.
5. Slowly mix in the oats, raisins, walnuts, and grated beets.  Once fully incorporated the dough should be a nice purple-red in color.
6. On a non-stick or parchment-lined cookie sheet, drop tablespoons of dough separated by about 1 inch.  Flatten each ball slightly.
7. Bake for 12-13 minutes.  Transfer to a baking rack from the baking sheet after letting cool for about 2 minutes. Makes about 18 cookies.

A causa is a Peruvian dish that involves sandwiching some kind of salad (typically tuna and tomato) between two layers of mashed and seasoned yellow potatoes.  Causas are great for bringing to parties or potlucks, as they are like a de/re-constructed potato salad.  In this vegan version of causa, we made the filling from seasonal spring vegetables from our favorite Austin farm, Johnson’s Backyard Garden.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds yellow potatoes, peeled and chunked
• 3 tablespoons ají amarillo paste
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 medium sweet radishes, diced
• 2 cups curly kale, stems removed and leaves diced
• 1/2 cup parsley, diced
• 1/4 cup spring onions, diced
• Juice of 3 key limes
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Paprika for garnish

Preparation

1. Boil potato chunks until soft throughout.   Mash the cooked potato chunks with the ají amarillo paste until smooth.  Season to taste and set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the diced carrots, radishes, kale, vegan mayonnaise, parsley, spring onions, and key lime juice.  Toss the mixture until vegetables are evenly coated with the vegan mayonnaise.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a deep (about 3-inch) rectangular dish, make an even layer using 1/2 of the mashed potatoes.
4. Spread the vegetable mixture on top of the bottom layer of mashed potatoes.
5. Use the remaining mashed potatoes to make an even layer on top of the vegetable mixture.  Dust with paprika and chill slightly before serving.  Serve by cutting approximately 3-inch-by-3-inch squares with a flat spatula.

By all accounts, today’s Texas VegFest was a great success.  The Fiesta Gardens fairgrounds in Austin, TX, were full of people eagerly learning about the health benefits of veganism & vegetarianism, sampling products from companies that make vegan/vegetarian food, and listening to engaging speakers.

While volunteering, I was able to see vegan cooking demos by both Isa Moskowitz of Post Punk Kitchen (unfortunately I only caught the tail end of this one) and Terry Hope Romero of Vegan Latina.  Terry made some delicious  – I know because I snagged a free sample – tamales filled with seitan and veggies cooked in a delectable red chili sauce.  We have gotten into the habit of making Peruvian-inspired tamales (like our Magic Purple Quinoa Tamales), but Terry’s vegan take on the traditional Mexican style made me remember how good those are too!

I also got to attend an engaging talk by Robert Cheeke of VeganBodybuilding.com.  Robert’s talk focused on the importance of eating whole, nutritious foods like leafy greens and power-packed grains like quinoa, as well as being honest with yourself about meeting goals and tracking your progress.  I really liked that he encouraged listeners to eat real foods instead of processed “meat-substitute”-type products.  Aside from being more healthful, using whole foods encourages vegetarians to to focus on the goodness of real vegetables and enjoy those tastes and flavors.

On our third and final day in New Orleans, we mounted our bikes and rode downtown instead of walking.  As you are probably aware, New Orleans is extremely flat, and this fact made biking on a warm spring day a pure pleasure.  To help fill our calorie deficit caused from riding a whole 12 miles, we lunched on the famous beignets and cafe au lait from Cafe de Monde.  You might think that beignets are just square donuts, and while that is certainly true, fresh donuts are quite tasty and pair well with the bitter chicory coffee.

Whenever visitors think of New Orleans Creole food they typically think of French Creole fusion, but New Orleans also has a rich Italian heritage as well. Sicilian immigrants to New Orleans worked with local ingredients to create now classic dishes featuring shellfish, creamy garlic sauces, eggplant, and “red gravy.” In pursuit of this culinary tradition our friend took us to Liuzza’s for dinner.

Liuzza’s is a cozy neighborhood restaurant with abundant pescetarian options, but the vegetarian selection is rather limited. However, we’re used to enjoying delicious traditional foods in establishments that might not consider their cuisine compatible with our diet.  We started with a stuffed artichoke and then shared a plate of pasta alfredo.  The stuffed artichoke was rich and savory and the pasta was  swimming in a fresh homemade alfredo sauce of cheese, cream, butter, and garlic – delicious!

To cap our healthy day off, we went to what was the real gem of the day – Angelo Brocato’s Ice Cream Shop in Midtown.   Angelo Brocato’s prepares fresh Italian baked pastries and rich ice cream desserts like spumoni and tortoni.  Taylor tried her first ever cannoli and the three of us split a tortoni, which is an almond-flavored frozen soufflee (see here). While Midtown is not on most tourist’s path, this bakery is well worth the trip.

On our first free day in New Orleans James and I decided to take in as much of the city as we could on foot. The friend we are staying with  attends Tulane Law School on the north-side of the city. Our mission was was to travel the 5 miles from there to the French Quarter and along the way find a good Louisiana-style vegetarian lunch.

After wandering past seemingly endless blocks of Victorian mansions on St. Charles Street, we turned west toward the river and found ourselves on surrounded by boutiques, antique stores, and restaurants on Magazine Street. Increasingly warm and hungry, we happened upon Mahoney’s Po’Boy Shop just as the grumbling in our stomachs was becoming unbearable.  Luckily for us, Mahoney’s had a Fried Okra Po’Boy special for the day, as well as several other vegetarian po’boy options – including Fried Green Tomatoes, Eggplant Parmesan, Grilled Cheese, and even a Potato Chip Po’Boy.  We opted for the Fried Okra and Fried Green Tomato sandwiches. When okra is abundant it is easy to get tired of it, but after a whole year without it (okra does not exist in any reliable quantity in Peru) this fried okra sandwich was divine.  Both po’boys were moistened by homemade remoulade, consisting primarily of mayonnaise seasoned with horseradish, green onions, and chopped hard boiled eggs.

After separating ourselves from the table, we resumed our trek to the center of town only to be halted once again by a sign advertising a $2 seasonal Abita. The Strawberry Harvest Lager is a light refreshing beer with a strawberry finish. Not a bad way to cool off and relax on a beautiful warm spring day.

We did eventually make it down to the French Quarter – it was beautiful and Bourbon Street smelled bad – then we treated ourselves to a street car ride home where we committed round one of an attempt at vegetarian gumbo. More on that later…

Dandelion greens are from the chicory family and while delicious, can be a bit too bitter for some people.  The use of tomatoes in this dish helps cut the bitterness.  If you don’t have any cultivated dandelion greens (don’t use the ones growing in your yard!), you can substitute other greens like chard or spinach.

For this meal, you’ll need either an oven-proof skillet or a separate dish you can bake in.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 4 cups fresh dandelion greens, coarsely chopped
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and diced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 eggs
• paprika for sprinkling

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large skillet, saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms in the olive oil until onions are translucent.
3. Add dandelion greens, tomatoes, thyme, and basil, continuing to saute until the greens are well wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. If using a separate baking dish, transfer sauteed components to that dish.
5. Make small wells in the the sauteed vegetables and crack an egg into each one.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until egg whites have set.
7. Sprinkle tops of eggs with paprika and serve!