Fresh Green Tomatoes

When I see green tomatoes for the first time in the summer I get excited because I know that in a few short weeks I will be slurping up their juicy, well-ripened siblings.  I admit it, I am not the biggest fan of under-ripe fruit like green tomatoes, but for everything there is a season and this is the time of year when one ought to enjoy crisp green tomatoes and dream of things to come.

Part of the reason I have never really developed a taste for green tomatoes is that I also have an aversion to deep frying which is by far the most common preparation. When they are done well, fried green tomatoes are crisp and the oil and batter have infused a little flavor. However, most of the time fried green tomatoes are greasy, limp, and flavorless.

This year we took on the challenge of making a couple of delicious green tomato recipes that go in a different direction. To this end, we came up with Green Tomato Aji and Green Tomato Quiche. Both of these recipes do a great job highlighting the freshness of green tomatoes and uncover their versatility. So, while it is still a far cry from the rapture I expect when I bite in this year’s first ripe red tomato, these green tomato recipes do a good job paving the way.

A street vendor's cooler of marcianos in Huanchaco, Peru, where it is always summer.

Here it is! April 26th and the thermostat in Austin, Texas crossed the 90 degree mark all afternoon. I know that people with a calendar in front of them or those who pay attention to the tilt of the Earth might disagree, but I am ready to officially declare summer. May the rainfall be average and the season end before October.

One of my strategies for enjoying summer is to make sure that I have plenty of cool hydrating food and drinks on hand. In Peru unchurned ice creams and frozen fruit juices are very popular year round. These treats, known as marcianos, are usually produced in homes and sold directly out the front door or in coolers around town. Pretty much any fruit can be used to make marcianos, but the most popular appeared to be coconut, maracuya (passion fruit), and strawberry.

To celebrate the beginning of summer we made our own Maracuy y Fresa Marcianos using passion fruit yogurt and fresh strawberries. They are a delicious and healthy way to break in a new popsicle mold and cool off, if only for a little while.

A patch of Indian Blankets on the banks of the Pedernales River.

It has been a picture perfect spring week in Austin, so, with a few free days on our hands we decided to go camping. Camping is great for the change of scenery, exercise, fellowship, and food. Half the fun of the endeavor is to build a fire and make a hot meal in natural surroundings as our common primitive ancestors did in eras gone by.

For our temporary escape from civilization we sought refuge at Pedernales Falls State Park about an hour west of Austin in the hill country. The park is famous for its falls and pools that the Pedernales River has carved out of the limestone bedrock. This time of year it is also a great place to view the spring wildflowers and wildlife.

View of Pedernales Falls

Since the trip was simply an overnight car camp we decided to seize the opportunity to test out some new camping recipes. We picked dishes that could be prepped ahead of time and cooked over a charcoal grill which are available at all of the Park’s developed sites. For lunch we packed sandwiches, fruit, and trail mix which we enjoyed while hiking around the Park’s loop trail that crosses the river and climbs a steep bluff offering views of the surrounding Hill Country. In the evening we had some homemade vegan Italian- style sausages and served them with grilled asparagus and portabello mushrooms that we packed in a simple Asian-inspired marinade. Dinner was of course accompanied by a campfire and some cold brews. For breakfast we tried a new experiment — Over our summer road trip James and I frequently enjoyed grilling eggs in bell pepper halves. For a healthier vegan take on that theme we grilled a tofu scramble in pepper halves over hot charcoal. It worked beautifully!  These simple meals were delicious, filling, and just what we needed to fuel our venture into the great outdoors!

On Saturday night we attended a beer tasting party at a friend’s house. Everyone attending the party brought two 20 ounce bottles of a favorite craft beer to share and everyone was able to sample and document beers they may not have tried before. These are a great way to get together, drink beer, and pretend that the beer drinking is part of a scientific process. For us, it is a great way to drink with friends and test new recipes.

The Lineup

At this gathering we debuted Quick Radish & Cipilloni Pickles, Tomato and Feta Crostini, and Black Bean Toquitos with Mango Avocado Salsa and Smoky Black Bean Dip. Pickles have become popular on small plate menus in bars around Austin and we found that this recipe paired well with the Westmalle Belgian Triple (Trappist Belgian Tripel),  Clown Shoes Brewery Brown Angel (American Brown Ale), and Harpoon 100 Barrel Series (Black IPA). Tomato and Feta Crostini are really savory and flavorful which we enjoyed with rich malty beers like Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot (American Strong Ale), Left Hand Brewery Wake Up Dead (Imperial Stout), and Unibroue Terrible (Belgian Strong Dark Ale). The toquitos and salsa were the most versatile appetizer and most stereotypical drinking grub. They went well with the Ass Kisser Porter Pounder (Smoked Porter), Saint Arnold Endeavor (Double IPA), and of course the Bud Light we dipped into once the craft brews were out. All in all it was a great night to expand our beer palates and debut some delicious new apps.

The Big Texan on I-40 in Amarillo, Texas

I am a native Texan and I have talked to many many people along the way who say “I have been to Texas before.” When this happens I respond with “Oh good! Where did you go?” Occasionally I will hear a story about a 4H trip to Dallas or an Americorps job in Beaumont, but the majority of the time I hear “I drove through Amarillo on my way to…” In case you don’t know Amarillo is in the Panhandle, a portion of Texas that juts out into the great plains and is the best place to stop for gas on I-40 between Oklahoma City and Albuquerque.  In other words, if you slip up and  indicate to a Texan that your big fill-up in Amarillo earned you of Loan Star cred then you need to do some damage control. This is where the Big Texan might save you. If the sentence concludes: ” I drove through Amarillo on my way to California and stopped at the Big Texan” you might escape one of my more ocular-nerve defying eye rolls.

9 brew sampler at Big Texan

Big Texan is Texas kitsch that everyone can love. The exterior and adjacent motel are fixed up to look like the set of an Old Western movie, the foyer has a shooting gallery game, and the establishment is decorated with enough taxidermied remains to fill a small zoo. However, its biggest claim to fame, until now, was being the home to the free 72 ounce stake. So why on earth are a couple of vegetarians excited to talk about the Big Texan? Well, on a recent trip to Amarillo to visit family I learned that Big Texan is now the home to the panhandles first and only microbrewery! In addition to loving good vegetarian food, James and I are also proud beer nerds and avid home brewers who never pass up the chance to try a new brew. We tried all of the different styles they had to offer and found them to be very palatable. My favorite was the Pecan Porter and James liked the Rattle Snake IPA. We supped on fried okra and a baked potato and grabbed some homemade fudge on our way out the door. So while I can’t recommend the 72 ounce stake, I can say that the Big Texan has something to offer a more vegetarian leaning crowd.

Coseppi Kitchen is about inclusive vegetarian cooking which means we want to make sure that our recipes are accessible to people with a variety of dietary needs. We think this is important because we want to share our ideas for eclectic, healthy, wholefood cooking with as many people as possible and we know that vegetarians are not a homogenous group. In the family of vegetarians there are ovo-lacto vegetarians, ovo-vegetarians, lacto-vegetarians, vegans, raw vegans,  and vegetarians with food allergies. There are also flexitarians — people who enjoy vegetarian food but eat meat in some limited quantities — and pescetarians — ovo-lacto vegetarians who also eat fish. My family is an example of this diversity: My parents are flexitarians, I am a splash of milk in my coffee away from being a vegan on most days, and James is a pescetarian. That is right, James eats fish on occasion.

Some people might see all this dietary diversity as a serious difficulty and instead of meals being a time to bring people together it becomes a source of stress trying to divine the one perfect dish that everyone can eat. I like to think of inclusive vegetarian cooking as a solution to this problem as well. After years of creating meals for a diverse group of friends and family, it is now very easy for us to pick up a recipe and with a few minor tweaks have a fantastic inclusive meal.

From Coop

For example, last week in Wheatsville Coop we picked up a copy of the National Cooperative Grocers Association’s flyer and spotted a recipe for Pacific Halibut with Fennel and Grapefruit Salad. Ignoring the mention of halibut, I was immediately drawn to the Fennel and Grapefruit, two ingredients that I love and that are locally available in Texas this time of year. For dinner that night James and I shared the aforementioned Fennel and Grapefruit Salad (with added walnuts for some crunch and omegas), James had a portion of poached pacific halibut (a Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch “Best Choice”), and I ate a slice of grilled tofu. The meal was loved by all and suitable for almost any type of “tarian.”

There are several strategies for vege-tizing recipes. Above is an example of what I like to call divide and conquer — by splitting up different elements of a dish into individual portions, fellow diners can select the elements that are appropriate for them while all sharing the same meal.

Tonight, we feast!

Sunday evening James and I attended the Spring Potluck and Open House at Johnson’s Backyard Garden. The weather was fair, the bands were lively, and food was excellent.  We have been attending these potlucks for more than four years and every year the potluck increases and we get to sample more and more delicious dishes prepared by fellow Austinites.

James and I prepared a Peruvian causa filled with carrots, watermelon radishes, and seasonal herbs. We also prepared an ají verde with mint, parsley, cilantro, garlic, and a variety of green peppers. Causa and aji verde recipes both are featured in The Authentic Peruvian Vegetarian Cookbook.

We brought  a growler of the Fire Eagle IPA from Austin Beerworks to pair with the feast and musical accompaniment was provided by Christy Hays & Her Sunday Best, Little Mikey and the Soda Jerks, and  Whiskey Shivers. It was a perfect evening of Texan atmosphere, good food, and great company.

Little Mikey and the Soda Jerks playing in the Pecan grove at the JBG Potluck and Open House.

The crowds at Texas Veg Fest

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!

Robert Cheeke, a vegan body builder.

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.

There are two great veggie-centric events going on in Austin this weekend:

Saturday March 30, 2012 we will be volunteering at Texas VegFest at Fiesta Gardens from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The event promotes and celebrates plant-based diets for a healthier future and features  more than 100 vendors, activities, and great local bands and speakers including one of my favorites, Michael Greger, MD of www.NutritionFacts.org. There is a recommended donation of $5.

Sunday March 31, 2012 we strongly encourage you to checkout the JBG Spring Potluck and Open House. The potluck runs from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM and is a great chance to take your friends and family out to the farm and enjoy and share some great food. Free of charge, BYOB, and bring a dish to share. We will be preparing one of our favorite recipes from The Authentic Peruvian Vegetarian Cookbook for everyone and the farm will be providing free heirloom tomato transplants for all in attendance!

Cafe du Monde cafe au lait and beignets

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.

Greg and James at Liuzza's

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.