We enjoy cooking a wide-variety of foods. From French, to Mexican, to our favorite sushi, we try to leave no culinary stone unturned. We’re definitely all over the board, but most of what you see will be light, vegetarian or vegan. While we are not strict vegetarians, and try not to limit our palettes or experiences with food, we strive to do what is best by our bodies and that so far has proven to be a mostly vegetarian diet with some awesome healthy meat dishes interwoven for diversity.

Interested in our Vegan recipes, or perhaps Vegetarian?

The crappiest part of fall is that the days are constantly growing shorter. Not good when you have a mostly food blog and your recipes are mainly things you make for dinner on weeknights. I’m gonna have to get crafty, or Neil and I might be eating appetizers all winter — not that there’s anything wrong with that. I love the nights Neil and I love make a bunch of appetizers and spend the night working and noshing finger food. Like this past Tuesday for example.

We were in the grocery store when I came across one of these:

Have you seen these? It caught my eye from across the produce department. Love at first sight? I wasn’t sure. Thinking it was probably a genetically engineered alien avocado hybrid, I quickly did a search on my phone. Turns out the SlimCado has been around forever, well almost, and they’ve only recently found their way to our neck of the woods in Missouri. I hate that we’re always the last to get everything! Of course, being that it was something new and untested, I HAD to get one. Man I’m weak. Wanting to keep dinner fairly simple, I picked up a loaf of crusty French bread and decided to serve the SlimCado in guacamole over toasted bread. That’s right, bruschetta, i.e. “fancy toast.”

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tomatoes, medium chopped
1 SlimCado, medium chopped (or 2 regular avocados)
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, medium chopped
¼ cup chopped cilantro
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven on the Broiler setting. Slice the French bread on the diagonal into ½- inch rounds and place on a baking sheet.
2. Brush each slice with olive oil. Toast the sliced bread in the oven for 2-3 minutes. You’ll have to stand by the oven and watch it carefully.
3. Remove the toasted bread from the oven and immediately rub with the
clove of garlic.
4. In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, SlimCado, cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper. Mix together gently making sure the avocado is well coated
in the lime juice.
5. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto the bread slices and serve.

You’ll have a tough time telling the difference between a SlimCado and an avocado. They are definitely less dense, but the taste is nearly identical, though not as full-flavored and rich as your average Hass avocado. It’s nothing short of perfection in our guacamole and this bruschetta is flavor packed! The interplay (read: mouth orgasm) of soft tomatoes and SlimCado coupled with lime juice and cilantro over toasted bread is positively to die for. Just consider it your last summer food fling!

Did you try any new fruits or vegetables this summer?

Rachel. One of my two best friends in the world. You may remember her from such events as Memorial Day 2010, and have probably seen her lurking around in the comments. She’s like a sister to me. In my wildest dreams I sometimes (well more than sometimes) dream that she’ll marry my brother so we can be real sisters forever. Sorry Luke, but it’s reasonable right? You might be wondering why I posted this older picture and not one taken this weekend. It’s because there are no pictures of us this weekend. Once we hit the kitchen, it was off to the races and we didn’t come out for hours.

We decided that our planned Labor Day game night was going to be all about experimentation, with the theme being “snacks for boys.” There were some familiar recipes on the menu. We couldn’t help but make our famous Cream Cheese Beer Dip again (above). Still shows up in our analytics all the time!

Rach whipped up an awesome Hot Crab and Artichoke Dip via our beloved and much missed Gourmet Magazine.

Pretzel Dogs! We made a batch of our Homemade Soft Pretzel dough and wrapped it around turkey dogs. Out of the oven in 15 minutes and the boys loved them! They’d make great party or tailgate grazing as they aren’t overly greasy and don’t need a lot of dishes or utensils.

Another awesome experiment, Mini Deep Dish Pizzas! Make a batch of our Margherita Pizza Dough. Gather up your favorite pizza toppings (we used 2 cups tomato sauce, 2 cups shredded mozzarella, 2 cups turkey sausage, and some salt and pepper) and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Lightly brush 16 standard muffin cups with oil or non-stick spray. Roll out each piece of dough into a 6-inch round and place each in a muffin cup, gently pressing dough into bottom and sides of the cup.

Layer tomato sauce, cheese and sausage into each cup and top with a little cheese (it seals ingredients in cup when it melts). Bake until dough is a golden brown and crisp (between 12-14 minutes). Let cool an additional 2-3 minutes before removing gently.

For dessert, Rachel whipped up a batch of her delicious peanut butter cookies — with a twist! A little added jelly to the center and you have peanut butter and jelly cookies! So good, I ate them with reckless abandon, scarfing up at least 10. I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup crunchy or smooth peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Grape or Strawberry jelly-any jelly you would like anyways

Directions:
In a bowl, cream the butter, sugar, peanut butter, and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. In a seperate bowl, mix  flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Once the butter-sugar mixture is smooth, slowly add your dry ingredients. Once thoroughly combined, roll into 1-1 1/2-inch balls and flatten on a cookie sheet that has been greased or covered with a silicone mat. Make a large indention in the middle to add the jelly after baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 min. After removing from the oven, place a tablespoon of jelly into each indention. Once  the jelly has been placed on each cookie, pop them back into the oven for 2 min. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

We made an awesome feast fit for our boys as they played video games and talked all things manly. Our pups wore themselves out and Rachel and I had a great time as always. I swear we share the same brain. If that’s true I know she’s as excited for our next themed cooking night as I am!

This is another great “what do you have in your fridge?” recipe. We were almost home the other night when Neil asked “what should we have for dinner?” We had pasta. We had peppers. We had turkey sausage. Add diced tomatoes, garlic, a little seasoning and some red wine and vinaigrette and we were eating in less than 30 minutes. It proves yet again that you can make simple, healthy meals without skipping a beat or agonizing over complicated recipes or ingredients. What’s even better, the peppers are from our garden!

Ingredients:

8 ounces whole wheat rotini
2 tbsp. olive oil
2–3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes (no salt added)
1 cup sweet peppers, roughly chopped (see note)
4 links turkey sausage, sliced into rounds
3 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp. basil, finely chopped
3 tbsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions:

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium.

2. Add the wine and boil for 2–3 minutes to allow the alcohol to boil off. Add the tomatoes, peppers, sausages, parsley, and basil. Add vinaigrette and stir. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary. Lower the heat and adjust so that the sauce will barely simmer. Simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes.

3. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (approximately 10 minutes before you plan on eating). Add the sauce to the pasta and stir, garnishing with more parsley and pepper.

Makes 4 servings.

Neil here! I remember eating corn dogs like crazy in my high school days of 2 a-day soccer practices coupled with hours in front of computer games every night. They were so good. Greasy meat, wrapped in bread, fried on a stick. It’s the perfect meal right? As Anthony Bourdain once said, “They need to put more meat on sticks.” And I agree!

However as I get older and live a more sedentary lifestyle (aside from the gym and camping/hiking), I can’t exactly afford to go buy a 12-pack of frozen corn dogs to enjoy with a night of PS3 or computer gaming. Nor do I relish the thought of packaged frozen food anymore. But as we proved last night, you CAN make corn dogs that are healthy (read: healthier) and still taste great!

With the use of whole wheat flour, turkey franks, and baking instead of frying, these corn dogs are a perfect alternative if you’re looking to avoid all the grease and frying mess. Vegetarian? Easy! Just grab your favorite soy dog substitute!

So lets get started. This recipe is a modified version of one from Rachael Ray, that we adjusted slightly with the substitution of whole-wheat flour.

Ingredients:

1 cup reduced-fat milk 
1 package active dry yeast 
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing 
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 
1 cup fine yellow cornmeal 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose (whole wheat) flour, plus more for dusting and kneading 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or paprika 
1 pkg reduced-fat hot dogs
1 large egg, beaten 
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1. Warm milk to 110 degrees in a small sauce pan and add yeast, stirring gently.  Allow it to sit for two minutes to soften. While this is going, Add olive oil, brown sugar, cornmeal into a bowl or mixer. Add the milk to this mix.

2. Stir in the flour, salt, baking soda, and cayenne pepper and mix into a sticky dough. You may need to add more flour if the mix is too sticky. We found that the recipe was a little off and needed a bit more flour.

3. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and kneed it out for a couple minutes. Shape it into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled container and cover it with a towel (We always put ours in the microwave with a towel over it so it stays at a good temperature). Let dough sit for 1 hour. While this is rising, prep your hot dogs by inserting sticks or skewers about 1-2 inches deep and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

5. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out thin. We rolled ours to about 1/4 inch or less. The more dough you will have around your dogs, the thicker they will obviously be, so its up to you!

6. Cut the dough into 1-inch strips that are about 10-12 inches long. Begin rolling the dough around the dogs, holding the dogs at an angle so that you are not overlapping the dough more than 1/4-inch. Pinch together ends or any open areas to seal.

7. Place on greased/sprayed baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Add sesame seeds if desired.

8. Bake in oven for 15 minutes and then enjoy with your favorite dipping sauces!

The directions may seem a little bit long, but don’t let that fool you. These were as easy as making and waiting on dough and quickly wrapping the dogs and placing them in the oven. While they don’t have the super-crunch of a fried corn dog, the texture is so incredibly similar it’s uncanny. The dough net us nine corn dogs, so it’s easily a two-night meal, great for families, or a great dish for a party. We definitely plan on making at our next gaming party!

A few of our fair photos from 2007

The Minnesota State Fair starts today. It’s the best fair in the nation, and more than just Minnesotans think so. Although we don’t eat a lot of junk food, I have a weakness for cheese curds and homemade chocolate chip cookies, while I’m pretty sure Neil would subsist entirely on Pronto Pups if he had the option. Sadly, we won’t be able to make it this year, but we are planning to make some fair food this weekend, so check back next week!

What’s your favorite fair food?

We’re not really in the casserole season yet are we? It was actually cool (well it wasn’t in the upper 90’s) and so we’re finally feeling like warm food again. Nothing heavy, but some warm oven goodness nonetheless. We had all the staple Mexi-fixins in the pantry so a warm, layered tortilla pie was on the menu. These are so easy. Butter some tortillas, layer them in no particular order, and bake. Best part is the helpings are massive, so it easily makes enough for two meals. I love leftovers when the weather is so nice. I’d rather be outside enjoying weather that doesn’t feel like it’s trying to kill me.

Ingredients:

4 large flour tortillas
3 cups grated cheese, I recommend sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack
1 cup rice, prepared according to instructions
1 can beans, cooked (we used black beans)
2 cups spinach, chopped and coated lightly with salt and vinegar or a light Italian dressing
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, your choice, diced or chopped finely
Butter
Chiles, peppers, or pickled jalapenos, sliced
2 tablespoons chili powder
Chopped avocado
Chopped cilantro
Sour cream
Salsa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a baking dish, which optimally should be the same size as your tortillas. In my case this wasn’t possible, so I just origami-style folded my tortillas to fit.
2. Butter and place one tortilla on the bottom of the pie dish, and sprinkle some cheese over it. Add a layer of each filling ingredient (cheese, rice, tomatoes, spinach, beans, onions and peppers) and continue buttering each tortilla and layering ingredients. You can go as high as you want, we stopped at four layers. Don’t forget to season each layer with a bit of chili powder! Top off your layers with one last flour tortilla. Spread a little butter over the surface of this tortilla.
3. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 350°F. Remove the foil and crank the temperature to 400°F. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Remove from oven. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut into quarters.
Serve with chopped avocados, cilantro, salsa, and/or sour cream.

Makes four servings

We love this dish for the same reason we adore non-traditional lasagnas. You can really put anything in it and it will come out great. Have a half-jar of mushrooms in your fridge? Throw it in! Squash? Sure, why not! You really can’t go wrong with this and it’s a great way to use up the bits and pieces of things that sometimes end up leftover from other meals. Seasoned shredded chicken or pork would be awesome if you wanted to make it meaty. The sky is the limit and while it’s nice, hot and hearty, it won’t put you into a coma.

Too Many Tomatoes, Squash, Beans and Other Good Things is definitely not applicable to my garden this year but it would have really come in handy last year when I was covered in tomatoes and grew tired of canning and eating fresh tomato sauce. I know, the absurdity of such thoughts in light of how unsuccessful we were this year.

It isn’t a new book (first published in 1976), but one I recently came across in our University Library. It was sandwiched in the tiny vegetarian section so I decided to give it a look. Within an hour I had tracked it down on Amazon and purchased a copy for myself. The premise is pretty fantastical. Organized alphabetically by garden vegetable, each chapter begins with notes on growing and harvesting the vegetable, how much yield to expect, nutritional notes, and information on cooking, freezing, storage and basic preparation. It also lists complimentary herbs, something I’ve always wanted in a cookbook.

I adore that it has both simple and intermediate recipes. Nothing is overly sophisticated, and many of the recipes are just simple ways to enhance the flavor and enjoyment of your favorite vegetables. They also don’t call for the use of processed or convenience foods. It’s a treasure trove of helpful advice and simple recipes that help tame the tide when your garden runneth over. I highly recommend it for anyone’s collection, foodie or not.

Used copies are available on Amazon (for less than $10), and if you live in Columbia, my copy is due back September 21st.

We went home from work last night without an idea of what to make for dinner. We’re between grocery shopping trips and have a hodge podge of different ingredients laying around. Little bits of cheese, a stockpile of rice, some tomatoes for sandwiches and dinners…we ran with it. Stuffed tomatoes (or peppers) are nothing new around the foodie blogosphere and now I know why, they are delicious and easy and you can fill them with whatever miscellaneous ingredients you have laying around.

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes
1 Jalapeno pepper, sliced
1 cup brown basmati rice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon basil
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook rice according to directions.
3. Spray the inside of a cooking dish with cooking spray. With a serrated knife, cut off the top of each tomato and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Sprinkle the inside of each tomato with a little salt.
4. Stir together the rest of the ingredients (except oil) and combine with finished rice. Stuff the mixture inside each tomato, mounding the tops slightly. Drizzle olive oil over the tops and bake for about 25 minutes.

We made four and each had two, but they’d also be perfect as a side dish. The only thing we wish we would have had was Feta cheese, as a sharper taste would have been a better compliment to the tomato than the mozzarella we had on hand. I definitely think a stuffed pepper night is in our future.

We’re getting really itchy for fall around here. We’re ready for the garden to die. We’re really ready for the lawn to go dormant and I’m craving tailgates and warm rummy apple cider. We’re still enjoying fruits and veggies, but I’ve been dying for a reason to use the canned pumpkin that’s leftover from last fall (yup, I was the idiot who stockpiled it when the media said there would be a shortage). It still feels too early for apple pie, so alas, Pumpkin Zucchini Bread was born. I made mine vegan, but by switching up the applesauce and shortening for eggs and butter, it’s easy to revert.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine applesauce and sugar. Add pumpkin, shortening and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts.
2. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.

As you can see I opted to make mini loaves and mini muffins. I don’t know what’s come over me, but I’m lately obsessed with tiny baking forms. No real rationale, I just like little things. I’ve been oggling these tart pans on Amazon. Oh and these adorable cookie cutters for Clive’s cookies. I think I may need a third job to support my baking habit. In any sense, this bread is deliciously full of pumpkin flavor, albeit a little dense from it and the zucchini.

We finally canned our first batch of salsa for the season last night. It hasn’t been a particularly great tomato year. Last year, we were harvesting buckets of tomatoes in late June and this year we had to supplement our stock with tomatoes from the grocery store just to get our first batch in late August. Our peppers have done great so I guess we still win somehow right? I hope next year goes better but with Missouri, you never know.

This recipe is actually from the book The Food Lover’s Guide to Canning, a great tome if you are new to canning and anxious about striking out on your own with your own ideas and recipes.

Ingredients:

5 1/4 cups dried black beans (we cheated and used canned)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 cup peeled, chopped onions
2 teaspoons salt
7 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 cups seeded, chopped green peppers (we used a mixed assortment)
2 jalepenos seeded and chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (we used apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup lime juice (we used lemon juice)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar (white or brown, we’ve done both)
1 teaspoon dried corriander
3/4 cup chopped, loosely packed fresh cilantro

We also added:
6 cups tomatoes, roughly diced (you’ll have to adjust pressure if you are using a pressure cooker)
3 teaspoons chili flakes
2 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons cilantro
3 teaspoons honey
1 whole Serrano pepper
1 whole Cayenne pepper

Directions:

If you are using dried beans: Cover the beans in water and soak overnight. Drain and place the beans in a saucepan. Add the garlic, onion and salt, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Lower the head and cook for about an hour. The beans should be tender but not soft. Drain well.
1. In a large saucepan, combine the beans with the corn, pepper and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients, return to a boil and cook for another 20 minutes or until thick before ladling into sterilized jars. Leave one inch of headspace.
Process in a pressure canner: 85 minutes at 10 pounds pressure, or in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes. Great processing tables are available here.

Chips and salsa are a staple item at our house. In the winter there is nothing better than having a gathering or game night and cracking open a jar of summer goodness to share with everyone. It’s also a source of pride considering a few short years ago the idea of canning was daunting and overwhelming. A few of our other friends have started canning as well so it’s fun to share stories and recipes.

I hope we can at least squeeze one more batch of salsa from this garden, because I still want to make a batch with pineapple or mango.