vegetarian Archives | Fake Food Free

Cilantro Lime Cauliflower and Mushrooms

June 15, 2018

This simple vegetarian side dish combines cauliflower and mushrooms with cilantro and lime! It’s also hearty enough to make it your meal.

Ugh. No riced cauliflower?!

That thought ran through my head at the supermarket this week. It’s pretty ridiculous if you think about it. Since riced cauliflower didn’t even exist even a few short years ago.

Between the time that it became popular and it became available in bags, I’d buy a whole head and send it through the food processor. Which is always a mess to clean up. Which is why I now buy it in bags.

But our supermarket can be hit or miss with it. So it was back to buying the whole head this time.

And I decided to chop it by hand instead of dirtying the food processor. Which is equally as messy, by the way.

I’ve been needing some new go-to vegetable side dishes, though. Something that could pass as a main course if I didn’t feel like making anything else to go with it.

Spring Pea Salad with Walnuts and Za’atar Yogurt

April 27, 2018

This spring pea salad uses farm fresh peas and combines them with green onions and crunchy walnuts. It’s dressed in a yogurt-based sauce that is seasoned with za’atar, a Middle Eastern herb and spice blend.

Pea salad. We’ve had a love-hate relationship for as long as I can remember.

It has a bit to do with the pea salad I grew up with – canned or frozen peas and a mayo-based dressing. My family loved the stuff at get-togethers, but I always skipped over it in favor of macaroni or potato salad.

But spring pea salad? This I can get behind. It sounds the same, but there is a key difference.

Fresh peas.

Pappardelle Pasta Tossed with Creamy Almond Spinach Sauce

April 3, 2018

This pasta is tossed in a creamy, dairy-free almond spinach sauce. It’s a meatless meal that is flavorful and filling!

If I had to pick one ingredient that I’m really inspired to work with right now, it would be nuts. But not nuts as a crunchy snack or topping.

Nuts as a soaked and blended ingredient to make things creamy while also adding protein.

A couple years ago, I made this Broccoli Cashew Soup. There have been plenty more experiments.

This time I’m using almonds. I bought a big bag of slivered almonds a while back with every intention to start perfecting my macaron making skills.

Cauliflower Potato Enchiladas with Chipotle Carrot Sauce

March 25, 2018

These vegetarian cauliflower potato enchiladas are baked with a rich, smoky sauce made with roasted carrots, tomato paste, and chipotle peppers. It’s comfort food with the bonus of plenty of veggies!

I’ve passed by them a million times.

I buy a lot of vegetables there – spinach, Brussels sprouts, kale. But that bag of baby carrots at Costco is huge even for that store. I always knew there would be no way we could finish them before they went bad.

But I was desperate. I needed some carrots and I had zero desire to add another stop to my afternoon.

So I bought them, and then I told everyone about it on Instagram.

Spinach, Garlic and Tahini Soup

March 13, 2018

A simple meal, this spinach garlic, and tahini soup is pureed in a blender before being simmered, then served.

I was checking out at the supermarket the other day when the conversation turned to the food I was buying. This happens all the time. It usually starts with a comment about me cooking or eating healthy foods.

Comments like these don’t make me proud of myself or happy. As a former health professional, they always sadden me a bit. That’s because they mean that the foods in my cart stand out to the cashier as being very different from the foods the majority of other people are buying.

But this conversation went a step further to a comment I had yet to hear.

Spanish Fideos with Chickpeas, Kale, and Aïoli

March 5, 2018

This recipe for Spanish Fideos, a toasted pasta dish, comes from the new cookbook by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen, Just Add Sauce.

I mentioned that inspiration has been a little low in the kitchen lately. I don’t think I’m alone, if I can believe what my social media feeds are telling me. Everyone seems to be in a bit of a creativity drought.

To help solve it, I’ve been turning to my cookbook shelf. It’s not quite as heavy as it once was. I am a lot better at keeping around only the ones that inspire me and that I at least plan to cook from in the very near future.

While I’m a little more selective these days, if a book offers me something that I’m not yet familar with or a special look at food that can change the way I cook, I’ll dig in.

This time around, that something was sauces.

Sesame Lentils with Bok Choy

October 28, 2017

I always struggle with getting the right consistency for cooked brown lentils. And by right, I mean getting them the way I like them – slightly firm, but tender enough to enjoy. Usually, I get them boiling, get distracted and they are mushy before I realize it.

That’s fine for soups, but I enjoy eating them as more of a stir-fry or a skillet meal.

So this time around, I watched them like a hawk.

Actually, that’s a lie.

Shawarma Spiced Fava Bean Vegetarian Burger

July 6, 2017

This post is sponsored by Sahadi’s.

Food access is important in my line of work. Well, if you love food, regardless of the type of work you do, it’s important. But when you are tasked to make specific foods or need to photograph a certain ingredient, you have to find it.

I’m the first one to admit that regularly accessing what I need isn’t always easy around here. Of course, this comes after spending 10 years in the surprisingly excellent local food scene of Central Kentucky, and then a few more years in the Bay Area. Which, I mean, come on. What can’t you find in the Bay Area?

Internet shopping for groceries is not only a fun pastime these days, it’s often a necessity.

Chickpea, Brown Rice, and Kale Salad in a Jar with Pesto

February 26, 2017

I’ve always wanted a messy garden. I know that sounds strange. Most people want a gorgeously organized, symmetrical growing plot with every veggie in its place.

Not me. I’ve always loved the look of gardens that are bursting at the seams with greenery growing in every direction. Like a forest gone wild that produces food.

This might be because I lack the skill to produce one of those perfect gardens. Maybe I’m drawn to messy gardens because they are easier to maintain. But really it’s how they look.

I’m getting there.

Poha with Veggies and Eggs

February 22, 2017

Am I the only person who didn’t know about poha? How did I miss this?

I feel like I have a basic knowledge of most cuisines, but as much as I enjoy Indian cuisine, poha completely slipped passed my radar. I first discovered it a little while back through Liana Krissoff’s Vegetarian for a New Generation. Her book contains a poha recipe and I was hooked immediately.

Poha is a flattened white rice and when combined with spices, veggies, and eggs it’s like an Indian-inspired fried rice! There is something about it that I enjoy so much more than regular rice. Internet rumor has it that it’s easier to digest as well. But don’t take my word for that. I’ve just seen it around the web.