College Vegetarian Cooking_ Feed Yourself and Your Friends - Megan Carle [40]
Food Trivia:
Various versions of pad Thai have been around for centuries, but it really gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. The prime minister at that time thought that if he could get the people to eat more rice noodles they would have more rice to export. That began the trend, but it got another boost when the government heavily promoted producing noodles and running noodle shops as a way to revive the Thai economy following World War II.
Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Joes
In my family, I’m the sloppy joe guru. I stand there for a ridiculously long time adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that, getting the taste just right. Needless to say, I was skeptical about a veggie version. What are sloppy joes without the beef? Well, I can tell you with confidence that they are amazing. In fact, no one even realizes that they don’t have meat in them. –J
Serves 12
1 large onion
4 stalks celery
1 green bell pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
2 cups textured vegetable protein
4 cups water
Salt and pepper
12 hamburger buns
Peel the onion and cut into ¼-inch pieces. Trim and discard the ends of the celery and cut into ¼-inch pieces. Cut the bell pepper in half, remove the seeds and membranes, and cut into ¼-inch pieces.
Place the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and green pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Stir in the tomato paste, ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar and cook for 5 minutes. Add the textured vegetable protein and water and stir well. Cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the water is completely absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the sloppy joes onto the buns and serve immediately.
Cooking 101:
The substances that give onions their flavor are also the culprits that make you cry when you are cutting them. Onions contain sulfuric compounds that are released when the onion is cut. The chemical is then dissolved in the water in your eyes, creating a mild sulfuric acid. That’s right: sulfuric acid. In your eyes. So how can you stop it? Chilling onions before cutting them seems to help some, but sadly, the perfect onion-cutting protectant has not yet been discovered.
Chapter 7:
Party Food
Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella
“Bacon” and Broccoli Quiche
Caramelized Onion Tart
Focaccia with Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic
Eggplant Tart
Potato Skins Stuffed with Green Chiles, Cheddar, and Smashed Avocado
Oven-Fried Zucchini Sticks with Honey Mustard Sauce
Zucchini Rolls with Goat Cheese
Vegetable Pot Stickers
Artichoke Dip
Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella
Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella
Bruschetta is a version of garlic bread (garlic toast, really), which is good by me because I think garlic should be its own food group. It’s great in just about everything. Fresh mozzarella is the stuff that comes in little round tubs of brine, not the stuff that comes shrink-wrapped and that you put on pizza. It’s soft and creamy and tastes amazing with the crispy bread, garlic, tomatoes, and basil. –J
Makes about 40 pieces
1 (1-pound) French baguette
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
4 tomatoes
1 (⅔-ounce) package basil
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cut the baguette into ¼- to ⅜-inch-thick slices and place on a baking sheet. Brush the bread with the olive oil and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light brown. Peel one of the cloves of garlic and rub it over the warm bread slices.
Cut the mozzarella into ¼-inch cubes. Cut the tomatoes in half, remove the seeds by scraping them out of the tomato with a small