New favorite dressing!

Here is a new dressing I've fallen in love with! It's supposed to be good on cooked veggies (warm or cooled) and I've had 3 salads in the last 24 hours with it.

Below are the amounts for a single serving (or for 1-2 lbs. cooked veggies) and if you want some to keep in the refrigerator for multiple uses (those amounts in parentheses).

I'll have to test out some variations, but I would guess this would be really good with some lemon in it, garlic (maybe even whole cloves for flavor), or even a little honey. Seems like it would be a really good mayo alternative for some potato salad and would probably be really good with some fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

2 T. (1/2 c.) olive oil

1T (1/4 c.) white wine vinegar

1 tsp. (4 tsp.) Dijon mustard

dash or two each (1/2 tsp. each) salt and pepper

Patel's Indian Cuisine

Always on the lookout for something good to eat in a pinch, the other day I picked up a couple of packages Patel's Cuisine meals.

First up today was Aloo Mutter -- a spicy bowl of potato and green peas in a red curry sauce. Two minutes in the microwave and it was ready to go -- hot and spicy, spicy. Slightly TOO spicy, for my taste, but still with great flavor. I just wish I had some jasmine rice to pour it over.


Besides the obvious drawback of the pile of sodium that always accompanies these types of meals, this is one of the best like it that I've had. All natural, no preservatives, only a handful of ingredients and, of course, vegetarian.

Crispy Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms

New recipe time! It's been a long time, I know. I've got a backlog of things I've made in the last few months. The pictures are taken, the food is eaten. I just have to find the time to share them!

But I'll start with last night's victory. I was setting out to the grocery store to buy things to make dinner for some friends I decided could use a good, home-cooked meal. Then I realized, 'Hey, we could use a good home-cooked meal."

I was in a hurry though, and when I get in these moods, I like to try something new. With my keys and purse already in hand, I grabbed a few back issues from my pile of Vegetarian Times stacked next to my cookbooks and started flipping through. I wasn't sure what I was looking for -- few ingredients, easy and fast -- since it would be late by the time I got back from dropping off the meal to Chris and Jess and my chief taste-tester, Dan, would be famished.

Although it was the picture of the Artichoke and Green Olive Souffle that caught my attention on page 32 of the February 2009 issue, I scanned down the page to find a recipe for Crispy Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms. I had no clue whether Dan liked Brussels sprouts or gnocchi, but I decided I didn't care and I would go for it anyway.

Turns out, he didn't know whether he liked either. And he didn't know what he was about to eat. But the first bite brought out the best reaction I've ever gotten from any food I've ever made. Ever.

"OH. MY. GOD. Oh, my god! This is the best thing I've ever eaten!"

SO, here it is:

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter (real or vegan, etc.)
1 16-oz. pkg frozen gnocchi (I used some that wasn't frozen, and wasn't traditional -- I bought Gia Russa whole wheat gnocchi with sweet potato. Vegan. Delicious. I popped it in the freezer for a couple of hours before I cooked it.)
2 tsp. olive oil, divided
1 lb. cremini mushrooms, quartered -- about 4 cups (Holiday Market didn't have creminis, so I went with baby bellas. They were great, but I think I'll try shitakes next time for the hell of it.)
8 oz. Brussels sprouts (I ended up using about 10 fresh sprouts, sliced the long way)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. shaved Parmesan cheese for garnish, optional (I used regular grated because it's what I had)

1. Heat butter in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi and cook 4 to 5 minutes, turning often, until both sides are browned. Transfer to a large bowl.



2. Pour 1 tsp. oil into pan and add mushrooms. Cook 7 minutes or until mushrooms have cooked down and all liquid is cooked off. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and transfer to bowl with gnocchi.

3. Pour remaining oil into pan and add Brussels sprouts. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, until crisp-tender. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Return mushrooms and gnocchi to pan and saute a couple of more minutes to heat through.



4. Transfer to plates or a platter and garnish with cheese. Enjoy!

Sugar Kisses is back!

Sugar Kisses Bakery, which offers all kinds of delicious vegan treats (and much, much more) is back in business after relocating to Berkley.

Get all the gooey details on their Web site, and be sure to stop by soon!

Below are some of the delicious offerings at Sugar Kisses!

Best Vegetarian: Inn Season Cafe

Real Detroit Weekly has just come out with its "Best of Detroit" list and one of my favorite area restaurants made the cut!

Here's what they had to say about Inn Season Cafe:


Best Vegetarian Restaurant: Inn Season
Even if you enjoy a good old steak now and again, the Inn Season vegetarian restaurant will make you forget that your meal is lacking in the animal department. All of their food is made from organic, locally grown ingredients and the menu options vary depending on what’s in season, so you know your guaranteed freshness. From salads to pizza to pasta, you’ll find something to satisfy your hunger whether you’re a herbivore, carnivore or anything in between.



I agree with all of the above. Due to a very generous Christmas gift certificate, Daniel and I ate there about two or three times over the course of a week or two.

I fell in love with this:

Enchiladas Coloradito
Corn tortillas wrapped around black beans and your choice of cheese
or soy cheese. Garnished with house-made ancho chile salsa, sautéed onions, tomatoes, green pepper,black olives and organic brown rice.

D fell in love with this:

Portabella Walnut Pizza
Portabella mushroom, garlic roasted walnuts, capers, fresh basil, tomato
sauce and cheese or soy cheese.

They've also got great stir-fries, four different types of burgers, gorgeous salads (love their house dressing), and a Sunday brunch menu that includes house granola, multigrain pancakes and all kinds of vegan and veggie goodness.

There are so many things on their menu I hope to try for brunch, lunch, dinner, desserts everything. Even if you're a meat eater, you will love this place. Everything tastes so flavorful and the place just has a good vibe (yes, I sound like a hippie, but it's true).

Trader Joe's Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas

Delicious. Cheap. Vegan. Three things that are very good when it comes to looking for things I can take to work for lunch.

I decided to give a couple of things from Trader Jose's (Get it? Jose?) frozen goods and went with the black bean and corn enchiladas and I'm in love.

For about $2 you get two enchiladas that are dairy and wheat free.

Here's what's in them, some items in the sauce and some in the actual enchiladas (all items organic):

• White corn tortilla cooked in water with a hint of lime
• Tomatoes
• Soybeans
• Black beans
• Zucchini
• Yellow corn
• Onions
• Bell peppers
• Black olives (don't let this stop you if you don't like them -- I had no clue they were in there)
• Garlic, green chiles spices, etc.

If you eat both (I mean, who doesn't?) It has 8 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein and small amounts of vitamins A&C and 10 percent of the RDA of calcium and iron.

So, the next time you're at Trader Joe's, give them a shot. You won't be sorry!

Guest Post: "Meat"Loaf

One of my BFF's Sally made this for a friend who requested comfort food for her birthday. From Sal:

So i kinda last minute invented this meatloaf recipe and to my surprise it was awesome - everyone including the meat eaters loved it and asked for the recipe!
I kinda was making it up as i went along, but it was pretty simple. Let me know what you think!


Meatloaf!

1 package Morning Star faux beef crumbles
----- I thawed in microwave for 1 min to make it easier to work with
mix with 2 eggs in medium bowl
chop up 3-4 slices of bread and add to "meat"/egg mixture
add about a 1/4 cup milk more or less - little at a time to a meatloafy consistancy
----saute about
1/2c diced yellow onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 stick of celery and about a 1/4 of a red pepper
just until soft
add this to the "meaty" mix and stir it up good
oh yeah- and i added some onion salt, paprika, a little black and red pepper
i sprayed the bread pan with a little spray on oil
then just smoosh it in there and throw some ketchup on top!

bake at 350 for 40min
yum!