vegetarian

Spelt Berry Sushi Bowl with Roasted Cauliflower

April 10, 2013 by Erica

Spelt Berry Sushi Bowl

Good morning and happy Wednesday!

I wouldn’t be so chipper (I feel morning chipperness is generally uncalled-for), but just look at all these colors. Food like this makes me happy to be alive.

(If you’re still half asleep and don’t feel like eating sushi yet… I apologize. I kind of have a thing for colorful food.)

Spelt Berry Sushi Bowl

In case you missed it, this is Pantry Week here at Coffee & Quinoa: a week of me attempting to simultaneously clean out my cabinets and teach myself to put a meal together without a trip to the store.

This dish is a random weeknight creation that truly belongs in my pantry series. Pawing through the fridge after work one night, I found some leftover veggies and cooked spelt, plus some cauliflower with only a few more days of life left in it. For some reason my sweet potato sushi bowl came to mind. I decided to go for it, but was pretty doubtful as I whipped up the dressing… an Asian dish with cauliflower and spelt, really?

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Macaroni & Many Cheeses

April 9, 2013 by Erica

Macaroni & Many Cheeses

I am loving your comments on yesterday’s pantry post! It seems that a lot of you are like me, and cook from recipes only to have to do a pantry cleanse a few times a year. On the other hand, there also seem to be many people who love to be inspired by what they find in their pantry at dinnertime. I am working my way from the former group to the latter this week!

It happens to be great timing for my pantry cleanse, because it is coooold and rainy here in Salt Lake. And although my car is about 15 feet from my door, the rain somehow still discourages me from heading out to the grocery store. I can’t complain about the rain, though, because April is one of the only times that the Salt Lake Valley actually looks green, which I love.

Macaroni & Many Cheeses

Oh wait… that was a lie. I can complain about the rain, and I do. For example: This morning I got to work late, had to park at the back of the parking lot and battle my way through a monsoon to get into the building, and then realized I’d left my laptop in the car. WHAT. My feet still still aren’t quite dry.

Thank goodness I live in the desert, where it rains about six days a year. You just happened to catch me on one of them.

Anyway, let’s talk about the first item on the menu, which happens to be perfect feet-warming food.

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Roasted Vegetable Poutine

April 5, 2013 by Erica

Roasted Vegetable Poutine

Can I convince you to turn on your oven just a few more times before it gets too warm?

Roasted Vegetable Poutine

If you’ve ever had poutine, I don’t think I’ll have to try too hard to convince you. If all you have are the visuals, on the other hand, I probably have my work cut out for me. (Do you remember the Modern Family clip where Mitch and Cam serve poutine and Jay says “Well it looks like vomit, and I’m not poutine it in my mouth.”? So grumpy… so funny.)

Roasted Vegetable Poutine

Yes, poutine has a reputation for looking rather unappetizing. But didn’t your mama ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover? Potatoes, cheese curds, and gravy: Let’s think about those three ingredients, and how unbelievably hard it would be to go wrong with them. They make the ideal comfort food.

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Moosewood Cookbook Borscht

April 1, 2013 by Erica

Moosewood Cookbook Borscht

Wait, come back.

This is delicious, I promise.

For some people, there is probably no phrase in the English/Yiddish language more unwelcome than “Moosewood Cookbook borscht.” You might be thinking, “Mushy cabbage without any meat to redeem it? No thanks!” But I think borscht gets a bad rap mostly because of its name; the word seems to conjure up images of a smelly old Russian lady standing over you until you finish your meal. It certainly sounds like something you’d have to be forced to eat.

Moosewood Cookbook Borscht

Luckily, I am not a smelly old Russian lady, and I’m probably several thousand miles away from you. (This is good for both of us, because I prefer to hide behind my computer screen.) I won’t force you to make this or eat it. I will just strongly recommend it, since it’s one of the best meals to come out of my kitchen in a while. Also, I’ll show you pretty pictures of it in the hopes that that will convince you.

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Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup for Passover

March 27, 2013 by Erica

Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup

I may not be Jewish, but I still love a good matzo ball soup.

I think of it as the ultimate comfort food. Like chicken noodle soup, but no mushy bits of noodles floating around in it – just fluffy pillows of matzo ball bliss.

I have childhood memories of being comforted by matzo ball soup, specifically when I had a terrible cold on a drive down to my grandma’s house in New York. We stopped at Rein’s Deli in Connecticut and after slurping up a steaming bowl of matzo ball soup, I finally felt human again. It’s really amazing what soup can do.

Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup

You may or may not be aware that the Jewish holiday of Passover started on Monday night, a.k.a. the only time of year that you can find matzo in Salt Lake City (and even then it was a struggle involving three grocery stores and a near breakdown in Whole Foods). Growing up outside of Boston, I had lots of Jewish friends and Passover food was always a special treat. Like any Gentile kid, I loved eating the matzo that my Jewish friends brought to school during Passover but were too perennially sick of to actually eat for lunch. Clearly I took the grocery store availability of matzo for granted! I never thought of my suburban hometown as an especially diverse place, so the state of Utah did not score any points during my mad matzo hunt this past weekend.

Although I no longer live within striking distance of Rein’s Deli, my craving for matzo ball soup is as strong as ever. And it is soooo easy to make you won’t believe it – a little matzo meal and you’re in business. I personally plan on stocking up so I can make this year round!

Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup

So let’s put that vegetable stock from yesterday to good use. If you can’t find matzo meal, just pulse a few pieces of matzo in a food processor until powdery. I have to emphasize that the finer you can grind up the matzo, the better the matzo balls will come out. I found out firsthand that a coarse crumb really will not do – you want a powder, which will take a few minutes in the food processor. And whatever you do, don’t skip the dill!

Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup

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Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup for Passover

Hands-on time

10 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Author: Erica

Yields: 8-12 matzo balls, enough for 3-4 people

Ingredients

For the matzo balls:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup matzo meal (or matzo ground to a powder in a food processor)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp kosher salt (reduce to 1/2 tsp if using salted matzo)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp seltzer

For the soup:

2 to 3 quarts vegetable stock
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
several sprigs fresh dill

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix all matzo ball ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for half an hour.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat. Wet hands and form matzo balls by dropping a small spoonful of batter onto your palm and rolling it into a loose ball. Drop into water one by one. Cover and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes. The matzo balls will grow considerably in size.
With about 10 minutes left on the matzo balls, bring your vegetable stock to a boil in a medium-sized pot and add the sliced carrot. If the stock is unsalted, salt to taste at this point. Once the matzo balls are finished, ladle them into bowls. Ladle broth and carrots over the top and garnish with a few pieces of dill. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Notes

Matzo balls can be stored for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator. To store, cool to room temperature, place in a single layer in an airtight container, and cover with room temperature cooking liquid. Store broth separately. Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.