This is going to be a very short intro for this recipe. Mainly, because I’m tired but also, because it’s a grilled sandwich and really, is there a lot to say about that? Not really. There’s cheese and it melts, so you know it’s delicious.

The original recipe called for making your own green olive tapanade, but hell, if you want to just buy some, I won’t tell anyone. That’s actually what I did. And the sandwich was still great!

I’m trying to post more but I’m busier for the next couple of months*, so it’s going to be a little difficult. I will (hopefully) get my French Fridays with Dorie post up on…Friday!

Anyway, here’s some spiced carrots, goat cheese, arugula, green olives and mozzarella. Mmmm!

Grilled Moroccan Carrot and Goat Cheese Sandwiches adapted from Gourmet Magazine 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp sweet paprika 1/2 tsp . . . → Read More: Grilled Moroccan Carrot and Goat Cheese Sandwiches]]>

This is going to be a very short intro for this recipe. Mainly, because I’m tired but also, because it’s a grilled sandwich and really, is there a lot to say about that? Not really. There’s cheese and it melts, so you know it’s delicious.

The original recipe called for making your own green olive tapanade, but hell, if you want to just buy some, I won’t tell anyone. That’s actually what I did. And the sandwich was still great!

I’m trying to post more but I’m busier for the next couple of months*, so it’s going to be a little difficult. I will (hopefully) get my French Fridays with Dorie post up on…Friday!

Anyway, here’s some spiced carrots, goat cheese, arugula, green olives and mozzarella. Mmmm!

Grilled Moroccan Carrot and Goat Cheese Sandwiches
adapted from Gourmet Magazine
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
4 medium carrots
4 slices good-quality sandwich bread
2 tbsp store bought (or homemade) green olive tapanade
a handful of arugula or spinach leaves
2 oz soft mild goat cheese
2 slices mozzarella cheese
Olive Oil for grilling

Prepare carrots:
Whisk together sugar, lemon juice, spices, salt, and oil in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Halve carrots crosswise and then chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook carrots in a pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about a minute. Drain well in a colander and immediately toss with dressing.

Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then marinate, covered and chilled, at least 4 hours and up to overnight. I just made my carrots the night before.

Make the sandwiches
Spread tapenade on two slices of bread and goat cheese on the other two slices. Top the goat cheese sides with some of the greens and then the carrots (you will have some leftovers) and the slice of mozzarella. Now, you may be asking yourself, “Do I really need two kinds of cheese on this sandwich?” Well, yes. Yes you do.

Turn the olive tapanade side on top of the mozzarella and heat up a heavy skillet. Add a little olive oil to the pan and grill each sandwich, pressing down a bit with a heavy lid or another pan (kind of like you were making a panini). It’s no big deal if you skip that step, but kind of nice if you do have something to press it down with a bit.

Grill until each side is golden and mozzarella starts to melt. Slice them up and you have dinner for yourself and a friend. Perfect! And we had our leftover carrots the next day for lunch with some fish, which worked out perfectly.

Mmmmm…melt-y cheese!

* One of the reasons I have been so busy lately is that I am taking a pottery class Thursday nights. It’s handbuilding (which I’ve always liked way more than wheel throwing).

I’ve been spending some of what would normally be blog-posting time, making odd chicken pots in the basement. Up next? Hopefully a pig pot.

Veggie Grill Cedar Hills Crossing 3435 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. Beaverton, OR 97005

I was recently invited to attend a pre-opening lunch at the new vegan Veggie Grill restaurant in Beaverton (right by the Beaverton Powells). I brought jwa with me and we ate a lot of food and I took pictures (which is typically what happens when we eat out).

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when we showed up for our 1PM reservation, but it was a very enjoyable experience. After stepping inside, we got marked off the list, handed a menu and encouraged to order whatever we wanted at the counter. Dude actually said, “order one of everything!” Well, okay then. We didn’t quite do that but we did alright.

The booths were reserved for parties of 3 or more for this event, so we ended up sitting right at the counter. Because of this, we got to . . . → Read More: The Veggie Grill]]>

Veggie Grill
Cedar Hills Crossing
3435 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
Beaverton, OR 97005

I was recently invited to attend a pre-opening lunch at the new vegan Veggie Grill restaurant in Beaverton (right by the Beaverton Powells). I brought jwa with me and we ate a lot of food and I took pictures (which is typically what happens when we eat out).

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when we showed up for our 1PM reservation, but it was a very enjoyable experience. After stepping inside, we got marked off the list, handed a menu and encouraged to order whatever we wanted at the counter. Dude actually said, “order one of everything!” Well, okay then. We didn’t quite do that but we did alright.

The booths were reserved for parties of 3 or more for this event, so we ended up sitting right at the counter. Because of this, we got to see a lot of the food as it was being prepared to be run out. The salads looked really fun — many had frizzly, fanciful looking…carrots? Something orange on top. Edible vegan whimsy! I approve.

Anyway, after much discussion, this is what we tried.

Uptown Nachos
Tortilla chips, chili, VG-cheese, corn salsa, avocado, soy cream, jalapeños.
I really liked these, but then it’s hard to find nachos that I don’t like. I hardly even missed the cheese. Probably my favorite thing that we ordered.

Buffalo Wings
Crispy chickin’, tossed in spicy buffalo sauce with celery sticks, ranch dressing.
This was jwa’s idea. I’m not a huge fan of real buffalo chicken wings so it was hard for me to compare these to anything, but they were not bad. Very vinegary; jwa thought they were a bit salty.

Santa Fe Crispy Chickin’
Fried chickin’, lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, spicy vegan mayo.
I liked this a lot. Super crispy. I’d get it again.

Side Steamin’ Kale
Steamed until just tender, ginger-miso dressing, roasted sesame seeds.
I loved the kale salad. The dressing was a nice sesame-miso type deal. The kale was tender and tasty. I would definitely get this again (and probably even try to recreate it at home).

VG-Cheeseburger & Red Cabbage Slaw
The V-Burger topped with VG-Cheese El Dorado Style upon request with jalapeños, caramelized onions, ketchup.
What jwa got. He ate it all. I think he liked it.

Dessert: Carrot Cake, Chocolate Pudding and Chocolate Chip Cookies
For dessert, they brought us out a sampler plate of tasty things. Well, I wasn’t crazy about the chocolate pudding (a little chalky), but the carrot cake and cookies were delicious!

I asked jwa, since he works in Beaverton, if he would go there again and he said yes and even told some vegan co-workers (grrlvegangang) about it. If I worked/lived nearby I would probably go again for lunch too.

Seriously, I might even head out there again specifically to try the large kale salad with all the extra what-nots on top, because that sounds really good (extra what-nots: Marinated kale and red cabbage, corn salsa, agave-roasted walnuts, ginger-papaya vinaigrette). See? Really tasty sounding.

This French Fridays with Dorie meal was delicious (of course they are all delicious)! But for this one, I opted to make my own vegetable stock with the recipe for the best vegetable stock ever, which you can find at epicurious.com. I pretty much did exactly that, except I omitted the canned tomatoes (I tossed in a small handful of sundried tomatoes instead) and I think I used less mushrooms (a few shiitakes). Oh and I used 5 cups water instead of a quart.

Things I learned/notes: 1. It is not warm weather here (in Portland). We are still 50-ish. Therefore, a nice hot bowl of soup was just the thing. 2. I made the herb coulis with basil. 3. I was surprised how much I liked the poached egg on this, the yolk added to the broth nicely. 4. I used kale from the garden instead . . . → Read More: FFwD: Warm Weather Vegetable Pot au Feu]]>

This French Fridays with Dorie meal was delicious (of course they are all delicious)! But for this one, I opted to make my own vegetable stock with the recipe for the best vegetable stock ever, which you can find at epicurious.com. I pretty much did exactly that, except I omitted the canned tomatoes (I tossed in a small handful of sundried tomatoes instead) and I think I used less mushrooms (a few shiitakes). Oh and I used 5 cups water instead of a quart.

Things I learned/notes:
1. It is not warm weather here (in Portland). We are still 50-ish. Therefore, a nice hot bowl of soup was just the thing.
2. I made the herb coulis with basil.
3. I was surprised how much I liked the poached egg on this, the yolk added to the broth nicely.
4. I used kale from the garden instead of spinach.
5. Other vegetables I used: shiitakes, green beans, asparagus, leeks and onion. I thought I had a couple of potatoes but then I realized I didn’t. I was sad. Then I tried the soup and I was happy.

Okay, on the with photos! And everyone’s posts can be found here.

Vegetables ready to be roasted.

Simmering and becoming stock.

Basil coulis — I added a little lemon juice to mine. I’ve found that in basil pesto too, that a little lemon juice will help keep the color nice and green.

Kale freshly picked from the garden.

Beginnings of the pot au feu – vegetable stock, onion, garlic, leeks and an orange zest strip.

The rest of the veggies added.

Poaching my egg — I add a little vinegar to the water and because I poach in shallow water usually, I flip it gently a minute or two in.

Ready for the egg and the coulis!

Yes, I am still on a Mediterranean kick. This is a great side dish or appetizer-ish snack. Even a tapas, if you will. I added the zucchini to the original eggplant only dish and I liked it a lot. Personally, I do enjoy eggplant but I enjoy it even more when it has a co-star.

The flatbread was really fun to make. I used my pizza stone and it crisped up very nicely. I think I’ll be making the flatbread again. I am even thinking of rolling the dough out and then cutting it into little cracker shapes and just…well, making crackers.

Both of these recipes were in the now-defunct Gourmet Magazine. Thankfully, they were still on Epicurious.com! Hooray!

Marinated Eggplant and Zucchini with Capers and Mint Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine 1 small eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds 1 medium . . . → Read More: Marinated Eggplant and Zucchini with Capers and Mint & Crisp Rosemary Flatbread]]>

Yes, I am still on a Mediterranean kick. This is a great side dish or appetizer-ish snack. Even a tapas, if you will. I added the zucchini to the original eggplant only dish and I liked it a lot. Personally, I do enjoy eggplant but I enjoy it even more when it has a co-star.

The flatbread was really fun to make. I used my pizza stone and it crisped up very nicely. I think I’ll be making the flatbread again. I am even thinking of rolling the dough out and then cutting it into little cracker shapes and just…well, making crackers.

Both of these recipes were in the now-defunct Gourmet Magazine. Thankfully, they were still on Epicurious.com! Hooray!

Marinated Eggplant and Zucchini with Capers and Mint
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp small capers, rinsed

I peeled my eggplant, but you don’t have to…

Preheat broiler or heat up a grill pan. Arrange eggplant and zucchini in 1 layer on a large baking sheet (or two baking sheets, if needed) and brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil (total). Broil about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes total. If using a grill pan, add the oil-brushed vegetables to the pan and cook on each side until you have nice grill marks and the eggplant and zucchini have softened a bit.

Stir together vinegar, mint, capers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil and toss with the warm eggplant and zucchini.

Marinate at least 20 minutes.

- – - – - –

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine
1 3/4 cups unbleached AP flour
1 tbsp chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon
Optional: 1 clove minced garlic to add to the brushing olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle. Alternately, you can heat up a baking (pizza) stone.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin).

I kept my next rolled-out dough covered while the piece before was baking.

Lightly brush top with additional oil (for extra fun, add some minced garlic to the olive oil and brush with this garlic oil…fun!) and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet or stone and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes.

Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment (do not oil or salt until just before baking). Break the baked flatbreads into pieces after cooling a few minutes.

This is now my favorite Brussels Sprouts recipe ever. As a late convert to sprouts, I thought I had done almost every delicious thing with them so far — braising, roasting, shredding & tossing with tasty things, but this roasting + tossing with tasty things has them all beat!

The original recipe was for frying, but due to the other items I was making for dinner (salmon w/ a feta and artichoke topping and couscous) and the attention they would need, I opted for roasting, since I know that produces a fairly golden, crunchiness that would work just as well here. And, most importantly, I was able to just pop it in the oven, while leaving the stovetop and my hands free for other things. Yeah, it worked well.

My substitution are included below in the recipe ingredients. Originally, the dressing was chopped/minced and whisked together and . . . → Read More: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers]]>

This is now my favorite Brussels Sprouts recipe ever. As a late convert to sprouts, I thought I had done almost every delicious thing with them so far — braising, roasting, shredding & tossing with tasty things, but this roasting + tossing with tasty things has them all beat!

The original recipe was for frying, but due to the other items I was making for dinner (salmon w/ a feta and artichoke topping and couscous) and the attention they would need, I opted for roasting, since I know that produces a fairly golden, crunchiness that would work just as well here. And, most importantly, I was able to just pop it in the oven, while leaving the stovetop and my hands free for other things. Yeah, it worked well.

My substitution are included below in the recipe ingredients. Originally, the dressing was chopped/minced and whisked together and anchovy fillets and serrano chili were used. I chose to utilize my food processor because I am a bit lazy. I also made just a half recipe of what’s listed below, but next time I’ll know better. Make a full recipe. It’s awesome!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers
Adapted from the cookbook, Michael Symon’s Live to Cook.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 (big) clove garlic, minced
2 tsp anchovy paste (or 4 salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed, filleted and minced)
1-2 tsp jalapeno Tabasco sauce (or 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 scallions, white and green parts
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise (if your sprouts are small, you may want to just halve)
2 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tbsp salt-packed capers, rinsed and patted dry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Add the garlic, anchovies (or paste), serrano (or jalapeno Tabasco), red wine vinegar, honey and scallions to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Stream in the olive oil, it should emulsify a bit.

Remove the dressing to a bowl large enough to toss all of the Brussels sprouts and add in the walnuts. Set aside.

Toss Brussels sprouts with the 1 tablespoon of remaining olive oil and give a sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes. Check for brownness and crispiness. They should be getting both.

Add the parsley and capers to the pan and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Add the sprouts, parsley and capers directly in the bowl of dressing. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Oh my god, so good!

Sprouts on the side of some salmon with artichoke & feta topping.