Apologies for the crappy iPhone pic.

I’ve been making this for a while, and I like to work off of these recipes from allrecipes.com: lime cilantro rice and corn and black bean salad. I don’t change anything for the rice, but I really like to add red onions to the corn/bean salad, as well as a dash of chili powder for a kick. It’s an easy (and super cheap!) meal and it’s perfect for leftovers- just remember to make the corn and black bean salad the day before you want to eat it. It’s much better when it’s had time to marinate.

I did face a bit of a pickle while doing my weekly shopping. For some reason, the grocery store was out of fresh cilantro! I was flummoxed for a minute- dried herbs are great, but fresh cilantro has such a bright flavor, and I don’t think dried cilantro really measures up. This dish’s success really counts on the cilantro. So I stood there in the produce section, pondering my options, when this tubed cilantro herb blend caught my eye. It was more expensive than fresh cilantro would have been, but I

Go for the real stuff instead.

thought it might be worth giving it a shot, since it was more likely to have that crisp flavor I was after. The final verdict: not really worth it. It was better than the dried herbs, but still didn’t taste as good as the fresh. It was too expensive for what I got out of it. Pass.

What’s ahead for next week? Probably another challenging round of “use up all the fresh food in my fridge before I leave town.” Again. I know. I’ve been traveling a lot this semester, and this looks like my last trip until May. I’m going to visit one more graduate program in Ohio before I make up my mind. So hopefully I’ll have some fun stuff to share with you as I rush to use up all my veggies.

Enjoy your weekend!

Leigh

HITS:

• Lynn’s Paradise Cafe: You may have seen this sassy little place on the Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby
  

  My God, how I've missed you.

  

  It tasted much better than it looked, I promise

  Flay. (Sidenote: I think Bobby Flay is a complete ass. “Oh, you’ve been making this fantastic dish for years? I’m going to come in and do it better than you.” Big ego, anyone?). We went in for brunch on St. Patrick’s Day, and the first thing I saw on the menu was Vegetarian Biscuits and Gravy. Of course, I had to order it. It was, after, my three-year vegetarian anniversary. And I haven’t had biscuits and gravy since, which is a shame, because they’re so delicious. Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, I went crazy and ordered a mimosa, not knowing it would be so damn big (or green, for that matter) . But man, I didn’t go wrong with my order: veggie biscuits and gravy, green mimosa, and cheese grits all made for a fantastically unhealthy but absolutley delicious meal.

• Toast on Market: I forgot to take pictures here because I was too busy stuffing my face. This breakfast/brunch spot was an absolute treat. Sometimes it’s hard for places to get the simplest orders right, but when I ordered two eggs over easy with a side of hashbrown casserole, I was NOT disappointed. The eggs were huge, cooked perfectly, and the hashbrown casserole was really, really tasty. My friends were similarly thrilled with their meals. I would definitely reccommend eating here if you’re ever in Louisville. (Another plus: it’s cheap!)

MISSES:

• Cafe Magnolia at the Galt House: In all honesty, this was our fault. After wandering around our first morning in
  

  This is just laughable.

  Louisville trying to find Toast (and when we did, we found that it was closed on Mondays!), we ended up in this hotel restaurant. We should have known it was going to be bad when the chef’s specials were a cheeseburger and chicken fingers. We also had a stunning view of the interstate. The menu had zero vegetarian options, so I decided to go for the fish sandwich now that I’m eating seafood again. MISTAKE! Just look at that thing. I’m not sure why peppers and olives stacked up on top of a fish sandwich sounded like a good idea, but when I ate it, I found out: it was bad, and they were meant to cover up the crappy fish. So I slathered it with tartar sauce, and nibbled a bit, and eventually settled for filling myself up with coleslaw and fries. Total meal failure.

CHALLENGES:

• Cozy Corner Restaurant: We ended up here after a tour of the Maker’s Mark distillery, which is about 90
  

  Zero. Vegetarian. Options.

  minutes from Louisville. It’s exactly what you’d think: a small bar/restaurant that served anything that was fried (including frog legs). I was travelling with 3 friends who are not vegetarian, and I never, ever, make a fuss when we end up somewhere that isn’t quite veggie-friendly. Having learned my lesson about ordering fish in a land-locked state, I sucked it up and ordered a grilled cheese with tomato and fries. Actually, it was listed on the menu as a grilled cheese with ham, so I just asked for the cheese-and-tomato-only version. Aside from the couple smoking at the table next to us (really! I had no idea people could still smoke in restaurants in some parts of the country!), I ended up having a decent meal, washed down of course with a good-old-fashioned Miller Lite.

• Mark’s Feed Store: My friends all really wanted to go to this BBQ restaurant, and I really hate dragging the group down, so off we went. Apparently, they’ve got really good food- my friends all agreed- but I wasn’t really able to tell because I didn’t get much of a choice. The only non-meaty thing on the menu was the “veggie platter,” which was basically 3 sides. I got the potato salad, baked potato, and side salad (I must have been feeling very potato-y). It was fine (I mean, how hard is it to mess up any of those things?) but not really a meal, and certainly not a memorable one. Eating veggie at a place like this is hard, but not impossible. Just be prepared for really boring food.

So that’s my trip to Louisville, food-wise, anyway. I didn’t really eat the most healthy meals, so I’m really looking forward to cooking for myself this week and not eating anything fried for a while. Eating while traveling is alway hard, but even more so when you’re vegetarian. I guess three years of vegetarianism still hasn’t gotten me skilled at it. What suggestions do you have for choosing good, healthy places when you’re in a new/strange town? How do you negoiate your own food preferences when you’re traveling with friends who don’t eat the way that you do? Let me know what you think!

Leigh

I post my omelette method not because I think it’s the best (I’m sure it’s not) or because I want to brag, but because it seems to me like I’ve had a few different discussions with people who are just intimidated by omelettes. They aren’t that hard, I promise! And, I figure, if you mess up and everything falls out, then you end up with big scramble that will still be tasty (trust me, I’ve ended up eating a failed omelette a few times!).

First, a note about eggs: I am a vegetarian, but when I made the switch (almost three years ago now! Yikes!) I thought long and hard about dairy products. In the end, I felt ok with eating animal by-products like milk and eggs, although I made the choice to be more responsible with those choices. I buy both organic milk and eggs (those are the two things in my shopping cart that are ALWAYS, ALWAYS organic). Not only do they taste better, but I feel better about buying them. I like Eggland’s Best Cage Free Eggs (vegetarian fed, too!). They are a little pricey (ok, a lot- they’re nearly $4 a dozen!), but I don’t eat eggs too often so I don’t mind spending it. Since the eggs really are the star of the omelette show, I like to begin with good ones.

Onward to the omelette!

Leigh’s Lazy Morning Omelette

(for one)

• 2 large eggs
  

  Looks good to me.

• splash milk
• dash garlic powder
• olive oil (vegetable oil will work too)
• Fillings of your choice- I used spinach, red onion and feta cheese today.

First, chose a SMALL frying pan and drizzle some oil on the surface if it’s not non-stick. Make sure you use the right size pan, otherwise your omelette will be doomed. Put it over medium heat while you prepare the eggs and fillings.

Crack your eggs into a small bowl, and add a splash of milk and garlic powder (I always do this when scrambling eggs). Beat the eggs until the texture is even and everything is mixed well. Cut up any veggies, cheese, or meat fillings you want to use, and make sure it’s ready for you when you need it.

Step 1

Pour the eggs into the pan. Let the bottom get solid, then add your toppings on one side of the omelette. Move the pan around so the uncooked egg on top can distribute and cook. Once most of the liquid-y egg is gone, it’s time for the scary part- the flip!

Get a big spatula, maybe even two if that makes you more comfortable. I couldn’t get a picture of this part because it’s pretty much impossible to fold an omelette while photographing it.  Get your spatula(s) under the side of the omelette with no filling. Make sure it’s not sticking and you can lift it up easily. When you feel like you’ve got control over it, just fold it over the side with toppings. It’s not scary- just do it quickly and smoothly. Mine was a little messy today, and that’s fine- just push the eggs back together. And, remember, if you mess up and everything falls out, you’ve still got a really tasty breakfast scramble on your hands.

Step 2: THE FLIP

Let your omelette continue to cook for bit more. Then, when you’re ready, flip the whole thing on to the other side. This should be easy, because it’s more solid, but if some egg or filling falls out, just smush it back in- no one’s gonna notice, I promise you.

After the egg is cooked to your satisfaction, remove it from the pan, and voila- delicious, easy omelette! If you don’t get it right the first time, don’t worry. The flipping motion with the spatula may take some practice, but it’s really all about confidence. Once you feel comfortable doing it, you will have so much fun coming up with tasty filling combinations and impressing people with your kick-ass omelette making skills (There’s something really dramatic about omelette making).

Now aren’t you impressed with your omelette-making self? Enjoy!

Leigh

So, I rarely run out and see movies the minute they are released (in fact, I never do, unless we’re talking about Harry Potter). I usually wait until they make it to the dollar theater or the top of my Netflix queue. I just think it’s more prudent to spend my $8 on a good glass of wine or a really fantastic cheese. But, as one of the hordes of food bloggers now clogging the internet, I am remiss for not having seen Julie and Julia, a whole movie based around the idea of sharing your passion for cooking with the world around you. That is, until tonight. Thanks to a Redbox coupon, I had a free rental tonight, and I finally decided to catch up to my peers and watch Julie and Julia (BTW, if you haven’t heard of/tried Redbox, it’s awesome! $1/night movie rentals!).

I must say, I enjoyed it. This being the day after the Oscars, I thought Meryl Streep was fantastic (but then again, when isn’t Meryl Streep just phenomenal?).  I wish I could say I really felt inspired or moved, but I didn’t. Perhaps it’s because I don’t make recipes like beef bourguignon or lobster thermidor. I don’t know how to debone a duck or make an aspic (eeewww). Julia Child was a wonderful woman, teaching herself how to cook and sharing her genuine love for it with the world – I mean, she basically single-handedly brought French cooking to American kitchens- but I just don’t think I have any inspirational cooking figures like her in my life. Sure, Rachael Ray is super famous, and everyone loves Paula Deen and Bobby Flay and their Food Network cohorts- but aren’t we a little overwhelmed with TV chefs? For me, I cook not because Giada or Rocco tells me to, but because I like it. I like making a meal out disparate ingredients. I like the process of looking in my pantry and figuring out how I can make dinner. And of course, I like eating. Maybe it’s because I’m a writer (and a writing teacher). But my motivation for cooking isn’t external.

So why the hell am I writing a food blog? Well, you can’t expect me to have the answers to everything.

Sorry about the weirdly contemplative/introspective post. There’ll be food next time- promise!

Leigh

PS: Want to catch up on some vintage Julia Child? PBS has tons of episodes online! Enjoy!

Now, I now what you’re thinking: potato skins are terribly unhealthy! That’s why they are served at bars, after all. But I learned this method of preparing them from an ex-boyfriend’s mom, and after some modification, they’ve become one of my favorite go-to faux junk foods. Best of all, in addition to being supremely tasty, they’re also very cheap!

Just as tasty as you think.

Fake-Out Potato Skins

serves 1

• 1 potato (I like Russet or Yukon)- sliced thinly
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp 2% sharp cheddar cheese- shredded
• 2 tbsp light sour cream
• 1 chive- chopped

Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet lined in tin foil with vegetable oil. Slice the potato into thin, length-wise strips. Try to get the slices as even as possible- that way, they’ll all cook evenly (thinner pieces will be crispier, thicker ones will be softer). Lay out all of the slices on the baking sheet and sprinkle them with half the salt and garlic powder (these amounts are, of course, adjustable depending on your preferences). Turn the slices over and sprinkle with the rest of the salt and garlic powder. Pop them into the oven for 10-13 minutes, or when they start to brown. Take them out, turn them over, and return them to the oven  for another 10-13 minutes. When they are done, top them with the cheese, sour cream, and chives.

See? They’re not that bad for you at all, even with the cheese and sour cream. In fact, Daisy’s Light sour cream (the kind I used) has 40 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat per 2-tbsp serving. And you can certainly play around with this recipe- I’ve gone Mexican and topped the potatoes with sauteed onions and peppers and some salsa. It’s up to you!

BTW, did you know Reynold’s now makes recycled tin foil? It’s not the heavy-duty kind that I usually like, but since I use tin foil so often to keep the cooking process as clean as possible, it’s good to know I can use a recycled option.

Any fun Oscar menus for tonight? (Of course snarking on everyone’s dresses is always on the menu.) Happy eating and enjoy whatever else your Sunday night has in store for you!

Leigh

I went ahead with Sarah’s idea to make risotto cakes out of the leftovers from lunch. That, my friends, was a damn good call. It took a little extra time and energy- but it was so worth it make a leftover item just as delicious as it was the first time around.

Here’s what I did:

Ready, set, leftovers!

I made patties with the leftover risotto (this was fairly easy because it was in the fridge for a few hours). Then I coated them,  assembly-line style, in flour, egg, and plain breadcrumbs.

Next, I put them into a skillet with about 2 tbsp of oil heated over medium.

While those were frying (and they didn’t take long- 2 minutes or so on each side), I made a sandwich. Sandwiches are great for when you have a bunch of random things but aren’t sure how to use them all together- hence, my recent sandwich kick. I spread my artichoke pesto (seriously, making this stuff in bulk is a GREAT idea- there are so many uses for it) on sourdough bread, then loaded it up with spinach, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, cucumbers, artichokes, and feta cheese. Talk about a vegetarian delight. But I’m a fan of toasty, crunchy bread, so I used my no-fail sandwich press:

The poor girl's sandwich press.

Ok, so it’s totally lame, but it works perfectly every time and it’s a LOT cheaper than a panini press.

The final product: a tasty, super filling meal made with scraps from the fridge. Even a non-meal fridge raid can still end up as a really tasty evening.

Leigh

All together now: YUM!

Hallelujah!

To celebrate, I made a bad-ass tomato sandwich yesterday. Sometimes you can’t overlook the simple things in life.

You’ll need:

• 1 tomato, sliced (I used a whole tomato, but you could get away with using a half)
• red onion slices
• 2 slices of sourdough bread
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1.5 tbsp mayo
• 2 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese (plus some to top)
• dash of oregano and a dash of pepper

Set your oven to broil. Mix the oil, vinegar, and garlic and marinate the tomato and onion in the mixture. Meanwhile, combine the mayo, spices, and cheese, and spread on the bread. After you’re satisfied with the marination of your tomato and onion, layer them on to the bread and top with parmesan. Broil for 5 minutes- and enjoy (you will, trust me)!

Even though it is my spring break, I’m stuck in town writing and grading. That doesn’t mean I can’t treat myself to some vacation-like indulgence, though! It was an absolutely gorgeous spring day today, and I met up with my friend Sarah for a tasty lunch at a fabulous local restaurant, Food Glorious Food. Although the weather was perfect (outside seating, please!) and the meal delightful, it was still a bit sad because poor Sarah has to go back to her frigid Canadian homeland next week. But we said good-bye foodie-style, with a blowout of a lunch:

OH. MY. GOD. Heaven in a bowl.

Sarah ordered a spiced shrimp dish that was served with a cheesy potato cake and piccata sauce (which I, regretfully, neglected to photograph).

I chose their risotto of the day: asparagus and truffle oil. The waiter said the portion was small, so I also ordered a cup of potato, leek, and crab soup. Words won’t do these justice- thankfully, my iPhone was at hand!

Creamy, cheesy risotto: in other words, perfect.

I’m glad the waiter lied about the portion size of the risotto, because I got to take some home with me. I think I’ll use Sarah’s idea to make risotto balls for dinner tonight.

But this epic meal isn’t over yet. My favorite thing about FGF is that they have their own pastry chef. So of course we had to order dessert. We settled on splitting their cheesecake of the day, a blueberry-blackberry-ginger variety. Sarah only ate the filling because of her gluten allergy, but in all honesty, the filling was where the action was at. Check out this monster:

Of course I only got around to taking a picture after we had already started to eat it.

This was perhaps the fluffiest, lightest cheesecake I’ve ever had (and I am a bit of a cheesecake aficionado)- not dense or overwhelming in the least. Sarah and I tried to figure out why it was so damn fluffy and delicious, and I think we settled on egg whites. The light filling worked perfectly with the HUGE blueberries and blackberries, and the ginger flavor was a perfectly surprising compliment! (Ginger is a dreadfully underutilized ingredient, in my opinion.) It was all topped with a thick whipped cream and candied ginger pieces: simple perfection.

So now that I’ve pigged out, it is in fact time to get back to work. But I don’t think I’ll ever get over just how good a mood eating a wonderful meal can put me in.

Leigh

This monstrous thing is a turducken. Thanks to Ryan for the picture.

• Thanksgiving was another all-out crazy potluck extravaganza. Thank God my friends love food as much as I do. I made what’s become my go-to stuffing since I went veggie: an apple-walnut-cranberry deliciousness. There was, however, a meat monster that I refrained from eating: the turducken (a turkey stuffed with a chicken stuffed with a duck). This particular one was layered with sausage cornbread stuffing. Really.

The Thanksgiving spread (minus the desserts). Thanks to Kim for the picture.

• I went to Alaska and back over Christmas and New Year’s and had a fantastically chilly time! I snowshoed
  

  Best. Meal. EVER!

  (which was probably pretty fun to watch, quite honestly) and had what was quite possibly one of the best meals of the year at Jack Sprat in Girdwood, AK. It began with water flavored with basil and cucumber and a nice bottle of red wine (how can you NOT order wine called “Goats do Roam”?). Then we had some fantastic sweet potato fries with a surprising pairing- a wasabi mayo dip that complimented it really well. I ordered what is hands-down the best butternut squash soup I’ve ever had (so creamy, so rich!) and a salad topped with halibut and a raspberry vinaigrette. Simply amazing.

The Florida girl snowshoes up a mountain.

• My computer crapped out on me! Luckily, I’ve been able to borrow a friend’s old laptop in the meantime, but after a battle over the warranty and some serious repairs, I still haven’t gotten my computer back.

• I finished applying to PhD programs and (as of now) have heard good news from 3 of the 6 schools I’ve applied to! Go me!

• Speaking of PhD programs, I recently went to Louisville to visit UofL‘s campus and program. They put me up in a gorgeous bed and breakfast, and fed us pretty well too (thankfully, their program director is also a vegetarian, so there were plenty of non-meaty options).

I’ve still been cooking, and don’t worry- there are plenty of pics, and I’ll get around to putting them up sooner or later. Last night, I tried a really good new recipe- I wanted something different, and I found it when I made mushroom stroganoff! It had a great beefy flavor without the beef. Of course, I modified it a bit- I added wine to the veggie broth, as well as some Worcestershire sauce and garlic, and cut the sour cream down. It could easily be modified into a vegan recipe, too: cut out the butter and sour cream, and just reduce the sauce longer to make it thicken up. Try it!

That’s all for me now- even though I found time to post, I’ve still got a ton of work waiting for me.

Leigh

For me, that question has a few answers. I’ll start first with a confession: I haven’t been cooking for that long. I was proud of myself if I could manage brownies from a box or make a grilled cheese on a Foreman grill. Seriously. But once I had been in a college a few years, I got sick of eating pre-packed, crappy food from a can or a freezer. So I started experimenting, and slowly began to realize that cooking wasn’t a chore. Around that time, I stopped eating meat (I now eat fish, but for the first two years of being a vegetarian, I cut out all seafood too). That really forced me into the kitchen. I couldn’t just stop by McDonald’s on the way home and pick something up- I had to take responsibility for feeding myself right. Now that I have a few years of cooking under my belt, I think I’m really starting  to get a good cooking intuition. I don’t need a recipe, I can sense what flavors might work well together, I can pull together a meal on the fly with random ingredients. Cooking is now a creative outlet for me, and it’s tremendously relaxing. I can turn my brain off for a little while, and focus on the physical task of cooking, a job that really requires all of my senses.

That being said, when I get stressed, I don’t always cook as often. But it always makes me feel better (not to mention I get to enjoy a tasty meal afterwards). On Sunday, I updated one of the very first truly delicious vegetarian meals that I made up on my own: eggplant casserole.

An updated favorite

You’ll need:

1 eggplant

3 or 4 tomatoes

1 small white onion

About 3/4 c each of parmesan and feta cheese

About 1 c breadcrumbs

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

First, I sliced the eggplant, salted the slices, and cooked them in a frying pan with a bit of oil. Then I layered the cooked eggplant, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onions, which I topped with cheese. I then repeated the layering, and drizzled it all with a bit of balsamic vinegar for flavor. I topped it all with breadcrumbs that I tossed with a little olive oil. I threw it in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, and had myself a tasty dinner (and a few tasty left over lunches).

I used to coat the eggplant slices in breadcrumbs, and then fry the slices, but that got time consuming and the end product, while delicious, was really greasy. I think next time I make this, I’ll coat the slices in breadcrumbs and then bake them instead of frying. That’s what cooking is all about- experimenting.

A standby favorite

Since the end of the semester is approaching almost as quickly as Thanksgiving, I thought I might leave you with some easy, tasty brain food snacks:

1. Apples with almond butter, sprinkled with cinnamon- really tasty, and really filling.

Perfect mid-morning snack

2. Sorbet smoothie: There a ton of ways to make smoothies, but I threw this together one day with a few scoops of raspberry sorbet, a few ice cubes, orange/pineapple juice, and a splash of milk. Yum!

Ok, I guess I should get back to PhD applications…grrr.

Leigh

Yes, please!

All I did was cut up a head of cauliflower and boil to cook. Then I made a quick roux and added equal parts cheddar and parmesan cheese, and some milk to make the sauce a little thinner. I put the cauliflower in a pan, covered it with the cheese sauce, and then topped it all with some extra cheddar and breadcrumbs. Then I broiled it for a few minutes to make the top all bubbly and crunchy. And can I just say…wow. I’ve always been a fan of broccoli, but I’ve kind of forgotten about cauliflower as of recently. No more will it be forgotten! I see a lot of cauliflower experiments in my future!

Dinner all by my lonesome

Anyway, my dinner last night was simple: I paired a good portion of the cauliflower and cheese with a simple spinach salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, parmesan, and vinaigrette). And of course, a nice glass of red wine to wash it all down.

I don’t think that dish of  cauliflower is going to last much longer, but I’m wondering if I could make some soup out of to give myself some more variety. But of course I can always pair it with a range of other dishes to make a different meal entirely. Any other suggestions?

How do you all cope with cooking for yourself? I know a lot of people say it’s not worth the effort, but I’m a firm believer that cooking something delicious is always worth the effort. How do you balance between cooking way too much food and eating Lean Cuisines for dinner every night? Let me know!

I’m going to go think about this over some cauliflower and cheese.

Leigh