As a nice Jewish girl from Brooklyn I always associated spring with the odd assortment of my parents' friends coming over and me preparing the Passover feast with my grandmother. She taught me how to separate eggs when we made matzoh balls in my kitchen in Canarsie. But as I got a bit older I was invited to my Sicilian friend's house for Easter dinner, as well. I have loved Easter ever since. Theirs was a very Italian Easter that went on for hours and hours and was very meat heavy. These days I have been enjoying beautiful Easter holidays with the Greg's family-the Ukrainians. Last year, many platters of good food were passed around, one being an offering of cold cuts. Everything was lovely and a good time was had by all. But I was prepared with my vegetarian back up system... a beautiful Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Tart! I want to share it with you now. I think it works for brunch or dinner. I have used it in many catering jobs and it is always a wild success and so easy!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and first make the caramalized onions. Take four yellow onions and cut each on in half, then slice them up. Take a large sautee pan and melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter with a drop of olive oil. Toss them in the pan and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on them and cook them at a medium-low heat. Stir them periodically so they don't burn. You want them to cook very evenly and get golden brown and soft. (Like the color of mahogany.) It should take about a half hour. Then take them off and put them in a bowl. Whisk three large eggs with a cup of heavy cream and add a teaspoon of fresh thyme, as well as pinch of salt and pepper. Grate 1 cup of Gruyere cheese. Prepare your favorite pie crust recipe or use a frozen one. Take a tart pan (sprayed with Pam) and roll the pie crust into the pan making sure the sides are properly covered as the crust will shrink slightly in the cooking process. You will bake the crust slightly and you don't want it to bubble up in the middle so either use pie weights or prick the dough with a fork gently about four times to create tiny holes for steam to escape. Cook it for about ten minutes so the crust is dry but not browned. Remove the crust from oven and cover the bottom of the crust with the caramalized onions, then the grated Gruyere. Finally carefully pour the egg mixture onto the filling so that it fills it up about 3/4 of the way up the side- be sure not to overflow. Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes until the filling is set and puffed slightly. The sweetness of the onion and the salty nutty flavor of the cheese are such an amazing contrast! Enjoy!
Okay okay....one more recipe! In case you choose to just make dessert or want to try both, I have a wonderful Lemon Buttermilk Cake recipe. This is a variation on a recipe I found in a southern cook book. (In fact I have one cooling on the counter right now!) Years ago I was having a "stoop sale" (Park Slope's version of a garage sale) with my roommate and we were selling our old clothes and junk. But I decided to sell some of my baking as well and, to my shock and awe, no one cared about my Girls Just Wanna Have Fun tee shirt circa 1986 going for $2 but they bought up my baking! In fact, I had to run into the house and quickly make some more cakes and in my haste, I accidentally squeezed some lemon juice into my batter instead of just using the lemon zest. Well it ended up making the cake so much better so now I always squeeze the juice in every time I make it. That is what you call a happy accident! Here it is...it's really simple!
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and butter and flour a large loaf pan. In a large bowl combine 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Mix this gently until just combined. In another bowl, cream together 1 1/2 sticks of softened, unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar, then add (one at a time) 3 large eggs and whisk until the mixture is light yellow in color and fluffy. Measure out 3/4 cups of buttermilk and place to the side. Add about a quarter of the flour mixture to the butter sugar mixture and gently mix it in with a rubber spatula. Next add about a quarter of the buttermilk and mix that in gently. Alternately mix each into the butter mixture until they are finished. Please mix gently so you don't overwork the flour and end up with a tough cake. Once everything is incorporated, take a lemon and grate it into the batter (make sure you remove the little price tag label thing on it as I learned the hard way!). Then take that lemon, cut it in half and squeeze the juice into the batter catching the seeds with either your other hand or through a tiny strainer. Gently mix the lemon juice and grated rind into the batter and place into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes until it is baked through. Test with a toothpick to make sure the inside is done (toothpick will come out clean). Allow to cool for about a half hour and then remove it from the pan carefully. Wait until you cut into this thing. It's a gorgeous yellow color and so simple but has so much beautiful lemon flavor! Enjoy!
These are the two things I am bringing to the Ukranian Easter this year and I am very excited to share them. I hope you have a wonderful holiday and if you try these recipes I hope they end up in your repertoire, as well!
Bon appetit!
Love,
Robina
Friday, April 22, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
A Special Vegetarian Passover Post
Good afternoon and an early Happy Passover! Thank you for letting me visit you two days in a row. I wanted to write a bonus post in honor of the high holidays as they are almost here. Although we grew up, for the most part, with huge roasted chickens, turkeys and briskets, it is not only possible but delicious to have a vegetarian Passover.
First let me tell you about one of my most favorite people I never met. That would be a lady by the name of Mollie Katzen. Not only do I feel a kinship to her because my mother's family is named Katz but because she is a chef and an artist and grew up with a tremendous respect for food and where it came from. She was one of the first voices to sing the praises of vegetarian cooking back in the 1970's-the same time I thought the best food came from Nathan's. She opened a restaurant with some friends called "Moosewood Restaurant" up in Ithaca, NY and soon after began writing cookbooks based on those recipes. As an amazing artist, her books are filled with her beautiful illustrations. Her philosophy is that food is sacred and should be beheld and honored and slowly enjoyed. I could not agree more...which may explain why am I always the last one finished at the table.
Many years later, a roommate of mine owned one of her books called "Still Life With Menu Cookbook". Not only was it filled with beautiful illustrations but gave menus for complete meals including Vegetarian Thanksgiving and Vegetarian Passover. It was in that apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that I denounced my relationship with meat and looked to Mollie Katzen for guidance. My roommate and I made the Passover dishes (plus a roasted chicken for my parents) and had a beautiful Passover. A couple of years later, I moved out of that apartment and regretfully left the book with its owner. That was the period in my life that I decided to go to culinary school and something moved me to write a letter to Mollie. I told her of my love of "Still Life" and my plans to start a career in the culinary world. To my absolute astonishment and joy I came home to a package in the mail. It was a copy of "Still Life" with an inscription from Mollie! So in her honor I am going to pass on some of her wonderful recipes for a very happy and healthy Passover.
First off...the soup. This is Mollie's "Not-Chicken Soup". Combine in a large soup pot the following ingredients: 8 cups of water, 2 teaspoons salt, peel and cut into small chunks - 1 medium parsnip, 2 large carrots, 2 medium onions, 2 stalks of celery, 8-10 garlic cloves cut in half, a handful of button mushrooms cleaned and trimmed of their stems, 1/2 teaspoon tumeric and a little black pepper. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer partially covered. Let cook slowly for 1 1/4 hours. Let cool and then strain out all vegetables. Heat it gently before serving. It's really wonderful and you serve it with her matzoh balls. This is her Matzoh Ball recipe: Break 2 eggs in a small bowl and beat lightly. Add 1/2 cup of Matzoh meal and 1 teaspoon salt. Take a few springs of fresh parsley and use scissors to snip in a few tiny feathery pieces right into the matzoh meal. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 30 mins. An hour before serving, heat a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Dust your hands with a little extra matzoh meal and form 1 inch balls, placing them one by one on a dusted plate. Then drop the matzoh balls gently into the boiling water and cook for 40 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place them to serving bowls. Ladle the hot soup on top.
Matzoh Kugel- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan with butter or margarine. Break 1 box of plain matzoh into pieces (size doesn't matter) and soak them in a large bowl of warm water for 10 mins. Drain well and return to bowl. Chop 3 medium onions into small pieces, mince 2 stalks of celery, chop a 12 oz package of button mushrooms, and mince 6 garlic cloves. Saute these vegetables (except the garlic!) in a large heavy skillet in butter with a little salt and pepper until it is all very tender. At the last minute, add the minced garlic and cook for five more minutes. Add the sauteed vegetables to the matzoh and mix well. In a separate bowl beat 5 eggs and add to the matzoh and veg mixture. Adjust seasoning and then spread into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the top generously with paprika and (if you like) sunflower seeds for added crunch. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 30 mins. Then uncover and allow to bake for another 20-25 mins. to achieve that lovely golden brown on top.
Steamed Fresh Asparagus and Hard Boiled Eggs with Horseradish Sauce- This is a very easy recipe and a great holiday twist for a side dish. Hard boil 3 eggs for 8 minutes. Remove from simmering water but do not peel and cut into quarters until 30 mins
Finally...dessert! Mile High Sponge Cake- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Have an ungreased stand sized tube pan ready. Separate 9 eggs into two large bowls. Beat the whites with an electric mixture at high speed, gradually adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt, until stiff peaks are formed. and set aside. Juice 2 lemons and grate the rind. Put the lemon juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 3/4 of a cup of liquid and set aside. Combine 3/4 cup of matzoh cake meal and 1/4 cup of potato starch in a small bowl and stir in the lemon rind and set aside. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is light yellow and thick (5-8 mins at high speed). Add everything else (except the egg whites!) and beat at medium speed for a few more minutes until everything is combined. Finally add the egg whites and fold in gently by hand until incorporated. Turn the batter into the tube pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours or until the top springs back when touched lightly. Turn the pan upside down and cool thoroughly. Remove from pan onto a serving plate and serve.
So here are some of my favorite Passover recipes. I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as I have! Have a beautiful and healthy holiday!
Love,
Robina
First let me tell you about one of my most favorite people I never met. That would be a lady by the name of Mollie Katzen. Not only do I feel a kinship to her because my mother's family is named Katz but because she is a chef and an artist and grew up with a tremendous respect for food and where it came from. She was one of the first voices to sing the praises of vegetarian cooking back in the 1970's-the same time I thought the best food came from Nathan's. She opened a restaurant with some friends called "Moosewood Restaurant" up in Ithaca, NY and soon after began writing cookbooks based on those recipes. As an amazing artist, her books are filled with her beautiful illustrations. Her philosophy is that food is sacred and should be beheld and honored and slowly enjoyed. I could not agree more...which may explain why am I always the last one finished at the table.
Many years later, a roommate of mine owned one of her books called "Still Life With Menu Cookbook". Not only was it filled with beautiful illustrations but gave menus for complete meals including Vegetarian Thanksgiving and Vegetarian Passover. It was in that apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that I denounced my relationship with meat and looked to Mollie Katzen for guidance. My roommate and I made the Passover dishes (plus a roasted chicken for my parents) and had a beautiful Passover. A couple of years later, I moved out of that apartment and regretfully left the book with its owner. That was the period in my life that I decided to go to culinary school and something moved me to write a letter to Mollie. I told her of my love of "Still Life" and my plans to start a career in the culinary world. To my absolute astonishment and joy I came home to a package in the mail. It was a copy of "Still Life" with an inscription from Mollie! So in her honor I am going to pass on some of her wonderful recipes for a very happy and healthy Passover.
First off...the soup. This is Mollie's "Not-Chicken Soup". Combine in a large soup pot the following ingredients: 8 cups of water, 2 teaspoons salt, peel and cut into small chunks - 1 medium parsnip, 2 large carrots, 2 medium onions, 2 stalks of celery, 8-10 garlic cloves cut in half, a handful of button mushrooms cleaned and trimmed of their stems, 1/2 teaspoon tumeric and a little black pepper. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer partially covered. Let cook slowly for 1 1/4 hours. Let cool and then strain out all vegetables. Heat it gently before serving. It's really wonderful and you serve it with her matzoh balls. This is her Matzoh Ball recipe: Break 2 eggs in a small bowl and beat lightly. Add 1/2 cup of Matzoh meal and 1 teaspoon salt. Take a few springs of fresh parsley and use scissors to snip in a few tiny feathery pieces right into the matzoh meal. Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 30 mins. An hour before serving, heat a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Dust your hands with a little extra matzoh meal and form 1 inch balls, placing them one by one on a dusted plate. Then drop the matzoh balls gently into the boiling water and cook for 40 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place them to serving bowls. Ladle the hot soup on top.
Matzoh Kugel- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan with butter or margarine. Break 1 box of plain matzoh into pieces (size doesn't matter) and soak them in a large bowl of warm water for 10 mins. Drain well and return to bowl. Chop 3 medium onions into small pieces, mince 2 stalks of celery, chop a 12 oz package of button mushrooms, and mince 6 garlic cloves. Saute these vegetables (except the garlic!) in a large heavy skillet in butter with a little salt and pepper until it is all very tender. At the last minute, add the minced garlic and cook for five more minutes. Add the sauteed vegetables to the matzoh and mix well. In a separate bowl beat 5 eggs and add to the matzoh and veg mixture. Adjust seasoning and then spread into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the top generously with paprika and (if you like) sunflower seeds for added crunch. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 30 mins. Then uncover and allow to bake for another 20-25 mins. to achieve that lovely golden brown on top.
Steamed Fresh Asparagus and Hard Boiled Eggs with Horseradish Sauce- This is a very easy recipe and a great holiday twist for a side dish. Hard boil 3 eggs for 8 minutes. Remove from simmering water but do not peel and cut into quarters until 30 mins
Finally...dessert! Mile High Sponge Cake- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Have an ungreased stand sized tube pan ready. Separate 9 eggs into two large bowls. Beat the whites with an electric mixture at high speed, gradually adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt, until stiff peaks are formed. and set aside. Juice 2 lemons and grate the rind. Put the lemon juice into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 3/4 of a cup of liquid and set aside. Combine 3/4 cup of matzoh cake meal and 1/4 cup of potato starch in a small bowl and stir in the lemon rind and set aside. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture is light yellow and thick (5-8 mins at high speed). Add everything else (except the egg whites!) and beat at medium speed for a few more minutes until everything is combined. Finally add the egg whites and fold in gently by hand until incorporated. Turn the batter into the tube pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours or until the top springs back when touched lightly. Turn the pan upside down and cool thoroughly. Remove from pan onto a serving plate and serve.
So here are some of my favorite Passover recipes. I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as I have! Have a beautiful and healthy holiday!
Love,
Robina
Friday, April 15, 2011
Happy Spring! Happy Passover!
Hello, friends! Do I dare allow myself to think spring is finally here? I don't know about you but I have spring fever!!! The trees are starting to blossom and I can leave the house without taking an hour to put on eleven layers of clothing. But besides that I am inspired to eat more healthy foods. During the winter months if it isn't either covered in cheese or frosting I don't want it. But when the warm breezes begin blowing the garbage around New York I start making healthier choices. (No no...I love New York and am not afraid to shout it from the rooftops!)
Today I found myself wondering what to have for lunch. I usually keep a mental list of places I have been meaning to try so when the time comes I can choose something off that list at any given neighborhood. Is this a foolproof system? No. I often drag poor Greg around in search of some imaginary bistro insisting, "I know there is this adorable French place right around here."
But today the system paid off. Hooray! I was working in the midtown area and had seen a casual vegetarian place called "Otarian". In fact it had made it onto the mental checklist but I'd never gotten around to going. So today was the day. I looked first at the website and was smitten. It was created by Radhika Oswal whose philosophy is to create a more sustainable planet and to eliminate the negative effects of livestock production. My fellow vegetarians, we all know what a horror the meat/livestock industry is and Otarian provides a very wide range of dishes that are meat-free and also help to decrease our carbon footprints. The ingredients are local and never air-freighted and each item lists the CO2 footprint right on the menu. Also, the materials used in the restaurant are good for the planet. The chairs are made in an ancient southern African technique of weaving recycled plastic onto recycled aluminum frames. But not only that - the floor, tables, ceiling lamps are all made from recycled materials as is the packaging for the food.
Speaking of the food...isn't that the reason I set food onto their recycled floor? When I walked in I immediately saw a refrigerated display with beautiful and fresh sandwiches, fruit salads and desserts. Being a chocolate lover, I grabbed a chocolate crunch bar. Beside that was a small salad area where they offered a tabouli salad and a mozzarella, tomato and avacado salad. It was all very bright and beautiful and lightly dressed so I wouldn't even dare call it a salad bar which brings connotations of heavily dressed wilting pools of gunk that had once been a vegetable in a former life. Finally I looked at the menu and got even more excited. Even though the food wasn't flown in from around the world, the recipes must have been. There was a Vegetable Biryani with a yogurt cucumber dip, Spicy Vegetable noodles, Roasted Vegetable Lasagna and various meatless burgers. This wasn't your average soy burger at all! There was a Portabello mushroom burger, a Potato Spinach burger and (the one I chose) a Lentil Mushroom burger. Mind you, there are plenty more things on the menu. I am only naming a few. Each had an egg-less mayonnaise aioli dressing and lots of fabulous burger toppings. Mine had lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar and lots of good pickles. It came with a spicy Chipotle mayo but I am a wimp so I changed it for a Dijon mayo dressing and it was amazing! There was a subtle taste of cumin in the lentils. It definitely satisfied that burger craving but you know you are eating something really healthy. You can choose between a white or wheat bun and my wheat bun was soft and fresh but held up to the goodies within. They also serve fries and various desserts. My chocolate crunch bar was so decadent and amazing! It was like a buttery shortbread cookie with chocolate running through it and a slab of dark chocolate on top.
They have two locations in NYC and two in London. Check it out and let me know what you think! You can look into it at www.otarian.com.
I will be back tomorrow to talk about Passover. I have some wonderful vegetarian Passover recipes to share with you.
Have a lovely day!
Love,
Robina
Today I found myself wondering what to have for lunch. I usually keep a mental list of places I have been meaning to try so when the time comes I can choose something off that list at any given neighborhood. Is this a foolproof system? No. I often drag poor Greg around in search of some imaginary bistro insisting, "I know there is this adorable French place right around here."
But today the system paid off. Hooray! I was working in the midtown area and had seen a casual vegetarian place called "Otarian". In fact it had made it onto the mental checklist but I'd never gotten around to going. So today was the day. I looked first at the website and was smitten. It was created by Radhika Oswal whose philosophy is to create a more sustainable planet and to eliminate the negative effects of livestock production. My fellow vegetarians, we all know what a horror the meat/livestock industry is and Otarian provides a very wide range of dishes that are meat-free and also help to decrease our carbon footprints. The ingredients are local and never air-freighted and each item lists the CO2 footprint right on the menu. Also, the materials used in the restaurant are good for the planet. The chairs are made in an ancient southern African technique of weaving recycled plastic onto recycled aluminum frames. But not only that - the floor, tables, ceiling lamps are all made from recycled materials as is the packaging for the food.
Speaking of the food...isn't that the reason I set food onto their recycled floor? When I walked in I immediately saw a refrigerated display with beautiful and fresh sandwiches, fruit salads and desserts. Being a chocolate lover, I grabbed a chocolate crunch bar. Beside that was a small salad area where they offered a tabouli salad and a mozzarella, tomato and avacado salad. It was all very bright and beautiful and lightly dressed so I wouldn't even dare call it a salad bar which brings connotations of heavily dressed wilting pools of gunk that had once been a vegetable in a former life. Finally I looked at the menu and got even more excited. Even though the food wasn't flown in from around the world, the recipes must have been. There was a Vegetable Biryani with a yogurt cucumber dip, Spicy Vegetable noodles, Roasted Vegetable Lasagna and various meatless burgers. This wasn't your average soy burger at all! There was a Portabello mushroom burger, a Potato Spinach burger and (the one I chose) a Lentil Mushroom burger. Mind you, there are plenty more things on the menu. I am only naming a few. Each had an egg-less mayonnaise aioli dressing and lots of fabulous burger toppings. Mine had lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar and lots of good pickles. It came with a spicy Chipotle mayo but I am a wimp so I changed it for a Dijon mayo dressing and it was amazing! There was a subtle taste of cumin in the lentils. It definitely satisfied that burger craving but you know you are eating something really healthy. You can choose between a white or wheat bun and my wheat bun was soft and fresh but held up to the goodies within. They also serve fries and various desserts. My chocolate crunch bar was so decadent and amazing! It was like a buttery shortbread cookie with chocolate running through it and a slab of dark chocolate on top.
They have two locations in NYC and two in London. Check it out and let me know what you think! You can look into it at www.otarian.com.
I will be back tomorrow to talk about Passover. I have some wonderful vegetarian Passover recipes to share with you.
Have a lovely day!
Love,
Robina
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Hello, friends! Let's talk about food!
Welcome back! I am so pleased to have you. I sort of view this blog as a conversation in my daffodil yellow kitchen with you guys sitting around the table and my twenty one pound orange tabby climbing in my lap. Wish you were here!
First I must apologize for not getting to report on what would've been a fantastic way to kick this thing off. Whilst investigating other vegetarian chefs in NYC I accidentally found myself on the website for the very first NYC Vegetarian Food Festival!!! It was to take place on Sunday, April 3 in the Altman building in Chelsea. I awoke on Sunday, April 3rd to an absolutely gorgeous, sunny morning and not so subtly awoke Greg, the aforementioned vegetarian boyfriend, declaring that we had to go the festival. I briefly considered singing Cinderella's song from Sondheim's "Into the Woods"...."I wish to go the festival....more than anything....more than life." But then scrapped that idea, jumped out of bed and continued, "I can write about it in next week's blog!" It was created by Sarah Gross of "Rescue Chocolate" and Nira Paliwoda, event planner and foodie. Well, long and sad story short, we arrived to find the line to get into the festival around the block, then another block and another! I kid you not....it wound around three city blocks! The bad news is some people waited up to two hours in line (I was not one of them). The good news is what an amazing statement this whole thing made in terms of how vegetarianism and veganism are sweeping the nation....or at least the city. If anyone still clings to the notion that we are a bunch of dirty tree huggers, they should've seen the line of happy, healthy, beautiful people excited to taste the amazing dishes being whipped up by such places as "V-Spot", a Park Slope vegan restaurant, Williamsburg's "Foodswings" vegan fast food spot and "Cinnamon Snail", a vegan food truck from Hoboken. Apparently, a good time was had by all!
I am constantly flooded with food memories. Doesn't food always play a major part in every lovely memory we have of our childhoods? One particular one I was thinking about recently was how, as a kid, I looked forward all week to our Friday night dinners at fast food restaurants. My mother was not the most culinarily adept lady so our dinners were often under-seasoned and over-cooked slabs of meat accompanied by a vegetable in a can. But on Friday nights under those flourescent lights things finally had flavor and seasoning and color! My parents and aforementioned Russian grandmother would pick me and my best girl friends up from dancing school and we'd head over to Burger King, coupons in hand. What a culinary adventure!
Those were wonderful nights and I cherish those memories and those people. I haven't eaten fast food in years but sometimes still crave those big messy sandwiches. People talk about the elusive McRib as though it were a religion and sitcom characters mourn it's loss like a beloved relative. To that end I have created the vegetarian McRib. (I accidentally typed McRob and then corrected it but maybe I should just call it the McRob, since I invented it.) Morningstar Farms makes a fabulous bbq rib substitute that has the taste and texture of boneless ribs. But I do find that with many of these products they just need to be doctored up a bit so here is what I do. I heat up a nice, soft bun, place the Morningstar Farms bbq boneless "ribs" on the bun and place a few pickle slices on top. Voila! Is it rocket science? No. But it is a nice, quick and easy fast food fix. I love pairing it with homemade sweet potato fries. Just take a couple of sweet potatoes and cut them into thick wedges. Sprinkle some good Kosher salt and a little pepper on top and give them a very light drizzle of olive oil. Cook them at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes until they are slightly browned and soft inside. They are heaven! I make them at work all the time and the sugar really comes out in the cooking process. I like to cut them thick bc nice pretty little slices tend to burn too easily.
So there you have it...healthy fast food....who knew? I promise more sophisticated recipes are forthcoming. But for now I present to you the McRob!
Please post here with any questions or requests for topics or recipes.
Enjoy!
Love,
Robina
First I must apologize for not getting to report on what would've been a fantastic way to kick this thing off. Whilst investigating other vegetarian chefs in NYC I accidentally found myself on the website for the very first NYC Vegetarian Food Festival!!! It was to take place on Sunday, April 3 in the Altman building in Chelsea. I awoke on Sunday, April 3rd to an absolutely gorgeous, sunny morning and not so subtly awoke Greg, the aforementioned vegetarian boyfriend, declaring that we had to go the festival. I briefly considered singing Cinderella's song from Sondheim's "Into the Woods"...."I wish to go the festival....more than anything....more than life." But then scrapped that idea, jumped out of bed and continued, "I can write about it in next week's blog!" It was created by Sarah Gross of "Rescue Chocolate" and Nira Paliwoda, event planner and foodie. Well, long and sad story short, we arrived to find the line to get into the festival around the block, then another block and another! I kid you not....it wound around three city blocks! The bad news is some people waited up to two hours in line (I was not one of them). The good news is what an amazing statement this whole thing made in terms of how vegetarianism and veganism are sweeping the nation....or at least the city. If anyone still clings to the notion that we are a bunch of dirty tree huggers, they should've seen the line of happy, healthy, beautiful people excited to taste the amazing dishes being whipped up by such places as "V-Spot", a Park Slope vegan restaurant, Williamsburg's "Foodswings" vegan fast food spot and "Cinnamon Snail", a vegan food truck from Hoboken. Apparently, a good time was had by all!
I am constantly flooded with food memories. Doesn't food always play a major part in every lovely memory we have of our childhoods? One particular one I was thinking about recently was how, as a kid, I looked forward all week to our Friday night dinners at fast food restaurants. My mother was not the most culinarily adept lady so our dinners were often under-seasoned and over-cooked slabs of meat accompanied by a vegetable in a can. But on Friday nights under those flourescent lights things finally had flavor and seasoning and color! My parents and aforementioned Russian grandmother would pick me and my best girl friends up from dancing school and we'd head over to Burger King, coupons in hand. What a culinary adventure!
Those were wonderful nights and I cherish those memories and those people. I haven't eaten fast food in years but sometimes still crave those big messy sandwiches. People talk about the elusive McRib as though it were a religion and sitcom characters mourn it's loss like a beloved relative. To that end I have created the vegetarian McRib. (I accidentally typed McRob and then corrected it but maybe I should just call it the McRob, since I invented it.) Morningstar Farms makes a fabulous bbq rib substitute that has the taste and texture of boneless ribs. But I do find that with many of these products they just need to be doctored up a bit so here is what I do. I heat up a nice, soft bun, place the Morningstar Farms bbq boneless "ribs" on the bun and place a few pickle slices on top. Voila! Is it rocket science? No. But it is a nice, quick and easy fast food fix. I love pairing it with homemade sweet potato fries. Just take a couple of sweet potatoes and cut them into thick wedges. Sprinkle some good Kosher salt and a little pepper on top and give them a very light drizzle of olive oil. Cook them at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes until they are slightly browned and soft inside. They are heaven! I make them at work all the time and the sugar really comes out in the cooking process. I like to cut them thick bc nice pretty little slices tend to burn too easily.
So there you have it...healthy fast food....who knew? I promise more sophisticated recipes are forthcoming. But for now I present to you the McRob!
Please post here with any questions or requests for topics or recipes.
Enjoy!
Love,
Robina
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