Tag Archives: vegetarian

Potato-Apple Latkes

I’ve spent several of the last Christmases in Evanston, Illinois with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. When it comes to Christmas dinner, we don’t really have anything traditional, usually lasagna or sandwiches, whatever we feel like. But, when it comes to Christmas breakfast, my uncle is always in the kitchen scrambling up eggs, baking biscuits, and whipping up a warm batch of latkes. This Christmas I stayed home and didn’t care about what I did or ate on Christmas day except for what I ate for breakfast. So, I decided to make the latkes myself and ended up making Potato-Apple Latkes. I don’t know what my uncle puts in his latkes but these are nothing more than potato, apple, flour, salt, and pepper. I used Granny Smith apples because I already had some on hand and they added the slightest hint of sweetness without taking away from the traditional latke taste. Latkes are a great alternative to regular breakfast potatoes or hashbrowns and although I think my uncle’s latkes are better, these were still pretty darn good.

The ingredients:

Peel the potatoes and shred them with a kitchen grater. Repeat the same procedure with the apples and place in a strainer or colander over a bowl to drain for 20 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to press down the potatoes and apples to get as much liquid out as possible. With clean hands, squeeze excess water by hand if necessary.

Place dried potato-apple mixture in a bowl and add flour, salt, and pepper and mix.

Add oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Using a 1/3 measuring cup, place mixture into the pan, flattening with your hands or the back of the measuring cup. Cook on both sides until brown.

Serve with sour cream, crème fraîche, or applesauce.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup

I was a vegetarian for several years and used to make soups like this Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup often. Soup is one of those great meals that can easily be made vegetarian by swapping out meaty broths for vegetable or mushroom broth (I used vegetable broth). But sometimes, vegetarian soups can be boring and too soft. This one has chickpeas which hold up well in the cooking process giving you something to sink your teeth into. The lemon added a light freshness without being overbearing and the parmesan cheese gave a needed salty flavor. Consider substituting kale for the spinach or swapping out the chickpeas for cannellini beans. This soup was great for workday lunches and always left me feeling satisfied.

The ingredients:

Sauté garlic and green onions in olive oil until soft and fragrant.

Add broth and water and bring to a boil.

Stir in lemon rind, orzo, and chickpeas. Cover and cook until orzo is cooked, about 10 minutes.

Stir in oregano, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and spinach. Cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.

Top soup with parmesan cheese.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Vegetable broth for chicken broth
Dried oregano for fresh oregano

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Apple, Ricotta Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

I admit I’m a basic, plain cheese pizza kind of girl and probably never would have tried this Apple, Ricotta Cheese, and Pecan Pizza if it weren’t for a restaurant in Philadelphia called Pizzeria Stella. Stella makes a pistachio pizza – yes pistachio! – and I kid you not, it is one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had and (gulp!) there isn’t a tomato anywhere in sight. Before trying the pistachio pizza, I might have ordinarily passed by a pizza with apple, pecans, and arugula but not this time. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this. The original recipe called for goat cheese (which I think tastes the way a dirty sock might taste, bleh!) so I swapped that out for ricotta cheese. I like the contrasts in this pizza – smooth ricotta and crunchy pecans, sweet apples and bitter arugula – which help to keep the dish interesting. The honey-mustard dressing on the arugula provided an added tasty flavor to each bite. If you aren’t an arugula fan, I think you’d enjoy this even if you left it off but I’d recommend keeping the dressing. If you’re still not sure about this kind of pizza, I’ll tell you I wasn’t at all sure about a pistachio pizza either. Now…I dream about it.