vegetarian Archives - Bumblebee Blog

Bzzzz July 4th, 2007

This is a recipe I have probably made about 20 times now and uses up some of that profuse harvest of zucchini that we all have this time of year.

This recipe is also good for that overly-large zucchini from your garden that you don’t want to chuck into the woods. It is taken from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures, by Jeanne Lemlin. This cookbook won the coveted James Beard Award and is one of my favorites. EVERYTHING I have cooked from this book is wonderful. Buy it!

Zucchini, Tomato, and Swiss Cheese Pie

Note: If you aren’t accustomed to using fennel seed, go out and get some. You will find that it’s that "secret ingredient" that gives your vegetable dishes that gourmet flavor.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I have also used corn meal)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly slized (I have also used yellow squash)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed (Don’t leave this out!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/4 pound grated or sliced Swiss cheese (about 1 1/3 cups) (I have also used cheddar or whatever is on hand)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I usually forget about this)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Using 1/2 tablespoon of the butter, grease a pie plate, then sprinkle the bread crumbs over the bottom and sides.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté 10 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes and sauté 5 minutes. Raise the heat to high. Mix in the zucchini, fennel seed, salt and pepper. Cook until the zucchini is barely tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and cool 5 minutes.
3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, then mix in the zucchini mixture. Pour half into the prepared pie plate, top with the Swiss cheese, then pour on the remaining vegetable mixture. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese all over the top and dot with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of the butter.
4. Bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting.

As I write this, a thunderstorm is thinking about heading our way. We had six drops of rain. Call me a fatalist, but I am not hopeful that it will amount to anything–again. I have already spent 1.5 hours watering today.

Ciao!

–Robin (Bumblebee)

Posted In: Food and Recipes

Tags: vegetarian, zucchini

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Bzzzz May 22nd, 2007

Yes, it’s Vegetarian Week. Did you know that only about 1% – 2% of Americans are vegetarian?

That little fact is probably not a surprise to you. I say that not because being a vegetarian entails such a Spartan diet. It really doesn’t. You have all these FABULOUS vegetables and vegetarian dishes, particularly from India and the Middle East, that provide lots of savory satisfying flavors. The difficulty, at least as I am experiencing it, is threefold:

1) Not all, but a LOT of really good vegetarian dishes take extra time to prepare. You can’t just toss a couple of steaks on the grill and be ready in 20 minutes. Now, I am TOTALLY behind the whole Slow Food Movement. In fact, the food around our house is so slow it routinely takes me 1-2 hours to make dinner, which is typically served at 8:30 p.m. But TIME is not necessarily something I have an abundance of, so I have to really work hard to carve out that bit of space to make a dinner we’ll all eat and enjoy. (On the upside, at least we eat a family dinner 6 out of 7 nights I’m home.)

2) The rest of the world has not customized itself to accommodate vegetarians. Sure, things are a heck of a lot easier than when I became a vegetarian for the first time back in the 1980s when I was…well, younger. Even living in California I was hard pressed to find much more than a tossed salad and some steamed vegetables in those days. Now, although there are nearly always vegetarian options available, they are slim pickins’ in the overall scheme of things, which leaves us true food lovers a bit left out of the party when it comes to restaurant eating. That’s not even to mention that people are generally disinclined to invite you to dinner, for obvious reasons.

3) Traveling is PARTICULARLY difficult. And I travel a LOT. It’s quite frustrating to be stuck in an airport with options that only amount to cheese pizza and ice cream and then landing late at night at a hotel that offers only a tossed salad and fruit. It does make a girl a bit cranky.

I was just reading an article in Yoga Journal about some of the popular yoga teachers and how they travel with their own cooking supplies. Shiva Rea even packs a whole extra suitcase with a hot plate, pot, mung beans, rice and other supplies so she can cook in her room. She has even served up to 12 people by cooking up beans on her hot plate!

Well, I’m not sure how I feel about that. As much as I would like some of those mung beans and rice, I don’t know that I have the wherewithal to cook in my hotel room late at night. I generally am more in the mood for SERVICE, preferably in 30 minutes or less.

Despite these drawbacks, if you’ve considered a vegetarian diet but just can’t make the commitment, I recommend reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. It’s a very compelling read that puts a whole new face on the way most Americans eat. Believe me. You WILL NOT want to eat any beef, pork, chicken or fish after reading this book. You might not eat again.

Another helpful tip: PETA, whether you love them or hate them, is well organized and has sponsored its own Go Vegetarian website where you can even order a free vegetarian starter’s kit. I tried to send some to a couple of friends in need, but their form for friends isn’t working properly. Sorry, you’ll have to download or oder your own. Check out the website though. You can “Meet Your Meat,” take the “30 Day Veg Pledge,” get recipes and even become an activist.

And if you’re ever in Calvert County and in need of a good vegetarian meal, just let me know. It may be slow, but it’ll be healthy and vegetarian.

Posted In: Food and Recipes