Well Done Jack Bishop!

Congrats to Mr. Bishop for his cookbook Vegetables Every Day being named the cookbook of the week at Borders Books. This book is my vegetable encyclopedia. When I visit a farmers market and find a foreign vegetable (see kohlrabi), I can look it up and find out how to pick it, prep it, and cook it. I've learned things such as selecting small turnips rather than large ones, because the larger ones tend to be less flavorful and more woody. And, for my friends looking for vegetable side dishes, this book has tons of recipes.

If you are wanting to expand your vegetable vocabulary and consumption, I highly recommend this book to you. Let me know what you think if you pick one up.

Orecchietti with Spicy Broccoli

If you want an easy pasta dish, this is a great choice. You only have to chop broccoli and garlic, and heat them up with a couple other ingredients while the pasta is cooking.

I thought the flavors were distributed perfectly, but I have a head cold, so there is a distinct possibility that I over-salted. Tommie will be home soon to let me know. My guess is that I did, but as my taste buds are on strike, the salt to everything else ratio seemed good to me.

I'm giving this dish a 4.5. It's surprisingly tasty and extremely easy to make.

Red Bean Chili with Ancho Chiles and Coffee

Cold, snowy day after Christmas + Head Cold Tommie = CHILI!

I haven't made this recipe since last winter, because it takes 3-4 hours to make, and the rest of the year I'm somewhere out on my bike rather than indoors cooking all day. But in the winter, especially on a snowy day, this is the perfect activity. 

I also went ahead and baked a loaf of "Lighter Wheat" bread (see picture) from my Bread Baker's Apprentice cookbook. This bread baking thing is not as hard as I thought it would be. With my eternal quest to control all substances that enter my stomach, I'm happy to have overcome my initial trepidation and am now on my second type of sandwich bread as well as homemade bagels.

Anyway, enough on the bread. As I said, the chili takes forever to make, because the recipe calls for dried beans. None of the steps is really difficult to do, so if you have an afternoon free, this is a rewarding dish that makes your home smell very yummy, and the result is a completely authentic tasting chili. I can't put down John Grisham's newest book, "The Confession," so I had a great afternoon of primarily reading while the bread and chili did their things in the kitchen. Come to think of it, I also fit in a half-hour of yoga while they were cooking. Wow. I actually accomplished a lot this afternoon. Huh.

I was tempted to give this dish 4.5 stars because of the time factor, but the truth is, it is too good, so it gets 5 stars. Oh, and BTW, I dumped in like 4 heavy shakes of cayenne pepper to add some kick. It's not in the recipe, but I just feel like chili should make your mouth tingle.

Couscous Tagine with Turnips and Dried Apricots - Take Two

If you're paying attention you'll remember that Tommie made this dish last month (seriously I expect NO ONE to remember that). Tommie and I had made homemade bagels this week, and so I needed a nice, healthy, nutrient rich meal to combat the overload of simple bagel carbs in addition to the chocolates, cakes, and cookies that have been accompanying the holidays.

Enter one of my favorite and extremely easy to make dishes: Couscous Tagine with Turnips and Dried Apricots. The sweet flavor of the apricots blends just beautifully with the peppery turnips. Love, love, love this dish. Tastes fabulous, extremely low calories, chock full of nutrients with tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, cilantro, turnips, apricots, onions, and couscous. We give this one the full 5 stars.

Seriously, DON'T FEAR THE TURNIP. If you are afraid, at least give it one shot. If you hate it, no worries. But you may find that you love it like I do, and then you'll just maybe be open to trying even more vegetables that seemed like a no-go area before, like perhaps chard, fennel, leeks, parsnip, beets... There's a world of delicious flavors to discover that can help to make your body stronger than ever. Start now with THE TURNIP!

Rigatoni with Cauliflower, Curry Powder, and Coconut Milk

Why do I keep eating past the point of being full when I know it's going to make me feel uncomfortable afterward? Oh right. Because the food from this cookbook is so fracking tasty.

This is a nice, different kinda pasta dish. The flavors blend together beautifully: spinach, lime juice, coconut milk, curry powder, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and the ubiquitous salt, all combined with rigatoni.

My only complaint, as I have with most pasta dishes for that matter, is the cleaning factor. Our kitchen is a mess right now. Regardless, this one is worth making.

We're giving tonight's dinner 4.5 stars. It's extremely delicious, but as Tommie says, it's not "magical" like some of the other dishes in the book. Let me know what you think if you make it.

Indian-Style Squash Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

Tonight's Jack Bishop soup has a guest star: fresh-baked Anadama bread by ME! More on that later. Let's talk soup.

Another out of the ballpark hit. This soup requires a few different steps to make, but it's all very easy. The soup on its own is delicious, but I love the spiced pumpkin seeds that you sprinkle on top. They are just delicious, and I love the crunch that they add to the soup. They're also yummy to snack on sans soup.

And now, my bread. A certain conservative political blogger friend recommended to me the book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I had tried to make bread from a different cookbook, and the flavors were not there. So, I read this highly scientific book and followed the recipe for Anadama bread (combo of polenta and bread flour plus some light molasses, salt, water, yeast, and a little butter). This bread is a two day event. Sadly, I messed up Step Two this morning, and I think that's why the bread didn't rise all the way. BUT, it tastes amazing. Bread baking is an art and a science, but with only a little knowledge I was able to make delicious bread even after messing it up!

As you might have guessed, I'm giving the soup the full 5 stars. It's just fabulous. Tommie will be eating well when he gets off his plane tonight.

Caribbean Black Beans with Sauteed Plantains

I feel somewhat cruel posting this while Tommie is stuck at work in Chicago. It's a sin how tasty this dish is. I purposefully don't make it that often, because I love it so much that I don't want to overdo it.

The beans are sauteed with orange juice, lime juice, garlic, and jalapeños. Then you add sauteed plantains and rice to the scrummy beans, y tienes una fiesta fabulosa!

Make this dish. You'll thank me. Needless to say: 6 out of 5 stars. No pregunta.

My Favorite Hot Cocoa

This has nothing to do with Jack Bishop, but since this blog is about my favorite foods, I thought I'd share my favorite cocoa. Lake Champlain's Organic Hot Chocolate is my fave, but I also love their spicy Aztec flavor as well as their new Mountain Mint. The Organic one has a rich, dark chocolate flavor. I've had the Traditional one, and it's just not bold enough for my tastes. If you prefer milk chocolate, you might like this flavor more than me.

Every afternoon I pour 8 oz of 2% milk in a mug and microwave for 2 min. 20 sec. (The can says to microwave for 3 minutes, but in my microwave that is too much.) Then I add one generous tablespoon of cocoa and mix. Voila! My sugar craving is satisfied for the day, and the milk has so much protein in it that I'm not hungry until dinner.

Lake Champlain's cocoa is sold at my Whole Foods Market in Alexandria, but I don't think it was offered in the Arlington store the last time I looked. So, if it's not in your WFM, you can use the link above and order it online.

Let me know what you think if you try it. With 35º temperatures even down in Miami, we're all looking for a good way to warm up. I say: Make it a cocoa day!

Black Bean Soup with Cumin, Chiles, and Lime

Best. Black. Bean. Soup. Ever.

No wait.

Best. Soup. Ever.

I've made this soup a few times, but I feel very strongly that the wrong beer (one of the ingredients) can destroy the dish. And, since I haven't had a beer in easily a decade, I have not been very good at picking beers. But today, I went to the old faithful Heineken, my beer of choice in the '90s. Complete fracking success.

Couple things if you make this: instead of removing 2 cups of soup and blending them, I just blended the soup in the pot a bit with my immersion blender. Not the whole thing, just enough so that when you stir it around you get that fabulous, thick texture that all black bean soups must have (IMHO).

Also, I opted for plain yogurt instead of sour cream, and I went with a fat-free one. Tasted fabulous. Why add the fat and calories if you don't need them?

So, for the first time EVER, I am awarding this dish 6 out of 5 stars. Best. Soup. Ever.

Corn, Tomato, and Lima Bean Stew

Dr. Sanjay Gupta would SO approve. Look at all those colors! I haven't made this dish for ages, and I have no idea why. It's very simple to make, extremely tasty, and highly nutritious.

I took the easy option and went with frozen lima beans, but when it comes to corn, 99% of the time I buy corn in their husks and cut the fresh kernels off the cob. Next summer I'm gonna find out if I can grow corn on our terrace. Talk about an effective privacy screen -- I hear it can grow as high as an elephants eye!

Without Tommie's input I'm going to give this one 4.5 stars. I love it, but it has a bit of half-and-half in it, and Tommie is not such a fan of The Dairy. Really it's only a tiny bit of the cream just to add another layer of flavor to the dish, but my guess is that he gives this one a rating somewhere in the 3-4 star range. To be continued...

Spinach and Pesto Risotto

When the cat's away the mice will play... WITH THE CHEESE!!!!! So, Tommie's out of town, and I thought to myself, CHEESE! (Tommie, if this is too much for you, step away from the blog.)

My good friend, who I will refer to as Memily, in case she would like anonymity, came over this afternoon, and we made Jack's Spinach and Pesto Risotto. I can never make anything like this when Tommie's home, due to the CHEESE factor, so we took advantage of the opportunity.

This was my first risotto, and, no surprise-- thank you Jack, it came out delicious. Jack has an incredibly delicious pesto recipe in the book that is an ingredient in the dish. If I had made the pesto in advance, the risotto would have taken maybe 30 minutes or so to make. But since we were making it an afternoon of hanging out and cooking, we made the pesto first. Fabulous pesto. I, of course, gave the leftover pesto to Memily to take home, because Tommie would be horrified to find its yummy, CHEESY, goodness in our fridge. Enjoy, Memily!

We both agreed that this risotto tastes as good as anything you'd find in a nice restaurant; therefore, it gets the full 5 stars. Tommie -- if you're still reading this, Memily took the rest of the leftover CHEESE with her too.

Black Sesame Noodles

She shoots, and she scores!!!!!

OK. The first thing you might wonder is "Black Sesame Noodles?" Yes. I couldn't find black sesame seeds, so I went with the oldy but goody white sesame seeds. And, the only thing I'll say about that is, that I wish I put more in, because, um, YUM!

I'm gonna tell you some of the flavors, but just know that it's super easy, even though there are a lot of components. You basically throw a bunch of stuff in a food processor, shred some veggies, and cook some pasta.

So here goes: fresh ginger, garlic, carrots, cucumber, radishes, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot pepper, some other odds and ends, and then top it off with fresh cilantro and toasted sesame seeds. Yummmm-frickin-y.

Clearly, tonight's dinner gets the full 5 stars. I actually did not get a second serving, because I wanted to leave room to have a slice of my freshly baked bread tonight for a snack. Food just tastes so much better when you make it from scratch.

Potatoes and Chard with Green Curry Sauce

Yum. This one's a keeper. It's so fracking cold up here, that I chose all my recipes for the next few nights from the Winter section of the book. Jack says he likes this dish on a cold day, and we discovered that we do too!

Some cooking observations: I didn't use enough green curry out of fear that I would make the dish too spicy. Nope. Definitely not too spicy. Tommie had to add some chili flakes to his plate to get the zip he wanted. So, I'm going with two tablespoons next time at bat.

Also, I just cannot get the timing right on my stove. We've lived here one year this week, and I'm still simmering my dishes way too hot. I think I'm done with trying to use the "simmer" indicator on the knob and just lower the heat to med-low or low. I share this story with you, because I definitely overcooked the potatoes. It might have been a blessing though, because some of the potatoes kinda mushed up, and so it made the dish seem even creamier.

Bottom line, even with me under-spicing and over-cooking this dish, we still loved it! Gonna go with 4.5 stars. Maybe if I get it right I'll be able to award this curry the full 5 stars. Oh one last thing: Jack recommends serving this with rice. I didn't do that. Potatoes and rice seems like way too many carbs and overkill. Do you disagree?

Golden Tofu Wrap with Warm Asian Slaw

This meal is standard fare in our non-animal eating home. Not unlike the majority of Jack's recipes in "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen," the ingredients are few: some sauteed tofu cubes, some red cabbage, a little jalapeño, some garlic, a splash of some Asian liquids, and a whole lotta love. (JK.) But as is the norm, the results are delicious.

With this dish I've learned that I like to add a bit more of the seasonings to the cabbage to give it more kick, and I've also learned to not buy Whole Foods' lavash wraps ever again. They taste good, but they're way too flaky and rip too easily. The dish calls for 12" flour tortillas, and Whole Foods never has any big enough. So I tried the lavash this once. Once! Next time, I buy proper tortillas at Harris Teeter. Lesson learned.

As one of our fave dishes, we're giving tonight's meal 4.5 stars. We're not really depressed that we got full, but we're still looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Linguine with Leeks and Tomatoes

Crazy news: I used a different Jack Bishop cookbook! I was in the mood for a new pasta this week, and so I visited Jack's The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, and found this recipe. Tommie and I are thrilled that I did, because this dinner rocked.

Aside from the linguine, there are only a few ingredients: leeks, extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes, fresh thyme, and of course, salt and pepper. The hardest part of the recipe was finding enough thyme to use from my garden, as it's getting colder and colder here, and my herbs are ready to fly south for the winter.

Neither of us wanted to put our forks down. I over-ate, and then still got depressed when I realized my stomach was about to rebel on me if I didn't stop eating. Therefore, this dish also gets the full 5 stars. We've eaten some good food this week. I hope I can keep it up!

Creamy Tomato Soup

Tommie's all-time favorite dish: Creamy Tomato Soup. Despite the name, this soup does not have any dairy, just a whole lotta tastiness. I often make this as a starter when I have company over, and every time guests love it.

It's not the simplest of all recipes -- you have to roast some tomatoes, saute some leeks, and then step by step add in the layers of flavors, but it is worth the time.

One tip: for all the soup recipes that call for a blender, I use an immersion blender instead. You hold it in the pot, and it purees the soup right there. Saves time cooking and cleaning, and you can make quick smoothies with it too.

Tommie was literally depressed that he was full after two servings; we, therefore, are in agreement that Jack Bishop's Creamy Tomato Soup deserves the full 5 stars.

Coconut Rice with Edamame and Leeks

Comfort food vegetarian style. I could not possibly tell you how many times I've made this dish over the last 4 years or so. It's relatively easy to make, and the combination of coconut milk, fresh ginger, leeks, cilantro, and edamame is heavenly. When I know that I want a hands down yummy dinner, I often turn to this one.

No question: Jack Bishop's Coconut Rice with Edamame and Leeks gets 5 stars. One of my favorite recipes.

Southwestern Bean Cakes (with Mango Salsa)

¡Olé! For some reason I'm drawn to the "Spring" section of the book this week, as this dish comes from there as well. I try to have some type of Latin-flavored meal each week, because the spices and chiles are muy delicioso.

These bean cakes are pretty good, but once you add in the mango salsa, you have a very tasty meal. I'd recommend this dinner for a night when you're pressed for time. It doesn't take a lot to put it all together, and it only cooks for about 8 minutes. I needed to use a bit more corn meal, as the cakes were a little hard to flip. Must remember that for the future...

We're giving Jack Bishop's Southwestern Bean Cakes 3 stars. Very healthy, and tastes good, but putting the fork down was a bit too easy.

Roasted Fennel, Potatoes, and Artichokes with Fennel Gremolata

Gremolata: (according to Wikipedia) A chopped herb condiment typically made of lemon zest, garlic, and parsley.

I might have to make it my life's mission to discover everything that you can put gremolata on, because it is fracking delicious.

This is one of Jack Bishop's "spring" recipes, but to "fall" it up, I roasted carrots in place of the mini artichokes. From where I sit, I think you could take any root vegetable, roast it, and add a gremolata to it. The combination of roasting plus lemony-garlicky-parsley(-y?)-fennelly goodness is out of this world.

We're giving this dish 5 stars. Tommie had to force himself to not get thirds. I wonder what veggies I can roast next...

White Bean and Tomato Casserole with Bread Crumb Topping

Dinner FAIL! Well, you can see from the photo that the bread crumbs burned a bit. Jack said to broil the casserole for 2 to 3 minutes, but check to make sure it doesn't burn. I tried to look through the door after maybe 30 seconds, but realized that I couldn't see the top, so I opened the door, and the bread crumbs had already burned. Bummer.

I have never had success broiling anything. In fact, the first time I tried this dish years ago, I set the whole thing on fire. Those were fun times.

Let's start at the beginning. I wanted to do this correctly, so I made sure that I used good white bread (which we bought at the local farmers' market), and I took the time to dry out the bread and then process in my food processor to make the bread crumbs. All went perfectly well.

Next I cooked up the onion, tomato, garlic, thyme, and bean mixture per the instructions. Seasoned appropriately. Spread the seasoned bread crumbs over the mixture in the pan, put it under the broiler, and you know the rest.

The flavors were fine. Nothing to write home about, and you couldn't tell that the bread was burnt -- I guess I took it out in the nick of time. But, am I excited to eat the leftovers? Not so much. Tons of protein, hardly any fat, and vegetables to boot, so it's a nice healthy dish, but it's just... eh.

I'm giving it 2.5 stars. Tommie says 3, but he didn't take the time to do all the prep work. He's actually cleaning up the messy kitchen post-cooking, so I'll bet by the end he'll go with 2.5 as well. Too much work for just an average meal.

It had to happen one day: I don't really like this Jack Bishop dish. And on the same day the Canes lose another game to Virginia Tech. At least the Hip Hop Awards are on tonight. Yee-haw!!!!

Update: It tasted better as leftovers the next day. Worthy of 3 stars.

Penne with Broccoli and Pumpkin Seed-Parsley Pesto

Wow. This recipe is a keeper. First time making this pasta, and I love it. I was turned away in the past because it calls for Parmesan cheese, and it also seemed like a lot of work.

Wrong. The only chopping was snipping parsley leaves from the stems. I seriously took the lazy route and purchased broccoli already prepped rather than having to cut it myself.

As to the Parmesan, I made this a vegan dish, so that Tommie wouldn't have to be subjected to The Cheese. Instead, I added two tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the pesto (processed with all the other ingredients). I think it completely worked: thicker consistency and more flavor. Go me.

Tommie won't be eating this one until late tonight, so I'll be curious to hear if he agrees, but I'm giving this Penne 5 stars. I was definitely sad when I had to put the fork down. (I actually kinda ate a little more than I should, which is another giveaway.)

Lentil Saute with Indian Flavors

Continuing with our lentil theme... Tonight's dinner demonstrates that you can have the same protein two days in a row, in this case lentils, but still enjoy very different flavors and textures.

Tommie stepped up to the plate (pardon the pun) and cooked dinner, while I was away playing at the Pilates studio. He cooked it perfect: lentils, onions, garlic, some chocolate mint from the garden, some top-secret spices, and topped off with plain yogurt.

I came home in time to help with the rice and followed Jack Bishop's "Simplest Rice Pilaf" recipe. 99% of the time I make rice this way: a little butter, heat up a cinnamon stick, toast the rice in the pot and then add the water. It's crazy what one cinnamon stick can do to a pot of rice. Out of this world.

We're going with a 4.5 for tonight's meal. It's a perfect "Crap! We have nothing to eat! Oh wait, I always have lentils, garlic, and onions in the pantry... I know what I can make!" meal. If you're a vegetarian, you want to add this one to your repertoire.

Green Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Mustard-Tarragon Vinaigrette

For a salad, this is one fabulous dish. I've decided that roasted vegetables are my favorite food. I'd pick roasted vegetables over a cupcake even. It was a little hard to keep my hands away from the freshly roasted turnips and red onions so that there were enough left to combine with the lentils into the dressing. But, as you can see, I managed to control my desires and not just nosh on lightly browned, droolingly delicious, freshly roasted turnips.

Though this dish takes a while to make, it's very easy, and pretty much fool-proof. Oh, and I chose to use arugula for my tender green of choice. Me and POTUS have similar tastes in greens.

We're giving this dinner a 4. For a salad, it's a 5 hands down, but Tommie and I aren't the hugest salad fans. So, 4 stars it is.

Kale and Chickpea Soup with Parmesan

Tonight's dinner: Kale and Chickpea Soup with

without Parmesan. So, I tried to make a healthier, non-cheese version of Jack's soup, because as many of you know, Tommie fears The Cheese. Frankly, it came out pretty good, but I definitely think that if you did flavor the soup with the parmesan rind while it simmers and then sprinkle shaved parmesan and oil over top just before serving, this soup would be fabulous.

On the nutrition side, it's wonderful: kale, carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and chickpeas. That's a whole lotta nutrient-rich fuel. But without the cheese, the viscosity, was disappointing. Tommie made himself some toast and added pieces to the soup, which actually worked very well.

We're gonna give this dish a 3.75. The flavors were there, but without the parmesan it just didn't knock my socks off.

BTDubs, I had one unintentional cooking gaffe: You're supposed to remove the rosemary sprig from the soup before serving, but all the needles fell off the stem by the time I needed to do this. I wonder if I simmered the soup too briskly?

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Dried Cherries, Chard and Walnuts

We make this dish fairly often because it's hearty, tasty and healthy. In fact, it is the perfect carbo loading meal if you are an endurance athlete. Swiss chard (in this case rainbow chard) is extremely hearty, so when you combine it with the complex carb whole wheat pasta, you are fueling your body well. Add some garlic, dried cherries, and toasted walnuts, and now it's just plain tasty.

We give this dish 4 out of 5 stars. It's a wonderful meal, but a 5 star meal has to be one where I'm a little sad when I feel that my stomach is full, and I have to put down the fork. I wasn't sad tonight -- just happily sated.

Spicy Vegetable Tagine

I forgot the cilantro!!!!! I've made this dish many times -- it's easy, tasty, and highly nutritious, but when we sat down and started eating I felt like something was missing. When Tommie got up to clear the table he realized the chopped cilantro was still on the counter. It seems crazy, but to me the dish definitely suffered without it.

Fortunately our guests seemed to enjoy the meal despite the non-cilantro flavoring. Basing my rating solely on last night's meal, I give this dish a 4. That really reflects more my cooking than the actual meal. I can't believe I forgot the cilantro.

One more thing: our friends who ate with us are carnivores who don't often eat vegetarian meals and were surprised by how good the food made them feel. I read a question made by a nutritionist recently that seems apropos: "You wouldn't put the lowest grade fuel in your BMW, why would you do that to yourself?"

Spinach-Onion Quesadillas with Avocado-Chipotle Salsa

Yum. We were craving Mexican, so quesadillas it was. What makes this dish delicious is the chipotle chiles in adobo sauce that flavors the guacamole. I'll have to remember this if I ever just want chips and dip. Who needs the quesadillas, right?

We're giving this dish a 4. The guac is a 5 hands down. But since this isn't the healthiest recipe in the book, we knocked the score down a bit. That said, sometimes you just want comfort food, ya know?

One more thing: I give my photo 1 star. Not my finest.

Couscous Tagine with Turnips and Dried Apricots

Guest Blogger Tommie tonight. It was my turn to whip up a tasty Jack Bishop recipe. Tonight's was an oldie but a goodie. I've never made it before. A lot of prep time, chopping and measuring out spices, but it cooks easily. The dish has a nice balance of tang, spice and sweetness. An exceptional can of diced tomatoes really helped give this acidity, and it was a little more spice and less sweet than when Tracy has made it.

Turnips are a favorite around here, and this dish is quite healthy--just a hint of olive oil. I will give it 4 1/2 stars, subscribing to Tracy's x-0.5 for lack of protein rating. It was fun stepping into the chef's hat tonight!

Split Pea Soup with Carrots, Leeks and Tarragon

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh C-A-N-E-S Canes! Why is so much of my food orange and green?

After riding our bikes for a couple hours today in barely 50 degree temperatures, this soup really hit the spot. We realized looking back at last week's menu, that we've been eating a lot of stews and soups. At first I was sad that the air was finally cooling, but it's so nice to have seasons and not only change up our activities quarterly, but also change up our meals. How apropos that our favorite cookbook is broken into sections by season. Whether you live up north or in Florida, do you find that you change your menu season to season?

Without hesitation we give this meal 5 stars. Possibly my favorite soup in the book.

Butternut Squash and White Bean Stew

Does rosemary make everything taste delicious?

I'm so glad this stew turned out well, because I really dislike working with squash. Scooping out the seeds isn't so bad, but peeling it is just tiring. Whole Foods had a huge display of different varieties of squash this week, so we selected delicata to be different. The taste seems the same to me (in this stew at least) as butternut. Because the delicata is a smaller variety though, I felt like I had to do double duty prepping two rather than one big butternut squash.

Other ingredients include tomatoes, beans (I went with Great Northern), and onions, but the lead flavor was rosemary that I picked fresh from our garden. I love rosemary. Love it.

Tommie and I give this dish 5 stars. You burn some calories prepping the squash, but it's worth it.
(BTW, since this blog is about food, and not my crazy political views, we felt anonymity was less important, hence Hubby's name now being Tommie.)

Fresh Chinese Noodles with Spicy Cabbage

Right off the bat let me state that I took the linguine option. Jack Bishop's recipe calls for fresh Chinese noodles (hence the name), but he states that linguine works fine too. So, I took the lazy option and just went with linguine.

This dinner rocks. I love the taste of Chinese food, but everything I get from restaurants is so heavy, that I can't eat it. This has all the flavor of a Chinese meal, but with only two tablespoons of roasted peanut oil. Two teaspoons of chili-garlic sauce were enough kick for me -- anymore would have been too much. Hubby would most definitely disagree with that point. Dumping the whole jar wouldn't be too much heat for him. But I digress.

Fun meal. Easy to make. Very tasty. Has protein (albeit only a small amount). I give this a 4.5. Don't know why I don't give it 5 stars. Just a gut decision. (Get it? Gut? It's about food...)

Smoky Sweet Potato Puree with Spiced Spinach

Go Canes!!! It's not often that my dinner is orange and green, but looky there!

This is the first time I've made this dish, and overall I'd say it was a success. The recipe calls for chipotle chiles in adobo sauce mixed into the mashed sweet potatoes, and that flavor combo works great. The sweet and the smoky blend perfectly.

After much thought, Hubby and I have decided that this dish gets 3.5 stars. Flavor = 5 stars. No protein-- I deduct a half point. But the kicker was texture. We felt it needed something crunchy or solid to offset the mushiness. So, for that we take off another point.

Though I'm loathe to say this: Meat eaters -- this would be a great side dish to pair with a simple meat. Your body will thank you for feeding it nutrient-rich spinach and sweet potatoes to fight off those free radicals.

Black Bean Soup with Onions and Bell Peppers

I love black bean soup. Let me clarify -- I love Jack Bishop's black bean soups. This entire recipe uses only two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. And, yet, despite it being incredibly light, it is extremely flavorful. The splash of balsamic vinegar at the very end adds a delicious complexity to the flavors. With the gobs of protein that come from the black beans, this to me is the perfect dinner.
I give it 5 stars.

Root Vegetable Tarts with Rosemary

This picture does not do this meal justice. Hubby and I ate this for the first time tonight, and we could not believe how delicious it was. It's heavier than my delicate stomach is used to because of the scrummy puff pastry dough (Dufour brand), but I would definitely make this again for a treat or for company. It was very easy to make and has just a few ingredients: turnips (my fave), potatoes, carrots, and red onions seasoned very delicately and baked into puff pastry.

I give this meal 4 stars out of 5, deducting a half a point for being heavy and another half a point for not including a protein. As a vegetarian I like to fit in some protein with every meal, and it makes life easier if it's an ingredient in the recipe. (Note: I'd like to come up with a more creative rating system, but until then, stars it is. If you have any suggestions, let me know.)

Every Year in This Vegetarian's Kitchen

After years of cooking almost all of my meals from Jack Bishop's book "A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen," I've decided to say thanks to Jack by creating this blog. The first year my hubby and I were together we ate TV dinners 90% of the time. Now, every night we eat fresh, wholesome, delicious meals that were taught to me by Jack through this cookbook. I have never felt or looked healthier, and I credit much of that to my diet.

Thanks Jack!