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!