hey hey hey paaaarty!

Last weekend we celebrated the beginning of summer with dear friends by hosting an easy-going, picnic-food, backyard party. It was a blast!

And let me tell you, being a veggie lover in the summer is simply bliss. It's so dang easy to create wonderful food for your friends since everything is so fresh. If you are thinking about hosting a party for friends - herbivores or omnivores - here's some ideas, all of which I've already talked about here (click on the links for recipes). So let me just pull the details together for you.

The night before our gathering, I created these beauties. Big fun to put together and so pretty:

 

I drizzled with olive oil, covered with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to stay fresh until we were ready to grill. Then, once over the hot coals, I drizzled with the pineapple/olive oil glaze. Fabulously yummy!

Also on the night before, I created a big bowl of citrus orzo pasta salad. It's so refreshing and a great compliment to the smoky, hot stuff from the grill.

And, just before everyone arrived, I chopped up a big bunch of colorful new potatoes, sprinkled with olive oil and fresh rosemary, and started them roasting in the oven. I do like potatoes on the grill, but to make a large amount it takes too dang long to cook and takes up so much space on the grill. Roasting in the oven is so simple and I can pretty much ignore them while I have fun goofing around with my friends until dinner.

My sweetie got cookin' at the grill and sizzled up burgers, veggie and otherwise. (These friends of ours are so great, they even brought their own meat!) We provided buns, cheese, toppings, etc.

I put out some fresh veggies and tzatiki dip plus cute little pretzel balls for everyone to snack on while the grill stuff cooked. Our friends brought over more veggie side dishes, loads of gorgeous fresh fruit, and tasty little desserts to round out our feast. Wonderful.

Beyond the fabulous food, just time together enjoying the evening, watching the kiddos run around in the yard with bubbles, rolling a few bocce balls, and lounging on the patio was wonderful. We ate and laughed and talked until way after the sun had set. Perfect. What summer is all about.

cozy

It's a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining through the windows, the cats are having an playful wrestling match in said sunshine, and my sweethearts are putzing around the house in their jammies. A cup of pomegranate tea sits aromatically steaming at my side. Ahhhh. So, so cozy.

In honor of weekend coziness, I offer to you today one of our family favorites: The Scrambler. This dish got it's name after many failed attempts at flipping an omelet. Apparently, it's just not in my genetic code to properly flip. So, now I scramble with a smile and enjoy much lower stress in the kitchen.

I cooked up The Scrambler this week with Ravishing Roasted Potatoes (made this time with fingerling potatoes and dill) and we had a fine meal for dinner. It's also wonderful for breakfast or a weekend brunch, too. It there anything The Scrambler can't do?

The Scrambler

1/2 package soy sausage
4 eggs
splash of soy milk
2 triangles Laughing Cow Light
sprinkes of chives

I grew up eating and loving the Laughing Cow. John thinks the cow looks possessed. Angel or demon, this soft cheese is delightful in breakfast goodies. My thanks go to the chef at The Lied Lodge at Arbor Day Farm who first introduced me to mixing this cheese in with my eggs.

 

Okay, back to business. Here's what you do:

Saute the soy sausage in a skillet drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. We are very fond of the one and only Gimme Lean soy sausage. Someone in their marketing department clearly has a good sense of humor. The Morningstar Farms sausages are fine as well, but Gimme Lean knocks our socks off. I've served it many times to meat eaters and they can't tell the difference. Amazing!

When the sausage crumbles are browned, set aside in a separate bowl and then pour in the eggs and milk, whisked together. Scramble away. When the eggs are almost finished, add back the sausage and top with cubes of Laughing Cow. Sprinkle with chives and serve hot from the stove.

 

Get cozy with the ones you love this weekend. Enjoy!

burgers & fries

So it's been pointed out to me that starting a blog with a recipe that relies on intuition and experiencing happy scents in the kitchen isn't too wise. In John's quasi-intelligent review, "I'm not a cooker. How am I supposed to know what to do?" Well. Maybe play with your food? :)

Really, I do get it. Taking on a new attitude with vegetarian cooking takes time and courage and experimentation. Yet, even I began this process 15 years ago with some easy-to-follow recipes. It's just that intuitive soup is what we ate for dinner. And since I'm all about easy peas here, I'm simply going to offer what I am cooking and we are eating and hope that this is of some benefit to you. Maybe my little blog can be a catalyst for you to bring veggie cooking into your daily life. Now, for me it's second nature. Truly effortless.

So, with that in mind, plus a craving to guide me, last night I created the veggie version of burgers & fries . . . veggie burgers and roasted potatoes. Here's the scoop:

Ravishing Roasted Potatoes

Small potatoes - any assortment, any amount, washed and dried

Last night we had some funky purple, red, and yellow little potatoes that I picked up at Costco. When I chopped the purple ones, they squirted bright purpley juice all over the cutting board! Bonus! We love roasted new potatoes and sweet potatoes, too.


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees while you have fun choppin' your potatoes into 1 inch chunks. Dump the chopped potatoes into a large bowl and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Stir to coat and then pour in a single layer onto a foil-lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle the taters with coarse sea salt and the spice of your choice. We are very fond of rosemary, so when I can't pick it from my garden, I buy a little herb packet of fresh organic rosemary at the grocery store.



Pop in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. It's fun to hear all the sizzling and popping going on in there while you start your veggie burgers!

Choosing your veggie burger is a matter of trial and error. We despise the blahness of Boca and love the spiciness of Morningstar Farms Black Bean Burgers. We've tried all kinds, and you may need to as well to find one that makes your belly happy. Slap some cheese on there if you wish and top with whatever you like -- BBQ, mustard, pickles, you name it. Make it your dream burger and you won't miss the meat one single bit. (Okay, I'm an optimist).



Last night we tried a new contender, the Don Lee veggie patties from Costco. Yum! Great texture with crunchy sunflower seeds and oniony good. Even John liked them! Now that's an endorsement.

Enjoy your roasted potatoes piping hot from the oven with your groovy burger. It's junk food - veggie style!