Garbanzo and Vegetable Casserole (Soup)

Happy Wednesday, readers! Sorry for the hiatus! I've been very busy being a functioning adult (aka I got a job and work a lot now). Despite this newfound functioning, tonight I got home early enough to treat my hubby to vegetarian meal from our new favorite vegetarian cookbook! 

Garbanzo Bean and Vegetable Casserole (Soup) 

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, sliced 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

8 oz spinach 

1 fennel bulb, cut into eighths 

1 red bell pepper, diced 

1 Tbsp flour 

1 can garbanzo beans, drained 

3 3/4 C vegetable stock 

6 Tbsp dry white wine 

1 tbs ground coriander 

1/2 tbsp paprika 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add in spinach and cook for 4 minutes or until wilted. 

Add in fennel bulb and pepper, cook for 2 minutes. 

Stir in flour. 

Add in the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. 

I call this a "soup" rather than a casserole because it is very liquidy. I followed the recipe exactly without deviating so I think the recipe-writers should've named this recipe differently. 

I will confess that this recipe wasn't my favorite. At all. Ever. I would probably not make it again but you're more than welcome to try this recipe. Perhaps you'll have better luck with this than I had. 

Vegetable Toad-In-The-Hole

Continuing the theme of weekday vegetarianism, tonight's dinner is Vegetable Toad-In-The-Hole. What is a toad-in-the-hole? I must confess I didn't know myself so I consulted the Google. According to Wikipedia, "a toad-in-the-hole is a traditional British dish consisting of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter and served with vegetables and onion gravy." 

I once again used what is quickly becoming my new favorite cookbook for weeknight meals: What's Cooking Vegetarian by Jenny Stacey. 

Vegetable Toad-In-The-Hole 

The filling: 

2 Tbsp butter 

1 white onion, cut into eighths 

2 garlic cloves, crushed 

2 oz baby carrots, cut lengthwise 

2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into chunks 

2 C green beans 

1 can corn (I used fiesta corn because it was on hand) 

1 Tbsp whole-grain mustard 

Mixed herbs 

Salt and pepper 

In a large (very large and deep) skillet over medium-high heat, sauté onion and garlic in butter for 2 minutes. 

Mix in carrots, tomato and green beans. Cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, "mixed herbs" (personally, I believe this is the cookbooks way of saying "go crazy", I used herbs de Provevce and herbed poultry seasoning) and mustard. 

Spoon into the middle of the batter and bake for 30-35 minutes. 

The batter: 

3/4 C flour, sifted 

Pinch of salt

2 eggs, beaten 

3/4 C milk 

2 Tbsp whole-grain mustard 

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400. 

In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine eggs, milk and mustard. 

Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes. 

Pour oil into a 9X13 baking dish and place into 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and slowly pour batter into the pan.

I made this recipe exactly as the cookbook said, however I would make the following changes: the vegetables weren't very browned after 38 minutes in the 400 degree oven so I would suggest also adding 5 minutes under the broiler to achieve crispy and brown goodness. The flavor of this dish was absolutely divine (Nate got seconds and even licked his plate because it was so good!) so definitely try out this recipe, readers! You won't regret it!  

Spicy Potato & Lemon Casserole

Something that you may not know about Nate and I is that we were both vegetarians. I was a vegetarian for roughly 8 years and Nate for 16 years (he was raised vegetarian). During my vegetarian days I felt much healthier, lighter, nourished - so Nate and I decided to begin eating a vegetarian diet during the week. Luckily for us, while we were visiting Sissy in Virginia a few weeks ago we found a vegetarian cookbook (in near mint condition) at a DAV thrift store (for those not in "the know" the DAV is a thrift store that benefits disabled American veterans). 

The book: What's Cooking Vegetarian by Jenny Stacey 

The recipe: Spicy Potato and Lemon Casserole 

Servings: 4

1/2 C olive oil

2 red onions, cut into eigths 

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbs ground cumin 

2 tbs ground coriander (or coriander seeds) 

Pinch of cayenne pepper (I love spice so I definitely will add more next time I make this recipe)

1 carrot, thickly sliced 

2 small turnips, quartered 

1 zucchini, thickly sliced 

1 lb potatoes, thickly sliced 

2 lemons, juice and zest (personally I think 2 lemons was a little much, I'd use 1-1 1/2 if I were you)

1 1/4 C vegetable stock 

2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh or dried (I used dried) 

Salt and pepper, to taste 

In a casserole pot over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add the red onions and sauté for 3 minutes, continuously stirring. 

Add garlic to the pot and cook for 30 seconds. Mix in the spices and cook for 1 minute. 

Add the carrot, turnips, zucchini, and potatoes. Stir to coat in olive oil. 

Add lemon juice, zest, stock, dried cilantro and salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. 

If using fresh cilantro, chop and garnish casserole prior to serving. 

I would not call this recipe a "casserole" as much as it is a stew, which frankly was perfect for the fall weather blowing into Raleigh today (I had to sleep with a quilt on my bed got the first time in months last night!) I served this with a roll to soak up the fantastic broth left behind after all the tender vegetables were devoured. 

Hope you enjoy this recipe, readers! And look forward to many more (hopefully) tasty recipes from What's Cooking Vegetarian! 

Sunday's Are For Brunches

In the (almost) three years that Nate and I have been dating, I have never cooked for my in-laws. Weird, right? So this trip I decided to cook them brunch. But what should I make? I wanted to stay in the Southern realm due to my newfound residency (got my drivers license and registered to vote!) but I also wanted it to be easy to make and that everyone would enjoy. 

I consulted my Southern Living Feel Good Food cookbook that my Sissy bought for me as a housewarming gift (thank you, Sissy!) and found a recipe that was definitely brunch approved: Lemon Poppyseed Waffles with Blackberry (blueberry) Maple Syrup. 

Lemon Poppyseed Waffles 

2 C all-purpose baking mix 

1-2 Tbsp poppy seeds (I used 1 1/2 Tbsp but you can always use more. Or less.) 

1 Tbsp lemon zest 

4 Tbsp butter, melted

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/4 C cold club soda 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the baking mix, poppy seeds and zest. 

In a smaller bowl, mix together butter, egg and club soda. The club soda helps the batter to remain light and fluffy, resulting in light and fluffy (not to mention delicious) waffles. 

 

Mix dry with wet ingredients and let sit for 3 minutes. 

Heat your waffle iron according to factory instructions and grease with non-stick spray. Fill waffle wells with 1/4-1/2 C of batter and cook for 5-7 minutes. 

Blackberry (Blueberry) Maple Syrup 

1/2 C pure maple syrup 

12 oz blackberries (we used blueberries because the State Farmer's Market we shop at had fresh blueberries for super cheap but no blackberries in sight)

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 

1 Tbsp lemon zest 

This recipe is really simple: mix all ingredients in a bowl. Really, that's it. No other effort required. We put the leftover syrup in a mason jar in the fridge to infuse the syrup even further for future use.

These heavenly waffles were served with baked bacon, and fresh Brie cheese (also picked up at the State Farmer's Market)  with crackers. I truly enjoyed having my in-laws here this weekend (and showing off my culinary chops). Enjoy your first day of football, readers! I know my fantasy team could use a couple wins today! 

42nd Street Oyster Bar

My in-laws are visiting us in Raleigh and it's been a very fun and full weekend of exploring! 

Yesterday, after a very full day of museums, walking around downtown and being touristy, we opted for a late dinner at 42nd Street Oyster Bar. 

42nd Street is located at 508 W Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27603. The resturant is a little strange on the outside. Look for lots of neon signs and extremely packed parking lot and you're there. 

Walking into the lobby is reminiscent of walking into a 50s diner but the resturant is nothing of the sort. You know those sculptured fish they have on the walls of aquariums? They have those here (you're greeted by a hammerhead shark and if you know me at all, you know I was immediately hooked; no pun intended)!  The oyster bar has an extensive liquor menu with wines (some of which are their own brand), beers and specialty cocktails . Nate ordered a mojito and I ordered their Nashville Manhattan, which was excellent and made me feel classy. The resturant opened in 1931 with a daily rotating menu of the freshest seafood selections from around the area. 

Decor: good. The resturant is nautical themed, which is a little overdone but it is an oyster bar and seafood resturant. The space has 3 spacious dining areas as well as a large raw oyster bar. The dress is "business casual" according to the hostess whom took our reservation, however quite a few patrons were a tad under dressed. 

Food Appearance: excellent! The raw oysters are served on the half-shell with all the traditional fixings; oysters Rockefeller and pimento cheese oysters were served up on a huge platter, shrimp cocktail were served in a chalice with a wedge of lemon and fantastic cocktail sauce and entrees looked delish. 

Food taste: excellent! The oysters Rockefeller had the smokiness of bacon (aka God's gift to man), nuttiness from good-quality Parmesan cheese and the taste of the ocean from the oysters. The pimento cheese oysters basically just tasted like pimento cheese, but is that really even a problem? I decided to order the Pan Seared Ahi Tuna sesame seed crusted and served rare with a garnish of wasabi and ginger sauce. The tuna was a beautifully deep red rare (the only way to eat ahi tuna in my humble opinion). The sauces were a little difficult to detect in my opinion because there was so little of them but the flavor of the tuna was so pure and fantastic that the sauces may have overshadowed the flavor of the fish itself anyway. My only knock for my entree would be that the accompanying side salad looked straight out of a bag of "romaine mix" salad. Nate ordered the crab legs. The meat was sweet and tender but boy did he work for his dinner last night! It took him a good 45 minutes to eat all his crab legs and the majority of that time was spent cracking. His side was the 42nd Street Oyster Bar's 1931 recipe of cheese potatoes. These were the creamiest and smoothest potatoes I've ever put in my mouth which is both good and bad. I personally like my potatoes to have a little texture. These extremely smooth potatoes were covered in a layer of cheddar cheese. Mama Hart ordered her oysters on the half-shell (which came in 6 different varieties from around Virginia and North Carolina), I must confess that I didn't try any of these but she said they were all very good and tasted of the sea. For her entree she ordered the peel-and-eat half-pound of spicy shrimp. These shrimp were not veined (which I asked her about halfway through her plate, resulting in her veining them herself prior to eating). She said they were tender and the flavor was excellent but she would've preferred them to be split and veined for easier eating. My father-in-law ordered shrimp and grits (a recommendation from our server) and had the following notes: grits were a little too thick for his taste and he would've liked a side of red-eye gravy to use for flavor. 

Service: excellent! Our server was helpful, attentive, friendly and definitely good at what she did. Glasses were never empty for long, empty plates were taken quickly, and we definitely left happy. This service could possibly be the best I've experienced in Raleigh. 

Cleanliness: good. The resturant appeared clean; tables were cleaned quickly but I didn't check out the bathrooms. However one thing that I found a little unsavory would be the cleaning crew wheeling the trash cans through the middle of the resturant. Personally I think this practice should be reserved for AFTER the patrons have all left. 

Total: 13/15 

42nd Street Oyster Bar was definitely a fantastic spot for a dinner with family. It was upscale yet accessible and comfortable. I highly recommend checking it out when in Raleigh.