11.16.2011

Vegetarian Sandwiches

Growing up, I thought of a sandwich as meat and bread, occasionally garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles or condiments. (My family didn't do PB&J.) I relied on the sandwich as a lunch staple.

When I gave up meat, my view on sandwiches had to change. It was easy to just replace the meat with tofu, or eat endless grilled cheeses, but I had bigger plans for the humble sandwich.

Some of my favorite veggie sandwiches:
- chickpea salad sandwich
- tomato, pesto, parmesan sandwich
- avocado or hummus + carrot/cucumber/beet/other crunchy veggie matchsticks
- grilled cheese (add tart apple slices to make it 'gourmet')
- sauteed mushrooms with melted (swiss) cheese
- mayo, tomato, cucumber, open-face, on fresh baguette
- nutella and fresh berries (make sure to use nutella on both slices of bread!)
- quesadillas with corn, tomato and bean salsa (I know, not really a sandwich)

What's your go-to sandwich?

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.

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11.14.2011

How To: Fake a Grilled Cheese

All my life we've had a griddle for making grilled cheese sandwiches. Today, I was planning to make one for lunch using that very griddle, but all we had was frozen bread. I decided to toast the bread and then griddle the sandwich... but a lot of things went wrong.

First, I couldn't find the cheese planer, so I had to cut thick slices of cheese with a knife. If you have much grilled cheese experience, you'll know that thinner is better.

Second, I discovered that our toaster has a different interpretation of "bagel setting" than my dorm toaster. For most toasters, bagel settings only toast one side of the bread. (This thaws the bread while leaving one side per slice unbrowned and therefore griddle safe.) Ours just toasts it longer on both sides.

Starting a grilled cheese with almost burnt toast and thick slices of cheese is a recipe for disaster, but the microwave saved the day.

To fake your own grilled cheese, thoroughly toast two slices of bread. Layer one slice with ample cheese and microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until the edges start to bubble. Put the second slice of toast on top, flip and microwave an additional 20-30 seconds, or until the cheese is melted.

Your toast will stay crispy, your cheese will be melty and there will be one less pan to wash.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.

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11.11.2011

First Apartment Food Essentials

Dan and I are moving out of my parents house and into our very first apartment next week! In retrospect, the week before Thanksgiving was probably a poor choice.

Why, you ask?

Well, this is our very first time living on our own, without a dining hall.. so we have NO idea what kinds of staple foods we'll need, or how much food we really eat. And if you've ever been grocery shopping Thanksgiving week, you'll know it's something to avoid at all costs.

We've got one shot at grocery shopping, so I've been trying to adequately prepare. Here's my preliminary list:

whole wheat flour
white flour
bread flour
sugar
brown sugar
honey
butter
baking soda
baking powder
yeast
vanilla extract
steel cut oats
rolled oats
polenta
dried black beans (+ cans for the first week!)
canned chickpeas
brown rice
cinnamon
nutmeg
cloves
allspics
cumin
thyme
paprika
dill
dried onion
salt
pepper
crackers
cereal
canned corn
canned tomatoes
pasta
nuts
oil
vinegar
eggs
bread
tortillas
veggies
fruit
frozen spinach
frozen berries
milk
ice cream/sorbet
chocolate
cheese
tofu
lunchmeat
chicken breasts
peanut butter
jam
dried cranberries
canned pumpkin
graham crackers
cottage cheese
soy sauce/Sriracha sauce

We don't really have a menu plan, because we're not sure when we'll start living there versus living at home. (Our furniture won't arrive for a day or two.) Some meal ideas:
- veggie/tofu stirfry (although we won't have many condiments..)
- make your own (vegetarian) tacos
- pasta with chickpeas and veggies
- polenta with black beans and veggies
- savory oatmeal
- broiled tofu and veggie sandwiches
- savory pancakes

We will probably also end up eating out a few times, and/or taking home a lot of leftovers from Thanksgiving.

Anything I'm missing from my shopping list? Any easy recipe recommendations?

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.

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11.04.2011

Remix: Homemade "Trail" Mix

Trail mix is an absolutely ridiculous food for normal people to snack on--the whole idea was to make an incredibly nutrient dense, long lasting food to take on hikes where you eat 5000 calories a day.

On the other hand, it's a convenient snack--it's got enough calories that when lunch plans fall through, my secret backpack stash saves the day.

So instead of scrapping the idea altogether, I decided to work a little bit of magic on the original formula.

The updated formula:
1/2c nuts + 1/2 chocolate chips + 1c dried fruit + 2c cereal = 4c trail re-mix

Last time, I mixed pecans, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and honey nut cheerios. I also recommend honey bunches of oats. Use whole grain, fortified cereals for an extra nutrition bump.

WARNING: Cereal does (slash should) go stale, so this stuff doesn't last forever. Keep it in an airtight container, and use it within the week.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.

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