Strawberry Pepper

Mini-Deep Dish Pizzas With Giardiniera

June 20, 2011 by Eva

Last week, I made these mini-deep dish pizzas for a chicago-themed dinner party. In the chicago deep dish tradition, these little guys were stuffed with cheese and filling and topped with a layer of tomato sauce. They were a huge hit, with people trying to take more than their share, getting into epic battles over the last ones… Okay, I exaggerate, but they really were popular! And I can see why. We had stuffed them with a homemade giardiniera, which is a very popular condiment in Chicago.

These were super easy to make, though I guess a little more work than just making one large pizza, but as an added bonus, they are extremely cute! They make perfect appetizers, side dishes, or snacks. The mini pizzas were so tasty that I had to share them (that is to say, they were so good I had to make them again immediately). Continue Reading »

Posted in appetizer, entree, side dish | Tagged chicago, deep dish, giardiniera, pickle, pizza, recipe, vegan | 4 Comments »

Gnocchi alla Romana

May 24, 2011 by Leila

Hey there–I’ve missed you all! Sorry for the long hiatus, and many thanks to Miss Eva for holding down the fort. Where have I been? Criss-crossing the country on a job hunt, and finishing my dissertation. I’m starting to get my feet back on the ground after all of that though, and I have something I’d like to share.

Up today is a semolina dumpling called gnocchi alla romana. I made it for my husband this week, in celebration of our anniversary. It tastes absolutely sinful, and if I hadn’t made it myself, I would never have believed it was vegan. The dish gets its twinkle from the contrast of textures: crisp edges, chewy crust, and ultra-creamy interior. This is the best comfort food you’ve never tasted.

Continue Reading »

Posted in entree | Tagged eggplant, Italian, pasta, recipe, semolina, tomato, vegan | 4 Comments »

Jalapeño Cheddar Bagels

May 16, 2011 by Eva

I love bagels. It has been said that the road to my heart is paved with bagels. This is quite possibly true. Well, bagels and cupcakes.

Cream cheese always weirded me out, and so I didn’t try it until my freshman year of college. I was headed back to school and my boyfriend at the time was flying with me. He got hungry in the airport and bought himself a jalapeño cheddar bagel with plain cream cheese. I was suspicious of the cream cheese, but after some cajoling, he convinced me to have a bite. There was no turning back. I ate half of his bagel, and would have eaten it all if he had let me. From that point on, I started eating way too many bagels (hah, as if there were such a thing as too many bagels). Continue Reading »

Posted in bread, breakfast | Tagged bagels, baking, cheddar, cream cheese, jalapeño, recipe, vegan | 7 Comments »

Tofu Scrambler

May 10, 2011 by Eva

Some of my fondest memories growing up are of my family’s typical lazy, laid-back weekend brunches. These brunches usually consisted of our favorite whole grain pancakes, my dad’s tofu scrambler, and some veggie sausage links.

I’m the type of person who likes to eat relatively soon after waking up most mornings, and this was especially the case as a kid. Saturday and Sunday mornings however, I would find myself holding off on my normal breakfast of cereal in hopes that my dad would offer to make tofu scrambler and pancakes for us. Luckily for me, this happened more weekends than not.

Despite the fact that we ate this almost every week, no one ever got tired of having tofu scrambler. It’s that good. In fact, if there was any left in the pan after the 5 of us had our fill, we’d often just leave it sitting on the stove. After an hour or so it’d be completely finished off as people (well let’s face it, mainly me) walking by would sneak in a bite or two. Continue Reading »

Posted in breakfast, brunch, side dish | Tagged bell pepper, recipe, scrambled tofu, tofu, vegan | 1 Comment »

Blueberry Key Lime Crumb Cake

March 8, 2011 by Eva

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting on my couch petting my cat after dinner dreaming of desserts. I often do this. That is, think about desserts and without actually making any or eating any. It’s just kind of a thing to do.

Anyway, as I was sitting there, I had this sudden desire to eat a blueberry coffee cake with a big topping of limey-fresh crumb. I’m not sure where this desire came from, seeing as I have never been a big coffee cake girl. (This might be related to the fact that I’m not a coffee person in general). I let the idea simmer in the back of my mind over the next couple of weeks, almost forgetting about it, dealing with other life-events.