Guest Post: An Omnivore’s Quest for the Best Vegetarian “Meatball” - Part II

Welcome back, Chris! I look forward to one of your Friday Night Meatball get-togethers because these sound amazing.
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You may recall back in September I wrote a guest post for this blog in which I compared three vegetarian meatball recipes, in the hope that one of them would be my go-to recipe for vegetarian friends at our version of Friday Night Meatballs. You may also recall that none of the three recipes completely captured my endorsement.I’m back now after more time in my secret subterranean meatball laboratory*, and I’m happy to report that I have a recipe for vege-meatballs that I can proudly serve my guests. The recipe is a modification of Whole Foods’ Spaghetti and Vegan Meatballs recipe. This recipe won my competition but had some flaws that I couldn’t tolerate. 

With a scale of 1 (hideous) to 5 (excellent), the original recipe scored as follows: 

Preparation 4.5, Flavor 3.5, Texture 4, Sturdiness 3, Versatility 5. 

This gave it an overall score of 4.0, and a clear win over the other two recipes.  My modifications needed to focus on flavor and sturdiness, hopefully without compromising the other characteristics too much.  Sturdiness, in particular, was a big problem – the Whole Foods meatballs could not be trusted not to turn to mush in my marinara.

The original recipe has a body of black beans, brown rice, cremini mushrooms, sunflower seeds and spinach.  It adds garlic, onions, basil and oregano for flavor.

Guest Post: An Omnivore’s Quest for the Best Vegetarian “Meatball”

Please welcome my friend & amazing home (& Instagram) chef, Chris. He decided to do the dirty work for us in finding the best veg meatball in all of the land. Welcome, Chris!

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I love meatballs.

I love vegetables too, and eat lots of them, but I’m a pretty committed omnivore. And I reserve a special place in hell for the commercial vegetarian burgers and meatballs that attempt to duplicate the taste of meat – usually with a list of unpronounceable chemicals. Why bother, when vegetables taste so great? Now if a veggie meatball can taste great without loading up on artificial flavorings, and come close to the texture and, well, meatballness of a real meatball, then we’re talking.

A friend alerted me to a wonderful blog post by Sarah Grey on the Serious Eats website. The post, Friday Night Meatballs: How to Change Your Life With Pasta describes her 9-month experiment with “Friday Night Meatballs” in which her family extends an open invitation to friends, relatives, social media contacts, and whoever to come by every Friday night for a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. It is a simple yet powerful idea; have company for a sit-down meal once a week, where those from all areas of your life meet and break bread, and take a regular break from your busy life and social isolation.

To keep it simple week after week, you need to serve something that (a) is easy to prepare in large quantity ahead of time, (b) you can specialize in and do well, and (c) almost everyone likes. Meatballs with pasta fits these requirements very nicely.

So my wife and I, with the cooperation and help from a few good friends, decided we wanted to try this. I’m hoping it changes our lives, just a bit.

This leaves a small but important dilemma. While I cook meatballs very well, a significant fraction of my friends are vegetarian, lactose-intolerant, and/or celiac. And both of my recipes feature copious amounts of meat, cheese and bread.

My turkey/spinach meatballs.
Needed an ironic photo for a vegetarian blog.

Hence, my search for the ultimate vegetarian meatball recipe.

Guest Post: Grow and Cook With Hydroponic Tomatoes

I am so glad that Chris, also known as Captain Hydroponics, offered to do a guest post for me! There's nothing more rewarding than growing your own veggies to then cook and eat. Check out his awesome post on growing hydroponic tomatoes and drool over the grilled homegrown tomato recipe at the end. If you'd like to start hydroponic gardening, check out Chris' free 50+ page guide. Remember, if you also want to guest post, please don't hesitate to contact me. Enjoy!
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Growing vegetables and fruits hydroponically is not only an environmentally-responsible way to feed you and your family; it's really a lot of fun! You don't need to be an expert to build a good setup. There's so much information available about lighting, feeding solutions, and hydroponic budget builds – all that's required is a little reading and a relatively small investment in equipment or virtually nothing if you make a DIY system.

Tomatoes traditionally take about 90 days to ripen and many of us have a growing season that only allows one major harvest a year. As most of you know, the price goes up considerably when they're out of season, while the overall quality of the fruit you actually goes down. This is because they need to be shipped from tropical growing climates, usually far from where you live to get to your supermarket.

Guest Post: Ange's Shortbread Cookies

My lovely friend, Melissa, wrote up this guest post that is perfect for the cold weather and the holiday season. Not only does the recipe sound good, but I have tasted it, so I can vouch for its buttery, flaky deliciousness. Remember, if you also want to guest post, please don't hesitate to contact me. Enjoy!
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I have always been a “cook” not a baker, when it comes to the time I spend in the kitchen. In fact, the idea of baking anything, especially cookies, would cause a reaction in me similar to when you say Brussels Sprouts to a four-year-old.  Ick.  It was so time-consuming and exact... ugh.  But suddenly something happened… maybe it was all of the delicious desserts seen in every magazine and tv show, maybe it was my Great Aunt’s years of scratch pies calling me home. Whatever it was, I finally started baking.  And the more I baked, the more I loved it.  And found out that baking is EASY. And the exacting nature of baking turned it into a challenge to try more and more difficult items and accomplish it and do it well.  The feeling of finishing a beautiful, complicated homemade cake could never compare to anything I put together on the stove for dinner. So, I guess I call myself a baker now and I love it! 

My friend Ange has been making this shortbread recipe for us for years. And every time she shows up with a plate of it the entire plate will be devoured in a matter of minutes, all of us picking the crumbs off the plate with our fingers when whole cookies are gone.  Shortbread is such a classic, simple, delicious taste and something I’ve never made before, so I thought I would give it a shot.  And, yep, Easy!  Turns out I’ve actually been making shortbread for a while now, I just called it crust and didn’t think about it being the same thing.

Strawberry Honey Ricotta Muffins

Remember the awesome guest blog that Martine (from Stuffed Grapes) recently shared? Well, I returned the favor. Go check out my recipe for Strawberry Honey Ricotta muffins over at her blog (and roam around while you're there -- she has a lot of great recipes).

Thank you, Martine, for hosting my guest post & I hope everyone enjoys it!

Guest Post: Old Bay Cheese Crackers

This weekend, I want to welcome a good friend, Martine, as my guest blogger. She's an amazing (!) cook & is always trying something new in her kitchen. In fact, be sure to go check out her awesome vegetarian food blog. I am thrilled that she offered to guest blog for me (and keep an eye out because I'll be guest blogging something for her this month too!).
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Despite being born and raised in Maryland, I've never eaten crab. What can I say? I was a bit of a picky kid, and then I became a vegetarian fairly early in life. And you know, when I hear people gushing about crab season, I think I'm probably better off not knowing what I'm missing. As a way to cope, I've convinced myself that what everyone's actually excited about is just using the crabs as a vessel to consume hypertension-inducing quantities of Old Bay.

Like any Marylander, I'll pour Old Bay over my french fries and popcorn. I'll put it on anything involving eggs. I'll dump it in a bloody mary, and I even used it to infuse vodka for holiday gifts last year. I brought a can with me when I studied abroad in college because I couldn't bear the thought of five months without it.

And yet, non-Marylanders just don't seem to have the same fervor for my spice blend of choice. My main squeeze Andrew, who is from Ohio, claims that his mother has had the same dusty can in her kitchen cabinet for "probably like twenty years." How does that happen?

Old Bay and sharp cheddar is one of my favorite combinations, so it only made sense to add it to a zippy cheese cracker. I like to use the 30% less sodium version, but the regular will work -- you just will want to start at 1/2 a teaspoon and give your dough a taste test before adding more, because the cheese is very salty as well. This recipe is adapted from smitten kitchen's cheese straws.

Guest Post: Row House Gardening

My friend, Steve, has an awesome vegetable garden that he tends to every year and because he currently lives in a row home, I've become pretty interested in how he is so successful with it (I tried some of the veggies from last year & they were great!). He's taken the time to outline how he plants and tends to his garden throughout the warm months, and hopefully he will be back throughout the growing season to give us updates and tips!

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Spring! Finally a chance to get outside and enjoy some warmer weather. That’s actually how I got started with my garden a few years ago. Being a transplant from Texas, where there are essentially nine months of summer followed by three months of not-summer, by mid-March I’m getting antsy to get outside and do SOMETHING. While March is generally too early to plant annuals and vegetables in Maryland, I can at least get the indoor part started and get to work on my planting areas outside (…errr, not that that’s actually happened yet).

Like many in Baltimore, my wife and I live in a pretty standard-sized row house with a small backyard. My planting area basically consists of an 8’x 4’ raised planter (which was super easy and very inexpensive to build even without any carpentry skills), a 7’x 11’ in-ground planter and about a dozen large plastic tubs which I use for everything from lettuce to carrots and radishes. The tubs are 10 to 20 gallon containers and if you know a landscaper, you can probably get them for free, as they’re commonly discarded after the trees or large shrubs which they contain are discarded. You might even ask at Lowe’s, Home Depot or a local nursery if they have any extra. Help keep some plastic out of a landfill and grow a plant in it instead!

Review: HelloFresh

I was really excited when City That Breeds asked me to test out & blog about HelloFresh, an awesome new meal delivery system, or as they call it, "a revolution in your kitchen."

Here's how it works:
You choose the type of meals you'd like to try.
They send the recipes & all of the fresh ingredients directly to your door (in a huge box!).
You follow the recipe.
You eat a delicious meal to your heart's desire.
(And then, in my case, you blog about it.)

I had a great time trying this product out and, for the most part, was very impressed! I was sent three meals: Vegetable Enchiladas, Broccoli & Tofu Stir Fry, and Wild Mushroom Polenta with Thai Basil. All were easy to make, tasted great, and didn't require any trips to the grocery store (seriously, they even include the spices -- all preportioned for you!).

HelloFresh is great for those of us who are super-busy (who isn't?), frequent travelers, new cooks, and anyone who'd like to try something new.

Head over to City That Breeds to check out my full post, review, and photos.

If you're interested in trying out HelloFresh for yourself, please click on this logo & enter my code: HB8NRR for $20 off of your first HelloFresh box!

Guest Post: Sweet Potato & Bean Fritters

This week, welcome my friend Sam, a health & wellness blogger, who made these amazing sweet potato & bean fritters. She is also currently running an awesome indiegogo campaign to bring whole food nutrition to cancer survivors, so be sure to check it out & pledge if you can!
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You have probably seen this awesome Sweet Potato Veggie Burger recipe by Kathy over at Happy.Healthy.Life pinned all over Pinterest.  I've basically taken that recipe and made a few modifications to that to better fit my preferences. This recipe is crispy on the outside, creamy, sweet & tangy on the inside. The coconut oil really adds to the depth of flavor, something you wouldn't find when using other cooking oils. This recipe makes 6-8 medium-sized fritters.

 

Guest Post: Veggie Cheddar Soup

Welcome the wonderful Candace as my newest guest blogger! Check out her delicious and cozy veggie cheddar soup recipe, below.
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The huge amount of dairy in this soup makes it deliciously good, if not exactly good for you. The recipe has been developed off of the inspiration of a pureed soup recipe card that my partner and I picked up at our local grocery store. What I like best about it is how customizable it is. For instance, we usually make it with chopped celery but since we went shopping on Super Bowl Sunday, there was nary a stick of celery to be found, so I just added extra potatoes and carrots to this batch. This recipe makes 8-10 servings.

Guest Post: Anthony's Perfect Black Bean Burger, served California-style

Please welcome my partner and best friend, Anthony, for the next guest post! The best part about this recipe is that I got to taste the result and it was incredible. Enjoy!
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This is my favorite recipe for preparing black bean burgers. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've tasted few recipes that even come close to this one. It's flavor- and texture-rich, and even better, it's easy to prepare. It is the perfect dish to serve with a beer for a late-spring supper on the porch or rooftop, but it is hearty enough to fill you up during these colder months too. This recipe is adapted from "Spiced Black Bean Burgers" at epicurious and makes four burgers.

Guest Post: Corn & Potato Chowder

MV Banks made us an amazing Kale, Mushroom & Sage Risotto a couple months ago and now she's back with delicious Corn & Potato Chowder!
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The Ravens won, and life is grand.  However, I'm not sure I could eat one more bite of anything spiced with Old Bay, one more seven-layer-dip, or guacamole.  I love avocados more than life itself, but after a prolonged football season, I need a break.  With the cold weather that's swung back in town, what you need is a good, hearty soup that'll stick to your ribs and take extra miles on the treadmill to burn off.  Enjoy the warmth of standing over a toasty stove while there's more snow forecast for the week.

Sometimes my recipe inspiration comes from Tastespotting, a dangerous but wonderful food porn site.  Other days, I turn to Google and just type in what's going bad soon in my kitchen, allowing the handy "recipe" search to find my dinner for me.  Today, it brought me here, and I edited it ever-so-slightly.  I love soup, because it really can so easily become a haven for all things looking questionable.

 

Guest Post: Vegan Lentil Chili

Do you remember my friend, Ben, who made the delicious veggie quesadilla a few weeks ago? He's back with a cozy vegan chili recipe for us!
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It is the holidays, which means it is chilly outside and what better way to combat the cold than with some delicious, hearty chili. Now that I got the obligatory “chilly/chili” joke out of the way I can say that this recipe really was a true delight. I wanted something new and was lucky to stumble across this recipe online. I should note that their recipe calls for quinoa and I am using French lentils because I thought I had some at home and did not feel like returning to the grocery store. Lentils proved to be an excellent substitution. I will be trying it with quinoa in the near future to compare. The recipe you read below is pretty much straight from their website. I just made adjustments to mirror my cooking style.

This does produce a lot of chili, but the great part is that it freezes well. So if you are having a get-together, this will certainly satisfy the masses and be a crowd pleaser. I was able to serve 2 others and still have a plethora leftover, which I divided up into small plastic bowls and put into the freezer. Again, I was blown away. Growing up with one of the best chilis (my dad’s) out there, it was hard to believe that another recipe could be as delectable. 

Guest Post: Vegan Vanilla Almond Sandies

Please welcome Tiffany for my next guest post! She made these awesome vegan sandies for the holidays. Thanks, Tiffany, for the contribution! Remember, if you also want to guest post, please don't hesitate to contact me.
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I don’t know about you guys, but this time of year I get the baking-bug. I rarely bake any other time of year, but with all the gatherings and celebrations these days I feel like I’m a baking machine! If you haven’t caught the baking-bug, you should force yourself to make these anyways, I promise you won’t regret it.

Now, I’ve cooked many a vegan recipe but never have I attempted to BAKE a vegan recipe. So anyone who equates ‘vegan’ with ‘super-complicated-and-probably-includes-ingredients-I-can’t-find-or-afford’, don’t. These are simple, and depending on how well stocked your kitchen is, you may have all of these ingredients on hand anyways. Another plus for vegan baking? You can eat all the cookie dough you want without fear of salmonella poisoning!!

To be honest, this is the second time I’ve made these cookies in the past few weeks. The first time was successful, but I learned a few things. So now, you guys get the super deluxe version of the recipe…make sure to read the tips/notes before you begin! This makes about 20 cookies and here's the original recipe, in case you're wondering.

Guest Post: Veggie Quesadilla with Baja Sauce

Here's another guest post, this time from the wonderful Ben! There is more information about Ben at the end of this post. Thanks so much for sending this recipe in, Ben. I hope you all enjoy!
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Quesadillas are my comfort food. I love that there are so many possibilities and you can cater to a wide variety of cravings. Having the quesadilla in my corner is very comforting since I can often use extra ingredients from previous recipes. Using as much of the vegetables in the refrigerator's crisper before it spoils for as many meals as possible is both exciting and frugal. So once a week, I can usually clean out my crisper and have a delicious meal in the process.

For this week, I had several bell peppers, an onion, a handful of mushrooms, and some cheese, all of it leftover from a pizza I made. I also had some leftover corn and rice from a meal the other day so I reheated that for a side. The ingredients below made two large quesadillas. 

Guest Post: Kale, Mushroom & Sage Risotto

Hey all, here is the first post from a guest blogger. Everyone welcome MV Banks! If you're interested in learning more about her, see her bio at the end of the post.
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When I went gluten-free by doctor’s orders about a year ago, risotto was there for me when all other tasty carbs abandoned me.  Risotto is a time-intensive, but worthwhile dish, that has no gluten whatsoever, but still allows me that familiar Italian style that I find myself craving without pizza and pasta in my life. I love it because it allows me an excuse to hover over a warm stove when I refuse to turn the heat up in my apartment.  I love it because I can throw questionably turning vegetables in and no one is the wiser.  

I’ve had some kale from the market in my fridge for a while now that was becoming a little undesirable. I figured I’d sautée what was salvageable and throw it into a risotto of some sort.  Due to the regularity with which I make risotto, I can’t say I took this from any particular recipe.  At this point, I essentially have the necessary ratios memorized and throw in whatever suits my fancy on that particular day. Today, my fancy included kale, mushrooms and sage.

Call for Guest Posts!

I’m always open to guest posts for my blog and, since I'm starting to slowly revamp my blog, this would be a great time to start cultivating new bloggers!

Here are the requirements for your post:
-It must be a vegetarian or vegan recipe that I have not already posted.
-Please include a short bio, your photo, and any links you’d like me to promote (your blog, Twitter, etc.) so I can post that on there as well so you get your credit. If you’d like to remain anonymous, just let me know that too.
-If the recipe is taken from somewhere else (like another website), please send me the link so we can give credit where credit is due.
-Take photos! I like to have 2-4 photos of each recipe. Take as many as you like and we can whittle down to the best ones. I usually like 1-2 “finished recipe” photos and 1-2 “process” photos.
-Please follow the content format of my blog (don’t worry, though, I will actually format it into the blog). Your post should include: a short intro, prep/cook times, ingredients, directions and (if necessary) any special tips for this recipe.

Remember, be creative and feel free to (and please do) branch out from the things that I normally make. I cannot wait to see what you have to contribute! Please email all submissions to: annmariebrok@gmail.com and attach any photos or additional necessary information to your email message.

Thank you so much & I look forward to hearing from you!

Ann Marie