Next Week's Supper
Sorry folks, I forgot to post next week's menu at the close of my last entry. It should be a nice springy supper, hope you can make it!April 29, 2007(Vegan version available upon request) Spring vegetable pita sandwiches served with wheat berry salad made with feta, walnuts and Thompson raisins.
Full Dinner $7.00 Second Helping (half portion) $3.50
This week we made veggie burritos stuffed with a mixture of tempeh, broccoli, zucchini, shredded carrots, refried beans and lots of cheese. These loaded wraps were accompanied by black bean and corn salad and My Mom's Cheesy Rice which received rave reviews.
Aaron and I set up an assembly line and whipped out a ton of burritos only to have the spectacular weather convince many of our regulars to remain outdoors. We still had a nice crowd but it was just my luck that I decided to cook for 75 rather than 60 this week. Oh well, $2 Tuesday will have an extra special menu.
My Mom's Cheesy Rice
Rice - 4 cups cooked
Cheese - the more the better
Sour Cream - 1 container
Chilies - 1 can chopped green
Salt - from the sea
Pepper - fresh cracked
Just mix everything together and squish into a baking pan. Bake at 350 until the top gets crispy.
My mom has always made this with plain white rice and was a little nervous when I told her I was making it with basmati but it turned out great!
Speaking of my mom...she's coming to visit soon! Not next Sunday but the Sunday after that Momma Urbschat is coming to Pittsburgh and will definitely be making an appearance at that week's Sunday Supper. She might even be helping Aaron and I in the kitchen! We'll have to make something extra good that week...I'll keep you posted.
Side Note...My mom, from whom I get my propensity for cooking and marketing, owns TSM Design, a really cool ad agency in Springfield, MA. Their new website is awesome, check out this link if you want to see where I also get my good looks.
Spicy Peanut and Ginger Stew
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, It's almost next Sunday already! I know this is late getting up, but you'll have to forgive me as this past weekend was just a little hectic, what with Dance Alloy Theater's Spring Season opening on Friday. Everything went really well though, thanks for asking!
I skipped the Sunday matinee just to cook, so thanks to everyone who came out. This week went really smoothly, it definitely felt like one of the best. Aaron and I are like a well oiled machine in the kitchen now, and we also have Corey coming in at the end of our shift to help with dishes. We love Corey!
This week I made Spicy Ginger and Peanut Stew which is one of my favorites. You start with loads of chopped garlic, ginger, onions and chili peppers and then add broccoli and cauliflower florets, diced tomatoes, Braggs, Cayenne, and surprise...peanut butter! If you thin it out, this also makes a delicious soup.
I served the stew over basmati rice which Aaron made me make myself. I couldn't believe it, 8lbs in one pot and it was still fluffy and beautiful. On the side was come crispy tofu on top of a sweet Asian slaw I made with red and green cabbage, carrots and onions and a dressing made from soy sauce, orange juice, garlic, ginger and rice vinegar.
Once again we had a nice crowd hanging around outside before we opened at 6pm and we completely sold out by about 9pm. This week we're cooking up tempeh burritos with zucchini, carrot and coriander served with my mom's cheesy rice and black bean and corn salad. Everything is vegan except for the rice and and a vegan rice will be available.
Well that's all for now, see you on Sunday!!
Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Fresh Mozzarella
Happy Easter everybody! I didn't really celebrate the holiday, but I did start eating eggs and dairy again, at least for a day or two. I actually think I'm going to stick primarily with a vegan diet for a while. You should try it just as an experiment, you'll miss cheese a lot less than you think you would.
Anyhow, as you might expect, not many places were open on Easter Sunday, but as it turned out, many people were out looking for a place to eat, especially one offering a home cooked vegetarian meal. A steady stream flowed through the Brillobox all evening, including Jill and the staff of the Quiet Storm (a great vegetarian option all week long), as well as a young diner whose dad quietly pointed out that his eggplant-hater of a son was happily munching away having no idea what he was eating. Yes! Another unsuspecting convert!
Aaron and I got the sauce going by 2:30pm and had roasted in the neighborhood of 24 eggplants by 5:00pm. 10:00pm and 22 pounds of pasta later... the sixth dinner was another success!
Thanks for continuing to come and eat and for making this so much fun!
My Marinara
Olive Oil - enough to cover the bottom of your pan
Garlic - the more the merrier
Onions - rough chopped
Spices - crushed Red Pepper, Basil, Oregano
Fennel - optional (Aaron's suggestion)
Carrot - a whole one for sweetness
Sugar - if the carrot isn't doing it for you
Tomatoes - this is a great way to use up a summer's fresh abundance but cans work great too
Tomato Paste - enough to turn your juice into sauce
Lemon - a half or two
Wine - one for the sauce and one for you
Vinegar - Balsamic if you don't have any wine
Salt - from the sea
Pepper - fresh cracked
Heat your oil, garlic, onions and spices together until the onions are translucent. Add your carrot and tomatoes and get things simmering. Let it cook for a little while before you start adding the other ingredients, especially the salt which should come primarily at the end. Aaron says to save a little wine to add at the end too which I agree adds another tasty dimension.
The KEY to a good sauce is to just cook the hell out of it. The more hours that sucker simmers the better. My friend Joe Demase used to brag about keeping his sauce on for 24 (or was it 48?) hours, but 5 or 6 should do the trick.
Once the sauce has cooked for a while, puree for a nice thick consistency. Then toss with pasta, a little extra olive oil, some fresh cheese, some fresh herbs, and anything else you like from roasted eggplant to crumbled tempeh browned with onions, garlic and maybe a few walnuts.
There's nothing like homemade sauce! It takes a long time to cook but the prep is pretty simple and the result is so worth it!
Next week's menu...
(Vegan by nature not by design) Spicy ginger peanut stew over basmati rice with crispy tofu salad tossed with sweet soy dressing and toasted sesame seeds.
Starting at 6pm at the Brillobox.
Coconut Curry with Cashews and Raisins
This Sunday was just gorgeous. I got up about 7:30am and took the dogs (Nona and her best friend Talia) and my coffee to the cemetery to run around for a couple hours in the drizzling rain before heading into the kitchen to cook up some curry.
Admittedly, I was a little nervous this week. I had been putting off dishes that required me cooking mass quantities of rice, as I usually have enough trouble just cooking a single serving. But Aaron my trusty kitchen accomplice told me to stop hyperventilating and just have a little faith in that old 2:1 ratio. To my astonishment, the rice (of the basmati variety) turned out perfect; fluffy, fragrant and golden. The scent came thanks to some lovely cumin seeds and the color a gift of saffron sent from my dear friend Brenna who is far away but not for long!
On this grey and rainy afternoon my curry came to life with garlic, ginger, fresh chilies, lemongrass, and a little carrot and onion. I rounded things out with roasted cauliflower and potatoes, coconut milk and pineapple juice. Aaron had suggested toasting all the ground spices before putting them in the pot and after the rice...well, I don't ask questions.
At 6pm on the dot, the orders started pouring in and we had a steady stream until about 9:30pm when for the first time, we officially sold out! If you came late I'm sorry, I'll make more next week. Yes that's right, we are open for business on Easter Sunday. In honor of Lent being over and my being allowed to eat eggs and dairy again, I thought we'd really cheese it up this week with one of my favorites, fresh mozzarella. Truthfully I don't know if I want to fall off the vegan wagon so suddenly but I guess we'll just put temptation to the test and see what happens.
This week you're in for a true pasta spectacular.
(VEGAN option available upon request) Pasta with roasted eggplant, homemade marinara and fresh mozzarella served with mixed green salad and pesto garlic bread.
And by the way, I really don't want to hear that you don't like eggplant. You said you didn't like tempeh either.
