Vegetarian Archives | Fake Food Free

Parmesan Cornmeal Crusted Heirloom Cherry Tomato Galette

July 23, 2018

I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.

I hope to see you there.

Parmesan Cornmeal Crusted Heirloom Cherry Tomato Galette Recipe | FakeFoodFree.com #summer #recipes #tomatoes #galette

I can still remember those hot and humid days in central Kentucky in July and August when I’d laugh about not wanting to heat up the oven due to summer temperatures.

Then I’d do it anyway because a blueberry pie or peach crisp was worth a couple hours of mild discomfort.

Looking back all I can think is – Heat? What heat?

Here in the Central Valley, heating up the oven is no laughing matter. I barely even want to turn on the burners on the stove.

Not even dessert is worth it.

But on rare occasions, I don’t look ahead to when a deadline will actually fall and I pitch something like a bread to a client. It finds me with no choice but to turn on the oven. Last week, I had one of those days.

Not wanting the extra degrees to go to waste, I sliced some tomatoes from the garden and put together an easy galette for lunches.

Cauliflower Potato Enchiladas with Chipotle Carrot Sauce

March 25, 2018

These vegetarian cauliflower potato enchiladas are baked with a rich, smoky sauce made with roasted carrots, tomato paste, and chipotle peppers. It’s comfort food with the bonus of plenty of veggies!

I’ve passed by them a million times.

I buy a lot of vegetables there – spinach, Brussels sprouts, kale. But that bag of baby carrots at Costco is huge even for that store. I always knew there would be no way we could finish them before they went bad.

But I was desperate. I needed some carrots and I had zero desire to add another stop to my afternoon.

So I bought them, and then I told everyone about it on Instagram.

Spanish Fideos with Chickpeas, Kale, and Aïoli

March 5, 2018

This recipe for Spanish Fideos, a toasted pasta dish, comes from the new cookbook by the Editors at America’s Test Kitchen, Just Add Sauce.

I mentioned that inspiration has been a little low in the kitchen lately. I don’t think I’m alone, if I can believe what my social media feeds are telling me. Everyone seems to be in a bit of a creativity drought.

To help solve it, I’ve been turning to my cookbook shelf. It’s not quite as heavy as it once was. I am a lot better at keeping around only the ones that inspire me and that I at least plan to cook from in the very near future.

While I’m a little more selective these days, if a book offers me something that I’m not yet familar with or a special look at food that can change the way I cook, I’ll dig in.

This time around, that something was sauces.

Jackfruit Tacos with Coconut Lime Purple Cabbage and Green Onion Slaw

December 12, 2017

My first experience with jackfruit occurred when we were living in Brazil.

It sparked from curiosity and determination to figure out the name of the massive piece of produce taking up most of the table at the farmers market. It was every bit as large as a 2-year-old child.

I soon learned it was jackfruit and I also realized that I had been walking under these massive fruits on my walks through the park near our apartment. Thankful that none had ever fallen on my head, I started asking questions.

Sesame Lentils with Bok Choy

October 28, 2017

I always struggle with getting the right consistency for cooked brown lentils. And by right, I mean getting them the way I like them – slightly firm, but tender enough to enjoy. Usually, I get them boiling, get distracted and they are mushy before I realize it.

That’s fine for soups, but I enjoy eating them as more of a stir-fry or a skillet meal.

So this time around, I watched them like a hawk.

Actually, that’s a lie.

Quick Pickled Cucumber Tomato Salad

July 19, 2017

I hate to say it, but I’m pretty sure my days of canning are over. Or at least on pause for a while.

I’m not opposed to doing it again, but I learned something pretty quickly after our big garden and endless canning motivation back in Kentucky – we can’t eat it all. Especially when it is jam, or jalapenos, or relish.

Salsa we did a pretty good job of polishing off, but the rest of it? It was just too much to have around or even to give away.

These days my time is spent making small batches of jam in a saucepan and popping it in the fridge, versus a water bath for long term storage. Same goes for pickling – it is small batch quick pickling all the way.

Growing up we always had cucumber salad in the summer made with a sugar and vinegar dressing.

I still make a similar version, but with a bit less sugar. Occasionally I throw in other veggies which is how this salad came about.

Shawarma Spiced Fava Bean Vegetarian Burger

July 6, 2017

This post is sponsored by Sahadi’s.

Food access is important in my line of work. Well, if you love food, regardless of the type of work you do, it’s important. But when you are tasked to make specific foods or need to photograph a certain ingredient, you have to find it.

I’m the first one to admit that regularly accessing what I need isn’t always easy around here. Of course, this comes after spending 10 years in the surprisingly excellent local food scene of Central Kentucky, and then a few more years in the Bay Area. Which, I mean, come on. What can’t you find in the Bay Area?

Internet shopping for groceries is not only a fun pastime these days, it’s often a necessity.

Skillet Sweet Corn Salad with White Nectarine

June 22, 2017

Skillet Corn Salad with White Nectarines Recipe | Fake Food Free

There are two things I love about summer – sweet corn and white nectarines.

Normally, I wouldn’t think of putting the two together, but lately I’ve had this thing for mixing fruits into savory foods. I’m a huge fan of the of sweet and savory and combining fruits and veggies feels like a better habit to me than, say, eating too much salted caramel.

So blueberries sometimes find their way into chicken salad and cherries often appear in my bean salads.

Given this new habit I found myself wanting to try nectarines with my corn. My first thought was a corn fruit salsa, but then I decided to skip the chips and eat this as a summer side dish.

Poha with Veggies and Eggs

February 22, 2017

Am I the only person who didn’t know about poha? How did I miss this?

I feel like I have a basic knowledge of most cuisines, but as much as I enjoy Indian cuisine, poha completely slipped passed my radar. I first discovered it a little while back through Liana Krissoff’s Vegetarian for a New Generation. Her book contains a poha recipe and I was hooked immediately.

Poha is a flattened white rice and when combined with spices, veggies, and eggs it’s like an Indian-inspired fried rice! There is something about it that I enjoy so much more than regular rice. Internet rumor has it that it’s easier to digest as well. But don’t take my word for that. I’ve just seen it around the web.

Spinach and Chickpeas in Coconut Curry Sauce

October 20, 2016

I completely understand the argument that some people don’t like to cook. Not everyone enjoys being the in the kitchen like I do.

The same goes for feeling too tired to cook. Even those of us who love it have days when we would give anything if someone would just bring us our meal already prepared.

But when I start hearing about having no time to cook, that’s when I start timing my food prep and preparing a defense.

This meal here is the kind of thing that I throw together on a regular basis for lunch. It’s the kind of recipe I don’t often post on the blog, because while delicious, it doesn’t have a wow or originality factor.