Burger Imposter

Recipe: Dana's "Totally OK" Veggie Burgers

I have an extreme hatred (too strong?) for meat-free products masquerading around as meat dishes. For instance, Upton's Natural's, a Chicago-based company, has made a small fortune packaging things called "Ground Beef-Style Seitan" and taco salads and buffalo chik'n wraps sold with a dapper mustachioed man on the packaging encouraging all the hipster vegans out there to purchase it.... (I used a runon sentance to highlight the extend of my anger.) Perhaps part of my anger is directed at the fact that many of these prodcuts contain soy, which I cannot digest without reacting like that one scene in Bridesmaids--you know the one I'm talking about. (Although a closer look at Upton's products suggests that their products contain hardly any soy, while other brands definitely do.)

Another concern is the hipster doofuses, a term used by my mother and coined by Seinfeld, that purchase the products, as I do not want to be associated with that kind of person. The new hipster is the antihipster after all.

And lastly, if you're a vegetarian you should eat more vegetables not tofu or wheat gluten that's pretending to be something you gave up. Vegetarians should celebrate vegetables, not mourn their losses. Plus most of that food is so proccessed, you hardly recognize where it came from. Take a look at the ingredient list on your soy tacquito or buffalo chik'n wrap and see if you can find all the ingredients in your cupboard. If you can't make it yourself (or with a trained cook in your kitchen) I fundamentally disagree with eating it.

That said, I'm not trying to knock Upton's, they do a pretty good job with their products, and their ingredient list is short and free of perservatives. There are a lot of companys that don't do this kind of cooking well, frozen chik'n cubes and soy mayonaise does not a chicken salad make, and it can ruin the eating experience for the consumer.

On the other hand, the veggie burger is perhaps the one exception to my no meat substitute rule. The veggie burger is, afterall, a staple of vegetarian cooking. Whole Foods makes a couple great ones, that are made from beans and grains, and they can actually be a filling and healthy meal. Plus, beans and grains aren't really meat subsitutes so I can be sure that they are soy-free.

I still perfer to make them myself though. This recipe, while it has a long ingredient list, is actually pretty tasty. I still want to play with the texture (less on the mush, more on the crunch), but the flavors are there. Maybe it isn't the perfect subsitute for that juicy, chargrilled, piece of hamburger that you could be eating, but for a veggie burger it ain't bad.

Dana's "Totally OK" Veggie Burger

1 cup barley
4 cups veg stock
1 cup kidney beans, dried
1 red pepper, small diced
1/2 red onion, small diced
2 carrots, peeled and small diced
1/2 cup shittake mushrooms, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup almond flour toasted
2 TBS hot sauce
1 TBS Worchestshire
1 TBS Smoked Paprika
1 TBS dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper To taste

1. Heat a sauce pot over high heat. Add barley and toast until fragrant, about 2 minutes, stirring the barley around constantly. Add vegetable stock and reduce heat. Cook until barley is tender and most of the stock has been absorbed.
2. Place kidney beans in a pot and add water until the water is 2 inches above the beans. Cook over medium heat until beans are extremely tender, about one hour.
3. Saute onions, peppers, carrots, and garlic in a small pan with a little bit of oil over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Heat same pan with some oil and cook mushrooms over low heat for about 10 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated out. Add to carrots, peppers, and onions.
5. Once beans and barely have finished cooking place in a food processor and blend until smooth. Place in a big bowl and mix with cooked veggies and seasoning. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Preheat oven to 400. Parchment and oil a baking pan. Form burgers into 1/3 pound 3 inches in diameter patties. You should make about 6. If you have a mold use that.
7. Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Remove and enjoy with a toasted bun, some pickles, ketchup, mustard, and a beer.

Those Quinoa Crazy Americans

Recipe: Twice-Fried Plantains with Quinoa, Corn, and Black Bean Salad


For some reason (that I cannot quite decipher) quinoa is all the rage right now. Sure it's a healthy heirloom grain (according to Wikipedia, the most accurate source of information, it has a balanced set of amino acids making it the most complete protein in the plant family), but it's kind of expensive (so much so that people in it's native Bolivia aren't really able to afford it anymore) and the taste, while alright, has nothing on bacon. I don't really understand the craze, but we've been using it at work so much that I finally decided to give it a try at home.

Quinoa, as I mentioned before, comes from South America, most notably Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. At work we use quinoa in recipes with a variety of styles from Californian to Tex Mex, but I wanted to highlight quinoa's origin and create an original dish inspired by South America.

I have never been to South America. Guatemala is the closest I have come so I drew on experiences from that trip to create this dish. I figured it was close enough. Black beans, corn and plantains were staples for us on that trip and so I wanted to highlight those ingredients in this dish.

Twice Fried Plantains with Quinoa, Black Bean and Corn Salad


For the plantains
3 plantains (I used ripe ones, but next time I'm going to try it with green ones)
3 cloves garlic
Flour, for dredging
Salt and pepper, TT

1. Peel and slice plantains 1/2" thick. Fry slices of plantains either in a deep fryer (if you're lucky enough to have one) or pan fry them in a saute pan with an inch of oil over medium low heat. Fry until golden brown on all sides.
2. Smash plantains in a bowl with the garlic cloves and some salt. Form into patties, about an inch around and 1/2" thick. Dredge in flour and re-fry in the same oil. Fry until the patty is golden brown and crispy.

For the Quinoa Salad
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup white quinoa
2 cups water

1 red onion, diced

2 jalepenos, minced

1 cup black beans, cooked in a large pot by simmering in water
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly
3 TBS cilantro, minced
2 roma tomatoes, small diced
1 bunch collard greens
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup lime juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat canola oil in a large pot. Sweat onions and jalepenos for 3 to 4 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add quinoa and toast for 1 to two minutes. Cover in water and simmer until quinoa is cooked.
2. Meanwhile heat a little more oil in a saute pan. Add garlic and sweat for 1 minute. Add collard greens and saute for 4 to 5 minutes or until greens have wilted.
3. When quinoa is almost cooked, add beans, corn, tomatoes, cooked collard greens and season with scallions, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Cook for 1 minute more and enjoy hot or cold.

Pass the Tofurky?

Recipe: Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu

Ok. I have to be honest. I probably will have a little turkey on Thanksgiving. In fact I will probably be the one cooking it. But, my plate will be about 10% turkey and 90% delicious veggies and vegetarian. Honest! I have been doing a lot of thinking about what dishes I can cook for my family that doesn't involve meat. I know Thanksgiving is all about gluttony (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and that eating a ton of meat is what American gluttony is all about, but I think I can convince them that there is happiness to be found in veggies too.

The New York Time's Well Blog has a great article on Vegetarian Thanksgivings. They will be adding new recipes every day until Thanksgiving, and they have beautiful photographs. Using that site as inspiration, I have a few menu ideas of my own to bring to the table (so to speak). I have a lot of links and recipes in this post, s

o I'll keep my thoughts short and let the food speak for its self.

The Menu

Snacks:

Curried Cashews

1 pound unsalted raw cashews

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Mix spices together. Heat canola oil in a small skillet. Add spices to pan and toast for one to two minutes until fragrant.

3. Toss spice mixture over cashews. Spread evenly on a sheet pan and toast nuts in oven for ten to fifteen minutes until nuts are golden brown.

Spiced Walnuts

Salads and Sides:

Fall Beet Salad

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Parker House Rolls

Simple Mixed Green Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1 bag spring mix

1 red onion, julienned

3 ripe bosc pears, thinly sliced

1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled

For Vinaigrette:

1/2 gallon apple cider, reduced to 1 cup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons honey

3 cups olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Whisk reduced cider, vinegar, honey, and mustard together. Slowly whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Toss salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Dress salad with 1/4 cup vinaigrette just before serving. Reserve the rest of the vinaigrette for later.

Green Beans with Almonds and Lemon (VEGAN)

2 pounds green beans

1 cup almonds, lightly toasted

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch green beans for 6-7 minutes until just tender. Drain and shock beans in ice water.

2. Heat oil in a large saute pan. Add garlic and saute one to two minutes. Add green beans almonds. Finish with a good squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Main Dishes:

Vegetarian Shepard's Pie

Goat Cheese Macaroni Gratin

1 pound macaroni

5 cups whole milk

5 oz flour

5 oz butter

1 cup creamy goat cheese (try Capriole's Fresh or if you're in the Chicago area Prairie Fruits Farm has some great goat cheeses)

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons cayenne

1/2 baguette, small diced and toasted

1 bunch parsley, minced

1/2 cup parmesan

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni until al dente about 7-8 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Bring milk to a boil. In the meantime, melt butter in a large pot. Add flour to make a roux and cook for three to four minutes stirring constantly. Carefully whisk in hot milk. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Add nutmeg and cayenne and cook for twenty minutes stirring occasionally. When stirring, be sure to get the sides and the bottoms of the pot, as this sauce is prone to burning.

3. Whisk in goat cheese and season sauce with salt and pepper. Add noodles to sauce and put in a large casserole dish.

4. Mix together baguette toast bits, parsley, and parmesan. Sprinkle on top

of macaroni mixture and bake in oven for 30 - 40 minutes until dish is golden on top.

Desserts:

Vegan Apple Pie

Classic Pumpkin Pie

What the *%#@! Should I Buy: How to Shop Vegetarian

Recipe: Fall Beet Salad

When I first decided to try out a vegetarian diet, the hardest part was grocery shopping. Previously, I would start at the meat counter and pick up whatever my belly craved. Then I would pick a few fruits and veggies (mainly apples and baby carrots) to nibble on in between the times I wasn't eating meat. Sometimes the meat would mingle with veggies in whatever recipe I made at the time (tomatoes in the chili, onions in the chicken noodle soup), but meat was always the star of the show.

So on the first day at the grocery store after I decided to eat little to no meat, I was a little confused and I kind of went crazy. I picked out a random assortment of vegetables, leafy greens, nuts, and grains and filled my fridge with produce that I didn't look at, let alone use, again. I was so lost without a protein to plan my meal around, that I lost focus, wasted money, and bought things that were more or less unappetizing to me. I almost lost it and went to KFC that week, that's how bad it was.

Now I'm a little more seasoned in my meatless shopping and while I still have a little vegetable ADD, I've created a few rules for myself that help keep my shopping focused and the meals I make taste good!

1. Buy seasonal. The flavors usually mesh well and the produce is going to be the most affordable and the best quality. And while you're doing that:

2. Go to the farmer's market as much as possible. You'll find some really interesting products there. I love the beautiful colors and varieties of produce that I am familiar with and I always find some new vegetable I've never worked with before. Try out new things to keep your diet exciting!

3. Buy a variety of textures, colors, and flavors. Don't just go for potatoes and sunchokes.... All your meals will taste mushy and bland. Pick out crunchy greens, fragrant cloves of garlic, bright and beautiful squashes.... It will add variety to the meal!

4. Avoid processed foods. One of the main reasons I am avoiding meat is for health reasons: I wanted to add more vegetables to my diet. If all you buy are chips, ice cream, and frozen meals then you haven't added much nutrients to the diet. Shop produce as much as possible and avoid other aisles.

Shopping seasonal is how I came up with this Fall Beet Salad. I came home from the store with some beautiful red and yellow beets, swiss chard, and more Brussels sprouts (I could eat those all day long). You'll find a variety of textures, flavors, and colors in this dish. Paired with a delicious lemon vinaigrette, this dish can be eaten hot or cold.

Fall Beet Salad

4-5 red and yellow Beets

1 cup white wine

2 cloves garlic, smashed

water

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

1 bunch swiss chard, chopped

oil for roasting and cooking

1 onion, julienned

1 shallot minced

1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons dried thyme

1 cup champagne vinegar

3 cups olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

If eaten hot served with: 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash beets and place in a roasting pan with wine, garlic, and enough water to come halfway up the beets. Cover with foil and roast in oven for 45 minutes to an hour depending on size of beets.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Par cook Brussels sprouts for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and shock in ice water and drain. Season with salt and pepper, toss in a good amount of oil and roast in oven with the beets until tender and caramelized about 20 minutes.

3. Caramelize onions over medium high heat until a golden brown color. Add chopped chard and sauté until greens are wilted, about 4 -5 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Once beets are done cooking, remove from oven and pan. Let cool for 10 minutes and peel the skin off the beets. This should be easy to do, you can use a clean kitchen towel to help you along. Cut into 1 inch cubes.

5. Mix minced shallots, lemon juice, champagne vinegar, thyme and honey together. While briskly whisking, slowly drizzle olive oil into vinegar mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Mix beets, Brussels sprouts, chard and onions, and vinaigrette together. Adjust seasonings and eat hot with cooked brown rice or cold.

Crisco is 100% Vegan

Recipe: Whiskey Apple Pie

One more thing that I love about fall, besides the abundance of butternut squashes and pumpkins, is going apple picking. We used to go to The Elegant Farmer when I was younger, and I loved getting outside and picking my own food. I was so removed from knowing where my food came from, having only shopped for food at a local Pick 'N Save, that getting apples from an actual tree was such a novelty. I'm still pretty removed. I'm a city dweller and while I grew some herbs this summer and visited my local farmer's market a few times a month, the majority of my food still comes from a grocery store. So, I guess apple picking is still somewhat of a novelty for me.

Anyways, my boyfriend and I made the trek out the Michigan a few weekends ago to pick apples and drink some cider. It was a little disappointing because the only varieties available for picking were Golden Delicious and Red Delicious, which are usually my least favorite kind of apples. The Elegant Farmer usually had at least ten varieties to choose from, so maybe I'm spoiled. But, I have to say they were pretty tasty apples in any case. In the end we came home with about 5 pounds of apples, and at 80 cents a pound I think we made out pretty good.

Usually after apple picking, I come home and make a pie. You know, something delicious and full of butter or lard. This time, however, something was screaming inside of me to make a vegan pie. I am not well versed on vegan cooking, so a quick internet search showed that most recipes called for a soy-based margarine substitute instead of butter. I should let you all know right now that I am allergic to soy, so I have to stay away from any sort of un-natural dairy or meat substitutes. (More on this in a post to come. I have my opinions on these kinds of substitutes outside of my soy allergy.) Further research showed that Crisco and vegetable shortenings were an acceptable vegan substitute for butter or lard. I thought this was pretty awesome, since Crisco is familiar to me and I wouldn't have considered it as a proper vegan substitute. But closer inspection on the ingredient list showed this too contains soy. Thwarted again! But, on the other hand I had Crisco sitting in my cabinet just calling for me to use it. And I didn't think I would find another substitute for butter that didn't contain soy and since I already owned a container of Crisco I decided to ignore my soy allergy and use it. (So maybe I'm not the best at adhering to my soy allergy, but I am good at saving money.) Next time I'm just going with butter.

Whiskey Apple Pie

For the Dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

Pinch salt

3/4 cups Crisco or other brand vegetable shortening

1/4 cup water

For the Filling:

3 pounds apples (such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, or Jonathan), peeled, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick

8 oz sugar

2 oz water + 2 tablespoons

2 tablespoons whiskey

1 oz corn starch

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 teaspoons whole all spice

2 teaspoons whole cloves

1/4 cup olive oil (or egg wash) for browning.

extra sugar for the top of the crust

Procedure:

For the dough:

1. Mix dry ingredients together and place in food processor. Add Crisco and water and mix until just combined.

2. Remove dough from processor and knead on a floured surface for one to minutes. Form into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for thirty minutes to an hour.

For the filling:

1. Place sugar in a clean saute pan and carefully pour 2 oz of water over the sugar until it dissolves. If need be add more sugar, but be careful to only add enough to make the sugar dissolve.

2. Cook over moderately high heat. Clean edges of pan gently with a clean pastry brush. Any crystals on the edge of the pan will destroy the caramel. Cook until the sugar becomes an amber color and immediately remove from heat.

3. Whisk in 2 tablespoons water to the caramel. Be careful this will cause the hot water to steam, but it will create a clear caramel sauce and stop the caramel from cooking further.

3. Pour caramel over sliced apples. Fold in the whiskey and the cornstarch.

4. Grind peppercorns, allspice, and cloves together in a spice grinder and add the spice mixture and the cinnamon to the apple mixture.

To assemble:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into two equal pieces. Roll out the first half on a floured surface until it is just longer than the pan you are using. (I recommend using a 9 inch pie pan, so in this case you should roll the dough out to 12 inch diameter.) The dough should be around 1/4 inch thick, so roll it out until its the desired thickness and diameter.

3. Carefully place in a greased pie pan, and prick the bottom of the dough with a knife. Fill with apples.

4. Roll out 2nd crust to a 13 inch diameter and 1/4 inch thickness. You should have just enough dough. Place it on top of the pie and crimp the two layers of dough together. Trim off any excess. Make decorative slits in the middle of the pie so steam can escape. If you desire you can make a lattice.

5. Brush with olive oil. (If you have decided not to go vegan use an egg wash. I think it helps the crust achieve a better browning than oil.) Sprinkle with a little extra sugar.

6. Bake in oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the crust has become a beautiful golden brown color. If the edges of the crust are browning faster than the center you can wrap a little foil around the edges until the middle has browned.

The Most Beautiful Word In the English Language is Butternut

Recipes: Butternut Squash Soup with Celery and Apples

Vegetable Stock

Ah Fall. With the heat of those sultry summer days fading into blustery fall nights, my hunger for crisp and cool salads has turned into a craving for buttery steaming soups. After all, my cold-blooded body needs more than just sweaters and scarves to keep me warm.

My favorite kinds of soups around this time of year are actually not soups, but stews. Chili con carne (with extra carne!), beef bourgeon, beef barley, and a dish my mom calls "Dana Dinner," which is beef, carrots, and onions stewed together and served over mashed potatoes. These are the hearty meals that really warm a girl for the cold fall and winter months. Especially during fall my appetite revs up as if my body is preparing for hibernation. Just in case my coat isn't warm enough, I can add some extra layers from the inside out.

But, maybe all that red meat isn't so good for my heart. So I tried to come up with a soul-sastifying vegetarian soup that might be a good substitute for my beefy fall appetite.

Fall gives us some of the best flavors for cooking and eating. I love the fruits and vegetables that come in season this time of year more than any other season. Apples, multi-colored potatoes, dark leafy greens, sweet potatoes. Don't forget th

e dried fruits and nuts that pair so well with the squashes. But perhaps the most delicious of all the fall veggies is the butternut squash. I know most people would argue that pumpkin is the quintessential fall flavor, but for me the butternut squash is more versatile. Pumpkins belong in the pie I eat on Thanksgiving, while butternut squashes can be eaten in soups, pastas, salads, stews,.... the list goes on. Also, you can substitute it for any recipe that calls for pumpkin and I find that it's a little easier to work with.

Butternuts (besides fun to say!) are high in potassium, vitamins A and C, and fiber. Because of the fiber they are going to keep your stomach full and happy, and the nutty flavor will satisfy your mouth. Other flavors that mix well with butternuts are apples, celery, fennel, almonds, parmesan, sage, cinnamon, tomatoes, Moroccan spices, etc.

Now, a butternut is not going to be any substitute for meat but it has a great flavor to savor all on its own. Maybe that's one of the real challenges of cutting meat out: enjoying the taste of vegetables without the addition of meat. In any case, I've come up a recipe for butternut squash soup that captures the essence of the squash. Now you can get acquainted with this delicious fall favorite all on your own.

Butternut Squash Soup with Celery and Apples

Vegetable Stock (recipe to follow) 8 cups

Olive Oil 1/4 cup

Medium Butternut Squash, peeled and pulp and seeds removed small diced 1

Apples, small diced 2 (I used Gala, but Granny Smith would be nice here too)

Celery, small diced 6-7 stalks

Medium Onion, small diced 1

Garlic, minced 4 cloves

Rice Wine Vinegar 1/4 cup

Cinnamon 2 tsp

Cayenne Pepper 1 TBS (I like it spicy, but add less if you prefer)

Salt and Pepper, TT

Garnish: Sauteed Sliced Mushrooms, Fried Celery Leaves or Fried Sage Leaves (Thank you MOM!), and Shaved Parmesan Cheese

(Obviously, if you omit the cheese the recipe will be Vegan)

1. Prep all the vegetables. Be sure to save mushroom stems and celery and onions ends for your vegetable stock. That way you won't waste as much and your vegetable stock will be delicious. Also you can save the leaves from the celery for your garnish.

2. Heat olive oil in a large pot. I used my Mom's cast iron pot and it was barely big enough, just to give you an idea of how large the pot needs to be. Add prepped vegetables (squash through garlic including apples) and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add enough vegetable stock until it just covers the vegetables. You may not need to use all 8 cups of stock, depending on how many prepped vegetables you ended up with. Save the rest for thinning out the soup later. Cook over medium heat on a simmer until the vegetables are cooked.

3. While the soup is cooking, heat 1/4-1/2 cup of oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Fry celery leaves (or sage leaves) in the hot oil for 1 minute or until leaves crisp up. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. You can sauté the mushrooms at the same time.

4. When the vegetables are cooked, place soup in a blender or food processor and buzz until smooth. Depending on how long your machine is, blend the soup in batches making sure there is an even mix of vegetables and stock in the machine. Strain soup through a fine strainer into a clean pot.

5. Bring soup back up to a boil and add cinnamon, cayenne, vinegar, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings and thickness if necessary.

6. Place soup in bowl and serve with garnishes. Enjoy!

Vegetable Stock

Water, cold 8 cups

Onion, small diced 1 Large

Carrots, chopped 3 (washed, can leave the peel on and you can use the ends)

Celery, chopped 1 stalk

Mushroom stems As many as you have!

Parsley Stems 3-6

Thyme, Fresh 5 sprigs

Peppercorns, Black 10

Bay Leaves 2

Cheese Cloth

1. In a large pot, bring the water and mirepoix up to a boil. Skim any scum from the top of the stock and reduce to a simmer.

2. In the cheese cloth, make a sachet out of the rest of the ingredients. Place in the stock and continue simmering for 30 to 45 minutes.

3. Strain into a clean pot. The stock should be clear and a dark-ish amber color.

Umami: The Fifth Taste

Recipe: Exotic Mushroom Tart

There are only five definable tastes that humans are able to recognize. Taste is different from flavor. While flavor is the inherent and distinctive quality of food that is perceived with our other senses, taste is defined as the sensation recognized in our brain as food comes into contact with our taste buds. While flavors are diverse and multiple, tastes are boiled down to a distinct five: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. It’s easy to recognize the first four tastes. Sweet is recognized as you bite into a pillowy cupcake or soft piece of dark chocolate. Salty is most apparent in a bag of potato chips, popcorn, or pretzels. Bitter is prominent in dark peppery greens and Sour is the taste you experience as you bite into a fresh lemon.

The previous four tastes are easily defined. Umami on the other-hand is unfamiliar. It comes from the Japanese word umai, meaning delicious, and is not easily translated into the English language. For me, it is the savory feeling of richness and fullness found in food.

In order to feel satiated after a meal, all of the tastes should be balanced in the dish. You can leave a meal hungry, if your tastebuds weren’t satisfied. Since umami is most commonly found in meat, that is why it’s hard to feel full after a vegetarian meal. But don’t fear my readers! Umami is found in vegetables and non-meat items too:

Tomatoes

Mushrooms

Soy Sauce

Wine

Cheeses

Aged and Fermented foods

I found the following recipe in Professional Vegetarian Cooking by Ken Bergeron. I’ve edited it significantly though so don’t go searching there if you’ve forgotten my website. It is the perfect umami meal. The meatiness of the mushrooms, mixed with the wine and the soy sauce, will make your forget the absence of meat in this meal. Enjoy it with some sautéed dandelion greens with caramelized onions and tomatoes. Dandelion greens are deliciously bitter, but the sweetness of the tomato helps your taste buds deal with the bitterness. Finish it up with a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper, and you’ve got a balance of tastes that will satisfy your palate and your stomach.

Exotic Mushroom Tart

Ingredients:

For the pie dough:

AP Flour 12 oz

Salt 1 ½ tsp

Butter, chilled 6 oz

2 eggs

4 tsp water

½ cup mixed fresh herbs (I used thyme and parsley from my garden, but use whatever you want. Have fun!)

2 cups Parmesan

Egg Wash

Vegan option: Omit the eggs and the parmesan and substitute ½ cup Vegetable Shortening for the butter

For the Filling:

Onions, small diced 1 ½ cup

Carrots, small diced 1 ½ cups

Parsnips, small diced 1 ½ cups

Shallots, minced ¼ cup

Olive oil 2 TBS

White Wine, dry ½ cup

Exotic Mushrooms, such as shitake, oyster, enoki, lobster 10 cups

Fresh Thyme 2 TBS

Fresh Rosemary 2 TBS

Soy Sauce 2 TBS

Salt, Pepper To Taste

Note: To save on money, you can buy more of a cheaper variety of mushrooms (such as baby bella or button) to mix with the exotic mushrooms. The flavor won’t change much, but you’ll still get to enjoy the expensive ones!

Procedure:

For the pie dough

1. Mix the flour and salt together.

2. Cut the butter into small cubes. Mix it in with the flour salt mixture, using your fingertips, until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the herbs.

3. Making a well in the center, mix in the water and eggs until the dough just comes together. Add more water if too dry. The dough should not be too sticky, so be careful.

4. Kneed out on a floured surface until the dough is smooth, about 1 minute.

5. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes until use. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

For the filling:

6. Sauté the onions, carrots, parsnips and shallots with the olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté another two minutes. Add the white wine and let it reduce to au sec (or almost dry.)

7. Add the remaining ingredients and sauté another 5 minutes, or until almost all the juices have evaporated. If the filling is too wet it will make the tarts soggy.

To assemble:

8. Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough on a floured surface until it is between ¼ - ^1/8 inch thick. Using a 6-inch cookie cutter or other circular object with a 6-inch diameter (I used a cup), cut out circles and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can continue to roll out the dough as much as you need to until most of it is used up. If the dough gets too warm, place it back in the fridge to chill it down again.

9. Fill the circles with ¼ to a ½ cup of the mushroom mixture. Crimp the edges of the circle up, until it looks like a cute little coin purse. Brush the circles with the egg wash (Vegan substitute: use oil), and sprinkle with the parmesan.

10. Bake until the crust is a deep golden brown. Eat and enjoy!