I have a couple of family members who are vegetarians so I was interested in some new recipes. The October issue of Eating Well magazine had an article on dried beans, and I found a pinto bean burger recipe that looked interesting. It is served with spicy guacamole, lettuce and tomato.
The recipe is available at the Eating Well website.
I had extra tomatoes from my garden so I made a simple bruschetta - sourdough bread, homemade pesto, and sliced tomatoes - toasted briefly in my toaster oven.
For a side dish, I (Rebecca) brought a roasted vegetable couscous salad, based on a recipe from Raising the Salad Bar by Catherine Walthers. I've been making this salad all summer to take to events as it's easy, versatile, and has no mayonnaise.
Roasted Vegetable Couscous Salad
1 package Israeli Couscous (pearls)
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
vegetables (enough to fill one sheet pan when chopped*)
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
Toast the couscous in 1 tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once the couscous is toasted, cook it according to the package instructions. When cooked, move it to a mixing bowl.
Heat the oven to 425°F. Cut the vegetables (*I used zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, red onion and cherry tomatoes but you can use whatever vegetables you like) into chunks and toss with 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Spread the vegetables out on a sheet pan, making sure not to crowd them. Add the two unpeeled garlic cloves. Roast the vegetables for 15-30 minutes, depending on the size of your veggies, until the vegetables are caramelized. Let the vegetables cool on the pan.
Remove the garlic from the pan and squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a small bowl. To the garlic, add 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1 tbsp. of lemon juice and 1 tbsp. of olive oil and mix well.
Toss the couscous with the roasted vegetables and lemon zest. Add the garbanzo beans, if using. Dress the salad with the garlic and lemon mixture and then correct the seasonings if necessary.
This salad keeps very well, but you may need additional dressing if it's not being served right away. It's equally good served warm, at room temperature or chilled.
I (Cindy) made vegi summer rolls with a peanut dipping sauce. The recipe can be found here on the epicurious website. I made extra dipping sauce.
I (Kim) decided to bring a vegan chocolate cake recipe that I've been wanting to make. I highly recommend the cookbook it comes from, too: Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero.
Lower-fat Deep Chocolate Bundt Cake
Serves 12
1 3/4 cups fresh brewed coffee
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease an 8- or 10-inch bundt pan.
Bring the coffee to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it is simmering, turn down the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until it has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to bring to room temperature.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, canola oil, applesauce, and cornstarch until the sugar and applesauce are dissolved, about 2 minutes. Mix in the extracts. Once the chocolate has cooled a bit, mix that in as well.
Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat until relatively smooth, about 1 minutes with a hand mixer or 2 minutes with a whisk.
Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick or butter knife inserted through its center comes out clean. If your pan is on the smaller side, it could take up to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate to cool completely. Once cool, sift confectioners' sugar over the top and enjoy.
