Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table

I have alot veggies to use up this week, so I was busy this morning!  The first thing I made was a lovely soup from Nava Atlas' wonderful book, "Wild About Greens". It's called Italian-Style Potato & Escarole Soup, but the recipe notes add that broccoli rabe (rapini) can be used instead of the escarole-- just the thing to use half of the big bunch of rapini in my fridge.



This veggie-full soup is easy to make and so delicious!  We're having it for dinner tonight.  You can access the recipe from Nava's website here. I followed it exactly, but used broccoli rabe (rapini) for the greens.  Do give it a try (and check out the book, too). Thanks, Nava!

*****************************************************************

The second thing I made (which we're also having for dinner) was Tabbouleh. Tabbouleh should be vibrant and flavorful.  A Lebanese friend told me that an authentic tabbouleh must have LOTS of parsley—it’s not supposed to be just a bulgur salad with a little parsley in it.  It should be very green. Italian parsley is the tastiest, but you can use ordinary curly parsley, or a combination.   Fresh mint and dill add delightful fresh flavor.  Today I made the following Tabbouleh recipe, my standard, in order to use up some ripe tomatoes.  But, I soon realized that I was out of parsley! I decided to go ahead with it and try using minced chard instead, since I have lots in the garden. At the last minute I decided to add a 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas to make a full-meal salad. It's delicious! (PS: I found that the dressing needed more lemon juice than usual with the chard.) I give you the directions for using chard instead of parsley in the recipe intro.



The traditional (and very attractive) way to serve Tabbouleh (see photo above-- probably my most artistic presentation ever! ) is to mound it  in a serving bowl or platter with a rim and surround it with crisp Romaine lettuce leaves to use as scoopers.  Decorate the top of the salad with tomato wedges or halved grape tomatoes, sprigs of fresh mint and parsley, and black Kalamata olives.

Chard and Chickpea Variation of Tabbouleh

Printable Copy

BRYANNA'S TABBOULEH (WITH A VARIATION)     
Serves 8 to 12  
ALLERGY NOTE: If you are allergic to wheat, use cooked and cooled quinoa instead of bulgur.

This popular Middle Eastern salad has long been a staple for vegetarians, but it often contains 3/4 cup or more of olive oil for a salad of this size.  My version contains far less oil, but none of the flavor is missing.
CHARD AND CHICKPEA VARIATION: I cut 2 big bunches of chard and cut off the stems before processing the green leaves to use in place of parsley. At the last minute I decided to add a 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas to make a full-meal salad. It's delicious! (PS: I found that the dressing needed more lemon juice than usual with the chard.)

1 cup dry bulgur wheat (medium or #2)
1 cup boiling water
2 large bunches parsley. stemmed and minced  (Before chopping, parsley should be dried well in a lettuce spinner--  I mince it in  a food processor.)
2 ripe, firm tomatoes, diced (or use 2 cups diced grape tomatoes)
1/2 a large European or English cucumber (the kind with an edible skin), diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped green onion
 3  tablespoons  fresh, chopped dill (or 1 tablespoon dried dill weed)
OPTIONAL: 1/2 a large green pepper, seeded and chopped
Dressing:
1/2 cup aquafaba OR Oil Substitute for Salad Dressings 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil  (or more aquafaba or Oil Substitute, for a no-fat dressing)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
Garnish (optional):
crisp Romaine lettuce leaves  (you’ll probably need 2 heads in order to have enough large, well-formed leaves)
2 firm, ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
parsley and mint sprigs
about 12 Kalamata olives

In a large serving bowl mix together the bulgur and boiling water.  Let stand while you prepare the vegetables and dressing.

Add the olive oil (if using), lemon juice, salt and pepper to the Oil Substitute and whisk  or shake together well. Set aside (or chill, if you used the Oil Sub while hot) until time to add to the salad.

When the bulgur has absorbed all of the water, add the remaining salad ingredients and the dressing.  Toss well.  Taste for lemon juice, salt and pepper, adding more if needed (I found that I needed more lemon juice when I used chard in place of parsley).  Refrigerate until serving time, or allow to come to room temperature, if you prefer.

*****************************************************************

Last, but certainly not least, I made a pineapple salsa to go with a recipe idea from my friend Betsy DiJulio, innovative cook and author of the wonderful cookbook "The Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes" and blog of the same name.  It's a simple idea for dressing up veggie hot dogs (she has a few really great ideas for making ordinary veggie hot dogs scrumptious on her blog).  She called them "Sassy Vegan Sausage and Salsa Roll-Ups (Stupid-Easy and Simply Beautiful)". My husband loves any excuse to eat a veggie dog, so he was thrilled to try this for lunch.  The recipe is here and you will see that her version looked a lot prettier than mine!  But we loved it anyway.  Here's my version:

Dessert-- Chinotto Cake! UPDATE FOR CANADIANS 2021: Since Nestle took over San Pelligrino in North America some years ago, Chinotto is harder to find in Canada.  There are some other brands, however, such as Brio brand, from Ontario, which I understand is a little sweeter than San Pelligrino, and Walmart Canada carries it. amazon.ca carries Niasca Portofino Chinotto at a decent price, but I haven't tried it yet.  The San Pelligrino version is still available in the US and Australia, as far as I can tell. amazon.com carries it. amazon.com also sells an organic brand:  Galvanina Chinotto, Premium Organic Italian Sparkling Soda; 12 fl oz (12 bottles) There seem to be many places that sell chinotto in Australia (though, not necessarily San Pelligrino). Just Google "buy chinotto australia". **********

Last Saturday was our 22nd anniversary, so I made a lovely meal using, for the most part, recipes and inspiration from my friend and fellow Vegan Heritage Press author, Betsy DiJulio, author of the wonderful book, "The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes" and creator of exceptional recipes on her blog, The Blooming Platter. Betsy, who is an artist and art teacher, has such a way with color,texture and combinations of flavors-- she's an artist in the kitchen as well as at her easel or in the classroom.

I was not able to get off island for special ingredients, so I chose the recipes according to what I had in my pantry, garden, refrigerator and freezer.




For our starter, I made two spreads to serve on rye crisp crackers:
Orange-Scented Olive, Parsley & Sundried Tomato Tapenade (made with our homegrown Italian parsley) and White Bean "Cheese" (from The Blooming Platter Cookbook)

Enjoy!

Just in case you missed it, I had the honor of being the first interview in Betsy Di Julio's inaugural monthly "Vegan Q&A Tuesday" on her blog, The Blooming Platter.  (More about that feature here.)

"Based on Actor’s Studio host’s James Lipton’s famous “Q & A”–after the Proust Questionnaire–“Vegan Q & A Tuesday” is The Blooming Platter’s new first Tuesday feature on a creative force in the vegan culinary world."

It's a brilliant idea (and challenging for the interviewee), and I can't wait to read the next one!

You can read the interview, and my recipe for a delicious Indian-Spiced Lentil Salad on Betsy's blog here: http://www.thebloomingplatter.com/vegan-farmers-market/inaugural-blooming-platter-vegan-q-a-tuesday-with-bryanna-clark-grogan-bryannas-indian-spiced-lentil-salad

Enjoy!

  My copy, with some sticky-notes marking the recipes I want to try next!


When my husband said "Oh, wow!" after the first bite of Betsy DiJulio's Panko-Topped Cheesy Zucchini from her book The Blooming Platter Cookbook, I knew this book was a winner!  DH is not a great zucchini fan, but I had a small pile of zucchini that needed using and this recipe was intriguing, partly because of its simplicity, and partly because of the interesting homemade cheese that was one of the primary components.  It was simple to make (and quick!) and , obviously, delicious.  The cheese (and I won't reveal the ingredients, but there's one especially genius addition) was a simple combination of ingredients familiar to most vegans, but its simplicity belied its complexity in the flavor department. We'll enjoy the leftovers on crisp rye crackers. (An aside:  DH instructed me to tell Betsy that he hardly ever likes other people's cooking as well as mine, but he loved that dish!)

  Panko-Topped Cheesy Zucchini 


  I served it with some leftover marinara sauce-- the two of us ate the whole casserole for dinner!

While this may be the first recipe I've actually cooked out of Betsy's book, I've been having some great times lately perusing it and picking out recipes to try.  Betsy's writing makes one feel that a good friend is writing to one, sharing special recipes and sometimes the stories behind her inspiration.  Reading statements such as: "...I have been consumed by what I like to call intense 'investigative' home-cooking and entertaining-- fueled by the advent of the food networks-- ultimately leading to part-time free-lance food writing and a bit of teaching. I remain an 'independent study' student of all things culinary." and "For as long as I can remember, food has been the blaze that marked the path of my life.", as well as her preference for soy milk, make me feel sure that Betsy is a "kindred spirit" (as Anne Shirley of "Green Gables" fame was wont to say).  And a bloody good writer, too!

My overall impression after studying the book is that it is the work of a curious, inventive, creative, and discerning cook, whose sometimes rather unusual combinations of fruits, vegetables and herbs, and savory and sweet ingredients in the same recipe, are not only spot-on, but inspire quite a few "why didn't I think of that?" moments.  Even without the lovely photos, one would find the recipes colorful and balanced, evidence of Betsy's artistic nature (she is a practicing artist and an art teacher).

Consider Creamy Summer Torta with Figs, with its savory, herbal vegan cheese filling and Balsamic reduction;


  or the startling Beet Muhammara  (the Turkish spread usually made with red peppers, here replaced by beets, walnuts, garlic, spices and pomegranate molasses); Blackberry and Corn Salad;


  Butternut Squash Bisque with Cranberry Gremolata; Curried Red-Lentil "Cheesecake" with Tamarind Sauce, to name but a few on my list of "got to make this" recipes. All I can say is, "Bravo, Betsy!"

(Oh, and by the way, there are a fair number of "basic" recipes in the book which you will probably want to use often in your own recipes, too-- White Bean Sausages, at least four homemade vegan cheeses, and Blue Cheese Sauce.)  


You're going to find many recipes in The Blooming Platter Cookbook that will surely send you into the kitchen on a colorful culinary adventure-- perhaps not the same recipes that call to me, but, believe me, there's something  for everyone in this lovely, delectable, and eminently usable vegan cookbook.

Enjoy!