vegoftheweek

Inside The Oven: Take me out to the ballgame, take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and…FRIED OCTOPUS BALLS??!! in Week Links. Porcini mushrooms, brushcetta recipe.

B sides haven’t always maintained a good reputation over time.  Adjectives used to describe them were not necessarily flattering: non-album friendly, non radio-friendly, the side the DJ played only when most people had  enough liquor not to care what they were hearing…

Mushrooms have an A and B side, with what most of us eat being the A side, white button mushroom found on your average take out pizza.  I don’t mind this A side hit, but I think it’s unfortunate that so many B side mushrooms aren’t getting their fair play. Some are certainly more exotic sounding (shiitake, maitake,), more colorful (Chanterelles), more elegant (oyster, enoki). But much like the music industry, it’s not always true talent that makes the hit list. 

I consider myself a mushroom lover and even took a class in college whose curriculum included mushroom “hunts”, identifying species and spores in the laboratory, and experiencing the pleasure of holding and examining bowling ball size puffballs. I’d been looking for a way to try a different or “B-side” mushroom and I discovered dried Porcinis at a natural foods store where I frequently shop. I’d heard through the “underground” industry they were good: unsigned, raw talent, that made their success through grass roots hard work of recipe to recipe, friend to friend, food blog to food blog, and word of mouth (or shall I say from mouth to mouth?). I snatched up a package, along with a baguette, and went home to try a mushroom bruschetta recipe…  (more…)

Inside The Oven: Your guide to vegetarian meats

When it comes to vegetarian meats, there are 3 basic types of vegetarians, X, Y, and Z.

Vegetarian X
Repulsed by meat, won’t eat anything that remotely resembles meat, sends hate mail to any author who labels any vegetarian dish with a “meat” description (e.g. Marinated Seitan “Steak”). 
Vegetarian Y
does like fake meat, no, wait…loves fake meat. Knows all the varieties of Tofurkey deli slices and sausages,  won’t touch a veggie burger with carrots and celery sticking out (thus looking less like meat), and whose vow to vegetarianism is not due to repulsion of flesh, but for other reasons such as health, animal rights, the environment, etc. Finally, we have
Vegetarian Z
who is mostly turned off by meat or “meaty” looking, tasting, smelling products, but every once in awhile, maybe once or twice a year, gets an insatiable craving for something that resembles the B.L.T. they found hardest to give up. That would be me.
For Y and Z, I present the “Meat and Greet” list, your guide to imitation or vegetarian meats. Although this list is in no way comprehensive, I tried to include the most popular brands (and the brands that you’ll most likely to find at the grocer’s). From vegetarian chicken to pastrami to jerky, the possibilities are endless for those who like meat, just not eating it. I will update this as I hear of new things or as you inform me of new things…and when I get a break from reading hate mail from the Xs… (more…)

About vegoftheweek:  A few years ago, I was a vegetarian bored with eating pretty much the same foods day in and day out.  I won’t say my diet experiences mimicked a Koala Bear and the eucalyptus tree, but that is a good metaphor. In order to break the monotony I made a goal for myself: Try something new every week.  Every grocery visit became a planned mission where I would either

1) Gather ingredients for an entire new recipe or

2) Try a new product I could use by itself or in a recipe.

After getting several new recipes under my belt and learning about some of the unknown products out there I also discovered something else: Other people liked learning about my adventures too. Even my non-vegetarian friends asked questions, requested recipes, wanted to take a “peek” at my lunch to see what the day’s food hoopla was all about. I have to admit, I enjoyed sharing my experiences. And so spawned the idea for this blog.

Vegoftheweek can benefit everyone, from new vegetarians interested in learning the basics to the seasoned who are interested in breaking the monotony to people desiring to add more meatless choices in their diet for a variety of reasons. The “veg” of the week is not simply a vegetable, but also oils, pastas, fruits, nuts, soy products, already prepared and/or frozen goodies, spices, the list goes on and on. It’s any vegetarian product that can be mixed, matched, switched, and swapped to create, enhance, and transform any vegetarian meal. 
Inside The Oven: …