Grill 'Em All! A Vegetarian Labor Day Grilling Guide

We have one trick, but luckily, it's a pretty good one: we treat vegetables like a piece of meat. From butternut squash to carrots to Japanese eggplant, we try to find the methods that yield the absolute best textures and flavors for each vegetable or fruit. Almost without fail, grilling wins! This method adds that subtle smoke flavor and, if done right, yields a sweet and tasty treat that's surprisingly possible with regular old produce.

There are so many options this time of the year. Summer crops are still available, and fall crops are starting to appear in the stores as well. So fire up the grill, invite some friends over, and have a great time cooking together. Here are some simple grilling recipes to get things started. Hope y'all have a beautiful Labor Day weekend!

Spaghetti Squash Ribs

Sweet Potato Almondine

Charred Carrot Hot Dogs

Butternut Squash Steak with Smoked Garlic Chimichurri

BBQ Eggplant Sliders

Grilled Peach Ice Cream

Grilled Watermelon and Tomato Salad

Italian-Style Eggplant Sausages

BBQ Portobello Mushroom 
Sandwich

BBQ Artichoke Heart Tacos

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich with Smoked Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli

Berbere-Spiced Grilled Okra

Grilled Andouille Eggplant Po Boy

Grilled Anaheim Peppers with Cotija Cheese

5 Quick Questions with Simon Majumdar

Food Network host and author Simon Majumdar and I first met last August in Las Vegas outside the Kitchen Arena that was set up as the battleground for the World Food Championships: The Ultimate Food Fight. My buddy Ben Vaughn introduced us, and I handed Simon a copy of our cookbook, The Southern Vegetarian. We immediately started talking food. He told me that since his family is from India, vegetarian meals were not uncommon. Life Saving Dahl, he told me, was his favorite. He was kind enough to share the recipe with The Chubby Vegetarian -- check back here tomorrow for this amazing recipe!

Simon Majumdar, Ben Vaughn, and Justin Fox Burks at the World Food Championships in 2013.

Cooking this dish taught me so much about how to achieve the deep and complex flavors of traditional Indian cooking that elevate simple ingredients like lentils and onions and result in a complex, wonderful dish. One of the many takeaways for me was the use of a lemon cut into eighths and tossed into the stew in order to add acidity. I'll be using that trick again and again. 

A big thanks to Simon for sharing the recipe and answering our questions.   

1. TCV: I so enjoyed talking with you at the World Food Championship last year! You told me about your favorite vegetarian recipe, Life Saving Dahl. So, what's the origin of that recipe? [BTW, we made it, and it's amazing! Readers, it'll be up tomorrow as a new recipe post on TCV. You've got to try it!] 

Simon: This is very much a family dish. My Bengali great aunt (who was closer to me than my own grandmother and who I called 'grandmother') taught me how to pre-toast the red lentils in a dry pan, stirring with my fingers. She claimed it added a nutty flavor to the red lentils and helped them absorb more flavors from the spices. I am not sure if that is true or not, but it is a very comforting process, and I cannot make the dish without doing it now.  It just wouldn't seem right. It is our family's go-to comfort dish, our chicken soup. I make it any time that both body and soul need nourishing. I have even got my wife addicted to it now, and she requests I make it every time she is feeling under the weather.

2. TCV: It's a Tuesday night and you're at home just hanging out. There's no one around to impress. What are you cooking?

Simon: I know this is a vegetarian blog, but my ultimate comfort meal is just a simple roast chicken. I always spatchcock mine and roast in a cast-iron skillet over a bed of chopped onions. The onions confit in the chicken fat and the whole surface of the bird becomes crisp. I usually make my own roast garlic mayonnaise to accompany it and eat the chicken with my hands, tearing bits of flesh off to dip in the mayo.  

3. TCV: I made a lot of changes after I lost my mother in 2008. Mainly, I improved my quality of life by losing 75 pounds and running marathons. You cite the same cause as a reason for shaking things up in your own life. What one piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to make a big change for the better?

Simon: My advice is to follow the thing that you are most passionate about. Food has always been my obsession, and I quit my job in publishing 2006 to go around the world and eat.  It changed my life and my career. I know that not everyone has the time, money, or inclination to do something that drastic, but I do believe that if you set yourself stretching challenges, great rewards will come.  It could be, like you, losing weight.  It could be to cook more food at home, or it could be to travel or study.  My only request is that you don't play at it.  Make a goal and go for it. 

Just in case you are wondering about my next goal…I turned 50 last week and have set myself a challenge of appearing in a masters body building competition in 2015. It's going to be tough, but I am determined to give it my best shot.

4.TCV: What ingredient or technique has your undivided interest right now?

Simon: I am really fascinated by old-school techniques and dishes right now. I think a lot of them became classics for a reason and have been sadly forgotten. I don't get to spend half as much time in my kitchen as I would like, but when I do, I love to play around with the classic old recipes like Lobster Newburg or Steak Diane.

5. TCV: From your travels to your books to your work on Cutthroat Kitchen, Iron Chef America, The Next Iron Chef, Extreme Chef, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and many other Food Network shows, you have experience with a whole lot of food, to say the least. So, what makes a dish memorable for you?

Simon: There are so many elements to a great dish. Terrific ingredients, of course, particularly when coupled with impeccable technique that lets those ingredients shine.  As well as all of these, of course, there is context. Does a hot dog ever taste better than at a ball game? Does a cold beer ever taste better than at a summer's day picnic? I have been traveling around the world for the last few months, and I am certain that the great meals I had were made even better by eating them in the places I visited and with the people I met.

82 Queen's Cauliflower Steak with Confit Mushroom Pilaf, Herbed Tomatoes, Cheddar-Parsley Butter, and Fried Capers

We met Executive Corporate Chef Steven Lusby, Berkley Spivey, and the rest of the amazing crew of Charleston, South Carolina's 82 Queen while we were in NYC for our James Beard Foundation presentation at the beginning of December. Fate had us all cooking in the same kitchen that day. We were making 3 different snacks for 25 people, and they were making an 8-course dinner for 65 folks. Can you imagine the pressure? It didn't seem to wear on them at all. They were so gracious and amazing from the first second we met.

We knew we'd be all right when we discovered that they're all fellow Southerners. "We update Southern classics," chef told me of their cooking style. "Us, too!" I exclaimed "But with  vegetables." It was a great morning in the kitchen with those guys. We collectively brought our revised and curated versions of Southern cuisine up North to showcase. Our event was great, and Chef Spivey reports that their dinner that night was amazing, and they can't wait to be invited back. (Us, too!)

I was checking out the menu at 82 Queen and came across this amazing-looking vegetarian dish for cauliflower steak. They were kind enough to share the recipe with us so that we can share it with you. All of the components together make up one of the best vegetarian main dishes that we've had anywhere at anytime. The takeaway here is that you have 5 sub-recipes that can be pulled out and used separately in so many ways. That, we believe, is the hallmark of a great chef: each ingredient is considered so that each component has as much flavor as possible. Enjoy this one!

Cauliflower Steak with Confit Mushroom Pilaf, Herbed Tomatoes, Cheddar-Parsley Butter, and Fried Capers (82 Queen's recipe, revised for the home cook)

1 large head cauliflower
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white truffle oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)

Confit Mushroom Pilaf (recipe follows)

Herbed Tomatoes (recipe follows)

Cheddar-Parsley Butter (recipe follows)

Fried Capers (recipe follows)

Carefully remove all green leaves attached to the stem of the cauliflower and trim any unwanted brown spots. Slice the cauliflower from the bottom into two 1-inch steaks; make sure each steak has a connection with the stem to prevent crumbling. (Reserve the remaining cauliflower for the Confit Mushroom Pilaf in the accompanying recipe.) Season lightly with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place each steak directly on a hot grill and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes on each side, creating thatch marks. The cauliflower should be cooked through but still al dente. Lightly drizzle truffle oil equally over each cauliflower steak.

Assemble the dish by placing 1 1/2 cups of the Confit Mushrooms Pilaf in the center of a plate. Place a few of the Herbed Tomatoes off to the side. Top the pilaf with one Cauliflower Steak. Garnish the dish with a slice of Cheddar-Parsley Butter and Fried Capers. 

(Serves two.) 

*This dish can be made vegan by omitting the Cheddar-Parsley Butter. 

Confit Mushroom Pilaf

4 cups of cremini mushrooms (cleaned, quartered)
8 cloves peeled garlic
1 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
1/2  cup olive oil

Reserved cauliflower (that was cut away from the steaks)

1 small white onion (finely diced)
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients on a large, parchment-lined baking tray. (The mushrooms should have enough room to move around.) Cover with parchment and then with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Let it cool at room temperature. Strain and discard garlic and herbs; reserve oil and mushrooms.

In the work bowl of your food processor, pulse cauliflower until it's broken down into rice-sized bits. Set aside. 

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of the reserved oil and the onion. Once the onion is translucent, add the cauliflower and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Fold in the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm on the stove until ready to serve.

Herbed Tomatoes

8 Roma tomatoes, stemmed and halved
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Lay out tomatoes seed-side-up and roast in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the skins are lightly blistered. Set aside until ready to assemble the dish. 

Cheddar-Parsley Butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (grated on a cheese grater)
1 cup of finely grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon very finely chopped parsley
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)

Place the cold butter, cheddar, parsley, salt, and pepper into small bowl and knead it with your fingers until all ingredients are well incorporated. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and lay butter in a line about 4 inches from the bottom and sides. Fold the sides of the parchment over the butter and tightly roll from the bottom creating a cylinder. Refrigerate until firm. Using a hot knife, slice the butter into ¼-inch rounds.

Fried Capers

1/4 cup capers

1/2 cup olive oil

Strain off any liquid from the capers. In a small frying pan over medium heat, heat the oil until it starts to shimmer. Add the capers and fry for 2 minutes or just until the skin starts to peel. Set aside on a a paper towel until you're ready to use them as a garnish. 

Butternut Squash Steak with Smoked Garlic Chimichurri

The idea for a butternut squash steak came from my buddy Ryan Trimm, chef at Sweet Grass and Southward here in Memphis. I saw it in the description of a dish on a wine dinner menu being held as Sweetgrass a few weeks back. He presented the grilled squash topped with a protein and compound butter. 

Here we've seasoned the squash with Montreal Steak Seasoning, a bright, smoky, and slightly spicy seasoning blend that works really well for this. For extra depth of flavor, we have added sliced, sautéed mushrooms before finishing the dish with a hearty spoonful of our Smoked Garlic Chimichurri. 


I could eat this every day! It's hugely flavorful, healthy, and it's even vegan. Squash is in season right now, but it's not too cold to go outside and grill, so I strongly suggest you get out there and give this one a shot. 

Butternut Squash Steak with Smoked Garlic Chimichurri

1 large butternut squash
2 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
Montreal Steak Seasoning (recipe follows)
8 ounces crimini mushrooms (sliced)
Smoked Garlic Chimichurri (recipe follows)

First, select a large butternut squash that has a fat neck and a small bulb. You will get larger cuts from a squash that has this shape. Trim the stem end off and peel the squash using a serrated peeler. Cut the bulb-end of the squash off and reserve it for another use. Cut the neck into 4 equal pieces that are about 3/4 of an inch thick. 

Preheat your outdoor grill to high. Drizzle the cut squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat. Season with a generous amount of Montreal Steak Seasoning on both sides of the squash. Grill squash for 8 minutes per side or until well marked by the grill grates and squash is tender. 

In a frying pan over high heat, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, the mushrooms, and 1/2 teaspoon of the Montreal Steak Seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned. Assemble the dish by dividing the mushrooms among the squash steaks and topping them with a few spoonfuls of Smoked Garlic Chimichurri. (Serves 4.)

Montreal Steak Seasoning

In a small bowl, mix one teaspoon each of smoked paprika, sweet paprika, granulated garlic, dried dill, ground coriander, cracked black pepper, and Kosher salt. Add cayenne pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to season the squash. Store leftover mix in an airtight container for up to one year. 

Smoked Garlic Chimichurri

2 cups loose-packed parsley
1 clove smoked garlic*
1 smoked jalapeño* (seeded and roughly chopped)
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

*This is simply a garlic clove and a jalapeño that has been smoked in an electric smoker for 15 minutes. If you don't have access to a smoker, just use two drops of liquid smoke.

Into the work bowl of your food processor, place the parsley, garlic, jalapeño, and lemon juice. Turn the processor on and drizzle the olive oil in. You want the sauce to be chunky, not completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to use. Makes about a cup and is good on everything.

Flame-Grilled Portobello Mushroom Steak + Arugula Salad & Grilled Potatoes

My job as a photographer takes me to some really interesting places. Recently, I was wading hip-deep out onto a rocky shoal to capture fly fishermen outside Heber Springs, Arkansas. That night I stayed at the cabins at Fat Possum Hollow on a beautiful piece of land tucked between Sugarloaf Mountain and some smaller foothills. Dinner in the barn that night was simply salad, potatoes, pork chops for most and there was a flame-grilled portobello mushroom for me. It was perfect.

The whole experience of being out in nature and the unfussy, shared meal with friends both old and new got me thinking about simplicity -- and the lack of it in my life. It was one of those Thoreau-esque moments, y'all. I don't need that kind of uncomplicated existence all of the time, but it sure is nice to visit it every once in a while.

Luckily, this vegetarian version of a classic meat-and-potatoes dish can transport me back to that state of mind anytime I want. I've not spent this little time preparing a meal in a while. You barely need a knife to prepare it, and in fact, there is almost no prep at all.

Flame-Grilled Portobello Mushroom Steak + Arugula Salad & Grilled Potatoes

1 teaspoon porcini salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Olive oil (for drizzling)
1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 large portbello mushrooms
15-20 small or fingerling potatoes
2 cups loose-packed arugula
3 tablespoons vinaigrette of your choice*
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 small shallot (sliced)
Parmesan or bleu cheese (to garnish)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)

In a small bowl, mix the porcini salt, paprika, garlic, thyme, red pepper, and black pepper. Set the dry rub aside. Drizzle olive oil and sherry vinegar onto both sides of the mushrooms and then coat generously in the dry rub; reserve about 1/3 of the rub. Set mushrooms aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until ready to grill.

Place potatoes onto a baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle clean potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining dry rub. Place potatoes into the oven for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside.

Just before you are ready to eat, preheat the outdoor grill to high. Grill mushrooms for about 5 minutes per side or until well-marked by the grill grates. Toss cooked potatoes onto the grill to warm them through.

In a medium bowl, toss the arugula, vinaigrette, tomatoes, and shallot together until greens are well coated. Plate mushrooms and potatoes. Top each mushroom with dressed salad and garnish with cheese. (Serves 2.)

*Simple Vinaigrette

Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)

Place the lemon juice, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper into a jar, close the lid, and shake. Set aside until ready to use.

eaTABLE Supper Club: June 24, 2012

What a night! On Sunday, we cooked a 6-course dinner for 16 people under the stars in a beautiful outdoor kitchen. We couldn't have pulled it off without our wonderful hosts, the Fishes, and our friends Margot McNeely of Project Green Fork, who coordinated and decorated, and Jody Moyt, Executive Chef at Owen Brennan's, who kept things calm and moving forward in the kitchen.


This is the third eaTABLE supper club event presented by us here at The Chubby Vegetarian. (We did all-vegan comfort food last fall for comforTABLE. And our first one with a Latin theme back in 2010 was actually the first eaTABLE!) 


It's hard work to prepare and present so many dishes to so many people in an unfamiliar kitchen. It's usually an all-weekend event for us from menu planning to shopping at the farmers markets, to prepping the sauces and ingredients, and then packing, transporting, and unpacking. It's fun, but can be a little head-spinning. Why do we keep doing it? It's simple, really. This particular group of people are such an appreciative audience. They are there for the experience and to try something new, so that is what we wanted to give them.

We called the menu comporTABLE, which means 'appropriate and suitable'. Since we were eating poolside out in the heat, we wanted to keep the food fairly light. Here is what we came up with for the menu:



1. Banh Mi Spring Rolls
Local Shiitake Paté, Cucumber, Do Chao, Sriracha

2. Corn + Fennel Stuffed Squash Blossom 
Grilled Zucchini, Crookneck Sauce, Fennel Pollen


3. Grilled Watermelon Steak
Jewel Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, Honey-Lime Vinaigrette

4. Deconstructed Potato Salad
Truffled Grilled Potato, Five-Minute Egg, Pickled Mustard Seed, Greens


5. Chorizo Stuffed Pepper
Chipotle-Tomato Sauce, Corn Nuts


6. Buttered Baguette Ice Cream 
Peach Jam, Gianduja

We had a blast cooking and are so glad that we were asked to participate this time. In other news, we will have information for you this week about another upcoming TCV dinner at an East Memphis restaurant in late July; we would love it if some you would be able to attend!

Chicken-Fried Portobello + Mushroom & Shallot Gravy

"Everything's better chicken fried," my buddy Aaron exclaimed when I told him what I had made for dinner last night. I had to agree. In this recipe, a meaty portobello mushroom graciously stands in for steak in this vegetarian take on a Southern classic, chicken-fried steak. 

I used to eat chicken-fried steak all the time when I was a kid. My grandmother would make it, and we'd have the same conversation every time. "What is it, Mamaw?" I'd ask, "chicken or steak?" She joke around and tell me it's both. Now the answer is neither. Though her food was always delicious, I like this meatless version best.


Chicken-Fried Portobello Mushroom


1 cup flour
1 teaspoon each: salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and sweet paprika
2 eggs (whisked)
1/8 cup cream
3 portobello mushroom (stemmed, trimmed)
1 cup canola oil
Shallot and Mushroom Gravy*
chopped parsley


Combine the flour with the spices in a mixing bowl large enough to accommodate one mushroom at a time. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs and cream. 


Now trim the mushrooms by removing the stems and the part of the cap that hangs over the gill side; doing this will create a flat surface, which will make it much easier to pan-fry your mushrooms. Reserve the trimmings because you will use them in the gravy. 


Heat the oil to medium high in a 12-inch frying pan. Depending on the size of the mushrooms, this pan should accommodate all three at once. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Now, batter the mushrooms using a three-step process: toss them in the flour mixture, coat them with the egg mixture, then dredge them in the flour mixture. This should help plenty of spiced flour to adhere to the mushroom. Fry mushrooms for about two minutes per side. 


Place mushrooms on a baking sheet and finish cooking them through in the oven. This should take about 15 minutes, which is the perfect amount of time to make your gravy.


To serve, smother mushroom with gravy and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with your favorite side vegetable. We had garden-grown green beans with garlic and tomatoes.

*Shallot and Mushroom Gravy:

1 tablespoon of butter
trimmings from the mushrooms
1/2 cup shallot (minced)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup strong broth (preferably mushroom)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
sea salt 


Melt butter in a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. Add the trimmings and shallots. Once the shallot is translucent, add the flour and cook until nutty and fragrant. Add the broth and milk as you whisk. Slowly bring mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Mixture should be thick like pancake batter after a few minutes. Season with black pepper and sea salt.

Slow Food Memphis Dinner at Bari

Wow...sit-down dinners with multiple courses expertly paired with delicious wines. I mean, who wouldn't love it? However, my diet (and my wallet) keep me from attending too many of these events. Most of them tend to be pretty meaty anyhow. With so much going on in the kitchen, I hate to be a bother and ask the chef for something special.

However, last night we were invited to Bari for a wine dinner to benefit Slow Food Memphis. Knowing that several vegetarians would be attending, Chef Jason Severs planned a vegetarian option for the two seafood dishes on the five-course menu.

While most enjoyed rock shrimp over new potatoes with an olive-laced tomato sauce, I was treated to warm tempeh with the same set-up. What a treat! It's nice to see a chef unafraid of such an unusual ingredient. When the time came for the fish course, I received a well-seasoned tofu steak that had been seared on the grill and served over wilted swiss chard and topped with microgreens from Urban Farms and a sweet white balsamic vinegar reduction. Earthy, smoky, sweet, and spicy...this dish was really awesome.

I'm grateful when a chef like Jason takes the time to think about the meatless among us. It was a great night and an incredible meal. (And we're so planning an orange-honey-and-almond dessert inspired by Jason's creation because that was really something to remember as well.)

Vegetarian Closet of Mystery

In the back of my favorite asian market, Viet Hoa, resides one of the strangest collections in all of the world. I call the last freezer case on the left the Vegetarian Closet of Mystery. It is a freezer packed full of some of meat substitutes the likes of which you probably have never seen. Many items in the VCM look like artist renderings of actual food. To add to the mysteriousness of the experience, nothing is priced, organized, or even labeled. So you must sift through the meatless wonders like you are at some rummage sale or flea market while you decide which one, if any, of these strange things you are going to take home and try. The best thing in the case is the Happy Ham, but they have vegetarian versions of everything from shrimp to steak. I encourage you to try something from The VCM. It is not always good, but it is always interesting...and 100% vegetarian.

Portobello Mushroom Steak Au Poivre WIth Creamed Spinach & Smashed New Potatoes

Welcome to Chubby's Steak House. We don't often get to break out the steak knives, but we needed them tonight. This dinner was inspired by the ginormous portobello mushrooms I found at the Winchester Farmer's Market this weekend. The sauce was inspired by a dish I had in NYC at Kate's Joint. They called it "Fake Steak Au Poivre," which is French for pepper steak, I think. The best part of the Kate's dish was the gravy. It was a spicy, peppery, brown gravy with tons of fresh horseradish served on top of sliced mushrooms and fried tofu. I went tofuless for my version and served my take with some fun smashed potatoes, side salad, and creamed spinach.

For the mushroom marinade:

1/2 cup roasted tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

1 shallot

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. While the processor is still on, drizzle the olive oil in slowly. You want to leave the food processor on until the marinade emulsifies. You will know when this happens. It will thicken and lighten in color. Coat the mushrooms with the marinade you just made, cover, and stick in the fridge for a few hours.

For the gravy:

1/2 cup horseradish (finely grated)

1/2 small onion (cut into half moons)

2 tablespoons plugra butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup vegetable stock

cracked pepper

Over medium heat, melt butter and oil until it stops bubbling. Add the flour, stir constantly, and cook until it turns the color of an old penny. Add the horseradish and onion and cook until translucent. Add pepper. Add stock and allow to thicken. The horseradish will mellow and become sweet as it cooks, much like garlic does.

Now grill those marinated mushrooms on a hot grill until you get some nice grill marks on them. Finish cooking them while covered in a hot oven. Place the mushroom on a plate and spoon about 2 tablespoons of the gravy on top. Get out your steak knives and dig in. Who says vegetarians can't have steak?

Egg-On-Top Black & White Fried Rice and Pesto Pasta with Baby Heirloom Tomatoes, Arugula, & Gorgonzola

When the wife's away, TCV eats his veggies. You see, she is not a fan of the vegetable. I know it sounds strange, but it is true. Since The Wife started back to work this week, TCV has been sneaking his vegetables in at lunch. Today I made a stir fry. I used to try to trick her into eating such things with me, but she is too smart, and she soon caught on to my game. 'Honey, we are, um, having sauteed vegetables, um, over rice with soy sauce.' 'Wait a minute! That sounds suspiciously like the dreaded stir fry.' Now I sneak it when she is off at work or at her mother's house (no doubt eating some secret fried chicken or a clandestine steak.) 

This version is made with jicama, broccoli, green peas, carrots, purple cabbage, celery, garlic, black Thai rice, & jasmine rice. I serve the fried egg on top because I think it looks really cool.

There was a time that I thought that if I ever saw another  plate of pesto pasta, it would be too soon. You see, the minute that someone hears that you're a vegetarian and realizes that they have to feed you at some point, they would bust out the pesto pasta recipe...if you're really lucky, they'll throw in a portobello mushroom cap. I have been a vegetarian for 20+ years; needless to say, I have had my fill of the pesto. Then I spied a vegan version of pesto pasta on Vegan Crunk, and my interest in the dish was suddenly rekindled. I decided that pesto doesn't have to be boring. It needn't be the same. So I left the parmesan out of the classic pesto recipe, and added some parsley. I tossed the pesto with the pasta noodles and topped it with chopped arugula and baby heirloom tomatoes  from the farmer's market. Finally, I finished it with crumbled gorgonzola (Gorgon Zola: King of Cheese). This was the perfect spicy lift after Kelly and I ran 4 miles in the heat of the day. The Wife even joined us for the last mile. 

The Chubby Vegetarian Eats NYC!

Stay Tuned: Lots of editorializing to come.

Zen Palate (v)

663 9th Ave.

Sampler for two:

Taro spring rolls, autumn rolls, sliced tofu, mock duck, tempeh sushi, & yam Fries

The E.T.:

A mix of eggplant, tofu, and lotus nuts in a spicy garlic sauce

Kate's Joint (v)

Maximum Vegetarian

58 Ave. B at 4th

Buffalo unchicken wings:

Spicy tofu wings served with carrots, celery, and a vegan blue cheese

Fake steak au poivre:

Crispy tofu topped with portobello 'shrooms and au poivre sauce (horseradish) with mashed and sweet potatoes

BBQ plate of the day:

Served with mashed potatoes & gravy and yams

Vanilla bean cheesecake:

Vegan with a graham cracker crust and raspberry puree

Candle 79 (v)

154 East 79th Street.

Amuse Bouche:

Mango and onion salsa topped with pistachio cream

Grilled seitan chimichurri:

in a citrus herb marinade

Grilled trumped royale mushrooms & sweet corn:

Sauteed shallots, crispy onion rings, and chipotle aioli

Summer harvest paella:

Valencia rice, summer vegetables, smoked seitan sausage, saffron-red pepper sauce

Sea salad with miso-mirin dressing:

Two types of seaweed and plenty of vegetables

Ice cream & sorbet sampler:

Cherry sorbet, vanilla chocolate chip, caramel pecan

Le Pain Quotidien

922 7th Ave at 58th

Savory Cheese Muffin

Chocolate Croissant

Organic oatmeal:

with fresh seasonal berries

Two soft boiled eggs and sliced baguette

Angelica Kitchen (v)

300 East 12th Street between 1st and 2nd

Curried cashew spread

Raw cashews, chickpeas, curry powder, and miso with crisp crudites

Agrarian Salgado:

Baked rounds of mashed potatoes stuffed with herbed seitan and walnut pesto, and topped with dill sour cream

Tempeh Ruben:

Marinated tempeh, ruby sauerkraut, and Russian dressing

Norimaki:

nine pieces of rolled vegetable sushi

Kanten Parfait:

Granola, peaches, lavender, and maple-tofu whip

Grimaldi's Pizzeria

Coal Brick Oven Pizza!

19 Old Fulton St. (Brooklyn)

Large pizza (18 inches/ 8 slices):

1/2 plain cheese and 1/2 basil and ricotta 

100% awesome

The Original Ray's Pizza

856 8th ave

Slice of cheese (to go)

Le Pain Quotidien

922 7th Ave. at 58th

Gazpacho:

Blended smooth and served with fresh baked bread

Curried tofu salad:

Served on fresh bread with cranberry chutney