Microwave Gnocchi

What's the worst part about making gnocchi? If you thought steaming the potatoes, you are absolutely right. It's a real pain. Well, I figured out a better way, via the microwave. All you do is microwave peeled, cubed potatoes and a tablespoon of water for 8 minutes, wait another 8 minutes, and then they are ready to be mashed and mixed into real Italian potato dumplings. Making homemade gnocchi has never been simpler.

Once you have the dumplings formed and cooked, you can serve them with any sauce that you'd serve over pasta. The only boundary is your creativity and adventuresomeness. I chose to serve my gnocchi this time with a garlicky parsley and walnut pesto.

Microwave Gnocchi:

2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
1 tablespoon water
2 medium eggs (beaten)
1 cup semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe bowl with a lid (or a plate) to cover. Microwave on high for 8 minutes, then allow potatoes to rest, covered, for another 8 minutes in the microwave. Next, mash potatoes with a potato masher and then add the eggs, flour, and salt. Mix with your hands until just mixed. Pat dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a floured surface. Using a pastry cutter or knife, cut dough into roughly 1/2-inch rectangles. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil; cook gnocchi for 2-3 minutes. When they are done, they will float. For extra flavor and texture, sear the drained gnocchi in olive oil before tossing them with the sauce.

Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins

We floated a pleading, urgent question yesterday, and it resulted in a very delicious answer. What are we going to do with all of this zucchini?! We thought we had exhausted every available option having made stuffed, fried, sautéed, pasta-like ribbons, pickled, and pancakes, but Rachel mentioned chocolate-zucchini bread, and then this perfect recipe from Slice of Feist ended up being an instant go-to, one we'll probably refer to again today when making another batch or possibly even chocolate-zucchini cake.

The only thing we subbed in was 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour -- and also, a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top before baking never hurts anything. You can't even taste the zucchini, and that's sort of the bonus after one's had it at every single meal in every way, shape, and form. Amazing.

Caprese Tart

Tomatoes -- we love 'em! Now is the time when they're at their best. This tart can be made with any of your favorite varieties, but just make sure you de-seed the juicier ones so as not to sog the crust.


This type of tart is a common sight in our house. It can be made using any vegetables you have on hand. In fact, I just made a yellow squash and zucchini tart for a dinner party the other night. I've made a gorgonzola and caramelized onion tart and even a goat cheese and wild mushroom tart. So, be creative and see what fun and unusual combinations you can come up with for dinner tonight.


Caprese Tart

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
se salt

1/3 cup olive oil
water (cold)

Place dry ingredients into a food processor and start it up. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and then add enough cold water to bring the mixture together into a ball; you will know it when you see it, I promise. Wrap it in plastic and place it into the fridge for 20 minutes to rest.


Filling:
1/4 cup mascarpone
1 egg
4 cloves of garlic
sea salt and cracked black pepper

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Topping:
6 roma tomatoes (thinly sliced)
4  ounces buffalo mozzarella (the ones about the size of an olive work best here)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 leaves of basil (torn)


Preheat the oven to 415 degrees. On a silpat-lined baking sheet, roll out the crust into a large rectangle about 1/8 of an inch thick. Fold the sides and ends up to form a retaining wall for the filling...it doesn't need to be beautiful, just functional. 


Par-bake the crust until lightly golden for about 10 minutes. First, pour in the filling and then place the tomatoes and cheese on top. Return the tart to the oven for another 20 minutes or so. You want the filling to be set and the tomatoes to begin to brown. Remove tart from the oven and drizzle it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Garnish with torn basil leaves just before serving.

Bing Cherry Ice Cream + Toasted Almond Bark

Graham Sr. kindly gave us his cherry pitter to borrow since we talked up buying one (and finally making a cherry pie) so much. The ease of having a container of already-pitted cherries in the fridge was just too tempting, and of course, we ate them all.

On sale, in-season cherries are hard to pass up, and this ice cream is, too. We even saved some cherries for it.

Cherry Ice Cream

3 cups whole milk
1/3 cup cream
1 teaspoon ground vanilla bean
pinch of Maldon salt

2 cups Bing cherries
juice of one lemon
2 tbsp. can sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk together the first 4 ingredients and put the bowl in the fridge to chill. Pit the cherries (a recent should-have-been-obvious discovery: a cherry pitter is so much easier than using a knife) and using a muddler, mash them with the sugar, lemon, and vanilla. Set aside. Pour the milk mixture into an ice cream machine that's already running and then pour in the cherry mixture. After it's semi-frozen, put the ice cream in the freeze for at least an hour to set.

Toasted Almond Chocolate Bark

1 cup sliced almonds
2 ounces 70% bittersweet chocolate
pinch of Maldon salt

Toast sliced almonds in a skillet on medium heat or in a 350-degree oven. Once they're fragrant, after about 3-5 minutes, spread them into a pie plate and add sea salt and the chopped chocolate. Stir until melted and coated, then stick the plate in the fridge. Use this to top the ice cream.

Concord Farms

Steve, my father-in-law, has some new land in North Mississippi on which he has decided to plant an abundance of summer crops. On the map, his place is called Concord Farms, and it is just about the quietest spot we've ever been. Hawks silently circle, and the barely perceptible wind is the lone background noise. The garden rows are meticulously kept; weeds find no mercy there, and many deer look longingly through the fence at all that's growing.

We went out for a visit a couple of weeks ago when everything was just about to happen. And since then, there's already been a lot to harvest: cardboard boxes and blue buckets full of potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and peas. We are so proud of all he has done to grow amazing food, and we're really looking forward to the okra, eggplant, and tomatoes he is sure to share in the coming weeks.

The first thing we made with some of the bounty was a trio of pizzas for a dinner party: squash blossom and ricotta, truffled potato and goat cheese, and caramelized onion and smoked tomato, with ingredients that I pulled from the ground that morning. Cooking this way is an experience that makes a concrete connection between the idea of food and the reality of the hard work it takes to tame the land and convince it to produce crops.

I saw Steve yesterday as he dropped by a mess of purple hull peas. We all stood around the kitchen counter shelling them, and he promised me a key to the garden so I could go out and pick anytime. Now I find myself daydreaming of quiet moments at Concord Farms with a hat on my head as a shield from the sun and my hands in the dirt.

Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

A can of fire-roasted tomatoes adds a ton of flavor to all sorts of dishes. Here's an easy way to get the same effect without having to plug in your can opener.

All you do is throw whole tomatoes on a hot grill in order to char the tomato skins. Leave the top of the grill open during the cooking process to allow the heat to escape, and be sure to turn the tomatoes to get some color on all sides. Once the tomatoes are nice and charred, remove them from the grill and allow them to cool completely. Leaving the skins on while they cool will infuse more of that great smoky flavor.

Once cooled, peel the skins off and use the flesh in soups, sauces, or on sandwiches. Today, we'll make chili with these along with some jalapeno corn muffins. Hot weather and spicy food is an ideal combo!

Summer Salad

Summer is all about simplicity, and the combination of ingredients in a very Southern summer salad leaves little room for improvement. My trip to the farmers' market at the Memphis Botanic Gardens this past Wednesday was proof of this perfection. I left with 5 kinds of tomatoes, peaches, eggplant, blackberries, and mini cucumbers. An idea was brewing, and once the bounty was set out on the counter, I knew something for sure: I wanted summer salad for dinner.

My grandma used to make this concoction out of tomatoes, cucumber, onions, vinegar, sugar, salt, and water. She kept it in a seafoam green Tupperware container in the fridge, and I always got in a ton of trouble since it became obvious that I was the one secretly picking out all of the tomatoes. Biee would ask where all of the tomatoes went, and I would shrug. (But I knew she knew.)

What I came up with for my own summer salad is less of a recipe and more of a concept. Take small tomatoes that have been left whole or sliced in half, sliced cucumbers, and sliced onions or shallots. Place them into a bowl. Cover halfway with white vinegar. Finish it off by covering the remainder of it with water and adding a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon (or two) of sugar.

Think of summer salad like a quick pickle. Leave it overnight or store about a week. Strain the salad and serve it over arugula with a drizzle of olive oil. Summer perfection on a plate.

Orange Sherbet Popsicles

These simple popsicles taste a whole lot like the orange Push-Up Pops I remember from years past, but they only have 5 ingredients, and you can make them anytime at home this summer. The only drawback is the absence of the unmistakable primary-colored polka-dot wrapper.

Orange Sherbet Popsicles

1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed juice (about 12 clementines or 5 oranges)
1/4 cup cream OR 1/4 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp. cane sugar
2 tbsp. agave nectar
pinch of sea salt

Whisk all ingredients together well and pour mixture into popsicle molds (like these we use or possibly even these -- authentic push-up-like results if all goes well when you veer from the stacked cupcake application!). This recipe should make 5 pops, but it can easily be doubled. Plan to freeze them for at least a few hours and then briefly run warm water over the outside of the molds for easy removal of pops.

*By the way, we used this same recipe in making melon pops recently, and the only extra step is to blend the melon and strain it before adding the other ingredients. Also, check out this recent article about popsicles and then scroll down to see our recipes for basic creamy pops, simple icy pops, and super-spicy English cucumber-lemonade-ancho pops at the end of it.

Memphis-Style Dry-Rub BBQ Tofu

Memphis BBQ (including BBQ tofu) is unique for a myriad of reasons; chief among them is the dry rub we apply before the stuff makes its way to the grill. The concept seems strange, but think of it as just a dry marinade. The dry rub punches up the flavor, and for us vegetarians, keeps the tofu from sticking to the grill grates.

Making a dry rub is easy -- and there's no real rhyme or reason to it. I've been told stories of people emptying the contents of their spice cabinet into a large jar to create their "signature" rub. It sounds crazy, but I guess that works as well as any other method. My own spicy dry rub usually contains a few key ingredients in equal measure: chipotle powder, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, cumin, and also some warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, brown sugar, and oregano. You should try your own mix and see what happens. I promise you that if you try it once, you will never BBQ without a dry rub again. Next thing you know, I reckon you'll be speaking in a mighty fine Southern accent, y'all!

Anyway, this is an easy recipe to make for a crowd. Just plan for one block of tofu to feed two people; you can adjust the recipe accordingly. This is wonderful and easy to eat served as a sandwich, but you can also thread 4-5 slices of tofu onto a few bamboo skewers and create fun-to-eat "ribs" that everyone will love.

BBQ Tofu:

2 blocks extra-firm tofu (drained and dried)

4 tablespoons dry rub

1-2 cups BBQ sauce*

6-8 slices smoked gouda

6-8 whole wheat buns

olive oil

sea salt and cracked black pepper

(+ foil for grilling method)

Tofu can be tricky to grill because it sticks to the grill. A well-oiled grill plus the dry rub will help keep the tofu intact. Cut each block into 8 equal pieces and lay them flat on a sheet pan. Generously sprinkle the dry rub, salt, and pepper over the tofu slices. Turn slices over and repeat. Turn your gas grill on high; allow it to preheat for 10-15 minutes. (This is imperative. If the grill is not hot, your tofu will stick.) Using a folded paper towel and tongs, oil the grill grates just before placing the tofu on the grill. Place the tofu on the grill and leave it alone for 4 minutes. Turn the tofu using your tongs, and allow it to cook another 4 minutes. Remove tofu from the direct heat and onto the upper rack of your grill, which you have lined with foil. Reduce the heat to medium. Using a basting brush, brush both sides of tofu with BBQ sauce. Add sauce every 10 minutes of so until you are ready to serve.

Assemble the sandwiches by placing two (or three) tofu squares on a bun along with a slice of smoked gouda cheese. Top that with some purple cabbage slaw.

Smoky BBQ Sauce:

1/2 stick butter

1 large sweet onion (coarsely chopped)

6 cloves garlic (smashed)

1 large dried anaheim pepper (stem & seeds removed)

4 chipotle peppers

1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

2 ounces of mustard

2 ounces Jack Daniels whiskey

a few dashes of vegetarian worcestershire sauce

a few dashes of vinegar

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 tablespoon smoky paprika

12 ounces of water

Melt butter in a pot and add the onion. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add the garlic and the peppers and cook for a few minutes to marry the flavors. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend until mixture is smooth and return the pot to the stovetop. Simmer uncovered for an hour or until the mixture has reduced by 1/4. This will keep for a week in your fridge -- or just freeze it. Make this recipe your own by adding ripe peaches or espresso powder or chocolate to deepen the flavor -- I really never make mine the same way twice.

Purple Cabbage Slaw:

1 head of red cabbage (finely shredded)

2 carrots (finely shredded)

3 scallions (chopped)

1/2 lemon (juiced)

1/4 cup vegan mayo

1 tablespoon of olive oil

squeeze of honey

sea salt and cracked black pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. If you like it a little sour, add more lemon. If you like it sweet, add more honey.

Caprese Salad in a Jar

Click HERE to order our new cookbook, The Chubby Vegetarian: 100 Inspired Vegetable Recipes for the Modern Table (Susan Schadt Press, November 2016)

Check out our cookbook, The Southern Vegetarian: 100 Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Table (Thomas Nelson, 2013), on Amazon or at your local bookstore.





I brought home the ingredients for caprese salad; of course, we just couldn't leave well enough alone. This salad-in-jars recipe is basic, but the results are pretty and fun; may the ridiculous appeal of serving all sorts of food in jars live on this summer for many salads to come.

Caprese Salad in a Jar

2 cups of arugula
1/2 cup green basil (leaves only)
1/2 cup purple basil (leaves only)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
mini bocconcini

For the dressing:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
a drop of honey
Maldon salt
cracked black pepper

One ingredient at a time, layer first the arugula then the 2 basils, tomatoes, and bocconcini in 4 jars. Set open jars in the fridge to chill. Next, whisk all ingredients of the dressing together. When you're ready to serve the salads, take the jars out of the fridge, drizzle the dressing on top of the salads, close the lids, and tell whoever's eating with you to shake it up to mix everything together and then enjoy it straight from the jar immediately!

For more crazy caprese ideas, check out our caprese tart.

Vegetarian Carbonara with Smoked Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This is not just another pasta. This vegetarian-ized version of the classic Italian dish is truly no compromise. The smoked sun-dried tomatoes -- I found some recently at The Fresh Market for about $4 a pouch -- add an amazing savory quality to this rich dish. It's great because most of the ingredients used to make it are usually in your fridge and pantry already.


If done right, the eggs in this dish should be creamy and coat the warm pasta. Worst case scenario, you'll have scrambled eggs and pasta, which is still pretty delicious. Fear not! Just follow these easy instructions, and you're very likely to get it right.




Vegetarian Carbonara with Smoked Sun-Dried Tomatoes

3 eggs
1/4 cup cream or whole milk (in a small glass)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup shallots (minced)
2 smoked sun-dried tomatoes (minced)
1/2 cup white wine
2 roma tomatoes (peeled, diced)
sea salt and cracked black pepper
a pinch of cane sugar
a dash of champagne vinegar
2 servings of dry spaghetti
pecorino romano cheese 


Place eggs and glass of milk in a bowl of hot water; this will raise the temperature of both and is key to getting the creamy consistency associated with carbonara. Place a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta. 


In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, sauté shallots and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil until shallots start to just brown. Add the wine and reduce until most of the moisture has evaporated. Add the romas, salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegar to the pan and stir. 


In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and cream together. Set mixture aside for just a few minutes; it's about to be added to the pasta.


Cook pasta according to package instructions. Place cooked pasta directly into the pan with the tomato mixture, and immediately add the egg mixture. Turn the heat off of the pan but keep it on the stove. Mix for about 4 minutes until sauce sticks to the noodles and is thick and creamy. Garnish with grated pecorino romano. Serve immediately.

The Chubby Vegetarian Collaborative Brunch at Restaurant Iris

Carpaccio, piquillo, soubise, umami, chimichurri, tzaziki, tortilla de papa, banh mi, sririacha, tandoori, migas, flamenkütchen -- honestly, I had no idea that my menu would be so difficult to read. Save for the flamenkütchen, this is all stuff I make on a regular basis. Needles to say, I learned a lot about myself and the way I cook by putting together this brunch menu. I learned that, though I think of myself as a Southerner, I do have a world view of food. I love grits as much as the next guy, but I also love upma, panelle, poutine, dosas, injera, and kimchi. The Iris brunch menu that Kelly and I came up with was a true refection of my cooking style, and, oddly enough, a total surprise to me.

I learned something else through this experience of planning and executing a menu for 100 people, something that everyone pretty much grasps on a certain level: the restaurant business is difficult. It's made up of long hours and tons of repetitive labor. You cannot, however, lose sight of the artful dish that you hope will end up on the plate. Kelly English, chef and owner of Restaurant Iris, gave me a speech in the Iris kitchen on Sunday morning that went a little something like this:

"There will come a time when the panic will set in, and you will feel as if there is no way we can get all this stuff done. Just remember, if we work hard, we will get it done. You'll look at the clock and the panic will get worse. At about 9 a.m., the culinary professionals will arrive. When they do, everything will fall into place. Now get over there and make biscuits for 100 people."

I worked hard. I made the biscuits, pimento cheese, pickled carrots, pickled peppers, peeled the lotus, smoked the sun-dried tomatoes, made the spice rub for the shiitake bacon, and roasted peppers for the vegan migas. I thought I was on fire until I looked at Kelly's prep list. That guy is fast and accurate in the kitchen. I was in awe.

It came time for service, and we were ready -- just like I was promised. Once the first customers rolled in, my palms began to sweat. We had 97 people on the books. It had been sold out for over a month, so I felt like there was a lot to live up to that day. Luckily, we had my good friend Michael Hughes behind the bar mixing up some signature cocktails: The Hive, The Peach Julep, and Basil & Bubbles. He was able put everyone in a relaxed mood. I'm always so thankful for Michael.

The first round of orders began to make their way out of the kitchen, and they looked beautiful. I (seriously!) almost cried. It was emotional for me to see my food served in such a fine restaurant prepared by an incredible chef and his crew. The hand pies, squash blossoms, beet salad, and the stuffed peppers all looked so amazing to me.

Service was a blur of smiles and food and laughter. I loved visiting the tables and talking with people about the food they just ate or were about to eat. The kitchen continued to turn out dish after dish of wonderful food. Everyone in the dining room really seemed to have a good time. I'm a sucker for compliments, and there were a few thrown around.

Two weeks later, I'm still very grateful for the incredible opportunity.

If you ever wondered what it takes to be a Food & Wine magazine best new chef like Kelly English, I can tell you. iIn addition to a wealth of talent, it takes waking up early and staying up late. It takes dedication. It takes joy in hard work as well the willingness to work extra-hard to realize one's dreams. This is true inside and outside of the kitchen.

Vegan Crunk Guest Post: Curried Red Lentil Stew

You have to meet my friend Bianca Phillips. She runs an all-things-vegan blog brimming with personality called Vegan Crunk, and she is the author of a cookbook aptly titled Cookin' Crunk: Eatin' Vegan in the Dirty South, which is due out at the beginning of next year. The book, like the blog, will take traditionally meat-heavy Southern American recipes and veganize them. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Knowing how much I love vegetables, Bianca created this red lentil recipe just for The Chubby Vegetarian. It's delicious. For dinner the other night, I made her red lentil stew and some upma, Indian spiced cream of wheat, by taking instant cream of wheat and adding a pinch of coriander and a few cardamom pods. I served the stew over the upma with cilantro and lemon slices.

Here's Bianca...

Can you believe I'd never tried red lentils until last year? I've always had a fondness for brown lentils, served Indian-style with lots of curry powder and cumin. But I guess I'd just assumed red lentils would be the same, so why try them? How wrong I was! I first had them in a red lentil stew by vegan cookbook author Sarah Kramer, and the recipe was uber-delicious. I love how red lentils break down and get all mushy, instantly making your soup into a stew. I also love how quickly they cook. You can throw those suckers in a pot of boiling water and have dinner on the table in 30 minutes -- try that with some other bean. Yep, only lentils cook so quickly.

This recipe also feature two of my favorite veggies: spinach and mushrooms. I throw them in just about any stew, and this one is no exception. Even though it's way too hot for stew by some people's standards, don't hesitate to make this anyway. Just sit in front of the AC while you're eating it.

Curried Red Lentil Stew with Mushrooms and Spinach
--------------------------
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 small onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
10 ounces button mushrooms (sliced)
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cumin
3 cups vegetable broth (I used 3 cups water and 1 tablespoon red miso)
1 1/2 cups dry red lentils
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out (I used fresh spinach that I blanched)
1 tomato, chopped

(I added a teaspoon of vinegar. -TCV)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute for 5 to 7 more minutes or until mushrooms begin to cook down and release their juices. Stir in the curry powder, salt, and cumin, and sauté for one more minute.

Add the vegetable broth, lentils, and spinach. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in the tomato and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Melonade

This is whimsical and silly and it takes a little time to make, but what could be better on a really hot day than a glass of melonade? My respect for anyone who can scoop out perfect spheres of melon has grown this week after I purchased a melon baller for the first time and thought it would make for quick and flawless work right there on the spot. It turns out that melonade tastes like nothing I've had before and is quite refreshing, so the work really is worth it.

Melonade:

1 cantaloupe

1 honeydew

1 small watermelon

1/3 cup light agave

juice from one lime

juice from 4 lemons

1 cup of water

1 pinch of salt

Wash the melons and cut them in half. First, remove any seeds. Next, use a melon baller to scoop out nice round spheres of melon; the flesh from the top of the half will be the firmest and easiest to scoop, but you sort of have to dig into it and then twist. Place the melon balls in the freezer.

Cut the rest of the flesh from the melons so that you have about a cup of each. Place this pulp in the food processor and blend until smooth. Use a mesh strainer to strain the melon juice into a bowl; use a silicone spatula to press out all of the juice. To the strained melon, add the juice from the lime and lemons and the agave. Whisk this together and then add salt and water before whisking again. Place semi-frozen melon balls in pitcher and add juice and ice. Stir and serve over ice.

Vegetarian Poutine (Baked Fries + Truffled Gravy + Curds)

Poutine is the Loch Ness Monster of dishes around our house: we have heard of it, we knew about it, but we had never witnessed it for ourselves. Our friend Katelyn from Canada would wow us with stories about this mythical dish. We'd plan to make it (I'll bring the gravy, and you bring the fries!) but it just never happened...until this week.

My wife said the magic word, poutine, three times, and the dish magically appeared on our table this weekend. What is poutine, you ask? It's three simple ingredients thrust together to make something that is far greater than the sum of its parts: french fries, gravy of some sort, and cheese curds. That doesn't sound like something I would make! Well, it isn't, but we all have to be a little bad sometimes. Besides, I made this as healthy as possible: the fries are baked with only two tablespoons of oil, and the gravy has only one tablespoon of butter. Now that I have witnessed it firsthand, I can tell you without a doubt that we will be making this one again.

Vegetarian Poutine: Crispy Baked Fries, Truffled Gravy, 1/2 cup Cheese Curds

Crispy Baked Fries

2 medium baking potatoes

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons canola oil

(The cornstarch in this recipe makes for a crispy crust even though these fries are baked and not -- gasp! -- deep fried.)

First, cut potatoes into 1/8 inch sticks; be sure keep the skin on them, though. Toss potatoes with the salt, pepper, cornstarch, and flour. Next, toss them in the oil. Immediately arrange them in a single layer on a baking pan fitted with a cooling rack; this technique allows airflow all around the potato, which yields a crispier french fry. Place into a 515 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until brown. Remove and serve immediately.

Truffled Gravy

1 tablespoon truffle butter

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons shiitake mushroom paté

2 dashes of hot sauce

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the four. Whisk until mixture turns a pale brown. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, raise the heat, and stir until thick. Set aside.

To assemble: throw a handful of hot fries down onto a plate, top with a generous helping of gravy, and then pile on the cheese curds. It's good...really good.

Vegetarian Bánh Mí Sandwich

I'll admit it...the description of this sandwich sounds horrible: pickled carrots and radish, paté, cilantro, sriracha mayo. It kinda seems like the cook got confused somewhere along the way, but really, the original bánh mí is one of the world's oldest fusion cuisines. The sandwich in question came about after the French colonized Vietnam in the late 1800's. Along with a healthy dose of oppression, the French brought along baguette and paté, so the Vietnamese took that and added the pickles, hot sauce, and other traditional condiments. The result is the exact opposite of horrible; in fact, it is one of my favorite foods on the planet. It's rich, crunchy, sweet, sour, hot, and salty -- it has it all!

Pickled Carrots and Daikon (Do Chua):

1 medium daikon radish

2 medium carrots

2 cups rice wine vinegar

1 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 cup salt

Shred both the radish and carrot with a julienne peeler and place into a container. Add remaining ingredients, stir to dissolve salt and sugar, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using. They are best if they are left for 24 hours and will keep up to a month.

Mushroom Paté:

10 ounces mushrooms (shiitake or cremini)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 shallot (sliced)

1 tablespoon Braggs or soy sauce

black pepper

In a pan over medium-high heat, allow the oil to come up to temperature. Once the oil starts to shimmer, sauté slices of mushrooms until they begin to brown. Next, add the shallot and the Braggs. Allow this to cook for a few seconds more while constantly moving the mixture around in the pan. Place the contents of the pan into a food processor, add plenty of black pepper, and blend until almost smooth.

Sriracha mayo: Mix 3 parts mayo (or vegan mayo) with one part sriacha. (You may use less sriacha if you are a total sissy.)

Vegetarian Bánh Mí Sandwiches:

6 eggs (or 1 block of tofu or tempeh)

1 long crispy baguette (or 6 small baguette buns)

mushroom paté

sriracha mayo

1 seedless cucumber (thinly sliced)

pickled carrots and daikon

3 green onions (sliced)

handful of cilantro leaves

lime

salt & pepper

Fry eggs over hard in a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, cover, and set aside. If you are using tofu or tempeh, pan-fry thin slices in a bit of olive oil. Warm bread in a 350 degree oven until the outside becomes crispy. Slice baguette along one side but leave the other side intact, like a hinge. Spread the top with sriracha mayo and the bottom with mushroom paté. Begin to layer in your ingredients starting with your protein, cucumbers, pickled carrots and daikon, onions, and cilantro. Right before taking a bite, squeeze a lime onto the sandwich filling.

Pine Nut-Stuffed Medjool Dates

Of course I am always looking for things to do with pine nuts. These stuffed dates look like oblong little birds' nests and hit all the right sweet, crunchy, spicy, creamy, and herbal notes. I only buy a few of these dates at a time so that we can savor them and do something special like this with them.

Pine Nut-Stuffed Dates

5 Medjool dates

1/8 cup pine nuts

olive oil

Maldon salt

cracked black pepper

cayenne

thyme

manchego cheese

Cut dates in half lengthwise and open them up so they're flatter. Toast pine nuts in an olive-oil coated pan on medium heat; stir often so that they brown but don't burn. Add salt and pepper to them and stuff them in the dates. Add a silver of manchego and a couple of small thyme leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a tiny bit of cayenne. You may warm them in a 325 degree oven for minutes or two in order to melt the cheese or have them as is.

Ginger + Chocolate Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches

This is a super-fast dessert that is perfect for a hot summer day because you can eat this tiny ice cream sandwich before it melts all over your hands. The ginger adds a some heat, which makes these sandwiches just a bit grown-up -- but not too much.

Ginger-Chocolate Filling

1/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons chocolate sauce (Ah!laska is good.)

1 tablespoon cane sugar

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Back to Nature Madagascar vanilla wafers

Whip cream until slightly stiff and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix to incorporate. Apply about 1 tablespoon of filling to the flat side of a vanilla wafer and then top with another wafer. Repeat until you run out of filling. Stick then in the freezer to harden for about an hour before serving. Makes about a dozen mini ice cream sandwiches.

Grilled Corn + Chimichurri

It is one of my favorite times of the year: the moment when fresh corn starts to come into season. When it does, I like nothing better than to peel back the silks and throw a few ears onto the grill. I did just that for lunch today, albeit with a little twist. I brushed the corn with a simple chimichurri right as it was just about ready to be taken off the fire. This mildly spicy, herbal dressing seemed to be the perfect complement to the sweet, roasted flavor of the yellow corn.

Chimichurri

2 cups flat-leaf parsley (loosely packed)

1 tsp. sherry vinegar

zest of one lime

1 clove of garlic

1 jalapeno (seeds removed)

pinch of sea salt

cracked black pepper

pinch of cane sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

Whir up everything from parsley to sugar in the food processor. Keep it running and add olive oil so it emulsifies.

Peel corn and throw it on a hot fire for just a few minutes per side or until some of the kernels start to caramelize. Brush dressing over grilled ears of corn before removing them from the grill. As an extra treat, grate a little manchego cheese over each warm ear of corn.

Here are a few more suggestions to help with your Memorial Day grilling plans:

Sweet Potato + Black Bean Torta

Smoky Grilled Quesadillas

Almond + Eggplant Baba-ghanoush

Grilled Pizza

Mexican Grilled Corn

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

Jackalope Jr.

Baked Lemongrass Tofu + Coconut Jasmine Rice

This dish gets its fragrant kick from a mixture of fresh herbs that you may have in your garden this time of year. The lemongrass, which can be found at your neighborhood health food store or Asian market, adds a floral note while the garlic and soy sauce add depth. This particular mixture would make even your shoe taste delicious. Luckily, we have a better plan for it than that.

Don't be deterred by the length of this recipe; it's really quite simple when you break it down. Make the spice mixture, toss it with the tofu, bake, sauté onions, add coconut milk, and it's done. It's healthier than the deep-fried stuff you get when you go out -- and you also know exactly what's in this.

Baked Lemongrass Tofu + Coconut Jasmine Rice

1 can of light coconut milk

water

1 cup jasmine rice

2 fat stalks of lemongrass

1 1/2 inch piece of ginger

3 cloves of garlic

tsp. of sugar

1/4 cup mint

1/4 cup basil

zest from 1 lime

1 tablespoon sambal (or sriracha)

1/4 cup of canola oil

2 blocks firm tofu (cut into bite-sized cubed, patted dry)

1 onion (sliced into 1/2 moons)

Braggs (or soy sauce)

1 head of butter lettuce (torn)

1 large tomato (sliced)

1 cucumber (thinly sliced)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. On the stovetop, bring one cup of the coconut milk and one cup of water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the jasmine rice and cover. Reduce heat to low to allow the rice to simmer. It will take about 20 minutes for the rice to cook through and absorb all of the liquid.

Now comes the fun part: smack the stalks of lemongrass on the countertop to soften them and then split them open. Pull out the pliable inside part and place it in a food processor. The rest of the stalk goes into the compost pile. Add the ginger, garlic, sugar, mint, basil, zest, and, sambal to the food processor and crank it up. You want these ingredients very finely chopped.

In a large bowl, toss the lemongrass mixture together with the canola oil and tofu and throw in a pinch of salt. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tofu to a silpat-lined baking sheet and arrange the cubes into a single layer. Reserve the lemongrass/oil mixture that's at the bottom on the bowl. Bake tofu 20-30 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Don't let the garlic burn! Keep a close eye on it.

While that is cooking in the oven, sauté the onion in a large frying pan over medium using the reserved lemongrass/oil mixture. Once the onion is soft and translucent, remove pan from the heat. Add a tablespoon of Braggs or soy sauce to the onions. Once the tofu is done, remove it from the oven and toss it into the pan with the onions along with the remaining coconut milk. Mix and heat through. Serve over butter lettuce with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes and coconut rice.

Marinated Roasted Red Pepper Pasta + Seared Artichoke Hearts

These marinated roasted red peppers are not only good as the star of a cheese plate, they can also be a wonderful addition to any sandwich and pretty killer atop polenta, but I like them best blended and tossed with warm pasta for a comforting and simple weeknight meal.

This slightly sweet, smoky red pepper sauce is a nice change of pace from the usual what-are-we-gonna-have-for-dinner spaghetti with tomato sauce. The pan-seared artichoke hearts with their meaty texture sends this one out of the park.

Marinated Roasted Red Pepper Pasta + Seared Artichoke Hearts

2 tablespoons olive oil

medium onion (diced)

1/4 cup white wine

3 roma tomatoes (peeled, chopped)

marinated roasted red peppers

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 servings fettuccine pasta

8-10 seared artichoke hearts

parmesan cheese, parsley (garnish)

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté onion until translucent; this should take about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with wine and allow most of the liquid to evaporate. Add the tomatoes, the marinated roasted red peppers (but not the marinating liquid), the red pepper flakes, and the tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Toss cooked pasta in the sauce until it's coated. Top with seared artichoke hearts, parsley, and parmesan cheese.

Nannie's Pound Cake

We rarely made this when I was growing up because Nannie always made it for us. Lately, she makes pronouncements about the very one everyone's busy eating. "This is my last pound cake," she says. Sometimes the reason is because the cake is heavy and she has to have help getting it into the oven. Sometimes it's because the price of cream cheese has gotten too high. I suspect that she loves it when we protest and beg her to keep making it for us, so there hasn't been a last one yet.

Maybe she floats that idea just to make us so happy when we have the next amazing piece. For me, this will happen in early June at my next visit. Looking forward to this time is what's getting me through the craziness that sums up May every year.

When I visit, I know it is going to be on top of the fridge in a tall cake carrier, and I know I will have progressively bigger slivers of it along with my mom and my sister as the trip unspools. I know Nannie will wrap up a couple of pieces for my dad, who will be sure to say, 'Oh, my goodness!' when I bring it to him. And even though I eventually hounded Nannie out of all her secret pound cake tips, such as setting every ingredient out for an hour so that they're all room temperature and putting the cake into a cold oven then heating it, not to mention the direct order not to halve the recipe (which, oops, I do anyway, and I do tweak the recipe just a little but not overly much), I always know my own attempt will never measure up to the pound cake she makes.

People, she sells this cake to everyone in town, and she ups the prices because she's mildly annoyed that the orders keep coming in and she sort of tired of everyone talking about it, and people in Columbia, Mississippi still fall all over themselves to buy it. It is the first thing gone from the table at the church suppers I've attended with her. I love dessert, and in all honesty, this stands as the best dessert I have ever had.

Make one. You'll see. Once I texted my family that I had it in the oven, they flipped. The desire to eat five pieces in a row was mentioned. This is a serious cake.

Nannie's Pound Cake

1 stick of butter

4 ounces neufchatel cheese

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups cane sugar

1 1/2 cups AP flour (sifted)

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

1 teaspoon coconut extract

First, measure and set out all ingredients on the counter. Wait an hour. Now you can begin! Beat butter, neufchatel cheese, and shortening well. Add eggs and beat well. Add sugar and flour. Add vanilla and coconut. Pour into buttered loaf pan or small bundt pan. Put the cake in the oven and then heat it to 325 degrees. Bake cake for 1 1/2 hours or until golden brown.

Lemon Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tbsp. butter

3-5 teaspoons of milk

1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla paste

Whisk all the ingredients together; just add the 3 tsp. milk and then increase the amount if needed so that you get a thick-enough-to-pour consistency in the end. Pour this glaze over warm cake -- set the cake on a rack so it doesn't get soggy -- and let it set an hour or two before serving.

*You can also check out another classic: Nannie's Blueberry Pie.

Vegan Migas Tacos + Poblano & Tomatillo Salsa

A recent Mother's Day brunch at Brother Juniper's reminded me of how good scrambled tofu could be. They have a few versions of this vegan classic that are all served with chopped mushrooms, peppers, and onions. The deliciousness of my breakfast made the wait totally worthwhile.

At home, I decided to make my favorite egg dish, migas tacos, vegan. I did this by subbing a simple scrambled tofu for the scrambled eggs. If you're not familiar with migas, it typically made with eggs scrambled with tortilla chips. It's not an easy dish to find around Memphis, but The Happy Mexican serves a proper version of it on their lunch menu. You should try it some time.

I pulled out all the stops for my version of migas tacos using fire-roasted poblanos, tomatillos, tomatoes, green onions, and, of course, corn tortilla chips. There is so much good stuff going on in this dish...it's so spicy, crunchy, and rich, you just have to love it.

Vegan Migas

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Poblano and Tomatillo Salsa*

Scrambled Tofu**

2 cups corn chips

flour tortillas, avocado, hot sauce, and cilantro

In a large frying pan over medium heat, heat olive oil to temperature. Mix the scrambled tofu mixture with the vegetables from the salsa, but leave out the liquid part of the salsa. Scramble tofu and salsa mixture for a few minutes until warmed through. Add the chips and stir to incorporate. Serve immediately on flour tortillas with sliced avocado, hot sauce, and cilantro. This also goes really nicely with a side of rice and black beans.

Poblano and Tomatillo Salsa*:

1 poblano pepper (fire-roasted, peeled, seeded)

2 roma tomatoes (peeled)

2 small tomatillos (peeled)

2 green onions (sliced)

1 jalapeno (seeds removed, minced)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon white vinegar

Dice the peppers, tomatoes, and tomatillos. Add in the sliced onion, minced jalapeno, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Taste it and adjust seasoning if needed.

Scrambled Tofu**:

1 block extra-firm tofu (crumbled)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon black salt

2 tablespoons vegan mayo

pinch of sugar (to balance the bitterness of the turmeric)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Blackberry-Lemon Frozen Cheesecake Pops

Love blackberries; hate those pesky seeds. I can deal with them if I must, but I would rather just have the flavor of blackberries without the hard-to-chew roughage. Pickiness comes in to play with cheesecake, too. I like vegan cheesecake, and I like it very plain. But with these pops, all of my silly preferences flew out the window. The marbled effect makes them look more painstaking than they actually are, and it takes no time at all to cook a bunch of the blackberry syrup in order to have extra on hand for adding to lemonade.

Blackberry-Lemon Frozen Cheesecake Pops

Blackberry Syrup

1 pint blackberries

juice of one lemon

1/3 cup cane sugar

Simmer berries along with lemon juice and sugar. Stir often to break them down. When they are broken and syrupy, let them cool. Run it all through a food mill or a fine mesh strainer to catch the seeds. Set aside.

Lemon-Cheesecake Base

1 4-ounce container of Greek yogurt

1 tbsp. neufchatel cheese

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp. whipping cream

1/4 cup honey

zest from one lemon

1/4 cup cane sugar

pinch of sea salt

small bamboo skewers (optional)

Whisk all ingredients together well. As soon as that's completed, tilt the bowl and spoon in a couple of spoonfuls of blackberry syrup; pour it into the molds while helping it to marble by swirling your spoon around a little bit. (Mine set up in a $1 silicone mold found here. They're honestly better for this kind of thing rather than for ice.) Freeze for 1-2 hours. You can eat the cheesecake bites like bon-bons or pierce them with bamboo skewers for pops.