A Vegetarian Super Bowl

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Here at the Chubby Vegetarian, we wholeheartedly endorse Super Bowl Sunday, if only for the wonderful food that will be had by all. Aren't you dreaming of it already? We definitely have a few ideas for the event this weekend, and most involve comfort food on platters and in bowls, lots of heat and spice, and watching our football-loving friends and family lose their ever-loving minds over the game. Here are a few of our favorites that might work well as a part of your own celebration. Go, whoever!

A Vegetarian Super Bowl:

Southern-Style Cheese Dip

Vegan Peanut Chili with Charred Corn and Avocado Salsa

Better Jalapeño Poppers

BBQ Tofu Nachos

Green Pea Hummus

Smoked Dates with Goat Cheese & Pecans

Vegetarian Poutine

Zucchini Fries

Pizza Fritta

Vegetarian Fish Sauce

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Fish sauce is one of those ingredients that everyone seems to be using now. You see it in everything from cuisine to cocktails. The world has gone fish sauce crazy! So, what is fish sauce? It's made of tiny fish that are heavily salted and fermented in huge barrels for a year or more. The result is a salty, bacon-y, parmesan cheese-esque sauce that adds a ton of umami flavor to anything it touches.

This fish-less fish sauce is perfect anywhere you'd normally use the fishy stuff and from all accounts it tastes pretty close. I first saw a version of it on a Chow message board. I've made some changes to that recipe over the year or so that I've been making my own vegetarian fish sauce. I like to keep some around to use in stir fry, Thai curries, kimchi, and salad dressings. It makes a great addition to stocks and soups that need a little umami bump.

Vegetarian Fish Sauce

1 quart water
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1.76-ounce package Emerald Cove kombu (rinsed briefly under cold water)
1 1/4 cups dried shiitake
1/2 cup soy sauce (like Bragg's)
1 tablespoon cane sugar (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime

In a medium pot over hight heat, bring the water, garlic, red pepper flakes, kombu, shiitake, soy sauce, sugar, salt, peppercorns, ginger, vinegar, lemon juice, and lime juice up to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Allow mixture to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, strain, and return liquid to the pot. Reduce mixture to 1 pint. Allow mixture to cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.

Vegan Breakfast Sausage

Click HERE to order our new cookbook, The Chubby Vegetarian: 100 Inspired Vegetable Recipes for the Modern Table (Susan Schadt Press, November 2016). The recipe below is featured in the book!

This is a vegan version of our Vegetarian Breakfast Sausage. Many TCV readers love it and depend on it, and while we sure are blushing and aw-shucks-ing about that recipe's popularity, we're still never satisfied. Simplifying and veganizing our original recipe also improved the texture and flavor. Who knew that could be done? 

These are great served alongside some eggs or scrambler or use them to make a stellar vegetarian sausage and biscuit using our 3-2-1 Drop Biscuits. You could also get creative and crumble the cooked sausage into the filling for stuffed bell peppers or crumble a little on a pizza with peppers and onions. Basically, you can use it anywhere you'd usually find regular sausage.

Vegan Breakfast Sausage

1 teaspoon canola oil (like Whole Foods 365 brand)

1/4 cup finely diced shallot

3 cloves garlic (finely diced)

8 ounces crimini mushrooms (finely diced)

1 cup finely diced celery (about 2 ribs)

1/2 cup finely diced carrot (1 medium)

1 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon clove

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon soy sauce (like Bragg's)

1 tablespoon maple syrup

sea salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)

1 1/2 cups uncooked quick-ccooking oats (like Whole Foods 365 brand)

Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, garlic, mushrooms, celery, and carrot to the pan. Stir consistently and sauté until all of the liquid has released and then evaporated; this should take about 5 minutes. Add the sage, red pepper flakes, clove, nutmeg, soy sauce, and maple syrup to the pan. Stir to incorporate and remove from heat. Allow mixture to cool. Add the uncooked quick-cooking oats and knead the mixture until everything is well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to allow the moisture to distribute.

Next, pinch about 2 tablespoons of the mixture off, roll it into a ball, and flatten it to for a patty. Repeat. In a medium pan over medium heat, pan-fry disks in enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan until nicely browned. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen sausage patties. Freeze uncooked patties in a single layer then store them in a food storage bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

An Organized Pantry (Finally!)

We have been in our 1950's house in Memphis for 10 years this January. Fixing it up bit by bit has been a blast, but there are always more things we dream about doing to make it more livable and workable. It's a small, cottage-like space where everything needs its own particular area to belong to in order to keep things as organized as we like it to be.

Since our kitchen pantry pretty much assured an ongoing state of absolute food-storage chaos, it was about time for it to be overhauled. Really, anything would have been an improvement over this dark cabinet with 4 brown lazy susan trays connected to a metal pole. The shelves were too small for the area, and spinning a metal tray around in order to find stuff in the back when it's loaded down with heavy things just wasn't ever going to work.

We lived with it for a long while, like you do when you get used to something that in reality is not that big of a deal in the scheme of things. Yes, there are much more pressing problems in this world and all of that, but since we cook so often, it's fun to look for ways to make putting together a quick meal or making a ton of something for a party or a TCV event or even just finding basic things easier. Long ago, when someone else called this place home, all of the lower-level kitchen cabinets had been constructed with shelves on tracks, so we liked being able to pull out a drawer and grab a saucepan or a baking pan really quickly. Seeing everything on a shelf is pretty cool. So why not do the same thing in the place where most of the food in the kitchen is stored?

Our friend and also an amazingly talented carpenter, Doug, was called in to help figure this whole thing out once and for all. He suggested buying the hardware HERE. We cleaned out the pantry, ripped out that crazy trays-on-a-pole contraption, primed the interior of the pantry, painted it, and did the same with the drawer boxes. Once the shelves were installed, we grouped like items and had so much more room. One of the best parts is being able to pare down your food items to what you need to use soon, what you forgot you had but will keep, and what needs to be thrown out (goodbye, 2010-expiration-date soy wrappers!). Grabbing some chips or finding a can of garbanzo beans is going to be so easy now. Anytime you don't have to bend too much or think too hard in the kitchen makes projects like this so worth it.

So it's got us thinking about what else needs to be weeded out and reorganized around here. Maybe the new year's to blame, but it sure feels great to do something that will have a huge impact on how we cook at home in 2013. Even the preliminary step of taking everything out to see what we had made a big impact.

Vegetarian Lobster Rolls

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Tonight, The Chubby Vegetarian blog hit one million page views. It feels like such a milestone. You see, we've been at this since 2008 and have amassed more than 800 recipes and ideas. But what we do and say would mean nothing if it weren't for all of you out there reading along and cooking in your own home kitchens. Please take a minute and say hello to us in the comments section. We'd love to hear from you, and we're so glad you're here with us!

Today we give you our take on a very Northeastern dish called the lobster roll. At its best, a lobster roll is simply dressed chunks of lobster in a soft roll. We decided that lobster mushrooms would be a good vegetarian stand-in given their peculiar name and red appearance; their meaty texture is just perfect for the dish. We added a sheet of nori to amp up the sea flavor like we did in our Vegetarian Tuna Salad, and the avocado adds a much-needed bit of richness to the dish. We couldn't stop talking about the flavors in our this sandwich, and we sincerely hope you'll try this recipe--or a few of our other ones!--in your own home sometime this year. 

Vegetarian Lobster Rolls

1 ounce dried lobster mushrooms* (soaked in hot water for 1 hour)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup finely diced cucumber
1 medium avocado (diced)
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1 sheet toasted nori (torn into small pieces)
1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon cane sugar (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
4 soft hot dog buns
2 cups butter lettuce
1/8 cup chopped chives

Drain mushrooms and tear larger pieces into bite-sized chunks; one ounce of dried mushrooms should yield about 1 1/2 cups once they are rehydrated. In a medium pan over high heat, melt the butter and sear the mushrooms for about 2 to 3 minutes or until nicely browned on one side. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool. 

Into a large bowl, place the cooled mushrooms, celery, cucumber, and avocado. Set aside while you make the dressing.

Into the work bowl of your food processor, place the nori, mayonnaise, lemon juice, tarragon, sugar, Old Bay seasoning, and salt and pepper it to taste. Blend until smooth. Pour dressing into the bowl containing the mushroom mixture and toss to coat.

To serve, place lettuce into each bun and top each with 1/4 of the mixture. Top with chives. Serve immediately. (Makes 4 lobster rolls.)

*Find dried lobster mushrooms at most specialty grocery stores. When they are in season, fresh lobster mushrooms would be so fantastic in this dish.

Portobello Mushroom Tart

Tarts are so versatile. In the fall and winter, we love to use mushrooms or potatoes or sliced eggplant, but in the spring and summer, we may make the same basic tart using zucchini and tomato or thinly sliced peppers. We may substitute ricotta for the goat cheese or balsamic for the champagne vinegar or trade out the thyme for rosemary. And don't feel as if you need to be overly concerned about making a pretty crust -- a rustic galette is just as tasty. The combinations are endless.

That said, we love this mushroom tart! The baked mushroom slices are perfectly meaty, the thyme works its special little magic, and the goat cheese adds the right amount of creaminess to bring it all together. The beauty of this dish is that it is just as good room temperature as it is hot. Make it ahead of time and serve a slice for lunch, or pair it hot out of the oven with a nice little salad for a light dinner.

Portobello Mushroom Tart

1 Basic Pie Crust Recipe
4 ounces goat cheese (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
3 cloves garlic
1 large egg
1 yolk (from a large egg)
1/4 cup whole milk (or half and half)
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
2 large portobello mushrooms (thinly sliced)
5 sprigs thyme (stems discarded)
1 medium shallot (sliced)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Make the Basic Pie Crust Dough and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the crust out to roughly a 16 x 11 rectangle and place onto a parchment-lined 17 x 12 baking sheet. Fold the ends up and pinch the corners together. Dock the dough with a fork and par-bake for 10 minutes.

While the tart shell is baking, place the goat cheese, garlic, egg, yolk, milk, salt, pepper, and vinegar into the work bowl of your food processor and blend until smooth. After 10 minutes, remove the tart shell from the oven and place mushrooms in a shingle-like pattern over the surface. Pour the goat cheese mixture evenly over the whole tart. Sprinkle with thyme, sliced shallots, and drizzle with olive oil. Return tart to the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the top is nicely browned. (Serves 4.)

Toasted Flour Pasta with Sun-dried Tomato and Canellini Bean Ragout

I'm reading this really enlightening book by Michael Ruhlman called Ratio. (Thanks for the rec, Jody!) It explains the differences and nuances between many of the wonderful things made with flour, fat, and liquid: crepes, cakes, muffins, pancakes, popovers, biscuits, and pasta and more. How can so many things be made with essentially the same ingredients be so different? The answer is the ratio in which the ingredients are used and the order in which they are mixed. It's a fascinating premise.

Ruhlman says that basic pasta dough is 3 parts flour to 2 parts egg, which works out to 1 1/2 cups flour to 3 large eggs. Ruhlman goes into detail HERE on his blog. I tend to agree with him although I'm a little more
old-school about it. I use 1 1/2 cups of flour and add 2 eggs. The eggs will pick up all the flour they need.  Both methods work. His method is more exacting; mine is more grandma.

In the book, he goes into detail about how to add spinach to pasta for color, but says that it doesn't add much flavor. That got me to thinking, how do you add a welcome flavor to plain ol' pasta? I decided toasting the flour might be a good method, and it was. It adds a deep, nutty, fried chicken-esque flavor to fresh pasta. If you are inclined to make your own pasta, I suggest toasting the flour. The result is like nothing else you've ever tasted, and the burnished color is really nice.

Toasted Flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (like Whole Foods 365 brand)

In a large dry frying pan over medium-high heat, toast the flour by moving it constantly around the pan using a rubber spatula; take care not to burn any part of the flour. Keep turning the flour until it's about the color of a lunch bag and the aroma is nutty and fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Run the cooled flour through the food processor to break up any lumps that may have formed. Make pasta according to Ruhlman's ratio and method.


Sun-dried Tomato and Canellini Bean Ragout


1 recipe toasted flour pasta (R.'s recipe above)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic (sliced)
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 can cannellini beans (drained, rinsed; Whole Food 365 brand)
1/2 cup minced sun-dried tomato
1/4 cup parmesan (more to garnish)
kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
Arugula, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar (to garnish)

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil and add the garlic cloves. Once they stat to brown, add the wine, sugar, and Italian seasoning. Reduce by half. Add the beans and tomato and heat through. Turn the heat off and add the parmesan. Cook pasta and add the pasta directly to the ragout. Toss to incorporate and add a few tablespoons of pasta water if the mixture looks dry.

Serve garnished witha little arugula, a drizzle of olive oil, and a bit of balsamic vinegar.
(Makes 4 servings.)

*So this is the first thing we made with our toasted flour pasta. What would you do with yours?

Butternut Squash Rotini Mac and Cheese

This is a beautiful marriage of our old mac and cheese with smoked cheddar and truffle oil and a new-ish idea that has been floating around where a humble butternut squash is blended into the cheese sauce to lower the fat and calories of this notorious gut bomb. The bonus is that the butternut squash adds a nice hit of sweetness and moisture to the dish in addition to improving its stats. That's right! Adding butternut squash makes mac and cheese healthier and better. How rare and wonderful is that?


Look for a medium-sized butternut squash that's smooth and firm and heavy for its size. You can peel it using a vegetable peeler and scrape the seeds out using a spoon. It's easy, but if need be, you can use cans of already-ready butternut squash for ease. There are a million ways to cook a butternut squash, but since this recipe already has a big pot of salted water going for the pasta, it's easiest to just throw the squash into the water to cook.

Make this for your family, and even the mac and cheese aficionados will love it. The combination of nutmeg, thyme, and truffle oil is a sure-fire savory combo.

Butternut Squash Rotini Mac and Cheese

5-6 cups cubed butternut squash (peeled, seeded)
6 garlic cloves
2 1/2 cups rotini pasta
2 cups shredded cheese (smoked Gouda, white cheddar, goat)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
Scant 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar
5 sprigs thyme (stems discarded)
1 cup bread crumbs
2 to 3 tablespoons black truffle oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Boil squash and garlic cloves for 5 to 7 minutes or until very tender. Retrieve the squash and garlic from the boiling water using a spyder and place into the work bowl of you food processor. Now in the same water, cook the rotini according to package instructions. Drain water from the pasta and set aside. 

In a medium pan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook until flour starts to smell nutty and fragrant and begins to lightly brown. Add the milk, continue to whisk, turn the heat up to medium high, and allow mixture to boil. You will notice the mixture has thickened. Stir in the cheese and remove from heat. Add the cheese mixture to the work bowl (the one with the squash) of the food processor along with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and sherry vinegar. Blend until completely smooth.

Pour mixture into the pot with the cooked pasta, add the thyme, and mix until well incorporated. Pour into an 8 x 12 casserole dish. It will look like too much sauce for the amount of pasta, but it's not! Cover with bread crumbs and drizzle with black truffle oil. Bake for 25 minutes and serve hot out of the oven. (Makes 6 servings.)

Vegetarian Korean BBQ Mushroom Steamed Buns

The first buns of this kind I ever had came out of a trailer with no wheels on it in Austin, Texas in a dusty lot behind a club with a terrible band playing way too loud. This trailer, called East Side King, is operated by Paul Qui, who at the time had yet to compete and win Top Chef 9. My buddy Chris and I got there a little before they opened and waited in the loud, dusty lot for what seemed like ages. The wait was worthwhile as I was introduced to the Asian bun: a taco-ish contraption made from puffy, cloud-like flour stuffed with all manner of tastiness. 


Fast forward a few years and we are reminded again and again of the tasty Asian bun most recently by our friend Andrew over at Acre in East Memphis; he has put pork steamed buns on the bar menu there. I hear they are incredible; Amy certainly thought so. So, we set out to make a vegetarian version at home that we could share with you.

The first hurdle is to find the buns. They are a staple at any well-stocked Asian grocery. You'll find them in the freezer section under names like "Lotus Bun" or "Bun for Peking Duck" or "Steamed Cakes." Just look for the ones that are plain, as in not filled with anything like sweet bean paste or pork. (We used the Chef Hon brand with great results.)


You can also find Korean BBQ sauce at the Asian market, but we prefer to make our own to avoid fish sauce and corn syrup. If you can find a good vegetarian version of Korean BBQ sauce, by all means use it!

Vegetarian Korean BBQ Mushroom Steamed Buns 

Quick Asian Pickle (recipe follows)
Roasted Red Pepper Korean BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)
10 to 12 frozen steamed buns (the kind that is a folded circle with a hinge)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons canola oil (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
4 cups (about a pound) sliced  mushrooms (crimini, shiitake)
Chopped roasted peanuts, chopped green onion, and cilantro (to garnish)

Do ahead: Make the Quick Asian Pickle and the Roasted Red Pepper Korean BBQ Sauce.

Steam frozen buns in a parchment-lined bamboo steamer (or an other method you can dream up) for 10-15 minutes or until each bun is soft and pliable. Hold in the bamboo steamer until ready to serve.

In a large pan over high heat, heat the sesame oil and the canola until they start to smoke. Add the mushrooms to the pan in a single layer. Allow them to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes or until nicely browned on one side. Toss them around the pan and cook for another minute or two until mushrooms appear to be heated through. Add the Roasted Red Pepper Korean BBQ Sauce to the pan and toss to coat. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve. 

To assemble, stuff each bun with about 1/4 cup of the mushroom mixture, a few slices of the Quick Asian Pickle, a sprinkling of the chopped roasted peanuts, a few sliced green onions, and some cilantro. (Makes about 12 steamed buns)


Quick Asian Pickle


1 cucumber (thinly sliced)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cane sugar (like Whole Foods 365 brand)

Place the cucumber slices into a pint jar. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. Pour pickling liquid over the cucumbers, place a lid on the jar, and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to a week.


Roasted Red Pepper Korean BBQ Sauce

2 medium roasted red peppers (stemmed, seeded)
1 tablespoon cane sugar (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sambal
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
White (or black) cracked pepper to taste

Place the roasted red pepper, sugar, soy sauce, sambal, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and pepper in a food processor and blend until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. (Makes about a cup of sauce.)

Black Eye Burger (The Easiest Veggie Burger Recipe Ever!)

We've had this one for a while, and we just couldn't wait any longer to share it with you. It's absolutely, hands-down, the easiest homemade veggie burger ever! Why? This recipe, unlike many of our other recipes, essentially has only 2 ingredients: well-seasoned beans or peas and dry quick-cooking oats. Mix the two together and...magic.

The oats provide texture and hold the patty together even better than any egg-based binder, so as a bonus, the burger patty is vegan, too. The mashed beans provide the moisture and the flavor, so make sure you're using flavorful beans or peas like our recipes for A Really Good Pot of Black-Eyed Peas or A Big Pot of Black Beans. You may use a can of beans as well -- just make sure they're tasty because that is pretty much what the burger is going to taste like.

Once you've made the patties, you can dress them up any way you like. We both love a good patty melt with garlicky pickles, grainy mustard, smoked cheddar, and sliced shallots served on butter-toasted wheat bread. These veggie burger patties would feel equally at home on a soft white bun with plenty of fresh arugula, olive-oil mayo, and thick slices of tomato. That, my friend, is up to you.

Black Eye Burger (The Easiest Veggie Burger Recipe Ever!)

1 1/2 cups drained black-eyed peas
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon canola oil (for pan frying)

In a large bowl, mash the black eyed peas using a potato masher or a large fork until no whole peas are left. Add the dry oat flakes and work them into the smashed peas using your hands. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Gather the mixture into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Allow mixture to rest for 15 minutes in order for the moisture to evenly distribute throughout.

Using wet hands, form the mixture into 3 or 4 patties. Make sure to smooth the edges of the patty because it makes for a more structurally sound patty.  For patty melts, we prefer a larger patty to fit the sliced bread which will yield 3 patties, but for a conventional hamburger bun, which is smaller, you will get 4 patties from this recipe.

In a large pan over medium heat cook the veggie burger patties in the canola oil for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Serve however you like.

(Makes 3 to 4 veggie burger patties.)

A Really Good Pot of Black-Eyed Peas + Cornbread Waffles & Collard Greens

Okay, so this warm dish of cornbread waffles, smoky black-eyed peas, and collard greens may be just the thing for tonight's dinner. It's a tradition in the South (and in parts of the Midwest, from what we understand) to eat black-eyed peas for good luck in the coming year. We also have greens to represent money or wealth. We have both eaten black-eyed peas and cornbread on New Year's Day every year since birth. It's not that we are particularly superstitious -- we just don't want to tempt fate.

We think our recipe for Collard Greens with Honey, Shallots, and Mushrooms is great because it's so easy. The greens are blanched in super-salty water to leach out any bitterness, and then they are sautéed with a touch of honey. Our Smoked Cheddar and Jalapeño Cornbread is good enough to star on the cover of our cookbook! This time, we cooked the very same recipe in the waffle maker for 3 1/2 minutes. This recipe will make 7 to 8 waffles. We recommend using both of these recipes when putting this dish together. 

To serve, place 1/2 a waffle on a plate, pile on the peas, greens, and plenty of the broth from the pot. Lean the other half of the waffle up against the mountain of peas, and garnish with plenty of hot sauce. (Serves 6.)

A Really Good Pot of Black-Eyed Peas

1 1-pound bag of black-eyed peas (soaked overnight or quick-soaked*) 
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 
1 white onion (diced)
1 portobello mushroom (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
2 chipotle peppers (minced)
1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
sea salt and cracked black pepper (to taste) 

In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter and sauté the onion and mushroom until most of the liquid has evaporated and the onion has started to brown. Add the green pepper, chipotle peppers, vegetable broth, ketchup, and the soaked and drained black-eyed peas. Add salt and pepper to taste to the pot and stir. Simmer, covered, for one hour. Serve with cornbread and greens. (Makes 2 1/2 quarts.)

*Quick-soaking method: Bring a large pot of water to boil, add dried peas, cover, turn the heat off, and then allow beans to soak for one hour. 

*Quick-soak method: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add dried peas, cover, turn the heat off, and allow them to soak for 1 hur.

Happy New Year from The Chubby Vegetarian!

This year has been krazy. Seriously, there was so much to be thankful for and also so many unexpected events on both ends of the scale. Reminiscing about 2012 just makes our heads spin. During all of the activity, there remained one constant: we ate some good food that we made right here in the Chubby Vegetarian kitchen. All of it was inspired by our friends, family, great chefs, and amazing ingredients. We even got to venture out of our kitchen a few times in order to share what we like to make with some appreciative folks.

We have learned so much from your feedback and comments, and we're really glad you are here with us in numbers that we never could have imagined when we started this blog back in 2008. We hope you stick around to see what we cook up in 2013. We have a lot to look forward to this year (our book The Southern Vegetarian is coming out in May!), but before we look ahead, we thought we'd revisit some of our most popular dishes (#1-3) and our personal favorites (#4-15). Here is our top 15 from 2012:

1. Vegetarian Meatballs
2. Spicy Quinoa + Black Lentil Salad with Avocado Vinaigrette
3. Smoked Coconut Bacon
4. Miracle Mushroom Gravy over 3-2-1 Drop Biscuits
5. Vegetarian "Midnight Snack" inspired by Restaurant Iris
6. Peanut Butter Swirl Greek Fro-Yo (and a little magic)
7. Super-Moist Banana Muffins
8. Pizza Fritta + Vegetarian Bolognese & Smoked Provolone
9. Sweet Potato Piccata (inspired by The Publican)
10. Vegetarian Mulligatawny: Indian-Inspired Vegetable Stew
11. Vegetarian Shiitake Ramen
12. Better Jalapeño Poppers
13. Cocoa-Hazelnut and Vanilla-Hazelnut Spreads
14. Vegetarian Eggplant Tajine (oil-free and vegan)
15. Mascarpone Banana Pudding (In a Jar)

Wishing y'all a wonderful 2013! We can't wait to see this brand new year unfold, and we can't wait to cook some new stuff and share it all with you.

Better Jalapeño Poppers

*We're so flattered to be in the running for TheKitchn.com's Best Recipe Blog award. 

Vote HERE. If this is your first time to the TCV site, welcome, y'all!*

Vegetarians don't need another reason to eat another absolutely scrumptious bread/cheese combo, but here goes: like pizza, grilled cheese, cheese toast, cheese and crackers, and even fondue, this spicy combo is a total winner. 

The Chubby Vegetarian version of this omnipresent bar snack, the jalapeño popper, is "better" because it's crunchier, more delicious, and un-fried, unlike its greasy predecessors. Why, they're so simple to put together that you could make 'em with one hand tied behind your back. 

So what are you waiting for? Turn on your little sports game and eat these jalapeño poppers like a sophisticated man...with a fork.

Better Jalapeño Poppers

4 large or 6 medium jalapeño peppers (halved lengthwise, seeds removed)
2 ounces neufchâtel cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 large egg (beaten)
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon olive or canola oil
Sour cream and fresh chives (to garnish)

Place the seeded, cut peppers cut-side-up on a parchment lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix the neufchâtel, cheddar, garlic, cumin, chipotle, and lime zest together until well incorporated. Divide the mixture among the peppers by stuffing them until the mixture is even with the cut. 

In a medium bowl mix the egg with the panko until well incorporated. Place the mixture atop the cheese stuffed peppers until all of the panko is used. Drizzle peppers with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until  golden brown. Garnish with sour cream and chives and serve immediately. (Makes 8 to 12 poppers.)

Paleo Energy Snacks

My sister Lindsey is a great cook. She and her family live in Boulder, Colorado, and they follow the paleo diet: lots of protein, lots of veg, but sugar is out. These little energy snacks definitely count as dessert, though. When we first tried them while visiting out west in July, we knew we would have to beg Linnie to share her recipe. 

These are great snacks before or after a workout or a nice long run. Because they're packed with good fat, they stave off hunger pangs for a good long while. They are quite addictive, too. Best of all, they are really simple and easy to make using your food processor. Here's how she does it. 

Paleo Energy Snacks

10 dates (pitted)

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons coconut milk

1/2 cup sliced almonds 
a generous pinch of sea salt flakes

1 1/4 cup finely shredded coconut, unsweetened

In your food processor, add pitted dates, coconut oil, and coconut milk; process until it is smooth. Add sliced almonds and salt and pulse (three times or so) until almonds are broken down but still chunky. Transfer mixture to a medium-sized bowl and mix in the coconut flakes by hand. Using wet hands, form into densely packed spheres smaller than a golf ball. Line snacks up on a parchment-lined pan and bake for 10 minutes on 350 or until slightly golden brown on top. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Store in a container in the fridge. 

Candy Kale Chips

We love lacinato kale, a.k.a dinosaur kale, around here lately and have been wanting to make some kale chips that no one could possibly resist. Using honey and fresh orange juice to take away some of the inherent bitterness in the greens helps to make that happen. Other kale chip recipes have you cook the kale at 350 degrees, but at this temperature, the thin kale goes from limp to burned on the edges in no time flat. We figured out that if we cook the kale at a lower temperature for longer, the result is a crisper, more evenly cooked chip.

Doing something good with the tough stems of kale that are removed before making the chips was a goal, too. This recipe is for a simple, quick dill pickle, but feel free to add whatever spices you like to the pickling liquid. Try it today, and you just might start obsessing over this super-healthy superfood just like we are. 

Candy Kale Chips 

6 cups loose packed laminate/dinosaur kale (stems removed and reserved; about 1 1/2 bunches)
1 tablespoon orange blossom honey
juice from 1 satsuma orange (about 1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes (+ a pinch or two)
1/8 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Cut de-stemmed kale into pieces about 2-3 inches long. Place into a large bowl and set aside. Whisk honey, satsuma juice, olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes until emulsified and pour over kale. Massage the mixture into the kale for 1-2 minutes until the leaves are completely coated. Spread kale out -- no leaves should touch -- on a parchment-lined, rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Let chips cool and then store them in a glass container. 

Vegetarian Tom Yum Soup (Oil Free and Vegan)

Anyone who reads this blog knows that we are very susceptible to the power of suggestion. We hear a dish mentioned, and we just absolutely must make it. At the I Love Memphis blog, the Tom Yum soup at Shanghai was mentioned as one of the 10 best things this year. (View the complete list HERE.) 

Anytime I eat Thai food, I always longingly stare at the Tom Yum on the menu. It always contains shrimp stock and chicken stock -- it's just how that soup is made. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and come up with a great vegetarian version of this classic soup. 

Kombu is the key here. It's a sea vegetable, and it has the highest amount of umami of any vegetable. The part of the shrimp, a classic component of this soup, is being played by king oyster mushrooms which, as you can tell by their name, have a very 
seafood-like texture and flavor. These elements paired with the fragrant punch of the broth, the spiciness of the sambal, and the acidity of the lime make for one great bowl of soup.


Vegetarian Tom Yum Soup

2 stalks  lemongrass
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
3 lime leaves
1/2 inch sliced ginger
1/2 ounce kombu (about 3 small sheets, rinsed)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon (or more)  sambal
2 tablespoons vegetarian fish sauce (or soy sauce)
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 cup tomato wedges
1 red pepper (sliced)
1 cup full-fat coconut milk  (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1 1/2 cups sliced and quartered king oyster mushrooms
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 lime (quartered)

Trim the ends off of the lemongrass and peel away the first two layers. With the back of your knife or a frying pan, beat the lemongrass until it splinters. Cut into 4 pieces and set aside. In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil with the lemongrass, lime leaves, ginger, kombu, brown sugar, fish sauce (or soy sauce), and garlic. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer; allow this mixture to cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Strain out the solids leaving only a fragrant broth. Return the broth to the saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato, red pepper, and coconut milk. Allow the tomato and pepper to warm through. Just before serving, stir in the king oyster mushrooms. (They're easy to overcook and become rubbery of they sit in the hot broth for too long.) Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime. (Serves 4 as a starter and 2 for dinner.)

Purple Potato Pierogi

If you've never had a pierogi, allow me to describe it to you: it's like a cheesy, potato-y, onion-y ravioli that is seared in butter. These things are, in a word, heaven. Not all pierogi are made with potatoes--some are made with sauerkraut, and some with fruit. In our house, we like the potato ones best. 

Here, we've used purple sweet potatoes (available at Whole Foods) and purple onion to make for a colorful surprise inside the little dumpling. It also makes for a slightly sweet foil to the sourness of the sauerkraut. You can use any kind of potato you want here. Get creative and make it your own. 

Purple Potato Pierogi

1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped purple potato (about 1 medium)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
1 1/4 cups finely diced diced purple onion (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup white wine (like Pinot Grigio)
1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)
Pierogie Dough (recipe follows)
1 cup vegetable broth (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
Sauerkraut, sour cream, and chives to garnish 

Boil the potato in salted water until tender (about 8 minutes), drain, and set aside in a large bowl. In a medium frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and cook the onion until translucent and starting to brown. Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the onion to the potato and mash until no large pieces of potato are left; you want it to have some texture. Fold in the shredded cheese and add salt and pepper to taste.

Roll the dough out using your pasta maker on a number 5. Alternately, roll the dough out using a rolling pin to get the dough just about as thin as possible. Place 1 heaping tablespoon about 1/2 inch apart, fold the dough over, and cut a half-moon shape using a fluted pasta wheel. Continue until all the dough and filling has been used. You can re-roll the scraps and use those if you have more filling to use. Makes about 24 pierogi.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and in a separate 12-inch frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat. Boil 12 of the pierogi for about 3 minutes, crank the heat under the butter to high, transfer the boiled pierogi to the buttered pan; allow them to cook undisturbed for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes for a nice sear. Add 1/2 a cup of the vegetable broth and flip the pierogi using a pair of tongs. Repeat this process with the remaining pierogi or freeze them for another day.

Serve the pierogi of a bed of warm sauerkraut garnished with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives. Spoon the pan sauce created with the broth and butter around the plate.


Pierogi Dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (like Whole Foods 365 brand)
1 large egg (beaten)
1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt (or sour cream)


In a large bowl add the flour and make a well in the center. Add the egg and the yogurt. Mix until a smooth dough forms. Cover and set aside until ready to roll it out.