Vegetize It! - Creamy Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Gratin
Bacon is an ingredient that many meat eaters say is the thing that is keeping them from going fully vegetarian. It’s got so much great flavor and texture that makes is hard to replace in dishes. What I like to keep in mind is what role is the bacon playing. Is it adding smokiness? Is it adding umami? Is it adding texture? Knowing how bacon is being featured in a dish will change what approach I take to vegetizing it.
Fresh Food Storage
So, you go to the farmer’s market and buy a ton of fresh stuff, more than you think you might use. The next big question is how to store it so it lasts as long as possible. There are plenty of guides out there with more details, but here’s my broad strokes.
Preserving Food
Food waste is something I try very hard to avoid. My thought is that I paid money for these things, so I shouldn’t just throw it away. There are many different approaches I take, and I’ll go into each one in more detail in future posts, but here is my overall strategy.
Kenji’s No-Knead Bread/Pizza Dough
Kenji goes into more detail in a couple of his videos, but here are the notes that I use to make no-knead bread and pizza on the regular.
Why I watch cooking videos about meat as a vegetarian
I have been a vegetarian for 9 years. I love to cook. I also love to watch what I call “Food YouTube”, which includes a variety of food content creators including the Babish Culinary Universe, America’s Test Kitchen, Joshua Weissman, Adam Ragusea, and so many more.
I watch a variety of videos, not just ones that cater to or focus on vegetarian cooking. Cooking to me is a larger approach to food that encompasses a lot of ingredients, cuisines, techniques, and concepts. There is always a lot to learn, even if the specific thing is not something you would do yourself.
Farmer’s Market Haul
I am a regular at my local farmer’s market. I try to use seasonal produce and shop small/local, so it’s generally my first stop when meal planning. I went a little crazy last week and bought way too much stuff, especially when I am just feeding 2 of us, but I made it a mission to use everything we got before it went bad.
Vegetize It! - Beef and Broccoli
I’ve been a vegetarian for 9 years and my husband has been for around 15. We love to cook and are no strangers to substitutions. We use a variety of strategies, so in the Vegetize It! series, I’ll be exploring different ways to approach making food that is vegetarian or even vegan without sacrificing flavor.
Cooking to indicators instead of time
I see a lot of comments on recipes where people cook to the time indicated and then they complain that the food is either over done or under done. This is a common frustration for both cooks and recipe writers because there are so many variables involved in how long something will take. It will depend on your stove/oven, which kind of pan you are using, what the temperature is in the kitchen, how big or small you chopped things, etc.
The best sorts of recipes will have you cook to a specific indicator.
Vegetable Stock
I can’t remember the last time I bought vegetable stock. I have been making homemade stock for almost 10 years and it’s just so much better than store bought.