Red Lentil Burgers: Vegetarians Love BBQ's Too!

It's officially (not technically, but…) summer here in CT, and that means it's BBQ time! There's not much better than a lazy, hot, summer afternoon spent cooking out, as far as I'm concerned. But, I think it goes with out saying that typical BBQ fare isn't very vegetarian friendly - burgers, hot dogs, steaks, chicken, the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy an occasional grilled turkey burger, or chicken kebabs, or especially grilled salmon, but it can be hard to find alternatives to meat at many backyard BBQ's.

Easy and delicious vegetarian!

One of my favorite go-to Foods for easy vegetarian dishes is eggplant - its hearty and really goes well with a variety of flavors. a couple of years ago I stumbled upon a recipe for stuffed eggplant - made with meat of course, which I don't eat. But it Is pretty simple to take a carnivores recipe and make it into a vegetarian one, you just have to make sure to substitute something hearty in to replace the meat, to maintain measurements and textures.

From Tree to Table: Mulberry Merlot Sorbet

This year, since we've gotten really into gardening, I've become even more aware of where the food I eat comes from.

The idea of foraging food has been on my radar for a while now - last year, I read a book called "The Art of Eating In" by Cathy Erway, which tells the story of how she went two years without eating out while living in New York City. It's a very interesting read, and if you're into cooking, or being self-sustaining, or just trying new things, you'll really like it. Anyway, during those two years, Erway explores every alternative she can to avoid restaurants, corner delis, etc. She delved into supper clubs, cookoffs, and and foraging, among other things (dumpster diving included - definitely not her favorite restaurant alternative). It allowed her to become more connected to the food she eats and become more self-sustaining, all the while discovering new things she had never experienced before, and in a way, it even help her to find herself.

Garden of Eatin'

Any of you that know me or read this regularly know that I am IN LOVE with vegetables, and that I also like to grow my own, when the New England climate allows, and I may have mentioned before that I, along with my sister, have a plot in one of the local community gardens. Here in New London, there is FRESH, which has a pretty rockin community garden as well as several educational initiatives that do wonders with city students. They are very inspiring, and I know if they had been around when I was growing up, I would have joined in and gotten my hands dirty - but they have only been around since 2004.

Cookie Crisis Averted: Saving burnt cookies

If you read this blog regularly, you probably know that I am not a fan of baking. It's very precise, and I am really much more of an avant-garde kinda girl. Also, my mom is a phenomenal pastry chef. Although she left her job at the restaurant over 10 years ago, her reputation remains and she is 100% the reason I have such a taste for dessert. So most of the time, I don't bother baking, because she would just out-do me. Times 1,000.

Tonight though, for some strange reason, I decided I wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies. No idea why, especially considering the oven in my new apartment is way beyond unreliable. Well, no, it is reliable... in that it BURNS everything I put into it. And I know what you're thinking, maybe it's me... But nope, it's the oven. When I bake at my moms, and even in my last apartment, it was certainly apparent that my mom's skill in the kitchen has rubbed off on me. I DO NOT burn things. At least, I didn't until I moved in here. No matter what I do- lower the temperature from what the recipe calls for, move the oven rack, try different pans- it always burns things.

And despite that, I still decided to make cookies tonight. I called my mom up for her recipe, because her chocolate chip cookies are to die for. Perfectly golden on the outside, and tender and chewy inside. She says that she "under bakes" them. They are never hard and crunchy, they are perfect. Every time.

And, of course, my cookies burned on the bottom. Really, REALLY badly.

Actually, with exception of the bottom of the cookies, they were kind of perfect. So what's a girl to do?

Ever heard of a Microplane? It is this amazing little grater that is great for zesting citrus fruits, ginger, and garlic, among other things. It's one of those kitchen tools that I don't think I could live without. I got mine from Pampered Chef, but you can get them anywhere that sells kitchen tools, really.

Well, anyway, I read a tip in a cooking magazine once that you could use a Microplane to salvage burned dinner rolls. So tonight, I thought, hey, it will probably work with cookies too. It was definitely one of those "light bulb" moments.

So I Microplaned the bottom of my cookies! Good as new (or at least no longer charred!)

Keep this in mind the next time you pull a "Brenda" while baking!