The Yellow Spoon

Brown Rice and Baby Bella Veggie Burger

½ cup uncooked brown rice

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp basil leaves

Cook rice according to packaged directions adding the salt and seasonings. While rice is still hot but done cooking add

1 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms

Let steam for 10 min until tender

In a food processor combine, rice, mushrooms 1 egg and 8 oz. garbanzo beans blend until mixed thoroughly but not pureed, otherwise you’ll get this janky texture.

Spread mixture out on greased baking sheet about ¼” thick. Broil for 5 min then bake  at 375 for 5 more min or until set.

Remove from oven and cut into circles (I used the top of a cup)

Cilantro Pesto

1 cup fresh cilantro

2 cloves garlic

¼ of a small white onion

3 tbs. olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of ½ small lemon

Pinch of cumin

Fresh Guacamole

1 ripe guacamole

Juice of ½ of a lime

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. cumin

½  small white onion

2 cloves garlic

3 tbs olive oil

5 cherry tomatoes

¼ cup fresh cilantro

Combine in food processor until smooth, refrigerate for 2 hrs before using to let flavors meld!

Cilantro Veggie Sandwich with Guac.

Spread cilantro pesto on one side of bread, then top with pepper jack cheese, fresh guacamole and sliced tomatoes. Add two brown rice and baby bella patties and top, then grill until heated through! Enjoy lovers!

Not to toot my own horn but I loved these burgers, the simple flavor from the mushroom and rice pattie was a nice background flavor for the cilantro pesto, the guac added just enough creaminess and flavor to round out the whole experience.

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 fresh poblano chile, halved, seeded, thinly sliced into long strips
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced
• 3 ounces crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 corn tortillas
• 4 thin slices Monterey Jack cheese
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Crumbled feta or Cotija cheese
• Assorted toppings (such as shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and hot sauce or salsa)

Preparation Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add poblano chile, red onion, and mushrooms; sauté mixture until brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in ground cumin. Season to taste with salt. Transfer mixture to medium bowl.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer, draping up sides of skillet to fit. Divide mushroom mixture among tortillas, mounding on only 1 side. Place slice of Monterey Jack cheese atop filling in each tortilla. Fold plain tortilla halves over filling and press firmly. Cook until tortillas are brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer tacos to plates. Open tacos; sprinkle with chopped cilantro, crumbled feta or Cotija cheese, and toppings.

Ever since the start of fall, the and the beginning of squash season I have been craving something warm, and spicy and something that I dont make everyday. This recipe is inspired by one off of CHOW.com, one of my favorite sites to gain inspiration from, I also had a similar dish at the Greenwell Gastropub here in GR. This definitely hit the spot. It combines all of the classic taco flavors with the imagintive butternut squash, such a versatile vegetable. Actually the butternut squash gets it's origins from areas near Mexico so the two worlds colliding is inevitable! I hope you enjoy and at least give it a chance. Enjoy!

• 2 cups diced butter nut squash

• 1 tbs. Olive Oil
• 1 medium diced onion
  
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 cup black beans, cooked and drained
• 1/4 cup hot salsa
• 1 tbs. minced fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• Corn tortillas
• sliced jalapenos
  
• grated manchego cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet until warm add the diced onion and squash, sautee until browned and soft. Add salt, paprika, cumin and black beans, heat through. Then add the 1/4 cup of hot salsa, 1/2 cup of chicken broth and cilantro. Simmer in covered skillet for 10 minutes until soft and the flavors meld. Crisp up corn tortillas slightly in the oven (heat oven to 350 and bake for 3 min) once tortillas are done load the  rice, squash and black bean mixture and cheese onto tortilla. Then top with sliced Jalepenos and grated cheese.

Well, since I've gone back to cake decorating at an uninspiring, kinda boring grocery store, and not to mention the fact that I DON'T HAVE TO THINK....I'm pretty sure i'm dying slowly.  So I needed a little comforting pick me up after today's shift. Between my lack luster job and my yearning for fall weather, I figured spending my afternoon with cheese and john couldn't be a better solutions to my blues. To bad Mr. Mayer (if your dirty) isn't naked in my living room covered in macaroni and cheese... haha oh to dream (oh but please not on the couch, imagine that mess to clean up... cheese is sticky) . Well on a less pervy note,  I cranked up his last few albums on my kitchen stereo and put on my dancing shoes, speaking of shoes i got the cutest pair for my birthday (pics to come later), and lit a few burners then went at it.
     I've always had this love for the creamy texture of velveta cheese but that crap is sick, like gross, like gag me with a pine cone! So I decided to mix up my normal fall back recipe for creamy Mac and Cheese. I use three different kinds of cheeses and each one adds a subtle level of flavor to the sauce.

• Gruyere (for some sharpness and bite)
  
• Monterrey Jack with Jalapenos (for the kick)
• Mozzarella (for creaminess)

Together with a few other things this sauce is off da hook as they would say in my neighborhood. I hope you really try this recipe, its great and totally worth buying the good cheese for.

"Love Song for No One" Mac and Cheese

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 1/2 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. flour
  
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere
• 1/2 cup grated Monterrey Jack
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella
• 1 tsp. Mustard
• Pinch of Salt
• Pinch of Paprika
• 1/2 lb. Cavatappi
  

In a small sauce pan heat the milk over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edge. In a larger sauce pot melt the butter over medium low heat, add the flour and stir constantly until nutty flavor baked out of the flour. Slowly add the milk to the mixture while whisking. This is the base of the cheese sauce, once all of the milk is combined, add the cheeses and stir until melted on medium heat, should take about 10 min. Stirring constantly as to avoid burning. As that cooks and the flavors mesh, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the 1/2 lb. of pasta. Today I used the squiggly kind  (cavatappi), I'm not a fan of long stringy noodles, they are so inconvenient to eat. Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and add the pasta to the cheese sauce, stir and enjoy. This recipe is really easy, great tasting and you get a great excuse to imagine John and cheese, singing in your living room, but not on the couch... HEAVEN!

I realize my title could be a little contradictory and Italian judo chop? And I'm not really sure if this recipe qualifies as real because i used a spice mix but I'm posting it anyways, its delicious. 1) I'm a self proclaimed carb whore. 2) I love summer veggies, roasted. 3) Mediterranean flavors excite my every sense to full impact! This recipe combines my farmers market finds with a delightful day old bread from Nantucket to create a perfect summer afternoon lunch/dinner. Oh with a lightly sweetened ice tea and fresh mint leave.... I think that i'm on to something! I got my Mediterranean mix at World Market (omg on a side note, did you know that they make a chunky version of Nutella!!!!)

Roasted Summer Vegetable Panzanella
1 loaf Mulitgrain french bread, cut into bit sized pieces
20 cherrub tomatoes, halved
8 button mushrooms, quartered
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 tbs. unsalted Mediterranean seasoning mix (about 15 shakes)
1 tsp. salt
3 swirls Olive Oil
1 tbs. Italian Dressing
1/4 cup. Parmesan cheese

combine all ingredients in a rather large bowl, mines a green one, and mix until all the veggies and the bread is coated in both the seasonings and the oil. Preheat the oven to 350, and bake for roughly 20 mins. (check often) you want the bread crispy and lightly browned and the veggies just on the brink of shriveling. Serve on a bed of baby spinach and sprinkle with parmesan, but i think some really good goat cheese would do this wonders. Serve and enjoy.

Panzanella is a great way to get rid of your almost bad bread, we all know that the croutons are everyone's favorite part of a salad, so why not pass up the lettuce and just enjoy a salad of croutons?! Yet again I first fell in love with the idea of bread salad this past spring when browsing through my favorite food blog, 101cookbooks. Heidi amazing me, I really have no idea how she does it, pure genius. Below are two of the variations that she has posted, I've tried both and I can tell you totally worth a try....

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/spring-panzanella-recipe.html
This one is great, not only does it include peas but asparagus too, definitely an early spring recipe, what a perfect season....

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/strawberry-panzanella-recipe.html
Now this one, it totally the perfect summer under the stars dessert. Just feel the crisp summer air, the sweet smell of sunset and the glow from the surrounding fireflies.... (drifts off into another day dream)

But for real guys, if you haven't tried this yet do so!! there are so many variations that you can do, even the classic, toasted bread, tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and a light drizzle of olive oil and salt.... mmmmm

This was pure luck, I set out to create a bruschetta sort of mixture for the top of my veggie burger, just to spice up the pallet a little. I'm all about classic flavors but the slice of American cheese and mustard wasn't gonna cut it today. So this is what happened, I was cooking my potatoes in the skillet, while they were busy dancing in the oils I was slicing the tomatoes to make my bruschetta, but low and behold I was lazy I did not feel like slicing fresh garlic or onion soo I added my most beloved cheese of all FETA and some basil as well as a splash of balsamic vinegar. The first bite into that salsa was simply orgasmic, and I"m hard to please! So not really being in the mood for the veggie burger that I'll rant about below... I decided to mix the ever so tasty potatoes and the fun salsa.... *the angels roared, the gods bowed down and the cow jumped over the harvest moooooooon!* Simply delish, and easy sooo easy a great change to the potato salad.


Dressing
Dice two large heirloom tomatoes (seeded)
2 1/2  teaspoons minced basil
2 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup fresh feta

Combine and mix.

Potatoes
Slice 20 fingerling potatoes in half
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic pepper

In a large pot of water, Boil the potatoes until fork tender. Drain water and add to a skillet, then add the olive oil, salt and garlic pepper, toss around until everything coated and cook over medium high heat until lightly brown-ish. Remove from heat and combine with the tomato salsa. Stir well and serve slightly warm.

After eating this dish with a veggie burger, a Franklin Farms original Pattie, I realized my utter hate for premade veggie burgers! I've never had one that was good.... I like my bean and walnut ones, the flavors are so mild that you can add anything you'd like to change it up, you can go for the sombrero style, Italian, Cajun, jerk (with a pineapple salsa over it ahh to die for!) really the possibilities are endless. I love them I'll post my most prized veggie burger recipe soon, I promise. Until then happy eating and stay away from Franklin Farms patties you'll regret spending $3.49 on them!

Well the title says it all, Fried Green tomato salad. I figured when is there a better time to use these unripened tomatoes then during the season of juicy goodness?! I think I like this dish for two main reasons. One it's simple and two, its easy.

Fried Green Tomato Salad

• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
  
• 1  cups buttermilk
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large unripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices, ends removed
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• Drizzle of balsamic vinegar
• 8 oz ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced
• Fresh heirloom or cherry tomatoes sliced
• fresh micro greens

Mix cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, paprika, basil and s&p together in a bowl. Soak green tomato slices in butter milk, while the tomatoes are soaking, add oil to pan and heat up. Drench the green tomato slices in the cornmeal mixture and then fry in the skillet. Allow each side to brown. Once that is done you're ready for plating.

Lay down a bed of fresh romaine lettuce, then a fried green tomato, a  slice of fresh mozzarella, the ripe heirloom or cherry tomato. Top with micro green mixture and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!

It's hot outside, which shouldn't be a surprise considering its August, but this summer never seemed to start. It has been so enjoyable. The fall-ish weather makes me extremely happy. Sweaters and cropped jeans (so comfortable, nothing is cuter than rolled up jeans and an ankle bracelet). After a quick stop at the store for dog food, we came home from the theater starving. Though it was too hot to cook I couldn't resist. I opened up my handy dandy William-Sonoma Pasta Cookbook and got to mincing!



Cappellini with lemon, garlic & parsley

• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 4 cloves of minced Garlic
• Zest of one lemon
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1lb. Cappellini pasta
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf pasta minced.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the pasta. Season the pasta water with 2 tsp. salt, stirring periodically to prevent stick-age. In a smaller pot add the olive oil and garlic, heat until fragrant but not browned. Remove from heat and add the zest, juice salt and pepper. Pour sauce into a larger serving bowl. Once the pasta is done drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Add the pasta to the serving bowl, toss in parsley and loosen up with the reserved pasta water. Mix well and serve.

We were craving something light, and sweet yet appropriate for dinner....I suggested ice cream but that got rejected numerous times. So we settled on a salad, summery and crisp yet it satiated our sweet teeth! Last winter we went to San Fran for the first time, and while there I had a salad with a strawberry vinaigrette, delightful so I figured I'd give it a chance, plus they were on sale!

"Strawberry Kisses Vinaigrette"

• 1 cup strawberries (ripe and red, like sexy red)
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, really I just did a few shakes
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 small pinches of salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• 2-3 tbs. Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients inside of your food processor. Puree... Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil and mix until nicely combined. the dressing will be a blush red/pink color. Pour over your salad, and then lick the rest out with your tongue lol. Enjoy and happy eatings.

I've never thought to question it, and it may be quite a dumb question.... But a bean isn't really a fruit right? Is it not a legume? Any who, when I first started being vegitarian, I lived on them, simple bean salads with fun dressings and a variety of veggies. I've graduated a little but every once in a while I like to go back to my old tasty staples. And with this salad my memories never tasted better



White Bean and Tomato Salad with Asiago Cheese

• 20oz. white beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 roma tomatoes diced
• ½ yellow onion, halved then sliced
• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved and sliced into ¼” pieces
• ¼ cup whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 tbs. minced sun-dried tomato
• ½ tsp. dried basil
• 1/8 cup shredded Asiago cheese
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice of ½ of a lemon
• Salt and pepper
• Red pepper flakes

Its simple, just mix and enjoy. OooooOOooh don't forget to chill, please served chilled, once its warm its not as good. just FYI

This recipe is an older one that I stumbled upon today looking for something to do with my bounty from Fulton St.Although I made zucchini pizza today, this still sounds amazing. It's a wonderful dreary day dinner or even a nice little side dish..

As I was re-doing the bathroom this afternoon, and right after my love affair with Sister Act, Adele came on my iPod and I melted. Her cd brings back so many memories, the following recipe being one of them...

Potato, Leek and Zucchini Gratin

2 Medium sized zucchini, cut into 1/6th-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
2 large garlic clove, chopped
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
a couple pinches of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 milk
1 leek thinly sliced

1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups fresh (whole wheat) bread crumbs*
1/2 pound yukon gold potatoes, sliced transparently thin
1/2 cup grated Italian blend cheese, grated on a box grater (or feta might be good!)
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese.

Slice and layer leeks, potatoes and zucchini. Mix milk, oil, butter, salt, garlic, herbs and red pepper in a bowl, then pour over vegetables. Cover with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake at 400 until potatoes are tender but right before zucchini gets mushy. If bread crumbs and cheese brown too quickly simply mix it all up. Bake for 30-45 min.