Big Eye Tuna, Watermelon, and Cucumber Tartare
Our hostess had a fabulous kitchen complete with Mesquite butcher block countertops and a Viking range with a wok burner that would make the entire county of China envious. All of this with maestro Michael Cerza on the Steinway belting out some incredible tunes. ...continue reading about Big Eye Tuna, Watermelon, and Cucumber Tartare...
Pan Roasted Salmon with Wilted Spinach
My fishmonger had some beautiful wild caught Coho Salmon fillets and I couldn’t resist this sweet fish. People seems to have some trepidation when cooking fish. The two most difficult things to master with fish, salmon in particular, is touch and doneness. Touch has to do with the actually feel of the fish when lightly pressed with the index finger. Doneness has not only to do with touch but also carry over cooking time and I will discuss that in a moment. ...continue reading about Pan Roasted Salmon with Wilted Spinach...
Butternut Squash Chips
It’s 9:30 p.m. and I want some junk food. Good, healthy, vegan junk food. I searched through every nook in the kitchen and other than tofu and some brussel sprouts that have started to compost in my crisper drawer, the only thing giving me the eye like that stupid stack of money with googly eyes in the Geico commercial is a butternut squash. Not what I was hoping for. ...continue reading about Butternut Squash Chips...
Poblano Pesto Macaroni and Cheese
This Saturday, Mr. Natural here in Austin will be hosting a holistic fair and vegetarian cookoff challenge. I thought it fair to enter when I found out the top three entries will recieve $300, $200, and $100 respectively. That, and I’m the sixth entry 
The odds are good. I’ll be entering my Mexican Tofu Casserole. Hopefully, I won’t be going head to head with five Mexican grandmothers that have been cooking vegetarian all their life. ...continue reading about Poblano Pesto Macaroni and Cheese...
Quick Summer Appetizers
Some dear friends had a 60′s themed birthday party this weekend and we had a blast. There was music, good wine, good friends, and good food. The only problem with a 60′s themed party is that most food in the 60′s consisted of devils on horseback (prunes wrapped in bacon and then broiled until crisp), rumaki (water chestnut and chicken liver wrapped in bacon, marinated in soy and then broiled until crisp), cocktail wieners, either plain or wrapped in puff pastry (pigs in blankets), pimento cheese spread with Ritz crackers, and your favorite and mine…jello salad. The sixties was a culinary expedition that ended up shipwrecked on a desert island. ...continue reading about Quick Summer Appetizers...
Mexican Tofu Casserole
It’s been averaging over 100 degrees every day here in Austin and the last thing I want to do is fire up the stove and start cooking. Yesterday driving home the thermometer in my truck read between 108 and 110 the entire way to the house. I’m certain this month that my electric bill will rival the amount spent on the federal bailout. My goals for dinner tonight were healthy, fast, and something that didn’t require a trip outside, especially to the grocery store. Luckily, the tomatoes in my garden are doing especially well I this heat and my herbs seem to be the most tolerant of the plants. However, if the heat outside didn’t kill them, I was certainly going to. ...continue reading about Mexican Tofu Casserole...
Jicama “Fries”
Leslie and I disagree on this one and that’s OK. Peoples’ tastes differ and she has a right to her own opinion. (She’s wrong, but she has a right to her opinion . This is a dilemma I face every time I cook for a party or a group of people. What can I make that appeal to everyone? In reality, nothing. Not even ice water because some people will want bottled, others will want a lemon wedge, and someone else only drinks water from a 10,000 year old glacier. (By the way, the water that comes out of my refrigerator door once came from a glacier). ...continue reading about Jicama "Fries"...
Tomato and Corn Summer Soup
Summer vegetables are finally coming into the farmer’s markets and ripening in my garden. The spinach and lettuce are official gone because of the heat while tomatoes, corn, greens, and melons are all coming along nicely. One of my most favorite vegetables is the tomato. I have many memories of picking tomatoes with my Mom in the tomato farms of South Florida (sadly all gone now) and eating one or two really ripe and juicy tomatoes from the vine. While I probably consumed more pesticides and dirt that kids today are willing to do, there were apparently very good tasting pesticides. I don’t think my twitching is any indication of a problem, but the jury is still out on that one. Growing up with my grandmother on a chicken farm also availed Georgia sweet corn. ...continue reading about Tomato and Corn Summer Soup...
Daikon Radish, Sunflower Butter, and Broccoli Appetizer
I have to admit, this may look like an odd appetizer. At the least you might think, how in the heck do those flavors go together. I’m gonna take a shot at answering both and tell you how to make both a great vegan and raw appetizer. In case you’ve lived under a rock, or your are a post grad student, eating raw means exactly that; eating all your meals from raw ingredients. If you think that’s tough, try being a raw chef. I am not. The play now unfolds…You’ve carefully and thoughtfully cold smoked a brisket for 19 hours, the sausage was made right in your very kitchen, and the baked beans contain the best applewood smoked bacon money can buy and pigs can make. Your significant other announces, “oh, by the way, Mike’s new girlfriend is a vegan”. (Yep, one of those) But, you proclaim, that’s not possible. We don’t have interplanetary travel and you know for a fact life doesn’t exist on Venus. ...continue reading about Daikon Radish, Sunflower Butter, and Broccoli Appetizer...
Roasted Fennel with Pancetta and Rosemary
I was in Italian mood this week and had to harvest a fennel bulb from the garden. I say “had to” because this fennel bulb and its assorted delicate green fronds were the size of a VW bug. Honestly, I’ve never seen a fennel bulb this big before. This one measured nine inches across and about four inches thick. I was actually getting worried that much like a huge catfish it would become too tough to eat if I left it any longer so it was time for picking. ...continue reading about Roasted Fennel with Pancetta and Rosemary...
Roasted Vine Tomatoes
With summer approaching there is a variety of fresh vegetables coming from local gardens and markets. Like the Garlic and Rosemary Asparagus recipe, spring and summer cooking means simpler cooking techniques and a minimum amount of oven heat to fill already heated kitchens. This is a simple and very attractive preparation of vine tomatoes that only requires three ingredients. The better these three ingredients, the better the final dish. This would also pair nicely with the Spinach Feta Pasta dish I did early this week. ...continue reading about Roasted Vine Tomatoes...
Buffalo Chili
This chili has beans. That was a disclaimer. Why? Because it’s against the law in Texas to make a chili containing beans. At least that’s what people in Texas want you to believe. Therefore, I’ve probably violated several local ordinances and likely will be pictured on several post office billboards throught the Lone Star state. Because I like beans, and I think you should too, I’ve put myself on the line and risked incarceration to show you the other side of chili. I’m also not going to argue about the spelling. Chile is a country. Chile is also the correct Spanish spelling for a pepper. Chilly means you are cold and need to eat chili or a chili pepper or get into a tub of hot water with a glass of red wine. Fight about it if you will, but I’m in enough trouble with law enforcement about the bean issue. ...continue reading about Buffalo Chili...
Mini Roasted Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Pie
I’ve been busy pimping my food photography on Flickr in order to drive traffic to our site. There are also a ton of others with incredible skills in photographing food. I wanted to highlight one of those people today who not only is a foodie, but also someone that is an incredible photographer. Her name is Leslie (not my Leslie), but another Leslie that is a frequent contributor on Flickr. ...continue reading about Mini Roasted Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Pie...
Spaghetti Squash “Pasta” Dish
I wanted to create another Italian dish that was super-quick to make yet one that used a lot of fresh ingredients and was healthier than one with enriched white pasta. I decided to do a makeover of a pasta dish my mom made and substitute spaghetti squash for the pasta. This recipe is one the kids almost might eat and is worthy of letting them give it a try. ...continue reading about Spaghetti Squash "Pasta" Dish...
Salt and Pepper Shrimp
I had a craving for a “Salt and Pepper” something dish and the fish market had some beautiful wild Gulf shrimp. Can you see what’s coming here? I also wanted to spare you yet another tofu dish and give you something the entire family would fight over. Not a Extreme Fighting cage fight mind you, but a possibly stabbed-in-the-hand-if-you-touch-that-last-shrimp sort of fight. ...continue reading about Salt and Pepper Shrimp...
Sauteed Cod in a Fennel White Wine Saffron Sauce
A restaurant looking dish easily and quickly prepared at home. It brings a great taste of fennel, wine, saffron, and a hint of yogurt to a great fish dish. ...continue reading about Sauteed Cod in a Fennel White Wine Saffron Sauce...
Mango Fruit Salad
This mango fruit salad is quick, refreshing, and has the right amount of sweetness for warming temperatures. ...continue reading about Mango Fruit Salad...
Easy Spring Salad
This salad is quick and simple to make with easy to obtain ingredients. It’s also a vegan treat that your meat eaters will love. ...continue reading about Easy Spring Salad...
Homemade Yogurt
You can make make yogurt at home for pennies no the dollar. Why buy mass produced yogurt ever again? ...continue reading about Homemade Yogurt...
Cucumber and Tofu Guacamole
English cucumber hit the farmer’s market this weekend. Along with this less seeded variety were also found fresh avocados. I was getting hungry as I left the market. I wondered how I could combine these fresh ingredients into something more substantial than guacamole and chips. ...continue reading about Cucumber and Tofu Guacamole...
Easy Garlic Rosemary Asparagus
Fresh asparagus is here. Asparagus is a wonderful side dish that can be precooked in advanced, refrigerated, and then finally finished just as dinner is ready. It can also be mixed with tofu, cashews, and meats and fish for a great, quick and healthy dinner. ...continue reading about Easy Garlic Rosemary Asparagus...
Chicken Edamame Cashew Stir Fry
It was a long day of meetings today and I was ready to skip dinner. Add that to a drive home wondering if some of my dishes were too complex, or “too gourmet” as my wife suggests and I was looking for some “fast food”. Thankfully, there isn’t any fast food dives on my way home so I had to improvise. ...continue reading about Chicken Edamame Cashew Stir Fry...
Golden Cauliflower and Ginger Soup
It didn’t take me long upon returning from the farmer’s market to roast this entire head of cauliflower and prepare it for a soup. Enjoy this not-so-typical soup with farm fresh golden cauliflower. ...continue reading about Golden Cauliflower and Ginger Soup...
Warm Vegetable Salad
It’s been cold here in Texas over the past two days and I’ve been eating a lot of soup. I was craving something more hearty so I put together a simple plate of roasted vegetables. It is a mix of beautiful butternut squash, small red potatoes, four different beans, and hard tofu. This dish is pan roasted and sauteed all in the same skillet and then family style plated for a quick and simple hearty dinner. It was so filling and delicious I didn’t even want anything else. ...continue reading about Warm Vegetable Salad...
Asian Shrimp and Slaw
I armed myself to create a dish that you can put on the table in under 15 minutes and have it look like you were eating something from Nobu or one of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants. While Gordon may not agree (he rarely agrees with anyone , I think this is something you can be proud of and you and your friends will love. The slaw here isn’t your “hot dog” variety, but one made of fresh and not-so-typical slaw ingredients. Daikon radishes, chives, and carrots are the stars ...continue reading about Asian Shrimp and Slaw...
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