Meat Free Monday: Paul McCartney is making his own cookbook?

I know, I know, it’s not a Monday, but today I am going to pay a little homage to Paul McCartney’s latest endeavor, convincing people to go meatless one day a week.  He and his daughters are creating a cookbook celebrating the vegetable.  I love it, it is a simple suggestion to focus on the glory of the vegetable at least once a week.  It’s a great coincidence that the post I was writing over the weekend is inspired by one of Stella McCartney’s favorite London restaurants, Ottolenghi.

Accredited online colleges offer culinary classes for those of you who also dream of making your own cookbook.

I have been reading Yottam Ottolenghi’s Plenty with a veracity I normally reserve for mystery novels.  It’s a really inspiring book: the pictures are beautiful and the recipes are unique.  I also love that it is completely vegetarian.   But have no fear, if you are a devoted meat eater, you will be pleased to find that many recipes have such great flavors that meat won’t be missed at all.  Hey Paul McCartney, does this sound familiar?

While the book has been available in the U.K. for ages, it was only translated to American earlier this year.  This book is now on the shelves here in the U.S., using our silly customary units.  I have seen it featured in several bookstores and places like Anthropologie.

In addition to being entirely vegetarian, the book also eschews some other cookbook traditions, such as the standard courses set up (i.e. soup or pastry sections).  Instead, the recipes are divided into categories by the central ingredient: tomatoes, pulses (beans), roots, onions, etc.

Ottolenghi has so inspired my cooking that I am going to try to convince Husband to make sure our next trip to the U.K. coincides with one of their few cooking classes.

Plenty’s recipes are easily changed a little here or there and still produce fabulous results.  I found one of my favorite recipes, a quinoa and broad bean salad reproduced on thebroadbean.com, a cute blog on the wonders of urban gardening.  They made a few changes themselves, mostly adapting from U.K. (metric) to U.S. (silly) measurements.  This is my version of the same recipe, adapted for those of us without access to a garden and unusual varieties of vegetables.

Just a side note, this is also the best way to cook quinoa.  Comes out perfect every time.

Slicing radishes is super painstaking if you don't have a mandolin slicer, but the result is so worth it!

Adapted from Ottolenghi’s Plenty, using both the more sensible metric units and standard US measurements:

200 g | 1 heaping cup quinoa

500 g | a little over ½ pound shelled edamame (I buy the pre-shelled frozen stuff at Trader Joe’s)

2 medium lemons

2 garlic cloves, crushed

100 g | scant 1 cup radishes, thinly sliced (comes out to about half a small bunch)

25-50 g | a small handful (or two) basil, arugula or parsley also work well here, you just want something that is bold and flavorful (the recipe calls for more, say a large handful, but Husband prefers less, I suggest starting with a small handful and tasting before adding more)

2 tsp ground cumin (Ottolenghi suggests more, but since I am not a huge cumin fan, I suggest starting with less and adding by the ¼ tsp)

75mL | 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp chili flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

2 ripe avocados

1. Bring a large sauce pan of water to boil.  Add the quinoa and reduce the heat to a heavy simmer.  Cook 9 minutes.  Drain using a sieve (not a colander).

2. Allow the frozen edamame to come to room temperature.  I stick the beans in a colander and rinse with cold water.  They defrost quickly.

3. Cut the rind off the lemons.  Over a large bowl, using a paring knife, cut between the pith to release the lemon segments.  Squeeze the cut segments with your fingers to break up the segments.

4. Pile up the basil leaves and then roll them into a cigar-like shape.  Cut into thin segments.

5. Add the quinoa, edamame, cumin, chili flakes and olive oil to the bowl with the lemon juice.  Toss together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the basil leaves and toss some more.  Taste and see if you need more basil.

6. If you are using the whole salad in one sitting, chop both avocados into small pieces and add them to the rest of the ingredient.  Toss and serve.  If you are not serving the whole salad at once, I recommend slicing one avocado and use as a garnish on top of the salad.   Save the other one for lunch the next day.

6-8 servings, stays well in the fridge for about 3-5 days.

40 Carrots: Another Bloomingdales Bargain

I heart Bloomingdales.  When I lived in NYC, I used to go to the flagship store after work on a weekly basis.  I would get lost for ages in the racks of stylish clothes and furniture.

Lucky for me, there is a huge Bloomingdale’s at the Chestnut Hill Mall, which may be lacking in some areas (please start carrying Anya Hindmarch), but makes up for those by having a branch of the Bloomingdale’s café, 40 Carrots near the make up counters. 

40 Carrots is the perfect places for ladies who lunch.  Their menu seems to have been designed for those trying to maintain a trim figure.  The menu focuses on salads, lean meats, fish and their signature frozen yogurt.  Everything is light and fresh.  The menu also lends itself well to diners with food allergies (at least gluten and egg allergies, I think dairy may be a little harder).

When I head out here for a morning of bargain hunting, I like to hit up their carryout line for a smoothie.  While all their frozen yogurts are gluten-free, do be careful with the toppings and smoothies.  They do have some gluten-y toppings and many of their smoothies contain wheat grass.

Make sure you let them know you are gluten-free so they can confirm that your smoothie / toppings are gluten-free.  The staff seems to be well trained: I haven’t received a blank stare yet and many times they have made helpful suggestions.  I always ask that they rinse the blender an extra time before making my smoothie, to minimize contamination. 

The yogurt is fantastic.  I would say it matches my favorite, BerryLine for flavor and creaminess.  My favorite flavor is original, but their strawberry comes in a strong second.

In addition to the carry out section (yogurt and soup only, I think), 40 Carrots has a seated dining area.  The dining area is clean and almost clinical in its chic, streamlined décor.  I have never seen a line here, which is odd because the food is excellent and reasonably priced (the NYC location always has a line).  I have eaten at 40 Carrots several times.  Each time, I have found the wait staff to be helpful and more than willing to accommodate my allergy.  They often have guidance on which menu items could be modified to suit my needs and are always willing to confirm my order with the kitchen.

On my most recent visit, I went with Husband, who ordered a sandwich.  I ordered the Sonoma chicken salad on lettuce instead of bread.  The chicken salad was really good. The salad wasn’t drowning in mayonnaise and was made with white meat.  The grapes, cranberries and walnuts throughout the salad added nice contrast to the creamy mayo and nice fresh crunch.  The salad was served with balsamic vinaigrette on the side.  Husband’s sandwich looked nice and was served with my favorite side dish: the 40 Carrots carrot salad, a simple salad, comprised of shredded carrots and raisins in sherry vinaigrette.  My grandmother gave me a recipe for this, which I will make and post soon.

I definitely recommend this place for a quick lunch or post-shopping snack.

I give this four stars for both taste and g/f friendliness