Like many of the vegetarian recipes I post here, it’s customizable to your own tastes and preferences – or to whatever you have on hand. I was lucky enough to use a lot of local foods in this including eggs, milk, bread (Provence rolls I had frozen) and some goat cheese feta (thanks Bloomy Rind!). The veggies were just what I happened to have in the fridge/freezer. Cooked (and drained) spinach, leeks, kale, broccoli would all be good. Lots of possibilities! Experiment freely, and if you hit on a good combination, report back! Enjoy.

And you know, now that vegetarian month is over, I just might add a little bit of crumbled bacon to this. Though, for the record, this hearty dish totally stands on its own without the addition of meat. But a little bacon sure never hurt anything.

Savory Veggie Bread Pudding

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: About an hour

This savory bread pudding would be good for brunch or dinner and is tasty reheated. Hearty and filling, you'll especially want to enjoy it when it's cold and rainy outside, mark my words.

Ingredients:

half loaf of bread
1 bunch scallions
1 c frozen peas
1 c milk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 pkg sliced mushrooms
1 medium bell pepper, diced
4 eggs
1/2 c feta cheese, crumbled
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 glass baking dish with cooking spray or coat with oil. Set aside. Coarsely chop bread into cubes and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until toasted and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, add milk, scallions and frozen peas, and bring to a boil (to scald milk). Once boiling, immediately remove milk from heat and cover to steep.

Heat oil in skillet. Add onions and cook, 5-7 minutes until translucent. Add mushrooms and saute until mushrooms begin to release their juices. Add peppers and saute until mushrooms and peppers are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Beat eggs until smooth; add milk mixture (slightly cooled so eggs don't cook). Place bread crumbs in prepared dish, toss with cooked veggies and feta. Pour milk/egg mixture over bread/veggie mixture and, using a large spoon or spatula, mix a few times until just combined. Add a bit more milk if mixture appears dry. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until cooked through and not jiggly in the middle. Enjoy with a simple tossed green salad.

In a recent edition of Food & Wine, I saw this fabulous recipe from Chef Art Smith (of Oprah personal chef fame) in Chicago. It’s a simple melange of roasted vegetables, tossed with an orange-honey and balsamic vinaigrette  over mizuna. This salad is reminiscent of the Garbage Salad I wrote about earlier, but the dressing is slightly different and I used different veggies. 

The vinaigrette was so scrumptious! And I loved the texture of the roasted roots with the soft, peppery arugula as I didn’t have mizuna. I also didn’t have the exact root veggies he called for, so I improvised. The sweet, piquant dressing will definitely get used in our house over many a salad to come. This is a real keeper, and a perfect vegetarian meal for our meat-free January. I served it with a simple bread crumb and caper pasta with garlic and olive oil. It was kind of a lot of starch for one meal, but it satisfied as a comfort-food meal on a cold Sunday. Enjoy!

Cellared-Vegetable Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 1 hour

This would make a great side dish to a lean protein or fish, or an excellend main-dish salad if tossed with some brown rice or cous cous.

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
4 whole carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias into discs
6 medium turnips, peeled and halved or quartered
1 dozen Brussels sprouts, halved
1 medium onion, quartered
6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon minced red onion
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
3 cups packed arugula

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss first seven ingredients (through rosemary) with 1/4 cup olive oil in a large bowl. Sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper. Spread vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Reserve bowl.Roast for 30-40 minutes until veggies are caramelized in places and cooked until softened.

Meanwhile, in a 1/2 pint jar, combine remaining olive oil red onion, orange juice, vinegar and honey. With lid tightly secured, shake dressing until emulsified.

After roasting, toss veggies with arugula and dressing in reserved bowl. Serve immediately.

Art Smith, Food & Wine, February 2012

I used my Magazines.com gift card from the amazing Food Blog Forum goodie bags (I wrote about the event here) last October for a subscription to “Everyday Food” magazine. I love that little pub, but it’d been awhile since I’d subscribed. I found a recipe for Denver Omelet Cups in the January issue that I tore out, so I tried a variation of  it for dinner last night. What a treat! It was easy, tasty, relatively healthy and meatless. Plus, it’s unusual “cup” shape on the plate is impressive for a weeknight meal.

Next time I’d use slightly less shredded potatoes as there was barely enough room in the “cup” to hold everything and I’d prefer more sauteed veggies than potatoes. The eggs in the photo at left are about to run out of the cups, but amazingly there was just enough space. I’d also use my own shredded potatoes instead of the frozen kind (which I had on-hand) so I could leave the skins on for more nutrients. This recipe comes together really fast – you pre-bake the potato “cups” for 15 minutes, so while those are cooking you can saute the veggies and grate the cheese. After they finished baking, they popped right out of the pan without any trouble at all.

Alongside these eggy delights I served a grapefruit, orange, avocado, green onion salad over arugula and drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. This also came from “Everyday Food, and the recipe is just as simple as it sounds. The flavors didn’t quite go with the egg cups by traditional rules (citrus and eggs doesn’t really do anything for me) but I liked the brightness of both dishes’ flavors. Plus it was light and nutritious for a cold winter night.

Breakfast-For-Dinner Omelet Cups

Yield: 6 "cups"

Total Time: 30 min

This recipe would be great really anytime of day, though it's hearty enough for dinner. It makes six "cups," and two for dinner was plenty. I reheated a leftover for breakfast the next morning in the toaster oven and it was delish! The original recipe called for ham steak - I omitted that and added spinach. This recipe is easily customizable to your tastes and preferences.

Ingredients:

nonstick cooking spray
4 cups frozen hash browns (1 pound), thawed
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small red onion, diced small
1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced small
6 ounces fresh spinach
3 ounces shredded or crumbled cheese (I used feta)
8 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Coat 6 nonstick muffin cups with cooking spray or rub with oil. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt 4 teaspoons butter. Add hash browns and 2 egg whites; season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Place 1/2 cup mixture into each muffin cup, firmly pressing into bottom and up side of each cup with a spoon or your fingers. Bake 15 minutes; potato "cups" will be beginning to brown around the edges.

Meanwhile, heat a small nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil. Add red onion and bell pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium and add spinach. Cover until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide vegetable mixture evenly among cups and top with cheese. Bake 2 minutes. Remove from oven and crack 1 egg into each cup. Season with salt and pepper and bake until whites are set but yolks are still runny, 8 minutes was just enough time. With a small offset spatula, remove cups from pan and serve immediately.

Everyday Food, January/February 2012 http://www.marthastewart.com/872743/denver-omelet-cups

How many neighborhoods the size of this one can boast awesome artisan food purveyors such as these? I feel like one lucky gal. Read my post on that very topic here.

I also thought it’d be fun to indulge in a big ol’ piece of meat since as is our tradition for the second year running, come January 1, we cut out meat for one full month. So, Porter Road Butcher, with its array of locally- and sustainably-raised meat options hooked me up with this beautiful, well-marbled, bone-in, inch-and-a-half thick, 24-ounce ribeye. Oh man. Definitely the most intense meat purchase of my life.

At $19 a pound this cowboy steak was not cheap, but it was a good piece of meat and I felt worth it. I knew where it came from, it was a special occasion, and it was going to taste great lightly sprinkled with salt and pan-seared to medium rare perfection. I purchased it intentionally, thoughtfully and aware that it was an indulgence. I split it with my fiance and we savored every morsel.

In 2012, I want to eat less but better meat. I will try to purchase or enjoy it from PRB, the farmer’s market, a CSA, a locally-focused restaurant or even a hunter (my parent’s got some kick ass deer baloney from a friend who shot the deer himself and processed all the meat for family and friends), as much as I can. That probably won’t be the case 100% of the time, but hey – it’ll be a step in the right direction for me nutritionally, environmentally and ethically.

As far as the Bloomy Rind goes, I purchased some goat cheese that had a layer of ash around it. The center was so soft it was nearly liquid. I shared it with no one. Kathleen Cotter rules.

I like taking a month each year not so much with the focus of avoiding meat, but with the intention of broadening my vegetarian horizons to try new techniques, ingredients, flavor profiles and menu items that I might have otherwise overlooked. So for the next few weeks, I’ll share the exploits of my vegetarian (and pescetarian – we’re still eating fish) adventures in the kitchen here.

I’d also love some recommendations on favorite creative and healthful veg-centric concoctions. Please leave a comment with any and all suggestions!

Welcome to the party 2012 – I’ll bring the good meats and cheese.

• Olive & Sinclair Chocolate, Bang Candy Company (I know these guys aren’t technically East Nashville-based but they get around in their little confection truck) and Bongo Java Coffee Roasters provided sweets for two white elephant gift exchanges
• Porter Road Butcher and The Bloomy Rind sold the yummy Italian Sausages and Moses Sleeper (a cow’s milk soft cheese that is TO DIE FOR)
• Riverside Village Pharmacy carried Thistle Farms products, and I bought a delicious-scented candle for a dear friend
• Old Made Good furnished an awesome necklace for my cousin
• Idlewild, a new little garden-themed gift shop across from Family Wash introduced me to two little hanging bud vases made from vintage test tubes for another cousin
• Sweet 16th Bakery offered up macaroons for a late Hanukkah feast
• Fairytales Bookstore was the source for four story books for four little boys

What a treat to  have access to all this within a few miles of where I live. I don’t mean to sound boastful; just want to shine a little light on a neighborhood that I really feel thankful for. Nicole Keiper of the blog East Nashville with Love sums up the neighborhood well in her About Us page here. If you’re not already reading that blog you’re missing out. It’s incredibly prolific in its content and a great source of neighborhood scoop.

I probably should have posted this before Christmas but hey, the holidays are hectic, man. Let this post be an inspiration to think local this year in lots of ways beyond just food. There are tons of local artisans in East Nashville and all around Nashville for that matter, and supporting them in 2012 the best I can is definitely something I’m going to be focusing on. Let’s do it together, shall we?

What are your favorite local spots, products, artisans, etc.?

I came up with this salad when I was craving something healthy but hadn’t been to the grocery store in awhile. Luckily I had a few things still tucked away. It turned out great and I will definitely make variations of this again, especially to enjoy in the aftermath of the holidays.  Mix and match veggies, nuts, fruit, dried fruit and grains in this salad to your tastes (or whatever you’ve got on hand).

What I like best about this concoction is all the textures. The crunchy carrots and nuts, the crispy bacon, the roasted sweet potatoes and squash and chewy raisins – it all works so well together. Great for a main dish salad or a side! And it’s easy to make a big batch, or just a serving for two. If you find other yummy ingredient combos you especially like, let me know!

Garbage Salad

Yield: 2 main dish servings or 4 side servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Mix and match any ingredients in this yummy salad. The dressing makes more than you'll need so either half the ingredients or save in the fridge for another day. Kept covered, dressing will last for about a week.

Ingredients:

SALAD
1 sweet potato
1 cup butternut squash, peeled and diced (I had some frozen that I thawed and used)
1 onion, chopped
3/4 c uncooked Israeli couscous (or regular couscous, brown rice, quinoa, etc.)
2 pieces uncooked bacon
3 cups chopped greens (arugula, mixed greens, spinach, etc.)
3 green onions, chopped
5 baby carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, plus celery greens, chopped
1 apple or pear, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (or your favorite cheese)
crusty bread, optional

DRESSING
3/4 c olive oil, extra virgin
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c honey
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut sweet potato into even cubes, with skin left on (more nutrients!). In a small bowl, toss sweet potato, cubed onion and butternut squash with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread on a baking sheet lined with foil and roast at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes (depending on size of cubes) until browned and cooked through.

Meanwhile, boil Irsaeli couscous in water (just like pasta) until cooked but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Drain well and rinse with cold water to cool.

Cook bacon to desired doneness and drain on paper towel-lined plate. When cool enough to handle, crumble.

When potato/onion/squash mixture is done, remove from oven and let cool slightly. Combine with couscous, bacon and all other ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix up dressing ingredients in a small 1/2 pint jar (or other container) and shake until emulsified. Pour dressing over salad (to taste - there will be leftover dressing), tossing to combine. Serve with crusty bread, if desired.

But I do like sweets, and I love cookies – the perfect little hand-held sugar fix. Not as messy as cupcakes and less of a commitment than cake, cookies have always felt more like a treat to me than an actual dessert. So I was particularly excited when I heard about the Food Blogger Cookie Swap, hosted by Lindsay of Love & Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen. This swap, made up of hundreds of food bloggers from around the world, was a great idea by the girls, and the perfect excuse to bake. To participate, I had to bake three dozen cookies and mail a dozen each to the three bloggers I was assigned (Kara, Vicki and Sue – enjoy!). In return, I will get a dozen cookies from three other food bloggers. Cool.

So I made my famous Lemon Ricotta Cookies. Well, they’re actually Giada’s Lemon Ricotta Cookies but since they’re the cookies I’ve made more than any other, they feel like something special to me.

What makes these cookies even more special is that I made them with the very first lemon my Meyer lemon tree ever produced. How cool is that?!

I like these cookies because they’re not overly sweet. The tangy ricotta and kick of lemon work well together. The use of a Meyer lemon – which is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange – makes them a little less lemony with a sweeter, more floral flavor. But if you don’t have a Meyer lemon tree growing in your kitchen (ha!), regular lemons work fine (and are what the recipe calls for). I’ve also been curious about using an orange or lime in this recipe. I bet it’d be delicious.

Check out my tree. I used the lemon hanging to the right in the recipe (plus one more regular lemon – this recipe requires quite a bit of both juice and zest). One of the things I noticed about working with such a fresh lemon was the texture. Store-bought lemons are usually so hard. The skin and pith was so soft it nearly fell apart when I juiced it. I had a little helper in the kitchen while I was baking, too. His name is Pippin.

When you mix up the dough, don’t completely mix in the ricotta. Having some small lumps of it in the batter will make the cookies extra moist.  It should look something like this. (PS this cookie dough tastes AMAZING.)

Once the cookies have baked, you know the edges are done when they start to brown. The tops will remain pretty light so be careful not to overcook them.

When the cookies are completely cool, smear a little of the glaze on them. I make the glaze a little bit thicker than the recipe calls for so it doesn’t run down off the cookie too much.

Enjoy! I’ve enjoyed the swap so far, and will be looking forward to the next Food Blog Cookie Swap in 2012!

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: at least 2 hours, more with cooling

These cookies are extra moist, and sweet yet tangy. Make with lemons, or try other kinds of citrus. Unless your lemons are very fresh, you'll need at least two and maybe three to get enough juice.

Ingredients:

Cookies:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Add in eggs, one at a time and beat with a hand or stand mixer until fluffy. Add in ricotta, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and zest and mix in.

3. Gently add in flour mixture to ricotta mixture and stir until just mixed. In 2 tablespoon scoops, spoon batter onto baking sheet. Bake until edges turn golden brown, 14-15 minutes. When done, cool at least 20 minutes on wire rack.

4. Combine glaze ingredients together. Spread on cookies once completely cool. Let glaze set at least 30 minutes to harden before packaging.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lemon-ricotta-cookies-with-lemon-glaze-recipe/index.html

Sometime last year, I started making this chili. I don’t remember where I got the inspiration for a chili version, but this is more or less the recipe I make most often. It’s easy to riff on the ingredients – go heavy on the black beans, but any other kind of bean will do. I’ve also added in butternut squash with the sweet potatoes, and you can add heat with chipotle peppers like I did below, or with red pepper flakes, hot sauce – anything you want. Get creative with the toppings, too. I love stirring creamy sour cream or plain yogurt into something warm, with cilantro sprinkled on top. Mmmmmm.

I also love this recipe because it includes inexpensive ingredients, many of which I already have on-hand — canned beans and tomatoes in the pantry, a few sweet potatoes hanging out in the fridge, and the toppings can vary. It’s also a healthy meal, loaded with veggies (and no meat, unless you go for the crumbled bacon!), and very little fat. It also gets better the longer it sits, so it’s a great leftover meal.

Hope you enjoy! If Earwax ever reopens I’ll have the share this recipe with them.

Sweet Potato & Black Beach Chili

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 30 min or a few hours

Total Time: 50 min

Feel free to riff on the toppings! Crumbled bacon, green onions or tortilla chips would be nice additions. This dish gets better the longer it simmers - if you're serving to guests, try making the day before and reheating.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 medium peppers, chopped (preferably poblanos but bell will work)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 bottle of beer (preferably an amber Mexican-style beer like dos equis)
3 medium sweet potatoes, chopped (skin left on)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (preferably fire-roasted)
2 cans black beans
2 cans other beans (Great Northern, red, pinto, even chickpeas will work)
2 chipotle chili peppers, diced (from the can)
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from canned chipotles)
Vegetable/chicken broth, optional (for thinning, if necessary)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Sour cream or plain yogurt, optional
Cilantro, optional
Avocado, optional

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add chopped peppers and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Add cumin and oregano and cook for 1 minute more to toast. Add beer, and let reduce by half.

2. Add canned tomatoes and their juices, canned beans (do not drain), sweet potatoes, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer at least 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with broth, if desired.

3. Serve with sour cream, chopped cilantro and sliced avocado, if desired. Excellent with cornbread!

Click here for a full list of food/drink vendors. The list is substantial…

So…now to the “Win” part! I’m so excited to say, I’ve generously been given two free tickets to Taste of Nashville and two more to give away on my blog. Tickets are $50 ($60 at the door), so it’s definitely worth your time to enter.

Simply complete at least the first form of entry below. All additional forms are bonus entries (but please make sure to link your bonus entries as separate comments). I’ll randomly select a comment on Thursday 11/10 at noon CST and notify the winner via email.

1) (Must complete this to enter!) Leave a comment on this blog telling me what part of Taste of Nashville you’re most excited about. Is it a restaurant? Distiller? Brewer? Location? Entertainment?All of the above?!

2) (Additional Entry) RSVP on Taste of Nashville’s Facebook page and leave a comment (and link your post back here as a comment)

3) (Additional Entry) Follow @annakatet on twitter and tweet something like the following : I hope I win 2 free tix to @TasteofNash 11/18 from @AnnakateT! http://ow.ly/7kal9    (and link your tweet back here as a comment)

Good luck!

UPDATE: THIS CONTEST IS OVER.

Here are the details of the next tour:

Who:    Alimentum Eat & Greet Tour: Farm/Artisan Tour
Paulette Licitra, Publisher & Tour Host
Annakate Tefft, Public Relations & Tour Host

When:   Sunday, October 23, 2011 9:30am to 4pm

What: Guided tour costs $95 per person, limit 10 people. Tour includes transportation (from group meeting point), lunch, the latest copy of Alimentum Journal, and fun times with fellow local foodies.

Where: Tour departs at 9:30 am sharp (we’ve got a lot to cover!); meeting location TBD

To buy tickets and learn more, click here or email events@alimentumjournal.com.