Rib Stickin' Vegan

Like many foodies, I often find myself going through "phases," times when I'll favor certain ingredients or eschew others depending on my mood, time of year, and food supply conditions. Trust me, the e coli spinach outbreak was painful!
In keeping with my New Year's outlook, I'm in the process of rethinking some of my eating habits, hopefully making some changes that will be more than phases. I know I'm not the only one trying to do this. Around this time of year, many people vow to get healthier, make lifestyle changes, and, in the most simple terms, atone for holiday sins.
Healthy food need not be a punishment! If you're tired of stale rice cakes and frozen diet meals that make you feel hungrier than you did before the microwave dinged, stay with me.
The following recipe will get you at least 2 of the recommended servings of vegetables in one meal. It's vegetarian, but leave out the optional ingredients to make it vegan. Hot, hearty, and perfect for a cold winter weeknight, this dish can be made in less than 45 minutes.

Savory Bean Stew over Roasted Cauliflower
For stew:
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 15oz can kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 bag baby spinach
1 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: Your favorite cheese

For roasted cauliflower:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 small head cauliflower, cleaned and sliced into 1/2" sheets
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In an oven proof saute pan, heat the oil over high heat for the cauliflower until it shimmers. Add the cauliflower and sear until golden on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Place the pan in the oven. While the cauliflower roasts, prepare the stew.

For the stew: In another saute pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the minced onion and saute until transparent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and lower the heat to low. Keep the garlic moving to prevent it from burning. Add the beans to the pan and toss to coat. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and the chili powder.

When cauliflower is tender after about 10 minutes of cooking and the bean mixture is hot, add the spinach to the beans. Cook for another 2 minutes, adding additional salt and pepper. When spinach is wilted, turn off the heat.

To plate: Place a good size "sheet" of cauliflower on the bottom of the plate. Top with 1/3 of the stew. Garnish the stew with some of the crispier cauliflower bits and a sprinkling of cheese if desired. Grab a fork and get ready to rethink vegetarian cuisine!

Remaining roasted cauliflower can be used as an omelet filling, mixed in with pasta, mashed and used as a spread or dip, or even cooled and mixed into your favorite meatloaf recipe instead of eggs.

Extra stew can be used over rice or even heated and served over tortilla chips!

Enjoy!
Chris

Saturday Survival

Turn up the heat
No second guesses
Will it all over
To the instinctive alter ego
The primitive banshee
Who swears and slams pans
Claws and gets it done

Do not question her.

Simply let her go

My inner warrior who wails her battle cry
As I am the one who
Gets the pat on the back and signs the paycheck

Virtual Foodie

So after graduating from culinary school and diving headfirst into an exciting full time job, I'm returning from my literary hiatus.

One of the easiest ways in which we can tell food culture has gone mainstream is to look at all the different medias in which food has infiltrated. Gourmandese has certainly infused itself into many forms of expression. Other than the obvious: television, magazines, and stacks of cookbooks, the form of media I thought would be the final frontier has finally succumbed to the army of the edible. I speak, of course, of video games.

Hold up...before you click to the next blog or heaven forbid read a book, hear me out. The internet is a truly powerful creation and simulation games are an easy way to avoid reality. Just think of the possibilities! Without ever leaving my desk chair, I can manage a restaurant, sail the world in search of chocolate ingredients, and sling burgers that would make both a king and a clown proud. There are plenty of food related games out there, but which ones are truly worth the waste of time?

Diner Dash - Ah, the classic. Seat guests in an ever expanding restaurant. This game was the first break out food game hit. Not only is the original now available on cell phones, but the game has launched, at time of writing, four sequels, almost putting it in the same league as many MA shooter games. While I will admit to staying up until 3am playing this game after realizing that the MSN Games 1 hour free trial was much longer than 1 hour, the game itself takes a while to get exciting. Like many games, the first few tutorial levels are overtly easy, building up false confidences. As the game progresses, it gets frustratingly addictive, as one of my roommates found out, and repeditive. Not a good combination when you have a paper to write, yet are unable to tear yourself away from the line of virtual customers. Out of the 3 of the 4 versions I have tried, the 3rd was the most enjoyable. From a professional standpoint, this game is minimally realistic.

Cake Mania -Help Jill run a bakery by completing cake orders for your line of guests. Get ready to release your inner baker! Unlike Diner Dash, this game somehow struck a cord. Just like in a real bakery, you need time management and a strong sense of sequence. There is some room for creativity in this game, as a cake stand allows you to showcase a cake in hopes of selling it. Just like Diner Dash, the first few levels are basic, but it does get harder. Cake Mania 2 is practically identical to the original.

Burger Rush - For fans of both food and matching games comes Burger Rush. Fill customer orders by matching adjacent shapes. Feel free to try it, but I beat this one easily. For a better challenge, try BeJeweled or Chainz.

Sushi Chef - As a raw fish fan, I really wanted to like this game, it just never happened. According to what your customer orders, click the food as it spins around a sushi bar. There was no excitement; the game kind of made me dizzy. Save your time.

Chocolatier - This game is more of a stategy game than an arcade game. Start as a lowly chocolate maker and work your way up to a global confectionarian. I like games with stories, and this one certainly has an interesting story. Buy low, sell high, and keep your factories stocked with exotic ingredients. Fans of the Tradewinds series will eat this one up!

Stand o'Food - I admit it: I tried it because the name made me laugh. This game is a combination of matching games and fast paced arcade action. The pace picks up quickly and although it is repeditive, I didn't get bored.

Cathy's Caribbean Club - Pretend to run an upscale smoothie bar. This game was frustrating; there was no way to be efficient! Club upgrades only made things worse, rather than better like in other games. From a professional standpoint, this game is even more unrealistic than Diner Dash. I am grateful that my experiences as a server were never this bad!

So take the time to enjoy some of these distractions. Just remember to get up once in a while and play with some real food!

Until next time,
Chris