My Veg Table

Published January 7, 2017

The Best of 2016…

My favorite pics of 2016: cauliflower, soft-boiled egg, zucchini bread, lemon glazed blueberry muffins, Florida cranberry (hibiscus), peanuts and berbere, lemon brown butter cauliflower soup, tomatillos, carrot tapioca bowl.

Today is my late grandfather’s birthday and the last day our Christmas decorations will be up. My mom would always keep everything decorated until January seventh and it’s one of the traditions I still keep in my own home. Not only does it remind me of him, I like that it extends the holiday season a couple of weeks more and gives me time to mentally prep for the New Year. And now…the time has come to bid adieu to 2016.

It feels like not long ago, I was reveling in the fact that I had been blogging for an entire year. Writing and cooking was how I spent much of my free time. And now…year two has flown by and year three has begun! Within the last few months, I went one step further and am now a guest writer on a local foodie website. I was so nervous about reaching another set of readers, but realized that taking that leap was an important challenge for me to accept. I’ve got five posts under my belt on StPetersburgFoodies.com and it has not only helped build my confidence as a writer, but also has given me much needed discipline to meet my self-imposed deadlines. So that you don’t miss a recipe–no matter where it’s actually posted–I’ve created a Publications section on my blog. Those brief snippets will have a link to follow to get you to the post and recipe du jour. Who knows where my posts will be showing up next year?!

All

best of 2016 lemon blueberry muffins lemon brown butter cauliflower my veg table vegetarian

Published December 29, 2016

Persimmon Butter…

Sweet persimmon and spices cooked down to a spreadable butter…

If you’ve been curious about persimmons but have no idea what to do with them, try this simple recipe for persimmon butter. This butter elevates just about anything you spread it on.

For the recipe and the story behind my inspiration, you can find it here on the St. Petersburg Foodie website.

Publications

my veg table persimmon persimmon butter st petersburg foodies st petersburg foodies recipes vegetarian

Published November 29, 2016

My First Taste of Masala…

chana-masala-myvegtable — Homemade chana masala; a spicy tomato chickpea dish.

Seventeen years ago–on our second date–my husband introduced me to Indian food. It was quite a memorable bite; chana masala is now a regular on the menu at our house. Don’t let those complex spices fool you; it’s incredibly easy to make at home!

You can find the post and recipe on the St. Petersburg Foodies website here.

Publications

chana masala chickpea stew garam masala publications st petersburg foodies st petersburg foodies recipes The Moon Under Water vegetarian

Published November 21, 2016

Hibiscus Bubbly…

hibiscus-florida-cranberry-myvegtable — Hibiscus flower, aka roselle, aka Florida cranberry…

Fifteen years ago, my husband, Ed, and I toasted the start of our life together. Our glasses–and thirty others–were filled with Banfi’s Rosa Regale sparkling red; the color not only matched my wine-colored calla lilies, but also, as those glasses were raised, served to offset the stark white walls of the museum where we held our reception.

After putting dishes away the other day, I pulled down two of those infamous champagne glasses and gently clinked them together to reminisce. As I listened to the sound of the crystal reverberating, it made me think of my son, Everett, and what he would be drinking as Ed and I toasted our anniversary this week–he always feels left out when we have a grown-up drink. (Typically, as a consolation, we allow him to have something special and bubbly along with us: root beer and ginger beer are his favorites.) I set the glasses down and noticed that sitting right in front of me was the bowl full of Florida cranberries that I picked up at the market the day before. The cogs started turning…

My brain is always veering off from one tangent to the next: it’s pretty much how I function. So, follow me, won’t you, as I take you along my thought path from our wedding champagne memory through to my latest creation: hibiscus syrup.

Inspiration

bubbly cocktail florida cranberry hibiscus soda hibiscus syrup inspiration my veg table vegetarian

Published November 7, 2016

Gnocchi–Hold the Potato…

ricotta-gnocchi-sage-brown-butter-myvegtable — Gnocchi made from ricotta cheese…

Ricotta gnocchi takes me back to my first San Francisco trip with my husband. Topping it off with brown butter is a bonus…

You can find the post and recipe on the St. Petersburg Foodies website here.

Publications

brown butter gnocchi publications ricotta gnocchi st petersburg foodies st petersburg foodies recipes vegetarian

Published November 7, 2016

Practically Perfect Pumpkin Bars…

pumpkin-magic-bars-mferrer — An updated fall version of the traditional Magic Bars…

There’s nothing more addictive than Magic Bars. I’ve updated them for fall with a pumpkin version. You can find the post and recipe on the St. Petersburg Foodie website here.

Publications

magic bars my veg table publications pumpkin bars pumpkin magic bars seven layer bars st petersburg foodies st petersburg foodies recipes vegetarian

Published November 7, 2016

Fridge Foraging…

swpotato-empanadas-myvegtable — Sweet potato black lentil empanadas…

Rummaging through the fridge resulted in some pretty amazing empanadas! You can find my post and recipe on the St. Petersburg Foodies website here.

Publications

homemade empanadas my veg table publications st petersburg foodies st petersburg foodies recipes sweet potato lentil empanada vegetarian

Published October 28, 2016

Drinking Our Way Through the Mountains…

nc-mountain-view-myvegtable — A view from the top of Wayah Bald Lookout Tower: Franklin, NC.

My family and I always seem to be eating our way through some city or another. Our summer trip to North Carolina was a bit different. Because this was our longest road trip to date with our 8 year-old son, Everett, the car was full of snacks and food packed for on-the-go; there was no stop every two hours for food. We stayed in the Franklin, North Carolina mountains, about 20 minutes out of town; instead of a hotel, we rented a cabin. Cooking in our cozy digs for the week made us feel more like residents than tourists. As a result of not eating out five times per day, we did not do our usual whirlwind culinary tour of town–however, we did do some drinking.

Living in St. Petersburg has spoiled us; we have coffee places and local breweries around every corner. When we venture out of our little town, those are the top two things on our radar. Rule number one: no coffee shop chains that we have at home–sorry, Starbucks. Rule number two: local craft beers only–no imports. With the current craft beer boom, we had no problem sticking with number two. To get the full mountain-town experience and to search for proper beverages, we ventured out to several of the other cities within a sixty-mile radius of Franklin: Bryson City, Sylva, Highlands, and Cashiers. On the route home, we drove through Greenville, SC and Savannah, GA all on the same quest. Here were our favorite drink stops along the way:

Travel

beer coffee Georgia Greenville SC highlands highlands NC horchata latte innovation brewery lazy hiker brewery mate factor moutain fresh grocery my veg table North Carolina Passerelle bistro roadtrip savannah Savannah GA South Carolina Sylva NC sylva signature brew the coffee fox travel travel drinking

Published October 14, 2016

Reminiscing About Rhubarb…

Green rhubarb pies. It’s one of the fond food memories I have from living in Pittsburgh as a kid. My friend’s mom would pay a visit to her garden and later resurface with a sweet-tart pie that made me pucker with every bite. Since rhubarb was a foreign ingredient in my family’s kitchen, her green pies were all I knew. It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties before I discovered that rhubarb is most commonly red. About five years ago, I introduced that red rhubarb into my kitchen.

Inspiration

chutney goat cheese inspiration my veg table puff pastry rhubarb rhubarb chutney rhubarb turnover turnover vegetarian

Published September 18, 2016

My New Fall Favorite…

peanut-berbere-myvegtable — Peanuts and Berbere: the two signature flavors in peanut stew.

I noticed during today’s weekly grocery trip that the landscape of the produce section is changing. Squash and apples and citrus were more abundant than usual. Summer berries are in scant supply. Potato bins were filled to the gills with russet, red, yellow and sweet potatoes. Fall is approaching; I wish the Florida weather would follow suit.

Old habits die hard; therefore, my first dish of the fall season is always my butternut squash soup. I feel inclined to go a different direction this year. Don’t worry, you’ll still want to cozy up and eat it in a big bowl while on the couch. The only difference is that I’m reaching across the globe for this fall’s inspiration: African peanut stew.

Inspiration

African African peanut stew Berbere inspiration my veg table Peanut stew vegetarian

My Veg Table Posts