My next trip is going to have to be to Omaha, Nebraska because that’s where Isa Moskowitz has opened her own vegan restaurant Modern Love. If I stare at the new August menu long enough will the food magically appear on my table?!
A few weeks ago I got to meet the gal herself downtown at MooShoes at a book party for Terry Romero’s Salad Samurai. What a great night!
For lunch today, I put together what I imagine the Modern Love’s Sharers & Starters Farmer’s Hummus plate to be like.
Roasted Garlic Hummus
1 head of roasted garlic
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup hot bean water (or hot water)
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 of a lemon)
Salt, to taste
Squeeze the roasted garlic into the Vitamix or blender. Add the rest of the ingredients. Let it rip until it is smooooooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Roasted radishes
1 bunch radishes
Oil
Sea salt, a pinch
Roast in a 400 oven for 20 minutes or so. I like them really roasted.
Farm stand heirloom cherry tomatoes
Purple/yellow carrots
Cucumber
Toasts
Roast the garlic and radishes. Make the hummus. Cut the tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers. Toast the toast under the broiler. Make a nice platter. Enjoy!
Cucumbers & Beets with Creamy Dill Dressing
This creamy dill is one of my favorite dressings. It is another winner from Mark Reinfeld of Vegan Fusion. It is so creamy, you can’t believe it!
For this appetizer, I roasted one of the beets from the CSA and then topped it with cucumbers mixed with the dressing. It’s pretty and easy to put together.
serves 2
1/2 seedless cucumber *
1 red beet *
Cut the greens and end off the beet. Wrap it in foil and place in a 400 oven for an hour to roast. When cool, peel the skin off. Slice into rounds.
Peel and cut the cucumber in half and then into slices.
Arrange the beets in a 4 leaf clover pattern. Mix the cucumbers with a few spoonfuls of dressing and drop right into the center of the clover. Enjoy!
Creamy Dill Dressing (makes about 1 cup)
3/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup water
The juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
3 teaspoons dill weed
Salt, to taste
Place everything in the Vitamix or blender and process until completely creamy. Taste and adjust lime, dill and salt. Let sit for a little while so the flavors can come together. Store in the refrigerator.
Palm Cakes with Caper Remoulade
On our trip to Florida, we found another vegan restaurant called Darbster in West Palm Beach. They are famous for their Palm Cakes, a sort of mock crab cake made with hearts of palm. I googled around and found a version of their recipe. I played with it a bit, added some Old Bay, and made up a caper remoulade. Voila, appetizers are served. Seriously, delicious.
Note: A friend who is not vegan exclaimed upon eating these, “they taste like the real thing. You would never know they were not crab cakes.” My question is, “who says that crab cakes are the real thing? Who says crab cakes came first?!” The point is that vegan food is just as creative and delicious as other cuisines.
makes about a dozen, using a 3 tablespoon ice cream scooper
Palm Cakes
1 14 oz. can hearts of palm
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
1/2 small red onion
1/2 red pepper
Fresh parsley, handful
1 teaspoon Old Bay
3 tablespoons Vegenaise
1 cup quinoa flakes
S and P
Sunflower oil
Drain and chop the hearts of palm.
Place the celery, carrot, onion and pepper into the food processor and pulse a few times until everything is processed.
Turn out vegetables into a big bowl and mix with the chopped hearts of palm. Chop the parsley and add to the mixture. Add the Old Bay, Vegenaise and quinoa flakes and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for a half hour or more.
Heat sunflower oil in a non-stick skillet. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop up some mixture and place it on the hot oil. Cook until the bottom side is brown and then flip over and flatten a bit and cook until the bottom is browned. Drain on a paper towel before serving.
Caper Remoulade
1/2 cup Vegenaise
1 tablespoon relish
1 tablespoon capers
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon chickpea miso
Paprika, a few dashes
Fresh parsley, small handful
S and P
Mince the garlic (I like to use my microplane for this since kind of makes the garlic mushy) and place everything into a bowl. Mix together. Add fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper.
Serve the palm cakes topped with the remoulade. Enjoy!
Warm Mushroom, Asparagus & Artichoke Salad
I make this for lunch when I am home by myself because it is so easy and my husband does not eat mushrooms, asparagus or artichokes.
1 small shallot
1 cup of mushrooms
1 cup of asparagus
6 artichoke hearts
Olive oil
Bunch of fresh parsley
The juice of 1/2 a lemon
S and P
Slice the shallot. Add a small amount of olive oil to a pan along with the shallots and sauté on medium until just softening.
Clean the mushrooms (brush with a paper towel, no water), slice and add to the pan. Cook until just turning brownish. Cut the asparagus into small pieces and add to the pan. Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and add to the pan. Chop the parsley and mix with the vegetables.
When the asparagus have turned bright green, squeeze the fresh lemon juice over the top and enjoy!
Beluga Lentil Caviar with Candle 79’s Creme Fraiche
This is one of the best things I make! I love that the name of these lentils is Beluga and so I created this “caviar” dish with the standard sides: toasts, chopped red onions, capers, and creme fraiche.
Beluga lentils, cooked
Toast
Red onion, minced
Capers
Creme fraiche
Cook the lentils. Brush the bread with olive oil and place under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes. Mince the onions, drain the capers.
The creme fraiche is made from 1 cup raw cashews, 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons water and pinch salt.
To serve, set up each ingredient in it’s own bowl/plate so everyone can create their own masterpiece. Enjoy!