I arrived at Culinary Experimentation Club Monday night to the unmistakable smell of slow-cooked beef. On any other night such deliciousness would delight me beyond measure but this night was supposed to be the first of an entire month of vegetarian cooking.
Hmmm.
The guilty smiles and furtive looks from the menfolk assured me that indeed a mutiny was afoot. My ears were soon assaulted with all manner of excuses for their rebellion, including their assertion that “cows are vegetarian!”
In the end, it was the beef itself that won me over. Slow-cooked in sherry, hard cider, shallots and potatoes, it was fork tender and perfect with the rich gravy.
The rebellious meat-cookers were soundly forgiven.
It was definitely an evening of good-natured kerfuffles. Even simple biscuits caused a ruckus! Robin brought out a platter of her tender Lemon Thyme Biscuits and scolded us when we mistook them for scones. This started a discussion on what exactly the difference is between biscuits and scones. We have no idea. Whatever their “real” name, they are now officially known as Robin’s Lemon Thyme Scone-Shaped Biscuits.
To accompany the Vegetarian Pot Roast I made my favorite Aussie roast potatoes with Kalamata olives. It’s a wonderfully simple dish yet absolutely packed with flavor, and I’ve been craving it ever since I got back from Australia. I will share the recipe with you in an Australia post coming soon.
Robin contributed fantastic Curried Carrots, plump and soft, cooked in a savory sauce that was so good I wanted to scrape out the pan for every last drop.
We ended our night with a soak in the hot tub and rousing games of Uno with steaming cups of Darren’s Red Tiramisu tea and Michael’s splendid gluten-free chocolate chip cookie bars.
What is your favorite vegetarian dish?
talk about comfort food! if i were close by i would have had to invite myself in and never leave! your pictures totally communicate the irresistibility of this dinner!
I would have to say that spanakopita is my favourite veggie dish…anything with feta cheese wins me over:D My dad is a vegetarian and has been all his life. He is now 82. It just shows that real men can eat vegetarian…wink:D for those members who brought meat:D
I stayed with Hare Krishnas for 9 days and I was shocked at the innovation with their food. Although vegetarian I didn’t miss meat at all and ate some amazing meals.
This sounds like exactly what would happen if I allowed my parents or my brother to attempt to cook a vegetarian meal. Mutiny.
At least the meat looks beautifully cooked!
The thought of a mutiny set to to smiling. The food you feature today looks really wonderful. I have a recipe for black beans and rice that is my current favorite. have a great day. Blessings…Mary
I am a meat and seafood lover but I do love a good vegetarian dish. My favorite has to be tofu.
you want a delicious and simple salad…
one Nappa Cabbage/ heading type, sliced finely.
in a large bowl mix this with one cup Macadamia nuts, whole or chopped slightly. Add a some lemon juice, apple cider, olive oil dressing with two cloves garlic squeezed in. The nuts may be raw or roasted, and peanuts, plain or roasted, may be substituted, however the macadamia is outstanding. This whole cabbage disappears quickly prepared like this 🙂
I love Zucchini Corn Casserole! My second choice would be Country Creole Peas ‘n Corn – because I love black-eyed peas.
Bwahahahaha! Love it. Boys will ALWAYS be boys.
Paradis, you can pop in ANY time!! We’ll have a glass of wine and plate full of food ready for you. 🙂
Oh, that would have to be one of my favorites too, Val!! Now I’m craving it something fierce. 🙂
I really love vegetarian food too, Ayngelina! Especially when people get creative and move beyond salad and veggie trays. 🙂 I’d love to hear more about the food you ate!
Yes, Joanne, from everything you’ve said about your family I can picture them joining the rebellious ranks. 🙂 It WAS fantastic meat though. 🙂
It made me laugh too, Mary. 🙂 They’re such a hilarious bunch. Black beans and rice sounds splendid. 🙂
That’s great, Ellie! The guys are going to do tofu next week and I can’t wait to see what they do with it. 🙂
Oh fisher lady, you’ve got me salivating with the description of that salad! I’ve never had macadamia nuts in a salad before, but I love all other nuts so I know it must be fantastic! 🙂
Both of those sound fantastic, Glenna! I’ve just started cooking with black-eyed peas and now I love them too! 🙂
You said it, Duchess! 🙂 They crack me up. 🙂
Oh gosh, I’ve worked with many a blokey chef who refuses to see the wonders of vegetarian cooking too…. but this all sounds and looks amazing, so win win huh 🙂
Cows are vegetarian? Hilarious!
🙂
valerie
Those GF CC bars look amazing. Will Michael let you share the recipe?