A Mediterranean Vegetable Feast

After another 3 inches of rain last week, which puts us now at 15 inches above normal, Sunday was miraculously warm and sunny. I only mention this because (a) I’m so sick of rain I could cry; and (b) it’s thunderstorming as I post. Now I don’t know if it’s because we were in an especially happy sunny mood, or because of the sheer volume and variety of food we prepared, but we all agreed that this past Sunday dinner was truly one of the best we had eaten in a long time. I had two refrigerators full of fresh veggies and this dinner featured at least a dozen different ones, grilled, roasted, and in salad form. Of course I forgot to take a picture of my roasted veggies, so I will just mention that they were mostly green beans, with mushrooms, yellow squash, calabaza squash, red bell pepper, and onions, and seasoned with oregano, garlic, paprika, etc., and our featured herb, rosemary.

I also made a cold Broccoli Salad (surprise) with carrots, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, black olives, cucumber, and green onions. I made a vinaigrette dressing with Italian style herbs, garlic, and a little red pepper flakes and mustard. This was spicy good. Oh, I think we’re already at a dozen veggies!




I was hoping for grilling weather because I had been dying to grill potatoes on rosemary skewers. I found some fresh but smallish sticks of rosemary and purple potatoes. I boiled the potatoes until pretty much done, then pierced them with bamboo skewers, and then threaded them onto the stripped rosemary stems.

Before they went on the grill, I wrapped the top leaves in foil and brushed them with leftover tofu marinade (see below), but the tops of the stems actually burned and fell off. It didn’t affect the flavor, only the presentation. The flavor was not overwhelming, but a wonderful infusion of the rosemary into the potatoes, and the skins get crispy. I definitely recommend you give this method a try.

I was also anxious to use my grill wok again, so I prepped asparagus, red bell pepper, and purple onions for it. I also recommend a grill wok - totally yummy and no veggies slipping through the grate!

In keeping with our Mediterranean theme, I made a Romesco Sauce for all the veggies. I used one fresh tomato and one roasted pepper, but I think next time it would be best to go either all fresh or all roasted. It also had almonds, jalapeno, garlic, fresh rosemary and parsley, so who could complain really?

Another superb sauce I made was Celine’s Creamy Pumpkin Almond Sauce. I added this to quinoa pasta and it was soooo perfect with all the crunchy veggies. The sauce is a little sweet on its own, and creamy rich and delicious with pasta. I can’t wait to test more of Celine’s recipes. They are all so wonderful!

Chase needs tofu, so I baked him some using VWAV Italian marinade. I used Marsala wine and lots of rosemary and it was fabulous, as are all of Isa’s recipes. (This marinade is what I brushed the potatoes with.)

Chase warmed his tofu on the grill before dinner and ate it with the pasta. Well I can’t eat tofu, so I needed something else for protein. I almost didn’t make this because, let’s face it, I’ve gone overboard again. But I’m glad I did because it was so good. I followed a recipe from Mediterranean Vegan for Chickpeas with Tahini Sauce, and added in fresh cooked spinach and sundried tomatoes. Yum, yum, yum! It was like an amazing chunky hummus.

I served the pasta and roasted veggies from the stovetop, and put everything else on the table. There are toasted pitas too, essential for dipping in the Romesco and pasta sauces and the chickpeas.

Here’s my plate. I was in vegetable heaven.

Yes I did make dessert. I had also been dying to make something with shredded filo dough. I had seen it before at my Mediterranean market, but it’s 15 miles away, so I just bought the regular stuff and shredded it myself. From my research, I determined that to make fancy things with it, you would use it as a wrapper, like for fish or potatoes, or make bowls using muffin tins, or what I decided on – nests. I formed the shreds into nests, then drizzled a little melted EB and vanilla over them. I think next time I will mix the dough with the melted butter and then form the nests, because the dough dries so fast and I was a slow nest builder.

So the dessert was to plate a nest…..

…. then add fresh peaches and strawberries, and top it with vanilla Rice Dream and almonds. OMG these were so good! Chase and Liz ate two!

I admit it – we are pigs on Sundays, but only on Sundays. We have such fun in the kitchen and at the grill together and that’s what it’s really all about. Plus Chase gets to take home all the leftovers.

Before I go I have to mention that I made Kris’s Oatmeal Drizzles from Damn Tasty. I had one hour to make a thank-you treat, and this was perfect. The cookies are so pretty and so yummy and easily do-able in an hour. They were a much appreciated gift.

I cooked like a crazy woman this weekend because for one thing, I’ve been eating fresh and simple throughout the week, and secondly, I finally get to take Chase with me on vacation! This Sunday we’re off to Galveston to enjoy hopefully rainfree time at the beach and new vegan restaurant fare. I’ll make the blog rounds and try to get in another post before we leave. Yay!