I may have to buy this

So for our little vegetable extravaganza this month, I checked a book or two out of the library to give me some new recipes to work with. One of them is The Heart of the Pate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation by Mollie Katzen. Yes, the same Mollie Katzen of Moosewood fame.

We tried one of the recipes from it last night... the fully loaded corn cakes. They are essentially a savory pancake made with cornmeal, and with a huge amount of vegetables thrown in. Some people weren't too sure about them at first, but everyone ended up eating them. I wasn't too sure about making pancakes for this many people, but it actually went pretty quickly, and they stayed warm in the oven. We will definitely make this again. I doubled it, but didn't double the jalapeno pepper that was called for. I think I will double that, too.

One of the things that made them particularly good was the chipotle sour cream that was suggested to go along with them. It turns out that I had some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce lurking in the back of my refrigerator, making me feel guilty, so this was perfect. Everyone, even the spice-advers, loved it, and it was great on the pancakes. (Pretty much the recipe is: take some sour cream, and mix in as many diced chipotle peppers as you like.) If everything from the book is this good, it will be well worth the price of the book.

How is your foray into the world of vegetables going? Have you tried something new? New recipe? New food? I need to find a new vegetable to try. Since I'm always trying new foods, this can be a little tricky.

Here is the vegetable tally so far:

Avocado – 1

Beans (black) - 1

Beans (navy) – 2

Bell pepper - 1

Brussels sprouts – 1

Chipotle pepper - 1

Corn – 2

Cucumber – 2

Edamame – 1

Escarole – 1

Green beans – 1

Green onions – 1

Jalapeno - 1

Lettuce (romaine) – 2

Onion – 4

Spinach – 1

Tomato (cherry) – 1

Tomato – 2

Zucchini - 1

Tomorrow we are trying a cauliflower curry tomorrow night from the same book. I'll let you know how it is.