Colorful Pasta Salad

Sometimes, I just need a little color in my life.  Maybe it’s the intense schedule I’ve managed to arrange.  Maybe it was the rainy days I had to commute in.  Maybe it’s the hours I’ve spent staring at a computer.  Whatever the reason, I needed a little color in my life at the end of the week.

I know, this is not what you think about when you think of adding color to your life.  But the truth is, bright colors make me happy.  It’s why my raincoat is bright orange.  It cheers me up.  And if those colors come (naturally) from my food, so be it.

I needed something bright and colorful and quick and simple.  So I whipped up this pasta dish with some things I already had on hand.  And I was happy.  I had color in my life again, and good food in my tummy.  And all I have to say to the coming week is this: Bring it.

Split Pea Soup

It finally happened.  It finally snowed in DC.  The best, best, best part of winter, the part that makes all those bleak, cold days worth it, is the snow.  Everything – buildings, trees, people –  looks better in the snow.  Well, everything looks better before the snow turns to slush and then turns gray and gross.  But before that point, the world is a beautiful wonderland, frosted with a sparkling coat of fluffy white snow. 

And the best, best, best part of snow is when it’s actually snowing.  Somehow, no matter what is actually happening outside, the world suddenly seems quiet, serene, and peaceful.  Those moments of calm are among the most beautiful moments I have ever witnessed.  When it's snowing, nothing else has to exist and you don’t have to worry about anything at all.  You can walk through the streets, breathe deeply, and just be.  There truly aren’t enough words in the world to express the beauty I see and the calm that I feel when snow is falling from the sky.  I would happily live in that world forever.

This cold, beautiful world also inspires me to make hot, hearty soup.  This week, it inspired me to make split pea soup, one of my personal favorites.  Something about the way the peas melt into the smooth, almost creamy green soup makes me happy inside.  I personally like my split pea a bit chunky, so rather than blending the soup, I let the peas simmer for a while and melt down on their own.

This recipe is great because it’s easy to make.  It’s also easy to transform into a slow cooker soup.  Just put all the ingredients, minus the oil, into a slow cooker and set it on low for 8-10 hours.  If you put it on before you go to work in the morning, you’ll come home to a house that smells like soup, and a hot dinner ready and waiting for you.  Add some snow falling silently outside your window and a good book to curl up with, and I call that the perfect winter evening.

Pizza Bagel

I know, I know, everyone knows how to make a pizza bagel.  All you need is a bagel, sauce, cheese, a microwave, and boom, you have something delicious to eat.  But humor me for a minute while I explain.

In the Philadelphia suburbs, there is a little place called Delancy Street Bagels.  It sells bagels (obviously), and they’re good bagels, but that’s not what makes it so special.  It’s what they do with their bagels.

This place has amazing sandwiches that pile high tons of yummy things, is way to much to eat, and even comes with a pickle.  It’s perfect.  But the best, the absolute best thing on their menu is easily, hands down, the pizza bagel.  It’s so good, that I’ve heard New Yorkers, who take pride in both their pizza and their bagels, sing its praises.

So what makes this pizza bagel so special?  Why does it draw me to this place time after time?  It’s all in the cheese.  They use string cheese.  And I don’t mean those processed tubes a cheese that always seem to taste better when you do actually peel them into strings.  I mean real string cheese.

Luckily, you can find this stuff in the store.  I always see this particular brand of Armenian string cheese at my local Safeway.  If you enjoy pizza bagels, you have to try this stuff.  I’m telling you, it will change the way you look at the ordinary pizza bagel.

Now, I have two other things that I particularly like.  The first is, I like using tomato paste instead of sauce.  I like that it has all the same flavors, but more concentrated and less soggy.  I also sprinkle some za’atar on top of my pizza bagels.  It’s a Middle Eastern spice blend that I more or less got addicted to after spending a semester in Israel in high school.  When you order pizza in Israel, they give you these packets of za’atar to sprinkle on top and it really just takes pizza to a whole new level.  If you don’t have it, or you don’t want to invest in a large amount of it (because it only seems to come in obscenely large quantities), you can always sprinkle on some oregano instead and go the more traditional route.  Sadly, I made this particular pizza bagel at my parents’ house, where there was no za’atar.  Sigh.

Anyway, I know you know how to make a pizza bagel.  I know you don’t need me to give you a recipe because you totally already have your own.  But I’m going to share this one anyway.  And seriously, give this cheese a chance.  It really will change the way you look at an ordinary pizza bagel.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

There’s no better way to start the day than to wake up, turn on some She & Him, and bake a fresh batch of cookies.  Seriously, can you think of anything that could go wrong if you start your day like that?  I don’t think it’s possible to have a bad day with freshly baked cookies in the house.

These particular cookies are oldies but goodies.  Once upon a time, the Philadelphia Inquirer printed a recipe titled “Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies.”  My mom cut out the recipe and kept it for years.  My sisters and I then baked it for years.  Eventually, the newspaper clipping got old, and my mom transferred the recipe to these great handwritten cookbooks that she made for each of us.  There’s something about a handwritten recipe that just can’t be replaced, you know?

Anyway, calling these cookies “outrageous” seemed, well, outrageous, so my family settled on the title “Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies,” which is also kind of a mouthful.  Luckily, the cookies are super simple to make.  It’s a one-bowl recipe that requires no mixers or gadgets, just a few minutes of your time, and a little bit of elbow grease.  The cookies are filled with oats, chocolate chips, and peanut butter.  When I stopped eating eggs, we replaced the one egg with a banana, and it worked wonderfully.  I mean, who doesn’t love bananas with peanut butter?

So pull up a chair, grab a glass of your favorite kind of milk, and chow down on these classics.  See?  Your day is looking great already.

The Great Challah Debate

Happy new year, everyone!  2011 was a big year.  It was a history changing year around the world.  It was the year I finally found some direction.  And of course, it was the year I started this blog.  I can't tell you how much the experience has exceeded all my expectations, and I just want to thank everyone who has stopped by, left me comment, or told me what you thought about The Inventive Vegetarian.  It's been so encouraging and so rewarding, and I just can't wait to see what this new year brings.  

Anyway, this is actually a post that I had written several months ago, but never got around to putting up.  I decided to start the new year off with this one because challah is something that is very near and dear to my heart.  It's one of the very few things I actually willingly, even eagerly, bake on a regular basis.  Nothing makes a shabbat meal with friends or family like a warm loaf of homemade challah.  What better way to start off a happy and healthy new year?

Over the years, I’ve noticed that there is a big divide in the world of challah (braided bread traditionally eaten at every Jewish meal).  It all boils down to egg challah vs. water challah.  The big difference, as I’m sure you can guess from the name, is the presence of egg in the dough.  Egg challah also tends to be sweeter.  I’ve even had loafs that resemble cake.  I have to say, I’m not a fan.

I definitely grew up in a water challah family.  Even better, in a water challah family that sometimes makes its own.  We’ve been following the same basic recipe for as long as I can remember, but with slight changes.  Namely, the kind of flour we use.  We’ve evolved from white flour to whole wheat flour to this fantastic nine grain flour mix that we love.

This stuff is SO good!

The good news about being a water challah kind of gal is that I don’t have to give up my challah as I become more and more vegan.  Actually, the only thing I’ve had to change for this recipe is the egg wash, which is easily replaced with a water-agave mixture (I’ve also used soy milk, which works as well).

So here’s the family (not so) secret recipe.  I hope you like it as much as I do!