Fattoush (Traditional Middle Eastern Salad) ♥

It takes a lot of words to describe what's really a simple traditional Lebanese / Syrian / Middle Eastern salad. So instead, just learn this one word and repeat after me: Fattoush. Fattoush. Fattoush. (That's fuh-toosh, fuh-toosh, fuh-toosh.) Now go make one.

Dear St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
A certain St. Louis food blogger is wild for the Fattoush Salad at Ranoush, the Syrian restaurants in University City and now in Kirkwood. Would you please see if the owners would share the recipe? Please, pretty please?

That Certain Food Blogger

Since February, I've been writing a weekly column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called "Special Request" -- the one where St. Louisans write in to ask for recipes for their favorite dishes from restaurants. It's a kick! (See St. Louis Restaurant Recipes & the Most Recent Columns.)

But every once in awhile, I want to game the system and send in my own request. Now that'd be cheating but I've been extra-tempted all summer long, ever since Ranoush (before clicking, you might want to "mute" your sound) opened a second location just a few blocks from home.

Ranoush is my kinda place. Good food. Open late! (The "Kirkwood Dinner Bell" rings at five so finding good food after 8pm here can be tricky!) Friendly owner and staff. A big patio with red umbrellas that brightens a too-long empty corner right in the midst of our little downtown. We've been at least three times -- and I've suggested it for lunch and supper and a late-night snack at least that many times again -- but have ordered only one thing, the fattoush salad. (Well, two, actually, but the amazing hummus will have to wait for another day.) The fattoush salad is made with romaine and tomatoes in a lemony-garlicky-sweetish vinaigrette and checkered with crisp squares of just-out-of-the-fryer pita bread. OH MY.

Chilled Zucchini Soup Shooters ♥

Here's a soup that will satisfy as summer winds toward autumn, made with little more than zucchini charmed with a touch of curry and served cold. It tastes much richer than it is, for the recipe is low carb and for Weight Watchers, either 1 or 2 points. Enjoy!

REVIEWS
"... loved it warm ... it's creamy without using cream or much fat ... " ~ Anonymous
"Absolutely outstanding! ... SO GOOD!" ~ Anne I

If I were the "document everything" sort, I could impress you by naming exactly how many recipes there are here on A Veggie Venture. But I'm not that sort. Sure, I could figure it out, it wouldn't even take that long. Maybe some day I will. But it seems beside the point somehow -- for there's no disputing that A Veggie Venture has a lot, a LOT of vegetable recipes whether it's a 1000 or 1200 or 1400. How many vegetable recipes are here? A lot. That's all you (and I) really need to know.

During the first year, I cooked a new vegetable recipe every day (that was the "Veggie" part), and posted it, good or bad (the "Venture" part). It surprises me that nearly all the recipes, even the ones from six years ago that I've not made again, remain familiar. So when I happened onto a recipe for a chilled zucchini soup on Food52, I knew there was already a recipe here like that -- and that back in 2005, it hadn't been very good. So being an "Out with the old! In with the new!" sort, that's exactly what I've done.

And this, dear readers, is the new recipe, the one worth making, the one I'm happy to recommend, the one that had me up at midnight one night, taking a spoon to the refrigerator for just one more bite.

The soup is surprisingly creamy -- in fact, first taste, you'll think, "Wow, this is rich." But it's not. It's just onion and zucchini and some chicken broth. It's good enough warm but it's designed to be served cold and that's what I did, like shooters, small cupfuls with tiny spoons. Add another vegetable recipe to the list, we're up one.

Summer Vegetable Curry ♥

One of my favorite summer stews, vegan and delicious and a great way to use a collection of vegetables from a CSA or the farmers market when the season's at its peak.

~recipe & photo updated 2011~
~more recently updated recipes~
~such a summer favorite, republished 2011~

2007: By design, most vegetable recipes here on A Veggie Venture are simple and thus nearly always feature a single vegetable at a time. But there are times -- now! -- when the market's vegetables are so plentiful, eyes exceed appetite and soon it's almost Saturday and the vegetable bin is still overflowing from last week's purchases.

So this summer vegetable curry, an Indian-spiced riff on 2005's Summer Vegetable Stew, is perfect using up a lot of vegetables all at once. It takes some chopping and dicing but in the end, is completely delicious both hot and cold. I especially like it cold, doused in a splash of cream. Swoon ...

Tomato Smoothie ♥

A summer treat, a smoothie made with the fruit of a sweet, perfectly ripe summer tomato (we do remember that tomatoes are technically fruit, yes?) contrasting the tang of cold buttermilk.

Ha! So is it true? I have the idea that all it takes are the words "tomato smoothie" and in an instant, everyone who reads them will be hankering one and know exactly how to make one too. Well just in case I'm wrong about that second point, here's the savory smoothie that I've been playing with.

And honestly, I started to call this recipe "Chilled Tomato Soup with Buttermilk" but with that name, well, doesn't it sound like it takes some, you know, effort? In contrast, a smoothie is on-the-spot, on-demand food, needing just the inspiration and a few minutes to toss into the blender and toss it down the throat.

So a "smoothie" it is. Serve it in glasses with straws or in bowls with spoons. It's still a smoothie.

Because Life Is Fragile

Life is fragile, life is precious, life is precarious. We all know this, we all experience it, we all, too often, live this. And yet, and yet. Some times life's fragility strikes close to home -- even when it really isn't.

For me, the life lesson hit twice this week, first when my friend Janet buried her granddaughter in a casket just twenty-four -- aiii, twenty-four -- inches long. And then again, with the sudden and unexpected death of a young husband and father, "Mikey" as wife and food blogger Jennifer Perillo of In Jennie's Kitchen called him.

Those of you who follow food bloggers will see lots of peanut butter pies appearing today. That's because Jennie invited us to make pies in her husband's memory. You see, she'd been meaning to make him his favorite pie, "Tomorrow", she'd think, "Or on the weekend." But she never got to it and suddenly, it was too late.

And so today I invite you too to make a peanut butter pie, perhaps my favorite Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie from Kitchen Parade. But if you're like me, you'll make a metaphorical peanut butter pie --- instead choosing the act, the words, the hug, the call, the visit, whatever it is that you've been thinking, "Tomorrow".

Instead, make it today, won't you? Because life is fragile.

---

Update:

Follow more tributes at this special page on Facebook, Peanut Butter Pie Friday for Mikey and Jennifer Perillo.

The editors at the wonderful Food52 are also collecting the stories in one place, watch Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey for updates.

A Veggie Venture is home of 'veggie evangelist' Alanna Kellogg and the
famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.
© Copyright Kitchen Parade 2011

Lentil Salad with Tomatoes, Dill & Basil ♥ Recipe

One of my favorite summer salads! It's meaty French lentils combined with tomatoes and other vegetables for a hearty, healthy salad. The recipe is "lightened" with no oil — and no missing it!

~first published 2005~
~recipe & photo updated 2007 & 2011~
~such a favorite & flexible summer salad, republished 2011~
~more recently updated recipes~

French lentils — some times also sold as lentilles de Puy — are a great contribution to American cuisine. Compared to the typical beige or brown lentils, they have much more flavor and stand up to cooking without turning to mush. I find them in bins, for a price, at Whole Foods and in boxes, for pennies, at Trader Joe's. I'd also use Trader Joe's black lentils in this salad.

2005: This is really good, a definite keeper. It's from the August issue of Gourmet, which is packed with great-looking vegetable recipes. One reviewer on Epicurious says that it improves with a day in the fridge too. That said, next time, I'd change the proportions: more vegetable, less lentil. I'd add more tomato, perhaps a yellow pepper (for color) and some diced cucumber or zucchini, maybe even some fennel. I think this would be delicious topped with poached or grilled fish.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats ♥

Today's summery recipe: On-hand vegetables stuffed into summer squash, topped with a little cheese, then devoured for breakfast or a side dish or a vegetarian main dish. There's a quick trick to zucchini boats: a few minutes in the microwave!

So maybe it's just me but isn't there a dirty little secret about zucchini boats? The stuffings are nearly always delicious (cheese, anyone?) but the boats themselves, the zucchini (or in this case that zucchini summer-squash cousin called the "yellow squash" or the "crookneck squash") is either undercooked and tasteless or overcooked and watery, in either case unappetizing. So here -- with just one quick and easy step -- the zucchini boats become more than mere vessels, they actually taste good!

The trick? So easy, you'll be whacking yourself on the forehead, "I shoulda thoughta that."

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES Before stuffing, just cook the zucchini in the microwave for a few minutes. The added benefit? It's easier to scoop out the zucchini innards too.