Domestic Bliss I

We made a fantastic cesar salad this evening, as well as a great pot of split pea soup. This was served with a crusty homemade rye bread (OK, so it's from the Bread Machine. You could buy it fresh at a bakery and achieve the same thing.)

The salad was a modified Martha Stewart recipe, adapted for lacto-ovo vegetarians.

Croutons:

30 or so 3/4 cubes of french bread, or something else white, firm and crusty

1 1/2 T. olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon parsley, minced

sea salt to taste

Toss the cubes with garlic and parsely. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss to spread evenly.

Bake at 350' for 10-15 minutes. I found that Martha's suggestion of parchment paper on a cookie sheet worked quite well.

Salad:

1 clove garlic, halved

1 large egg yolks

2 t. Dijon mustard (maybe a tiny bit less)

1/2 t. Worchestershire sauce (you can buy this anchovy free)

1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (maybe a tiny bit more)

3 T. Olive oil

Sea salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste

1 heads romaine, washed and dried thoroughly and torn to your favorite size

Grated Parmesan to taste

Shaved Parmesan, for garnish (optional)

In a large wooden bowl, using a wooden spoon, mash halved garlic cloves to a fine paste. Stir in egg yolks and Dijon mustard and worchestershire. Add lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Slowly stir in olive oil until dressing is creamy.

Stop here until right before you're ready to eat.

Add lettuce to bowl, and toss to coat leaves thoroughly with dressing and grated Parmesan. Sprinkle croutons over salad, and serve topped with Parmesan shavings.

I don't have the soup recipe in front of me. It is the Split Pea Soup in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I don't believe I altered it at all. Oh, I left the thyme out of the aromatics because I couldn't obtain fresh. I strongly recommend using stock you've made ahead of time. You can't really buy vegetarian stock worth a damn. The only stuff *worth* using costs a fortune, and stock should be a by-product of your other grocery buying and cooking habits.

My theories on making stock are in the next entry.

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