Couch Tomato Café (Manayunk, PA)

Couch Tomato Café (Manayunk, PA; http://manayunktomato.com/)

My husband and I were in Manayunk for the annual Arts Festival.  We were looking for lunch and stumbled upon the Couch Tomato Café.  The name caught my attention and I saw open tables outside, so we went to look at the menu.  There were a number of vegetarian items, so we went in and ordered.  The place was packed! There was a small eating area directly inside the door and a counter with stools off to the right looking out the front window.  We walked up to the counter, where they showcased fresh salad ingredients and pizza.  I ordered the Beet It salad and a cup of Gazpacho.  My husband ordered two slices of pizza.  We went outside to await our food.

The salad consisted of spinach, roasted beets, goat cheese, and slice almonds, covered in a raspberry-vinaigrette dressing.  When I first looked at the bowl, I could see that there was way too much goat cheese and sliced almonds, so I had to pick some of those out (more the cheese than the almonds).  The spinach leaves were coated in the dressing – a little too much.  Despite these drawbacks, the salad was pretty good and the dressing was sweet.  The Gazpacho was fantastic!  It was cold and spicy, a perfect contrast.  And I’m not just talking a little spicy, I’m talking eye-watering spicy!  My mouth was on fire but I didn’t want to stop eating the soup.  So good!  Both the soup and salad were served with wheat bread – that was good too, lightly buttered and with a little Italian spice. 

I would certainly go there again – there are so many options.  And, for those of you wondering, my husband was so-so about the pizza.  He ordered one slice of white, which he liked, and one Pepperoni slice, which he said was overcooked and just kind of blah.

Easy Cheesy Ravioli

Easy Cheesy Ravioli (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 6)

Ingredients

2 pkg.  (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese ravioli or tortellini

1  red pepper, chopped

1 tub  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread

1 cup  frozen peas

1 cup  shredded Italian cheese

Directions

1.)    Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

2.)    Cook and stir peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Add 3/4 cup of the reserved water, cream cheese spread and peas; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is melted and peas are heated through.

3.)    Add pasta; stir to evenly coat. If sauce is too thick, thin with remaining reserved cooking water. Top with shredded cheese.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, but wanted to include the basic information here.  First, I used tortellini instead of ravioli because it was lower in calories and sodium!  I could not find the low fat version of the cream cheese spread, but if your local store has it, go for it.  I used fresh instead of frozen peas because we had them in our CSA bag.  I followed the directions as above, but should have thrown in the fresh peas with the red pepper.  As is, they are quite crunchy (a little too much).  I also did not use the shredded cheese, I don’t feel that the dish really needed it.

Now, on to the taste of the dish.  I thought it was OK, but I didn’t love it.  I did add in some chopped garlic greens in the leftovers and that has really helped the flavor!  My husband liked it as is, so I guess it all depends on your preference for cream cheese (by the way, he also did not add extra cheese, which is a big deal!).  I recommend adding some pepper or garlic if you make this recipe.  If I make it again, I might try one of the other flavored cream cheese, just to see if that works a bit better.

Easy Cheesy Ravioli

Easy Cheesy Ravioli (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 6)

Ingredients

2 pkg.  (9 oz. each) refrigerated cheese ravioli or tortellini

1  red pepper, chopped

1 tub  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread

1 cup  frozen peas

1 cup  shredded Italian cheese

Directions

1.)    Cook pasta as directed on package, omitting salt. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

2.)    Cook and stir peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Add 3/4 cup of the reserved water, cream cheese spread and peas; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until cream cheese is melted and peas are heated through.

3.)    Add pasta; stir to evenly coat. If sauce is too thick, thin with remaining reserved cooking water. Top with shredded cheese.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, but wanted to include the basic information here.  First, I used tortellini instead of ravioli because it was lower in calories and sodium!  I could not find the low fat version of the cream cheese spread, but if your local store has it, go for it.  I used fresh instead of frozen peas because we had them in our CSA bag.  I followed the directions as above, but should have thrown in the fresh peas with the red pepper.  As is, they are quite crunchy (a little too much).  I also did not use the shredded cheese, I don’t feel that the dish really needed it.

Now, on to the taste of the dish.  I thought it was OK, but I didn’t love it.  I did add in some chopped garlic greens in the leftovers and that has really helped the flavor!  My husband liked it as is, so I guess it all depends on your preference for cream cheese (by the way, he also did not add extra cheese, which is a big deal!).  I recommend adding some pepper or garlic if you make this recipe.  If I make it again, I might try one of the other flavored cream cheese, just to see if that works a bit better.

Sweet-and-Sour Sloppy Joes

Sweet-and-Sour Sloppy Joes (adapted from Real Simple, Servings: 4, Total Time: 25 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 Tbsp. canola oil

·         3 green onions, chopped (used white parts only)

·         1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

·         1 package Morningstar Farms Burger Crumbles

·         ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

·         ¼ cup tomato paste

·         3 Tbsp. light brown sugar

·         ¼ tsp. black pepper

·         ½ cup water

Directions

1.      Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions and ginger and cook, tossing, until softened, 2 to 4 minutes.

2.      Add the Burger Crumbles and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until cooked through, 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, tomato paste, sugar, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ½ cup water and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute more.  Serve immediately on hamburger buns.

As I have been on a big Asian food kick lately, I thought that this recipe would be interesting to try.  Interesting it was, a huge success, it was not.  My husband was OK with it, but he didn’t love it.  I also was not big fan.  I think that the freshly grated ginger makes it a little too sweet.  If you try this (and it I ever make it again), I recommend cutting back to maybe ½ Tbsp. fresh ginger, maybe even less. When I added the tomato paste, I thought that it would overpower the dish, but it definitely didn’t.  All of the additional ingredients, save for the ginger, worked really well together.  I only used the white parts of the green onions because my husband is not a big fan and I knew that he’d see the green peeking out of the crumble mixture and not want to try it.  I think it hides nicely in the Sloppy Joe.

So, overall assessment: OK, less ginger should make it better.

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Peanut Sauce

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Peanut Sauce (slightly adapted from My Recipes, Servings: 4, Total Time: )

Ingredients

Sauce:

·         1 tsp. canola oil

·         1 Tbsp. minced shallot

·         1/3 cup water

·         2 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

·         4 tsp. hoisin sauce

·         1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper

·         1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

Filling:

·         1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and crumbled

·         1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

·         6 thinly sliced green onions (about 2/3 cup), divided (I used white parts only)

·         2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

·         3 Tbsp. lower-sodium soy sauce

·         1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

·         2 tsp. sugar

·         ½ tsp. Sriracha

·         1 cup matchstick-cut cucumbers

·         1 cup matchstick-cut carrots

·         2 cups hot cooked sticky rice

·         8 Bibb lettuce leaves

Directions

1.      To prepare filling, spread crumbled tofu in a single layer on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 20 minutes, pressing down occasionally.

2.      To prepare sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallot, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup water and next 3 ingredients (through red pepper), and stir with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice.

3.      After tofu is relatively dry, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 1/3 cup green onions; sauté 1 minute. Add tofu; sauté for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cilantro, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, and Sriracha; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in cucumbers, carrots, and remaining green onions.

4.      Spoon some rice and tofu mixture into each lettuce wrap. Serve with sauce.

These tasted pretty darn good and my husband liked them.  Before starting the dish, I froze the tofu overnight and then let it thaw – to give it a more “meaty” texture.  I also used brown rice instead of sticky rice because our local grocery store didn’t have sticky rice.  I will say that that amount rice is WAY too much for this recipe.  I am going to have so much leftover!  I also used bottled instead of fresh lime juice for the sauce – I did not notice any issues with the taste.  One thing that I would recommend if you make this recipe – mix the soy sauce and Sriracha together before adding to the tofu and pour it in SLOWLY.  I wasn’t thinking too straight and just threw them in separately – obviously resulting in the tofu at the source of the throw absorbing way more soy sauce or Sriracha than the other parts of the dish. 

I liked the texture of this dish – the lettuce I used was still crispy, as were the carrots and cucumbers.  It was nice to have a soft and crunchy mixture in each bite.  In the original recipe, they advise to use ¼ cup rice and ½ cup tofu mix in each wrap – I think that would overload the wrap, so I just added what looked right so that I could have a nice little pocket.  I think this is a great way to mix veggies, starch, and protein, and, if you are careful with the sauce, it is low calorie.  The tofu mixture was a nice mix of sweet and salty.  The sauce is pretty sweet, and adds a nice zing to the wrap.  I could not taste the peanut butter at all – I think that hoisin sauce took over!  I definitely recommend trying this recipe – it is a flavor explosion in each bite (unless you get all lettuce!).

Roasted Spring Vegetable Risotto

Roasted Spring Vegetable Risotto (from AllRecipes, Servings: 8, Total Time: 1 hour)

Ingredients

·         1 lb. asparagus, cut into 2-inch lengths

·         2 cups whole baby carrots cut in lengthwise quarters

·         6 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

·         3 medium assorted peppers (yellow, red, green), cut into 1-inch strips

·         2 medium zucchini or yellow squash, cut into diagonal slices (I used zucchini)

·         1 cup halved fresh medium mushrooms

·         2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves

·         3 ½ cups vegetable broth

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 1/3 cups uncooked Arborio rice

·         ½ cup shredded Italian Five Cheese

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray 17x11-inch roasting pan with cooking spray.

2.       Mix asparagus, carrots, onions, peppers, squash, mushrooms, rosemary and ¼ cup broth in prepared pan.

3.       Roast 20 minutes or until done, stirring once. Prepare risotto while the vegetables are roasting.

4.       Heat oil in saucepot. Add rice. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

5.       Add ½ cup broth and cook until broth is absorbed. Add remaining broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring until all broth is absorbed before adding more. (Total cooking time: 25 minutes)

6.       Add vegetables and cheese. Heat through. Serve immediately.

First off, I love this dish! Yum, yum, yum! My husband enjoyed it too.  With that said, I think that the recipe needs to be tweaked slightly.  If you use the size of veggies recommended, you need to roast for more than 20 minutes – maybe even up to 30 minutes.  The next time that I make it, I will probably chop all of the veggies smaller, more of a rough chop.  That is just the size that I would prepare in this risotto dish.  There are a lot of veggies, and I actually only put in about half because I knew that my husband would want more of the rice part.  I used the remainder as a “base” for my risotto!  More veggies for me!

Now, for the taste – even though there is only ½ cup of cheese, this was creamy and I could see the stringy cheese each time I brought a forkful to my mouth.  The rice was cooked through with only a slight crunch to it. The veggies were really crunchy (see above recommendation), a little too much for my husband, but I liked them that way.  Overall assessment – I cannot wait to make this again!

Vinny's Café (Dundalk, MD)

http://www.vinnyscafe.com/

My husband and I went to Dundalk, MD on Mother’s Day to see my grandmother.  While there, we went with her and my mom and stepdad to Vinny’s Café (grandmom’s favorite restaurant).  They had a fixed menu, but were able to make me a vegetarian pasta (ended up being spaghetti and marinara).  The service was extremely slow, but the atmosphere was pleasant.  We sat in a side room which had a few tables and a painted ceiling.  The chandeliers had medallions on the ceiling, very ornate!  The main room has a lot of tables and booths and more ornate painting.

So, now time for the actual meal.  The bread that they brought out included some tomato pie.  The tomato pie was on soft bread with crispy edges.  It had a mixture of marinara and parmesan on top.  It was really good, but I stayed away from the crust because they were a little too hard.  The bread basket was followed by a salad with house dressing (creamy Italian).  The dressing coated iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  I thought that the house dressing would be extremely good, but it was just kind of mediocre (similar to bottled dressing).  My main dish was spaghetti with marinara and was, unfortunately, quite bland.  There was a ton of it though! I actually had enough to make three additional meals!  I added some basil and red pepper flakes when I had the leftovers – that definitely added what I was looking for.  For dessert, my husband and I shared a slice of the Fondant Cake.  It consisted of chewy chocolate sponge cake layered with chocolate icing and topped with chocolate fondant.  Each bite was full of chocolatey goodness.  I will say that the dessert made up for the mediocre food. 

Will I go there again?  Of course!  It’s grandmom’s favorite restaurant and the dessert is delicious!

Rhubarb-Vanilla Compote

Rhubarb-Vanilla Compote (from Eating Well, Servings: 4, Total Time: 15 minutes)

Ingredients

·         4 cups diced rhubarb

·         ½ cup sugar

·         ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

·         ½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1.       Combine rhubarb, sugar and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce heat to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the rhubarb begins to break down, about 5 minutes.

2.       Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

We received some rhubarb In a recent Community-Supported Agriculture delivery, so I found a quick and easy recipe to use it.  I found this and thought it would be tasty on some homemade bread.  I served it when my mom and stepdad came to visit.  He didn’t have any, but my mom liked it.  That was good, because neither my husband nor I did.  It definitely was not sweet enough – more sugar, vanilla, and/or cinnamon would all help it out.  I do not plan to make this again.