We’ve gone to a mostly vegetarian diet since my daughter declared her new status this past Christmas. It’s been easy in some respects. I put food on the table, we eat it. Not a big deal. But in many ways it’s like starting from scratch. I’m uncertain, don’t know a thing about ingredients or spices, don’t have the confidence in the kitchen I did when cooking with meat. I began to question myself as a cook.

I understand meat. I know what happens to connective tissue when a roast is braised; I know the flavor bacon fat gives to green beans. I can roast a chicken. I even understand some vegetables. I can roast broccoli now without a second thought. Fresh green beans without bacon fat are delicious when boiled fast in salted water. But the rest of this stuff escapes me. I’m in unfamiliar territory.

So now I guess I need to practice. It’s what a person does when he doesn’t know something. It’s what I do, at least. And I’m telling you this because I’d appreciate it if you bear with me. If you want to learn how to cook vegetarian meals, great. Maybe we can stumble through together. If you’re a seasoned pro, even better. Maybe you can leave me some tips in the comments. I think I’ve been stalled (and stalling) on this blog because I felt like I need to be an expert, but really all I need is time in the kitchen.

Tomato Basil Salad with Tuscan Bread (for two)
1 giant heirloom tomato, locally grown
1/2 loaf of excellent, hearty bread cut into thick slices, at least two per person (the garlic in the bread I used imparted wonderful flavor to the meal)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (the better the olive oil, the better the dressing)
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (again, the better, the better)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (or less, to taste)
4 tablespoons shaved Parmesan cheese
Fresh ground pepper, to taste

I’d like to be able to say I make my own bread. Some day that might become a reality, but at this point, I still buy my bread at the local supermarket. This weekend I bought a great Tuscan bread infused with olive oil and garlic. We used half the loaf for garlic bread last night, served next to stuffed shells (I just followed the recipe on the back of the pasta box. For the shells, I mean. For the bread I toasted thick slices and slathered them with butter I melted in the microwave.)

The second half I used for lunch:

First, make the dressing. Combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and basil in a container and shake vigorously. Then slice and toast the bread. While the bread toasts, chop the tomato into bite-sized pieces. On a plate, lay out two thick slices of bread for each person, and liberally scatter with the chopped tomato. Shake the dressing again, and drench each plate. Finally top the tomatoes and bread with shaved Parmesan cheese. It’s really that simple.

The key to this dish is fresh, high-quality ingredients. Here in Florida, spring has arrived in full splendor and glory, so we can get things like heirloom tomatoes. And don’t even ask if the extra expense is worth it. It totally is, as is the inconvenience of having to wait for local tomatoes to come into season. The difference is night and day.

So that’s my first step. That’s the commitment I’m making to vegetarian cooking and to this blog. It’s not going to be fancy, not for a while at least, but the ingredients will be as good as I can get given the time I have, and I’ll strive to make them seasonal.

I swear, it’s just like starting over.

In my house we sit down together for dinner nearly every evening, even weekends. In fact, Sunday dinners are one of my favorites; I have time enough in the kitchen to really cook. But lunch is often a solitary affair, each of us cobbling together nourishment from a hodge-podge of ingredients and scarfing it down between morning laundry and afternoon errands.

I think it might be time to stop the rush, to pause a moment and enjoy the mid-day meal. To make something worth eating. Worth enjoying. It doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy, and it doesn’t have to take forever. Indeed, it can’t. It just has to be good. Sunday’s lunch fit the bill nicely, based on a Rocco recipe (I know, right?).

Grilled cheese and roasted red pepper sandwich with fennel salad

Ingredients (serves 4):
8 slices of delicious bread
2 red peppers, roasted and peeled
Provolone cheese, sliced thin

2 medium fennel bulbs, shaved
Fennel greens, plucked and sorted
2.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
kosher salt
ground black pepper

Techniques
shave
slice

Method
grill

The mid-day break was fantastic. Home from grocery shopping I sat in the living room with my son perched in his bouncy chair on the coffee table. He watched me eat and drink and I watched him laugh and play with a plastic bee. Would that all weekends could contain such pause.