The Vegetarian Kitchen

Hi everyone!
Khara from Cookware.com was kind enough to provide me with an article which discusses a topic quite pertinent to The Broccoli Hut: the well-equipped vegetarian kitchen. Enjoy!

A Vegetarian’s Guide to Cookware

Being a vegetarian is a choice that can pay a lot of dividends, between the money saved in groceries and the health benefits. But by forgoing meat and animal products, you are forgoing convenience, as your dietary choices become more restricted. The initial adjustment period is always difficult in this regard, and tough decisions and dilemmas are always played out whether in a restaurant, supermarket, or right at home. But there are ways to deal with this, and one of them is having the right cookware in place that will make your own vegetarian meals much easier to prepare. We’ll help out by showing some items that you might want to concentrate on when you’re out shopping for cookware sets.

Eating a vegetarian diet means putting more of an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, which in turn means you might find yourself doing more food prep. So you want to make sure that you have the right tools at hand, whether you are slicing, dicing, chopping, pitting, or peeling. A proper knife set might be a worthy investment in this case, as would specialized kitchen gadgets such as a fruit corer or a julienne peeler. Another thing you might want to look at is upgrading your food processor or blender so that you can whip up sauces, shakes, and other accompaniments in a jiffy!

Other than convenience, the other thing to consider is what cookware items can bring to the table in terms of nutrition. One of the difficult things about becoming a vegetarian is finding ways to bring into your diet nutrients that are primarily found in meat. Iron is a great example of this, which is why vegetarians might sometimes have iron deficiency issues. The best way to compensate for the iron you are losing in your diet is to take nutritional supplements, but another way to do so is to use cast iron cookware. Research has shown that food cooked in cast iron skillets or pots has higher iron levels than food cooked with other types of cookware materials. This can make a huge difference over years of usage!

These are just a couple of things to consider when you’re thinking of the types of cookware that will best accommodate your vegetarian lifestyle. Any way that you can streamline the cooking and food preparation process will help immensely in dealing with those first few weeks without meet and will get you on your way to eating healthy and animal-friendly at the same time.


Although I have quite a few of the items mentioned, I am still in the market for an all-purpose food processor. Cookware.com does sell VitaMix and BlendTec machines...a girl can dream:)

Be back soon with a weekend re-cap!

Celebrate National Peanut Month!

That's right--March is National Peanut Month. This fact may have been obscured this year due to a certain peanut fiasco, but fear not: there are still plenty of ways to celebrate this most glorious legume, without endangering your health. The geniuses over at Peanut Butter & Company, for example, have provided us all with no less than EIGHT different varieties of peanut butter (not to mention their equally delicious peanut butter pretzel nuggets...we'll save that for another review). Thanks to the peanut butter fairy (aka VeggieGirl), I have had the good fortune of sampling five of these tantalizing flavors. Read on for the deets:


Cinnamon Raisin Swirl
It's like a cinnamon-raisin bagel in peanut butter form. Does it get any better than that?! Come to think of it, yes--spread some of this lusciousness on a Rudi's cinnamon-raisin bagel for double the delight.

Here are some of my other ways to enjoy it. The Banana Quesadilla (no cheese--just PB goodness) and the waffle-wich are two are my favorites:)


Dark Chocolate Dreams
Another match made in heaven: chocolate and peanut butter. It's like a Reese's cup without the guilt.
Serving suggestions. Note that it pairs especially well with raspberry oats and pancakes!


White Chocolate Wonderful
I'll admit it--I didn't like white chocolate...until I discovered this heavenly spread. I have big plans for this stuff; imagine the white chocolate macadamia Clif...in oatmeal form. Wonderful, indeed.


Mighty Maple
So autumnal, so sweet, so perfect. Who needs the syrup when you can put this on your pancakes?
Other ways to gobble it up:

Smooth Operator
Last, but not least: the classic original. I am very much a creamy girl, so this deliciousness goes down easy.
Yes, I am now a PB & Co. devotee: their cookbook is on my Amazon Wish List, and that "Heat Is On" variety is just callin' my name. Try them all for yourself--order online here.

Now you get your PB party on.

Interview Time!

Laural from Body, Mind, Soul kindly selected me to be her interviewee. Thanks for choosing me! Here are my answers to her questions:

1. What is the best way to make broccoli at The Broccoli Hut?

Although this is a difficult question, since I enjoy the wonder-veggie in so many ways, I would say the best way to prepare it is in a tofu scramble, one of my all-time favorite dishes.

Here are some other delicious ways to enjoy this most glorious vegetable:

2. What it your all-time favorite recipe?

Another difficult decision! However, one recipe that never fails to make me and my stomach happy is Cashew-Ginger Tofu from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton. That also happens to be an all-time favorite cookbook of mine.

3. Are you strictly vegetarian and when did you make this choice?

I eliminated meat and fish from my diet five years ago, when I was 16. After becoming comfortable with that lifestyle, I toyed with the idea of veganism (In fact, you can read about my contemplations here). I cut out eggs and dairy from my diet for a period last summer but found that I lacked energy; I also worried about my calcium intake considering my history with anorexia. Thus, I compromised: I am now a lacto-vegetarian, meaning I do not eat meat, fish, or eggs, but I still consume some dairy (mostly cottage cheese and Greek yogurt!). I think my story elucidates the notion that there is no "one-size-fits-all" diet, vegetarian or not--it's best to experiment and find what works well for your lifestyle.

4. Pair of shoes you could not live without?

I am quite the shoe fanatic, so I simply CANNOT choose just one pair.

-I have been fortunate enough to discover my perfect running shoe, the Nike Air Pegasus. I could walk forever and a day in these.

-I must always have a pair of classic black pumps. Here is my latest pair.

-Fun shoes are also quite necessary.

5. Ethnic cuisine you most want to try (or country you'd most like to visit)?

I would love to try Korean fare. My aunt is Korean, and one of my best friends here at school is Korean, and they are always singing the praises of Kim Chee and Korean BBQ. I'd be interested in finding a locale that specializes in Korean cuisine...but I am not sure I'll find it in North Carolina OR Alabama. Oh well, maybe I'll just have to make a voyage to Korea one of these days!

Now it's your turn!

If you would like to be interviewed:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me." If a few people want interviews, I will randomly pick 2.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Enjoy your Saturday!