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Crescent and her late husband Ned Shank opened Dairy Hollow House, a bed and breakfast in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, in 1980. In the inn’s kitchen, she combined chanterelles from local foragers and fresh produce from local growers to create meals for more than 11,000 guests. And while she cooked meats for her guests, she herself was “a closet vegetarian,” who was not comfortable as a food professional “confessing such heresy as vegetarianism.”
Beginning in 1992, though, she was ready to come out of the closet. And she did so with a bang. She spent 10 years working on Passionate Vegetarian, appropriately subtitled More Than 1,000 Robust Recipes with Notes on Cooking, Eating, Loving and Living Fearlessly. In supreme Crescent style, she sports a bowl of vegetables on her head in the cover photograph. Also Crescent-esque, she dishes out the story of how she and Ned met, the meals they shared during their travels and at home, and her culinary beliefs: “Eating was never utilitarian to us. Rather, eating well—not just healthfully but satisfyingly, sensually and socially—was a consistent, constantly changing daily pleasure,” she writes.
Though Crescent and Ned closed the inn to guests in 1998 and she completed Passionate Vegetarian in 2002, she continues to create new vegetarian dishes, such as these fashioned specially for Relish.
“If the ‘V’ word puts you off, just think of these plant-centered entrées as what they are: a rich mushroom ragout and an irresistible layered casserole of tortillas,” she says.
Full of flavor and brimming with creativity—we’d expect nothing less from the Dragon.
Parmesan Polenta
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Baked in a pan in the oven, this no-fuss, no-stir polenta is perfect with almost any spicy stew, such as our Mushroom and Black-Eyed Pea Ragout.
Ingredients
½ teaspoon salt
3½ cups water or mushroom or vegetable broth
1 cup coarse, stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
Coarsely ground black pepper
¼ cup warm milk, optional
2. Combine salt, water and cornmeal in baking dish. Stir well. (The mixture will separate with meal sinking to the bottom.) Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes.
3. Remove from oven; stir well. Bake 10 minutes.
4. Stir in butter, olive oil, cayenne pepper, Parmesan and black pepper. Add milk to thin polenta if desired. Serve immediately with Mushroom and Black-Eyed Pea Ragout. Serves 6.
Recipe by Crescent Dragonwagon, "A Dragon's Tale," Relish Vegetarian Cooking, March 2008.
Chilequiles Verde
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Mexican home cooking at its best (and a great way to use up stale corn tortillas), this combination of tortillas, salsa, vegetables and cheese is a terrific potluck dish. Try it with a side of black beans.
Ingredients
2 cups prepared salsa, divided
8 to 10 (6-inch) stale corn tortillas, torn in quarters
1 (8-ounce) package Neufchatel cheese
2 eggs
3 tablespoons cornstarch
8 ounces extra-firm, water-packed tofu, crumbled
1½ to 2 cups lightly steamed fresh vegetables (zucchini sliced in ¼-inch rounds; string beans sliced in ½-inch lengths; chopped, cooked
Swiss chard)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 (10-ounce) can green chile sauce
4 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar or Monterey
jack cheese
2. Spray a 15-by-10-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread about 3⁄4 cup salsa over the bottom of dish. Scatter one-third of the tortillas on top.
3. Place 1⁄2 cup salsa, Neufchatel, eggs and cornstarch in food processor. Process until smooth. Stir in crumbled tofu.
4. Spoon half the Neufchatel mixture over tortillas. Scatter vegetables and corn on top. Drizzle with remaining 3⁄4 cup salsa, and top with half the remaining tortillas. Cover with remaining Neufchatel mixture. Top with remaining tortillas. Spoon green chile sauce over top.
5. Bake, covered, 40 minutes. Remove cover; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Increase heat to 375F; bake 10 to 12 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serves 8.
Recipe by Crescent Dragonwagon, "A Dragon's Tale," Relish Vegetarian Cooking, March 2008.
Find a suggestion of wine to serve with this recipe at: www.relishmag.com/wine/25843.html
Mushroom and Black-Eyed Pea Ragout
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A ragout (ra-GOO) is a thick stew of meats or, in this case, vegetables. It’s great with the creamy Parmesan Polenta, but also good with mashed potatoes or even grits.
Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced vertically
¼ pound shiitake mushrooms,
tough part of stems removed, thickly sliced ¼ pound mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, baby bella and oyster mushrooms), sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2½ cups mushroom or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ cup red wine
2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained
½ teaspoon salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon honey
1⁄8 teaspoon Tabasco
1 bunch hearty greens (kale, turnip, mustard or chard) washed, thinly sliced and blanched
Parmesan Polenta (See Recipe)
Fresh shaved Parmesan, optional
2. Add broth, tomato paste, wine, black-eyed peas, salt, pepper, honey and Tabasco; bring to boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Stir in greens; cook until thoroughly heated.
3. Spoon Parmesan Polenta into serving bowls. Top with ragout and garnish with Parmesan shavings, if desired. Serves 6.
Recipe by Crescent Dragonwagon, "A Dragon's Tale," Relish Vegetarian Cooking, March 2008.
Find a suggestion of wine to serve with this recipe at: www.relishmag.com/wine/25843.html
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