Strudel

We're very lucky. Dinner was rushed the night I made this veggie strudel because I had a date with Whole Foods. I thought I had missed the opportunity to photograph my finished product, but my darling husband surprised me just this morning with a photo of the finished product. It may not be perfect, but I'm glad to at least have something considering we were so rushed.

I created this recipe in my head because I thought it would be speedy to prepare, and still (hopefully) look like I slaved all day. I want our meals to look high quality even though our 3-month-old (Can you believe it?) doesn't allow me to spend too long in the kitchen. I thought the strudel came out just as I expected, and I happily allowed Paul to clean up the few dishes.

Recipe for Vegetable Strudel

• 1 Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheet
• 1 carrot, pealed and cut un thirds
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 5 slices Jarlsberg or other mild Cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley

Preheat oven. Wash and peel necessary veggies. Place all ingredients in food processor. Chop thoroughly until veggies are mixed. Open puff pastry onto baking pan. (I line mine with a silicone baking sheet.) Place packed mixture on lengthwise on half puff pastry. Top with slices of cheese. Fold puff pastry over top. Press edges together with tines of a fork to seal. Bake according to package directions. Serves 2.

Just before school started, Paul's college had a nice dinner for staff and spouses. We really appreciated the fun, and I enjoyed meeting some of Paul's coworkers and even talking to people I've known longer than Paul has known them.

The purpose of this post is actually to point out a discussion we had at the dinner table with six other people. I had only met one of them previously. One of the ladies asked if our vegetarian plate was good. Everyone else was eating chicken or steak, maybe? Anyway, our plate was more the topic of conversation because the lady asked what was in our vegetarian strudel. We honestly could not answer. I was pretty sure there were mushrooms somewhere, onions, and yellow and red bell peppers, but they were all more mashed, which made them less recognizable. Still, there was another base item, and we just couldn't figure out what it was. The lady nodded as if she understood and said "Yes, I used to be a vegetarian, but I found I preferred to be able to know what I was eating."

Wow! How true. I started thinking How often have I been somewhere and had no idea what was on my plate? Let this be a lesson to people who cook for vegetarians and who own restaurants. At any time, people want to be able to figure out what they are being served.

Le Potager du Marais

22, Rue Rambuteau
75005 Paris
Tel: 01 42 74 24 66
Certified Organic Vegetarian and Vegan