Well hello, long-lost friends! I haven't been blogging lately. Not because there is nothing to say. Quite the opposite, actually. We have entered a beautifully busy season of baseball and birthdays and bikes and there has simply been no time to blog (which conveniently starts with a "b" -- I do love alliteration!) I'm also working on writing a book proposal (eek!) on top of my new gig at The Chicago School (which I continue to love love love) and I've been cleaning out closets in preparation for a garage sale this weekend. Not to mention lots of sitting on the porch or the patio watching the kids play. Trust me when I say that life is good. Oliver turned 8; Jake is 33. We also celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday with the entire Klipsch clan. I'll eventually post photos of all the party people, but first, a recipe.
Jake loves reubens and I love to make Jake happy. His sister (just back from Japan -- yay!) babysat the kids on Sunday so that we could go out for a movie and dinner -- The Avengers, pasta and tiramisu. But Monday, his actual birthday, I made reubens before we rushed off to baseball.
Jake and I have been on-and-off-again vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians practically throughout our entire relationship. I almost never cook meat at home, save the occasional burger for the boys, but I do love a good reuben. A few summers ago, I tried a few varieties of "veggie" reubens, if such a thing is possible, and landed on yellow squash as a corned beef replacement. I know it sounds strange, but it is actually really good. It gives the sandwich some heft, but has a mellow taste that takes on the flavor of the rest of the sandwich. Since there is no meat, I add some salt to give the squash a boost. I suppose you could sauté the squash in olive oil or butter with salt and pepper before adding it to the sandwich, but I find that if you slice it thinly enough, it's okay to skip that step.
Rye bread, saurkraut, thousand island dressing, Swiss cheese and yellow squash. Butter the bread and cook it on a hot stove or, as I usually do, the George Foreman. (Does anyone else still use those things?) I know that squash in a reuben sounds a bit odd, but it makes Jake happy, and it just might make you happy, too!
Jake loves reubens and I love to make Jake happy. His sister (just back from Japan -- yay!) babysat the kids on Sunday so that we could go out for a movie and dinner -- The Avengers, pasta and tiramisu. But Monday, his actual birthday, I made reubens before we rushed off to baseball.
Jake and I have been on-and-off-again vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians practically throughout our entire relationship. I almost never cook meat at home, save the occasional burger for the boys, but I do love a good reuben. A few summers ago, I tried a few varieties of "veggie" reubens, if such a thing is possible, and landed on yellow squash as a corned beef replacement. I know it sounds strange, but it is actually really good. It gives the sandwich some heft, but has a mellow taste that takes on the flavor of the rest of the sandwich. Since there is no meat, I add some salt to give the squash a boost. I suppose you could sauté the squash in olive oil or butter with salt and pepper before adding it to the sandwich, but I find that if you slice it thinly enough, it's okay to skip that step.
Rye bread, saurkraut, thousand island dressing, Swiss cheese and yellow squash. Butter the bread and cook it on a hot stove or, as I usually do, the George Foreman. (Does anyone else still use those things?) I know that squash in a reuben sounds a bit odd, but it makes Jake happy, and it just might make you happy, too!
Sounds fabulous. Please pass on to Jake that Lucia sang a lovely "Happy Birthday" to him on the way home from baseball last night and that Elliot, who truly loves calling everyone not quite their names, says, "Happy Birthday Jacob!"
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