Here’s a vegan showcase that we all enjoyed, without a problem. No trickery was necessary. In fact, calling this dish a “Mediterranean Crustless Chickpea Flour Quiche” (from tastespace.wordpress. com), is a disservice, since “quiche” implies an egginess that is not here. Rather, this “crustless spinach terrine” is fine without any eggs or cheese. Instead, it’s a triumph of fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and the always-alluring chickpea flour.

I’m glad I dared myself to make this somewhat spartan dish. The “chickpea batter” produced a pie that was less dense than a bread pudding would have been. I baked this pie for 60 minutes. The tang of sun-dried tomatoes was evident, and my youngster liked this. So there you go.

Another easy dish was the “Whole Grain Bulgur Salad with Mango and Walnut,” from angiesrecipes. blogspot.com. I don’t believe I’ve ever shied away from any grain. Here, bulgur wheat shows off with its hearty bite in a cool salad. Get distracted by the winning flavor combo of sharp onion, sweet mango, crunchy walnuts, and bulgur. I even dabbled, for the first time, in avocado oil. I found this healthy oil to be pleasantly neutral. You can easily become selfish with this salad, and eat all of it yourself (but do share it if you can).

PRICES
Baby Spinach (5 oz.) = $3.27
Zucchini (4.8 oz.) = .93¢
Bulgur (4.6 oz.) = .46¢
Mango (8.9 oz.) = $1.28

RECIPES: a surprisingly sincere terrine and a right-on grain salad
PREP TIMES: the terrine needs to bake for 60 minutes; bulgur cooks in 20 minutes, then salad needs to chill
TASTES: spinach + zucchini + tangy sun-dried tomatoes are held together by the power of chickpea flour; bulgur plays nice with mango and walnuts

Next time, I will cook the “Shanghai Stir-Fried Pork with Cabbage,” from the January 2012 issue of Food & Wine. See my magical meal when you come back to my site soon.

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