Mostly Plants

Put in the Spotlight,
Veggies Can Steal the Show

Photograph by Kate Headley

Born from a passion for sharing recipes, ideas and inspiration based on what’s in season, we are the best friends and bloggers behind Loulies.com. We realize that many Washingtonians want to cook weekday family meals or entertain with delicious and healthy food, but are too busy to have the time to carefully plan, source and cook meals around seasonal food.

We aim to facilitate that by aiding and inspiring home cooks to create meals that can be shared with family or friends based on what is growing on our local farms.

The benefits of focusing on vegetables as the center of the plate (with meat as a seasoning or side) just seem natural to us from a health and environmental perspective. Neither of us is anti-meat or strictly vegetarian, but our style of cooking and writing has evolved over the years such that we are eating less fish and meat and cooking more and better with fresh vegetables.

While this veggiecentric style of eating is really nothing new, most of us have developed a habit of planning and preparing meals based on meat as the main dish. Mostly Plants is our attempt to help our readers easily incorporate more plants into their diet by sharing a curated collection of our favorite recipes and meals based on farm-fresh vegetables.

Here are some of our tips for creating outstanding and delicious plant-based foods (you won’t miss the meat!):

• Add flavor by using the satisfying complexities of spices, salt, herbs and/or citrus. Always enhance flavor with a good sauce.
• Don’t throw things together carelessly. Too many people think cooking with vegetables means chopping up whatever vegetables you have on hand and cooking it all together. It is better if, at the center of the each dish, there is a single ingredient than can shine and then be elaborated upon.
• Focus on cooking techniques that bring out the best of a vegetable’s taste and texture. Don’t worry solely about creating meatless substitutions for a meaty dish you love (i.e., your favorite lasagna bolognese).

With this advice in mind, we have curated a plant-based meal that has become a favorite in our households. The recipes are inspired by our many trips to Mexico, a love of fresh corn in the summer and our complete passion for chiles and spice. The menu is rooted in street food: delicious and affordable. And best of all, it supports ingredients found at local DC farmers markets and CSAs.

RECIPES

SUMMER SLAW

WILD MUSHROOM AND PASILLA PEPPER TACOS

ZUCCHINI WITH CILANTRO-MINT GREMOLATA

ELOTE ASADO

BLUEBERRY MINT PALETAS