Tag: meatless

Meatless Mondays at the Cosmic Cafe

It’s Monday, and here’s another round of “Meatless Monday” meals for you to give a try! Has anyone ever eaten at Cosmic Cafe in Dallas? Supposedly it’s the best vegetarian restaurant in Dallas-Fort Worth and Dallas Observer has rated it the “best vegetarian restaurant” for the last 9 years.

Last Friday it was my coworker’s birthday, so we all took her to lunch at Cosmic Cafe. I’ve heard from Dallasite coworkers that this is a great place. Even though I’m not vegetarian, I still wanted to try it out!

From the looks of it, Cosmic Cafe is definitely unique. The entire building is painted in vivid/bright colors that made me feel like I was walking back into the flower child years of the 60s and 70s…or at least made me feel like I was in Austin, not Dallas!

Lunch was actually pretty good. Our group started out by ordering the hummus plate, which consisted of garbanzos, garlic, tahini and lemon juice, served with nan. It was excellent. The hummus was very creamy and the nan was pipping hot…it tasted like they had just baked it fresh from the oven.

For my main meal I ordered the “no bull burger”, which is a black bean burger topped with mushrooms, onions, lettuce and tomato, topped with melted swiss on a whole grain bun. It was delicious.

What else is good at Cosmic Cafe? The “portabella trance” was highly recommended and contains portabella mushrooms, spinach and onions sauteed in a garlic-basil butter, all rolled up between cream cheese, tomatoes and nan. If you’re looking for something sweet, you might want to give “sweet awareness” a try. It contains peanut butter, banana, tahini and honey served on nan; but ask to substitute strawberries for banana!

Overall, I thought Cosmic Cafe was pretty good and I would be back. I must say, you better be pretty adventurous to try this place out….I guarantee you thatI couldn’t get my husband to eat at this place even if I paid him! It’s definitely not his “type” of restaurant!

  • Have you ever been to Cosmic Cafe? If not, would you be adventuresome and try it?
  • What other vegetarian restaurants do you recommend?

Meatless Mondays: Pasta with Chickpea-Tomato Sauce

Here’s an elegant pasta that you can whip up in under 30 minutes. Matt was out of town when I made this, so you won’t be getting a guy’s point of view this time.
If you’re looking for a light, vegetarian and “meatless Monday” dish, this is one you’ve got to try. The chickpeas take the place of the meat by adding in protein and texture. The tomato-sauce is very subtle, but gets a little heat from the red pepper flakes. Don’t forget to add in my favorite grated Pecorino Romano from Central Market. Pecorino Romano is sooo much better than Parmesan because it’s stronger and has a nuttier flavor.
Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Cook garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chickpeas and cook 5 minutes. 
 
Add tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.
 
Add cooked pasta to the pot and toss.
 
Garnish with Parmesan and basil
Pasta with Chickpea-Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp. red-pepper flakes
3 cups cooked chickpeas
Coarse salt
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced sodium chicken broth
Dried or fresh basil, for garnish
12 ounces medium pasta shells
Grated Pecorino Romano, for serving
Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds (do not brown). Add chickpeas, season with salt, and cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and broth, and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce has reduced slightly, 20 minutes. Add basil, and cook 5 minutes more. Remove basil.
3. While sauce is cooking, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain, and return to pot.
3. Add sauce to pasta and toss. Serve with Pecorino Romano, and garnish with torn basil.
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart