Eat More Vegetables by Mixing Them With Cream Cheese, Why Not?
My previous, more expensive Portland area was quite walkable. I could go on foot and find almost everything: groceries, cocktails, padtai, antiques, coffee; everything was fine there. What I couldn’t find was a good bagel. The best I could do was a “bagel” which had cute T-shirts and very mediocre bagels, although luckily (or perhaps unfortunately) their vegetarian cream cheese was excellent – so excellent I kept coming back. to order a shmera for another. shitty bagel. But those days are over. I now live much further south and much further east and this particular lunch just isn’t worth it. Luckily, it’s super easy to make great veggie cream cheese from the comfort of my own kitchen, and it’s a great way to use up the last few handfuls of vegetables I keep in the fridge. (It’s also a good way to start your day on a slightly sanctimonious note; here I am eating vegetables for breakfast.)
You will need at least 1/3 cup coarsely chopped vegetables for 8 ounces of cream cheese, but you can increase this to half a cup or even 3/4 cup if you like more texture in the spread. … Some raw vegetables are fine, but vegetables that have been softened – with heat, salt, acid, or a knife – are best mixed with cream. This morning I made a roasted rainbow carrot shmeer, some air roasted shishito, and a couple of fresh onions. It was the perfect mix of sweet, fresh and spicy (luckily I got hot shishito in the mix). I am planning to make another one with pickled shallots.
In addition to vegetables, you’ll be better off spicing up your shmar a little. Salt works, but best of all is this salat with a hint of minds. You can use a few drops of Worcestershire sauce to add some deep, raw saltiness, or a small spoonful of marmite if you’re a vegetarian. Either way, you just need to add enough to make the cream cheese the lighter of the beiges – the flavor should complement, but not darken, the vegetables.