Being stuck at home for months, Justin Fox Burks and his wife Amy Lawrence turned to the pan during the pandemic. Instead of vegetating, they wrote a cookbook about preparing vegetarian meals for two.
“We were cooking vegetarian meals for two, morning, noon, and night,” Lawrence says. “We weren’t going out to eat or having anybody over. So, the publisher came to us and we agreed on this idea. And it turns out it’s a really good idea. People are responding.”
Vegetarian Cooking for Two: 80 Perfectly Portioned Recipes for Healthy Eating is the couple’s fourth cookbook. “Simple” is what they went for, Burks says. “There’s nothing that takes a particular set of skills ahead of time. You’re not going to have to study up on chiffonade or brunoise your red peppers. It comes together very quickly.”
Also, he says, “We used some prepared ingredients like salsas and sauces, so you don’t think you’re making everything from scratch. One of my favorites we do is a sheet pan stir-fry with peanut sauce, and it uses any vegetables you have on hand.
“Instead of cooking it in a wok, which has you sort of manning the wok the whole time, you just spread it out on a sheet pan and stick it in the oven for 20 minutes. It’s crispier. The flavor gets concentrated and you don’t end up with a watery stir-fry like a lot of people do when they try and stir-fry at home.”
Spiked Hot Cocoa Tiramisu is one of Lawrence’s favorites. “You use marscapone cheese and whipped cream,” she says. “We put a quarter-cup of bourbon in it. We like Blue Note Bourbon. We put hot cocoa mix in it and dark chocolate chips and mini marshmallows on top.”
The book is divided into breakfast and brunch, salads and handhelds, soups and stews, hearty mains, and desserts. “The first chapter is directions on how to shop,” Burks says. “How to think about cooking every day for two.”
They instruct the reader on “how to go to the grocery store and shop for the smaller can of coconut milk or a jar of salsa that will fit this recipe, so you don’t end up with a bunch of odds and ends in your refrigerator.
“If you’re a small household, you don’t want to have to cook for four or six people and have your freezer fill up with a bunch of the same food. Or, God forbid, waste the food.”
Their goal was to come up with a recipe a day. “It takes me a lot longer to put an idea for a recipe together than Justin,” Lawrence says. “He’s pretty quick. His always seems to turn out the first time. I have to give it a few tries.”
It took a few tries to get their chickpea chicken sandwich patties together, Burks says. “Since we’re a little more health-conscious, we didn’t want to deep-fry anything, which is how you get things crispy. We figured out how to shallow-fry these chickpea patties, and they are fantastic.”
Too many cooks might spoil the broth, but Burks says, “We’re a great team. We both know our strengths. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but I’m pretty good with the savory stuff and she’s pretty good with the sweet stuff and salads.”
Burks and Lawrence became vegetarians when they were 12 years old. After getting a hamburger at a dairy bar, Burks decided meat wasn’t for him anymore. “The idea was out there that an animal was a living thing,” he says. “I’d done some reading and research. It was just at that moment it all kind of hit me.”
“It seems less cruel to avoid meat,” says Lawrence, who already cared about the environment when she was 12.
Some people have a misconception about vegetarians, Burks says. “People think if you’re a vegetarian you’re going to be this scrawny little guy. Anybody who’s seen me, I’m kind of a big dude. I bike. I run. I’ve done five marathons.”
Burks goes by “The Chubby Vegetarian” in his books and on social media. “Whenever I say I’m a vegetarian, people say, ‘Really?’”
Visit thechubbyvegetarian.com for more information.
