Vegan Indian Stew

Any root vegetables, cleaned and chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 T minced garlic
1 cup of lentils
1-2 cups of garbanzo beans
1 cup of brown rice or wild rice
6 cups of water
2- 3 cubes of vegetable (for vegan), chicken or beef boullion
2 cans of diced tomatoes
chopped kale
curry
turmeric
cayenne pepper
celery salt
salt and pepper

Dump everything in the crock pot, and cook on high for at least 6 hours or until vegetables are done. Serve with toasted bread. All measurements are approximate.

Veggie Burgers

1 can of garbanzo beans (low-sodium)
onion, chopped finely
minced garlic
any kind of peppers, chopped finely (red, green, yellow, orange, jalapeno, banana)
fresh mushrooms, chopped finely
1 cup oat flour (approximately)
1 egg
salt & pepper
smoked paprika
cayenne pepper
cumin
chili powder
cheese slice (optional)
butter  (or oil)
iron skillet (for crispiness)


Place butter (or oil) in an iron skillet and heat on medium-high. Sauté chopped onion, minced garlic, peppers, and mushrooms until soft. Remove skillet from heat. Remove vegetable mixture from skillet and pat dry with towel (removing excess butter). Food process oats until a flour consistency. Dump into mixing bowl. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. Food process (or mash well) until fairly smooth and no single bean is noticeable.  Add vegetable mixture, beans, egg, and all seasonings to oats and mix until firm enough to make patties (not sticky). Add more oat flour, if necessary. Heat more butter (or oil) to the iron skillet and fry patties until crispy brown on both sides. Don't be afraid to season liberally. Add slice of cheese if desired.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Experience

I have had some successful recipes and not so successful. The ones that flop are really more entertaining to write about, so here is my latest flop. I use the word flop loosely. If it is edible, it is okay.  However, I have higher standards than "edible".

Last week I made sweet and sour chicken. Everything started out great. I only had brown rice on hand (supposed to be healthier, right?). This is not the minute rice that you pop in the microwave and BOOM! it's fluffy. Brown rice has to cook on the stove for 45 minutes or so. I started the rice first. Then, cooked the bite-sized chicken in olive oil in the skillet. I added the cut green, yellow, and red sweet peppers with onions. Oh, did it smell delicious!

Then, I started the sweet and sour sauce. I used Martha Stewart's recipe for sweet and sour sauce minus the Tabasco sauce and adding pineapple juice. Everything went fine with that, except the orange marmalade had orange strips or rinds in it and the final sauce was very runny. I strained the sauce to get rid of the tiny orange rinds.

Meanwhile, the rice was getting thick so I kept adding more water. It began to burn just a bit on the bottom of the pot. The rice ended up looking like oatmeal, which is not very appetizing when wanting to eat with sweet and sour chicken. Maybe I stirred it too much or had too much rice in a pot that was too small. I'm wondering if I should get a rice cooker (if only I had room for an extra kitchen gadget).

I tried to thicken the sweet and sour sauce with cornstarch, but it still wasn't think enough. I poured all of the sauce into the chicken and pepper mixture. It was still not thick enough. I added some chunk pineapple and then added more cornstarch to the pineapple juice to try to thicken more. It FINALLY thickened up nice, but the amount of sauce to chicken and pepper ratio was a little too much. It was swimming in sauce, but tasted really good.

It was edible. Next time, I'll have to do something different with the rice or use minute rice in the microwave. I was trying to be a little healthier, though, and avoid white rice. Also, I'll gauge how much sauce to put in with the chicken, realizing that I don't HAVE to use all of it.

I'll try it again. I think there is potential for a tastier, healthier, and cheaper Chinese meal without having to order from a Chinese restaurant. 

15 Bean Soup with Herb and Garlic Focaccia Bread

15 Bean Soup

(click link above for recipe)

My husband made this soup yesterday and it was delicious! Here are some changes that he made:

1. Soaked beans over night
2.Green onions were only onions used
3. No dried parsley, rosemary, or flavor packet from beans
4. Add  additional can of diced tomatoes, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 package of chopped fresh mushrooms, and 1 TBS of season salt

Served with toasted herb and garlic Focaccia bread!

Lentil burgers

We (my son and I) loved these! My son said they were really good and I needed to make a lot! My husband said if he was a vegetarian and stranded on a deserted island, he might eat them, but he'd rather have a hamburger. Here is the recipe as written. Then, I'll tell you how I did it - I didn't use all these ingredients.

This recipe is from "365 Ways to Cook Vegetarian" by Kitty Morse.

1 1/4 cups dried lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 egg
3 Tablespoons wheat germ
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 Tablespoons sliced black olives, drained
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 small carrot, shredded
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons butter

Coconut Relish
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon sugar

1. In a large saucepan, combine lentils with 4 cups of water.  Cook, covered, over medium heat, until lentils are tender, 25-30 minutes; drain.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine cooked lentils and egg.  Pulse, turning machine quickly on and off 5 or 6 times, until lentils are coarsely mashed.  Transfer to a large bowl.

3. Add wheat germ, Worcestershire, hot sauce, olives, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, onion, and carrot. Mix well to blend.

4. Spread bread crumbs on a large plate.  With hands, fashion lentil patties. Dredge in bread crumbs to coat both sides. In a large frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. With a wide spatula, carefully set lentil patties inside frying pan. Cook, turning once, until golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes on each side. Place on a paper towel covered plate.

5. Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, combine cilantro leaves with lemon juice, coconut, ginger, 2 Tablespoons water, and sugar. Process until cilantro is chopped. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

6. Serve lentil patties hot, with coconut relish on the side.

First of all, I did not make the coconut relish (skipped number 5). I did not use a blender or food processor to mash the lentils with egg. I just mashed by hand with a pastry blender. I omitted olives and instead of bread crumbs, I ground oatmeal into a flour consistency. Instead of dredging patties into the bread crumbs, I just mixed the oatmeal flour into the mixture to give it a thicker consistency. I used way more hot sauce than 1/8 teaspoon and LOTS of salt and pepper. I used salt and pepper in the bowl, then again while I was frying, than sprinkled with season salt on the plate. I used olive oil instead of butter to fry them. I also added a generous amount of cayenne pepper and we still didn't taste the heat from the hot sauce or cayenne. Next time I'll add some more. My son ate his with pickles and ketchup and I ate mine with Heinz 57 sauce. Dijon mustard would be good too. Some recipes suggest letting the mixture chill for several hours to help keep them together. I did not and didn't have trouble with them staying together. I also used almost a WHOLE bag of lentils rather than the 1 1/4 cups it called for. The lentils, wheat germ, egg, and ground oatmeal provided an abundant source of protein and other valuable nutrients and fiber.

Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos To Go

I needed something healthy, fast, and easy to eat on the go for breakfast. It needed lots of protein for my vegetarian son and able to be made ahead of time that would keep either in the fridge or freezer. I got this idea from my friend, Barb Barsch. I made a large batch for the week(s) ahead.

Protein-packed Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos To Go

4-5 cups frozen hash browns
2 cans black beans, drained
10 eggs
2 cups shredded cheese
salsa
9 large tortillas (I used sun-dried tomato and jalapeno and cheddar)
2 cups yellow and green peppers, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
minced garlic
olive oil
ground mustard (optional)
ground cumin (optional)
ground sage (optional)
seasoned salt
garlic powder
cayenne pepper
cholulu sauce

All measurements are estimates for proportion purposes. I had leftover hash brown/egg mixture.

Saute peppers, onions, and garlic (or any other vegetables you desire) with some olive oil. Add all seasoning; ground mustard, cumin, sage, seasoned salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cholula hot sauce. Mix vegetable mixture, beaten eggs, cheese, black beans, and frozen hash browns in a very large baking dish. Bake covered for an hour or until hash browns and eggs are cooked. Taste. Add more seasonings, if necessary. Warm tortillas in microwave. Spoon mixture in the middle of tortillas. Add salsa on top. Make a burrito. If you want to cut in half, fold BOTH sides in. Wrap in saran wrap. Store in refrigerator or freezer. Warm up in microwave for 30 seconds (thawed) or 1-2 minutes if frozen on busy mornings and eat on the GO!

Surviving Our First BBQ As Vegetarians

Well, we survived our first BBQ cookout on a vegetarian diet! I asked Nathan a couple days ahead of the cookout if he was going to eat any hamburgers or hot dogs. These aren't just any hamburgers, either. They are double patties sealed together with Swiss cheese and ham in the middle. He didn't want any of those so we went to the health market at Hy-Vee to see what they had.We got some frozen veggie patties labeled Parmesan and bruschetta. We also found some soy hot dogs.

The thing that hit me the hardest was the smell of beef on the grill when we arrived. Oh, boy.  We ended up putting the frozen veggie patties and soy hot dogs on the grill along with the rest of the burgers and hot dogs. I'm sure they got some beef fat on them sharing grates with the greasy hamburgers.

I double-stacked two veggie burgers on a bun with onions, tomato, pickles and honey mustard. It was edible.  The soy hot dog tasted OK, but I couldn't get past biting into it. The snap of the casing of normal hot dogs wasn't there. When you bit into it, it smashed together. I couldn't get past this unusual texture of a hot dog. Nathan preferred the hot dogs to the patties. If I ever buy those patties again, they may have more flavor if I fry them in some butter in a skillet instead of putting on a grill.

By the way, if you leave those things out on the counter for an extended period of time, they turn to rubber. The doberman didn't even want it! That was the joke of the day.

Nathan - Day 8
Me - Day 7

Our Vegetarian Journey

Some of you may already know that my 12 year old son has decided he wants to be a vegetarian for the following reasons: more energy and focus, over-all better health, and animal treatment. We discussed what he had researched and I proposed a one week challenge for the both of us. I suggested that for a week we would only eat meat in the evening meal. That would be cutting our meat consumption down by about half. He agreed to try it. The afternoon of his first day back to school (after the decision), he told me he thought he could do it full time. I didn't know he had already decided that he didn't want anymore meat. I had no idea how I was going to provide him vegetarian meals, as well as meals with meat for my husband.

This particular type of cooking and way of thinking is new to me. I thought I would chronicle our adventure and some recipes that I use. We will also be observing any health effects or changes that we notice. This is my 5th day on a no-meat diet and I have lost 2 1/2 pounds.

So far, Nathan has taken pimento cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, raw vegetables with ranch dressing, cheese sticks, fruit cups, and applesauce to school for his lunch. He doesn't have access to a microwave so all his food needs to be ready to eat. I will have to search for more ideas for him to take for lunch.

For dinner this week we have had; tofu burgers, meatless chili, and spaghetti without meatballs. We've also had nachos with re-fried beans, queso blanco Velveeta cheese and homemade salsa. I found a recipe for this evening's dinner for vegetable pot pie.

I would LOVE to have some suggestions for meals and snacks from any of my readers, including recipes. I do not know anyone that is a vegetarian so I need HELP!

Garden Fresh Pasta Salad

With the summer's abundance of fresh vegetables, I enjoy making (and eating) this pasta salad. I didn't measure anything. Just fix to taste.

pasta
Italian dressing
any kinds of peppers (red, green, jalapeno, banana), chopped
tomatoes, chopped
onions, chopped
parmesan cheese
olives, chopped or sliced
sunflower seeds
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Mix all together and refrigerate. This is very hearty with the chopped vegetables. I had leftover fettuccine from last night's chicken alfredo, but any pasta will do. I also used Tuscan House Italian dressing that I had on hand. Spicy Italian dressing is good, too. I used banana peppers and "orangesicle" peppers with orange tomatoes. Grape tomatoes work well because they keep their shape (1/2 or quarter them). This is a nice cold dish for those hot summer days.

Homemade Vinaigrette Dressing

There are many different ways to make a vinaigrette. This is just one way that I did. I didn't measure anything, so all amounts are estimates. It is recommended that the oil to vinegar ratio be 3-1. Fix to your taste.

1/4 cup red wine vinegar ( I like balsamic vinegar, too)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of prepared mustard
1 Tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon of honey
ground sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
onion and garlic powder

*ground basil, thyme or oregano could be added, if desired.

Mix well. Pour in oil and vinegar glass cruet for storage. This made quite a bit. Not much is needed for a salad. Use lightly. You may want to add more oil if vinegar is too strong or add more honey if it is too sour. It is suggested on several websites to use ground mustard, so not to run a risk of spoilage if stored at room temperature. The acid from the vinegar will probably prevent spoilage if stored at room temperature. It is also suggested to make a fresh batch every week.