Vegetarian

[Ehelldame]

PENNE AND SPINACH BAKE
This is what I serve when I have vegetarian guests. Even non-vegetarians like it.

8 ounces penne pasta, cooked
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
1 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes with basil oregano and garlic
1 (10 ounces) package frozen spinach
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1. Sauté onion and garlic in 1 T butter until tender.
2. Add flour and stir to coat onions.
3. Add milk and cook over medium low until bubbly and slightly thickened.
4. Remove from heat; add 1/4 c cheese and seasonings.
5. Combine pasta, sauce, 1 c cheese, tomatoes and spinach in large bowl.
6. Spoon into greased 13x9 baking dish.
7. Combine bread crumbs, 2 T cheese and 1 T butter.
8. Sprinkle over pasta.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

[kckgirl]

Lemon Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) (PoisinIvy)

Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a main course when served with rice or couscous. Sometimes if I'm feeling lazy I just use pre-mixted jerk seasoning powder in place of the spices, but it tastes best if you buy whole and grind your own.

2 tbsps sunflower oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1" piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, crushed
1 hot chili pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
14 oz tin of chickpeas, drained
finely grated zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
14 oz tin chopped tomatoes
8 oz spinach leaves (I use rocket)
s & p

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok and fry the
onion till softened. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli and
spices and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the
tomatoes, chickpeas and lemon zest & juice. Season to
taste. Cook for about 15 minutes then stir in the
spinach or rocket and continue to cook for about 3
minutes till tender.

I usually serve it with some Greek yoghurt drizzled over
the top.

[kckgirl]

Orzo Pasta Salad (CHATTMOMMA)

1 box orzo
2 cans sliced black olives
1 diced bell pepper
1 diced onion
1 diced tomato
1 can chickpeas
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 vinegar

Boil orzo in salted water per package instructions. Toss with remaining ingredients and serve hot or cold.

[amiboo]

Cheesy Rice Quesadillas    Serves several
An easy vegetarian dish that’s delicious and filling.   

1 pkg corn tortillas
1 pkg Rice a Roni Spanish Rice
1 can diced tomatoes w/ chilies
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cp salsa
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour Cream
Salsa

Prepare the Rice a Roni per instructions on the box in a skillet. When it’s done stir in the tomatoes. Make sure the beans are well rinsed with water and drained well.  Add them to the rice along with the corn and 1 cp of salsa, cover and simmer just till it's all heated thru.

Heat a lrg skillet over med/high-heat. Lower heat to med. Spray with cooking spray, lay a tortilla in the pan and cover with the rice mixture to about 1/2" thickness. Sprinkle with cheese, lay another tortilla over top and cook till the top tortilla begins to curl at the edges. Flip it carefully with a pancake turner. Cook that side 1-2 min. Flip onto a plate and cut into quarters with a pizza cutter. Top with sour cream and salsa, serve.

[amiboo]

Lasagna Roll-up (6 servings) or Stuffed Shells (10 servings)
This is a versatile recipe. I make Lasagna Rollup when it's just for home and I make the Stuffed Shells for larger groups.  I used to work with a bunch of guys who thought veggies were for sissys.  One they tasted this dish they tried to bribe me to bring it in all the time.   

1 green pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped   
2 cps mushrooms, sliced
½ med onion
1 Tbls olive oil
1 can diced Italian tomatoes 
1 bottle Three Cheese Prego spaghetti sauce
3 cps shredded mozzarella cheese
1 sm container cottage cheese
½ tsp each parsley, basil, oregano
6 lasagna noodles OR 20 large shell pasta (you may want to cook a couple extra as sometimes they fall apart)

Get a large pan of water on to boil.  In a large skillet heat the olive oil, add the onion, green pepper and zucchini.  Cook on low heat 5-6 min or until onion is opaque.  Add the spaghetti sauce and tomatoes, undrained.  Cover and simmer 15 min.  Stir in the mushrooms. 

As soon as the water starts boiling add the noodles/shells and cover.  While they’re cooking, mix the cottage cheese and 1 cp of the mozzarella cheese in a bowl.  Add the herbs and stir till blended. 

Lasagna noodles – When the noodles are done lay 6 of them out on the counter.  Spoon the cheese blend on to the noodles evenly.  Roll each noodle up and set it in a baking dish. 
Shells – Run cold water over the pasta to cool it enough to handle.  Pick up each shell and fill it with the cheese blend and place it in the baking dish. 

Pour the meat/vegi sauce over the noodles, make sure each noodle/shell is covered in sauce.  Sprinkle with the other 2 cps of mozzerella.  Bake 15-20 min or until bubbly and heated through. 

[aloe]

Baked Tofu

Buy a block of tofu that is packed in a plastic container with water, firm or extra-firm with a good expiration date that is a week or more in advance.
It should smell fresh, not sour.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

After rinsing the block of tofu with cold water, slice
it in slabs approximately 1/4 inch thick.  They can be
big or small slabs. Place in an oiled baking pan.
Sprinkle lightly with curry powder.  Another spice of
your choice could be added with the curry also, if
desired.  Pour a modest amount of soy sauce over the
tofu.  Then generously coat the tofu with mini-flake
nutritional yeast (I buy it bulk at the health food store)  Bake
until the tofu is browned--when ready, it is lightly
crispy on the edges.  Some people like it more chewy,
others less so.  It's good either way--overcooked, it
gets very chewy & I like it that way too.  You can
also bake it for longer at a lower temperature--an
hour at 360 F will do it---I prefer to cook it at 425
or 430 F for a shorter period ot time.

[aloe]

And another favorite recipe at our home:

Veggie Burger Recipe

First, cook 1 1/2 cups of white rice.  I use
organically grown basmati rice.

In a large bowl, mash one block of firm tofu.  Buy a
package of tofu that has a good pull date, rinse with
cold water after removing from package.  To the mashed
tofu, add a very generous amount of dried parsley
flakes.  Add several splashes of soy sauce, 4 TBSP
olive oil,  a few sprinkles of curry powder, paprika,
salt and garlic powder.  Add a generous amount of
onion powder--this is an essential ingredient.  Add a
generous amount of nutritional yeast (brewer's yeast).
 Add 1/2 cup of non-chunky (creamy) peanut butter.
When your rice is ready, add this hot rice to the
bowl.  Use a potato masher (hand tool) and mash until
you have a 'batter.'  Then, I use my fingers and
squeeze between my fingers firmly until the batter is
very 'fine' (minimal chunks seen of tofu).
Form into burgers or croquettes. (smaller flat egg-shaped patties)
Place patties on oiled cookie sheet. You can choose
baking temperature and time.  If you want them done
faster, cook at 420F for 35-40 minutes or so, or slower--365F for
about an hour.  Check patties after 20-30 minutes and
look for golden browning on top, then flip over with
spatula gently (it is normal if one or two try to fall
apart sometimes, but being careful you can avoid
that).
This recipe is forgiving and always comes out well,
hence the inexact amounts of many of the ingredients.

I serve them with gravy.

Gravy:

Fill a large mug with hot tap water.  Dissolve several
TBSPs of corn starch, stir.  Heat olive oil in frying
pan: add salt and powdered garlic.  You can add sliced
mushrooms if you'd like, but plain is good, too.  Stir
until it starts to thicken, then add a little more
water and soy sauce.  Add a generous amount of
nutritional yeast slowly, stirring.  The key is to
avoid lumpiness.  Vegetable bouillion can be added if
desired.
Fresh ground pepper added at the table is great.

[lovinAZ]

Cupcakes
Ingredients:
Cherrybrook Farms yellow cake box mix
Water (as directed on box)
Margarine (as directed on box) (Earth Balance margarine)

"Cream Cheese" Frosting
Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (Tofutti Vegan "Cream Cheese")
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cube margarine (Earth Balance margarine)
1 pound powdered sugar

Mix thoroughly all ingredients.



From another friend (I have made and eaten this many times):

I also sometimes do a black bean, white corn, chunky salsa mix and wrap up a couple of tortillas with this. However, this tends to be a eat-over-a-container item because the juice just runs out the bottom, even if the tortilla is wrapped well.  But Scoops work well with it, too.
I start with one can of beans (plenty for a batch) and nearly a whole bag of frozen white corn, and then however much salsa looks good. I think it ends up being almost 1-1-1, but maybe it's a little less salsa. It's totally based on what proportion you like so you can make it however it looks tastiest to you! Some people add olive oil, cilantro, and spices that they like, but me? I'm lazy



Vegan Cinnamon Doughnut Holes

coating:
1/4 vegan margarine
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

doughnuts:
1 and 1/3 cup flour
1 cup crispy rice-type cereal, coarsely crushed (aka rice krisipies)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup “milk”

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). In a small saucepan, melt the margarine. Once liquefied, pour into a small bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon and sugar and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cereal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in “milk” until well blended and start rolling dough into 1-inch balls with your hands. Dip each ball into the melted margarine and then coat in the cinnamon-sugar. Place them in a lightly oiled 8x8 inch baking pan so the balls are touching one another and bake for 16-18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before removing from pan. Makes 20-24 doughnut holes.


Meatball Tortellini Soup

1 can (14.5 oz) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
12 frozen cooked fake meatballs (1/2 oz each)**
3/4 cup fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup stewed tomatoes
1 can (11 oz.) Mexicorn, drained (regular corn works, too)
3/4 cup frozen cheese tortellini (about 20)
dash each salt and pepper


In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil.
Add meatballs.  Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add spinach, tomatoes and corn.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add tortellini, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until tortellini is tender.

(4 servings)

**Trader Joe's fake meatballs and Veggie Patch fake meatballs are both really tasty and work well in this soup

If you like your soup with a lot of broth, use more than one can.  One can of broth leads to a very chunky soup (which I like but others might not).

[ZipTheWonder]

Had this Friday night and it was very good!  Yummy, quick, healthy summer main course!

Sweet Pea & Artichoke Lasagna

Ingredients
2 (8-ounce) packages frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil leaves
2 (15-ounce) containers whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 1-pound bag frozen petite peas, thawed
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 (8- to 9-ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles (12 noodles)
4 cups coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (about 1 pound)
preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish with oil. Mix artichokes, 1/2 cup cream, and basil in medium bowl. Purée remaining 1 cup cream, ricotta, and next 4 ingredients in processor. Spread 1 cup ricotta mixture over bottom of prepared baking dish. Arrange 4 noodles in single layer over ricotta, breaking noodles as needed to cover. Spread half of artichoke mixture over. Spread 2 1/2 cups ricotta mixture over artichokes. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese over. Repeat with 4 noodles, artichoke mixture, 2 1/2 cups ricotta mixture, and 1 cup mozzarella.

Top with 4 noodles. Spread remaining ricotta mixture over, then sprinkle remaining 2 cups mozzarella over. Tent with foil, sealing edges.

Bake lasagna 30 minutes. Remove foil; continue baking until bubbling at edges and brown on top, about 25 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Bon Appétit, June 2007

Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

[Siduri]

This recipe can be vegetarian, vegan, ovo-lacto, fish, meat, whatever you like depending on what you put on it.  It's tasty, not as hard as you think, and it really impresses people.  I love it.  I find it makes enough rolls to feed four, or three people with hearty appetites.

Sushi Recipe

Making the rice

You will need:

2 cups sushi rice
2 cups water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp salt
a shallow wooden bowl

Rinse the rice in water for about five minutes, until the water comes out clear.  Let it sit and drain for an hour.
Put the rice and water in a covered pot.  This is very important: do not open the pot while cooking, not even for a peek.  Bring to boil on high.  Reduce temperature to medium, cook five minutes, then reduce to low and cook fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt.  Heat this until the sugar dissolves.
Combine the rice and vinegar mixture in a shallow wooden bowl.  Try to combine them by folding, not stirring; stirring will mash the rice a bit.  Stir with a wooden or possibly plastic spoon or paddle.  Don't use metal; it reacts poorly with the vinegar.  Wood absorbs excess moisture.  Wood is good.
Your rice should get nice and sticky and have a lovely vinegary flavor to it.


Making the rolls

You will need:

one package of sushi nori (seaweed paper; you probably won't use it all)
a wooden or plastic sushi paddle/spatula, or at least a flat-ish spoon
a sushi rolling mat
filling: egg (cooked slowly over low heat), avocado, sliced mushroom, cream cheese, tofu, red pepper, cucumber, carrot, spinach, sweet potato... whatever suits your fancy, really

Lay a sheet of nori down on the flat rolling mat.  Most of the nori I've ever bought has lines like in "tear-here" paper to make the rolls easier to slice, so align the nori so that these lines are vertical.  Spread some rice on there evenly and thinly (maybe a 1/4-1/2 inch thick).  Leave the last inch of the nori uncovered.
Lay your filling horizontally in strips near the edge of the rice-covered nori closest to you.  Carefully fold it over and roll it up with the mat.  With a very sharp knife, slice the roll into even pieces.  Moisten the knife with cool water in between slices to keep it slippery.

Eating the sushi

You will need:

chopsticks
a small dipping bowl
soy sauce
wasabi
pickled ginger

Mix soy sauce and wasabi in dipping bowl.  Use for dipping (duh).  The pickled ginger is to cleanse the palate between bites of different kinds of sushi.

[Nimblicity]

(Very) Spicy Spaghetti

° Spaghetti noodles: use the best you can get, it really makes a difference to get those made without egg.
° Cherry tomatoes: a good handful per person
° Freshly minced chile peppers: as many as you can stand
° Minced garlic: as much as those around you can stand
° Olive oil
° Salt

Warning: don't take out or put in contacts after making this recipe!  I learned that the hard way!

Bring plenty of salted water to a boil.  Drop noodles into the water and cook according to the package.  When al dente, drain and rinse in cold water.

In the meantime, mince garlic and chiles.  Cut cherry tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size.

Heat olive oil in a wok-style pan and add the garlic and chiles.  Let fry for half a minute, then add the drained noodles.  After a further minute of stirring, add the tomatoes.  Salt to taste.  Let cook until noodles and tomatoes are hot, no more than 5 minutes.  A drop of olive oil on top, serve immediately!

[SkylerY]

PASTA WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS

Ingredients

2 large bell peppers, any color,roasted, peeled and seeded with their juice
1 large tomato, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup Kalamata or Gaeta black olives, pitted, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsely
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound pasta of your choice

Directions

Cut the peppers into narrow strips.

In a large bowl, combine the peppers and their juice with the tomato, oil, olives, parsley, garlic and oregano.

Add salt and pepper to taste (remember, olives may be salty.)

Cook the pasta al dente and drain, reserving some of the cooking water.

Toss the pasta with the pepper mixture, adding a little of the reserved cooking water of the sauce seems dry.

Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Notes:

The key to this dish is the fresh roasted peppers. The canned/bottled stuff will not do, you need to make it FRESH!! We like red bell peppers the best, so we just use those. We can get a 6-pack of red bell peppers from Costco (bell peppers are expensive!) We do go ahead and triple the recipe and use all six peppers. My philosophy is if I’m going to go through all that trouble to roast and peel the peppers, then I’d better make a lot and have good leftovers! If you plan to triple as well, then here’s a quick tip for you, two cans of black olives pretty much comes out to three cups.

There are many different methods and schools on how to roast peppers. Feel free to do what you are most familiar with, however, try to save the juice! If you don’t know how to roast peppers and don’t feel like researching how to, here is how I do it. Mind you, I’m not saying this is THE way to do it, that this is just the way that works best for me and this dish:

1. Core peppers at the top only (keeping the bottom helps preserve the juice.)
2. Rinse out the seeds and tear out any leftover sinewy bits.
3. Lightly brush the peppers with olive oil on all sides.
4. Place all peppers in the same position (laying flat on side or sitting up if possible) in a baking pan.
5. Place on medium to medium high rack under broiler (hi).
6. Watch for the peppers to begin to blacken. It will depend on the peppers how long this takes. Last night it took about 30 minutes per side.
7. After the first side has blackened, take out pan and pick up each pepper, drain the excess juice into a prep bowl, then place it back in the pan on the opposite side. I found that draining the juice during the roasting helps save it from being evaporated away.
8. Repeat until each side is well blackened.
9. Don’t let cool, immediately place steaming hot peppers into a glass dish and seal tightly. Cover under a towel and allow to cool for a hour or so.
10. Once cooled, CAREFULLY begin to strip the skin off of the pulp. Don’t worry if the pulp is black (that’s good!) What you are trying to remove is the papery charred skin, whether it’s black or red. I find that using my thumb to squeeze off the pulp helps sometimes. Take your time with this, or you’ll lose a lot of pulp or get some papery bites when you eat your meal later.
11. Pour remaining juice left in glass bowl into your prep bowl.

In the meantime while the peppers are cooking, I go ahead and chop everything else (tomatoes, olives, etc) and add to the prep bowl. That way, they can start marinating in the olive oil and pepper juice as it is being added. Yum!!

We like this dish with long noodles, such as thin spaghetti, vermicelli, or angel hair. You can serve the roasted pepper mixture room temperature over hot noodles. If you are going to eat it as leftover, you can serve it cold (makes a good summer pasta!), but I prefer to either set the mixture out to get to room temperature, or to nuke it just a touch to get the cold edge off.

[Aeris]

This is my FAVORITE.

Barbeque Seitan and Black Bean Burritos

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
5 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 habanero peppers, seeded and minced (or any other 'lighter' pepper, for those without mouths of steel)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 (8 ounce) packages seitan
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups cooked white rice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce (I actually recommend getting *2* bottles)
10 (10 inch) flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS
1) In a large saucepan (wok pans also work well) heat oil over medium-high and saute yellow onion, green onions, garlic, habanero, and bell pepper until onions become translucent. Add seitan and saute another 5 minutes. Add black beans and tomatoes. Heat through.

2) In a medium size mixing bowl combine heated mixture with cooked rice, cilantro, and 1 cup barbecue sauce.

3) Lay tortillas on flat surface. Spoon about 3/4 cup of filling onto each tortilla's center. Wrap tortilla so that mixture is captured on the inside. Using a toothpick to 'pin' them closed while baking helps.

4) In a casserole dish pour barbecue sauce to coat the dish's bottom. Place burritos in dish and pour more barbecue sauce on top of them. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 35 minutes.



Variation: Get a lot more tortillas and make them narrower burritos. This makes them a lot easier to handle, and you have more! Usually makes around 20 'narrow' burritos.

[OhHai!]

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