277860 Tue May 10 10:09:58 -0700 2005 14 31 Home Cooking 0 1469324 Hi all. I'm looking for some good vegetarian meals to prepare at home. I'm the type that always feels a piece of meat or fish needs to be the main focus of every meal, but I'd like to start eating 1 or 2 veggie meals a week...just for a change and/or for diet purposes. All that pops into my head are stir-frys. I like almost any veggie, love spicey food, will try cooking almost anything. Any suggestions?? Tue May 10 10:09:58 -0700 2005 0 needmeat 1 1469329 Eggplant parm and rollatini are vegetarian staples. You could get exotic with your pastas and sauces as well (e.g., wild mushroom ravioli, spinach canneloni [sp], pesto sauce, roaster red pepper sauce, etc.) Portabellas are good for grilling because if their 'meaty' texture. They are big enough to serve up like burgers. Nachos with vegetarian chili are a quick and easy appetizer or snack. You could go mexican with cheese enhiladas, avacado tostadas, spinach enchiladas. You can find recipes for all of this stuff by googling. Tue May 10 10:41:10 -0700 2005 1469324 0 EAF 1 1469332 whole wheat pasta with chickpeas, garlic, broccoli rabe, red pepper flakes angel hair pasta with cilantro, ginger, thinned out peanut butter, tofu, shredded carrots and snow peas Quinoa everywhere. it looks like a grain, but it is a sprout, and i think it is a complete protein. just use it as you would use couscous or rice. i saw a lentil-quinoa-raisin salad with indian spices in wholefoods the other day that looked good moosewood has a delicious recipe for eggplant enchiladas with almonds - I don't even really like eggplant all that much i also saw mollie katzen on PBS once making pizzas out of shredded zucchini, mozzarella and parmesan and tried it myself on a cookie sheet - it's tricky to get the flour-egg-cheese-zucchini ratio down, but it usually comes out tasty even if it's falling apart. roasted red onions and butternut squash, lentils, sauteed kale, wild rice, add blue cheese if you like rice and beans! peanut stew is always good and spicy, also called groundnut stew lentil salad with vinaigrette and green salad served w/ poached or fried egg vegetarian chili is easy to improvise, freezable; serve over a baked potato a nice gruyere omelette with a salad and vegetable instead of potatoes falafel; even the mix tastes good to me; I add some canned chickpeas and blend with parsley; serve with salad Tue May 10 10:45:22 -0700 2005 1469324 0 melon 2 1469349 is the pizza BASE made out of zucchini? Or is that just a topping? Sounds interesting if it's the base. Kind of like a baked zucchini latke. What toppings did she use, or did she go with the classic marinara and cheese? Might be useful for a coeliac friend (with a non-gluten flour, of course) Tue May 10 12:15:34 -0700 2005 1469332 0 kate 3 1469400 Yes, the pizza base is mostly zucchini with just enough of whatever you want to keep it stuck together. I'd bake it first and then bake it again with the toppings. Tue May 10 15:53:49 -0700 2005 1469349 0 melon 4 1469476 I'd love to try this. Is the zucchini shredded or just sliced? What other ingredients go on it? Wed May 11 09:41:35 -0700 2005 1469400 0 Mar a 1 1469339 Do you like Japanese food? Do you have access to Japanese ingredients? Tue May 10 11:26:27 -0700 2005 1469324 0 Yukari 1 1469354 Ja, I've been trying to do this too. There are two ways of doing this: choose a protein (the most important thing that meat brings to your diet) and work around that. For example, I try and think of all the different things I could do with an egg - omelette, scrambled with interesting things and wrapped in a burrito, a carbonara pasta sauce, egg fried rice, on toast with an interesting sauce (benedict, bearnaise, etc.). Other proteins include beans, lentils, etc. The other thing I've been doing, especially since spring arrived, is throwing a 'balanced, structured meal' out the window. Since I do it only once a week, I quite enjoy it. I either take one of my most favourite non-meat things and eat entirely that - roasted green beans, soba noodles with mint, tomato soup, etc. - because I never usually let myself gorge on one favourite thing. I like being rebellious, and finishing it off with chocolate yoghurt, or lemon sorbet, or something sweet. Otherwise I do a sort of antipasti thing (more fun with other people). I make a dipping/spreading sauce (romesco, roast garlic, salsa), and eat a mixture of: roasted mushrooms, broiled baby tomatoes, carrot sticks and other crudite, arugula and red peppers wrapped in cucumber ribbons, grilled haloumi, pecorino, ricotta, some other cheese with either nutty wholewheat bread, or some room-temp brown rice. Finish with a similar fruit/cheese selection. Guess what I'm having tonight... Tue May 10 12:28:14 -0700 2005 1469324 0 kate 1 1469366 I've been on an "Asian" noodle salad kick. You can vary it as you like, but the dressing is basically: 1/4 cup hoisin sauce 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup olive/canola oil 2 Tbs peanut butter 1 tsp hot sauce, chili oil, hot pepper flakes, etc. 1 Tbs sesame seeds 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 1 tsp fish sauce whisk everything together This is a VERY rough recipe. Tone flavors up and down, leave out things you don't have (I'd say the first four things are essential, though), adjust for allergies and preferences, voila! For 2 servings: Boil a handful of noodles, or enough for what you consider 2 services. I prefer dried Asian style noodles or wonton noodles, but of course you could use spaghetti. Drain the noodles and run in cold water so they get really cold. Get your salad mix of choice, and toss with half the dressing. Add the noodles, and add dressing to taste. Top with sesame seeds, nuts, or whatever strikes your fancy. I was inspired to create this recipe after eating an Asian Chicken Salad at Wolfgang Puck's and thinking "hey, this tastes like Vietnamese spring roll dipping sauce!" It's more filling than a salad because of the carbs, and less fattening/oily than traditional Asian salads that have those little fried crisps. Of course, adding grilled chicken is great for your non-veggie nights. Tue May 10 12:53:32 -0700 2005 1469324 0 nooodles 1 1469378 black bean, yellow pepper, chipotle chili (there is a good recipe on epicurious.com) perhaps a middle eastern spread -- hummus, baba ghanoush, ful, pita bread, olives, roasted red peppers and feta cheese make a great meal. hummus and baba ghanoush are very easy to make in the food processor (or if you don't have time you can buy them) Tue May 10 13:30:46 -0700 2005 1469324 0 DeeDee 1 1469401 Go to Epicurious.com and put a check by "meatless" on their advanced search and see what it comes up with. Lots of good stuff there. Find recipes with tofu and tempeh. Tempeh is very hearty and will fill you up the same way meat does. And it tastes fantastic. Find good tofu. I find the stuff in the refrigerated section is better than the stuff on the shelves. Eli Tue May 10 16:01:39 -0700 2005 1469324 0 ChefElias 1 1469403 Get an Indian Cookbook (India, not so much Native American); they are loaded with great recipes. THere is a really good one by Nelam Batra, something like "1000 Indian Recipes." We are on about recipe #27 and they are great. Tue May 10 16:11:01 -0700 2005 1469324 0 Tubadave 1 1469440 Mark Bittmans, How to cook Everything, Has the most delicious Recipe for lentils and rice with carmelized onions. Carmelized onions are relly good for meatless eating, bc it has such a complex flavor. Yum! -Becca Tue May 10 21:03:20 -0700 2005 1469324 0 Becca Porter 1 1469455 I'm a fan of "The Moosewood Cooks at Home." They have a nice mix of easy, tasty vegetarian recipes. They also have a selection of recipes called "home @ 6, dinner @ 6:30" for weeknights when you can't cook a fancy meal. It's probably the cookbook in my collection that I refer to most frequently. Wed May 11 00:16:10 -0700 2005 1469324 0 The Thin Man 1 1469494 There are also great meat substitutes out there. The gimme lean strips are wonderful to make stews (I make a great beef bourgiougne with them. Also, gimme lean log 'o meat is great for meatballs. If you are wanting vegetable centered stuff, quiches are great. Vegetable strudles are wonderful. Just saute or roast a bunche of veggies (squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, cabbage) and layer with phyllo or wrap with puff pastry dough. Wed May 11 12:10:30 -0700 2005 1469324 0 verucaamish