Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes

[Critical]

You're welcome! If I try out any recipes, I'll post them here. I've bookmarked quite a few. I liked the "cooking for one" aspect. It's so hard to cook for just myself AND make it interesting and I'm always flirting with vegetarianism even though I probably will never go full veggie. I did cringe when I saw the release date. That happens so many times. I recommend a book and then I check the release date and it's months away.

The book has quite a few recipes using kale, which I've really wanted to explore some more. I'm definitely going to stock up the the farmers market this weekend and start expanding my horizons!

[Gutmutter]

I love kale but I've gotten lazy... I buy the baby kale and just use it as a salad.

[inthegarden]

I love kale but I've gotten lazy... I buy the baby kale and just use it as a salad.

Me too. I love to mix baby kale with other greens for a tossed salad.
I like to look at the salad kits in the grocery store. They give me new ideas for salads. I saw a new one the other day, it had kale, brussels sprout leafs and a lot of other interesting items. I plan on looking closer the next grocery visit.

[Gutmutter]

I've been getting a sprout mix that has fennel sprouts in it. I love fennel, but had never had sprouts of it before. Delicious!

[Critical]

I had a fairly successful trip the farmers market this morning....except for how d@mned cold it was! I came home with carrots, baby bok choy, kale, salad greens, baby beets, kiwi and Brussels sprouts, along with a nice loaf of French bread as a little splurge.

I had planned on buying a pork tenderloin from the local organic butcher, but OMG, it was SO expensive! The last time I bought a tenderloin from him, which was maybe a year or more ago, it was about $10. Today, they wanted $20! No, thank you. Eating veggie is definitely cheaper, that's for sure.

[Brooks]

Hubby needed a low carb/low salt pizza. The following recipe is a hit with him, and he doesn't like cauliflower! I like having leftover riced cauliflower because it's so versatile.

1 cup cooked riced, cauliflower = 2 net carbs
1 cup shredded mozzarella = 4 net carbs
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
olive oil
pizza sauce (low salt brands available)
choice of toppings
shredded cheese (optional because there is already a lot of cheese in the crust)

Rice the raw cauliflower head with a cheese grater or food processor (1 large head may make almost 3 cups). Microwave for about 8 min. Do not add water. No need to cover.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray non-stick cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Stir together cauliflower, egg, and mozzarella. Stir in oregano, garlic, salt.

Pat out fairly small pizzas, no more than 9 inches. (The pizza will be crusty at the edges but a little soggy in the middle, and more so if you make the pizza larger. It may be possible to pick it up, but easier to use a fork.) I like 6" squares because my largest spatula can handle them. 1 batch makes two squares for me and is plenty for me to eat.

Brush or spray top with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Add sauce, precooked toppings, and cheese. Place under broiler just until cheese is melted (apx 3-4 minutes).

[Critical]

I used this recipe for some baby bok choy I got at the farmers market. It was REALLY good.
Savory Baby Bok Choy Recipe - Allrecipes.com
I halved the recipe even though I had a full pound of bok choy, but I shouldn't have. I could have eaten a lot more!

[ClosetRTWatcher]

My son is taking a cooking class and they are supposed to make a dish from a country of their choosing. He chose India, which is a good option for him since he likes to eat vegetarian. I cook a lot, but I have never explored Indian cuisine before. He picked this recipe:
Spiced Black-Eyed Peas with Curry Leaves Recipe - Saveur.com

I was pretty surprised to find FIVE ingredients that I had either never heard of or knew we could not get at the grocery store (fresh curry leaves, Indian chickpea flour, asafetida, tamarind concentrate, jaggery). Thank goodness my town has an Indian food store!!

We tried this for the first time on Sunday. We cooked the black eyed peas ourselves and stuck to the recipe since we have no experience. It was okay, but I'm not the best cooker of dried beans and I didn't think the dish had enough flavor. It was very "earthy" and my thought was that it needed more sweet and sour flavors to add some brightness. So we tried again last night using canned black eyed peas and made the following modifications: doubled the jaggery, added more tamarind concentrate, added the juice of one lime along with the water. It was really good served over white rice, and would be equally good with brown rice or naan.

One note about asafetida (our local store called it hing). It is some STRONG stuff. It doesn't smell bad, but it does smell unusual and I sure don't want my entire kitchen smelling like it! I currently have it triple-bagged in ziplocs and I'm going to have to check my cabinet to make sure the smell isn't still leaking out!!!

[Critical]

One note about asafetida (our local store called it hing). It is some STRONG stuff. It doesn't smell bad, but it does smell unusual and I sure don't want my entire kitchen smelling like it! I currently have it triple-bagged in ziplocs and I'm going to have to check my cabinet to make sure the smell isn't still leaking out!!!

Years ago, my brother worked for a spice company, so I got TONS of stuff for free. One of the freebies was a GIANT bag of curry powder (maybe half the size of a small bag of flour). Within about a day, my entire apartment smelled like an Indian restaurant because the curry smell "sweats" right through plastic. No matter how many plastic bags I put it in, the smell came right through. I ended up buying a glass jar with a rubber seal. It was the only thing that worked. I love Indian food, but I didn't want my house to smell like that ALL THE TIME!

I bought a big bag of broccoli florets at Cost Co this weekend, so I'm going to try out this recipe tonight:
The Best Broccoli of Your Life - Amateur Gourmet
I love broccoli, but I'm a bit tired of just steaming it.

[Critical]

I've been trying to add more quinoa to my diet, but have been sort of bored with the few ways I know how to cook with it. I did some searching around and found some great, healthy recipes:
Healthy Dinners | Whole Living
Easy Quinoa Recipes | RealSimple.com

I think this is the first one I'm going to try, although there are several that look really yummy!
Quinoa With Mushrooms, Kale, and Sweet Potatoes Recipe | Real Simple Recipes

I didn't realize that quinoa isn't actually a "true" grain. It's a plant related to chard and spinach. That was my new fact for the day