If you have a favorite vegetarian recipe, I'd appreciate having it. Especially if it's pretty easy to prepare (I'm not a very experienced cook). Email is good, as are comments.
Thanks!
Do you like soup? I have tons of good vegetarian soup recipes. Salad? Salads are easy, yummy, nutritious and fun to invent variations on. Pasta? What sort of thing sounds good?
If you're looking for maximum efficiency, here's what I cooked a lot near the end of school:
Savannah's Mess 'O Beans, Greens & Rice
Fix some brown rice (instructions for preparation usually on package; vary quantity according to how hungry you are, although excess can easily be refrigerated and eaten later). Saute some chopped onions and garlic, and if you like, some chopped green and/or red bell peppers, in a pan with a tablespoon or so of olive oil (add garlic when onions are starting to become translucent, as it burns quicker). Dump in a can of beans (any sort-- my favorites are kidney beans or black-eyed peas; black beans also work well) and a can of chopped spinach (or fresh chopped spinach, or frozen chopped spinach, or canned/fresh/frozen collard greens). Heat. Add soy sauce, cayenne pepper, curry powder, garlic powder, and/or other spices and condiments to taste. Add rice. Stir all up and eat. If you have no taste and like disgusterous mushrooms, those would probably be good in this mess also.
I'm slowly learning to cook, and I usually end up with good things about two-thirds of the time. I have two pieces of advice. First, get recipes from the internet. I'm learning to use www.vegweb.com, although sometimes I'll just google a couple of ingredients and "vegetarian" and see what I come up with.
My second piece of advice is to not try too much to find foods that imitate non-vegetarian foods. Instead, focus around a couple of ingredients - I really like chickpeas, spinach, and lentils. (Since I eat eggs and cheese, I also steer toward these ingredients). Finally, most non-vegetarian foods like burritos and stir frys (stir fries?) are great when modified for vegetarians.
I don't exactly have a favorite recipe, but this one is really good and easy:
Heat a little oil in a pan. Add a chopped onion, 3-4 minced cloves of garlic, some red pepper flakes, a teaspoon of paprika and a teaspoon of rosemary. Cook it around medium until the onion is soft (takes 10-14 minutes). Add a can of peeled, diced tomatoes, 2 cans of chickpeas (rinsed), and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, either heat up some frozen spinach, or wilt some fresh, rinsed spinach in the microwave. When the chickpeas are soft, throw in the spinach, mix it up, and add salt and pepper as needed.
This recipe is from "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," which is one of the best cookbooks I've ever used.
Hm, after reviewing Savannah's recipe more closely, I think it points out to what's true in easy vegetarian cooking - lots of variety, lots of spices, and mmmmmmmmmm. - Shari
Eggplant makes a good substitute for sausage in making grilled eggplant, peppers, and onion hero sandwhiches for lunch. As someone who can't cook but wants to avoid the meat, I've taken to eating a lot of eggplant. So slice up the eggplant, grill it up with a variety of peppers and some onions, served on grilled foccacia with a tomoato sauce and some mozzarella or what have you and you can get the same sort of visceral satisfaction one would have received from a sausage, pepper, and onion thing sans sausage. Not gourmet, but requires nothing more than a knife and a Foreman grill.
Do you like soup? I have tons of good vegetarian soup recipes. Salad? Salads are easy, yummy, nutritious and fun to invent variations on. Pasta? What sort of thing sounds good?
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for maximum efficiency, here's what I cooked a lot near the end of school:
Savannah's Mess 'O Beans, Greens & Rice
Fix some brown rice (instructions for preparation usually on package; vary quantity according to how hungry you are, although excess can easily be refrigerated and eaten later). Saute some chopped onions and garlic, and if you like, some chopped green and/or red bell peppers, in a pan with a tablespoon or so of olive oil (add garlic when onions are starting to become translucent, as it burns quicker). Dump in a can of beans (any sort-- my favorites are kidney beans or black-eyed peas; black beans also work well) and a can of chopped spinach (or fresh chopped spinach, or frozen chopped spinach, or canned/fresh/frozen collard greens). Heat. Add soy sauce, cayenne pepper, curry powder, garlic powder, and/or other spices and condiments to taste. Add rice. Stir all up and eat. If you have no taste and like disgusterous mushrooms, those would probably be good in this mess also.
Oooh, that looks good!
ReplyDeleteI'm slowly learning to cook, and I usually end up with good things about two-thirds of the time. I have two pieces of advice. First, get recipes from the internet. I'm learning to use www.vegweb.com, although sometimes I'll just google a couple of ingredients and "vegetarian" and see what I come up with.
My second piece of advice is to not try too much to find foods that imitate non-vegetarian foods. Instead, focus around a couple of ingredients - I really like chickpeas, spinach, and lentils. (Since I eat eggs and cheese, I also steer toward these ingredients). Finally, most non-vegetarian foods like burritos and stir frys (stir fries?) are great when modified for vegetarians.
I don't exactly have a favorite recipe, but this one is really good and easy:
Heat a little oil in a pan. Add a chopped onion, 3-4 minced cloves of garlic, some red pepper flakes, a teaspoon of paprika and a teaspoon of rosemary. Cook it around medium until the onion is soft (takes 10-14 minutes). Add a can of peeled, diced tomatoes, 2 cans of chickpeas (rinsed), and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, either heat up some frozen spinach, or wilt some fresh, rinsed spinach in the microwave. When the chickpeas are soft, throw in the spinach, mix it up, and add salt and pepper as needed.
This recipe is from "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," which is one of the best cookbooks I've ever used.
- Shari
Hm, after reviewing Savannah's recipe more closely, I think it points out to what's true in easy vegetarian cooking - lots of variety, lots of spices, and mmmmmmmmmm.
ReplyDelete- Shari
Eggplant makes a good substitute for sausage in making grilled eggplant, peppers, and onion hero sandwhiches for lunch. As someone who can't cook but wants to avoid the meat, I've taken to eating a lot of eggplant. So slice up the eggplant, grill it up with a variety of peppers and some onions, served on grilled foccacia with a tomoato sauce and some mozzarella or what have you and you can get the same sort of visceral satisfaction one would have received from a sausage, pepper, and onion thing sans sausage. Not gourmet, but requires nothing more than a knife and a Foreman grill.
ReplyDelete