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Archive for the ‘Meatless Mondays’ Category

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It’s Meatless Monday-Hot and Smoky Veggie Pizza

In Meatless Mondays on May 20, 2013 at 2:07 pm

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like pizza. However, the veggie varieties can sometimes fall into the same old, same old categories. With that in mind I tried to come up with one that’s a little different and thought about adding some spice and smokiness. And to change things even more I opted not to use your typical pizza base. Last week I bought some naan bread with every intention of using it as an accompaniment to a curry but decided it would make the perfect pizza base instead.

The heat and smoke comes from three ingredients, smoked cheese, canned chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, and McCormick’s Smokehouse ground black pepper. I used vegetables I had leftover in the fridge but you can pick and choose whatever you like.

1 package of naan bread
1 cup of vegetarian pasta sauce
½ teaspoon of chopped chipotle peppers, more if you like the heat (if you can’t use the rest of the peppers straight away, they freeze well)
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
Good sprinkling of McCormick Smokehouse black pepper
Good sprinkling of garlic powder
½ cup of shredded smoked cheese…I used Gouda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl mix together mushrooms, onions, and red pepper and add the oil salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently until everything is lightly golden brown.

Meanwhile-
Place the naan bread on a baking sheet or pizza pan.

Mix together the pasta sauce and chipotle pepper and spread on each size of the bread.

Place the vegetables on top of the sauce and then top with the smoked cheese.

Cook for about ten minutes or until the cheese has melted and pizza has warmed through.

Serves 2 or 4 if you’re serving with something like a salad.

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It’s Meatless Monday-A Really Budgetsmart Burger

In Meatless Mondays on May 13, 2013 at 2:40 pm

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A few days ago I was reading one of the UK newspapers and found this article about a single mom who was feeding herself and her son for just ten pounds a week. One recipe she'd created was a kidney bean, carrot and cumin burger for nine pence. That had me intrigued and I thought I'd give it a try. So this week's Meatless Monday recipe is a link to the article and also Jack Monroe's blog where she has lots of other recipes, many of them vegetarian, to try.

The burger was easy to make…and don't skip simmering the beans because I was tempted to but I think it really helps soften them so you can incorporate them with the other ingredients. I also added some salt and pepper to the final mixture. And if you're wondering what coriander is, it's cilantro and really gives the burger some added flavor.

If you check out the article be sure to watch the video of Jack on the BBC Breakfast show because there's a segment about her shopping at the store where she explains where to look for bargains and how sales are really for the store and not for us!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2322925/Single-mother-Jack-Monroes-9p-meals-win-book-deal-thanks-austerity-recipes-blog-feeding-family-10-week.html

http://agirlcalledjack.com/

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It’s Meatless Monday-Shepherd’s Pie Peppers

In Meatless Mondays on May 6, 2013 at 2:37 pm

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe weather’s been strange lately. It’s been spring, it’s been winter, spring, and then back to winter. Now that we’re in May I hope that warm sunny days are ahead which means lighter fare and salads. So last week I thought I’d make one final warm weather dish. This time combining two recipes, stuffed peppers and shepherd’s pie into one dish.

4 large green peppers

For the Shepherd’s Pie
1 cup TVP
1 cup stock or water
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
Read-made gravy
Oil

For the Potato Topping
1 pound of potatoes, cut into quarters
Butter or low fat spread, milk, salt and pepper for mashing
Shredded cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the tops off the peppers (keep the tops for another recipe). Scoop out seeds, wash and cook (I steamed mine), until almost fork tender.

Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and place the peppers inside it.

Cook and mash the potatoes and set aside.

In a casserole dish, place the TVP and water and cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat and add the chopped onions, carrots and mushrooms. And the onion powder and thyme and cook until slightly browned. Add the salt and pepper, tomato paste, and the TVP and mix everything together. Add the gravy and cook for a few more minutes.

Put the mixture into the peppers and top with the mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle each pepper with some shredded cheese and place in the oven for about 15 minutes until heated through and the potatoes are slightly browned.

Serves 4

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It’s Meatless Monday-Feeding The Hungry Ghost

In Meatless Mondays on April 29, 2013 at 1:49 pm

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About a month ago Ellen Kanner e-mailed me about her new book Feeding The Hungry Ghost. The name intrigued me so when Ellen offered me a chance to read the book, I jumped at the opportunity. It’s part cookbook, part memoirs but most of all reminds us all how many things and events in our lives are connected with food. Ellen is The Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger so I thought this would be a good spot to share my interview with Ellen and she kindly provided two recipes taken from her book for you to try.

www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-kanner

www.ellen-ink.com/blog

www.ellen-ink.com

Budget Smart Girl (BSG)-Your Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger, what sort of topics do you cover there?

Ellen Kanner (EK)-What I love about writing about food is that it’s so subversive. It allows me to talk about big-picture issues, like education, the environment, your health, food policy, fabulous things to eat and the amazing people who grow or produce it. I’ve been Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger for four years and I haven’t come at the same topic twice. The one common element is, I end each post with a new recipe that takes some of what I’ve discussed and gives you a practical application — something fresh and wonderful to eat for dinner.

BSG-Have you seen more interest in meatless meals recently?

EK-Absolutely. I’m really excited. For the first time in eight years, American meat consumption has declined. For some people it’s a matter of health, for others, it’s the environment, but for a lot of people, it’s just the fact that meat has become too expensive. Well, welcome to the feast — a meatless diet is exciting, abundant and affordable.

BSG-And you’re also the syndicated columnist for the Edgy Veggie. Maybe you could tell us about that too?

EK-The Edgy Veggie is also meatless, but here, I do a really targeted focus, whether it’s eating for your health or what to do with what’s in season or a round-up of new glutenfree products. And I always include a recipe.

BSG-And now to your new book, Feeding The Hungry Ghost. Tell us about it. Is it something you’ve been working on for some time and how long did it take you to write it?

EK-While I get to cover great topics for Meatless Monday and as the Edgy Veggie, it’s very focused — this chef, that nutritional focus, this seasonal vegetable, that farmer. Food is a much bigger story. I wanted to talk about how it connects us — to the planet, to each other and connects us to our minds, bodies and spirits.

BSG-What would you like readers to take away after they’ve read it?

EK-A sense of enthusiasm and empowerment. Cooking and eating meatlessly should begin with pleasure. It gives us the power to change the world, and we can have a great time and a great meal doing it.

BSG-Lots of people assume you can’t eat healthful foods on a budget or that it takes extra time in the kitchen, chopping veggies, cooking beans etc.

EK-One of the biggest misperceptions about a vegan diet is that it’s expensive. I’d love to kill that rumor once and for all. Hello, dried beans? Whole grains in bulk? Seasonal produce? This is food that’s sustained us since we came to walk on two legs. Sorry, I can get a bit passionate on the subject.

Food preparation doesn’t need to take a long time. Most of my stews and soups come together fast. Any simmering can happen on its own while you text your friends or enjoy a glass of wine. These dishes keep in the fridge or you can freeze in small portions and enjoy when you’re ready. Either way, you get many meals with little effort and little cost.

BSG-Have any tips to share with my readers and some must have, low cost pantry items, for the Budget Smart Girl?

EK-Beans, beans, beans — chickpeas, black beans, lentils, any kind of dried beans you like. They’re high in fiber and protein, low in calories, madly versatile and super-cheap.


BSG-Any recipe you’d like to share?

EK-What could be better — and easier — than lentil soup?

The following recipes are From Feeding the Hungry Ghost. Copyright © 2013 by Ellen Kanner. Reprinted with permission from New World Library.

Deep Basic Comfort Lentil Soup

Homemade soup needn’t be a struggle. This lentil soup is simplicity itself.

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, finely chopped

3 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 cup lentils

1 bay leaf

4 cups vegetable broth or water

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fragrant and softened, about 5 minutes.

Pick through your lentils and remove any pebbles or odd bits. Pour into the saucepan with the vegetables. Add vegetable broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until everything has become tender and fond of each other to the point of coalescing, about 1 hour.

If a smoother, more velvety soup appeals, feel free to purée using an immersion blender, taking care to avoid splatters. Otherwise, simply season generously with salt and pepper. Feed to yourself, an invalid, an infant, or anyone who needs more from less.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Red Lentil Soup with Indian Spices

Rather than your basic brown lentils, which are serviceable but drab, this recipe uses red lentils. They cook in minutes and with the tomatoes, give the soup a rosy, hopeful tint. The spicing is gentle and reminds you things will not always be so hard. The greens add signs of life, not to mention calcium, vitamin C, and tryptophan, the amino acid that promotes a sense of well-being. Can’t have too much of that.

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 large onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 thumb-size piece fresh ginger, minced

1 1/2 cups red lentils

5 cups vegetable broth

One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

Juice of 1 lemon

2 handfuls fresh spinach or kale, chopped — add another handful if you’re a greens freak like me

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In a generous-size soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until the oil darkens and spices turn fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and turn translucent, a few minutes.

Add the lentils and cook, stirring, for a few minutes more, until the lentils deepen in color and glisten with the spiced oil.

Add the broth and the tomatoes and their juice, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the lentils are tender and have become one with the soup, about 30 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice.

If you want the soup to be silky and smooth, you may purée with an immersion blender, but really, it’s not necessary. Jacob didn’t. The lentils are small, soft, and have coalesced into the soup.

Gently stir in the spinach and cilantro. They will wilt into the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

The soup keeps several days in the fridge.

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It’s Meatless Monday- ‘Steak’ Sandwich with Orange and Fennel Marinade

In Meatless Mondays on April 22, 2013 at 4:13 pm

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I often refer to my kitchen as my lab where I experiment with ingredients, spices, herbs, you name it in an effort to find inexpensive yet good for you meals. Last week fennel and orange were used in a variety of these ‘experiments’ and one I especially liked was the marinade I used for this Meatless Monday treat, the vegetarian ‘steak’ sandwich. You’ve probably seen Portobello mushrooms stand in for steak in many veggie recipes. It’s a mushroom with lots of character and hardiness and while delicious all by itself, I always think a nice marinade ups the taste factor. So here is what I came up with-

2 large Portobello mushrooms. (Remove the stalks, chop them and reserve them for the marinade)
Juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fennel
good pinch of black pepper
2 whole wheat buns
optional, fresh basil and feta cheese

In a large glass dish, add the juice of the orange, soy sauce, mustard, chopped fennel, pepper and the chopped stalks. Mix together and then add the Portobello mushrooms and toss them so every part is coated well. Leave them in the fridge for at least two hours, more if you can.

In a skillet and over medium high heat, add the mushrooms and then pour the marinade over the top. Cook for about ten minutes turning them often and until the marinade has reduced down.

Serve immediately on the whole wheat buns and drizzle some of the marinade over the top.

Something nice to add is some fresh basil leaves and crumbled feta cheese.

Serves 2 and oven fries pair really well with these sandwiches.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Carrot and Butterbean Soup with Ginger and Cumin Oil

In Meatless Mondays on April 15, 2013 at 5:54 pm

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April is usually the time I start thinking about salads and lighter fare, but as winter refuses to budge this year, I’m still in a soup state of mind. I wanted something tasty and a little different. Many soups add ginger and cumin to the actual recipe but for this one I thought of using it as an accompaniment and using seeds rather than powder. Carrots are always one of the best deals in the produce department and they add a sweetness to this soup. I’m a great fan of butterbeans because they add a creamy texture to most dishes without adding fat. Put them together and you have a soup to enjoy during which I hope are truly the last days of winter.

2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 14 ounce can butterbeans, drained
1/2 teaspoon each of chili powder, paprika and coriander
good pinch of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
4 cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon chopped ginger root
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
4 tablespoons oil

In a large pan and over medium high heat, add the onions and carrots and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the chili powder, paprika, coriander, pepper and salt and stir until the vegetables are well coated. Lower heat and cook for about 5-8 minutes.

Slowly add the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer until carrots are tender.

Add butterbeans and stir into the mixture. Let it cool and then use an immersion blender to pulverize the soup but you still want to leave some pieces of carrot and butterbean intact. You could also use a regular blender too.

Simmer gently while you prepare the oil.

In a skillet over medium high heat, add the oil, ginger and cumin seeds. Watch this carefully because it can easily burn but you just want to slightly brown everything and allow the flavors to get into this oil.

Serve the soup with dribbles of hot oil in it…you’ll hear it sizzle. It adds a great taste and the cumin seeds are a crunchy treat too.

Serve 6-8 and is great for a quick lunch or even a supper when paired with your favorite veggie sandwich.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Speedy Mac and Cheese

In Meatless Mondays on April 8, 2013 at 6:12 pm

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Last week was one of those busy ones when you want something tasty to eat but haven’t got extra time to spend in the kitchen. While I usually don’t use ready-made sauces, this one came to rescue for what I’ve now called speedy mac and cheese. It uses one of the new Progresso Cooking Sauces, and I think makes the perfect Meatless Monday meal when time isn’t on your side. To give this mac and cheese a different spin, I used rigatoni pasta, added corn, chile peppers and spices.

8 ounces rigatoni
1 can Progresso Cooking Sauce, Cheese Flavor
2 cups corn, canned or frozen
1 4 ounce can chopped green chiles
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray a large baking dish with non-stick spray.

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and add cooking sauce, corn, chiles and spices and mix well together.

Pour mixture into the baking dish and top with cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

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It’s Meatless Monday-The Cornish Pasty Goes Veggie

In Meatless Mondays on April 1, 2013 at 5:51 pm

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Growing up in England, I’ve made and eaten lots of Cornish pasties which if you’re not familiar with them are meat and veggies wrapped in short crust pastry. I love the challenge of trying to make something that’s very meat centric into a vegetarian treat. The Cornish pasty makeover was my latest attempt. The first recipe was bland and didn’t score high points. On the second attempt I tried adding cheese which upped the taste quota but didn’t really match the meat version very well. Last week I thought I’d give it another try and came up with this. Once again I used the principle of layering the flavors and used tempeh as the main meat replacement.

The key was letting the onion cook until golden brown, adding dried but reconstituted tomatoes and mushrooms for a deep savory flavor and then serving the pasty with a herb gravy dribbled over it. It might all seem like it takes hours but it really doesn’t-

1 8 ounce package of tempeh

1 sheet short crust pastry

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 potato, peeled and finely chopped

Pinch salt and pepper

1/4 cup each of dried tomatoes and mushrooms, reconstitute them and keep the liquid for the gravy

Pinch of thyme for the onions

oil for sautéing

For the gravy-you can buy powdered vegetarian gravy powder like I did or make your own

good pinch of the following dried herbs, marjoram, sage and thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

(I don’t like the taste of tempeh as is so I cut it into cubes and sauté it first and it seems to take the edge off the flavor. However, if you want to skip this step that’s fine too)

In a large skillet and over medium high heat, heat the oil and then add the onion and pinch of thyme, letting the onion cook until it’s soft and golden brown.

Add the carrots and potatoes and continue cooking for about five minutes. Add some salt and pepper and the drained tomatoes and mushrooms and cook together for about another five minutes. Add the tempeh and stir everything together. Set aside and let the mixture cool.

Roll out the pastry and cut into circles about the size of a saucer. Place about 1/3 cup of the tempeh mixture onto each circle and fold them over so they make a dome shape or if you want, the traditional pasty shape.

Place on a baking sheet and cook for about twenty minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden brown.

While the pasties cook make the gravy and stir in the herbs and heat through.

When the pasties are cooked drizzle the gravy over each one and serve more on the side.
These make 6 and they pair well with mixed veggies.

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It’s Meatless Monday-Bean and Rice Bundles

In Meatless Mondays on March 25, 2013 at 3:02 pm

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Short on time and leftovers…sometimes that combination is the beginning of a recipe which was the case for this quick and easy vegetarian supper. It uses leftover brown rice along with refried beans, chiles, cheese, and spices all encased in a new twist on a bean and rice burrito, phyllo pastry.

1 15 ounce can vegetarian refried beans
1 4 ounce can chopped chile peppers
9 sheets phyllo pastry
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
Dash of chili powder, cumin and smoked chipotle chili powder
1/4 cup melted low fat spread
oil for cooking the onion

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl mix together the beans and chile peppers. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat and sauté the onion until it’s lightly golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the brown rice and stir in the onion and garlic. Add the dash of cumin and chili powders and stir well.
Set aside.

Take three sheets of the phyllo pastry. Brush first sheet with melted low fat spread, add a second one, repeat, and then repeat with the third sheet. Cut the stack in half.

Add about two tablespoons of each of the bean mixture, rice, and cheese on each stack.
Wrap it like you would if you were securing a package and tuck under any loose ends.
Place on a baking sheet.

Repeat the process with the remaining sheets of pastry and ingredients.

Brush the tops of the bundles with the remaining melted spread and then dust with some chili powder. Place in the oven and back for about 15 minutes until everything is warmed through and pastry is lightly golden brown.

Serve immediately with salsa and sour cream.

Serves 3-4

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It’s Meatless Monday-Pantry Chili

In Meatless Mondays on March 18, 2013 at 5:04 pm

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One recipe I’ve attempted to tweak is vegetarian chili. I’ve tried lots of different recipes and none seemed to have a richness and depth of flavor of its meat based counterpart.

One thing I love about cooking is experimenting with ingredients until I come up with a dish I like so much that I make it over and over again. I think I finally found a solution, and best of all most of the ingredients were on hand in the pantry and hence the name.

Key ingredients in this one include chili beans in tomato sauce which have chili peppers onion and garlic added to them.

Second thing is dried mushrooms. Many of you know I like to dehydrate fruits and vegetables. When mushrooms are on sale I buy an extra package just for drying. They add a wonderful taste and a meat like chewiness to this dish. If you don’t have any on hand I have seen them in the produce department. While they can be costly you don’t need that many for this recipe.

Third thing is the slow cooking of the carrots and onions and then more slow cooking when the spices are added.

Final vital thing, add more stock than you need for the finished dish and let it reduce down so it imparts as much flavor into the vegetables as it can.

It all sounds like it’s lots of work but it’s not and I think once you taste it you’ll be glad you took some extra steps-

1 15 ounce can S and W Chili beans in tomato sauce
1 15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1/4 cup dried mushrooms
1/2 tablespoon of chili powder (this makes it fairly spicy so cut down on the amount if you’re not like so much heat)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
good pinch of salt
2 cups of vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried chili peppers (leave out if you don’t have them or like less heat)
2 tablespoons oil

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook it, stirring often until it’s slightly softened. Add the carrots and continue cooking for about five minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Slowly add the chili powder, dried chili pepper, mushrooms, oregano and cumin and make sure everything is coated well. Cook all these ingredients for about another three minutes, stirring all the time.

Add a pinch of salt and cook another minutes.

Slowly add the beans and then the tomatoes and stir together.

Add the vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium low, uncovered and cook until most of the stock has reduced down which takes about 15 minutes.

Serve immediately with brown rice, sour cream, shredded cheese and diced avocado if you like.

Serves 4-5

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