Beets, Nuts, Feta "Odds & Ends Salad"

Protein: Garbazno beans, walnuts, feta cheese
From: www.sustainablepantry.com

I went to high school (and middle school) with Alexa, the author of this recipe and creator of the awesome blog: www.sustainablepantry.com. Unlike me (who collects recipes) Alexa is a true gourmand who makes them up herself. This salad is delicious, deeply satisfying--and so pretty!

Get the recipe here:
http://sustainablepantry.com/2010/01/23/odds-and-ends-salad/

Seitan--A Versatile Veg. staple

Protein: Seitan
From: Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten package

This is a staple of our diet. 80% protein. It's delicious and great in tacos, stir frys, with peanut sauce, and I'm still exploring other possibilities.

The recipe is straight from the package of Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten (which has a higher protein content than some other brands and is sold conveniently in Whole Foods). The only modification is is the browning in oil at the end (thank you again, Connie!!)

2 cups Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten
1/2 tsp. Marjoram
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
2 cups Water

Broth:
6 cups water
2 Tbsp. Molassas
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce

Bring broth to a boil in a large stock pot. Separately, mix together the gluten flour and spices. Add water to the mixture and stir into a sponge-like dough (if dough is dripping wet, add more gluten flour). Knead dough a minute to make dough tougher and more elastic. Cut or tear into 2"x2" pieces and place into boiling broth. Cook in broth for ~1 hour, lowering heat as needed. Drain and then brown the pieces in olive oil in a pan or skillet.

Futo Maki (Vegetable Sushi)

Protein: Tofu, eggs

You can make sushi at home?! Yes! Even without the special bamboo equipment, I found!

1. Combine 1.5 cups sushi rice (I use Nishiki brand because it has this rice recipe on the bag) + 2.5 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low.

2. When water is gone, check to see if rice is soft. If not, add more water and boil again.

3. When rice is cooked, mix in 1.3 cup seasoned rice vinegar

4. With a broad knife, spread a thin layer of the rice mixture over nori (a sheet of sushi seasweed). LEAVE one edge of the sheet uncovered (this is important for sealing the roll).

5. Fill the roll by laying on long strips of whatever you want (lay them parallel to the uncovered edge of the sheet). I use:
Tofu, fried egg, apples (you won't see this in a Japanese restaurants but it's really, really tasty), carrots, avocado, cucumber, sauteed mushrooms.

6. Roll the rolls and slice with a sharp knife.

Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger, and a smile. :)

Gazpacho with White Beans & Homemade Croutons

Protein: White beans

I've always loved gazapacho soup. My exercise instructor, Kim, recommended making this a meal by adding canellini beans. Brilliant!

Throw in a blender:
1 can chopped tomatoes
with
1 Tbsp. mayo and any combo of:
1/2 cucumber
1/2 onion
3-4 stalks celery
1 green bell pepper

After blended, add 1 cup cooked white beans (canellini or great northern work great)

Delicious with homemade croutons--(these also add fat that really makes this soup satisfying):
1. Toast bread
2. Cut toast into pieces
3. Sautee in a pan with olive oil and a mix of parmesan cheese and Italian seasonings (oregano, basil, a pinch of salt, pepper) until they look crispy and delcious

Cod Fish Cakes

Protein: Cod fish
From: http://www.food.com/recipe/cod-fish-cakes-133308

This is just one I got off of Recipezaar, but it has become a major family favorite. It freezes really well too. Is great with tartar sauce. My friend, Yasmeen, though got me Harry & David's Onion & Pepper Relish, though as a Birthday gift and this with the cod cakes is a very elegant and delicious meal for guests.

http://www.food.com/recipe/cod-fish-cakes-133308

Lentil One Dish Meal

Protein: Lentils
From: Cooks.com

Delish! Another easy favorite for a blistery, blustery winter day!

1sm package dried lentils, rinsed
2 c. water
3 whole Bay leaves
11/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. each marjoram, sage, thyme
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
2 c. chopped tomatoes
2 large carrots, sliced and peeled
1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
1 chopped green pepper
2 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

Mix all in a crock pot and clook on high for 6 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Easy Cheesy Quiche

Protein: Eggs, Milk
I've always been scared of making the quiche crust. Why???

Mix:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup oil (vegetable or olive oil)
2 Tbsp milk

Roll out dough on wax paper or an oiled surface

COAT PAN WITH OIL (don't forget this)
Put in crust

Add a mixture of eggs, milk and whatever else you want (broccoli, cheese, spinach, feta, whatever...)

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until quiche is cooked and not runny.

The Best Veggie Lasagna EVER

Protein: Cottage Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Parmesan Cheese

We used to have potluck recipe parties, where each guest was asked to bring an easy-to-make dish and 10 copies of the recipe. This was brought by my business school friend Whit and his girlfriend Debbie. It is the vegetarian lasagna I have been searching for all my life:

Serves 8

Lasagna noodles (do not cook)
2 10 oz. packages of frozen spinach (cook and drain well)
1 onion, chopped
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 can black olives
1/2 jar pitted green olives (incl. pimentos is fine)
2 cups cottage cheese (lowfat works fine)
1 lb. grated mix of jack and chedder cheese
1 package parmesan, grated
1 large jar Ragu

Sautee onion--add carrots and mushrooms. Cook until tender crisp. Stir in Ragu and olives, simmer until heated. Use a 9x13 pan or larger--put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom so noodles don't stick, then layer (2X):
noodles
cottage cheese
spinach
sauce
cheeses
REPEAT

Bake in 375 degree oven for 1 hour, covered tightly with foil

Hearty Salmon Stew

I love this recipe. It's perfect for a chilly Fall or Winter day. Delicious with hearty whole grain bread.

Ingredients:
1 onion
1/2 bunch celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 can veggie/chicken stock
1 can chopped tomatos
1 packagage sweet corn
A dash of salt,
Dash of pepper
Dash of cumin
Dash of chili powder
Fennel root

Sautee until transluscent:
1. Sautee until transluscent: onion, celery, garlic
2. Add chicken/veggie stock
3. Add parsnips, simmer until beginning to get soft
5. Add spices
6. Add salmon, corn, and tomatos, cook until salmon is almost done (it will continue to cook after you turn off the heat, so lean towards slightly undercooking when you turn of the flame if you are going to leave it for a few minutes before serving)
7. Serve with shaved fennel.

Salmon with Leeks and White Wine

Protein: Salmon
Thank you Yasmeen, for this delicious and easy recipe!

Combine:
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup white wine

Lay salmon filets on aluminum foil turned up at the edges to create a sort of bowl
Pour liquid over the salmon
Wrap salmon tightly in the foil
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Moroccan-Style Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

Protein: Pine nuts, Feta Cheese
Heavily adapted from Alexa Weitzman's awesome Blog: www.sustainablepantry.com. It is far and away my favorite website for vegetarian recipes along with the big recipe sites: www.recipezaar.com and www.food.yahoo.com. This is a modified version of her Quinoa-Stuffed Grape Leaves


Delicious with a dipping sauce of Yogurt (lowfat works), finely chopped cucumbers and mint.

Ingredients:
A Jar of grape leaves in water (some have very high sodium content, check the labels to go low)
1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
1/2 bag of toasted pine nuts
French feta cheese (this is creamier than most other feta cheeses)
1 apple, chopped
1 onion
1 Tbsp cinnamon

1. Boil quinoa, cinnamon and apple until soft and all water is absorbed
2. Sautee onion
2. Stir in pine nuts and onion, simmer for a minute or two
3. Blanche grape leaves (dip each leaf into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds).
4. Fill the grape leaf with the quinoa mixture and a cumbling of the feta cheese and roll like a small burrito.

Gorgonzola and Almond Stuffed Bell Peppers

Protein: Gorgonzola Cheese, Milk, Almonds
Thank you to Mia, the chick I met at Luke and Nicole's party on Saturday night. I tried this right away and am in love with it!

Mix:
2 cups cooked wild rice
some olive oil
sauteed mushrooms and spinach
1/2 a tub of gorgonzola cheese
1 cup toasted almonds
fresh rosemary

Stuff: bell peppers with the mixture (gorgeous presentation if you use red and yellow peppers)

Bake:
at 450 until the peppers are soft

Top with easy Gorgonzola cheese sauce:
While the peppers are cooking, make the sauce.
Start with a rue (this basic white sauce is the base more many, many great sauces: you can use it to make mushroom sauce by adding sauteed mushrooms, use it for a cherry sauce, cranberry sauce, any cheese sauce, or substitute broth for most of the milk to make gravy)

How to make a rue (healthy verison, the French use butter and cream, but this is almost as good to my taste):

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan
Add 1 Tbsp flour
Stir in 1 cup milk (I use skim)
Heat until the mixture is smooth and creamy (the milk has been evaporated and absorbed by the flour--if you get impatient, add a little more flour to absorb the milk)

Melt the remainder of the gorgonzola cheese in the rue and pour over the peppers before serving.

Garnish with fresh rosemary.

Butternut Squash Risotto w/ White Beans

This recipe is from a cooking class I was in with Amy Fothergill, "The Family Chef."
It is my husband's single favorite food in the world--competing with the Moroccan dolmas (which will come later).

This is a hearty dish perfect for fall or winter.

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
Olive oil
2-3 shallots, minced (can substitute 1 onion, chopped)
Pepper
1-2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
2 cups cooked white beans (or 1.5-2 cans)--canellini or great northern beans work well
Butternut Squash (about 1/2 of a large) peeled, seeded, chopped
1 cup rice (jasmine, arborio, or for more nutrition, can substitute some of this barley)
1/4 cup dry white wine or sherry
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, heated
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Chopped fresh sage

1. Pre-soak beans the night before if using fresh
2. Boil beans in a separate pot (takes about 45 minutes to an hour)
1. Heat oil and butter in a large pot. Sautee the shallots with pepper until soft and golden. Add garlic and salt and sitr for 1 minute.
2. Add squash and cook until squash begins to soften, stirring. Add the rice and stir, then add the wine or sherry. Cook until the wine is absorbed.
3. Add beans
4. Sitr in 1/2 cup broth and stir, keeping at a simmer throughout, until absorbed. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Allow each addition to be absorbed before adding the next and until rice is tender and creamy-looking, but still firm, about 20 minutes.
5. Add butter at the end to add extra creaminess, and a medium bunch of chopped sage for flavor. If you don't have fresh herbs, add 1/2 teaspoon of one or the other in step 1 when you add the shallots.

Cashew Nut Potroast

(Thank you Connie!) We ate this last Passover and are going to enjoy it this Thanksgiving place of Turkey. It is totally delicious!

This roast has two parts: the roast itself plus a middle layer of "stuffing." But if you make it right, everything kind of oozes together once it's done, and the result is heavenly.

Ingredients:

The roast:

1/4 cup margarine

1 cup soup stock (or water)

2 large onions, chopped fine

salt and pepper

5 cloves (or an entire bulb) garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3 cups raw cashews

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 cups bread (You can use a nice veggie bread.)

The "stuffing":

3 cups bread cubes, toasted

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 cup margarine, melted but not hot

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 to 3/4 cup finely‑chopped onion

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon thyme

Method:

(From the first list:) Melt the margarine in a medium saucepan. Cook the onion and garlic in it until tender, and remove from the heat.

Chop the cashews by hand or in a food processor; cut up the bread as well. Add the cashews and bread to the onion, then add the vegetable stock, salt and pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Put half of this mixture into a small, non‑stick loaf pan (or a greased loaf pan if a non‑stick pan is unavailable).

(From the second list:) Mix together all the ingredients. Put the mixture on top of the stuff in the loaf pan, and add the rest of the first mixture so that there are three layers of food in the pan.

Place the pan on a baking sheet or in a larger loaf pan (in case it overflows while cooking), and bake at 400º for half an hour. The top ‑should be browned.

Let the roast cool for a few minutes, then turn the pan over and serve the roast on a plate (or simply serve it out of the pan). Serve with gravy if desired, keeping in mind that it is a very rich dish.

Notes:

The roast will take about an hour to prepare.

The stuffing works well on its own. The roast refrigerates well and can be frozen for a few months and microwaved back to life. As shown, recipe makes roughly six servings. Vegetable stock is often available in concentrate or as bouillon cubes, in health‑food stores and in general grocery stores. If you really can't find it, use water.

Introduction

For a long time, I didn't even seriously consider becoming vegetarian because I just didn't think I'd get enough protein. At restaurants and catered events, the veggie option was never filling. Also, I don't really eat pasta because it makes me fat, so this blog is a collection of the protein-rich vegetarian entrees I am eating each day. Most have been tested and recommended by other sites or people, though some I modify. I should warn that I'm not much of a cook, so these recipes are mostly all of the favorites I've collected from everywhere--books, blogs, sites, friends, etc.

Why I Became a Vegetarian
For a long time, I've felt guilty every time I ate meat and finally wanted to put my habits more in line with my values. Finally, after having a child and spending most of time either at petting zoos or reading stories where talking animals are the protagonists, I couldn't take it any more. I had to try. Going pescatarian (I eat fish) was my 2010 New Year's Resolution, and so far, so good. (I will taste meat on occasion, though I don't cook it at home or order it out).

Getting Started Veg
I found the best way to get started was to find a few veggie recipes I really liked and build that repetoire. I should note I am, and this blog is pescatarian (I eat fish--I'm not a real vegetarian).