NeonS.

Thanks for starting this thread. I am sure the tolls will tire soon.

I was a vegetarian (ovo lacto) for about 8 years and really enjoyed it. I fell off the wagon while in the military. It is hard to be a vegetarian in the military. About 5 years ago I started re-looking at my eating and made some decisions.

First of all, I eliminated all beef from my diet. My doctor loved it. My "bad" cholesterol dropped from the low 220's to 64 according to my last test in about a year and a half. :yeah::yeah:

Then as I became more involved in my animal work, my moral concerns re-emerged. Doing some research on the animal industry made me think "do I really want to be a part of this industry?" Well no. Well I have no desire to control others, but I can control my spending. I thought long and hard about what my eating habits should be.

Going back to ovo-lacto seemed attractive but with my lifestyle ensuring a balanced diet on ovo-lacto would be difficult. Besides, was my moral concerns about killing and eating animals?

Upon meditation, I became aware that my real concern is eating mammals. I did not like eating sapient beings. A good compromise is my current diet of polo-pescitarianism. I am down over 30 pounds and my blood work seems to keep my doctor smiling.

Like almost every other aspect to my life, this is a personal decision on my part. Frankly I don't give a crap with other people eat nor do I care if other people agree or disagree with my moral decisions. I have no desire to "convert" anyone nor would I ever want to make anyone feel uncomfortable with my moral decisions.

As for recipes, I am always interested in learning more about legumes. Currently, I am experimenting with doing unnatural things with squash and most of my experiments have actually been edible. :arrgh!:

So any recipes you can share about legumes and squashes I would be very grateful. Starting last year I am trying to match up my cooking with the seasonal crops from my Farmer's Market. Any help or advice you can share about that would be appreciated also.

Thanks again for starting this thread. I look forward to learning a lot. :88)

concerning the baking bread issue, I have an almost amusing story about that.

There I was no sh.... uh, this really happened to me.

When I was living in Omaha, I started baking my own bread. I used existing flours (grinding your own is hard core!). And if I can brag a little, I was doing pretty good. Many of my co-workers enjoyed my breads. Life was good.

Then I started thinking (cue autonomous music). I wanted to bake some Banana bread (yum)

I know how to bake bread and I have bananas so what's the problem.

Well first of all, it was not my fault. It is society's fault. There is no such thing as Banana Bread. What we have is Banana Cake. What's the difference? :har::har::har::har:

Well, bread is made with yeast and evidently when you mix bananas and yeast and then let it rise, the yeast converts the sugars in the bananas into a rather rancid alcohol. This is something you won't find out until the tasting.

It just so happened that there was this lady at work who was "mentoring" me in matters baking (just my luck that was all she was willing to mentor me in :damn::damn:)

I was so proud of my "Banana Bread" that I did not even taste it but wrapped it up for my mentor. All it took was one bite for her to realize my mistake. Education soon followed.

Moral to the story: Always follow a recipe!

Why do they call it Banana Bread when in fact is Banana Cake!!!!

:D

I concur! Never been a vegetable fan...

Hmm, Yea, I probably dont want to think of whats really "in the meat"

:damn: I'm on self imposed diet...that really hurts damn it need to shove about 3 more pounds.

I lost about 12 pounds by just switching from drinking juice and apple spritzer (is that really the name for it in English????:doh:) to drinking tea. It's astonishing how much sugar is hidden in fruit juices.:o

I sometimes salt it, though with eggplant I often don't unless it is bitter as the salt can be hard to get off. Squashes I often roast for soups and the like but great idea all the same :yeah:

Here we can't easily get massive jars of capers, I mean about 1 cup or so. Small ones are generally considered the best ones. I'll correct that though. PS that recipe I have found is very popular, even with those who don't care very much for eggplant (but that is usually because when they tried it, the person prepared it wrong.
This is pretty much the problem I have, that and some of the destructive fishing practices (like drag nets). So I won't touch fish due to plummeting fish stocks around the world (not to mention the increases in toxic material in them), and the factory farms are a nightmare beyond anything I can think of. I don't believe that our status as a species gives us the right to do what ever we please to the other life forms we share this world with.



Anyhow I appreciate all the input from you all. As for trolls if it becomes a problem I shall just prune out their posts. Even if you are not vegetarian, and have no plans to become one, you may find some good food here to make. Don't have to have meat every meal for every day of the week 365 days a year. :DL As for entrees, I got piles of them (I have my own personal cookbook to draw from).

This is slightly OT (sorry), but the thread got me thinking. When I have a dinner party, I'll always make sure the vegetarians are taken care of. When I've been to a dinner at a vegetarian's place however... I cannot recall a roast on the table for those that prefer meat :)

It's interesting. I realize that non-vegetarians are not carnivores, but rather omnivores, so they do have food they can eat, but really it's just a preference IMO (like not liking Stilton or something).

I've heard some people comment on this regarding vegetarians, which might be why they can be considered "difficult." They require special care entertaining, but are not likely to reciprocate.

Feel free to delete if this OTs the thread.

Spanakopita
2 lb fresh spinach
1 lb filo
7 eggs
1/2 lb Feta cheese
1 onion
olive oil
salt & pepper
oregano
butter

Filling: wash spinach and put leaves into large bowl. Sprinkle heavily with salt and then rub it into the leaves with your hands as you tear them into small pieces. After a few minutes, spinach will be reduced to quarter its former bulk. Rinse salt off thoroughly and drain.

Beat eggs, crumble Feta and mix. Add to spinach. Chop onion, sauté in some olive oil until it begins to brown and add that to spinach also. Season with lots of fresh-ground black pepper and a little oregano.

Butter an oblong casserole or baking dish (about 9” x 13”). Melt about 3-4 tbl of butter in little pot and stack pound of filo on flat surface. Brush top sheet with melted butter and fit into baking pan, with edges hanging over sides. Continue brushing butter and fitting each sheet into pan on top of others. Turn each slightly so corners fan out around pan. Do this until you only have 2-3 sheets left. Now pour filling in and then fold over the ends of the sheets to cover it, brushing with butter. Butter remaining sheets and place on top and folding them down to size of pan. With sharp knife cut through top layers to filling in about 3 places. Brush top with butter and bake at 375 for 50 min. Cut into squares and serve very hot



Fettuccini Alfredo
2c whipping cream (35%)
1/4c unsalted butter
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pounds fresh egg fettuccini (or 1 pkg dry noodles)
2 c grated parmesan, Reggiano or Grana Padano

This recipe requires true parmesan cheese, which cannot be substituted for.

Take a large saucepan or wide fry pan and melt butter, add pepper and nutmeg and sauté on moderate heat for 2 minutes. Add cream and bring to a boil (warning cream when boiling can rise very high, do not leave unattended at any time. If it threatens to boil over, lift the pan off the heat for a moment). Reduce the cream by 1/3 (boil until its 2/3 of its original volume). Keep the cream hot but not boiling while you cook the pasta (don’t overcook, the pasta should have some bite to it). When the pasta is almost ready, sprinkle 1 c grated parmesan over the cream and gently stir until the cheese melts. Drain the pasta and mix in the pan or in a bowl if there isn’t room in the pan. Serve hot with the remaining cheese sprinkled on top. The fat and calorie content in this recipe is very high so don’t serve it too often. Serves 4.



(forgot to put this one with the greek pasta salad in the first page)

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 volume lemon juice or vinegar
1/2 volume olive oil
some red onion, finely minced
some Dijon mustard
Basil Salt & Pepper

Put everything into a shaker bottle (small mason jar or whatever) and shake. Recipe should be about 1 to 1 ratio of acid to oil, with a bit extra oil. Dijon about a spoonful per cup of dressing. Adjust based on taste and use



Greek Bruchetta
5 greek style pitas (thick pocketless)
5 small tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2c parsley leaves
2c feta, grated
fresh or dried basil
olive oil
pepper

Chop the parsley and basil, mix the herbs, tomatoes, and red onion in a bowl, and drizzle some olive oil on top, then grate pepper on top and a bit of salt. Let sit a few minutes. Toast the pockets lightly either on a bbq, in the oven, or on a fry pan (toaster oven works too) so they become soft on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. Arrange the pita on a baking tray (or place directly on the top grill of the oven) spoon the tomato mixture on top and sprinkle the feta over that. Set the oven to 550F and bake/broil until the cheese starts to color (it won’t melt). Slice into quarters and serve hot



Vegetable Soup
2 large carrots
1 large yellow onion
1 tin of tomatoes
1 tin red kidney beans
3 large potato
1/2 head lettuce
4 stalks celery
1 tbl vinegar
2 tbl olive oil or butter
1 tbl dried basil
water or vegetable stock
salt & pepper

Slice carrots and celery into “rounds” no more then 1/4” thick (celery can be up to 1/2" thick), cube onion and potato. Add olive oil or butter to a large soup pot, melt and sauté onion and carrots in the oil for a couple of minutes until onions are translucent, add the potatoes and kidney beans (with juice, and enough water to easily cover all the vegetables. Add the tin of tomatoes, vinegar, basil, and salt and pepper to taste, bring to just before boiling then turn down the heat and simmer until carrots and potatoes are cooked (an hour or 2). Add the celery and let it simmer for another 10 minutes, then chop and add the lettuce, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Note: If you do not like crunchy celery then add the celery with the rest of the vegetables.



Stuffed Green Peppers
4 very large green peppers
1 large loaf sliced sandwich bread
1 yellow onion
2c shredded cheddar cheese (old)
4 tbl olive oil
1 tbl dried basil
1 tsp Tabasco
salt & pepper
1 large (2 small) tin tomato paste
1/2c white or red wine
2 eggs

Cut the top off the pepper leaving as much of the pepper as you can. Chop the top, and the onion and sauté in a large pot with 1 tbl of oil until onion is translucent. In a large pot, bring a lot of water to a boil (enough to cover the peppers entirely), then dip each pepper into to the pot one or 2 at a time for 2-4 minutes (until the pepper has softened a bit but still holds its shape). Take the loaf of bread and turn it into coarse breadcrumbs (food processor helps) about 1/4” cubed roughly. Split the bread crumbs in half, put one half in the oven at 400 degrees on a baking sheet until they turn golden, the other half sprinkle the remaining oil over and quickly toss with your hands to distribute the oil. Add the oil covered breadcrumbs to the pot with the onion and fry at medium heat (the crumbs will stick so scrape the bottom frequently) until the bread crumbs are crispy. Turn off the heat add the crumbs from the oven, and quickly stir in the 2 eggs. Next, add the Tabasco and seasonings and let cool to warm to the touch, then mix in the cheese. Take the stuffing and stuff the peppers evenly with all the stuffing. Put the peppers in a glass or ceramic dish that will keep them standing upright and add a bit of water to the bottom of the dish. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for about 25 minutes or until the peppers are fully cooked and the exposed stuffing has turned dark golden brown. The sauce is made by bringing the wine to a boil and boiling off the alcohol, then adding the tomato paste and cooking for about 10 minutes. Serve hot with the tomato wine sauce on the side.



(I include this one as its a variation that I found very popular with guests, that is different from the usual way of serving it)

Garlic Bread
good french or italian bread
1 stick soft unsalted butter (1/2c)
2 cloves garlic
pinch of salt

Crush the garlic into the butter, add the salt and mix until smooth. Cut the french bread in half horizontally so that you have a top and a bottom, put on a baking tray cut side up and spread with the garlic butter. Bake/Broil at 400c until the butter is bubbling and the top starts to turn golden. Cut into slices and serve hot.
Optional: Sprinkle some Parmesan (Reggiano or Grana Padano) on top before baking.

I'm no veggie, bacon sees to that, but after a suspected heart attack a few years ago (it wasn't, it was just a strained chest muscle after moving heavy items) the doctors found I had very high blood pressure and cholesterol. My wife has the odd veggie tendancies so cut down my red meat intake. Two years later I joined another doctor's surgery and they tested me again and I have normal blood pressure and cholesterol - I do eat red meat, but in moderation :up:

I look forward to reading some more recipes on here, although without aubergine (eggplant) or courgette (zucchini) please - really not nice!

I'm still a fat :o:stare::doh::o:stare::doh: though! :har:

I'm not a veggie but occasionally try the odd dish if it doesn't appear to contain one or two ingredients I loathe.

Neon, what vegetable stock do you prefer of store-bought brands?

I think that is on topic and a perfectly valid criticism. My own experience is that most people do not mind having one meal that is meat free, particularly if it is high quality and not too far off the normal fare (I do a lot of Italian dishes myself). I have entertained some very carnivorous people, and even they have liked what I served. But then I have found that most of the bad attitude towards vegetables is the fact that most people don't know how to cook them right. The recipes I use (and am posting) tend to be very flavorful and diverse in tastes.

As for entertaining vegetarians, most I know are very pleased and grateful when a host remembers that they are vegetarian and offers something beyond just simple side dishes. It can be very uncomfortable if they do not remember, as you do not want to offend your host, but you also do not want to eat what they made either because of the meat content (this is one of the rare times when I will sometimes eat it). I think they also would try to reciprocate as much as they are able, but some just cannot handle meat or cook with it as it makes them feel sick. For myself I generally do not cook with meat at home other then under special circumstances. But I've never had a guest not want to come back, as everything I make is of the highest quality possible using the best ingredients I can get my hands on, and almost entirely from scratch.

Frankly I think a lot of it is just lack of understanding and insecurity among the two groups. Vegetarian recipes are pretty simple to make (no more complex then any other equivalent meat dish), you just need some good recipes.

I've used Campbell's vegetable broths in the tetra packs, but I often just make my own stock (or use water). Standard vegetable stock is garlic, onion, carrot, celery, parsley, and some tomato paste (tomato skins & seeds and peelings can also go in). You can also do a potato peal broth as well (or stick them in the stock).

My mother also likes to keep the juices from cooked vegetables, beans (not chick pea juice though), etc and uses that as stock. She also likes using the stock cubes. I am not a big fan of the cubes though.


I shall try, though I do have a lot of recipes with those two in it (they are two of my favorites and I think they taste really good, but only if cooked right). What you won't see a lot of from me is tofu recipes. Though I like tofu, I think it is seriously overused (contrary to popular belief you don't need tones of protein, 4 oz a day is more than enough) in vegetarian recipes as a generic meat substitute.


Speaking of protein, one common myth is that as a vegetarian it is very hard to get the protein you need, and that you need to carefully mix and match them. This is total nonsense, as the body can make most of the amino acids used in proteins other than around 4, which are easily found in a balanced diet. The body can also recycle existing amino acids too.

Regarding zucchini, I tend to really not like it—but it all about how it is prepared. if zucchini is cooked soft, I just cannot get around the texture.

As with many veggies (and meat, actually), dry heat is your friend. First, I I mentioned above, I salt zucchini (slice, put in a bowl and toss with salt), then let it rest like that for 10 minutes. Rinse with water to remove the salt, then spread out on towels ("tea towels" are what most people use, at my house they are operating room scrub towels (brought to the house sterile, not used ;) ) and pat dry.

Then prepare them and they stay crunchy. Nice roasted with olive oil, or even grilled.

We prepared portabello mushrooms are like eating steak, IMHO. Very yummy.

Fried tofu is pretty good (deep frying makes anything good). A buddy who was a cook said to freeze the tofu first, it changes the final texture. Have not tried it, the only time I ever cook with tofu is when I make miso.

Ya that works well. I've never found that my zucchini turns out mushy, but I saute it first and most importantly I don't over cook it (most common mistake with vegetables is to cook the living hell out of it).

As for fried tofu, ya its really nice (the way i prefer it) and I do that in stirfrys a lot. Personally use the ultra firm tofu, then press the living heck out of it by wrapping it in a thick white towel, then putting a big pot full of water on top (make sure of course to put stuff around the pot so that it doesn't fall off as tofu doesn't press evenly). I've never tried freezing it, but this link was interesting about that

http://vegetarian.lovetoknow.com/How_to_Freeze_Tofu

I'm hungry, everytime I come on here you guys make me hungry :DL


If you guys got anything high in calcium that would be great.

I tryed to go without meat not too long ago, but my girlfriend is a great cook, so that didn't last long :har: