Meatless Monday: Peanut-Broccoli Stir-Fry

Sorry to have neglected my MM posting, but the holidays were a complete blur. We didn't even travel for the holiday this year, but it still seems like we were busy non-stop. I'm afraid to admit that there was plenty of meat-eating done over the course of those weeks (e.g., on Christmas Eve we had the traditional Italian-American "Feast of the Seven Fishes"), but we did have plenty of vegetarian dishes too. This next recipe is one of those dishes.

Peanut-Broccoli Stir-Fry
Recipe

We were out of brown rice, so we used quinoa, which was great because I prefer quinoa anyway. It was quick and easy to throw together and it was pretty tasty too. We made it just this past week after all the holiday mayhem had quieted down. It was nice to have a light, healthy dish after all the indulging that had been going on since Thanksgiving (see previous post).

Speaking of indulging . . . I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office the other day. Woo, what a bad idea! There was the evidence of my indulging and not exercising all year staring me back in the face. I won't share the number with you, but I will say this - it was SOBERING.

I knew my pants weren't fitting very well lately, but I had no idea how out of hand things had gotten. Let's just say I've officially stepped outside the "healthy" zone for my height. Not far outside, mind you, but still not cool. I was pretty bummed about finding this out, but the timing is actually good. I was poised to set my New Year's resolutions anyway, so I just added one more to the list. What that means is that I'll be being extra diligent about finding low-fat and low-calorie recipes to eat in 2010 - and I'll be sure to share the vegetarian ones with you!

Did you make any special vegetarian dishes for the holidays? Please share!

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Meatless Monday: Pumpkin Cheesecake

I had my in-laws in town for Thanksgiving, so things were a little busy for a while, what with cooking preparations; squeezing everyone into our little house; and touring here, there, and everywhere. We had lots of fun . . . and consumed monstrous amounts of food. I can't even begin to calculate the number of calories consumed in the course of their visit, but I'll tell you one thing - I don't regret one bite!

I'm happy to report that everything in our Thanksgiving meal came out excellent. There were no major mishaps with any of the dishes this year - not even with the one recipe I'd never made before. (My philosophy is that you should stretch the limits of your cooking comfort zone by making at least one new recipe each Thanksgiving). I had a pretty good idea it was going to be amazing though because my friend had already made the recipe and posted a picture of the results (see her picture above). I reasoned, "How could anything that looks that gorgeous NOT taste amazing too?!" I'm happy to report that I was not wrong, or as my grandfather used to like to say, "Seldom am I wrong, but I was right this time."

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Recipe

My friend suggested the following adjustments to the recipe (which I followed):

• Bake at 325 in a water bath for 45 minutes.
• Turn off oven and allow to cool in oven for 60 min.
• Cool on counter for 60 min covered.

The only other thing I did differently was to use neufchatel instead of cream cheese. You know, to make the healthy version. . . .

What? . . . Okay, so maybe you'll have a little trouble fitting into the holiday outfit you recently purchased after eating this cheese cake (even with the nuefachatel/cream cheese swap), but that's okay because everyone knows that "no one likes a skinny Santa" anyway! ;)

Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

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Meatless Monday: Spinach Calzones with Blue Cheese

A couple of weeks ago, both my husband and I were really busy with work. With our limited time, I knew putting together dinners for the week was going to be a challenge. My solution was to find and print out a bunch of yummy sounding but simple recipes with limited ingredients lists. I did all the shopping at the beginning of the week. Then, each night when Matt called to say he was on his way home, I'd take a break from work and prep the ingredients for one of the recipes. When he got home, he'd take over doing whatever mixing, constructing, sauteing, etc. that was needed to finish the recipe and I'd go back to work. In this manner, we put together some tasty dishes that neither of us had to exert too much effort to make.

This next dish is one of the one's from that week's menu. It only calls for 7 ingredients, two of which (cooking spray and garlic) you'll likely already have in your pantry!

Spinach Calzones with Blue Cheese
Recipe

When I think of calzone, I think of the traditional calzones I grew up eating in a very Italian suburb of Boston, the kind that look like large flat logs that you cut into slices to eat. The calzones we made with this recipe looked very different from those traditional ones, but I liked them because they were very pretty (see pic) and were sized for individual consumption.

We used gorgonzola (an Italian blue cheese) because we had it left over from two dishes we'd made the previous week. And we drizzled some fresh pizza sauce from a local Italian market on top. They were pretty good! When I make these again though, I will probably try a more traditional cheese like mozzarella or provolone and a bag of fresh pizza dough from the bakery. I thought blue cheese might be a little too strong a choice for a recipe like this, and, while the canned pizza dough is quick and convenient, real pizza dough has a better taste and texture.

Another option you might consider - make much smaller versions of these as hors d'oeuvres for your next gathering!

Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

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Meatless Monday: Ginger Ale

I'm not very fond of ginger, but I love ginger ale. Weird, I know. Doesn't make much sense, but I guess I rarely make sense . . . .

At the sushi bar, I always leave the neat little pile of sliced ginger on the corner of my plate untouched, and I often leave out ginger when making Chinese dishes, but, for some unknown reason, I think ginger ale is just delicious. Maybe I've been subconsciously brainwashed by marketing campaigns, but I really do find ginger ale a very crisp and refreshing drink.

I don't have ginger ale all that often, but when I do, I've always been more than happy with a can of Schweppes or Canada Dry to sate my craving - that is until this past week when my husband made me ginger ale from scratch!

GINGER ALE
Recipe

Simple Syrup

• 1 c sugar
• 1 c water

Boil until dissolved. Let cool and refrigerate.

Ginger Liquid

• 1/2 c grated fresh ginger
• 1 c water

Boil 5 min. Let stand 40 min. Strain out ginger and retain liquid. Let cool and refrigerate.

You can store the simple syrup and ginger liquid separately or stir them together in one container, making 2 c of flavoring. If you mix them together, you can pour the flavored mixture about 2 fingers high in your glass. Then add ice and club soda and stir. Alternatively, you can adjust the ratio of ginger to sugar if you've kept them separate. Either way, bottoms up!

The nice thing about making ginger ale yourself using this recipe is that you can control the proportions of the ingredients per glass. For instance, my husband likes his ginger ale a little less sweet than I do, so he uses a little less simple syrup in his glass.

Another cool thing about ginger ale? Its salutary digestive effects. I know I'm not the only one who was given a glass of flat ginger ale when I was a kid with an upset stomach, right? To this day, when my stomach isn't reacting well to food but I'm still hungry, I immediately reach for ginger ale and saltines. Nothing more reliable or comforting.

I also have great memories of drinking Shirley Temples (which are non-alcoholic drinks made with ginger ale, grenadine, and maraschino cherries) at my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary as a child. My cousins and I felt like "big kids" because we got to order drinks at the bar.

And, of course, ginger ale is a caffeine-free drink, which is great for me because my system is super sensitive to caffeine. If I have 1/2 a can of Diet Coke early in the day, I won't sleep that night, and I run the risk of getting addicted. And let me tell you, the migraines I get associated with caffeine withdrawal are UG-LY.

So, ginger ale - a nice go-to drink for all kinds of reasons. And now you can make some at home!

Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

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Meatless Monday: Pasta with Mushrooms & Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Sauce

Back when I was reading Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma (see an earlier post), I came across this sentence in the "Gathering: The Fungi" chapter:

"Mexicans call mushrooms carne de los muertos - 'flesh of the dead.'"

"Greeeaat. Thanks, Mike," I thought. "Way to ruin one of my favorite foods for me." But, turns out, give me enough time and, like a proverbial goldfish*, I forget all about the 'flesh of the dead' and return to shoveling forkfuls of mushrooms into my mouth at every opportunity. (Yay for bad memory!)

I was reminded of the whole 'mushroom/rotting flesh' thing today because it is the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead (or El Día de los Muertos), during which Mexicans celebrate and honor their deceased relatives and friends. I thought, what better way to celebrate than with a mushroom dish? And, since we're fresh off of Halloween and it's in season, why not a recipe with pumpkin in it too?

Pasta with Mushrooms & Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Sauce
Recipe

I don't have much to add to the recipe instructions other than to say that:

• Shitake mushrooms taste great and really complement the gorgonzola, but definitely feel free to substitute the mushroom of your choice;
• Freshly ground nutmeg will taste so much better than jarred pre-ground nutmeg;
• Use however much onion suits your taste; personally, I think 4 cups is overkill;
• However, I don't think 4 cloves of garlic is overkill - again, depends on your taste; and
• Remember to only use about 1/3 of what the recipe calls for if you're going to use dry, jarred sage; again, as with the nutmeg, fresh is better.
  

The cool thing about this recipe? If you've got leftover gorgonzola cheese, pumpkin, and sage (and you will if you get the usual package sizes), later in the week, you can always make the following recipe, which is also great.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce
Recipe

This isn't as good as ravioli made from real, homemade pasta, but, on the plus side, it's also not as difficult or time-consuming to make and it should sate your craving for ravioli.

Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

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*I say 'proverbial' because goldfish memory actually isn't as bad as the common saying would suggest.

Meatless Monday: Lime Peanut Noodles

Last week, when I was drafting my post about PB&J, I came across the following recipe and thought YUM! I love soba noodles but hadn't had any in quite a while, and I love satay sauce in Thai restaurants but had never tried making my own peanut sauce before, so I was intrigued. I had almost all the ingredients in the refrigerator, and the cooking prep seemed super quick and easy, so I said, "Why not?!"

Lime Peanut Noodles
Recipe

I know, I know. After all the hemming and hawing I did about never willfully eating another carrot or radish after the bushels of it we got from Underwood Family Farms, here I am making a recipe that calls for both. What can I say?

I wasn't so sure about this dish when I saw it coming together, but I'm happy to say, despite appearances, it tasted great. Here are the few adjustments I made or would suggest:

I substituted parsley for the cilantro (surprise-surprise!) and didn't use as much as was called for. I used a julienne peeler on the carrots. I didn't use as many radishes as it called for. It suggests cutting the cucumber and radishes thinly, but I would actually suggest chopping them finely; I think you can toss the ingredients with the soba noodles more easily that way.

Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

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Meatless Monday: PB&J

In this post, instead of a recipe, I offer a reminder of how easy it is to go meatless for just one day.

Feeling like there's nothing meatless in the house that sounds appetizing? Oh, come onnn. You must at least have a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly on hand. Who doesn't love a good PB&J now and again?? Who, I ask you?! I say there's nothing like a PB&J and a tall glass of milk to make you feel young again. So simple, so satisfying, . . . and (who knew) also very good for the environment. Check out the details at The PB&J Campaign.

Opening up and carving your knife into a new jar of peanut butter has to be right up there on life's list of simple pleasures. And there are so many different nut butters and brands to choose from! My husband likes Laura Scudder's brand peanut butter, which is an old-fashioned peanut butter with no hydrogenated oils and no trans fats. It's tasty but a little high-maintenance because the oil separates from the peanut butter in the jar and you need to stir it with every use. That's why I bought him the Witmer peanut butter mixer (model 100) as a stocking stuffer a couple of years back. Works like a charm. Others adore Nutella (a hazelnut butter). Personally, I find it a little too sweet for a whole sandwich.

If no brand satisfies you, you can always make your own nut butter from scratch too -



And there are tons of jellies and jams from which to choose as well. There is everything from the jam your grandma makes from scratch, to the tiny jars of exotic fruit preserves dressed up in gingham cloth and ribbon at gourmet boutiques, to the big-brand standbys in new squeezable bottles, to the Frankenjam concoctions of jelly and peanut butter in one jar (for the truly lazy . . . and, apparently, taste bud-impaired).

Everyone seems to have their favorite ingredients when it comes to PB&J, even celebrities. For instance, most folks know that Elvis loved fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. But did you know that Jerry Seinfeld will only eat one kind of peanut butter? They make it at Peanut Butter and Co. If you're in the NYC area and feeling just too lazy to slap some PB&J on two slices of bread yourself, you can check out Jerry's favorite yourself at the company's sandwich shop in Greenich Village. Some of their sandwiches sound more like desserts (e.g., the Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Sandwich), but to each his own.

Me? I'm happy with a plain ol' tub of Jif. And I usually go old-school with a jar of Welch's Concord grape. But I do mix it up once in a while with raspberry, strawberry, or blackberry jelly . . . or even . . . FLUFF. Ohh, the Fluffernutter! A whole other topic for another day.

How do you PB&J?


Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

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