[morticaixavier]

So there is always lots of talk about dead critters on here so I though I would start a thread for those of us who forgo the flesh.

One of the favorite meals I have ever made is

Squash blossems tempura

Tri-color soup (white bean, roasted chili and black bean each cooked on it's own and served layered)

Cilantro and Lime sorbetto

Spinach, asiago and walnut raviolli in wild mushroom ragu.

figs stuffed with marscapone and walnuts drizzled with honey and sprinkled with mint leaves.

I did that one for 12 people, maybe the biggest dinner I have personally cooked.

another was desert for dinner with chocolate and marscapone raviolli (chocolate pasta filled with marscapone, honey and walnuts) with a coffee creme englais sauce. that one was just my wife and I.

let's here some of yours!

[jaybeerman]

The dinner you put on sounds like it was quite the feast; nicely put together.  My wife’s entire family is vegetarian (the younger kids eat a healthy balance of meat/veggies) so a lot of the cooking I do at least has components that my wife and or her family can eat though we eat separately most of the time.  I eat a roughly 70% vegetarian diet and then supplement that with fish (even just fish sauce) or small amounts of chicken, pork and beef much less so.  There's one dish that I eat almost daily and it makes me feel immeasurably better than not having the dish.  I make a stir-fry/fried rice hybrid (don't think of american fried rice) that would be vegetarian except for that I use anchovy sauce which is helpful for muscle and brain function.  I would recommend the dish to anyone looking for a healthy staple type dish that will leave them feeling healthy and happy.  I make the dish for my wife every now and then and substitute a veg. version of the fish sauce which is made with mushrooms.

Anyway I hope being 70% vegetarian qualifies me for this thread.  (I feel like a person of mixed race trying to qualify as one race or another.)  If anyone has any interest, I'll post the recipe for the stir-fry hybrid.  cheers, j

[morticaixavier]

The rice dish sounds tasty.

I was more hopeing for everyones favorite non-meat dishes, no need to be vegetarian yourself. (dirty secret, I use a little fish sauce in my thai curry sometimes)

Thanks for the props on that meal, it was indeed a feast.

[tschmidlin]

I like Cuban black beans, and they are still good if you leave out the bacon.  Veggie chile is good, veggie curries, pasta dishes etc.  I make lots of vegetarian stuff just by leaving out the meat or using tofu instead.  I don't really have any go to vegetarian recipes though.

Even my veggie pot roast (which I just call "pot") is delicious.

Ok, I made that up.

[bluesman]

I love vegetarian Lasagna.
Veggie wraps are great if fresh.
Homemade Veggie Soup on a cold day is awesome.
Salads...with beans and nuts are really tasty.

I have a vegetable garden that makes for some great vegetarian dishes. 

[EHall]

I've done a flush program 2x now that required me to eat vegetarian. I refuse to fast completely. But I found this 'lifestyle' to be pretty difficult to manage. Since I'm a carnivore, but do eat veges too, converting over to find where to get my protein was challenging at first. But there's more shopping involved to maintain fresh fruits/veges... it was a busier week than most just due to the change in diet, I commend those of you who do this but I'm sure things get easier as you do it more often... I did notice that I felt better than I usually do and I did have to stop drinking all alcohol too so I'm sure that had a hand in it. I wish it was easier to do, I'd do it more often... but I ain't giving up my bacon!

[jaybeerman]

Even my veggie pot roast (which I just call "pot") is delicious.

Ok, I made that up.

That's what I use to say too.  Then my wife started to eat this thing called "field roast."     It's a meat alternative (we don't consider tofu to be a meat alternative) that is worth eating according to her.  I think it contains only veg and grains, but it does come in roast form.  Hillarious if you ask me.  cheers, j

[morticaixavier]

Even my veggie pot roast (which I just call "pot") is delicious.

Ok, I made that up.

That's what I use to say too.  Then my wife started to eat this thing called "field roast."     It's a meat alternative (we don't consider tofu to be a meat alternative) that is worth eating according to her.  I think it contains only veg and grains, but it does come in roast form.  Hillarious if you ask me.  cheers, j

Havn't tried the roast yet but the fake sausages from that company are tasty. No idea how they compare to real sausage as I'm a lifer but they are tasty.

I've done a flush program 2x now that required me to eat vegetarian. I refuse to fast completely. But I found this 'lifestyle' to be pretty difficult to manage. Since I'm a carnivore, but do eat veges too, converting over to find where to get my protein was challenging at first. But there's more shopping involved to maintain fresh fruits/veges... it was a busier week than most just due to the change in diet, I commend those of you who do this but I'm sure things get easier as you do it more often... I did notice that I felt better than I usually do and I did have to stop drinking all alcohol too so I'm sure that had a hand in it. I wish it was easier to do, I'd do it more often... but I ain't giving up my bacon!

The idea that it's hard to get your protein as a vegetarian is pretty misleading.
First most americans eat WAY more protein then one actully needs (there are exceptions, in my experience there are people who just need alot of protien). A peanut butter sandwhich for lunch, some rice and greenbeans for dinner, and maybe an egg for breakfast is plenty of protein for most people. Protien addiction can be a problem. you can get to the point where you just don't feel right without 5 or 6 ounces of pure protien a day which is WAY more than you need. As the atkins diet shows, it is not healthy to skimp on carbs. it throws your body PH all out of wack, and as we know from all the discussion of mash PH that's not a good thing.

Second, the idea used to be that you have to include the complimentary proteins together in each meal, i.e. rice and beans (which are just good together) ior potatoes and milk. It has been proven that as long as you get all the amino acids throughout the day/week the body stores what it needs and can make the protein it needs. I am living proof of that. There are amino acids in more things than we think of as 'protien' foods. grain, veggies, mushrooms all have some of the amino acids that the body uses to make protein.

however if you get into vegan or raw foods it does get a little trickier, you don't have the easy road of an egg or some cheese/milk. That being said I have noticed that the less dairy I eat the better I feel.

[jaybeerman]

This dish has a very addictive quality to it, it can be very invigorating.  I always use GABA brown rice (preferably Brown Basmati because it has the lowest glycemic index/load.  GABA refers to germinating the rice and therefore increasing a very helpful amino acid, "gamma aminobutyric acid."  Do a google search for GABA rice and you can find the instructions) but it's good with white jasmine too.  Regardless of the rice you end up using, it should not have any liquid; use day old, steamed or rice cooker rice.  The invigorating part comes from fresh ginger and sambal olek (fresh chili paste), which if you eat the dish often you'll find yourself increasing the amounts.  Substitute the veg as desired.  I always use chard because I like the peppery flavor.


STIRFRY / FRIED RICE HYBRID (or just non-american Fried rice)
1/4 cup high heat oil (safflower or peanut)
Minced ginger (to taste, I use around 1-2 TBS but most people like the taste of about a TSP)
Minced onion (small)
3 eggs

2-3 carrots (large, slice diagonally but 1/8th inch thick +/-)
2-3 cups - your mix of snap pea pods, squash/zucchini, string beans, mushrooms, etc.
Chard and/or bean sprouts (to taste, I use 3-4 leafs of chard and or a handful of sprouts)

2 cups GABA brown rice (that's 1-1/3 cups +/- before cooking for me)

SAUCE
1-1/2 TBS Soy Sauce (Japanese is my favorite but it doesn't really matter for this dish)
1 TBS Mirin (rice wine)
Sambal Olek (to taste, I use a heaping TBS but most people like the taste of about a TSP)
1 TBS Fish Sauce (or veg fish sauce - which is mushroom based)
1-2 TSP Sesame Oil (Hot Pepper Sesame Oil for me)

Like any stir-fry it's important to prepare all the ingredients first and have them within arm reach of your wok.  Measure oil out and set aside.  Mince ginger and onion, set aside.  Crack three eggs into a glass and set aside.  Slice carrots and separate into a bowl.  Slice the 2 cups of veggies and separate into a bowl.  Take chard and slice into strips and separate into a bowl with the bean sprouts if using - umm, don't use the German stuff  Set out the liquid free rice.  Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sambal olek, fish sauce and hot pepper sesame oil and set aside.  Heat wok until it just begins to smoke.  Add oil and immediately add the ginger and onion.  In a matter of moments the ginger will become aromatic, stir a couple of times.  Beat the eggs quickly and add to the very hot oil.  Move the eggs around with your wooden spoon until they are lightly scrambled.  Add the carrots and continue to move the ingredients around in the wok.  Once the wok has regained the same sizzle that it had before adding the carrots, begin to add your mixed veg.  Don't allow the wok to cool due to adding too much veg at once.  Add the chard and or sprouts to the top of the wok ingredients.  Add the rice on top of the chard.  Slowly mix all the ingredients, while pressing the mix into the sides of the wok.  The key here is to toast the rice a bit but not to wilt the chard too much (give it a minute at least).  Add the sauce mixture and flip a few times, mixing thoroughly. Pour the ingredients out of the wok into the serving dish so the veggies aren't over cooked.  Eat with sliced green onion if you like.  Cheers, j

<edit>  skin the ginger, in this dish the ginger can be too bitter if you don't remove the skin

[morticaixavier]

yum

[nicneufeld]

I make a lot of Indian food so between dals, vegetable dishes, rice, bread, potato samosas, etc., the meat can sometimes be a bit of an afterthought!

However, one of my favorite vegetable dishes (a subset of vegetarian, cause there are plenty of very tasty and unhealthy vegetarian dishes, starting with starchy fried things) is ajvar, and all the other related roasted red pepper dishes.  Just made a batch of ajvar with two eggplants, 5 large red peppers, and six jalapenos.  Now, I tend to prefer serving it with cured meats, but still on its own its good, with crackers and such like.   

[maxieboy]

yum

+1 The wok is my favorite tool in the kitchen. Will give this recipe a go soon(with the big dose of sambal olek, love it).

[The Professor]

yum

+1 The wok is my favorite tool in the kitchen. Will give this recipe a go soon(with the big dose of sambal olek, love it).

The wok, to me,  is absolutely indispensable. 
I cook the usual Asian dishes in mine, but use it also for Italian, Indian, Mexican, Hungarian...you name it.  If I could only have one cooking vessel in my kitchen (or cave, if it comes to that  )  it would be my wok

[euge]

I was a vegetarian for years. Still my preffered way of eating though I can't resist the siren song of pork.

Was going to post this in what's for lunch but why not here?

Purple-hulled peas with shallots and fresh tomatoes seasoned with chicken stock and cilantro. Mustard greens slow simmered and steamed jasmine rice. Mmmmm.  Good eats. And good for the colon too!

[morticaixavier]

Awesome euge. Swap the chik stock for some homemade veg stock and I am in.

Don't have pictures but supper tonight was homemade corn/wheat tortillas with Spicy tofu, sauted mushrooms and guac. A little shredded spinach and some habenero hot sauce. and a SN cali common to cool things down.