#vegetarian recipes

Who says vegan dishes can’t be tasty!

I’m not vegan personally, but I absolutely eat vegan most days of the week! It’s a great way to challenge myself to cook more creatively. Eating vegan doesn’t mean you have to eat bland. There are great spices (other than MSG) that help to bring out that umami flavor.

Dinner was a bowl of green pasta made of peas, spinach, parsley and onions. I paired it with some spicy soy sausage and some fresh cut tomatoes.

Seasoning consists of salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, red chili and a bit of garlic. Really gives the sweetness of the peas a little kick!

Roasted Squash Lasagne w. Sage & Shallots

for the roasted squash
1 kabocha squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ¼ inch slices
3 tablespoons olive oil
pinch sea salt
fresh ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay the squash slices on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, turn to coat, and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Roast squash for 15 – 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the edges have browned and the squash is tender.

for the béchamel
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, room temperature
2 cups heavy cream, room temperature
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon sea salt

http://www.brooklynsupper.net/2012/12/roasted-squash-lasagna-with-fried-sage-shallots/#.U5S8DssU_IU

Winter Vegetable Tartlets

Ingredients (serves 4):
4-5 Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced into rondelles 
1 fennel, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced finely
450 g/ 1 pound cèpes/porcini mushrooms (I used the cèpes I picked and froze this fall. You can use any of favourite mushrooms/dried mushrooms)
1 glass of red wine
A handful of chopped fresh parsley
1 roll puff pastry (230 g/ ½ pound) or you can make your home-made version here
Olive oil (for frying)
30 g/ 2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 slices of country bread (discard the crust, place the bread in a food processor to get breadcrumbs)
Parmesan shavings
Coarse salt and black pepper

http://mimithorisson.com/2013/01/16/winter-vegetable-tartlets/

Stuffed Mushrooms

4 large portobello mushrooms (or similar), stalks removed*

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced
• 2 cups finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 4 tablespoons coarsely shredded basil leaves
• 3 ½ ounces Taleggio cheese sliced (or similar, I used Fontina)

http://pixelsandcrumbs.com/blog/2014/2/10/stuffed-mushrooms

Rigatoni w. Cepes

500 g rigatoni pasta
200 g pancetta (diced)
5 large cèpes (sliced, you can also use fresh or dried porcini)
2 small shallots (finely sliced)
2 garlic cloves (finely sliced, one for the sauce, one for the cèpes)
400 ml tomato passata
200 ml red wine (I used a very modest Bordeaux)
80 ml beef or chicken broth
1 tbsp plain flour
Olive oil (for frying)
1 tbsp butter (for cèpes)
1 tbsp butter (for pasta)
Salt and pepper (for seasoning)
1 pinch chilli powder
Grated parmesan cheese (for topping)
A bunch of parsley

http://mimithorisson.com/2012/11/18/rigatoni-a-la-bordelaise-with-cepes/

absolutely worth the share, i am salivating - be sure to check out her other recipes using a churner… my next purchase for sure!

beautifulpicturesofhealthyfood:

No Churn Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream…RECIPE

If you make coconut whipped cream and sweeten it with dates, good things happen. Such good things, in fact, that it makes the perfect base for creamy, dreamy ice cream, no churning required. What’s more? This recipe requires just 5 ingredients:

Coconut Milk or Cream
Cocoa Powder
Almond Milk
Dates
Vanilla

RECIPE

Eggs florentine for my family on Christmas morning

Vegan Apple And Chickpea Curry

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion
• 3 medium, tangy apples
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons yellow curry paste
• 250 ml/ 1 cup vegetable stock
• 250 ml/ 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 can (400 g/ 14 oz) chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon corn starch, optional
• salt and pepper
• coriander leaves

Instructions

1. Finely chop the onion. Core the apples and cut them into slices, not too thinly.
2. Heat the coconut oil. Cook the onions until translucent. Add the apples and curry paste and stir carefully to distribute the paste all over the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, while stirring often and taking care not too burn the curry paste.
3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
4. Add the vegetable stock and the coconut milk to the pan. Stir very well, add the chickpeas and bring to a boil. Let cook slowly, uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes until the chickpeas are heated through and the apples are softer but not mushy.
5. If your sauce is not thick enough, you can stir the corn starch with a little water until you get a paste. Whisk this paste in the boiling sauce and let cook for another minute. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves.
6. Serve with rice.

Teriyaki Tofu and Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 2 packages (14 ounces each) firm tofu, sliced crosswise into 6 rectangles
  
• 3 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
  
• ¼ cup soy sauce
  
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps sliced ¼ inch thick (about 4 cups)
  
• 1 to 2 bunches watercress, stemmed (about 6 cups)
  

Instructions

1. Arrange tofu in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Cover with more towels and another baking sheet; weight with a heavy skillet. Let drain until towels are soaked, about 15 minutes.
   
2. Meanwhile, make teriyaki sauce: Place ginger in a fine strainer; press to release juices into a bowl. Whisk in soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, and 1 cup water.
   
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Cook half the tofu until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining tofu.
   
4. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium heat. Cook mushrooms, stirring often, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add teriyaki sauce; bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Return tofu to pan; toss gently to coat. Serve with watercress.
   

Manicotti

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 60 mins

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed completely & squeezed dry
  
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
  
• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
  
• 4 ounces cream cheese
  
• ½ cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1 box (12 to 14 shells) manicotti noodles
  
• 3 to 4 cups marinara sauce (1 jar + a little more)
  
• ½ cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese, for topping
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix spinach, cheeses, eggs, salt and pepper. Stir together until well blended.
   
3. Place about 1 ½ cups of marinara sauce in a 9x13-inch pan. Spread it around to cover the bottom.
   
4. Place the mixed filling into a plastic bag. You can use either a frosting piping bag or a gallon zip bag. Snip the corner, gather the top and squeeze the filling into the corner. Hold an uncooked manicotti shell in your hand and squeeze the filling inside the shell. Let it overflow on both sides. Place the filled shell into the sauce-lined pan. Repeat with remaining manicotti and fill the pan with the stuffed shells, until you run out of shells and filling. You should be able to fill 12 to 14 shells- if you run out of room in your pan, use a separate smaller pan to accommodate the extra.
   
5. Cover the pasta with marinara sauce, using about 2 ½ cups of sauce. Sprinkle ½ cup Romano/Parmesan on top. At this point, you can cover with foil and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake, or you can cover with foil and place it in the oven immediately.
   
6. Bake, covered with foil, 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
   

Notes

• It’s perfectly okay to use low fat ricotta and low fat cream cheese.
  
• If you don’t wish to use the spinach, it’s ok to leave it out and just turn this into a cheese-stuffed manicotti.
  
• If you don’t wish to use the plastic bag method of squeezing the filling into the shells, you can use a very small spoon or fork to stuff the filling– it will just take a bit longer and might be a little messy.
  

Is anyone interested in going vegetarian/vegan for 2022? Even just for a week or month of the year? I would love to encourage anyone to give it a try!

I encourage everyone who is interested to join my facebook support group where I share daily vegan/vegetarian recipes, resources, tips, and more! It is a wonderful community to help you adjust into the lifestyle.

In addition, feel free to visit my blog for many resources and tips! Let me know if you’re interested in giving this a try! I would love to mentor a few people as well, so let me know if you are looking for one on one support :) 

SALTED CARAMEL COCONUT BLISS BALLS

VEGAN LEMON CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

CHIPOTLE BLACK BEAN SWEET POTATO CHILI

VEGAN LEMON CREAM LAYER CAKE

PESTO PASTA WITH SUMMER VEGGIES