Everything Vegetarian

Bean dip

2008-11-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

I made this recipe up one day when I wanted a good dip, everyone who has ever tried it has become addicted to it. The ingredients are approximate, just add however much you want.

1/2 a can of black beans
1/2 a can of sour cream
1/2 a bag of shredded cheddar
A few chopped up olives, can be ommitted
Some chopped up chives, or onion if you prefer that

Add all ingredients together in a bowl, and heat in a microwave for about 40 seconds. Eat with tortilla chips.

Salsa

2008-11-02T13:57:00.001-08:00

My dad makes the best salsa ever, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 Medium tomato
1/4-1/2 can of tomato sauce
Cilantro
1/2 of a Jalapeno pepper
A few slices of onion, chopped up
Some salt

Blend all the ingredients in a mixer, done! Don't forget to peel off the cilantro leaves, you don't want any stems in there. And rinse it.

Fresh Pasta

2008-11-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

Made this today, it was so colorful and delicious, not to mention healthy.

Ingredients:
Handful of spaghetti (I used linguine)
1/4 can of kidney beans
1/2 of a carrot, chopped up
A few slices of a yellow onion
One cut up strand (if that's what you call it) of chives
4-5 cut up Kalamati Olives
A few slices of zucchini, cut up and fried in some olive oil
A clove of garlic, fried with the zucchini
Corn
1 medium tomato
Fresh basil (I used 4 leaves from our garden)
Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper

Optional:
Some heavy whipping cream and butter

Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the box. While it's cooking, prepare all your veggies. Once the spaghetti is done, drain and add the cream and butter. Put on a plate, add all the veggies, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper.

Minty Lemonade

2008-10-21T14:03:00.001-07:00

Made this for a picnic with my boyfriend yesterday; very refreshing and unique.

http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mintylemonade.html

Chocolate Mousse

2008-10-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

After getting my Vegetarian Starter Kit in the mail (I've been vegetarian for awhile, but I decided to order it anyway), I'm seriously considering going vegan. What they do to those poor chickens and cows is horrid. Anyway, here's one of the recipes from it.

1 1/4 silken tofu
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

In a blender, puree the tofu until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and blend thoroughly. Pour into 6 individual dessert bowls and chill. Optional: Dust with powdered sugar or top with a strawberry/other berries.

Get a free Veg Starter Kit here: http://www.goveg.com/order.asp

Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta

2008-10-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Got this from the VT Feb. 2007 magazine.

2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
14/ cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup fresh parsley (skipped this, didn't have any)
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and cubed
6 1/2-inch-thick slices whole-grain or ciabatta bread

Combine lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in oil, then stir in cilantro and parsley. Fold in avocado cubes. Spoon avocado mixture onto toast slices, and serve.

Cheese Fondue

2008-10-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

One of the most amazing things ever.

A classic Swiss fondue with kirsch, Swiss cheese, and crusty bread.
Ingredients:
1 medium clove garlic
2 cups dry white wine
1 pound Swiss cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon cornstarch (or flour)
3 tablespoons kirsch or brandy
pinch ground nutmeg
dash hot pepper sauce
French bread or other crusty bread, about 2 loaves, cut into pieces (all pieces should have some crust)
Preparation:Rub a fondue pot with garlic clove. Pour in wine and place over low heat. When air bubbles begin to rise to the surface, begin adding shredded cheese. Stir constantly until all cheese is melted. Dissolve cornstarch in the kirsch or brandy; add to cheese fondue mixure. Continue to cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, then season with nutmeg and pepper sauce. Place pot over alcohol burner or other low heat source for serving. Serve with fondue forks for guests to use to spear bread and dip into cheese fondue.Cheese fondue serves 6.

Of course, you could also just buy the cheese fondue packets they sell at stores, it depends on whether you feel like cooking or not!

Sweet and Hot Tomato Sauce

2008-10-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bryans-Sweet-and-Hot-Tomato-Pasta-Sauce/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

Made that for lunch today, it was great. Skip the celery salt if you don't have any. I used crushed red pepper and some cayenne powder in place of the crumbled chili pepper.

Miso Soup and Sushi

2008-10-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Two things I have been wanting to make for a really long time, I just have to drag myself to an Asian market to get the ingredients.

Miso Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups dashi soup stock
1 block tofu
3-4 tbsps miso paste
1/4 cup chopped green onion

Preparation:Put dashi soup stock in a pan and bring to a boil. Cut tofu into small cubes and add them to the soup. Simmer the tofu for a few minutes on low heat. Scoop out some soup stock from the pan and dissolve miso in it. Gradually return the miso mixture in the soup. Stir the soup gently. Stop the heat and add chopped green onion. Remember not to boil the soup after you put miso in.
Makes 4 servings.
From: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/misosoup/r/misosouptofu.htm

Kappa Maki (though instead of using cucumber, you can use whatever vegetable you want. Personally, I am most likely going to use avocado)

Ingredients:
4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed), cut in half
4 cups sushi rice
2 Japanese cucumber, cut into long sticks

Preparation:Put a half-size nori on top of a bamboo mat (makisu). Spread about a half cup of sushi rice on top of the nori. Place cucumber sticks lengthwise on the rice. Roll up the bamboo mat, pressing forward to shape the sushi into a cylinder. Press the bamboo mat firmly wish hands. Remove the sushi roll. Cut it into bite-size pieces.
Makes 8 rolls.
From: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sushiroll/r/cucumberroll.htm

Perfect appetizers, or light lunch.

Vegetarian Club Sandwich

2008-10-18T18:34:00.001-07:00

Recipe was taken from the September Issue of Vegetarian Times.

1/2 cup vegan dressing/sandwich spread (I used mayo)
1/4 cup Arugula
12 Slices toasted whole wheat bread
1 cup Radish Sprouts
2 Medium Tomatoes, sliced into 8 pieces
8 Slices meatless Bacon strips
1 Avocado, peeled, halved, and sliced
12 Slices meatless chicken

1. Combine the sandwich spread and arugula in a medium bowl. Spread on 4 slices toasted bread.
2. Divide radish sprouts over sandwich spread. Top each with 1 tomato slice and 2 bacon strips. Add a second layer of toast to each sandwich, and top each with 1 more tomato slice, then avocado and chicken. Spread remaining sandwich spread over remaining 4 toast slices, and place over chicken. Secure sandwiches with decorative toothpicks and cut into 4 triangles.

My recipe was a bit modified.. I just used 2 slices of bread (I recommend buttermilk whole wheat.. mm), and skipped the arugula and radish sprouts since I didn't have any. Still delicious though :)

Fake Bacon Cheeseburger

2008-10-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

You need:
Buns
Boca Burger patty
Fake Bacon
Cheese (I prefer cheddar)
Avocado (optional)

Heat the burger patty and bacon as it says on the box, then put everything between the buns and eat!

Easy Homemade Pizza

2008-10-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

You need:
Dough from a Scones recipe, such as this one:
1 3/4 cup Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
Half of a Butter Stick
3/4 cup Milk
(If it's too runny, add more flour; too dry, add more milk)
Mix all these ingredients together and you have your dough.

You also need:
Tomato sauce
Cheese
Toppings

If you have time and want a little bit of a more creative pizza, cook the tomato sauce as you would for a pasta sauce. You know, fry some onions and garlic in olive oil, add tomato sauce and some tomato paste, and throw in basil and oregano. If not, just using the tomato sauce is fine.

Flatten out your dough into a circle, pop into oven for 2 minutes to firm it up a bit, then take it out and pour on your tomato sauce, cheese, and any toppings you'd like. Some ideas: zucchini, onion, olives, pineapple.. and if you eat meat you could use pepperoni, sausage, etc. Pop into the preheated oven (350 degrees), and cook until cheese is melted (about ten minutes, but I'd keep watch over it). Enjoy!

Pasta Salad

2008-10-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

You need:
Pasta (macaroni or penne works best)
Olive oil
Vinegar
Cucumber
Tomato
Any other vegetables you like
Salt & Pepper

Cook up pasta until it's al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. Throw in the veggies (cut up), pour in some olive oil and vinegar, add the salt and pepper, and done! I often makes this when I'm going to class and then somewhere else afterwards, perfect dinner/lunch to go.

FBLAT

2008-10-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

You need:
Fake bacon
Lettuce
Avocado
Tomato
Bread

Fry the bacon for however long it says on the package, usually about three minutes. Cut up your veggies, and put your bread in the toaster until it's lightly browned. Put the veggies/bacon on the bread (spread on some butter or mayo first). Delicious!

Simple, Fresh Pasta Sauce

2008-10-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

I used to not be a fan of tomatoes, but recently I've started eating them more. I love this recipe. I prefer to use Penne pasta.

You need:
Olive oil
White Vinegar (optional)
Garlic
Onion
Tomato (I prefer to use the small ones)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Basil

Boil your pasta, and when it is almost done, start this sauce. Heat up olive oil (layer the bottom of a sauce pan with it), and add a few drops of the vinegar if you wish. Add chopped up garlic and onions, fry for a few minutes (medium/low heat). Add sliced tomatoes and seasonings, cook until tomatoes are softened (about five minutes).

Amazing Veggie Burger

2008-10-03T21:09:00.001-07:00

I am obsessed with the veggie burger at Elephant Bar. I decided to make something like it, here's the recipe.

You need:
Veggie Burger
Avocado
Salsa
Lettuce
Buns

Microwave/grill your veggie burger, put in bun and add avocado, salsa and lettuce. Simple, huh? Of course a side of fries completes the meal.

Tofu Scramble

2008-10-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

What makes the first rainy day of the fall complete? A brand new Vogue, a warm sweater, a good book, some indie music, and of course: some great food. I love the rain, and it makes for a great cooking night. First I made a delicious Tofu Scramble, and I then created a simple chocolate cake. Here's my tofu scramble recipe:

Tofu Scramble

Very versatile, and you can put in any vegetables or spices you'd like, but this is what I used:
Firm tofu
Olive oil
Onions
Shallots
Garlic
Paprika
Kalamata olives
Cumin
Oregano
Cinnamon
Red pepper flakes
Black Pepper
Sea salt

First, blot tofu with paper to dry it off a bit. Put olive oil in a frying pan (lightly coating it). Heat up (keep on medium high heat), and then crumble in however much tofu you'd like. Fry until golden brown, moving it around every now and then. While it's heating, hack up all your veggies. When tofu is turning golden, add the spices and cook for 2 minutes, then put in all the veggies and fry for another five minutes. Done!

Chocolate Balls

2008-10-03T00:22:00.001-07:00

These are one of my favorite things, and one of my best friend's has also become addicted to them. Unfortunately I only have the measurements in European for now.

You need:
150 g Butter/Margarine
2 dl Sugar
3.5 dl oats
1.5 msk vanilla sugar
4.5 msk cocoa
2-3 msk coffee (prepared, and it's optional)

Topping:
Pearl or Powdered sugar

Mix together the butter and sugar, preferably with an electric mixer. Add everything else and mix into a dough, using your hands is best. Make into tiny balls, and roll in the pearl sugar! Put them in the fridge.

My favorite recipe

2008-10-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing to cook is definitely pasta. I found this pasta sauce recipe while looking for something to cook for my boyfriend's and I's anniversary, and thought it was delicious!

You need (I'm not specifying how much you need because I generally add however much of each I want, but the exact recipe is at the end of the post):
Garlic
Sea salt
Olive oil
White onion
Can of whole tomatoes
Tomato paste
Black pepper
Red pepper flakes
Sugar
Parsley
Basil

Smash the garlic cloves with some sea salt to make a paste. Cover the bottom of a sauce pan with a layer of olive oil, and put in the garlic/salt paste as well as chopped up onion. Fry for about five minutes, and then crush the whole tomatoes into the pan with your hands (yes, a bit gross, but my boyfriend and I thought it was pretty fun). Add some tomato paste and all the seasonings, minus the parsley and basil. Stir, cover, and let simmer for about an hour (although I once only let it simmer for five minutes because I was in a hurry, and it was still good). Then add parsley and basil and serve over pasta!

Here's the original recipe, but I cut out the chicken broth:
http://www.recipezaar.com/90414