Vegan/Vegetarian Thread (discussion, recipes, laughs)

[Hollylane]

Something I came up with this evening. It was yummy enough (at least I thought so ) to share. It was also super easy to make!

Easy (unless you make your own sauce ) Beefless Tips With Fettuccine and Thai Peanut Sauce

Serves approximately 2 people, possibly 2 1/2, but who's .5 of a person?

Ingredients: (approximate, per usual, other than whole packages)

1 package Gardien Beefless Tips
2 packages Miracle Fettuccine Noodles
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms (or your favorite mushroom variety)
1/2 container of excellent quality (read the label, the fewer ingredients the better) Thai Peanut Sauce (the one pictured above is made in Oregon )


Garnish:

1/4 cup chopped green onion
3 tbs chopped cilantro
Sriracha sauce (on the side)


Marinade

1/8 tsp red chile pepper flakes
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbs sesame oil


Instructions:

Toss frozen beefless tips with marinade, allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Rinse noodles in a colander, under cool water, for about one minute, then blanch in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain in colander, and then place noodles on paper towels and blot dry. Place noodles on a microwave safe plate, and microwave for 2 minutes. <---I learned this little trick from nycfembbw, it really helps with the texture of these carb-free/calorie-free noodles. Cut noodles into thirds (they are quite long, and scissors work best for me, because they are a little squirmy under a knife. Also, they combine better with sauces when they are shorter in length). Set aside.

Saute beefless tips and mushrooms in olive oil on high for about 4 minutes, or until browned on all sides. Add peanut sauce and toss in pan until peanut sauce is heated through. Add noodles and toss again, just enough to heat noodles back up.

Garnish with green onion and cilantro, and serve immediately (it cools quickly). I found that a squirt of Siracha sauce on the side accompanied the dish well. I tend to dip the tips of my chopsticks into the Siracha Sauce before picking up a delicious mouthful.

Here's a photo of my completed dish.

[Smiling]

One of my favorite things to do is to use zucchini instead of noodles and toss it with a nice light sauce. It is a fresh and delicious substitute for pasta without the heavy feeling of eating a plate of noodles.

[Hollylane]

Originally Posted by Huge-Smile

One of my favorite things to do is to use zucchini instead of noodles and toss it with a nice light sauce. It is a fresh and delicious substitute for pasta without the heavy feeling of eating a plate of noodles.

I do like zucchini as a replacement, on occasion. But generally, I choose a different squash, spaghetti squash. I never use pasta, because I try to keep my carbs way way low. The miracle noodles are a great substitute, for me. When I do want something a little heavier, that's when I bring out the spaghetti squash.

[Smiling]

Ooooh! I haven't had spaghetti squash in years! I never see it for sale, but yum!

[Hollylane]

Originally Posted by Huge-Smile

Ooooh! I haven't had spaghetti squash in years! I never see it for sale, but yum!

It is super simple for me to make. I just cut it in half, remove the seeds and extra muck, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle on a few desired spices, place it face down on a cookie sheet, and toss it in the toaster oven to bake. Damn, I just gave myself a craving!

[Greyson]

Okay, this thread says it is for vegetarian, discussions, recipies and laughs. I will file this under discussions and laughs. I was reading some stuff about animal rescue and ran across a story about Tyke the vegetarian Lion. Some of you may already know of her. Sorry to report that she has passed but she had quite a story.



Vegetarian Lioness: Little Tyke

At four years old, the mature African lioness weighed 352 pounds. Her body stretched 10 feet 4 inches long and could run 40 miles per hour. Her skull, highly adapted to killing and eating prey, possessed short powerful jaws. Normally, African lions eat gnus, zebras, gazelles, impalas, and giraffes. This particular big cat, in her prime and perfect health, chose a more gentle way of life, vegetarian!

http://www.vegetarismus.ch/vegepet/tyke.htm

[SmoothButch]

Tomorrow I will be starting my fifth meat-free day. I am trying to reduce as much meat consumption as I can with the hopes of becoming vegetarian.

I am a huge animal rights believer and I really do not agree with needing animals dead to survive. I am tired of being a part of that way of living. I am against hunting of any sort, for food and especially hunting for fun as a sport.

Anyways, I am taking it one day at a time. I quit smoking almost seven years ago and I quit drinking soda two or three years ago. So I know I have the will power stored to break an addiction.

I am also excited about the benefits of being healthier by giving up meat.

Wish me luck along my new journey!

[Hollylane]

Originally Posted by Hollylane

Easy (unless you make your own sauce ) Beefless Tips With Fettuccine and Thai Peanut Sauce

Guess what I did? I took the "Easy" out of this recipe and made my own vegetarian Thai Peanut Sauce! Actually, it was easy too, but it did add some more steps to the recipe.

Vegetarian Thai Peanut Sauce
Inspired by the recipe at vegetarian.about.com

1/2 cup (apprx) Adams Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 tbs (apprx)Ginger People, Organic Grated Ginger, minced
3 tbs (apprx) Cilantro, minced
1/4 cup (apprx) Water
2 Cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
2 tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tbs Soy Sauce
2 tbs fresh Lime Juice


Combine peanut butter, ginger, garlic, lime juice, water, vinegar, and soy sauce in a medium sauce pan, over low heat. Stir constantly, until creamy. Depending on the peanut butter you use, you may need to add a little more water, if mixture is thicker than you would like. If you want to use this as a salad dressing, you will need to thin it with more water. ONce mixture is creamy, add cilantro, and continue to stir for about 5 more minutes.

The rest of the recipe was the same, other than I replaced the beefless tips with 14 Morningstar Meatballs (cut in 1/2), the portobellos with an eight-ounce package of Myocopia Specialty mushrooms (Forest Nameko, Velvet Pioppini and Nebrodini Bianco varieties), and the oil with sesame.

I cooked the mushrooms first with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, salt, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. I set those aside, and then after cooking the meatballs in the microwave (package instructions), I sauteed them with more sesame oil and soy sauce. Then I added in the noodles and mushrooms and stir fried them before pouring the sauce over. I garnished with green onion and cilantro, and enjoyed a side sauce of Sriracha Sauce.

It looks almost the same as the store bought stuff, see:

[Smiling]

Hollylane,
This sounds delicious, but I had to look up "Ginger People". I was a little taken aback at first, lol!

[Hollylane]

Originally Posted by Huge-Smile

Hollylane,
This sounds delicious, but I had to look up "Ginger People". I was a little taken aback at first, lol!

That reminded me of this bit of BBC silliness...I had never heard of red hair being called "Ginger", before this ridiculous skit...

[Hollylane]

So, I was not feeling so hot, and wanted to make a super easy & quick big casserole, to last me the week. There just wasn't much in my fridge or cupboards. I stood there staring for a moment, and then this happened (I'm not claiming this will be good for you, but it sure tastes friggin' good):

Chik'n & Green Bean Casserole

2 Cans cut green beans
1 Can Mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of milk
1/2 can (apprx) of fried onions
1/2 package of Chik'n cutlets cubed/cooked in skillet with olive oil/salt & pepper (I used a sharp knife on frozen cutlets, next time I'll cook them first and then use the kitchen shears)
Pepper
Handful of Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup (apprx) Seasoned bread crumbs
2 tbs Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350, or toaster oven to 400.

In large mixing bowl, combine green beans, soup, milk, pepper to taste, Chik'n, and fried onions. Pour mixture into casserole dish. Bake, uncovered for about 45 minutes.

While casserole is baking, combine about 2 tbs of olive oil with about 1/2
cup of fine bread crumbs.

After 45 minutes (or when center of casserole is bubbling), remove casserole from oven, and sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly over the top, then do the same with bread crumbs.

Set oven/toaster oven to broil, and broil until top is golden brown. Let stand for about 20 minutes, and serve.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

It is pretty much like green bean casserole with Chik'n, cheddar, and breadcrumbs added.

[Kelt]

I'm not sure if I should post in here, I am still an omnivore of sorts. I would say that 90% of the time I would be a lacto/ovo/pesco, and not much of that. (Does that even count?)

Today I set about batch cooking and discovered that everything I made would qualify as vegetarian, even vegan, by choice. It's just what sounded good and I didn't even try to avoid animal products.

I made 10 servings each of:

Many vegetable and barley soup, more like stew
Lentil soup
Quinoa and Black Beans
Black Bean and tri-color pepper vinaigrette salad
Also made a weeks worth of oatmeal in advance

This way just by tossing together a few quick salads and replenishing fruit a couple of times, I shouldn't have to cook for a couple of weeks. It helps that I don't mind repeat meals.
I also rounded out the fridge and pantry for other stand alone items.

And just because I am feeling decadent and experimental;
Coconut rice for dessert, subbing quinoa for the rice and will top with berries

[nycfem]

Please do post in here! If the recipe is veg you are more than welcome

And I know you have great recipes and ideas so please don't be a stranger here!

[nycfem]

Could you please post the recipes for everything you listed and how you make it when you have a chance. All of it sounds so delicious.

I love quinoa. BB and I find it to be a real comfort food, the healthy man's [sic] mac and cheese

I also don't mind repeat meals, not one bit.

Originally Posted by Kelt

I made 10 servings each of:

Many vegetable and barley soup, more like stew
Lentil soup
Quinoa and Black Beans
Black Bean and tri-color pepper vinaigrette salad
Also made a weeks worth of oatmeal in advance

This way just by tossing together a few quick salads and replenishing fruit a couple of times, I shouldn't have to cook for a couple of weeks. It helps that I don't mind repeat meals.
I also rounded out the fridge and pantry for other stand alone items.

And just because I am feeling decadent and experimental;
Coconut rice for dessert, subbing quinoa for the rice and will top with berries

[veganswitch]

I have finally gotten motivated to make a vegan cheese.
For the recipe I found I have to make rejuvelac. I am using soft wheat berries to make it. It's a fermented drink using the water that has been used to help sprout the wheat berries.

I will update on my level of success OR failure! I will be using cashews to make Chevre ( there is suppose to be an accent mark above the first e but I cannot find it) which is traditionally made from goat's milk. The recipe uses rejuvelac. Wish me luck!

The recipe comes from the amazing book The Non Dairy Formulary. This book is a great investment if you want to experiment with vegan "cheeses".