Guest guest Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 All in a sudden, I am totally out of ideas and inspirations. It sems we eat too many beans, too often pasta. We are vegan, so everything with dairy and eggs are out of the diet. We ate a lot of Indian and Asian food for some time, but all together, I am completely lost when it comes to the everyday cooking. Where we live, we don't have too many opportunities to shop for tofu and the vegetables offered at our local veggie store are usually aubergines (eggplants), broccoli, zucchinis, spinach, and cabbage. My children don't like mushrooms, so they are not an option. Any suggestions, please? Thank you! Gabriella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Shalom, Try making vegetable-bulgar pilafs. The bulgar is fast than rice and a nice change. Quinoa is good, too, if it is not too expensive. If it is, subsitute bulgar and adjust the cooking times. Here are some recipes from the Ha'aretz newspaper: Quinoa - the basic recipe The following recipe will serve six. 1/2 kilo quinoa (1 bag) 3 med. carrots, peeled and coarsely grated 1 med. onion, minced 3-4 tbsp. olive oil cold water to cover 1. Pour the oil into a heavy 24-cm. pot, add the carrot and onion and turn up the fire to a high flame. Stir, cover with a lid and saute for 2 minutes. Open the lid and stir for about 2 more minutes, until the color of the carrot intensifies and it becomes soft, and the first pleasant aroma of caramel wafts from the pot. 2. Add the quinoa and stir. The quinoa turns orange from the oil that has been colored by the carrots. Continue stirring until the quinoa is very hot. Add the cold water. In an instant, the water is bubbling strongly and the quinoa has imparted its color and taste. Now the water will begin to be absorbed and will yield what it received from the root vegetables. 3. Lower the fire to the minimum, cover the pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes, without daring to lift the lid to check: The quinoa will take this as a brazen intrusion into its inner world, the balance of steam in relation to the contents of the pot will be upset and no one will benefit. 4. After 20-25 minutes, open the lid and stick a fork in all the way to the bottom of the pot, where you should hope to encounter a thin layer that has started to stick there. This is the sign to turn off the fire. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel and close it with the lid. After 5-10 minutes, remove the lid and the towel and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Quinoa with green onion and soy sauce The following recipe serves six. 1 pot of quinoa that finished cooking 15 minutes beforehand 3 minced green onions (white and green parts) 3 tbsp. high-quality olive oil 4 tbsp. soy sauce Pour the oil onto the cooked quinoa and mix with your hands. The quinoa is still quite hot but only your fingers will be able to reach every grain. Add the soy sauce and continue mixing; by now it's not quite as hot. Add the green onion and mix for another minute. … Quinoa salad Tabbouleh is made from cracked bulgur wheat mixed with Arab-style salad whose juices, instead of spilling on the plate, are absorbed by the grains, softening and flavoring them. What works well for wheat works even better for quinoa. Instead of my providing an exact, scientific and soulless recipe, just think about quinoa, about Arab salad, about mint, za'atar (wild hyssop), hot peppers, crushed black peppercorns, olive oil, fresh parsley and finally - the seeds squeezed from two halves of a tomato. - Gabriella Tuesday, February 17, 2009 2:03 PM What to cook today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hi Gabriella, This is one of our favorites. You can substitute zuchini or eggplant for the mushrooms (I usually use a mix of mushrooms, zuchini, and spinach); nutritional yeast or a non-dairy parmesean for the parmesean; any unsweetened milk sub (I have had bad luck cooking with soy milk, I prefer almond, though you can use hemp, rice, etc.); there are several egg replacers that you can buy, or you can use silken tofu or make your own egg replacer. Vegetable Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings 3 cups peeled butternut or acorn squash cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms 2 14-1/2-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained 1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup water or veggie broth 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed; or more to taste 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour 1/3 cup cornmeal 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley or dried 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 2 tablespoons milk 2 tablespoons cooking oil 1 9-ounce package frozen Italian green beans or frozen cut green beans (I love the trader joes frozen haricot verts) Paprika In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, combine squash, mushrooms, undrained tomatoes, Great Northern beans, the water, garlic, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. For dumplings: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, parsley, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk, and oil. Add to the flour mixture; stir with a fork just until combined. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Stir frozen green beans into stew. Drop the dumpling dough into six mounds on top of the stew. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook for 50 minutes more. (Do not lift lid while dumplings are cooking.) This is a dish that I love! I cook brown rice in the rice cooker on the weekends, and freeze it in wax bags in a big zipper bag (I keep the empty bags in the freezer and reuse them); the rice thaws quickly in the microwave and the wax bags are safe to use in the microwave. We have stir fries for dinner at least twice a week, usually one with peanut sauce and one with an Indian sauce. General Tsao's Tofu Ingredients: 1 box of firm tofu egg substitute for 1 egg 3/4 cup cornstarch vegetable oil for frying 3 chopped green onions 1 Tablespoon minced ginger 1 Tablespoon minced garlic 2/3 cup vegetable stock 2 Tablespoons soy sauce 4 Tablespoons sugar red pepper to taste 1 Tablespoon sherry (optional) 1 Tablespoon white vinegar steamed broccoli Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1 inch chunks. You can freeze tofu the=20 night before to get a more chicken-like consistency, but it isn't=20 necessary. Mix the egg replacer as specified on the box and add an=20 additional 3 tablespoons water. Dip tofu in egg replacer/water= 20 mixture and coat completely. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cornstarch over tofu=20 and coat completely. Watch out that the cornstarch doesn't clump up=20 at the bottom of the bowl. Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden. Drain oil. Heat 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil in pan on medium heat. Add green=20 onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes. Be careful not=20 to burn garlic. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper=20 and vinegar. Mix 2 Tablespoons water with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch=20 and pour into mixture stirring well. Add fried tofu and coat evenly. Serve immediately with steamed broccoli over brown rice. Serves: 4 Preparation time: 30 Minutes --- On Tue, 2/17/09, Gabriella <gabriella_kapsaski wrote: Gabriella <gabriella_kapsaski What to cook today? Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 6:03 AM All in a sudden, I am totally out of ideas and inspirations. It sems we eat too many beans, too often pasta. We are vegan, so everything with dairy and eggs are out of the diet. We ate a lot of Indian and Asian food for some time, but all together, I am completely lost when it comes to the everyday cooking. Where we live, we don't have too many opportunities to shop for tofu and the vegetables offered at our local veggie store are usually aubergines (eggplants), broccoli, zucchinis, spinach, and cabbage. My children don't like mushrooms, so they are not an option. Any suggestions, please? Thank you! Gabriella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Hi Robin, Wonderful recipes, thank you very much. The Vegetable Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings sounds amazingly good and I'll try it as soon as possible. Shalom! Gabriella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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