Curried Mango Bread

Pretty stinkin' unconventional, in my book, anyway, but pretty darn tasty! All three guys liked it, too. That is always the 'real' vote!

Curried Mango Bread

The guy who posted this recipe is right in his analysis - the batter is fairly dry, which did make me a little nervous, but the bread bakes up perfectly moist. The first time ever that the look of dry batter is deceiving (in my experience, anyway). Also, you will do a double take at some of the ingredients: garlic (yep),  and ground red pepper (I subbed this in place of the diced red chili). But just do it - I promise it will be great. And, you'll taste a little kick when you eat it! Enjoy!

Tuesday Night Dinner

Well, since Monday's earned rave reviews, here is Tuesday's meal in the works. Looks DELISH!

Black Bean Cocoa Quinoa 

Oh, yeah - it rocked. The boys liked it and I loved it! Being a vegetarian makes me more easier to please in the food department. Simplicity reigns, and I taste my food more than I did before. Not because I eat it differently - the tastes just stand out to me more. I can taste each ingredient in my food now, because I eat so much more simply. One of the many additional benefits I am discovering on my Veggie Journey!

Monday Night Dinner

This is what I am making for dinner tonight... you know you're really a true vegetarian when you can't stop craving these kinds of dishes, and that is just what happens to me now, on a daily basis!


Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Sauteed Leeks, White Beans and Walnuts

This is for you!

For Michele, my faithful vegetarian recipe reader...

Ridiculously basic, and easy, but, oh, so good!


Pasta with Roasted Broccoli and Garlic


Thanks, Gina's Skinny Recipes! Oh, and bookmark that sight - it is a great resource!

What Happened to the Vegetarian Cookbook?

You know, the one I was supposed to be cooking my way through, and posting about?

W-e-l-l, I suppose the only accurate way to explain the absence of my posts on the subject is to admit the truth. I felt very restricted and 'boxed-in' with the cookbook. I have become, over the last several years, something strangely similar to a food snob. I enjoy, no, rather, I love anything to do with food. Cooking, preparing, serving food - I revel in all of it. I have developed, ashamedly, a tiny bit of cooking ego as well. Now, that does not mean I think everyone should like my food, or that I think my food is better than the food others prepare. Instead, it means I have moved through my culinary journey to a point where I enjoy figuring it out myself, or experimenting on my own. I reached the point where recipes are either merely a guide, or in some cases, just good decoration for my kitchen (!).

It has become difficult for me to sincerely enjoy cooking that is entirely, always from a cookbook or a recipe. And, since I've had to switch to vegetarian eating in the last couple months, I have discovered, ironically, that a lot of the 'vegetarian' recipes from that cookbook, still include dairy products, which I can no longer eat.

Therefore, I will post in the future about things I am trying on my vegetarian journey in place of items from the cookbook I was using. Some may be my own concoctions, and some may be from various crazy cool vegetarian food blogs I have discovered in recent weeks.

Cajun Potato Wedges

I made these as part of David's Father's Day dinner, and they are hardly even a recipe as far as I'm concerned because they are so easy. Thumbs up from Dave, Jen and Drew! Drew normally won't touch a potato in this form, but I insisted he try one bite, and he was surprised to find out he actually like them, too.

Vegetable Oil
4 medium potatoes
1-2 tbsp. cajun spice mix (I used Old Bay seasoning)

Preheat the oven to 375. Cute the potatoes into wedge shapes or chunks. Roll the wedges in the Cajun spice mix. Toss with oil to coat. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, turning occasionally. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Spinach and Lentil Soup

For some reason I was brave enough to serve this as our main course tonight - that means no meat was provided along with it. I was quite certain Dave was not going to be too thrilled, but in the interest of cutting costs and not preparing superfluous items, I took the risk. Well, much to my surprise, he was not disappointed in our dinner selection for the evening.

When prepared exactly as instructed, I initially thought it tasted like cooked lentils in hot water (read: absent of any cohesive flavor). However, I added *salt* and a few (I think 1.5 tsp) more scoops of vegetable broth granules to kick it up. Those two additions, along with the cilantro at the end, succeeded in bringing the flavor. Thumbs up from Dave and me - thumbs down for Drew.

2 cups brown lentils
5 cups water
2 tsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
20 English spinach leaves, stalks removed and leaves finely shredded
(I just bought a bag of fresh spinach leaves)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. finely grated lemon rind
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro

Place the lentils in a large pan with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour. Rinse and drain, then set aside. In a separate pan heat the oil; add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until golden. Add spinach and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the lentils, cumin, lemon rind, stock and water to the pan. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add the cilantro and stir through. Serve immediately.

Herbed Potato Pancakes

Here is the recipe from last night that I served alongside our turkey meatballs. They were way good, and thumbs up from Dave and I. Drew didn't have any - he only wanted meatballs because he made them, and he is a carnivore!

2 tbsp. chives
2 tbsp. tarragon dill
salt and pepper
3 medium potatoes, peeled
2 oz unsalted butter
2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix the chives, dill and salt and pepper in a bowl. Coarsely grate the potatoes and squeeze out the excess moisture. Add to the herb mixture and combine well.

 Heat half the butter and oil in pan over med heat, until it starts to foam. Cook heaped tablespoonsful of the potato mixture for two minutes. Turn and cook for about 2 to 3 more minutes, or until golden. Drain on paper towels; keep warm. Add remaining butter and oil to pan. Repeat process using all the mixture.

Pineapple and Banana Cake

I made this recipe yesterday for dessert. We joined another family for dinner at their house, so they were tasting this for the first time right along with us. Dan, Erin, Dave, Drew and I all gave this recipe a thumbs up. Sorry I didn't get a good picture of the cake - this was taken today when Drew was enjoying a leftover piece. I don't think it is a secret how he felt about the cake. And, Hope and Brad did not sample the cake - they were too busy looking cute in their Chicago get-ups.

Pasta Vegetable Bake

I made this recipe from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook tonight for dinner. The photo above is not the completed product, but instead the vegetables and sauce cooking on the stove before I combined with the pasta. I thought the colors were pretty enough to photograph. Thumbs up from both Dave and me; Drew did not eat tonight. He was very tired and instead wanted to go to bed. I loved the flavor of zucchini with the sauce, but this is not a new flavor combination for me. Very satisfying for me, even without the meat.

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed  minced
3 medium zucchini, sliced
3 oz. button baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 cups ready made tomato pasta sauce
1 cup frozen canned peas
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (penne or spiralli)
4 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in pan. Add the onion and garlic, cooking over low heat for 4 minutes or until onions are soft. Add zucchini and mushrooms, cook for 3 minutes. Add the sauce and peas. Cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside. Add pasta to a large pan of boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain and add vegetables to the pan. Spoon mixture into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes.

Corn Chowder

Above is my first completed recipe from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. I served it last night as part of our dinner. Dave and Drew both gave it a thumbs up, as did I. Very hearty, and for me, could have been a meal in itself. The sour cream on top is optional, and I put it on Dave's serving. I, on the other hand, enjoyed eating this recipe without any dairy in it (except the butter to cook the onions and garlic).

3 oz butter
2 onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp. cumin
4 c. veg. stock
2 med. potatoes, peeled and chopped
8 oz. cream style corn
2 c. fresh corn kernels
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley cilantro
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
3 tbsp. cream (optional)

Heat the butter in large pan. Add onions and cook over med-high heat until golden. Add garlic and cumin, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add vegetable stock, bring to boil. Add potatoes and reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add the creamed corn, corn kernels and cilantro. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes. Stir through the cheese, salt and pepper, to taste and cream. Heat gently until the cheese melts. Serve immediately, sprinkled with chopped cilantro.

And the Winner is....

The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook!

Even when I asked for tie-breaker votes, I still ended up with a tie (Dave was given a vote, and of course he voted for the Mitford Cookbook). I was trying to decide between the two, and told Dave that I felt for the sake of our marriage I needed to go with the Mitford cookbook, because he just was not very enthusiastic about vegetarian anything. I had explained I had been looking forward to stretching myself with the self-imposed 'assignment.' And while each of the cookbooks would have been a stretch to some degree, I felt the Mitford cookbook was going to be the least stretching of any (except for our waistbands, of which I'm sure it would stretch plenty). David indicated that as long as I don't expect him to become vegetarian (which I don't, and I wouldn't even consider doing because I like meat too much), that he would be happy to allow me to try to entice him into eating his veggies more with some yummy recipes from the vegetarian cookbook.

I plan to have my first recipe prepared in a few days, so get ready for the journey and stay tuned!