January Vegetarian Times

We made a few things from the January Veggie Times this month


Broccoli With Peanut Sauce


Tofu Frittata with Zucchini and Onion


Vegetarian Pho (this was so good we made it twice!)


Southwestern Stew

Mushrooms Love Wine

We've been doing a fair amount of cooking with mushrooms and wine and the results have been delicious. We veganized Michael Chiarello's Polenta Bites with Caramelized Mushrooms by using soy cheese, vegetable stock and soy creamer. We were too lazy to do the recipe's suggested presentation (which would have been more suitable for party snacks than dinner for two any way) but the meal was tasty nonetheless.



We also made a crostini dish inspired by this recipe with portobellos, cherry tomatoes and soy mozzarella.

Here's our vegan crostini recipe:

Ingredients:
2 Tbs soy margarine
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups Portobello mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
1/4 cup white wine
2 Tbs soy creamer (we used Silk non-dairy creamer)
1/4 cup soy mozzarella cheese (we used Follow Your Heart)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
baguette (sliced and toasted)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced
2 Tbs soy Parmesan cheese

Heat butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and add the garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant add in the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until the mushrooms become golden brown (approximately 10 minutes).

Deglaze the pan with the wine and then add the cream and cheese. Simmer until the cheese is melted and you have a thickened sauce.

Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Spoon the mushrooms onto the sliced bread and top with tomatoes and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Arrange the crostini on a baking sheet and broil until the tomatoes begin to brown.

Middle Eastern Vegetable Stew

We made this from Linda Fraser's "Essential Vegetarian Cookbook", which I've had around for years but haven't cracked open in forever. If you're considering going veg this is the book to get. It's got lots of really good easy recipes and tons of pictures.

The stew pretty much involved bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, celery, potaotes, chopped tomatoes, chili powder, fresh mint, ground cumin, chickpeas, salt and pepper cooked up in a large casserole in a bit of veggie broth. To get the detailed recipe, look for the cookbook. If you're a seasoned cook, it's the kind of thing you can probably pretty much figure out how to make with the ingredients list. It's a stew so really you just cook everything up in a big pot until tender.