Tried and true vegetarian recipes
 

So this year, I am living with 3 vegetarians. Because there are 5 of us, we have each taken a day to cook for the whole community. After 5 weeks, I am fresh out of recipes that can be adapted to be vegetarian. I'm really loathe to try random stuff off the web, so does anyone have any good recipes that you have tried and liked? Thanks!

I have so many, but here is one that I have found to be very popular and is definitely in season right now:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/he...ipehealth.html

My husband and I used to cook a lot...now we have a personal chef that brings us food on Mondays. We're lazy. Anyway, we loved to make baingan bharta, an Indian eggplant dish. You add sriracha to taste to make it as spicy as you want it (not Indian, but we liked it hot!) http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2009/...arta-eggplant/

We also are huge tofu fans. Get firm tofu and slice it thick. Place it on paper towels and press it out with a sheet pan weighted down with heavy cans to get out some liquid. Pan fry it and serve with spicy teriyaki sauce (Target makes a good one.) I usually reserved two slices to cut up and mix with a boxed Pad Thai mix. They are pretty decent. Instant vegetarian meal.

Also, curry paste and a can of coconut milk...throw in the tofu and anything else you feel like.

Thai tofu...yum.

It took me a LONG time to figure out how to work with tofu to avoid crumbling, sogginess, etc., but it's worth it! Sometimes I dry fry or bake it for a while first, and someone tipped me off that a brief stint in the microwave also works.

I'm not even a vegetarian, I just lean in that direction. OP, have you checked out Meatless Monday? There are lots of ideas over there. Also, I love epicurious for recipes. The community over there is pretty knowledgable, so if you read comments on the recipes, they generally tell you what variations work and such.

http://www.hungry-girl.com/weighin/show/2130
(The first recipe, a pumpkin quiche)

I've made this before. It's so easy, delicious, and low calorie if anyone is watching their figure. I did have to bake it a bit longer than the recipe said but once I forgot it in the oven for an extra hour (yeah.) and it was completely fine, so you don't even have to worry about watching the clock.
You can also change up the add-ins; I like to use chopped squash and zucchini.

We did a brief stint as vegetarians and now eat meatless twice a week. Tofu is very versatile when used right. I LOVE it. We haven't mentioned squeezing out the water then marinating it in whatever you want since it is a sponge and will take up any flavor.

I have several vegetarian cookbooks. My favorite one is "New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant." Fabulous recipes!

allrecipe.com is a great website for recipes. I stick with anything ranked at a 4 or 5 that has been tried by at least 100 people, read their suggestions and go from there. They let you just type in random ingredients too and it will show the dishes made with those items.
I really like the curried quinoa. I usually throw in corn and peas or any other veggie I have sitting around in it.

Y'all are fabulous! I have never cooked with tofu, but I'm willing to give it a try. And thanks, DeltaBetaBaby, for that meatless mondays site; I had never heard of it before

Anything from the Moosewood series are great. I also just bought one that I love called the College Vegetarian Cookbook.

Oh!!! I think I know what we're having for dinner tomorrow!

This is one of my favorites. Although it's technically an Indian dish, it's from the far north so it has a distinctly Chinese feel. Think Nachos - technically American but people think it's Mexican.

Gobi Manchurian http://cdn.sailusfood.com/wp-content...manchurian.jpg


Gobi Manchurian is a spicy Indo-Chinese recipe. A crispy vegetable platter in a thick hot & tangy gravy, it can go so very well with roti, naan, rice or noodles. The dry version of Gobi Manchurian can even serve as an appetizer.
PREPARATION TIME : 15 minutes
COOKING TIME : 30 minutes
SERVINGS : 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 500 gm Cauliflower, cleaned and broken into medium sized florets
• ½ cup Flour (Maida)
• 3 tbsp. Corn Flour
• 3 Green Chillies, minced
• 2 Red Chillies, dry and broken into pieces
• 2 tsp. Ginger, paste
• 2 tsp. Garlic, paste
• 1 medium Onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small bunch Spring Onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium Capsicum (bell pepper), chopped (The recipe doesn't specify but these really should be red. Green would look funny)
• ½ tsp. Ajinamoto
• ¼ tsp. Sugar
• ¼ tsp. Red Chilli powder
• 2 tbsp. Soya Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Tomato Sauce
• 1 tbsp. Vinegar
• 3 tbsp. Oil
• 1 1/2 cups Water
• 1 tbsp. Milk
• Salt to taste

METHOD:
• Boil the cauliflower florets in enough water to which the 1 tbsp. of milk has been added
• Drain the water and dry the florets
• Mix 2 tbsp. corn flour with plain flour, salt to taste, ginger and garlic ½ tsp. each and red chilli powder. Add water to this mixture to make a thin batter
• Dip the florets into the batter one by one and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. After frying you can place the fried florets over some tissue paper to soak the excess oil
• Into the rest of the oil in the pan add the sliced onion and fry till translucent.
• Place the onions a bit aside in the pan and add broken red chillies, remaining ginger and garlic paste, chopped green chillies and sauté them for a minute.
• Add spring onion and capsicum to this along with salt and sugar and stir fry for a minute more, so that the capsicums are half fried
• Add the florets now along with vinegar, soya sauce, tomato sauce, ajinamoto to this and mix well.
• Add 1 ½ cup water to bring it to boil. For the Dry version of the dish add only ½ cup of water.
• Mix 1 tbsp. of corn flour with ¼ cup of water and mix well. Add this mixture gradually to the boiling gravy to thicken it.
• Bring the gravy to boil and boil till it is transparent. It can be boiled less or more after that as per the thickness of gravy required.
• Remove from oven and Gobi Manchurian is ready to be served.

pasta a la checca: saute garlic (to taste), tomatoes, salt and pepper in olive oil. Use basil (fresh or dried)...pour over pasta (cooked). With cheese..vegetarian...no cheese..vegan.

Minestrone soup...use a premade vegetarian stock base (Wolfgang Puck is very good) add veggies...celery, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant...some beans (canneloni or garbonzo)...and Italian herbs....dinner.

Eggplant parm...eggplant cooked and in a spicy spaghetti sauce (I prefer Raos)

No, we are not vegetarians...We live in Los Angeles.

I just had this at a vegetarian Indian restaurant last week. UN-BE-LIEVABLE!

I'm not a vegetarian, but I usually go meatless a few nights a week mostly just out of preference.

Have you tried Pinterest? I get a lot of my recipes from there. I usually sit down with a cup of tea on Sunday mornings, scroll through my recipe boards and make a menu and shopping list.

This homemade pad thai, while inauthentic, is awesome. Restaurant pad thai is always orange and goopey (ew) so I avoid it. This is so easy - I add shrimp, but the recipe as written is vegetarian.

http://browniesfordinner.com/2010/05/11/easy-pad-thai/

This olive cous-cous salad is awesome. You could even try it with quinoa for more protein:

http://kitchenconfidante.com/olive-c...s-salad-recipe

If you wanted to do breakfast for dinner you should try migas! This is the recipe I use, but you could literally add anything you want to it:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...rummond-migas/

Mushroom Stroganoff - I LOVE MUSHROOMS!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/09/m...troganoff.html

This one is a "Mexican" pasta recipe. The recipe calls for chicken, but you could easily omit it. It's not healthy by any means, but I loved it and it had a pleasant spiciness!

http://picky-palate.com/2011/03/03/m...anelle-dinner/

Vegetarian Chili
 

I am cooking this tonight. So easy and quick.

Olive Oil
4(14.5 oz.) cans of beans (black, kidney, garbanzo, any combination)
(I usually do 2 cans of black, 1 each of dark kidney and garbanzo)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
2(14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
1 can diced jalapenos
ground cumin
chili powder
1 Tbsp. low fat red wine vinegar and oil salad dressing
plain non-fat greek yogurt
grated sharp cheddar cheese

Drain liquid from 2 cans of beans-do not save liquid. In a large dutch oven, pour 1-2 Tbsps. of olive oil. Heat oil and add chopped bell pepper and onion. Saute until onion is transparent. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add the 4 cans of beans, the 2 cans of diced tomatoes with liquid,diced jalapenos, cumin and chili powder to taste. Bring to a boil, then let simmer, stirring occasionally, until you are ready to eat. Just prior to serving, stir in 1 Tbsp. low fat red wine vinegar and oil salad dressing. Those that want to can add a dollop of plain greek yogurt and sprinkle some cheese on top. Serve with crusty bread.

This freezes great!

The bolded made me smile. The same may be said for the Bay Area. Maybe it is a "California thing".

While I am not a vegetarian, I do love most vegetables. And all three of these recipes above (with a slight variation to them at times) are among my favorites.

Ditto (see above). And thanks for the mushroom stroganoff recipe. I'm a big fan of mushrooms as well so this is going into my menu rotation.

I providentially came upon this collection of hearty vegetarian recipes today. I haven't tried any yet, but they all look really good! I'm particularly excited to try the butternut béchamel lasagna (especially now that it's getting cooler!) and the mushroom and caramelized onion baked risotto!

http://www.thekitchn.com/meatless-recipe-163426

This looks delicious ...

Tofu Tikka Masala (adapted from a Food & Wine recipe):

http://prettypeasrecipes.blogspot.co...ka-masala.html

When I was growing up, my parents (who are über-Catholics) would not eat meat on Fridays throughout the year, Lent or not. My mother is an avid cook, and her favorite cuisine is Indian. And my father hates fish. Needless to say, I ate a lot of Indian vegetarian curries when I was a kid.

One of my favorites is aloo gobi. Aloo = potatoes; gobi = cauliflower. Sauté some diced onions in vegetable oil or ghee. Add cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic, and/or chopped chili peppers if you like (play around with this and figure out what mix of spices and herbs works for you). Add potatoes and cauliflower heads and enough water to cover, then let it simmer for 20 minutes or so.

I have a good microwave basmati rice recipe to go with the aloo gobi (or anything else). Put 1 cup rice, 1-3/4 cup water, and any spices you wish (I usually use a few cloves and a few cardamom pods) into a microwave-safe dish. Cover with plastic wrap but leave a corner open to vent. Microwave for 5 minutes on high, then 15 minutes on 50%. Fluff the rice with a fork, and serve. Two caveats here: (1) Do not eat the whole spices. (2) Do NOT halve the recipe. I tried that once and ended up with a rice cake!

You all are the best. I have enough recepies here to cover me through the year :)

I will, but it might take a while to go through them all since I only cook one day out of the week.

Check out Happy Herbivore. She's got a great website (www.happyherbivore.com) and two AMAZING cookbooks. Her cook books SAVED MY LIFE when I was transitioning to veganism. She does a lot of takes on classic comfort food that are amazing. I'm talking meatball subs, baked ziti, mac and cheese, nachos, tacos. You name it, she does it, and it's GOOD. I thought I couldn't give up meat for a second time, and her recipes have made me one happy, and not so hungry, vegan!

I didn't get around to this until Saturday night, but it was delish! I added sage & nutmeg, because those are requisite Fall flavors for me. :)