Vegetarian Meals?

[Black Dog]

My wife makes a vegetarian pizza type of thing some times. Just rub some olive oil on a premade pizza crust, and spread out some hard (flavored if you like) tofu chunks, spinach, capers, and crumbled feta cheese. Bake it at probably 300 or 350 for a while until its done. I think cheese is still considered edible by vegetarians, just not vegans, because it is made from milk and not actually meat.

 

[Corey]

I use to be a total vegan for about five years when married to the X.
No dairy products at all which meant no eggs, ice cream, cheese, ect.
I will say I had hardly any body fat at all, and I was about 147 lb.

But the substitutes such as SoyKaus (non dairy soy cheese) tasted OK, but it was very expensive.
She used lots of tofu in dishes too which tasted OK.

And the soy ice cream substitutes were barely tolerable.

There was a product on the market where you mixed in one packet of power to one pound of tofu, it was called Scramblers.
Egg substitute, it tasted OK, even made it while camping.

My egg intake now though is limited to two jumbo eggs on Saturdays only, and for mild I use the SilkSoy Extra Vanilla.

I did find that limiting my intake of real milk and meat has cleared up a lot of allergies I have had since I was a baby.
Clear up until I got married I had horrible allergies, and after the X got me started on a vegan diet, the allergies all went away.
Lot of the stuff that they put in milk and meat were messing with me, and I had been raised eating that way since a kid.

 

[UNI]

Corey Posted: For the Boca ones, I get the chix burgers, I like them.
Morningstar also makes a great burger called Asian.

Curious, where do you purchase these burgers?

 

[Corey]

Curious, where do you purchase these burgers?

I get all of my vegi meats in the frozen isle at Safeway.
Same isle as where the lasagna is.

They have a huge section dedicated to vegi meats there.

 

[Herbie]

The soyrizo is great in eggs for a Breakfast burrito. The smart ground is a nice substitute for meat in spaghetti, or use the Mex style ground for tacos or taco soup. The smart dogs are hit and miss, some people hate them but I think they are great.
....

*** For those of you that live in CA you can get grilled cheese sandwiches from In and Out(not on the menu). Order them with grilled onions, they are pretty good!:chef:

As a spouse-of-vegetarian, I feel compelled to comment in this thread.

First, the Soyrizo stuff is EXCELLENT. It has ALL of the flavor of really tasty chorizo without all the greasy fat. In fact, after a few years of eating soyrizo at home (remember, I'm still an omnivore), I have a hard time enjoying real Chorizo because its so greasy.

Second, the Smart Ground stuff is similarly excellent. We do "Taco Night" at home about once every week or two. About a third of the time I make my own Carne Asada or Pollo Asada, but the rest of time time I just eat the Smart Ground "Taco/Burrito" product. With some quacamole, cheese, and pico de gallo on a warm corn tortilla, I'm hard pressed to tell the difference. If you like the taste of Taco Bell's taco "meat", you'll be pleasantly surprised to find the Smart Ground stuff tastes almost identical.

Thirdly, I have NEVER found a hot-dog substitute that didn't taste like ***. Period. Sorry, I'll stick to my real-meat product here.

Lastly, I also agree that the In-N-Out "Grilled Cheese" is excellent. Protip: You can order the GC "Animal Style", so it still comes with the special sauce, sauteed onions, pickles, etc. I've taken to ordering these just to cut down on the calories since I don't miss the meat patty with all the extra goodies.

Enjoy.

 

[Salue]

The main reason I've been cutting down on my meat intake is to try to eat healthier. Aside from veggie burgers and veggie breakfast sausages, I haven't purchased any prepared veggie entrees (bbq ribs, etc).
Seeing that I haven't looked at the labels on those type of non meat meals, how are they healthwise (saturated fat, sodium, etc). I've noticed for most if not all frozen/prepared dishes, the amounts of sodium and fat is ridiculous. I'm just curious if this is the same with the meatless dishes. If so, it seems like it would defeat the purpose, at least for me since I'm trying to eat healthier.

Cheers,
Salue

 

[rusty_tlc]

I've had so many tasty vegetarian dishes that didn't pretend to be meat and tasted great.

OTOH every fake meat product I've ever tasted was a disappointment.

I'm just sayin I'd rather make honest dishes than be disappointed.

Vegetarian stuff I like;
Vegetable curry
Lentil Stew
Vegetarian lasagna
Vegetable soup
Almost any veggie brushed with olive oil and grilled taste great.
Beans, beans , beans. I could live on pinto beans and rice. Add some cheese and a tortilla and I'm good for almost any meal of the day.

 

[spressomon]

Tempeh is one of our staples left over from my vegetarian days. From Tempeh taco salad to Tempeh reubens.


Tempeh mushroom sandwich:
Slice a cake of tempeh to 1/4" thickness.
Saute/fry in a little oil until golden brown on both sides
Splash a couple tablespoons of soy sauce/tamari into the hot pan/onto the hot tempeh...lid it quick or get zapped ;-). After the hissing has subsided the tempeh is ready for sandwichville.

Top with saute'd sliced mushrooms and a slice of gruyere cheese...broil (or hit it with a propane torch on the trail ;-) till the cheese is bubbly...serve between slices of your favorite bread.

 

[spressomon]

Another vegey breakfast or even dinner recipe I make fairly often: Tofu with cabbage.

Cubed tofu 14-15oz package (serves two)
2-3T finely grated fresh ginger (fine microplane works perfectly for this job)
1/4+ head green cabbage cut into 1" or so
Fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Toasted dark sesame oil
Sunflower/safflower oil
butter
Soy sauce/tamari
splash of dry sherry
Grated dry cheddar
toasted sesame seeds

Saute the mushrooms until lightly browned...hit them with a little sea salt at the end and set aside.
Saute the cabbage in butter/oil mixture until soft; add ginger and cubed tofu and heat through with lid on. Hit it with a splash of dry sherry...then add soy sauce/tamari to taste; lid back on to simmer for a few minutes.

Add the reserved mushrooms atop the tofu mixture then cheese until melted; anoint with toasted sesame oil. Serve with toasted sesame seeds atop.

 

[rynosurf]

Another good substitute for hamburgers are portobello mushrooms. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...bello-mushroom-burgers-vegetarian-recipe.html

Tempeh is one of our staples left over from my vegetarian days. From Tempeh taco salad to Tempeh reubens.

That reminds me...
Another tip for those in San Diego, Ranchos in O.B. and North Park has an awesome Mexican vegetarian and vegan menu. The first time I had one of their shiitake mushroom burritos I took it back because I swore it had meat in it, it is very good. They also have some good tempeh items on the menu.

 

[FishPOET]

Another from Tracy....

Many of the ingredients came from her garden.

Ratatouille

White onion, eggplant, zucchini,tomatoes, roasted red bell pepper, roasted garlic, roasted artichoke.
fresh herbs: rosemary, flat-leaf parsley, oregano & thyme

Layered and drizzled with olive oil, baked for an hour or so...

Viola! Ratatouille!! A classic French peasant dish... Topped with Parmesan cheese. Not too pretty to look at but RICH in flavor!

 

[FishPOET]

Another from Tracy...

Kitschy quiche

Whole wheat crust

We have bantam chickens. Tracy used 15 eggs. You will want to use about 1/2 as many store eggs.

slightly sauteed zucchini, red bells, purple scallion, garlic

feta cheese

cheddar cheese

parmesan cheese

tow maters

add in the eggs

more cheese and bake

 

[FishPOET]

Kitschy quiche part deux

 

[FishPOET]

More from Tracy...

Artichoke heart, roasted potato, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and a dash of balsamic vinegar!

Artichoke, red pepper, purple scallion, portabella mushrooms, garlic and goat cheese ravioli- baked!

Wontons....red pepper, onion, celery, carrot, garlic and a bit of curry herb which is pictured on the plate along with an orange pansy. Served w/Panda Express Orange sauce!

And she can weld too....

 

[Joanne]

If you like spicy food this one is a real winner! :chef:

Sichuan Style Eggplant

Ingredients:
2 oz . . . . .Chili paste with garlic (Sichuan paste)
1 fl oz . . . Soy sauce
2 fl oz . . . Sherry or white wine
1 fl oz . . . Red wine vinegar
1 tsp . . . . Sugar
2 fl oz . . . Chicken stock or vegetable stock
2.5 lb . . . .Eggplant
4 each . . .Garlic cloves
1 tsp . . . . Ginger root
6 each . . .Scallions
2 fl oz . . . Oil
1 tbsp . . . Sesame oil

Procedure:
1. Mix together the chili paste, soy sauce, wine, vinegar, sugar, and stock or water.

2. Peel the eggplant if the skin is tough. Otherwise, leave it on. Cut the eggplant into 1-in. (2.5-cm) dice. Note: Soaking the cut-up eggplant in well salted water for 1/2 an hour will help balance the flavor of the eggplant. Be sure to dry off the eggplant before sauteing it.

3. Mince the garlic, ginger, and scallions.

4. Heat the oil in a saute pan and saute the eggplant until lightly browned.

5. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallions and saute another minute.

6. Add the chili paste mixture and stir in. Cover and cook over low heat until the eggplant is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

7. Uncover. The sauce should be quite thick so, if necessary, cook uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the liquid.

8. Add the sesame oil and serve.