Vegetarian Fun-stravaganza!

Recipes from the Truth & Beauty Bombs forum

Contributed by lots of cool people!

Okay! Let's not waste any time! Unfortunately, I don't know who submitted which recipe, but here they all are, just as they originally appeared. Except I gave them names!

Zucchini and/or squash!
Sometimes I make zucchini or summer squash by cutting them into thin medallions and dropping them in a skillet (low heat!) with some olive oil, parsley, and oregano. Cook until just tender. Also: add sliced mushrooms if you're into that.

A bean salad!
Another favorite with me is bean salad. Drain a can of kidney beans and a can of garbonzo beans (or chickpeas if you prefer). Combine the contents. When you serve, add a chopped tomato to each portion, along with some shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, and MAYBE some salad dressing if you really feel like you need it. Olives, spinach, chopped onion, or sliced avocadoes are also great toppings. So are hard-boiled eggs, but that's not very vegetarian! (Note: if you like beans a lot, this is really tasty. Otherwise, maybe not!)

Falafel!
It's ususally with the rices and stuff in the store. It tastes great! Plus it's fun and easy to make. You just add water, mix into little balls, and fry! Don't make up the whole box though. You'll never be able to eat it all before it goes bad. 1/3 of a box is perfect.

Rice and beans AND salsa!
- 1 to 2 cups of cooked rice (white, brown, whatever)
- Salsa of the spiciness you enjoy
- Frozen corn
- 1 can of beans, drained (pinto or black beans work best, but I've made it with even azuki beans and it was yummy)
- cumin
- red pepper (optional)

Add about a teaspoon of oil to a frying pan over medium heat, and a good dash of cumin. Add beans to mixture, then a handful or two of frozen corn, depending on the size of your hands. Mix well, then add rice. Add salsa to mixture until rice is evenly coated, but you don't want it to be very wet. Just enough to make all the rice red. Add red pepper to taste. (I use mild salsa, so I like to add a bit; if you use hot salsa, there's not much point.) Heat until really warm (the corn should, obviously, not be frozen), and serve!

Rice with soy sauce!
Rice with soy sauce!

Vegetarian tacos, for sure!
- 2 cans (14.5 oz or so) of diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 can of pinto beans, drained
- 1/2 an eggplant (or as much of it as you want - I save the other half to roast with garlic and olive oil later), chopped into cubes 1 c of frozen corn (canned is okay, too, I just keep a bag of the frozen stuff to add to recipes)
- 2-3 bell peppers, any color, chopped (I use green and orange because those colors are not already in the mix)
- 1/4 a medium-sized onion (or more, depending to taste), chopped
- lemon juice
- 2-4 cloves of garlic (the more the better, I say)
- cumin
- red pepper (the spice)
- cilantro
- You could also throw in zucchini or garbanzo beans. Or whatever!

In a big pot, mix the drained tomatoes and beans with the garlic, cumin, red pepper and cilantro. (I don't know the amounts. Put in a lot of cumin, though.) Start heating over medium heat; add corn and eggplant.

Cover and stir occasionally. In a separate skillet, add peppers and onions to two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Dash with red pepper, and cook until onions are brown. Sprinkle lemon juice over peppers and onions (mostly because it's fun), and add back to pot mixture. I don't know how long you should cook it, but the eggplant should be brown. I found the best way to time it out is to cook the mixture while I'm slicing the peppers and onions, and then by the time I'm done grilling them, the entire mixture is ready.

Serve with tortillas, cheese and sour cream. Also, use a slotted spoon to serve them because they will be a bit watery. They serve several people for a number of days, and I think the leftovers almost taste better than the original batch!

Some cookies that sound pretty great!
Preheat oven to 350°(note to unAmerican people you are only supposed to cook in fahrenheit)

Soften up but don't melt (I think I put it in the microwave straight out of the fridge for 15-30 seconds) two(2) sticks of butter

Beat it together with
- One(1) cup of brown sugar
- Half a cup of white sugar

Then beat in
- Two(2) eggs
- Two(2) Teaspoons of vanilla

After that is done beat in
- Half teaspoon of salt
- Half teaspoon of salt
- Two and a half cups of flour

You might not need all of that flour so set the last half cup aside and pour it in slowly as you mix until it is just right.

You now have dough!

Mix in
- 2 cups of choclate chips
OR
- I mixed in a bag of Mint Christmas colored M+Ms in some batches and a bag of butterscotch chips in another batch.

Using some spoons scoop out the dough on to some cookie sheets. It might fill 4 cookie sheets in 4 rows of 3 if you get them the right size.

Put two sheets in the oven for 5 minutes then switch them and put them back in for another 5 minutes. Repeat with other two cookie sheets.

Let them cool for a while so they don't fall apart when you pick them up.

Everybody's favorite: hummus!
INGREDIENTS:
- 15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained, reserving 1/3 cup liquid
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
- 1 clove garlic, minced, or 4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. white pepper

PREPARATION: Mash beans and blend with lemon juice, tahini, garlic and salt. The texture of the finished dip is up to you - make it totally smooth or leave some beans unmashed for more texture.

I cheated and got this off of a website. I was looking for this book I have Vegetarian Recipes for Students but I couldn't find it. This one seems like it's almost the same, though.

Some stuffed peppers!
1. I started about a cup of dry rice cooking.
2. Then I took four green bell peppers, cut off the stems, made a hole in the tops, and cleaned out the seeds and ribs.
3. I sliced up about five green onions, eight mushrooms, a bunch of fresh cilantro, and a decent chunk of Swiss cheese.
4. I kicked back and read a book until the rice finished cooking.
5. Then I preheated my oven to 400 F. I don't what that is in Celsius! Sorry!
6. I mixed together the onions, mushrooms, and cilantro. (But I kept the cheese separate!) Then I mixed in a can of black beans (drained) and most of the rice that I made. And I also added a few squirts of lime juice.
7. I said to myself, "Man, this is starting to look real good already!"
8. Then I shook some chili powder over the mixture and mixed that in too.
9. Next, I crammed the mixture down inside the peppers. Every couple of spoonfuls, I would throw in a couple of chunks of cheese for variety. My fingers got real sticky stuffing the peppers, but it was fun!
10. I put the peppers in a casserole dish and put them in the oven. I brushed the sides of the peppers with olive oil first to keep them from drying out.
11. After about 45 minutes, I took them out again. Then I cut one in half and poured some warm tomato sauce over it.
12. Then I ate it, and it was great!

A tasty beverage!
50% root beer + 50% milk = awesome treat with no meat!

Sweeeeeeet Vegetarian Chili!
- 1 can (19 oz., 540 ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 can ( 19 oz, 540 ml) red kidney beans, or black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can ( 28 oz 796 ml) tomatoes with herbs and spices chopped
- 1 can (10 oz. 285 ml corn kernels, drained
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup liquid honey (optional - I usually leave this out, as I find it plenty sweet already)
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- Sour Cream
- Cheddar cheese, grated

Step 1. In slow cooker, combine chickpeas, kidney beans, tomatoes, corn, carrots, garlic, and red onion. In a bowl combine ketchup, honey, chili powder and cayenne; mix well and pour into slow cooker. Stir mixture to combine.

Step 2. cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 4 to 6 hours, until hot and bubbling. Add green pepper, red pepper, yellow pepper and cook on High for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and grated Cheddar cheese.

You can reduce the honey or leave it out altogether if your prefer (at the potluck, I didn't add any honey). The onion doesn't have to be red and the corn can be frozen instead of canned and added at the last with the peppers.

I prefer bread and butter to sour cream and cheese - but it is whatever you like. You can add an extra can of beans - any kind - to the recipe for added protein.

Chili: but heavier on the beans!
Beans:
- 1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can mixed beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can red beans
- 2 cans beans in tomato sauce

Vegetables:
- 1 can diced tomatoes (or two fresh)
- 2 diced carrots (I don't peel them, but I buy organic; Superstore has good, cheap organic carrots)
- 1-2 diced bell peppers
- 2 stalks diced celery
- a bunch of frozen corn (or 1 can)
- half a medium onion, red or white
- optional diced chili peppers, seeds removed

Seasoning:
- 6 cloves crushed garlic
- some brown sugar or honey
- possibly instant coffee grounds (haven't tried this yet)
- lots of pepper
- other spices (anything hot)

Cooking
Pour some olive oil in a very large pot and turn it to med-high. Cook the carrots and celery for 5-10 minutes. Add the peppers and onion, cooking for a few minutes. Dump in all the cans of beans and the tomatos. Stir. Stir some more. Add the corn and seasoning. Stir again. Leave the temperature on high until it boils, then turn it down to low. Let it sit for three hours, stirring once every half hour or so.

Pizzas somebody had for lunch!
Today's lunch was pretty delicious!

I started with some whole wheat pitas, added some pasta sauce, about half a red onion, some green onions, tomato and broccoli. Chedder cheese on top and I had two mini pizzas that were quite tasty!

Sandwich so good it will put you off meat forever!
I have a great recipe that I have used to convert somebody to vegetarianism, I personally don't like too much veggie on my sandwhich but ,of course, you can adjust to your liking Parmesean "Chicken" Sandwich

- 1 Quorn brand naked chicken cutlet
- 2 slices sour dough bread (or whatever suits your fancy)
- 2 slices tomato
- 3 leafs lettuce
- 2 or 3 teaspoons parmesean ranch dressing
- a pinch of rosemary
- olive oil

Hokay, first get out a cast iron skillet (or whatever I use cast iron cause it fortifies the "meat" with iron) place it on oven and set heat to high pour olive oil onto skillet. When oil starts to bubble place cutlet and rose mary in oil. cook until well browned on both sides. Now just slap that badboy on the bread drizzle dressing over the top (of the cutlet not the bread) lay the tomato and lettuce on and enjoy.

Baked Polenta with Tomato, Fontina and Gorgonzola!
Note: For those not quite so ambitious; use a good quality store bought sauce and the polenta loafs available in most delis. I guarantee you will hardly notice the difference!

- 1½ to 2 pounds of meaty tomatoes or canned whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 TB olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 basil leaves or a good pinch of dried basil
- 2 branches parsley
- ½ yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- Sugar, if necessary
- Salt and pepper
- 1½ cups of coarse cornmeal
- 8 oz Fontina cheese, thinly sliced
- 5 oz Gorgonzola cheese
- Fresh herbs; oregano or marjoram, basil, chopped, for garnish

Make a simple tomato sauce. Warm the olive oil with the bay leaf, basil and basil, parsley, onion and garlic, and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, raise the heat to medium high and cook until they are quite soft and broken apart, about 15 minutes. Pass them through a food mill; then return the sauce to the pan, and simmer until quite thick. If needed, add a pinch or two of sugar to balance acidity and season with salt and pepper. Should make about 1½ cups.

While the sauce is cooking, bring 4½ cups of water to a boil and add 1½ tsp of salt. Whisk in the cornmeal in a stream so lumps don't form, and when it has all been added, switch to a wooden spoon, lower the heat and stir for 15 minutes. Pour into a loaf pan or 9 by 12 baking dish and let cool. When thoroughly cool and firm, turn it out and slice into pieces about ½ inch thick and 3 inches long.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly butter a gratin dish and spread about 1 cups of the tomato sauce over the bottom. Arrange the polenta and the slices of Fontina in overlapping layers. Carefully spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the layers in a decorative way, leaving bands of red sauce between the yellow polenta and the cheese. Crumble Gorgonzola over the top, pepper generously and bake the gratin, uncovered for 25-35 minutes. The cheese will melt into the tomato, making it sauce to spoon over the polenta. Garnish with the fresh herbs.

Breaded eggplant medallions!
WARNING: This recipe contains egg! Therefore, it is not safe for some vegetarians. If anybody has a suggestion on what to replace the egg with, I would be interested to know!

- 1 medium eggplant
- a plate full of flour
- a plate full of raw egg (whisk with fork)
- a plate full of seasoned breadcrumbs
- a big slicing tomato
- provolone cheese

- Slice the eggplant into medallions about 1/3 inch (or 1 centimeter) thick.
- Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray and put on medium heat. (Don't use oil, because the eggplant will absorb a lot of fat.)
- Dip medallions in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. I recommend using your fingers for best coverage, but a fork works too.
- Cook medallions on skillet until just brown on both sides. (About 10 to 15 minutes.)
- When all medallions are cooked, top with tomato slices and provolone cheese. Bake on greased cookie sheet until cheese is melted. OR just microwave for about 45 seconds.

Then eat! They are also good on a bun. Eggplant sandwich! I will say this though: eggplant will fill you up, but it has almost no calories. So you may get hungry again more quickly than you might expect. You can stop this by eating a higher calorie side dish, like pasta, potatoes, or cottage cheese with fruit.

I find that the breaded medallions will keep in the fridge for about week. Just put on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.

That's all for now!
Email me at matthew_bennardo(at the following domain)hotmail.com if you think anything should be changed or added! Bye for now!