A Little Vegetarian

October 12th, 2008

Since Matthew’s been gone I realized that I don’t really need to cook meat. Like ever. Once I got back from Florida I decided I’d try to eat as little meat as I possibly can for a few different reasons. One, I don’t really like it, Two, its expensive and Three, Its not that great for you. Can I go meatless? – Yes of course. Am I 100% ready to give up my Mom’s chicken soup or Matthew’s grandmas roast on occasion, not so much.

So I have been doing a bit of experimenting to see if I can get a few more vegetarian dinners into the repertoire.

Dinner #1: Lentil Barley Soup
I read about 15 recipes for Lentil Barley Soup before just going for it.

Its basically this:

2 carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 medium potatoes
8 cups of veggie stock (or chicken if you want. I used non-chicken broth)
3/4 cup barley, 3/4 cup lentils
Sautee the onion, celery and carrots until cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

I enjoyed the soup but will try this recipe again with the addition of spices. It was chock full of protein and really hearty. I just didn’t LOVE it.

 Dinner #2: Vegetable Fried Rice

Holy crap the veggie rice was the best thing I have ever made on the first try. The. Best. Thing. Ever.

Vegetables
Rice
Shallots
Garlic
1 Egg

Cut up any veggies you want. I did 1 carrot, 1/2 a zucchini and 1/2 a broccoli because that is what was in the house. Throw them boiling water for 3 minutes.

Take 1 chopped shallot and 2 cloves of garlic, sliced into a pan with a tiny bit of vegetable oil

Add splash of soy sauce to color, after they’ve cooked a bit add the veggies and a little more soy sauce.

Move that whole mess to 1 side of the pan and add a scrambled up egg on the other side. Once that is cooked (30 seconds) chop it up and mix it in with the veggies

Dump 2 cups of cooked rice into the pan, add more soy sauce and stir it up.

Eat yummy deliciousness for dinner, then save the rest for lunch. It is that good.

 
Dinner #3: Veggie BLT and Salad

I wasn’t really in the mood to cook so I thought I’d just make a huge salad. At the store I came across soy bacon and bought a package to make fake BLTs. 

I put the bread into the toaster and by the time it was ready so was the facon. I sliced up the yellow tomatoes I picked up at the far mar then made a big old salad to go with it. The entire meal took about 4 minutes to prepare and was very delicious, it totally hit the spot. Anyone who is scared of facon, get over it. You’ve be eating swine with no problem. Try the fake stuff, its different but tasty.

 

 

Tags: recipe

Entry Filed under: At the stove