Meatless Monday

If it's Monday, it must be meatless! Here are some more yummy meatless meals. Enjoy!

SPARKLING LEMONADE

As hot as summer gets, what's better than a refreshing lemonade? This if from Vegetarian Times' June 2014 issue, page 33.

Serves 8

The acidity of the lemon juice slows the yeast activity for this soda, so start it about a week before you plan to serve it.

1 cup sugar, plus more if desired

1 pinch salt

2 cups fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp. champagne yeast

Bring 1 cup water to a boil in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add sugar and salt, and stir to dissolve both. Cool, then stir in lemon juice.

Pour juice mixture into clean 2-liter soda bottle using funnel. Top off bottle with water, leaving at least 1 inch headspace. Taste, and add more sugar if desired. (Extra sugar will dissolve on its own.)

Add yeast to juice mixture. Screw on cap, and shake bottle to dissolve and distribute yeast. Let bottle sit at room temperature away from sunlight 5 to 7 days, or until lemonade is carbonated. Check bottle periodically; lemonade is ready when bottle feels rock-solid with very little give.

Refrigerate overnight, or up to two weeks. Open bottle very slowly over 
sink to release pressure gradually and avoid bubble-ups. Store in refrigerator.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving:

Calories: 111; Protein: <1 g; Total Fat: <1 g; Saturated Fat: <1 g; Carbohydrates: 29 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 18 mg; Fiber: <1 g; Sugar: 27 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

STRAWBERRY ITALIAN ICE

Cool off with this icy cool dessert. From Vegetarian Times' September 2004 issue.

Serves 6

Here’s a cool, fat-free and refreshing treat.

1 16-oz. pkg. frozen strawberries, well-drained, or 1 qt. fresh strawberries, hulled

1 Tbs. lime juice

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice

4 cups ice cubes

Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Place a metal 10-inch cake pan in freezer. Combine strawberries, lime juice and evaporated cane juice in a food processor, and blend until cane juice has dissolved. Add ice, and blend until smooth.

Transfer strawberry mixture to cake pan, cover and freeze until frozen around edges but still soft in center, about 1 hour. Stir mixture, spoon into dessert cups and garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 99; Protein: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 24 g; Sodium: 6 mg; Fiber: 1 g; Sugar: 22 g; Vegan

WATERMELON GRANITA WITH MINT AND LIME

From the July 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times'.

Serves 4

Watermelon lovers go wild for this dessert: Freezing watermelon juice with a sugar syrup intensifies the fruit flavors.

1/3 cup sugar

1 small fresh mint sprig

1 2-inch piece lime zest

2 1/2 Tbs. lime juice

3 lb. watermelon, cut into chunks

Combine sugar, mint, lime zest and 1/3 cup water in small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook 1 minute, or until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat, and cool. Strain, and remove mint and zest.

Purée watermelon in blender or food processor. Strain liquid. You should have about 2 cups juice.

Combine watermelon juice and lime juice in large bowl. Add sugar syrup and stir to combine. Pour into 9×9-inch baking tin, and freeze 45 minutes. Stir with fork. Continue to freeze 3 to 4 hours, stirring every 1/2 hour to fluff crystals and prevent granita from turning solid. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until dessert time. Scoop into bowls with fork or small spoon, and serve.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 100; Protein: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 26 g; Sodium: 1 mg; Sugar: 24 g; Vegan

LEMON-BLUEBERRY SCONES

From Vegetarian Times' May 2005 issue.

Makes 16 scones

30 minutes or fewer

Scones, like biscuits, are most tender when handled minimally. So use a soft touch when mixing and patting the dough. The scones can be made the night before, left unbaked and refrigerated. They can go straight from fridge to oven; just add 5 minutes to the baking time.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. low-fat buttermilk

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup dried blueberries

Milk for brushing tops

Granulated sugar for tops

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease baking sheet. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Mix buttermilk, zest, vanilla and egg in medium bowl. Stir in dried blueberries. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Pat into 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out dough. Form scraps into more scones. Place 1/2 inch apart on baking sheet. (If making ahead, stop here, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate.) Brush tops with milk, and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until tops are lightly browned.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 270; Protein: 5 g; Total Fat: 5 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 48 g; Cholesterol: 40 mg; Sodium: 330 mg; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 16 g

SUPER MEAT SEITAN MEAT SUBSTITUTE

This is from Jolinda Hackett, About.com's vegetarian blog. Jolinda writes, "A super meaty tasting seitan recipe that you can add to stir-fries, Chinese food recipes, vegetarian sub sandwiches or just gobble up right out of the pan. The combination of ingredients may seem a bit odd, but the salty soy sauce, tangy vinegar and sweet barbecue sauce all combine for a really meat-like flavor in this vegetarian and vegan seitan recipe."

Ingredients:

Approx 1 pound seitan, sliced into strips or bite-sized chunks

2-3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp barbecue sauce

1-2 tbsp water

Preparation:

Sautee seitan in oil over medium-low heat until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Add soy sauce, stirring to coat seitan well, then add vinegar, barbecue sauce and a tablespoon or two of water, stirring to mix well and coat seitan.

Heat for 1-2 more minutes, until water is absorbed and seitan is cooked.

REDUCED-FAT VEGAN SWEET POTATO PIE

Also from the vegetarian blog. Jolinda Hackett writes, "It's classic. It's old-fashioned. It's vegan (if you use vegan margarine instead of butter and use a vegan pastry crust), and it's a reduced-fat and dairy-free dessert. What's not to love about this sweet potato pie recipe?"

Ingredients:

Pastry crust for a 9-inch double crust pie (make sure it's vegan, if necessary)

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2-1/4 pounds), peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon butter or cold vegan soy butter or margarine, cut into pieces

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare a pie plate. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one layer of the pastry, then set aside.

Combine one cup of water and the salt in a large saucepan. Add sweet potatoes; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are just barely tender when pierced with a fork, about 5 minutes.

Drain sweet potato slices and rinse with cold water until cool to touch. Drain the sweet potatoes well then transfer them to a large mixing bowl.

Add white sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, flour and pumpkin pie spice to the sweet potatoes and toss gently with a spatula until slices are evenly coated. Spoon sweet potatoes into prepared pastry-lined pie plate. Dot the top of the sweet potatoes with butter or vegan margarine.

Place the top pastry over the filling and crimp top and bottom pastries together to make a sealed decorative edge, then cut three or four small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

Bake the pie in oven until crust is browned and sweet potatoes are tender when pierced, about 50 minutes. If edges of crust start to brown too quickly, drape lightly with strips of foil.

Cool pie on wire rack at least 1 hour. Sweet potato pie can be served warm or cool.

Try it with a whole wheat pastry crust.