Meatless Monday

It's another Meatless Monday. Enjoy!

EXTRA-CREAMY CHOCOLATE-DIPPED STRAWBERRIES

This comes from the January/February 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 56. It begins, “The subtle heat of cayenne pepper and cinnamon add a little kick to this extra-thick chocolate dip. A touch of cream helps the chocolate set in about 15 minutes and eliminates the need for tempering (bringing it to a certain temperature) in order for it to set.” Makes 12 chocolate-covered strawberries in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

4 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate

5 Tbs. heavy cream

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, optional

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional

12 large, long-stemmed strawberries or other dippers

Line baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Fill medium saucepan with 1 inch water, and bring to a boil.

Place chocolate, cream, cinnamon (if using), and cayenne (if using) in nonreactive metal bowl that fits snugly in saucepan over water. Remove saucepan from heat, place bowl on top, cover, and let chocolate melt 3 minutes. Remove bowl from saucepan, and stir chocolate 1 minute, or until completely melted.

Hold 1 strawberry by stem, and dip halfway into chocolate. Gently scrape some chocolate from 1 side of strawberry (to avoid chocolate “foot”), and place scraped side down on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strawberries and chocolate. Chill 15 minutes or up to 24 hours before serving.

nutritional information Per Chocolate-dipped strawberry: Calories: 73; Protein: less than 1 g; Total Fat: 6 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 7 g; Cholesterol: 9 mg; Sodium: 3 mg; Fiber: 1 g; Sugar: 5 g; Gluten-Free

VEGAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

This comes from the February 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times. It starts off, “Melt-in-your-mouth truffles don't need much to make them irresistible, but if you want to jazz up this recipe, try stirring in 2 teaspoons of flavored liqueur, such as Chambord, Frangelico, or Kahlúa.” Makes 40 1-inch truffles.

1/2 cup chocolate soymilk

1 12-oz. pkg. vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

Warm soymilk until hot to the touch. Set aside.

Melt chocolate chips in large metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Stir in warmed soymilk until smooth. Cover, and refrigerate 4 hours, or overnight.

Place cocoa on plate. Shape chilled chocolate mixture into 1-inch balls, and roll in cocoa.

nutritional information Per Truffle: Calories: 45; Protein: less than 1 g; Total Fat: 3 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 6 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 19 mg; Fiber: less than 1 g; Sugar: 4 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

MEATLESS-BALL SUBS

1 package Meatless Balls (see note)

1 26 oz. Jar spaghetti sauce

4 hoagie rolls

cheese slices

Place spaghetti sauce and meatless balls into a good-sized saucepan. Stir, and cook over medium-low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.





Open hoagie rolls, add cheese, cover with meatless balls and sauce.



Makes 4 meatless ball subs.

Note: I use Veggie Patch Meatless Meatballs, though really, you can use any brand you like. I had used another brand for a number of years, but unfortunately, I can no longer find that particular brand anywhere now. Whatever brand you buy is fine, as well as the jarred spaghetti sauce.

SPAGHETTI SAUCE

This recipe, as well as the Vegetarian Lasagna are from my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

28 oz. can tomatoes (note)

2 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste

3 onions, chopped

3 – 5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 T oil

1 T oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. dill

1 tsp. anise

2 T honey

1 T vinegar

1 T soy sauce

1/4 – 1/2 lb. grated cheese

Brown onions & garlic in oil. Add tomatoes, sauce & pasted. Stir. Add everything except cheese & stir. Simmer 1 hour. Add cheese & stir until cheese is melted. Serve over hot spaghetti. Better the next day—if any is left!

Note: I usually use crushed tomatoes. If you’d rather use fresh tomatoes, 6-8 large ones may be used (diced, of course) in place of the canned tomatoes, & add an extra can of tomato sauce.

VEGETARIAN LASAGNA

I’d been making lasagna for years, using a favorite cookbook. One time, my oldest son took the same recipe, and replaced the meat with eggplant. His came out tasting better than when I made it.

I tried recreating the eggplant version, but it never quite came out the same. So, I ended up changing the recipe drastically, changing ingredients and amounts. The funny thing is that, while I use one or two packages of tofu crumbles instead of meat, it tastes enough like meat to fool several non-vegetarians. One person, after eating this, even looked at me aghast, asking, “What are you, some kind of vegetarian?” Never heard from him again.

Tomato sauce:

2 – 3 onions, chopped

3 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz. can tomatoes

2 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste

2 T oil

1 T oregano

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. dill

1 tsp. anise

1 or 2 – 10 oz. package tofu crumbles

Brown onions & garlic in oil. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, simmer for 1 hour. While sauce is cooking, in a separate pot, cook 16 oz. lasagna noodles & make cheese layer.

Cheese layer:

2 C sour cream

2 C cottage cheese

2 eggs

4 C mozzarella, grated

2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 C Parmesan cheese

Mix ingredients together in large bowl.

Assemble:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9” X 13” pan, place half the cooked lasagna noodles length-wise. Top with half the cheese mixture, then half the tomato sauce. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before cutting, as it tends to be a little runny when it first comes out of the oven. Serve with a salad and a loaf of hot Italian bread. Very yummy.

CRANBERRY PIE

This recipe can be found in my e-cookbook Off the Wall Cooking, which is for sale on Amazon.com. (To buy a copy of it for your Kindle or tablet, click here.) My dad sent this recipe in a letter dated “18 No 79”. He wrote, “Here is a recipe for a pie. 1st the way it was in the paper and the way I made it.”

2 T cornstarch

1 C sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 C hot water

1 C raisins

1 T butter

2 C cranberries

Pie crust

Blend 1st four ingredients & cook in double boiler until thick. Add next 3 ingredients & cook 10 minutes. Put in pie shell & bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, covering pie with foil for the first 10-15 minutes. (Crust can be any kind you want, whether double crust or simply a bottom crust.)

VARIATION

2 Tbls cornstarch

3/4 C honey + 1/4 C molasses

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/4 C hot water

1 C raisins

1 T margarine

1 1/2 C cranberries + 1 C canned cranberries (kind with berries in sauce)

Pie crust

Make as above.