Meatless Monday

If it's Monday, it must be meatless. Enjoy!

BANANA PUDDING

From the January/February 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 48. It starts off, “Coconut milk beverage adds a hint of sweet flavor to this classic dessert.”

1/3 cup raw cane sugar

4 Tbs. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

3 cups coconut milk beverage, such as Silk, divided

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 very ripe bananas, sliced

48 vegan vanilla wafer cookies

Nondairy whipped topping for garnish, optional

Place sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan, and gradually whisk in coconut milk. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until thickened, whisking constantly. Stir in vanilla, then banana slices.

Line bottom of 11- x 7-inch baking dish with 24 cookies. Spread hot pudding over top, making sure bananas are submerged to prevent browning. Top with remaining 24 cookies, cover with plastic wrap, and cool. Refrigerate until cold. Top with whipped topping (if using).

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 216; Protein: 2 g; Total Fat: 6 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 41 g; Cholesterol: 4 mg; Sodium: 113 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 23 g; Vegan

BAKED SWEET POTATOES AND APPLES

This came from a Go Red For Women email. Go Red For Women strives to teach women about heart disease. Check it out, especially if you're a woman, have a woman relative, etc. Very educational...and you may just help save a life.

This recipe serves 8 (1/ 2 cup serving) and can be found online by clicking here.

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices

2 medium sweet apples, such as Rome Beauty or Gala, peeled, each sliced into 10 wedges

3 tablespoons light tub margarine

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 1 1/2-quart glass casserole dish with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon.

In the casserole dish, layer in order half each of the sweet potatoes, apples, and cinnamon-sugar. Dot with about half the margarine. Repeat.

Bake, covered, for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and apples are soft.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 101; Total Fat 2.0 g; Saturated Fat 0.0 g; Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g; Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g; Cholesterol 0 mg; Sodium 61 mg; Carbohydrates 21 g; Fiber 3 g; Sugars 14 g; Protein 1 g; Dietary Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fruit

THE CRACKED SANDWICH – HUMMUS, AVOCADO, AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO

This is from One Green Planet, and starts off, “...[T]his is one of my favorite go-to meals. It's fast, super easy, and most importantly, DELICIOUS! The best par?! There's absolutely NO COOKING involved!” This recipe is dairy-free, healthy, and vegan.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 slices toasted bread or sprouted bread

hummus

1/2 large avocado

sun dried tomatoes

arugula

fresh cracked pepper

Preparation

Toast bread.

Spread each piece of toast with 1/ 4 of an avocado. On top of avocado, add smear of hummus. Next, add varinated veggies (sun dried tomatoes). Sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper and top with spice greens like arugula.

Eat this as an open faced sandwich or bring the 2 slices together and enjoy as a tranditional sandwich.

Note: Feel free to use different greens, veggies, flavors of hummus, marinated veggies, etc.

ROASTED SQUASH AND APPLE CHOWDER WITH COLORFUL POTATOES

This is from the October 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 76. It starts off, “Puréed roasted butternut squash provides the creamy base for a hearty chowder. If making the chowder ahead, prepare the recipe through step 3, then assemble and reheat just before serving.” Serves 8.

2 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (6 cups), divided

3 medium apples, peeled and diced (3 cups), divided

2 large leeks, white parts cut into 1-inch chunks (1 cup), plus 1/2 cup thinly sliced leek greens, divided

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. pure maple syrup

1 lb. multicolored potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

1/2 cup apple juice

1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine 5 cups butternut squash chunks, 2 cups diced apple, leek whites, oil, and maple syrup in large bowl, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread squash mixture in single layer on prepared baking sheet, and roast 30 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Cook potato chunks and remaining 1 cup butternut squash in boiling, salted water 5 to 7 minutes, or until just tender. Drain, and set aside.

Purée roasted vegetables in blender until smooth. Add purée and apple juice to large soup pot with 4 cups water. Whisk in vinegar, and heat over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Add boiled potatoes and squash, remaining 1 cup diced apple, and leek greens, and simmer 5 minutes, or until hot.

nutritional information Per 1 1/4-cup serving: Calories: 162; Protein: 3 g; Total Fat: 2 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 36 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 12 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 12 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

ROASTED GREEN BEAN BUNDLES

This recipe comes from the November 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 58. It starts off, “These individual bundles of seasoned, roasted green beans will impress guests and make serving a cinch.” Serves 8 in 30 minutes or less.

This can be viewed online here.

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed

1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 Tbs. garlic-flavored olive oil

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. salt

1 pinch ground black pepper

Lemon slices, for garnish, optional

Hawaiian salt, black salt, or fleur de sel, for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and red onion, and blanch 3 minutes. Drain, then pat vegetables dry with paper towels.

Whisk together oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Add beans and onion slices; toss to coat.

Group beans and onion slices into 8 bundles (about 10 to 15 beans each), and tie each bundle with 8-inch piece of kitchen twine. Place bundles tie side down on prepared baking sheet. Bake 7 to 10 minutes, or until bean ends begin to brown. Flip bundles with spatula so tie side is up, and bake 7 to 10 minutes more, or until all bean tips are brown. Transfer bundles to serving plate, and garnish with lemon slices and Hawaiian salt, if using.

nutritional information Per Bundle: Calories: 35; Protein: 1 g; Total Fat: 2 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 4 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 80 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 2 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

CREAMY RICE PUDDING

Maybe ten years ago, this recipe was in several issues of Vegetarian Times in ads for Mahatma Rice. I'd lost track of the recipe, which I'd made several times for a certain someone who loved homemade rice pudding. I had to admit, it was definitely worth the time it took to fix it.

1 1/2 quarts 2% milk

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Mahatma rice (see note)

1/2 cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Note: The recipe called for Mahatma, Water Maid, Carolina, or River rice.

Combine milk, sugar and rice in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (The milk should just barely simmer, with bubble breaking only at the outside edge of the surface. After an hour, the rice should be soft.)

Add raisins, increase heat to medium heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until rice has absorbed most of the rest of the milkl, but not all, and the pudding is creamy (about 30 minutes longer).

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. When cool, pudding will thicken, but will still be very creamy. Serve warm or well chilled. Serves 8.