Meatless Monday

For anyone who checked last week and realize that Wednesday and Friday were missing, I apologize; it was one of those unavoidable things. In the meantime, here are some vegetarian recipes to try for Meatless Monday. Enjoy!

GREEN CURRY STIR-FRY WITH CASHEWS

This is from the April/May 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 75. It starts off, “Cashews are a classic in stir-fries. Here, they’re sprinkled over a medley of mushrooms and green beans.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

1 Tbs. peanut oil

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1 12-oz. pkg. sliced mushrooms

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger

1 lb. green beans, cut into thirds

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 Tbs. light coconut milk

1 1/2 Tbs. green curry paste

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. low-sodium tamari sauce

1/2 cup roasted salted cashews, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms, and season with salt, if desired. Cover, and cook 6 minutes, or until mushrooms begin to brown.

Uncover pan, stir in garlic and ginger, and sauté 2 minutes. Add green beans and raisins, and stir-fry 3 minutes.

Whisk together coconut milk, curry paste, lemon juice, and tamari in small bowl. Add curry mixture to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 2 minutes, or until sauce has thickened. Garnish with cashews and cilantro.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 277; Protein: 9 g; Total Fat: 14 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 37 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 483 mg; Fiber: 6 g; Sugar: 19 g; Vegan

BANANA-MAPLE CASHEW PUDDING

Also from the April/May 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 73. It starts off, “Dress up this quick dessert as shown with cashew pieces and caramelized banana slices. To prepare bananas, sprinkle with maple sugar and sauté 
2 to 3 minutes over medium-high heat, or until browned and glistening.” Serves 4.

To view this online, click here.

2 bananas, cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups Cashew Cream (recipe follows)

3 Tbs. pure maple syrup

1 Tbs. orange juice

1 pinch salt

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth.

nutritional information Per 1/2-cup serving: Calories: 246; Protein: 6 g; Total Fat: 12 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 42 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 19 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

CASHEW CREAM

From the same page and issue of Vegetarian Times as the Banana-Maple Cashew Pudding. It starts off, “For raw and vegan recipes, cashew cream is the preferred substitute for cheese, cream, and sour cream. Here’s how to make a 3-cup batch, which will keep in the fridge for up to one week.” Makes 3 cups.

To view this online, click here.

2 cups raw cashews

8 cups boiling water

Cover 2 cups raw cashews with 8 cups boiling water in large bowl. Cover with clean kitchen towel, and let stand 6 to 8 hours. Drain cashews, then blend in blender with 1/3 to 1/2 cup cold water 5 minutes, or until smooth and thick, like sour cream.

nutritional information Per 2-Tbs. Serving: Calories: 53; Protein: 2 g; Total Fat: 4 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 3 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 2 mg; Fiber: less than 1 g; Sugar: less than 1 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

JAPANESE CURRY WITH EDAMAME

I can go weeks without posting a recipe with curry in it, and today, there are two. Such is life. This one comes from the March 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 66. Serves 6, and can be found online by clicking here.

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 large onion, diced (2 cups)

3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch-thick half moons (1 1/2 cups)

2 1/2 Tbs. curry powder, such as S&B

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

3 2/3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed (2 cups)

1 small apple, peeled and finely grated (1/2 cup)

3 Tbs. ketchup

1 Tbs. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbs. miso paste

1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Sauté onion 7 to 9 minutes, or until starting to brown. Add carrots, and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and garlic, and cook 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add broth, potatoes, apple, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and miso; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Add edamame, and simmer 5 minutes more.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 179; Protein: 7 g; Total Fat: 4 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 318 mg; Fiber: 6 g; Sugar: 11 g; Vegan

STOVETOP VEGETARIAN ORZO AND SPINACH SKILLET DINNER

From Jolinda Hackett, about.com's Vegetarian food expert. She writes, "This is a super easy one-pot complete vegetarian meal using pre-cooked orzo, canned chickpeas, fresh or frozen spinach and topped off with optional crumbled feta cheese, if you're not eating vegan. If you need a quick meal but don't have orzo on hand, you could try using this recipe with instant rice or even another whole grain that you have handy. Couscous would also be super quick, but orzo would be better. This recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free, and, if you omit the feta cheese, it's vegan as well."

Recipe courtesy of Bush's® Beans.

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 5 minutes; Total Time: 20 minutes; Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (16 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained

1/2 cup cooked orzo

1 lemon, juiced

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped or 12 ounces frozen, thawed and squeezed to drain

salt and pepper

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until almost clear, about 5-6 minutes. Add the beans, cooked orzo, lemon juice and spinach, stirring to combine well.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow to heat for 4-5 minutes until spinach has cooked through and everything is heated and well combined.

Serve topped with feta cheese.

Makes four servings.

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.