Meatless Monday

It's another meatless Monday, which, of course, means vegetarian food. Many long-time blog readers (for this blog, anyway) may have heard me mention that, as a vegetarian (or mostly so), I have an easier time coming up with meatless meals. Add meat, and it seems too easy to fall into the old ways of "meat-starch-and-veggie" dinner. And while that might be fine once in a while (with, maybe, a veggie burger in place of the meat), it still feels stifling.

Okay, so now that that's out of the way, here are today's recipes. Enjoy!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH WHITE BEAN SAUCE

This comes from AccentHealth.com, which helps educate patients. Not a bad site to check out. This recipe makes 4 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

One medium-size cauliflower, cut into three to four, 1-inch-thick whole slices (about 6 ounces per slice), plus remaining florets

4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided

1 clove garlic, minced

One 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup marinara sauce

Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place the cauliflower on the baking sheet, and brush the “steaks” and florets with 2 teaspoons of the oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Roast until lightly caramelized and the cauliflower is almost cooked through, about 18 minutes. Gently flip over each “steak” and floret and brush with 1 more teaspoon oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper, and roast until well caramelized and the cauliflower stems are cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium-size skillet over medium low heat. Add the garlic, and cook 30 to 60 seconds, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant. Mix in the beans, marinara sauce, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through and bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Top the cauliflower with the beans and serve. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 190 calories, 5g fat (1g saturated), 330mg sodium, 28g carbohydrate, 12g fiber, 10g protein, 120% vitamin C, 10% calcium, 15% iron

WILD RICE SALAD

This is also from AccentHealth.com, and makes 8 servings. The recipe states, "One cup of my nutty, crunchy salad has a day’s worth of vitamin C, and it’s also loaded with vitamin A." It can be viewed online by clicking here.

Ingredients

1 cup wild rice

1/2 bunch kale, washed, stemmed, leaves removed and cut into thin ribbons (about 2 1/2 packed cups)

1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice

3 green onions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 celery stalk, trimmed and thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Crumbled feta cheese, optional

Directions

Cook the wild rice according to package directions. When done, drain, place in a large bowl, and stir occasionally until the rice is cooled.

When cool, stir in the kale, bell pepper, green onions, parsley, pecans, cranberries, and celery. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper until well combined. Stir into the rice mixture.

Season with additional lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste and refrigerate until ready to eat. Add feta cheese as desired.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 cup): 150 calories, 12g fat (1.5g saturated), 90mg sodium, 12g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 2g protein, 60% vitamin A, 100% vitamin C

GRILLED SALAD PIZZA

This is from the October 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times. It starts off, "The oven broiler "grills" greens to wilt them into a crisp-tender topping." Makes 1 12-inch pizza.

To view this online, click here.

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. honey

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 small clove garlic, minced (1/2 tsp.)

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 recipe Chewy Pizza Dough (click here for dough recipe)

3 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup arugula

1 cup sliced romaine lettuce

1 head red endive, halved and sliced (1 cup)

1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh fennel

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

Shaved Parmesan for garnish, optional

To make Vinaigrette:

Whisk together vinegar, honey, mustard, and garlic. Whisk in oil, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Let rest 30 minutes.

To make Pizza:

1. Prepare Chewy Pizza Dough, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Place pizza on middle rack in oven, and preheat oven to 350°F with pizza in oven. Once oven reaches 350°F, bake 25 minutes, or until bottom is crisp and brown. Remove from oven, and adjust setting to broil.

2. Brush crust with 3 Tbs. Vinaigrette. Toss arugula, lettuce, endive, fennel, and onion with remaining Vinaigrette. Top pizza with arugula mixture, and place under broiler 2 to 3 minutes, or until greens begin to wilt. Serve garnished with Parmesan curls.

nutritional information Per Slice (1/8 pizza):Calories: 254; Protein: 3 g; Total Fat: 12 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 36 g; Cholesterol: 2 mg; Sodium: 344 mg; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 4 g; Gluten-Free

BLACK BEAN AND CHILE POSOLE

This comes from the March 2014 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 69. It starts off, "The garnishes for this hearty Mexican stew make for a fun meal that lets everyone at the table customize their serving according to taste. STORE/SERVE: Ladle cooled posole into two 2-quart containers, and refrigerate three days or freeze up to three months. Thaw, if necessary, then warm in saucepan over medium heat until just beginning to simmer. Serve with garnishes." Serves 8.

To view this online, click here.

Posole

2 4- to 5-inch dried pasilla chiles

2 medium leeks, white and light green parts cut into 2-inch chunks

2 Tbs. olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 15-oz. cans white hominy, rinsed and drained

2 15-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

Garnishes (optional)

4 cups plain tortilla chips

2 small avocados, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

4 green onions, chopped

2 limes, sliced into wedges

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

hot sauce

To make Posole: Place pasilla chiles in large bowl, and cover with 3 cups boiling water. Let soak 15 minutes, or until softened. Drain chiles, and reserve liquid. Pull open chiles, and gently scrape out and discard seeds. Purée chiles in food processor with 1/4 cup reserved soaking liquid. (Press purée through sieve if bits of skin remain, and discard solids.) Stir chile purée into remaining soaking liquid.

Halve leek chunks, and thinly slice into matchsticks.

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat. Add leeks, and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano, and sauté 1 minute. Add hominy, black beans, tomatoes with juice, chile liquid, and 6 cups water; cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes.

Place Garnishes (if using) in bowls; pass around table when ready to serve.

nutritional information Per 1 1/2-cup serving (without garnishes): Calories: 176; Protein: 6 g; Total Fat: 5 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 32 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 588 mg; Fiber: 8 g; Sugar: 5 g; Vegan

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.