Meatless Monday

It's time for another Meatless Monday, where we get to explore at least one day without meat.

Of course, if you're already a vegetarian, you know how healthy, yummy, and simple going meatless can be. (And yes, there are plenty of ways to get protein into your diet without eating meat!)

If you'd like to explore a few more vegetarian recipes, check out my vegetarian blog, Vegetarian Delights. Lots of yummy food to try!

That said, here are today's six vegetarian recipes to help you through the day, including Coconut Layer Cake and Mesa Grill's Southwestern Potato Salad. Enjoy!

EASY VEGAN PEANUT COOKIES

Who doesn't love homemade cookies, hot from the oven? This yummy recipe comes from Being Vegan, and begins, “So you eat a plant-based, vegan, healthy diet and you just need to have a cookie! Commercial baking can be a real let down for vegans, so why not just break out the mixing spoon and make your own homemade vegan peanut butter cookies! This recipe is super easy and super tasty!”

This can be viewed online here.

Get your ingredients together:

3/4 cup natural peanut butter (smooth)

1/4 cup margarine, soft

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter

1/3 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon applesauce

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup quick oats

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Bake your cookies!

Preheat the oven to 350.

In one bowl cream the peanut butter, margarine, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and lemon juice together and mix until light and smooth.

In a separate bowl combine the cornstarch, flour, oats, baking powder, and salt together.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, adding the almond milk a little at a time until you have a nice soft dough.

Drop 3″ balls of dough on the cookie sheet and press with a fork.

Bake 8-10 minutes, until cookies are firm but not brown.

Remove your cookies from the baking sheet and cool on a cooling rack. Enjoy with a big tall glass of cold almond milk!

MESA GRILLL’S SOUTHWESTERN POTATO SALAD

This is from Bobby Flay of The Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Total Time: 35 min; Prep: 20 min; Cook: 15 min; Yield: 8 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/mesa-grills-southwestern-potato-salad-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups prepared mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chipotle pepper puree

1 large ripe tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

3 scallions, chopped, white and green parts

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

16 new potatoes, about 3 to 4 pounds, cooked, drained and sliced 1/2-inch thick

Directions

Combine all the ingredients, except the potatoes, in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place warm potatoes in a large bowl and pour the mixture over potatoes and mix well. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste.

COCONUT LAYER CAKE

This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This impressive and wonderfully moist layer cake is less sweet than the usual coconut affair, thanks to a tangy cream cheese frosting on top and dose of orange juice in the batter. This is a great dessert to make in advance. You can bake the cake layers up to 3 days ahead and store them, well-wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator. The frosted cake will keep for 2 days in the fridge as well, either under a cake dome or overturned bowl, or loosely tented with foil. Just make sure to bring the cake to room temperature before serving.” Yield: 8 to 12 servings; Time: 2 hours, plus cooling.

This was featured in “A Sugar Rush, Not Crush”, and can be viewed online here.

Also, to find more layer cakes, click here. Also, check out Melissa’s guide, “How to Frost a Cake”.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs, separated, plus 3 whites

1 1/2 cups cream of coconut

1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk

2 tablespoons coconut or dark rum

7 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

For the Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups cream cheese, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

7 1/4 cups/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar

2 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted

Preparation

Make the Cake:

Grease 3 8-inch cake pans and dust with flour. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and reserve. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add 3 egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl with spatula. Lower speed and gradually add flour mixture. Batter will be thick and pasty.

Whisk together cream of coconut, coconut milk, rum and orange juice. Alternately add shredded coconut and the orange juice mixture to the batter.

In the clean bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 6 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack. Unmold cakes once cool.

Make the Frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, scraping down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix until combined and fluffy.

Spread 1/4-inch-thick layer of frosting on top of the first layer of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Place next cake layer on top and repeat with frosting and coconut. Repeat with the third layer, spreading frosting on top and around sides of cake. Hold cake steadily in one hand and use other hand to pat remaining coconut onto edges of cake.

PAELLA PRIMAVERA

This comes from page 40 of the March 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times. It begins, “Who needs a paella pan? A large skillet stands in for the wide, shallow two-handled cookware in this quick veggie-laden version of the classic Spanish rice dish. Just like its pasta namesake, Paella Primavera lends itself to endless variation. You can substitute zucchini for broccoli in the summer; in the fall, replace half the broccoli with cubed butternut squash.” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

2 1/2 tsp. olive oil

1 red bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)

6 green onions, thinly sliced (1 cup)

3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

1 tsp. crumbled saffron threads

1 cup short-grain white rice, such as Valencia

3 cups broccoli florets

1 cup fresh or frozen baby peas

1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes

12 pitted green olives, halved

12 pitted black olives, halved, optional

1 lemon, cut into wedges

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper and green onions; cook 5 minutes. Stir in broth, garlic, and saffron; bring to a boil. Sprinkle rice over ingredients, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, 10 minutes.

Sprinkle broccoli, peas, tomatoes, and olives over rice. Cover, and cook paella 8 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and let rest, covered, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

To serve, spoon paella into 6 bowls, and garnish each with lemon wedges and parsley.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 211; Protein: 5 g; Total Fat: 3 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 40 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 170 mg; Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 5 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

LATE SUMMER MINESTRONE WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND FRESH CORN

This comes from page 61 of the September 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “Bright, beautiful, and bursting with veggies, this colorful minestrone is a great way to stretch the harvest.” Serves 6.

To view this online, click here.

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup sliced leeks

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 tsp. salt, optional

4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)

1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage, or 2 tsp. dried sage

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 bay leaf

2 large tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped (1 cup)

2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (3/4- to 1-inch cubes)

2 cups green beans or flat beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 15-oz. can or 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/2 tsp. balsamic vinegar

2–3 Tbs. chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish, optional

Heat oil in 5-qt. Dutch oven or other large soup pot over medium heat. Add leeks, celery, bell pepper, and salt, if using. Cover, and cook 6 to 8 minutes, or until veggies are softened, stirring occasionally. Uncover, and continue cooking 5 to 6 minutes more, or until celery is somewhat shrunken and leeks are browned.

Add garlic, sage, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Stir 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and 8 cups water, and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes. Add squash, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Add green beans, white beans, and corn; simmer 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, stir in vinegar and mint.

nutritional information Per 2-cup serving: Calories: 185; Protein: 7 g; Total Fat: 5 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 130 mg; Fiber: 9 g; Sugar: 7 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

STRAWBERRY-PEACH COOLER

Yield: 2 servings

Serving size: 1 cup

Source: The Diabetes Snack, Munch, Nibble, Nosh Book

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/737.shtml

Ingredients

1 cup dry-pack unsweetened frozen strawberries

2/3 cup dry-pack unsweetened frozen peaches

3/4 cup orange juice

Directions

In a 2-cup measure or similar microwave-safe bowl, combine the strawberries and peaches.

Cover with wax paper, and microwave on high power 45 seconds to 1 minute to thaw the fruit slightly. The fruit should be icy but not hard.

Working with a small knife in the measuring cup, cut each peach slice in half.

Transfer the peaches and strawberries to a blender container.

Add the orange juice. Blend on low power to combine. Then increase power to high and continue to blend until the peaches are completely pureed, at least 1-1/2 minutes.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 105; Protein: 2 g; Sodium: 2 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Dietary Fiber: 3 g; Sugars: 23 g; Carbohydrates: 26 g; Exchanges: 2 Fruit