My wife’s a vegetarian and I’m a picky eater who, among other things, hates mushrooms (hi @purplehorseshoe!). But we have a lot of meals in our rotation that I love.
Cacio e pepe with roasted broccoli
Eggplant parmesan
Matar paneer
Crispy tofu pad thai
Broccoli stir fry with black bean sauce (often with tofu)
Peanut noodle stir fry
Various version of fried rice
Black bean tacos
Black bean quesadilla
Other veggie tacos and quesadilla. Crispy baked cauliflower mainly.
Zucchini butter pasta
Lots of other pasta variations
Lots of pizza variations, though we make several small pizzas, so one of them is always meaty
Socca and roast cauliflower
Veggie burgers
Falafel
Saag paneer
tarka dal
chana masala
Definitely a carnivore here, but we often have a delicious panzanella in rotation, particularly during tomato season - it’s kind of a pain in the ass to make, but it is so delicious.
We’ve also been having Beyond Meat fake burgers, which are pretty great with the right toppings. As simple as cooking a burger.
A nice, big green salad with falafel as the protein is also lovely and super easy.
It doesn’t feel like dinner if there isn’t meat, veggies, a carb (pasta, potato, rice, stuffing), and (usually) a bread.
Though, during corn season, if I can get my mitts on some really fresh Silver Queen corn we have been known to sit down with a huge pot of corn and just eat that until we’re stuffed…
I occasionally make my gf mildly upset because I specifically do not follow that pattern. Why can’t dinner be four small meat courses, or many vegetable courses, or a big plate with five petite piles of carbs? (I’ve done all those)
I imagine for the same reason a friend once responded with when I inquired into why he insisted on having some version of dessert with every dinner. “Because that’s how it’s done!”
He was raised that way as a kid - every dinner with discrete courses, followed by dessert. And despite being very Bohemian/punk as an adult he could never shake that early programming. Every dinner MUST end with something sweet.
Sure- we have several pasta dishes that are basically pasta and cheese or pasta and vegetables that we eat fairly often. I don’t think they’re quite “recipes” in the sense of anything written down, but they probably started that way.
There’s also a black lentil/urad dal dish that my wife makes occasionally, and she also makes saag paneer on occasion as well, especially when the garden is yielding a lot of greens (“saag” means “greens”, so it can be more than spinach).
So we do vegetarian dishes periodically- more often than red meat anyway. Less often than pork or chicken though.
Yes, but not with deliberate intent. Just a few things I like that happen to no include meat. Mac & Cheese as a meal, fettuccine Alfredo, penne with a tomato cream sauce, grilled cheese, pancakes, waffles, egg & grits. But I guess breakfast doesn’t really count in much in the entertaining people field.
A few. There are some quick and easy ones I use as sides or an entree, and some elaborate ones that I trot out on holidays. I like meat but have always had vegetarian friends or family and learned to like the Moosewood Cookbook.
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Generic pastas with canned tomatoes (usually Italian and Mexican flavor). Let’s just say I’m basic.
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I like to buy those vegetarian Trader Joe pouched Indian dishes. Also their aloo chaat. And their veggie samosas. When we eat at Indian restaurants I almost always get something vegetarian.
I’m likely to just toss some butter and a bit of garlic on pasta for a quick meal.
Hmm, speaking as a carnivore, i find that sort of meal intensely unsatisfying. I have the same issue when my husband makes pancakes (other than for breakfast.) It tastes good. I feel full. But i feel like I’m missing something, and i continue thinking about food.
I snack a lot, so a quick butter and garlic pasta meal might be followed by microwaved pot stickers a few hours later. Or maybe cereal and milk. If I just want to eat once it has to be something hearty like chili with meat or tater tot hot dish.
