Vegan recipes

Cafe Society
1

My best friend is vegan, and she comes over for dinner at least once a week, but after six months of that I’m running out of ideas. I constantly make these things:
[ul]
[li]Three pepper (red, green, yellow) fajitas with refried beans[/li][li]Vegan chili (I’ll post the recipe for this later, as it is really damn good.)[/li][li]Lentils and carrots[/li][li]Red/black beans and rice with salsa[/li][li]Vegan pizza with (vomit!) vegan plasti-cheese, which is somehow more horrible than American cheese product[/ul][/li]
I’ve been looking for recipes online, but a major obstacle I’m working with is that my friend doesn’t like tofu or really spicy things. She doesn’t like the lentils’n’carrots all that much, but she’s not much of a cook so she doesn’t have any ideas for me. And honestly? The reason she comes over for dinner once a week is because I know she eats basically rice and mashed potatoes for lunch and dinner the rest of the week, as she lives on campus and dining services has a heavy hand with the butter and cream with basically everything else.

So, ideas? Recipes? I know there are vegans out there and you have tasty recipes.

2

Look into Asian/Indian recipes. I have been to some terrific meals which used no dairy, eggs or meat.

3

I’ve been leaning that way, but a lot of the recipes I’ve seen have gone, “Now throw some tofu in there and add some chile oil!” I’ll have to be pickier.

Here’s the vegetarian chili recipe:

1 tbsp oil
1 large chopped onion
1 tsp/clove minced garlic
2-4 tbsp chili powder
1 diced red pepper
1 diced green pepper
1 each medium diced zucchini and yellow/summer squash
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 14 1/2-oz can undrained stewed tomatoes
1 11-oz can drained corn with peppers and onions
1 15-19 oz can rinsed and drained black beans
1/4 tsp salt

For vegetarians: sour cream and Cheddar cheese for garnish

Directions: Heat oil in soup pot over medium. Add onion, garlic and chili powder; cook until onions are softened. Add red and green peppers; cook until softened. Add squashes, oregano and cayenne pepper, and cook five minutes. Add tomatoes; cook 10 minutes. Stir in rest of ingredients, cook until heated through. Serve with rice and desired garnishes. Serves 8 normal people, or two very hungry college girls for lunch and dinner.

Less than 150 calories per serving, with the sour cream, and unbelievably good.

4

You could make a pretty wide variety of yummy pasta dishes.

5

That was my first thought.

Also salads and tons of different types of soups. I like the Moosewood cookbooks, they have plenty of recipes and just about everything is vegetarian or vegan. Go to any good bookstore and look in the “Cookbook” section, you’ll find many veggie cookbooks.

One more thing, try throwing some sliced mushrooms into your chili. They add a great meaty texture (when I’m making chili with meat I use a little beef and a bunch of mushrooms).

6

A few years ago, I actually made two versions of an entire Thanksgiving dinner to accommodate some vegan friends. I of course no longer have the recipes because they’re no longer vegan (they just couldn’t live without cheese), but I remember the stuffing I made (and didn’t put in the bird, naturally–because we didn’t have a bird as I don’t trust myself to cook one without killing everybody) included vegan-approved bread, carrots, raisins, chopped apples, and I used apple cider instead of broth. It was delicious.

7

I’ve probably posted this recipe here half a dozen times already, but it is QUITE tasty and fits your needs:

Pasta e Fagioli
Boil a pound of ditalini or chilimac or small shell noodles according to package directions, but instead of draining off all the water, drain only enough that you leave about a half inch over the noodles. Add a can of Great Northern Beans, a large can of tomato paste, a can of petite diced tomatoes, a handful of chopped fresh parsley (dried will do in a pinch), and as many minced garlic cloves as you like. Stir it all thoroughly to distribute the tomato paste throughout that “broth”. For vegans, you’re done. For those who will eat dairy, throw on a lot of parmesan cheese.

Other ideas:
Roasted root veggies - carrots, potatoes, butternut squash (not a root, but the right consistency), rutabagas, sweet potatoes, and so on: cut it all into chunks, toss it in a ziploc bag with Italian dressing or just some olive oil and garlic and/or rosemary, spread it all out in a roasting pan and roast at about 375F until everything is soft and yummy.

I also have a soup recipe somewhere that uses the above, pureed and thinned with apple cider, veggie broth and with roasted garlic (see below) stirred in (actually, that’s the recipe right there, pretty much) to make soup. Very yummy with cornbread, incidentally.

You can also roast whole heads of garlic - cut the top off and drizzle olive oil in, wrap in foil and roast 'til soft, then squeeze the cloves out to spread on bread or to mix with the above roasted veggies. When I do the roasted veggies, I usually put in sliced mushrooms and onions, too.

Mushroom marsala - sautee sliced mushrooms and onions in margarine (there’s vegan margarine, I think, or soy butter - or I don’t see any reason you couldn’t use oil) til most of the liquid is absorbed, pour in a cup of marsala wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Spoon over noodles or broiled polenta (you can buy premade polenta in rolls, just slice it, spray it with a bit of cooking spray and broil it a couple minutes on each side, til the edges get crispy.)

Vegan taco filling: A can of black beans, a can of petite diced tomatoes, a can of corn (drained.) Heat through and season as desired - with cumin, taco seasoning packets, chili powder, whatever. I serve this as taco filling, or on baked potatoes.

Roasted cauliflower: same as the roasted veggies above, just separate a head into small florets, toss with some oil and seasoning, roast til crispy. I use a mild curry powder (jarred) for this, but garlic powder or dried herbs would work, too. Or roast asparagus - yummmmmmmmm.

You can pile a bunch of pan-sauteed veggies on baked potatoes or noodles.

Veggie sushi? If you master the rice and the rolling, you can fill the rolls with just about any crispy, thin-sliced vegetables - carrot, cukes, avocado, bean sprouts, scallions, etc.

I’ll keep thinking!

8

These are both recipes from the Original Moosewood Cookbook, which I highly recommend.

Tabouli is excellent, esp. in summer, and is vegan. You can put it in a pita and garnish with tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, whatever you like, for a meal.

Mushroom Barley Soup can be made with margarine and vegetable stock to be vegan.

9

Here are some of my favorites:

Orange Ginger Tofu Stir Fry

I know you said she doesn’t like tofu, but the marinade is so good, maybe she would like this? You can always omit tofu and just make a veggie stir fry (or maybe marinate some portabello mushrooms?)

1 lb tofu
1 cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup shoyu
2 tbs canola oil
2 tsp dark sesame oil
3 garlic cloves
1 tbs minced fresh ginger
¼ tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 scallion
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno
5-6 mushrooms
1 orange pepper
1 carrot
1 broccoli crown
1 onion
snow peas

In a medium bowl, wish together orange juice, vinegar, shoyu, oils, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes.

Place tofu in a baking dish in a single layer, cover with the marinade and sprinkle with the scallions and cilantro. Chop jalapeno and sprinkle on top. Marinate at least 30 minutes (up to over night).

Stir fry tofu with remaining ingredients and serve over brown rice.
Quinoa Sweet Potato Quesadillas

1 cup quinoa, washed/drained (use brown rice if you can’t find quinoa)
1 large sweet potato/yam
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (I used more)
1 14 oz can of tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained
1 can green chiles
2 tbs minced cilantro
Some low fat cheese (omit for Vegan friend or sub soy cheese)
Whole wheat, low fat tortillas
Salsa

Cook quinoa in 2 cups of water. When done, set aside (use brown rice or whole wheat couscous if you can’t find quinoa).

While the quinoa is simmering, I cut up the sweet potatoes into small pieces (dice sized) and spray a cookie sheet with PAM. I bake the potatoes for around 20 minutes (shaking often) until they are soft and getting crispy. (if I don’t have time, I nuke them for 5 minutes!)

Saute onion, garlic. Stir in tomato (crushed, with juice), black beans, chiles, cilantro. Add quinoa, potatoes. Season with salt and pepper (I added some red pepper flakes, because i like spicy). Stir and heat through.

Put in tortillas, add some cheese so it sticks together (if desired), grill on both sides. Top with lots of salsa.

Curried Vegetables

1 sweet potato, cut into small cubes
2 tbs olive oil
Carrots - I cut baby carrots in half, use about a cup
1 onion - cut into big wedges
Garlic - I use a freakish amount, whatever works for you
2 14oz cans of tomatoes, crushed with juice
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 heaping tablespoons curry powder
1 cup veggie broth
juice of one lime
salt, pepper
Veggies of choice - I’ve used green beans, broccoli, wilted spinach, parsnips (whatever floats your boat)
Brown rice

This dish isn’t hard to make, just lots of chopping. I like to call it “every 15 minute curry” because you have to add something every 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Cut up potatoes into small, dice-sized pieces. Coat a deep metal baking pan with PAM and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the potatoes (of course, it’s better with MORE oil, so let your health choices be your conscience, I use a little less right now because I still have 9 lbs to lose!). Stick in the oven for 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are baking, cut up carrots and onion. After 15 minutes, take the potatoes out and give them a good shake. Scootch the potatoes to the edge of the pan and put the garlic, carrots, onion and chickpeas (and any veggie you are using you think will take a little longer to cook, like green beans) into the middle of the pan. Drizzle some more olive oil and stick it in the oven for 15 minutes.

Dump the tomatoes into a large bowl, crush them up and add the two heaping tablespoons of curry powder (of course, if you don’t loooove curry like I do, use a little less).

Start the rice. I usually make 1 cup rice/2 cups water for 2 people.

Take the veggie mixture out of the oven, shake things up a bit. Arrange the broccoli around the rim of the pan (and any other veggies you have left that you think will cook in 15 minutes) and dump the tomato mixture all over everything (particularly the broccoli because it really soaks it up and gets DELISH). Stick in oven for YES 15 minutes.

Make broth.

After 15 minutes remove curried vegetables from oven and transfer them to a huge serving bowl.

Put the metal baking pan on the burner, add the broth and the lime juice and salt and black pepper to taste. Reduce the broth by half, stirring vigorously. When the broth has reduced by half, pour over veggies. Serve them over rice!

Charcooked Vegetables with Spicy Sidekick Dressing

Grilled Veggies

1 red pepper
1 orange (or yellow pepper)
2 zucchini
4 corncobs
1 eggplant
olive oil
*
Spicy Sidekick Dressing*

1 tbs olive oil
crushed garlic (I use a lot)
1 small onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 small green chile, seeded and finely chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 inches of cucumber, finely chopped
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs lime or lemon juice (I usually use a little more)

Dressing

To make the dressing, heat the oil in a saucepan or skillet. Add the garlic and onion and saute gently until softened, around 3 minutes. Add the celery, chile and tomatoes, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

Add the cucumber, tomato paste and lemon/lime juice and simmer for 8-10 minutes until thick and pulpy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Veggies

Cut the veggies into thick slices and brush with a little olive oil. Cook the vegetables on the grill for about 5-8 minutes, sprinkling them with salt, pepper and fresh herbs as they cook, turning once (under the broiler in the oven is okay too).

This dish is delicious served over brown rice with lime wedges to squeeze.

Spinach Chickpea Leek Soup

This is SO good and so fast and easy to make - makes plenty for several days. Great to make on a Sunday and eat all week.

1 tbs olive oil
2 leeks, sliced thinly (circles)
1 zuchini, chopped
minced garlic (I use tons)
2 14 oz cans tomatoes
small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
3 3/4 cup veg broth
1 14 oz can chickpeas (gabanzo beans) drained
block of frozen spinach (thawed, drained)
1 tbs oregano
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh parm cheese for topping (omit for Vegan friend)

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, add leeks and zucchini and cook briskly for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaf, vegetable broth, chickpeas and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.
Shred the spinach finely, add to the soup and boil for 2 minutes. Season to taste. (the longer it cooks on the stove, the better it is). Remove the bay leaf, sprinkle with parmesan cheese (if desired).

Red bean and corn pita pockets

1 tbs olive oil
small onion, chopped
garlic, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 14 oz can tomatoes, undrained
1 cup corn
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
salt, pepper
whole wheat pita pockets

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, add the onion, garlic and pepper, saute gently for 10 minutes. Add cumin and cayenne.

Mash in the tomatoes with their juice, cover and cook for 10 minutes, then add the corn and the kidney beans. Cook gently for a few minutes until hot. Season to taste with salt/pepper.

Warm the pita pockets in oven or microwave. Cut them in half lengthwise, gently open each half and fill with the red bean mixture and serve at once.

Also good with other vegetables and cheese (if appropriate).

Soft Polenta with Spicy Tomato Sauce

1 quart water
1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups minced onion
1 large portobello mushroom, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans tomatoes (14 oz)
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups chopped green onions
Parm cheese, grated (optional)

In a small bowl whisk together 2 cups water with the cornmeal, quinoa and salt. Bring the remaining 2 cups water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Stir the cornmeal mixture into the boiling water, and continue stirring. Be careful! The polenta may spit and sputter and the hot bits of polenta can burn. Turn the heat to very low and cook the polenta for 40 minutes; stirring with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes.

Make the tomato sauce while the polenta cooks: Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the onions. Cook the onions for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until they have softenened.

Stir in the chopped mushrooms and the garlic, saute for 5 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, sherry, chili flakes and oregano. When the sauce comes to a boil turn the heat to low. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

When the polenta has cooked for 40 minutes sprinkle the green onions and grated cheese into the polenta. Stir well. Mound the polenta on plates, make a well in the center of each mound and ladle in the tomato sauce. Garnish with some cheese (if desired).

Spicy tomato sauce with fresh basil and veggie crumbles

3 cans 14 oz tom
1 can 12 oz tom paste
1 onion, diced
garlic (I use TONS)
1 tbs olive oil
Sun dried tomatoes
Fresh Basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Whatever else I feel like - black olives, mushrooms, carrots, zuch
1 package MorningStar Farm Crumbles
Salt
Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Splash of red cooking wine
whole wheat/spinach pasta

Saute onion/garlic for 5 minutes until translucent. Add veggie crumbles, dried oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes. Brown the veggie crumbles - stirring often.

While the veggie crumbles are browning, put 2 cans tomatoes (with juice), tom paste, fresh basil and half the sun dried tomatoes into a food processor - blend until smooth.

Put the tomato mixture over the crumbles and stir.

Put the last can of tomatoes into the food processorand pulse until the tomatoes are chunky. Throw these in with the rest.

Add the rest of the sun dried tomatoes and any other additional veggies. Add a splash of red cooking wine. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over whole wheat pasta.

10

Spinach and rice bake… drool

2 x packs froz spinach
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 cup rice
grated soy cheese
garlic to taste
salt and pepper to taste

defrost spinach and mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into an oven safe bowl. Top with filo pastry (optional) Bake in a hot oven (200C) for 45 mins

Serve!

Even better with feta cheese but that is optional.

11

Re: tofu - it IS possible your friend doesn’t like tofu because she’s not had it prepared “correctly” (and by that I mean “in a way she likes”). I was anti-tofu for quite some time, but found a cookbook called Vegetarian Classics, by Jeanne Lemlin, that detailed a way to cook tofu that I have come to LOVE.

The trick is pressing the water out of the packaged extra-firm tofu, slicing it, and then pressing it between layers of paper towels until it feels nearly dry on the surface. Then marinate it - the recipe she gives is temari soy sauce, sesame oil and vegetable oil, and I add ground ginger and garlic powder to that. (I sometimes use Worcestershire sauce instead of the temari, but if I’m not mistaken, Worcestershire isn’t vegan.) Drain the marinade off after about half an hour - though you can marinate as long as 24 hours in the fridge - and then pan fry it in a little vegetable oil until it’s brown on all sides.

When I plan to add tofu to stir-fries and whatnot, I make the tofu like this and then set it aside while I do the veggies and sauce, then throw the tofu back in at the last minute, just to heat it through. This seems to keep it from getting mushy.

12

My friend doesn’t like tofu because of the texture. She’s had it prepared several ways – in soup, in stir fry, as a meat substitute – and there’s something about it that turns her off. She drinks rice milk over soy milk, so I think there might be a flavor component to it, too. I happen to like tofu, but I don’t have a lot of texture problems when it comes to food.

Thanks for all the ideas and recipes, guys! Especially the spinach soup and the spinach and rice bake. I’m kind of crazy for spinach, and my friend is too. And the veggie sushi. And, um, everything really. I don’t have an eye yet for figuring out what makes a good vegan recipe. My first impulse to make something better is to put cheese on it, and that doesn’t work so well for vegan cooking.

13

I was gonna go home and snag the recipe for a slightly different vegan chili (the holy grail recipe in my house), but I had the sense to google it, and indeed I found it! Yay! This stuff is very spicy and is absolutely delicious. Sue made this for gatherings and got everyone addicted to it. I just made this a few weeks ago. Drool.

http://serf.org/~jon/soc.bi/food/vegan-curry.html

14

Will she eat seitan? Seitan is a good meat substitute for things like chili or stirfry. You can buy it at a coop - sometimes in the natural foods section of a grocery store. It has sort of a chewy texture and nutty taste.

I do this one with tofu - but I think it would be good with garbanzo beans or another mild bean.

Pasta and Thyme

Boil ziti noodles.
Steam asparagus (cut bite sized)
In a pan, cook your protein (I’ve done chicken and tofu - as I said, I think garbanzo beans will work) in olive oil with a bunch of thyme.

Don’t drain. Pour the very thymy olive oil and protein over the noodles. Add the asparagus. Toss.

15

Cook’s Illustrated had a recipe for minestrone a while ago which is already vegetarian and can be made vegan by omitting a Parmesan cheese rind. I made it for a get-together of friends back in December and a vegetarian friend has asked me to make it twice since then. I could e-mail you my version of it. I’ve also considered making a batch of it and freezing single-serving portions of it for my father.

They’ve also done a recipe for vegetable broth. I haven’t tried it yet, but their recipes have almost always worked well for me, and I think there’s a recipe in the latest issue which is either vegan or easily adaptable for vegans. Cooking Light also has a section in every issue dedicated to vegetarian cooking.

16

Perhaps she should try tempeh instead. You can get several varieties of it - I like the kind that has grain mixed in. The texture is much more firm and toothsome and it can be used in any recipe that calls for tofu. I don’t like tofu either, but tempeh is the shizznit.

17

Mmm…I usually hate sweet potato and that sounds delicious.

18

When making pasta dishes, be sure to check the label carefully, as many pastas contain eggs. I’d recommend trying Trader Joe’s line of Brown Rice pastas – Ingredients: brown rice & water. Barilla also makes pastas that use no dairy products, so that’s a good choice, as well.

You may find some recipes you and your friend would enjoy in this thread. And I’ve posted this recipe before, but I’ve adapted it here to make it vegan-friendly. . .

Toasted Spinach Sandwiches

Ingredients
[ul]
[li]1 (10 oz) package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed[/li][li]½ cup finely chopped celery[/li][li]2 tbsps minced green onions (can use chives, as well, for a slightly milder taste)[/li][li]¼ cup vegan mayo[/li][li]¼ cup plain vegan yogurt[/li][li]½ to 1+ tsp hot sauce (use your favorite, add to your own taste – a little for a mild tang, more for a spicy kick)[/li][li]½ tsp garlic powder[/li][li]½ cup shredded soy cheese (can be omitted)[/li][li]8 slices of your favorite bread[/li][li]vegan margarine or cooking spray[/ul][/li]
Instructions
[ul]
[li]Squeeze the water out of the spinach while still in the box, until barely moist.[/li][li]Combine spinach, celery, green onions (or chives), mayo, yogurt, hot sauce & garlic powder in a medium bowl; stir well.[/li][li]Spread mixture evenly over 4 slices of bread, cover with a layer of cheese and top with remaining bread slices.[/li][*]Brown sandwiches on a griddle coated with margarine or cooking spray. [/ul] These sandwiches, together with my Butternut Squash Soup recipe posted in the other thread, is a favorite meal in our house.

19

I definitely agree with always checking labels carefully, but just FWIW I’m pretty sure vegan pretty much is the norm for pasta, or at least for Italian pastas (as opposed to egg noodles and such).

20

I have had good luck at http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe

You can select “Vegan” for the recipe type and you can put in whatever ingredient you want to use and search their recipes. I just put in “tomato” and came up with 22 pages of Vegan recipes. The first page includes:

“Creamy” Broccoli Soup
“Hamburger” Helper on Polenta
“Pissaladière”
“Salsa Verde” Yellow Squash Sauté
A Little Stew of Corn and Mushrooms
Alaskan Tomato Soup
All-Blueberry Pie
Almond Cream
Alsatian Tempeh Casserole
Amber’s Spicy Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Stew
Angel Hair with Broccoli, Lemon and Miso
Anise-Almond Biscotti
Apple-Rhubarb Crisp
Apple-Walnut Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
Artichoke and Sweet Potato Gratin
Arugula and Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Asian Chopped Salad
Asian Ginger Dressing
Asian Noodles with Edamame in No Time
Asian Pear Salad with Fennel and Pistachios
You can click on any of those for the recipe - that should get you started!