clever veggie recipes :)

[foxytina_69]

does anyone here have any clever ways of cooking different veggies? (so far, the only veggie ideas i have are schezwan beans and roasted balsamic peppers) :D

[Mystic]

OMG I know what you mean - All I do is have salad or stir fry or I steam/bake/roast veggies - I am too lazy to make them flavoursome - except on Stirfry I make a sauce from tamari, lime juice and tabasco :p

[veganblue]

Italy. Cannolini with spinach and faux-feta filling

I get the instant cannolini tubes but you can also use fresh pasta or lasagna sheets rolled into tubes.
Crumble firm tofu into a large bowl with blanched finely chopped spinach, tahini, miso, tamarind paste (or lemon juice), a little bland stock powder and pepper. Fill tubes by piping or spooning, and arrange in a baking dish with a bottle of your favorite pasta sauce spread across the lot! Bake for about 25 mins or until the pasta has softened.

India. Pea and potato curry

Fry onions till transparent with potatoes then pour over coconut milk with stock powder/ seasoning and favorite curry paste. Cook on low heat until potatoes are soft, add peas (I use frozen) and heat till peas are warm. Serve on rice with chopped coriander, papadums (microwaved) and mango chutney.

Mexico. Frejole wraps.

Cook red kidney beans until soft, add crushed garlic and favoured mexican spice and mash thoroughly. Throw onto warmed burrito's with fresh lettuce, avocado, tomato and whatever takes your fancy. I like dry fried thick mushroom and onion slices with cucumber slivers.

Japan. Kombu miso soup / wakame salad / Tempura

Boil kombu with dried shitake mushrooms and nori strips. Flavour with a dash of mirin and rice wine vinegar. Season to taste with miso. Cubes of tofu are nice, but place them in the soup towards the end. Gaarnish with chives and a sprinkle of red chilli rings if you are game...

Rehydrate wakame and slice thinly. Mix with fresh lettuce, fine cucumber sticks, spring onions and freshly toasted sesame seeds.

Heat corn oil till quite hot. Dip fresh vegetable and mushroom chunks into tempura flour or potato starch. Dip into chilled tempura mix* and fry quickly. Use tamari as a dipping sauce, thinned with a little water.

Some ideas from recent meals :)

[Roxy]

Wow veganblue - that's very International of you!! I love the sound of all of that and should attempt to give it all a go. Italy sounds like it might be my favourite! :D

[Kiva Dancer]

Mexican is one of my favourite cusines.

Take half-moon sliced onions, capsicum (bell peppers) and whatever else suits you into a hot skillet pan. Add cumin, garlic, cayanne pepper, mexican oregano (leave it out if you can't get it) and toss round until fragrant. Serve on cooked tortillas with tomatoes, lime-squeezed avocado, and either lettuce or raw spinach. Sometimes I'll make a pico de gallo or a thick guacamole for that wrap. Slivers or cucumber or raw jicama with chili powder dusted on makes it oh so lovely.

Or do a 7layer burritos "knockoff" with brown rice (spice that water well before putting your rice in to cook), spinach or any other raw green on hand, tomato, refried beans, vegan cheese(s), and vegan sour cream. Vegan cheese is really to find here so I leave that out and it's still quite yummy.

Enchiladas with slivered veggies rolled in warmed corn tortillas that are placed seam-side-down in a baking pan and covered with yummy vegan enchilada sauce are oh, so good. If you can't find any canned sauce in the stores, you can make some yourself. Recipes are all around and most are easy veg'd. I make a really thin salsa to go overtop mine cause I love my salsa.

If you've got some beans cooked, place a nice amount on a softened corn tortilla. Just enough to cover, not enough to "drown" it. Add vegan cheese if you've got it or tomatoes, onions and avocado if you don't. Top with that thin salsa or enchilada sauce. Stack another tortilla on and repeat. 3 layers worth of that and you have a meal. If I'm feeling extra fancy, I'll put in random veggies in it, too. Not traditional, but so good.

Not wanting Mexican? No worries.
Cook a whole potato, open it and mush up the flesh well. Add heated random veggies and some heated up beans. Mash again. Top with cheeze sauce, cheeze slices or nutritional yeast - whatever suits your fancy.

Clean and chop any and all veggies you want. Onion, carrots, turnips.. whatever you like and have around. Place in a stockpot and cover with flavoured water (I cover it very well). Bring to a light simmer and simmer until the veggies are done, but not mushy. At the last minute or two, add corn kernals and cook through some more. Serve with crusty vegan garlic bread and a mixed greens salad with loads of raw veggies.

Got a grill going? Just about everything can be grilled and often I do but if it's not possible, thickly chop everything you like into a baking dish but don't chop it too thick. I love onions, potatoes, celery, turnip, parsnip but whatever you like will work, too. Drizzle with olive oil and dust with whatever spices you like. Don't forget the garlic. :) Roast until done and enjoy over rice.

Chef salads are the best way of getting in the raw veg, too. Canned beans, drained and rinsed with any raw veg you love. Top with a yummy dressing, spicy salsa or olive oil and squeezed lemon. I love black olives on mine and a sprinkling of nuts when I have them, too.

I've got loads more but I can't think of them right now. :)

[veganblue]

Wish I hadn't just eaten the polenta not-quiche; those sound delicious!

[Kiva Dancer]

Thank you. :)

Polenta not-quiche sounds delicious, too.

[foxytina_69]

thank you vegan blue and kiva dancer.

kiva, i have been eating alot of things like that with corn shells but people keep telling me im not eating enough veggies/fruits on the what did you eat today thread, so ive been trying to stay away from corn shells.

i was thinking of more simple recipes with just veggies, rather than a mix of things.

[Kiva Dancer]

Ah, sorry about that tina. I've had tortillas on the mind cause I'm craving mexican foods. :o

But I digress. Rice & veg, quinoa & veg, barley & veg, millet & veg are another favourite of mine. I have no real recipe; it's just whatever I'm in the mood for tossed in a sautee pan and sautee or stirfry then serve it over a bed of grains. I like to spice up the grain water so my grain will be flavoured that way, too. Frozen veggies are a good way of getting in a variety of veggies all at once (fresh is better, yes but frozen is faster if you're pressed for time). Mostly I'll toss some beans in for protien, but you can use tofu too. It's very simple food and very fast once the grains are cooked.

[veganblue]

i was thinking of more simple recipes with just veggies, rather than a mix of things.

Hmmm - I have some great vegan recipe books - maybe if you suggested some vegies you like and a list of ones you don't like but would like to eat if there was a better way to eat them and we could make some specific suggestions?

Do you like spice? curry? plain? sweet? sour? fragrant? fresh and crunchy? :)

[Mystic]

I used to make a pumpkin and spinach curry that I forgot about...

- 1/2 pumpkin, cubed
- 100g baby spinach leaves
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1cm grated ginger root
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- chilli, salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry onion, garlic and ginger (and chilli) in olive oil, until fragrant. Add the garam masala.
2. Add pumpkin and cover with 2 cups water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until the pumpkin is soft (but not too soft).
3. Add the seasonings and the spinach, and cover until the spinach has wiltered (but still bright green)
4. YUMMY :p

I also make potato and leek soup, just by boiling potatoes in enough water just to cover, then add a sliced leek. I season it plainly with salt and pepper and puree it so it is nice and thick

[foxytina_69]

Hmmm - I have some great vegan recipe books - maybe if you suggested some vegies you like and a list of ones you don't like but would like to eat if there was a better way to eat them and we could make some specific suggestions?

Do you like spice? curry? plain? sweet? sour? fragrant? fresh and crunchy? :)

i love green beans, peas, brussel sprouts, leeks, spinach, basically any green vegetable. i like carrots, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, tomatoes. i dont really like squashes that much.

i really like asian type foods, sweet, sour, fragrant, spice. i dont really care for curry all that much.

the thing is is that im watching my calorie and fat intake and since vegetables are so low in calories, theyre great to fill up on but i dont like them raw that much, so im looking for some simple ways to cook different veggies that arent too high in calories. (i love candied carrots, but with the butter and sugar they are too much for me)

[Mystic]

Tina check out my pasta sauce recipe (http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=35669#post35669) - I know you wanted a plain veggie thing, rather than something to put over pasta, but maybe if you reserved the liquid it could be a soup?

[Mystic]

I ended up trying to make a fresh tomato soup - here is the recipe:

- 1 onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2kg fresh, ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 bunch basil, chopped
- 1 bunch oregano, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onion and garlic (in olive oil or dry fry it if you want fat free, but it tastes better with olive oil), until it is fragrant. Add the tomatoes, and 1.5 litres of water or vegetable stock.

2. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook on low until the tomatoes have stewed. Add the chopped herbs.

3. Drain the tomatoes, but keep the liquid.

4. Begin pureeing the soup, adding liquid until you reach the desired consistency. I like it to be thicker. Puree until it is smooth, or you can leave it chunky if you want. I like it to be very smooth.

5. Season to taste, and re-heat. Makes 6 - 8 serves

[Kiva Dancer]

OMG! YUM! I was looking for a good tomato soup recipe that didn't call for tofu. Thanks! :D

2kg is about 4 pounds, am I right?

Would you happen to know if this would freeze well?

[Kim[ba]]

2kg in pounds (http://www.google.com/search?q=2+kg+in+pounds&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official)

[JasonsPsyche]

Get a steamer! If you mix up a bunch of cut up veggies like potatoes, squash, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, onions, peppers, etc. you can get them to blend their flavors without adding sugar or fat. Put the softer, more flavorful veggies (like onion and pepper) on top and the hard ones (carrot and potato) on the bottom so that the juices drip down. Steam until the bottom veggies are tender (30 minutes or so). Then you can make up your own toppings. One of my favorites is to drizzle this with mustard dressing on one side, tahini on the other and a splash of vegan worstechire in the center.

[Mystic]

Would you happen to know if this would freeze well?

Yes it does :p

[piggy]

This may be a little late...but reading through you guys' recipes got me hungry and thinking

If I just want to load up on veg quick and simple without all the carbs and legumes, I use 3 basic methods:

1: Steam/cook veggies until tender. This works best for cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, carrots, green beans, peas, zucchini, brussels sprouts, potatoes etc...
Dice the veggies if neccessary.
Pour over some extra virgin olive oil and vinergar juice, salt to taste, and 2 or 3 biggish bits chopped off a garlic clove. (I usually use vinegar, but you could use lemon juice, especially for spinach)
The longer you let this stand, the better it gets, as the veggies absorb the flavouring.

I love my veggies, and I hate the way people tend to think of them as only a side dish, to be eaten only in small amounts. So I make huge amounts of these at any time.
If you're worried about keeping fat out of your diet, you can reduce the amount of olive oil, but anyway, eaten in this way, without actually heating the oil, I really don't think it's going to harm you.

2: Maybe slightly unhealthier, but very yummy: Cube raw veggies, put in an oven proof dish. Add a little bit of water and olive oil, finely chopped onion/garlic/both and salt.
Put in oven, and mix every now and then. This works well for any of the following or a combination of them: Bell peppers, zucchini, potatoes, aubergines (in this case take care to discard the part with the pips in it.) It'd probably work for most other veggies too.

3: Slice veggies and roast them under grill. You can do this with or without oil, I prefer to add the oil after roasting, along with some vinegar, salt, garlic and chopped fresh parsley. I love doing this with pumpkin, zucchini (should work well for any of the marrows/squashes/pumpinks), peppers, aubergines, fennel bulbs...

[pat sommer]

pig knows her vegies. I have just spent a year in Beijing and it openned up the possibilities. anyone want chinese mix veg recipes? there aren't any! Each veg is enhanced with barest of seasoning and dotted with a foil- a contrast or underscore. Very Italian sensibility! My favorites are celery and macadamia, spinach and apricot kernel, Asparagus lemongrass capers, mushroom and smoked tofu, thick slices of aubergine (eggplant) with bits of soy-jerkey.

I love making a buffet selection of veg at its simple best whether chinese, Italian, fusion etc

[pat sommer]

its piggy, sorry :o

[Tigerlily]

I like to "steam" mine in a wok with soy sauce and broth:

Spray on some non-stick cooking oil spray on the wok
Add a few tablespoons of veg broth (depends how much veggies you are having)
Add the vegetables
Few dashes of soy milk
Cover the wok, cook on medium-high heat for a few minutes
Remove the lid, stir to prevent sticking
Put lid back on, cook some more on a lower heat
Cook until desired tenderness

:D

[Princess_Ava]

I am absolutely addicted to roasted cauliflower :
Just break the cauliflower up into small florets, toss in a little olive oil, sea salt and pepper, spread on a cookie sheet and put it in a 400 degree oven until it gets a little browned on the edges - YUM! :)

[treehugga]

Does anyone have a recipe for mango cheesecake? I am going to try and make it using silken tofu and also soya milk and agar flakes.

Would anyone know a trusted recipe and has anyone tried to make a cheese cake using soya milk? Does it set well? Do you need to bake it? :)

[pat sommer]

Think how you would like the cakes finished texture to be. Light mousse/ baked riccotta dense. I go for dense, mostly, using firm tofu and accentuate the texture with semolina (cream of wheat) as my thickenner. Soymilk is only used to the extent of keeping ingredients moving while blending or in the case of silken tofu, to initially soften agar.

How "cheesy"? tofu takes more acid and sodium to be believable than most healthy-recipes call for. I love tamarind paste for tartness and don't stint on salt. Umeboshi vinegar also works well as an acid. The fermented flavour of cheese is easy if you have access to a chinese (maybe thai) shop: fermented beancurd (white not red best). These slimy cubes come in a glass jar and keep unrefridgerated a long while. just one cube really gives a whole cake savoury depth in contrast to the creamy sweetness. Alternatively, the most delicate flavoured yeast-flakes and miso can play a background note.*

Richness can be added with raw macademia nutbutter or raw tahina or raw almond etc. these with also thicken the cooked mixture to a degree.

Baking is a possibility but as agar sets as it cools, I find simmering while stirring the filling in a heavy-bottom pot allows me to evenly heat without risk of over-browning. Same method for semolina; I can then sprinkle in incrementally till desired stiffness. Seasoning can be tweeked in the process (remember that after cake is chilled it will seem much less sweet). Don't allow to cool before pouring out into pie shell!

Mango: topping or incorporated? on top, boiled strained apricot jam can hold ripe slices in place with just a thin glazing. In filling, mango should be firmer to hold up to cooking and be chopped small. Spices that are sympathetic are cardamon safron clove coriander nutmeg possibly lemon or ginger. Sniff the spice and make a personal judgement what suits.

Tried and True recipe would be misleading as tofu (other than silken) will vary
in its density/water content. Evaporation will vary in cooking. If the flavour is good the rest is cross-your-fingers:)


*for 8 oz firm tofu, 1 tsp each nutritional yeast and light miso