Vegan dinner ideas

[Kitteh]

I need something to make tonight, I have to rush off to French class so it has to be quick and I need two portions, one for tonight and one for lunch tomorrow. I'm thinking of trying cauliflower cheeze which I haven't had since I was pregan.

One thing i'm loving at the moment is polenta with pesto and vegan parmesan mixed in

That sounds SO good!

I was on a serious polenta kick for a few months recently. Cutting it into strips and dusting it with paprika and cayenne chili powder, roasting it with olive oil, then eating it with onion hummus. Damn, I'm going to have to buy some later.

YUM!

I've never had polenta...perhaps i will try it sometime....what is it comparable to?

It's yummy and soft but make sure you use enough liquid. My fave polenta is the Polenta Rancheros from Vegan Brunch and the Creamy Grits from Vegan Soul Kitchen.

dense, bland corn bread.

Haha! It can be if you don't add any herbs.

[Barry]

I like polenta! Am I wrong with the description??

No I suppose you're right actually! I keep forgetting to buy polenta and I've had a craving since I saw it in this thread...

[tin_can]

Mmm, polenta...

[MoonDance]

Is polenta nice? I've never tried some.

[tin_can]

Yes! Baked with roasted chilli and tomato sauce and Cheezly (or whatever). Go make some now!

[MoonDance]

Oooh, that sounds lovely! Hahaha! Okay, I will! But not tonight unfortunately. I'm having stir-fry and it's in the process of being cooked.

[tin_can]

ooh, that sounds good too! Can you send some over? Should get here in time for dinner...

[MoonDance]

^ Will do! It was very yum! There was some tofu my mum marinated, bean sprouts, broccoli, courgette, celery, carrot, snow peas, mushrooms and some noodles.

[Blueberries]

I was on a serious polenta kick for a few months recently. Cutting it into strips and dusting it with paprika and cayenne chili powder, roasting it with olive oil, then eating it with onion hummus. Damn, I'm going to have to buy some later.

That sounds amazing!!! I am definately trying that

[Tofu Monkey]

Tonight I had homemade Chickpea and Sweet potato curry

[rwehner]

Burritos! Such a yummy dinner. This is for sure my favorite burrito recipe.

[fondducoeur]

Yum...those burritos sound so great rwehner!

[littlemiss]

I cooked a fab vegan pub style dinner for my omni family the other day so wanted to share.
Dinner was home made potato wedges, beer battered onion rings, aubergine stuffed giant mushrooms, asparagus, green beans and carrots. I also did some quorn which was the only non vegan item. Serve with ketchup and a sauce made from 'mayo', mustard and golden syrup (instead of honey)
For dessert there was sticky toffee pudding, still warm, some choc brownie and some coconut choc icecream I had left over.
They were very happy, I think they expected salad.

[Kitteh]

Sticky toffee pudding!! Sounds delish, littlemiss.

[BlackCats]

I bought lots of mushrooms yesterday so I'm making mushroom risotto for dinner later.

[Barry]

I bought lots of mushrooms yesterday so I'm making mushroom risotto for dinner later.

That's easily one of my favourite meals. I went through a two year risotto period where I gained about a stone in weight!

[Kitteh]

I bought lots of mushrooms yesterday so I'm making mushroom risotto for dinner later.

Save me a bowl

[BlackCats]

The risotto was really nice!

[harpy]

I make a mushroom and rice dish that's quite nice but it isn't really risotto because I use brown rice - so it's more of a pilaff I suppose. To make it a bit special I sometimes add rehydrated dried porcini; you only need a few. (Of course fresh porcini would be even more special!)

[Kitteh]

I want something yummy for dinner. I'm considering burritos, enchiladas or cauliflower cakes.

[fondducoeur]

The cauliflower cakes sound delish!

[Kitteh]

They were pretty good! I baked them instead of frying, added hummus instead of the nut butter and added some coriander too.

[inspiredbykittens]

I made dry-fried tofu with a chile lime glaze and mashed cauliflower last night. Tonight I'm making "meat"balls out of kidney beans to go with spaghetti squash, and homemade spaghetti sauce. Yum!

[Kitteh]

Sounds good, IBK! I made bean balls from V'Con minus the gluten and they were delish!

The other night I made chickpea nuggets, using a modified version of the chickpea cutlets from V'Con, again minus the gluten. They were great with some hot sauce & salad.

[inspiredbykittens]

Mmmm...I thought about chickpeas and imagined them being good bean balls, thanks for the idea! Oooo and chickpea cutlets, sounds scrumptious! I must admit, my dinner was delish tonight. We made garlic/earth balance bread and thought this was the hubby's fave part of the meal, the bean balls were a close second! That says a lot.

Sorry, no pics! We were little piggies. Leftovers, but no pics. Sorry!

[Johnstuff]

For today's lunch I had stir-fry with pasta. The stir-fry was mainly green beans, broccoli, tofu, chick peas, onions with reggae reggae hot cooking sauce and fresh corriander, parsley, chives and basil. Was very nice and I have left overs for dinner tonight

[mmmorgans]

Tofu tacos or burritos. They are super easy and very quick to make. Saute onions & peppers ina pan with olive oil. Once they are softened crumble in extra firm tofu & add taco seasoning. Stir, cover & simmer on low heat. Chop up your veggies, cucumber, lettuce & tomatoes. Make some gaucamole, get your salsa & sour cream. Use soft or hard shells. You could also shred vegan cheese but I think they are just as tasty without it. Easily and under 30 minute meal.

[Kitteh]

Bean tacos are a favourite at our place!

The other day I made black bean sliders with mango sauce & guacamole - they are so gooooood!

And last night I made the BEST leek & mushroom risotto - I used rice cream, button mushrooms, oil, fresh oregano & thyme and no wine or truffles. It was seriously delicious!

[twinkle toes]

this quinoa and butternut squash chilli recipe is nice and really easy to make:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4...li-with-quinoa

[THV]

This is a Rose Elliot recipe that I like... 'Cumin grilled sweet potato'


Cut the sweet potatoes into strips about 3cm (1/4 inch) thick.

Mix together the olive oil, salt, cumin and lime juice to make a paste.

Brush the sweet potato strips on both sides with the cumin paste.

Lay the strips on a grill pan and place under a hot grill for about 5 minutes, then turn the strips and grill for a further 5 minutes, until the strips and slightly crisp and tender.

Serve the sweet potato with wedges of lime.


Tastes amazing!

[twinkle toes]

found another great recipe! well my mum found it and made it for me and then i copied her. but who cares i am sharing it with everybody and that's what's important yep

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes...ecipe_p_1.html

i used butternut squash instead of pumpkin and it tasted really nice, plus didn't use any cloves and didn't put as much garlic as they suggested cus it sounded a bit strong

[THV]

found another great recipe! well my mum found it and made it for me and then i copied her. but who cares i am sharing it with everybody and that's what's important yep

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes...ecipe_p_1.html

i used butternut squash instead of pumpkin and it tasted really nice, plus didn't use any cloves and didn't put as much garlic as they suggested cus it sounded a bit strong

That sounds beautiful... I'm not a massive fan of garlic either so I think I'll stick with your suggestion

[Animosity]

I'm a big fan of making simple & quick meals but healthy and with a gourmet touch.

Tonight I had some left over brown rice and a tin of stir-fry veggies so I decided to make an asian themed meal. I made vegetable fried brown rice with seasame/coconut/ginger tofu and brocolli & sugar snap peas in an asian garlic sauce (ginger, chillis, seasame oil & fresh garlic)

took about 30 minutes and tasted like really amazing chinese take-out at a fraction of the cost. (which is important for someone saving up for college!) not to mention waaaay healthier!

[Tofu Monkey]

I've been having a vegan pizza obsession recently. Nothing beats a large, homemade pizza when I get home from a long, hard day at uni.
Tonight's pizza base came from Mark's and Spencer's new stone baked bases. I topped this with some nice tomato sauce and then; green olives, sundried tomatoes, chestnut mushrooms, sweetcorn, tofu wiener and finished off with a nice load of Redwood's super-melting cheezly.

[Festered]

I make a pizza like base, using water, wholemeal flour, olive oil and herbs, bake that for about 20 minutes then take it out and add home made tomato pizza sauce, stir fried veggies, fake cheese and/or whatever I fancy...

[Hilary]

Hi there,
I love making vegan pizzas, but I get fed up with using fake cheese, and hummous pizza is o.k. sometimes, but I found some great recipes, not just for piza, in a vegan cook book whitten by a Canadian triathalete. It is called Thrive Diet. but it isn;'t some weird diet, it is full of vegan nutritional information whether you are an athlete or not. Some excellent pizza recipes where the protein is in the base. There is no traditional dough. Yes, it is very different, don't try it for the first time when cooking for non-vegans. i think you would like it, there are a variety of reipes to try and some great nut burgers, if you have a food processor.

[Squiggle]

Mmmmmm..... VEGAN MAC AND CHEESE!!! New recipe baking and crisping up in the oven...I'll let you know how it goes

B x

Edited to say : My goodness it's amazing! Feeds an army mind ... Vegan mac'n'cheese...I left out the water for a 'thicker' consistency

[MrWizzle]

Baked portobello mushroom filled with a cashew "cheese", sea salt and breadcrumb mix, with steamed asparagus and a sea salt and rosemary dusted baked potato. YES

[fondducoeur]

That sounds extremely tasty, Mr. Wizzle.

[treehugga]

Mr Wizzle. What does the cashew filling consist of besides cashews?

[grapegirl]

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Usually (especially over weekends or Friday nights) this is easy to make. It is not time consuming, its fresh and crispy.

You can just about put any vegan filling inside these coleslaw leaves. You can also use spinach or lettuce leaves. Make a dressing with blended tomatoes, onions and celery. Mangoes also taste nice inside a raw wrap

[Sidhariel]

Tonight I'm having a salad of arugula, grated beetroot, apple cubes, beansprouts, spicy tofu and roasted pine nuts with garlic-parsley pan fried potatoes

[Risker]

You can just about put any vegan filling inside these coleslaw leaves.

Never heard them called that before, do you mean white cabbage leaf?

[Sidhariel]

Tonight I'm making a peanut curry with sweet potato and bok choy served with white rice

[trinity73x]

tonight i had a mediteranian version of a quesadilla ( with no queso of course) i took a sprouted grain tortilla and spread some of my homemade hummus over it. then i added chopped artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and kalamata olives. i folded the tortilla in half and fried it in just a little oil ( a nonstick pan goes a log way toward reducing the amount of oil). i ate it with a little spinach on the side. it was delicious!

[springtulip]

Yesterday I had pea and mint risotto, which was extremely good (Recipe)

[FaerieSuzy]

I'm doing Yasai Itame tonight for the first time! (like Wagamama's)

If anyone else wants to attempt it :

Itame

Serves 2-3

Ingredients
1 pack of tofu, cut into cubes
1 can of coconut milk
½ pint vegetable stock
1 clove of garlic
2 lime leaves
1 piece of finely chopped ginger
1 packet strip rice noodles
1 red pepper, sliced
1 handful of mushroom, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
3 spring onions, cut into batons
Handful of any other vegetables (ie. Bamboo shoots, bean sprouts etc)
Large handful of coriander
Stick of lemon grass
1 lime
1 red chilli
1 tbsp soy sauce
Vegetable oil

Preparation Method
Drain the tofu. Season with oil, salt and pepper and fry. Leave to drain. Boil the noodles until soft and drain.

Stir -fry the vegetable, chilli and garlic in a wok until soft and set aside.

Combine the vegetable stock and coconut milk in a pan with the ginger, lime leaves, lemon grass, soy sauce, half the lime juice and most of the coriander. Let boil then remove the lemon grass and lime leaves.

Serve in a bowl. Assemble the noodles, then vegetables, tofu and garnish with spring onions and the rest of the coriander. Squeeze the rest of the lime juice on top.

[CoolCat]

Couscous with mushrooms, seitan, four types of sprouts (alfalfa, leeks, red radish, pea), garden crest, witloof chicory and houmous

[Miranda18]

Chipotle Bowl

We love Chipotle's veggie bowls, that we made some of our own!*Serves 4

3 cups brown rice, cooked
2 cans pinto beans
Shredded lettuce
1 16 oz. bag frozen corn
1 green bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 red onion, sliced thinly for sautéing like a fajita mix*
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cilantro bunch, chopped
2 cups salsa, divided
1 avocado, diced (optional)
2 limes, wedged (optional)*

1. Precook the rice since it takes the longest. Heat up the beans and corn in separate sauce pans.*

2. In a medium skillet, sauté the sliced bell peppers and onion together in a little water and add cumin or other spices to make it fajita-like. Set aside.

3.*In 4 individual bowls, layer rice, then beans, bell pepper and onion, corn, avocado, salsa, and pile the cilantro and lettuce on top. Add squeezed lime and any other veggies you like

[Brigetta B]

I made this recently and it got rave reviews even from omnivores. I made one change; I used a chipotle chili seasoning instead of a regular one. The tacos were AMAZING!



The Lentils:


Take one cup of brown lentils (perfect colour!) and pick through them for stones. Wash and rinse them. Then put them in a large saucepan and add water to cover them by just over an inch with 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, covering them loosely with the lid.


Boil until the lentils have softened and there is no more liquid. If you add too much water, you can just strain them into a bowl. Set aside. It makes just over 2 cups.




Next, in a large frying pan, saute:
-2 small onions - finely chopped (about 1 cup)
-4-5 cloves garlic - minced
-1 chipotle chile (from a can with adobo sauce) - finely chopped - optional


Stir this all around until the onions start to brown - about 6-8 minutes


Now add the spice blend (which you can measure out ahead of time in a small bowl and then just sprinkle it in)


-1 tsp oregano
-1 tbsp chilli powder
-2 tsp cumin
-1 tsp ground coriander


Now add a bit more oil and toast the spices around with the onions until your kitchen starts to smell like heaven.


Now add the lentils and 1/2 can tomato paste. Get out your potato masher and mix the lentils and tomato sauce. The soft lentils will yield to this mashing and mix into the tomato paste. It forms a wonderful texture - and the spices and lentils are so tasty. You can add 1 tbsp of your favourite hot sauce if needed. In my case, the adobo did the trick. Since I am feeding the girls, I decided to add more hot sauce right onto my taco. I also added about 1/3 cup of salsa at the end. It gave it some freshness and also loosened it up a bit...definitely recommend a brand called Garden Fresh Salsa...it's found in the deli section of the grocers and is delicious...