Category Archives: vegetarian

roasted brussels sprouts

Posted on by

If you had tracked me down when I was in my 20s and asked me if I liked brussels sprouts, I would’ve wondered aloud whether you were crazy.  But I can’t actually tell you if I’d ever eaten brussels sprouts.  When I did finally try them, it was roasted, and I discovered how fantastic they are.  I’ve since had them boiled to within an inch of their life, and understand why people who have only ever experienced them that way would think that they’re horrible.

This recipe is so simple that it doesn’t feel like it should count as a recipe.  But sometimes the simplest recipes are the most perfect ones.  I’ll sometimes just have these roasted sprouts for lunch because they’re so good.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound brussels sprouts
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Cut the brown ends off of the sprouts and remove any yellow leaves.  If they’re large, quarter them; if medium, halve them; if small, leave them be.  Put the sprouts in a bowl, and toss with the olive oil and salt.  Spread in a single layer on a large roasting pan.  Roast for 40-50 minutes, shaking halfway through to evenly brown them.  The sprouts are done when they’re crispy brown on the outside and tender on the inside.

mushroom lasagna

Posted on by

I took an even-longer weekend, and used one of my days in tidying the kitchen.  I looked through my recipes to try board and was inspired by mushroom lasagna.  It’s a good recipe for a weekend: kind of involved (so many pots!), but kind of not (sauté some mushrooms, make a bechamel, bake them together with some pasta).

I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe: I added some minced garlic to the béchamel and I used brown mushrooms instead of portabellos.  Also, I made more mushrooms and béchamel because I think it’s ridiculous to use 3/4s of a box of lasagna noodles.  I ended up with one 9×13″ pan of lasagna and one 8×8″ pan of lasagna, with a couple of cooked noodles left over (which I think I’ll turn into a teensy little tomato lasagna for a lunch sometime).  In the big pan, I didn’t overlap the noodles; in the little one, I did.

This is a great dish for freezing.  Use a foil pan, and do everything through assembling the lasagna.  Then let it cool (if it isn’t already), cover tightly with foil, and freeze it.

I wouldn’t use no-boil lasagna noodles in this dish.  Those work better if you’ve got a sauce with a lot of liquid, and this sauce isn’t it.

Ingredients

  • salt
  • olive oil
  • 1 pound dried lasagna noodles
  • 6 cups whole milk
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1-1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2-1/4 pounds brown mushrooms, sliced 1/4″ thick
  • 1-1/2 cup freshly ground Parmesan

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 if you’re making this now. Leave the oven alone if you’re freezing it for later.

Boil the pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add about a tablespoon of salt and a splash of olive oil.  Add the lasagna noodles and cook for 10 minutes.  Drain the lasagna noodles and set aside.

(If you’re trying to reduce the number of pots you have to clean, give this a quick wash if it needs it, and reuse it for cooking the mushrooms.)

Make the béchamel

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and garlic.  Bring to a simmer, then set aside.

Melt 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) of butter in a large saucepan.  Add the flour, turn the flame to low, and whisk constantly for 1 minute.  Add the warm milk in a steady stream, whisking all the while.  Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Cook over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally, for 3-5 minutes.  The béchamel should be thick but not lumpy.

Saute the mushrooms

In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over a medium flame.  Add 2 tablespoons of oil, 1/3 of the mushrooms, and a good sprinkle of salt.  Cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and start to release some of their liquid.  If the mushrooms become too dry, add a little bit of butter or oil.  Set the mushrooms aside.  Repeat for the rest of the mushrooms.

Assemble the lasagna

Spread some of the béchamel in the bottom of your 9×13″ baking pan.  Arrange a layer of noodles on top, then more béchamel, then 1/4 of the mushrooms, and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Repeat 2-3 more times, layering noodles, béchamel, mushrooms, and Parmesan. Top with a final layer of noodles and béchamel, and sprinkle with some more Parmesan.  Repeat in your 8×8″ baking pan until all noodles, béchamel, and mushrooms are gone.

If you’re planning on freezing, stop here.  Let the assembled lasagna cool, cover tightly with foil.

Bake the lasagna

Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

granola bars

Posted on by

I love granola bars.  My recipe is based very loosely on the White House recipe, which seemed to have too much liquid to turn into bars, and was too sweet for my tastes.  I use a mix of at least three types of dried fruit in my granola.  Dried cherries and apricots are always part of it.  I sometimes use different nuts in place of the almonds or seeds, or mix nuts and seeds.  And I sometimes use a different spice than cinnamon.  It depends on what I’ve got on hand and what I’m in the mood for.

If you want your granola to be vegan, replace the butter with a neutral-flavored oil (like grapeseed).

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds OR 1/2 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, etc)
  • 3 tbsp butter, plus extra for buttering the pan
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 2 cups mixed dried fruit (at least three kinds)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8-inch-square glass baking pan with parchment paper, letting a few inches hang over side of pan. Butter the parchment paper.

Spread oats and nuts or seeds on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring oats and nuts or seeds once.

In a saucepan, combine butter, honey, maple syrup and salt. Stir over medium heat until butter is melted, and the mixture is smooth and hot. In a mixing bowl, toss together toasted oats and nuts or seeds, dried fruit, and cinnamon. Pour hot honey and maple syrup mixture into the bowl, and stir until everything is combined combined.

While mixture is still warm, transfer it to prepared pan and press down using a spatula.

Bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack and let cool completely (usually a couple of hours). Using the overhanging parchment paper, lift out of pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into bars (I like making them about 1″ x 3″)

mushroom bourguignon

Posted on by

I knew I had to try this recipe when I stumbled across it.  Mushrooms in a rich broth?  Yes, please.  I modified it a tiny bit: I doubled the amount of broth because I thought it was too dry.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
  • 2 pounds portobello mushrooms, in 1/4-inch slices (you can use cremini, white, or a mix)
  • 1 cup pearl onions, peeled (thawed if frozen) (or 1 leek, white and light green parts only, finely diced)
  • 1/2 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup full-bodied red wine
  • 2 cups beef or vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
  • 1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • egg noodles, for serving

Heat the one tablespoon of the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a medium Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the mushrooms and pearl onions (or leeks) until they begin to darken, but not yet release any liquid: about three or four minutes. Remove them from the pan.

Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the carrots, onions, thyme, salt and pepper to taste, to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute, until fragrant.

Add the wine to the pot, then turn the heat to high and reduce the liquid by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Return the mushrooms and onions to the pan with any juices that have collected.  Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the temperature to simmer for 20 minutes.  The mushrooms will be very tender.

Combine remaining butter and the flour with a fork until combined; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes, or until it has reached the desired consistency.  Season to taste.

spicy roasted cauliflower

Posted on by

This is my current favorite way to prepare cauliflower.  Roasting cauliflower gives it a slight nutty taste, and red pepper gives it a nice edge that makes it anything other than boring.  Finish it off with a bit of good parmesan, and you’ve got an awesome side dish that goes with many main dishes.

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower, cored and cut into florets
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • salt, to taste
  • 2 tbsp parmesan (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.  In a medium bowl, combine the cauliflower, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt.  Toss to combine.  Roast for 30-35 minutes, until the cauliflower is soft and golden brown.  Remove the cauliflower from the oven and place in a bowl.  If you’re using the parmesan, add it to the bowl and toss to coat the cauliflower.

Serving notes

One of our frequent meals includes roasted potatoes, onions, and carrots; spinach bolani; hummus; and this spicy cauliflower.  It’s a great vegetarian meal.  If you’re not feeling like a vegetarian meal, cut up chicken into small chunks, coat in tahini, and fry or grill on skewers.

Szechuan green beans

Posted on by

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp peanut oil, divided
  • 1 pound green beans (or Chinese longbeans, if you can find them), trimmed into 2- or 3-inch lengths
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 green onions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced (save the green parts and chop them for garnish, if desired)
  • 4-5 white mushrooms, diced
  • 5 tbsp garlic-chili paste
  • 5 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
  • Szechuan pepper, freshly ground (optional)

Directions

Put a wok on a high flame, and add one 1 tbsp peanut oil.  Add green beans, and stir fry for 8-10 minutes, until green beans are starting to brown and are crisp-tender.  Remove green beans from wok and set aside.

Add 1 tbsp peanut oil to the wok.  Add in the garlic and onions, and stir-fry for a few seconds until aromatic.  Add in the mushrooms and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, until mushrooms have released some of their liquid.  Add in the garlic-chili paste and soy sauce and stir-fry for a minute.  Add the green beans back to the wok, and stir through until thoroughly coated in the sauce.

Serve with steamed rice, and optionally garnish with scallions and Szechuan pepper.

Notes

Chinese long beans are the green bean called for in this dish, but I don’t limit myself to those beans.  The second any variety of green bean shows up at the farmers’ market, I make this.  Thinner fillet-style green bean varieties work best in place of the Chinese long beans, although fatter ones are fine.  They’ll take longer to cook, and you might need a bit more oil to help them along.

This is another easy weeknight dinner.  Like the black bean beef that I have listed elsewhere, I start off by rinsing the rice and getting it started in the rice cooker.  While it’s cooking, I prep the rest of the ingredients, and then start the stir-frying.  It usually ends up that the rice finishes when the beans are about half-done, which is close enough to perfect that I’m happy with it.  All told, it takes about an hour to complete.

We have this as a vegan main course, so it’s usually a generous main dish for two, with enough left over for a lunch or two later in the week.