Vegetarian Victuals!

[mahg33ta]

I tend to cook veg more often than not.  Lately my go-to easy-peasy fall meal is sauteed/wilted kale, leeks, creminis, and garlic with lots of lemon, thyme and nutmeg served over over parmesan polenta.  You can add bacon if you like.

Kale and chard are my favs so I'll give this a shot.   Thanks!

My standard morning smoothie is:

1 banana
1 peeled apple
1 lemon, sides cut off and halved so seeds can be removed
1 bag frozen blueberries
1 bag frozen red fruit - raspberries or strawbs
3/4 c water
fill rest of blender w/ kale (probably 2 cups / 2 handfuls)

I used to do more of a yogurt-based but this is lighter, less sugar, and the kids love it.   It comes out green but you can't taste the kale at all.  (that recipe makes enough for 4)

[mahg33ta]

okay well I just made a GIANT pot of lentils (I eat em literally every day,  so I make giant pots at a time since I started making my own). at then end of this pot in a few days I'm going to try it with onions/garlic/carrots for sure. and if I have any celery or carrots lying around i may just chop those babies up too.

dunno if you have Trader Joe's stores near you, but they sell cooked lentils in a shrink-wrapped package.    These are my absolute staple.  Sure it's lazy, probably overpriced, and a lentil expert like woodnymph would shake her head, but I keep packs of them in the fridge.
- throw them into a pot of chili
- pasta salad w/ some roasted veggies and dressing
- mix w farro, green beans, feta cheese
- saute up some onion, celery, carrot then dump in veggie broth and lentil for a fast soup

I use them all the time.

While I'm on lentils, let's not forget to praise the red lentil.   Love that little guy!  much quicker to cook too.   I use for a red lentil chili or for a vegetarian bolognese.

[woodnymph]

 ;D  Thanks mag33t!  I wouldn't say I'm a lentil expert just yet!   :P  I do love the little red lentils though!  Those ones I've actually not even soaked, they don't take long at all to cook up!  I used those for a Khichri (Indian dish) once and loved it!  (red lentils with garam masala seasoning & onions YUM)

Love your quick lentil ideas though, I'll have to try them with the green beans and feta, I can tell that'll be delicious already!

[the_wizzard]

?? Is this auto correct thing only doing it from your iphone? As much shit as I've splashed on these pages, nothing I've typed has ever auto-corrected. That I've noticed.

Nope, on my laptop and I double checked it by using my iPad. Both allowed me to use the "M" and "C" word when typing my post. But when it posted, m.o.l.l.y. turned into Winnie the pooh & c.en.s.o.r.s.h.I.p. turned into pudding. Pretty funny substitution, but it is the MMJ forum doing this, not my computers.

Anyhoo, back to veggies...

[Jon T.]

WTF?  Why is the forum auto-correcting the name winnie the pooh to Winnie the Pooh?  I have tried to modify this 4 times now. 
M.O.L.L.Y.  not winnie the pooh.
;D

Modification:
*SEE!!!!  It did it again!!!

That is kind of weird. The drug maybe?

I don't think so.  Remember that fairly personal article about Jim came out a month or two ago?  I think I remember the M word being the name of Jim's lady friend.  That's when the c word became a banned word.  I guess the M name is off limits, too.   ::)

[ALady]

Red lentils!   

Last winter I worked on a curried pumpkin/red lentil soup...yum.

[mjk73]

?? Is this auto correct thing only doing it from your iphone? As much shit as I've splashed on these pages, nothing I've typed has ever auto-corrected. That I've noticed.

Nope, on my laptop and I double checked it by using my iPad. Both allowed me to use the "M" and "C" word when typing my post. But when it posted, m.o.l.l.y. turned into Winnie the pooh & c.en.s.o.r.s.h.I.p. turned into pudding. Pretty funny substitution, but it is the MMJ forum doing this, not my computers.

Anyhoo, back to veggies...

Really odd. Molly Censorship

[the_wizzard]

I wrote CC and he fixed it for me  ::)

[e_wind]

shit i can see Molly being jims gf OR the drug. Lets be honest, that drug has really taken off recently, and MMJ is a festival band, which means people eat it a lot at their shows. At wakarusa this year it was almost scary how crazy people were about it. I've read that its not addictive and not so bad for you, but man at Wakarusa you'd think people didn't know how to have fun with out it. people would grab me at random moments during the festival and basically beg me for some. it was like walking down an alley filled with people pan handling. its jeffed up


but yes, back to the veggies.....


I have looked and looked and looked and CANNOT find any lentils except dried lentils at all the grocery stores around me. MAybe I should check a health food/organic store... I always look in the canned bean section and the dried bean section and the "organic/health" section of kroger. i keep striking out

[woodnymph]

I have looked and looked and looked and CANNOT find any lentils except dried lentils at all the grocery stores around me. MAybe I should check a health food/organic store... I always look in the canned bean section and the dried bean section and the "organic/health" section of kroger. i keep striking out

Well definitely weird that you're having trouble finding them canned... I've always been able to find them even in the regular grocery stores... I'd ask someone who works there... but they're definitely in the health food stores too!!!

[vespachick]

I tend to cook veg more often than not.  Lately my go-to easy-peasy fall meal is sauteed/wilted kale, leeks, creminis, and garlic with lots of lemon, thyme and nutmeg served over over parmesan polenta.  You can add bacon if you like.

The gateway meat.  ;D ;D

[jones]

I tend to cook veg more often than not.  Lately my go-to easy-peasy fall meal is sauteed/wilted kale, leeks, creminis, and garlic with lots of lemon, thyme and nutmeg served over over parmesan polenta.  You can add bacon if you like.

The gateway meat.  ;D ;D

That's what.... she said?

[ALady]

 ;D

[Ruckus]

Oddly enough I've cooked a lot of vegetarian the last couple of days disregarding the 8lbs of short ribs I braised.  Lots of soba noodles and yesterday I made some veggie gyoza.  Sauteed baby Chinese cabbage with scallion and finely chopped carrot with vegetable oil, a little sesame oil, grated ginger, minced garlic and finely chopped Vietnamese red chiles.  Stuffed in gyoza wrappers using a a standard egg wash then steamed in a wok then pan fried for a crispy crust on both sides.  Dipped in a tradiitional Japanese dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar, La Yu (chili oil), and nanami togarashi (Japanese 7 spice mix).  Was good!

And per usual, very late last night, not knowing what I was doing, I decided to make candy bars.  I made a caramel and chucked Raisin Bran Crunch and coarsely chopped walnuts and almonds into it and shaped it on wax paper and froze it.  In a double boiler, I melted down some semi sweet chocolate with a little brown sugar, butter, and whole milk.  I coated the caramel bar with the chocolate and refroze.  Yum!

[ALady]

Candy bars?  Pics or it didn't happen.  ;)

[Ruckus]

Candy bars?  Pics or it didn't happen.  ;)

;D ::)

They weren't pretty but they tasted damn good.  I'm thinking if they weren't eaten cold, they would have melted since I really have no idea how to temper chocolate or work in pastries and desserts at all for that matter.

It was no corn pop pyramid however

[ALady]

The corn pop pyramid will never be topped!     ;D

Made some mini-stratas to bring to work for lunch/breakfast this week: baguette, egg, milk, caramelized onions, garlic, creminis, sundried tomatoes, broccoli, a bit of feta and parmesan, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

[Ghosts_on_TV]

(in German accent)  *Applause!  Applause!*

Great kick-off for a great thread!!  That sounds de-lish!

Here's my Butternut Squash soup recipe!!

2 butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
2 other potatoes (or 4 sweet potatoes!)
1/2 - 1 can of pumpkin puree
3 carrots
*pinch of nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spices)
*salt/pepper to taste
1 bay leaf

And I use a couple bouillon cubes, and enough water to cover the cooking potatoes

1. Slice butternut squash in halves, long-ways
2. Scoop seeds out, turn upside down and bake uncovered for 30-45 mins at 350-375 degrees
3. While squash cooks, dice up potatoes and carrots and place in a pot, fill with water just enough to cover them so they cook--- add bouillon cubes and stir a few times while they cook
4. When squash and potatoes/carrots are cooked, scrape the squash out of its skin and put into blender
5. Save the potato/carrot broth, but strain carrots and potatoes out of broth and pour them into the blender with the squash
6. Add as much pumpkin as you like into the blender
7. Slowly add in a bit of the broth into the blender until it reaches your ideal consistency
8. Puree for smooth creamy soup, or pulse a few times for a chunky goodness  :)
9. Pour all contents back into pot and simmer on low for 20-30 more mins
   **Add spices during this stage

Yummmmm!!!  Thanks for the great thread, wizzardddd!!   :D

I'm going to make this, thanks! Think I'm going to add a dash of heavy cream though.

[Ruckus]

(in German accent)  *Applause!  Applause!*

Great kick-off for a great thread!!  That sounds de-lish!

Here's my Butternut Squash soup recipe!!

2 butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
2 other potatoes (or 4 sweet potatoes!)
1/2 - 1 can of pumpkin puree
3 carrots
*pinch of nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spices)
*salt/pepper to taste
1 bay leaf

And I use a couple bouillon cubes, and enough water to cover the cooking potatoes

1. Slice butternut squash in halves, long-ways
2. Scoop seeds out, turn upside down and bake uncovered for 30-45 mins at 350-375 degrees
3. While squash cooks, dice up potatoes and carrots and place in a pot, fill with water just enough to cover them so they cook--- add bouillon cubes and stir a few times while they cook
4. When squash and potatoes/carrots are cooked, scrape the squash out of its skin and put into blender
5. Save the potato/carrot broth, but strain carrots and potatoes out of broth and pour them into the blender with the squash
6. Add as much pumpkin as you like into the blender
7. Slowly add in a bit of the broth into the blender until it reaches your ideal consistency
8. Puree for smooth creamy soup, or pulse a few times for a chunky goodness  :)
9. Pour all contents back into pot and simmer on low for 20-30 more mins
   **Add spices during this stage

Yummmmm!!!  Thanks for the great thread, wizzardddd!!   :D

I'm going to make this, thanks! Think I'm going to add a dash of heavy cream though.

I prefer it pureed to a creamy goodness.  An awesome finish is a dollop of either creme fraiche or greek yogurt with a bit of chopped herb and chopped toasted nuts

[woodnymph]

Holy cow boca!  :P ::)

Can't wait for tomorrow's feast!  Rob, I made a batch of the creamy butternut squash soup tonight, and I do love that style too!  Glad I got that knocked out today though, just gotta reheat tomorrow!

I'm also working on two pies... I've got a housemate on a raw/flour-free diet, and a housemate with a nut allergy, so I'm creating two pumpkin pie monsters!  (Thankfully I will gladly eat both pies!  :-X)  I just made the first one with a gluten-free, nut-free crust, but I don't want to try it and make a cut mark in it  :(  Smells so gooddd  :(  I used 2 local organic chicken eggs and some organic condensed milk, I hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells!

And now I'm soaking 4 cups of pecans, a cup of cashews, and I soaked some medjool dates already and they're chillin in the fridge.  The raw pie monster is gonna have a pecan/maple syrup/coconut/date/(maybe a tad of cocoa powder?) crust.  And the filling is pumpkin of course, vanilla, cashews, and according pie spices pureed to a creamy heaven..... and all of it chilled for an hour or so to firm it up a bit.  Wish me luck!  Haven't ever made anything like it before, but I'm feeling pretty dang confident, and I'm glad I remembered to start soaking everything tonight!

Coming up tomorrow... gluten-free stuffing!  I made a batch last year that was damn near perfect 'cept for I'd burnt the damn thing to an unreasonable pitch.  ::)  If you saw my feeble attempts at scraping off the burn and digging for unburnt bits....  :-\  Keeping an eye on that crapola tomorrow!!!

Hope everyone's gearin up for a feast tomorrow and gratefulness for bein' aliiiiiiive :-D

PS I'm totally all for fixing up a turkey, for non-vegetarians.... but I totally suggest finding a local healthy option, vs. the often low-quality ones from the grocery store....  I'm getting to this point now where I think I'd be ok with meat again, but I'll be one picky mofo when that time comes........

And for the record, there was a turkey about 20ft. up a tree in my backyard today, out the kitchen window while I was making all this food.... how hilarious, I beckoned for it to stay nearby where it's safe  :P