Veggin’

No need to let mashed potatoes go bare anymore. Even vegetarians need a good gravy recipe…and this is it! (This gravy was used with a recipe that will be posted tomorrow. It was gooooood. Stay tuned!)

Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy

by Megabeth

1 .5oz package dried porcini mushrooms (or shitake)
1/4 onion, diced (or more if you prefer)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups vegetable broth (the stronger the better)
1/4 cup tamari
pinch nutmeg
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and freshly ground pepper

Roux
2 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon corn starch, optional

Soak mushrooms in one cup of warmed vegetable stock for at least 20 minutes. Transfer to a small pot and simmer mushrooms for 5 – 10 minutes. Remove mushrooms and reserve remaining broth. Cut mushrooms into smaller pieces.

In small saucepan, heat olive oil and saute onions and garlic until softened. Add mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper and tamari.

Add remaining broth and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, make roux by combining olive oil, water and flour. Whisk until a thick paste is made.

Add roux mixture and cook until the gravy is thickened, stirring frequently. Another 5-10 minutes. If gravy is not getting thick enough for you, add some corn starch, if desired. The longer it simmers, the better it gets.

Nothing says comfort food more than a plate of pasta that’s steaming hot and right out of the oven. This broccoli and ricotta stuffed manicotti is kicked up a notch by a flavorful, yet oh so easy to make, homemade tomato sauce. The filling is so creamy that it’s hard to believe that it’s made with skim milk and fat-free ricotta.

Broccoli and Ricotta Manicotti
adapted from The Best Ever Vegetarian Cookbook

2 teaspoons olive oil
12 dried manicotti (or cannelloni) tubes, 3 inches long
4 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups panko (or breadcrumbs)
2/3 cup skim milk
4 Tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 cup no-fat ricotta cheese
pinch of grated nutmeg
6 Tablespoons Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons sliced almonds (or pine nuts)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tomato sauce:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 28oz can organic crushed tomatoes with basil
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons black olives, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add olive oil to prevent pasta from sticking. Cook 8-9 minutes until pasta is completely cooked. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the pasta from cooking and set aside. (When working on the rest of the steps, check to make sure the pasta isn’t drying out. Brush a little water on the pasta if it is…)

While pasta is cooking, steam the broccoli for 10 minutes until tender (not mushy).  After steaming the broccoli let it cool a bit, then put into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.

In a large bowl, combine panko and milk and oil. Stir until the panko is softened. Add the ricotta, broccoli, nutmeg and 4 Tablespoons for the grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, black olives and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and let simmer for 5 – 10 minutes.

Spoon the broccoli and cheese mixture into a pastry bag or a zip-top bag with the corner snipped. (A tip – an easy method for spooning the mixture in the bag is to  put the bag in a wide mouthed container and fold the top over the sides. This will hold the bag open.) Open the pasta tubes and squeeze the mixture into each. Make sure to not overfill the pasta.

Pour the simmered sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking pan. Place the filled pasta tubes into the baking pan. Brush the tops of the pasta with a little olive oil. Then sprinkle the remaining cheese and almonds on top.

Place in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes – until golden.

Sometimes I can’t think of adequate words to describe a recipe and this is definitely one of those cases. These eggplant rolls barely landed on our plates before they were quickly devoured. They were just that good. The warm and smoky eggplant hugged this creamy goat cheese filling perfectly creating a perfect flavor combination.

Eggplant and Goat Cheese Rolls

by Megabeth

1 large eggplant
1 4oz container crumbled goat cheese
1 Tablespoon fresh herbs, chopped (thyme, orgegano) or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
olive oil

Cut off ends of eggplant and peel. Cut into 1/4 inch thick pieces, lengthwise. Lay on paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt. Let sit for a half hour. Rinse with cold water to remove salt and bitter juice.

Brush eggplant with a little olive oil on each side and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each slice. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Broil on low until lightly browned on both sides. (If you have a large eggplant, be prepared to do a couple batches under the broiler.)

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine goat cheese, herbs, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice by mashing it into a paste with a fork or the back of a spoon. (Feel free to adjust seasoning amounts according to your taste.) Add a little olive oil if mixture is too dry.

Spread a small amount on each piece of eggplant.

Then roll eggplant into spirals, starting with the large end first. Secure with toothpicks.

Place on a lightly oiled baking shet and return eggplant rolls to a 350 degree oven. Cook until warmed through and still moist. Serve with a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar, to taste. (Watch out for the toothpicks!)

You’re geared up for Super Bowl Sunday, you’ve set-up the giant tv and invited your friends over. But, now your faced with feeding this crowd. Don’t worry, your game watching experience doesn’t have to be filled with boring potato chips and cheezy poufs. You also don’t have to spend all your time in the kitchen worried that you’ll miss the game winning touch down. Make these vegetarian snacks ahead of time and you can cheer on your favorite team with these unique treats to munch on.

1. “Figgy Crack” (Fig and Pecan Tapenade with Goat Cheese)

This dish is so named because once you eat it, you’ll be addicted. This recipe has taken on a life of it’s own since served at several get togethers Folks try it for the first time, fall in love with it and ask for the recipe because it’s so unique and satisfying.

2. Cheese Ball

It’s not a party without a cheese ball, right?

3. Marinated Goat Cheese

This marinated goat cheese tastes like you spent a lot of time in the kitchen making it. You don’t have to. Admittedly, it’s not the prettiest looking dish, but who cares? It’s durn good.

4. Vegetable Pan Bagnat

Assemble these layered vegetable sandwiches on Saturday evening and they’ll be good to go the next day. All the ingredients meld together into an explosion of flavors.

5. Buttery Roasted Pecans and Punjabi Masala Peanuts

Rather than serving mixed nuts or plain peanuts, change it up a bit with these unique recipes. The pecans are indeed buttery and the peanuts are spicy.

Fine. I’ll admit it. I’m now a slow cooker convert. How do I know? Well, as I turned the dial on the cooker I said out loud to an empty kitchen, “Set it and forget it!” Somewhere in the world, Ron Pompeil’s ears perked up and he smiled.

There’s minimal prep to this dish – save some chopping of onions followed by a quick saute. Otherwise, you throw all the stuff in the crockpot, mix it all up and 6-8 hours later, you’re left with a spicy dish that’s interesting and delicious. Best of all, you can easily use organic ingredients. Supermarket shelves are now stocked with organic chickpeas and tomatoes. Grab a few cans next time you’re in the store and you’ll be able to whip up this dish any time you want.

Set It and Forget It Vegetarian Slow-cooked Chickpea Curry

by Megabeth

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons coriander
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 2 teaspoons salt salt
• 1 pinch asafoetida
• 1 dash cayenne pepper, to taste
• 2 15 oz cans chickpeas, washed and drained
• 2 12 oz cans diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon garam masala

Heat olive oil in saute pan on medium. Add onions, garlic and ginger and cook until tender (about 5 minutes)

Add all ingredients, except garam masala, into slow cooker.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once ready to serve, add garam masala.

This dish really surprised me. I, honestly, wasn’t expecting it to come out so good. This dish is all vegetable – eggplant, tomatoes and onions. When I stacked the ingredients casserole-style, I was convinced it would be suitable as just a side item…but then came the sour cream. Wow, did that that transform the dish.

I used fat fat free sour cream and it worked great. I’d almost think that the full fat version would overwhelm the dish and make you walk away from the table with an overly full stomach. (I hate it when that happens!) I also added a few extra steps from the original recipe which called for just adding raw sliced onions. I, instead, only used one onion instead of two but sauteed it in some olive oil and chopped herbs to add a little more depth to the flavor.

Finally, I was only able to taste one serving of eggplant as the rest was consumed heartily by my in-house taste tester. The next day, I was ready to eat the leftovers, and was faced only with the empty serving dish in the sink. I guess that was his implicit seal of approval.

Russian Eggplant

Adapted by Megabeth from AllRecipes

• 1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/3 inch rounds
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 cups water (enough to cover eggplant slices in a bowl)
• 3 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (oregano, basil, thyme)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• paprika to taste

The original version of this impressive dish was created in honour of Count Stroganoff by a Czarist chef for a cookery competition in the 1890s. Since then Stroganoff has been served at celebratory banquets the world over, and this stunning gourmet vegetarian version will give any occasion a little Imperial magic

I decided to take the original recipe for Wild Mushroom Stroganoff with Herb Crumb Topping, as described above by the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom, and add a little bit of the Megabeth flair. (For example, I don’t think the Czarist chef used panko on his version…)

This hearty and earthy side dish was the perfect accompaniment to the cabbage rolls served during our monthly vegetarian club dinner featuring Eastern European recipes. The original recipe also included the final step of dishing out the potatoes on the plate, adding the mushrooms and breadcrumbs then sticking it under a hot grill to brown the top. I did not have the luxury of being able to perform this final step as I needed to be able to carry my dish on the Metro. Instead, I layered it in a casserole dish and let it sit in the oven until browned. Then I wrapped the dish up for its journey across town.  It transported very well and, the teeny tiny bit that was leftover, reheated nicely. It’s certainly a different riff on the same old mashed potatoes.

Wild Mushroom Stroganoff with Herb Crumb Topping
adapted by Megabeth from The Vegetarian Society

1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup milk or soya milk
1 tbsp mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (I used fresh oregano, thyme and basil)
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 8 oz package, baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 8 oz package, white mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup double cream
1 cup panko
2 Tablespoons fresh herbs, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain and add back into pot.

Pour milk over potatoes. Mash well. Stir in chopped herbs, add butter/margarine, salt and pepper to taste.

Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in saute pan. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook until heated through and soft – about 5-8 minutes.

Stir in cream. Cover and reduce heat to low to keep warm.

Melt the last Tablespoon of butter in a pan, stir in panko and herbs. Let panko toast and warm a bit. Remove from heat.

Lightly cover the inside of a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Put potatoes in as thick bottom layer leaving enough room for the mushrooms to sit on top of them.

Put mushrooms and sauce on top of potatoes.

Sprinkle top with panko. Place in oven preheated to 400 degrees. Leave in oven until top is golden brown – about 10-15 minutes.

Looking for a little something different to make for dinner tonight that’s easy to make, warm and filling?  Then make this polenta with spinach and chanterelle mushroom dish. This is definitely going to be on normal rotation in my kitchen especially during this seemingly never-ending winter.

I had three pans going at the same time on the stove – mushrooms were simmering, polenta was cooking and the spinach was sauteing. Never fear, though, you won’t get that “spinning plates” feeling. Everything cooks in it’s own time and there is no fear of burning or overcooking.

Cheesy Polenta with Sauteed Spinach and Chanterelles
adapted by Megabeth from What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway?

1 cup fine cornmeal
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
freshly ground pepper
1 oz package dried chanterelle mushrooms
1 cup vegetable broth
olive oil
tamari
1 garlic clove, minced
3-4 tightly packed cups fresh baby spinach

Add mushrooms and stock to a small pot, bring stock to a boil.  Turn heat to low and let them simmer for about 20 minutes.

In large pot, bring three cups of water to a boil with 1 Tablespoon of salt. Whisk the cornmeal into the boiling water and turn heat to low. Let cornmeal absorb the water, then add an additional 3 cups of water 1/2 cup at a time. Let each 1/2 cup of water absorb before adding the next. Stir occasionally to ensure that the polenta does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

When the polenta is near the end of cooking, remove mushrooms from cooking broth and then saute in a small pan with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Add a splash of tamari to the mushrooms. Heat through and remove from pan into a small bowl. (If there are large pieces of mushrooms, feel free to cut some smaller.)

Add another 3 teaspoons of olive oil and garlic to the saute pan. Let garlic saute a bit. Add spinach to pan and wilt. Remove from heat.

Once the polenta is cooked, stir in gouda and margarine into the pan. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir to combine. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until cheese and butter is melted.

Add polenta to serving bowl, top with sauteed spinach and mushrooms. Shred some additional gouda on the top to taste.

Roasting grape tomatoes brings out their brightness and creates a vibrant flavor that pops in your mouth. It does take more than an hour to roast them in a low tempurature oven, so, if you’re hungry you’re going to have to wait a bit.

If you’re too hungry to wait, you could have your in-house taste tester, if they arrive home before you do, take care of the prep work and pop the tomatoes in the oven before you get home. Now that I think about it, this meal is actually so easy to make, that the in-house taste testers out there could probably even be able to handle this one completely on their own.

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes and Basil
by Megabeth

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse salt (sea salt or kosher)
1 8.8 ounce box Israeli/Pearl couscous
10 – 15 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes and sprinkle with salt.

Bake in over for about 1 1/2 hours or until the tomatoes are dried around the edges but still moist.

About 15 minutes before serving, cook the couscous according to package directions. (For added flavor, use vegetable broth instead of water when cooking the couscous.)

Add tomatoes, basil, garlic and black pepper to cooked couscous in the pot, stir to combine.

Serve warm.

Copyright: WFP/Alejandro Lopez Chicheri

The devastating earthquake in Haiti reminds this food blogger to be thankful for every meal that’s in front of me. If you’re feeling the same, please consider donating to The World Food Programme (WFP).

Friends of WFP is a U.S.-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on building support in the United States for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and other hunger relief operations…WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, working to put hunger at the center of the international agenda and promoting policies, strategies and operations that directly benefit the poor and hungry.

WFP personnel are on the ground in Haiti and are distributing food but Bettina Luescher, chief spokesperson for the WFP says, “Food is needed urgently and we still have substantive needs to fund.” 

So, while you’re waiting for your pasta water to boil or your garlic bread to toast consider taking that moment to donate to WFP or another relief charity of your choice.

Also, if you are so inclined, The BloggerAid Cookbook is still available for purchase. Food bloggers from over 60 countries contributed recipes to create a unique collection of dishes from around the world. Proceeds of this cookbook are also directed to WFP. (My recipe for Spinach Stuffed Shells is just one of the many recipes included in this cookbook.)

"WFP has started a massive effort to assist millions of vulnerable Haitians. 3,000 people were assisted in Jacmel the day after the earthquake. Currently staff is operating from a parking lot in the airport. However WFP personnel has been able to organize distributions of HEB, jerricans and water purification tablets targeting today over 2,500 people. Additional emergency personnel are reaching the disaster by plane via Panama, El Salvador Dubai, Australia, Italy and the Dominican Republic to scale up operations as soon as possible." Copyright: WFP/Alejandro Lopez Chicheri