A Lazy Vegetarian on a Budget

Being lazy with goat cheese

2008-04-19T09:39:00.006-04:00

I don't know what it is about goat cheese... but man, I cannot get enough of that stuff! I think I could seriously put it on just about anything. And although it doesn't always fit with my budget, at the grocery store where I do most of my shopping (which is just a plain ol' Publix, nothing fancy) a small log of goat cheese only runs about $5 or $6 - and considering that I can usually get several dishes from that one chunk of cheese, that's really not so bad. So here's one of my favorite goat cheese recipes - it's incredibly easy, and very, very tasty!

Goat Cheese Toasts
(I got this recipe from Epicurious, and they in turn apparently got it from the Nov. 2003 issue of Bon Appétit. As usual, I've tweaked it a little. For instance, the original recipe is for an appetizer, and calls for an entire loaf of French bread - but I like to just make a simple meal of this, so I only use one or two large slices of some really good Italian or multi-grain bread.)

1 or 2 slices of good bread
Goat cheese (I prefer the soft kind, as opposed to the crumbly kind)
Honey
Chopped walnuts (pecans work nicely, too!)
Fresh or dried rosemary

I make this in our toaster oven (a lazy person's best friend!), but you could also use a regular oven, pre-heating it to about 350 degrees. Top your bread with as much goat cheese as you like, then heat by whatever method for just a couple of minutes - long enough for the goat cheese to soften. Take the bread out of oven and spread the goat cheese out into a smooth layer, then top with chopped walnuts and a sprinkling of rosemary. Drizzle a very small amount of honey over the whole thing, then pop it all back in the oven for just a few more minutes. (It really doesn't take long.) Then, take it out, pop it on a plate, and enjoy! Really should be eaten while still warm - SOOO yummy! And makes a really nice accompaniment for a little salad or other simple veggie dish.

Corn & Potato Chowder

2008-04-16T08:26:00.003-04:00

It's been unseasonably chilly here in Orlando this week. Well, by "unseasonably chilly", I mean it's been no warmer than about 70 degrees, which I realize isn't REALLY terribly chilly... But anyway, that could explain why I seem to be drawn to soup recipes lately. This is another one of my favorites, very tasty and very filling - although it does require a little more work than the Tortilla Soup.

Corn & Potato Chowder
(This recipe comes from 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles. As always, I've made a few changes. For instance, the recipe calls for a cup of celery, but I left it out since I'm not a big fan of the stuff. Feel free to throw it back in, if you like.)

2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 c. chopped sweet onions (I usually go with 1/2 a cup)
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 c. veggie broth (I make mine with those vegetarian bouillon cubes)
2 c. peeled potatoes, diced
2 c. canned corn kernels (with liquid)
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/3 c. heavy cream
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. salt, or to taste

- If you're using veggie bouillon, prepare it first, according to package directions. Then, in a separate, large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in onions; cook, stirring, until softened - about 3 min. Add flour & stir till absorbed. Add veggie broth and bring to a boil. Add potatoes, corn (with liquid), thyme, and bay leaf; return to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for 15 min., or until potatoes are tender. Discard bay leaf. Stir in cream, pepper & salt. Continue to cook, stirring, until heated through. Makes between 4 - 6 servings, depending on how generous your servings are.

Note: You can also use frozen corn instead of canned corn, or even (if you're really ambitious, or simply not as lazy as me) fresh corn cut from the cob. And hey, if you're up for that, I say more power to you. :-)

"Limey" Tortilla Soup

2008-04-13T11:39:00.004-04:00

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. I don't remember where I originally found it, but I've seen similar ones in a lot of cookbooks. As with most of the recipes I've tried, I've tweaked this one to suit my personal tastes - for instance, I LOVE lime juice as a flavoring, so I doubled the amount that this recipe calls for, and I use those "Hint of Lime" Tostitos for the topping. And even though I call this a soup, it's so hearty that it's really more like chili.

"Limey" Tortilla Soup
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
½ of a vidalia onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed or minced
1 can red (kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, with juice
1 can petite-cut diced tomatoes, drained
1 can corn kernels, drained
1 tsp. chili powder (or more, to taste)
1 ½ tsp. cumin (or more, to taste)
Juice of 1 lime (recipe originally called for juice of only 1/2 a lime)
2 or 3 tsp. sugar
Tortilla chips, crushed
Shredded cheddar

Heat vegetable oil in large pot over medium heat, add onion and sautee a few minutes. Add garlic, sautee another minute or two. Add red beans, black beans (with juice), tomatoes, corn, chili powder & cumin. Mix together well, then cover with lid and let simmer for about 15 min., or until veggies are tender. Uncover and add lime juice and sugar, stir well, allow to cook another 5 – 10 minutes. (I usually test it a couple of times to see if veggies are as tender as I like - it may take longer than 10 min.) Serve with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheddar on top. Makes about 4 generous servings. You can make the soup stretch even further if you add 2 cups of veggie broth during the cooking process.

(A note about the lime juice: if the lime you're using is very small or just doesn't give much juice, you may want to use more than one. This is a matter of personal taste, of course, but I'm convinced that the generous dose of lime juice is what makes this soup so wonderful.)

Everyone I've ever cooked this soup for absolutely loves it, including my father-in-law, who is very much a red-meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. He even asked for seconds. So that should tell you something about how yummy this is!

The best thing to ever happen to strawberries...

2008-04-10T12:21:00.003-04:00

Chilled Strawberry Soup

2 c. frozen strawberries
2 c. milk
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. sour cream
sugar (or other sweetener) to taste

In a blender or food processor, puree strawberries, milk, cream and sour cream together until smooth. Pour into large bowl and stir in sweetener. Cover and chill for 8 hours (ideally) - although I can never wait that long! Can serve as an appetizer, or dessert. Or, if you're like me, you can just make a meal out of it. Trust me, you'll want to - it's that good.

(You can always cut down on the calories in this dish by using skim milk and reduced fat or fat-free sour cream.)

I wish I could remember where I found this recipe originally - I only know that I found it online after we got back from a cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines. On the ship they had served an amazing chilled strawberry soup, and this website claimed that this was, if not Carnival's actual recipe, at least a pretty darned close approximation.

I love this recipe because not only is it delicious and incredibly easy to make, but it also somehow gives the impression that you put a lot of work into it - great for impressing company! ;-)

I've been meaning to try this same recipe with other frozen or fresh fruits as well. I think it might work nicely with blueberries or raspberries. Maybe peaches? I'll have to experiment and find out. Or if anyone out there wants to experiment themselves and let me know, I'd love to hear how it turns out!

A tiny recipe: Curry Mustard

2008-04-09T08:38:00.005-04:00

So, me and some of my co-workers ordered lunch from this new place in downtown Orlando the other day. I had ordered a rice and beans dish that was supposed to come with a creamy cilantro sauce (I love me some cilantro!) but instead, for whatever reason, they sent me some curry mustard. And at first I was a little annoyed, because I really don't like curry. But then I tried this stuff. And -- OH! WOW. It was so incredibly delicious that even after I'd eaten all the rice and beans, I kept looking for other stuff to dip into this sauce, and when I couldn't find any, I just ate the rest of it straight out of the little container, and spent the rest of the afternoon wondering how I could recreate this deliciousness myself.

(Please understand I don't usually obsess over condiments, but this stuff was pretty freakin' amazing.)

(Actually, it's not entirely true that I don't obsess over condiments - I had a long and passionate affair with A-1 steak sauce for many years... it was THE sauce of choice for my veggie burgers. And as far as I know, A-1 is completely vegetarian. But ah... if anyone knows something I don't know, please clue me in!)

So anyway, when I got home that afternoon, I whipped together a few ingredients to see what I could come up with. The results were, sadly, nowhere near as good as the restaurant's curry mustard. But they were still pretty darn good. I promptly slathered some on a Tofurkey and provolone sandwich, to delicious effect. So if anyone's interested in trying it themselves, here's the recipe:

Curry Mustard
(Most of these measurements are approximate, and the recipe only makes a small amount of mustard, but you can obviously increase the amounts as needed. Then again, this stuff is so flavorful that a little goes a long way.)

2 tsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. curry powder

Mix together well, and add to whatever! Great on sandwiches, but also great on rice and black beans! Also makes a tasty dip for veggies.

I'm wondering if maybe I should try regular yellow mustard instead of Dijon next time. The Dijon gives it a bit more of a kick than the original curry mustard had.

I heart: Morningstar Farms Veggie Cakes

2008-04-07T18:24:00.000-04:00

Thanks so much to all who left comments on yesterday's post. Hope that if/when you try out the recipe, it turns out as well for you as it did for me! I had some more of the couscous for dinner tonight - and I'm pleased to say it's every bit as good today as it was when fresh.

So here's my lazy side showing: I'm a fan of meat-substitute products, partially due to their convenience, and partially due to the fact that I (usually) like the taste. And Morningstar Farms has produced some pretty tasty meat substitutes. But yes, I know that not all vegetarians like to eat stuff that reminds them of meat (and sometimes I feel a little weird about it myself) so I was very excited when I discovered the other day that they have a new product on the market: Ginger Teriyaki Veggie Cakes. (Which are actually not a meat substitute at all, but rather a little patty made up of rice and veggies and spices.)

(Why, look, there's a picture of them! Look how intrigued I am by this new product! Look what a dork I am for posting this picture at all! But seriously - I wanted to show a picture of the product, and I don't know much about what kind of images violate copyright laws and such, so I thought, "Hey, if it's a picture of ME, and I just happen to be admiring the product, who can argue with that?" Well, and it amused me to make my husband take this picture.)

So... these veggie cakes are, of course, RIDICULOUSLY easy to prepare. Slap one on a plate, pop in the microwave for 1 minute & 15 seconds, and lo and behold! You have a hot, tasty veggie "cake". And they're actually GOOD! They're made of sticky rice, soy beans, bok choy, water chestnuts, and some ginger and teriyaki. And probably some other ingredients, but what's cool is, this product isn't overly-processed to the point where you can't tell what it's in it. You can SEE all of the veggies they mention, and taste all of them, too. And the ginger and teriyaki flavoring is really delicious.

But being the kind of person who can't have enough of a good thing, I had to give them a little dollop of my current favorite condiment: homemade curry mustard. YUM!!! I don't even like curry very much, but I can't get enough of this mustard. Think I'll post the recipe for that tomorrow.

An introduction, and a recipe

2008-04-06T22:20:00.000-04:00

I'm a vegetarian, and have been for about 19 years. I'm also really busy (I know - who isn't?). Unfortunately, I'm also quite lazy - so that when I actually have time to cook, I rarely want to. Then you add in the fact that I don't have as much money at my disposal as I would like (I would LOVE to shop at Whole Foods every week, but that's just not realistic on my salary). And yet - I REALLY LOVE FOOD. I'm rarely content to just gnaw on some tofu and carrot sticks to assuage my hunger (not knocking tofu and carrot sticks, just saying they're not usually enough to satisy a foodie like myself.) I want food that will not only meet my biological needs, but will actually be tasty and interesting at the same time.

Bearing all of the above in mind, I feel especially grateful whenever I stumble across a recipe or pre-made food product that can be prepared quickly, that will taste good, and that won't break the bank. And I was thinking that this would be a great place to share some recipes as I stumble across them. Or share my thoughts on the latest soy-meat product. Or maybe even some tips about beauty products or household products that haven't been tested on animals.

I don't claim to be an expert on any of these subjects - just to be clear. This is just me sharing ideas, and I hope anyone who reads this will feel free to do the same!

So, without further ado, here's a recipe I just tried for the first time today, and which turned out much better than I expected (and just for the record, this was not one of my lazier dishes - but it still didn't take much time or effort - I'd say I spent no more than half an hour on it, and probably less):

Tuscan-Style Couscous Salad
(I got this recipe from a cookbook called Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin, but made a few slight alterations)

1 1/2 c. couscous (prepared according to package instructions, with the below turmeric added)
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/4 c. pine nuts (okay, not the cheapest ingredient, I admit)
1 (15 oz.) can chick peas, rinsed well and drained
15 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved - or 1 large ripe tomato, finely diced
1/2 c. shredded basil
1/2 c. slivered red onion (I only used 1/3 of a cup, not being a big fan of red onions)

Dressing:
1/3 c. lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, put through a press or minced (I only used 2, which turned out to be plenty)
1/2 tsp. salt
Generous seasoning freshly ground pepper (I used regular old black pepper from a shaker; I don't own a pepper mill)
1/3 c. olive oil (I used Stonehouse California Olive Oil - "Lisbon Lemon" flavor - the most delicious olive oil I've ever tasted!)

Prepare couscous according to package directions, then set aside to cool. Then toast your pine nuts - I like to do this in our toaster oven (my favorite appliance), but you can also toast them in a small skillet on the stove over medium heat, tossing them often, until golden - about 5 min. (They burn easily, so definitely don't leave them alone if you use this method.) Add toasted pine nuts to couscous, along with chick peas, tomatoes, basil, and onion. In a separate bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients, then pour over your couscous. Toss well and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Cover and chill if longer than 30 minutes, but best served at room temperature. Serves 4 as a main course.

My verdict: this was DELICIOUS! The flavors went together beautifully, and I think I could've even added a little more lemon juice and basil, since both really seemed to add a lot to this dish. My husband even consented to try it, based on its heavenly lemony-basil-garlic aroma, but he didn't care for the onions at all. Ah, well... more for me, then.