Vegetarian Food in Meat Country

Pasta With Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

~ 1lb of pasta
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Zest of a lemon
4 tbsp. of butter
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Over medium heat, melt the butter and cook the garlic and lemon zest until fragrant.
Add cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook until heated through.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in plenty of salt water.
Add lemon juice to the sauce.
Drain pasta and serve. You can also sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top if you’d like.
I also added some Morning Star Chick’n Strips and just heated them in the sauce.

Yum! :)

Apple Cinnamon Fritters

3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
The zest of 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg, separated
1 large apple, grated
Vegetable oil for frying

extra sugar and cinnamon to roll in after frying


Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and lemon zest in a bowl and mix.
Add buttermilk and egg yolk and combine until smooth
Add apple and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Heat oil to about 350 degrees
Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form and fold through the batter
Spoon about tablespoon sized portions into the hot oil and cook until golden brown (2-3 minutes) in batches.
Drain and when cool enough to handle, roll in cinnamon-sugar and serve!

This Bread is Bananas

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (about 3 or 4) mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
chopped nuts (if desired)

Process:
Heat oven to 350 and grease bottom only of loaf pan (9x5)
Mix sugar and butter. Add eggs, bananas, milk, and vanilla. Beat with mixer until smooth.
Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Top with nuts if desired.
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Check with tootpick in center to see that it comes out clean.
Cool for about 10 minutes and transfer from loaf pan to cooling rack and let cool at least an hour before slicing.

This is so so yummy! I hope you like it!

Sundried Tomato Risotto

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons olive oil
½  onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cups arborio rice
4 whole sundried tomatoes, minced (about 1/2 cup)
½  cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetarian vegetable broth

½  teaspoon of red pepper

1 bunch of leeks, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
½  cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
pinch of basil

Bring broth to simmer in heavy small saucepan; reduce heat to low and keep hot.

Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and leeks and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent. Add rice and stir 3 minutes. Add wine; stir until almost absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add in minced sundried tomatoes and stir.

Reduce heat to medium. Add 1 cup hot broth and cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring often. Continue adding hot broth 1 cup at a time and stirring frequently until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. The rice should have a slight bite to it, but not be crunchy at all.

Remove from heat, then stir in Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and basil.

Ta-Ta-Ta-Tacos!

So I have had such a craving for tacos lately. These are simple but I thought they were pretty delicious.

Pico de Gallo:

• 1 1/2 cups seeded, diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 tablespoon diced jalapenos
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Juice of 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste

Guacamole (I just bought this pre-made, but here’s a good, simple recipe if you’re motivated to make your own http://tinyurl.com/yhkaojc )

1 can of black beans

Monterey Jack cheese

Small flour tortillas

I melted the cheese onto the tortillas in the microwave first and heated the beans in a pot for about 5 minutes. This way your tacos won’t getcold from the other cool ingredients. So yummy!

Cheese Fondue Recipe

Fondue is one of those super hip foods right now. Going out to a place like the Melting Pot, however, can get really expensive. I just bought a great fondue pot at Target for really cheap and have been experimenting with recipes. Last night I had some friends over for some yummy fondue. This is a great dinner for a bunch of friends that is fun and exciting, but it’s also great for romantic dinners for two.

• 1/2 pound imported Swiss cheese, shredded
• 1/2 pound Graviera (Gruyere also works really well) cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• Pinch nutmeg
• Assorted dippers (I used broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sourdough bread, and slices of apple)

In a small bowl, coat the cheeses with cornstarch and set aside. Rub the inside of the ceramic fondue pot with the garlic, then discard.

Over medium heat, add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a gentle simmer. Gradually stir the cheese into the simmering liquid. Melting the cheese gradually encourages a smooth fondue. Once smooth, stir in mustard and nutmeg.

It’s that easy! Dip your choice of foods into the cheese and enjoy!

Potato and Chickpea Curry

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• One 14 1/2-ounce can fire-roasted or stewed tomatoes with chiles. If you can’t find the tomatoes with chiles, you can add about 2 oz of diced anaheim chiles.
• 5 baby (new) Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 ounces) chopped into eighths
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 In a large pot, combine the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, potatoes, onion, butter, ginger, 1 teaspoon of salt, cumin, coriander, and cayenne. Stir to mix and nestle the potatoes into the liquid.

2 Set the pot, uncovered, over medium heat. Simmer vigorously for about 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add more salt to taste. Serve the curry in bowls over Jasmine rice.