Going Veg

I hate to be the type that watches one documentary and am so influenced that I change my lifestyle.   However, awhile ago Will and I watched Food, INC. and after further research have decided to try to  stay away from meat.  By Will's request, our dinner table used to be served beef more often than not (several times a week- yikes).  So, this is a complete change for us both, but I am personally loving not having to cook meat and Will has only cheated twice. :) It's been fun to be a little more creative in the kitchen and I feel more "clean" and don't have as many stomach issues.  With this said, we are still flexible people and I'm not saying I won't ever eat meat again.  I eat what I'm served, but I just may not be cooking it.  Also, I still eat eggs and dairy (what they call an ovo-lacto vegetarian).  We will see how long this lasts, but so far we've liked the change.

Here are a couple of our favorite new recipes so far for those who want to try their hand at "going veg" (or just want try some new recipes)!

Pesto Pasta with Lemon, Spinach, Edamame & Toasted Almonds

serves 4 to 6
8 ounces spaghetti
1/2 cup pesto
8 ounces spinach
2 cups edamame (shelled and shucked, the peas, not entire pods)
juice from 2 lemons (plus fresh lemon wedges for serving)
3/4 cup almonds, crushed and lightly toasted
Heat a large pot of water to boiling, cook pasta until al dente. Remove from water, strain and rinse with cold water. In a large bowl, stir pasta, pesto and spinach until combined (some spinach will wilt, some will stay firm — this is a nice contrast of textures). Finally, stir in the edamame and squirt the lemon all over the finished dish. Reserve a few lemon slices for people to add more if they like. On a low heat, toast crushed almonds until just fragrant. Garnish pasta with the toasted almonds.

 

Quinoa and black Beans

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth 1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper salt and pepper to taste 1 cup frozen corn kernels 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1.	Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2.	Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3.	Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro   Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers makes 7-8 large patties 2 cans cannellini white beans, drained 1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups) 2 Tbsp tahini 2 tsp maple or agave syrup 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning OR Cajun seasoning (or another fave spice!) 1/4 cup wheat flour optional: additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper and a scoop of nutritional yeast) salt to taste if needed plentiful Panko crumbs safflower oil for pan burgers: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, romaine, onion, olive oil, pepper Directions: 1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl. 2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together. 3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed. 4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat. 5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko. 6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes. 7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings. Note: yes this patty does fall kind of apart as you eat it. But that is OK because it tastes yummy.