Vegetables and or Vegetarian

Vegetarian recipes

Other things I’ve been making
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Other things I’ve been making

  • Quick stir fry
  • Green apple and butternut squash soup
  • Salads of all kinds
  • another quick stir fry
  • Butternut Squash and black bean burrito
  • sliders
  • TDay Turkey
  • oven made bear but chicken
  • herb rubbed flank steak
  • Roasted veggies
  • Oat flour pancakes
  • Chicken thighs
  • Pork chopped
  • pasta
  • Chicken cutlets air fried
  • Quck chicken parm
  • Brisket
  • Homemade pizza
  • redonion relish
  • Pork roast
  • cupcakestuffed meatloaf
  • Tomatoe basil soup
  • cast iron roasted chicken
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Left over rice

The other day I made some rice for a side dish, nothing fancy just plain jasmine rice. For the side I added some brown sugar and raisins but did not use all the white rice. I figured I would use it for some soup but never got there.

I made stuff pepper with rice, diced sweet onion, ground sirloin, tomatoes sauce and a little red wine vinegar. I also had some green beans that were starting to look peaked so I dice them and added it. Cook inside a half of green pepper with a little water on the bottom of the pan and topped with cheese and turned on the broiler when the pepper had cooked enough.

HAd some of the filling left so today for lunch I made a burrito of sorts. Added salsa and some some cheddar cheese to top it off.

Again nothing fancy just stretching what I had.

Cats come for a visit.
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Cats come for a visit.

Mike was moving in with Gail and we volunteered to watch the cats to make the move easier. They quickly settled in but being cats, curiosity was top on their list. They knew where to hide when I went out for the mail so many escape attempts were just that attempts. Lyn did say that if they got out all we had to do was open a can of food and boy do they come running, begging and demanding. If you listen to them, we never fed them and there was never a bowl of dried food always at their ready night and day.

I took to preparing their wet food behind closed doors and Lyn said that they would try to push the door open. Anyway I was preparing a cauliflower crust pizza last Wednesday and had to take extreme measures. See picture below

Another cook from the frig recipe. This time I had some delicata  squash, red, green and yellow peppers, made some red onion relish, goat cheese, grape tomatoes earlier so I decided to roast the squash and add the rest sorry no pictures of the finished product. 

I like this sqaush, no peeling you can eat the skin like acorn squash.
I like this no peeling you can eat the skin like acorn squash.

Roasting the Squash

Preheat oven to 425° convection. Cut ends off of squash, then cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Cut squash into ½” half-moons.

On a large baking sheet toss squash with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spread single layer on pan and sprinkle with cinnamon (not the sugared kind but I suppose you could)

Roast until golden and soft on the inside, about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Meanwhile I thinly slice the peppers, diced some fresh mushrooms, and prepared a small hand full of fresh baby spinach, grape tomatoes in half and goat cheese

For the cauliflower crust, Lyn’s been into the paleo version, I spread pizza sauce the topped with all the above. As Colbert likes to say meanwhile I spun out my dough which is Portland Pie Company Beer dough, my store bought favorite. And topped with everything except the goat cheese, instead I used three types of Italian cheeses. I then baked for about 10 minutes each. Will vary depending on oven.

Anyway, to make this long story short I was forced to use what I joking call the cat guard to protect my cooking area from the curious duo.

Oh they are in their new home now and enjoying it.

Cauliflower Shrimp Fried Rice
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Cauliflower Shrimp Fried Rice

 

Skip the takeout and try this paleo-friendly cauliflower shrimp “fried rice” recipe! You won’t believe how easy and flavorful homemade Chinese food can be.

Lyn read the caption looked at the head of cauliflower and instead of making our standby cauliflower pizza crust she thought with Josie coming this would be a good thing to try. I came home to most of the ingredients layout and a smile on her face…I thought this would be a good thing to try. Off to the train station as the last passengers strolled by memories of the last time we went there to pick her up rose. Josie and Maria on their way back from a DC visit thought her stop was the last stop and as we stood at the 3rd from last stop watching the train pull away and watching the last of the passengers stroll by. Anyway with much to do we ended up chasing the train to South Station where customer service called us because Josie’s battery had died. Not this time we called, phone worked and she was in the elevator, all was well at least in our little corner of life.

Oh ya back to the food, although I had to make a few substitutions this was really good, had tried others in the past but most used a lot of Soy sauce for flavor and very little spice. This was definitely an improvement thanks.

 

I’ll put Liz’s recipe and my substation will be noted

I can hardly wait to try the recipe her way

 

Adapted FROM THE LEMON BOWL – Thanks

 

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 262 kcal

Author Liz DellaCroce

Ingredients

  • 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined (we always have a bag of cooked frozen shrimp so our cooking time was not as long)
  • 1 teaspoon salt divided (1/4 and ¾ tsps.)
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 head cauliflower – grated or riced see video
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 5 scallions diced whites and greens separated (did not have them so I used shallot but cooked with vegis)
  • 2 cup medium carrots diced or 1 frozen
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2 cloves garlic grated
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
  • ¼ cup soy saucelow sodium (used gluten free)
  • 2 tablespoons Nakano rice vinegar (only had 1 TBs so mixed with 1 TBS apple cider)
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • srirachaoptional
  • We tossed some parsley mostly for color and almond slivers in at the end

Instructions

  1. Heat a large, deep pan or wok over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Season shrimp with ¾ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper before adding to the hot pan.
  2. Cook shrimp in an even layer, turning once, until pink (about 90 seconds per side.) Remove cooked shrimp from the pan and set aside.
  3. While shrimp is cooking, rice the cauliflower using a food processor, blender or a cheese grater; set aside.
  4. Whisk together eggs and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Spray pan with more cooking spray then reduce heat to medium. Pour eggs into the pan and cook, stirring frequently, 1-2 minutes. Remove cooked eggs and place in the bowl with reserved shrimp; set aside.
  5. Add diced onion, scallion whites, carrots, peas, garlic, and ginger to the pan and cook until soft and tender, stirring frequently. This should take 4-5 minutes.
  6. When veggies are cooked through, add cauliflower, soy sauce and rice vinegar to the pan. Stir well to combine then walk away for a few minutes so that the cauliflower can start to cook and create a nice crust. Come back, stir it around then walk away again. The flavor comes from letting the cauliflower brown a bit and become crispy. This process may take up to 10 minutes. It’s worth the wait!
  7. Add cooked shrimp and egg back to the pan and cook until warmed through. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and garnish with scallion greens and Sriracha to serve.

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Cauliflower Crust Pizza
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Cauliflower Crust Pizza

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This has become one of our staples at least 2-4 times a month. We try it with different toppings etc. every time. Lyn tried spaghetti squash a few others and we found a sweet potatoes recipe we are going to try.

I can’t believe I have not posted I guess I just go to my Pinterest and grab from there.

Enjoy

 adapted from here

Toppings of your choice, tomato, pesto or Alfredo sauce, cheese, precooked meats* & precooked veggies*

We also add some of Lyn’s pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 450F.  Line a baking sheet with either a Silpat or parchment paper.

Place the cooked Cauli-Rice into a tea towel and squeeze all the water out of the Cauli-Rice.  It is important to get the rice as dry as possible so that there won’t be extra moisture in the crust which will prevent it from crisping up properly.

In a medium bowl combine the dry Cauli-Rice, egg, 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper and mix to combine well.  Press the cauliflower mixture into an even thickness on the prepared pan, either into a round or rectangular shaped pizza.  I kept the crust pretty thin, about 1/4-inch thick.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is firm and golden brown.  Remove the pan from the oven and turn off the oven and turn on the broiler and move the rack to up close to the broiler. Top the cooked crust with sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice.  Place under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and melted

Enjoy!

* Meats and veggies need to be cooked before placing them on the pizza as after the crust is baked, the pizza is only under the broiler to melt the cheese, not long enough to properly cook meats and veggies.

 

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Spinach and Feta Quiche with Quinoa Crust

 Adapted by Lyn from Cooking Light Jackie Plant

 

We enjoy a good Quiche every once in a while and this one turned out great. Lyn grabbed some roasted vegetables and added to this but topping off with some freshly roasted red bell pepper to me was one of the best tastes to this make it again dish. Lyn likes her cauliflower cake better and someday I’ll be there when she makes it so I too .

 

CRUST:

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa, chilled – Lyn used red quinoa thought it would look better
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • large egg, beaten
  • Cooking spray

FILLING:

  • teaspoon canola oil
  • 1/2   onion, thinly sliced
  • (5-ounce) bag baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 4   large eggs
  • large egg whites
  • 1.5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
  • Some chopped leftover oven roasted vegetable

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How:

1. For the crust, preheat oven to 375°.

2. Combine quinoa, pepper, and egg in a bowl, stirring well. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes; cool.

3. For the filling, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil and onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add spinach; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

4. Combine milk and next 5 ingredients in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Arrange spinach mixture in crust; pour egg mixture over spinach. Sprinkle with feta. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes; cut into 4 wedges.

 

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Refrigerated Dill Slices
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Refrigerated Dill Slices

We made these last year and they came out great so when the pickling cukes looked good I sliced and made up a few jars and just 2 weeks later. I was going to bring a jar up to the annual Russo BBQ but I forgot,  poor them, lucky us. This year’s batch came out a little spicier but we thought, including everyone at work that the kick was nice.

What I like is that when empty I can add more slices to them and in 2 weeks start munching again.

Yield: About 5 pint jars or 2 quart jars.

Ingredients

  • 8 ¼ cups sliced trimmed pickling cucumbers – We like thick slices but suppose you could do as thin as you want or spears if that is how you like them.
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 2 cups water
  • 6 tablespoons pickling or canning salt (I used kosher salt)
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons pickling spice ( see recipe below if you want to make your own)
  • 7 ½ teaspoons dill seeds
  • 5 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 5 cloves garlic, halved (optional)

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How

Place cucumber slices in a large glass or stainless steel bowl. Set aside.

Combine vinegar, water, pickling salt, sugar and pickling spice in a medium stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently for 10 minutes.

Pour pickling liquid over cucumber slices. Cover with waxed paper and set aside until cooled to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Place 1 ½ teaspoon dill seeds, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon peppercorns and two garlic clove halves in each of one five pint jars. Add cucumber slices to within a generous ½-inch headspace of top of jar. Ladle pickling liquid into jar to cover cucumbers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Apply lids. For best results, allow cucumbers to marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 weeks and use within 3 months.

From “Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving:

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Home Made Pickling spice

  • 2 Tblsp mustard seed
  • 1 1/2 Tblsp whole allspice (you can use 1-2 Tblsp)
  • Optional – 2  tsp coriander (add it if you’d like, it’s in most mixes)
  • 1/2 tsp whole cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes (up to 1 tsp)
  • 4 bay leaves, crumbled (I don’t think you can add too many of these, add more if you’d like)
  • 1 cinnamon stick, 2-2 1/2″, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp celery seed-optional
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns

Pickle spices

How

Break up cinnamon, tear bay leaves into bits, mix all, store in an airtight container.
This makes approx 4 Tblsp, enough for 2 quart jars of pickles. If there’s a little mix left over, just add it to your pickle jar and use it up.

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Marinated Grilled Summer Veggies – Stonewall Kitchen

I love roasted veggies and have a lot of post about them her is just another twist grilled on the BBQ

Fantastic, flavorful dishes that just happen to be gluten free.

  • Thai Beef Salad with Grilled Sirloin Steak, Chinese Cabbage, Red Peppers and Cilantro
  • Marinated Pork Tenderloin in Maple Tamari Sauce Served with Steamed Rice
  • Marinated Grilled Summer Veggies
  • Orange Almond Cake with Fresh Oranges in Toffee Syrup

Marinated Grilled Summer Veggies – Stonewall Kitchen

marinated grilled veggies

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced into 2” rounds

2 summer squash, cut into 2” thick slices lengthwise

2 zucchini, cut into 2” thick slices lengthwise

2 portabella mushrooms – de-finned

2 yellow bell pepper, seeded, deveined, cut into 2” wide slices lengthwise

2 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined, cut into 2” wide slices lengthwise

1 medium red onion, peeled and sliced into ½” rounds

 

Marinade

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

1/3 cup red wine

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

1 Tbsp. grated orange rind

½ cup minced sage leaves

½ cup coarsely chopped basil

¼ cup minced fresh rosemary

1 Tbsp. Fresh black pepper

 

How

Combine cut veggies and mixed marinade for 1-4 hours, drain and paced on medium high grill turning frequently. About 6-8 minutes

 

 

Did you know that when buying portabella mushrooms you want it to be tighter to the stem that is why they always sell packaged steam side down so you can’t see this. Wide open mushrooms are father along.

 

 

 

 

A portobello mushroom is nothing more than a fully mature cultivated white mushroom. Most people think it’s an exotic mushroom, but it’s just the regular white supermarket variety that’s been allowed to grow to maturity.

Back in the 80s, a clever marketing campaign coined the name “Portobello” to bestow a little more cache to the oft-overlooked grown-up creminis, and boost their popularity. Portobellos are actually creminis, which are the cultivated brown mushrooms you see in the supermarket.

The difference between the three mushrooms is the maturity. The white button is the youngest and most mild tasting. If not harvested, it grows into a cremini, which is pretty similar to the white button in terms of size and taste, although it has a brown cap and is slightly deeper in flavor. Further growing of the cremini will yield the fully mature portobello, which has the most complex flavor.

With this in mind, you simply choose portobellos the same way you’d choose any cultivated mushroom. Here’s a few tips:

* Choose firm mushrooms. Avoid any that have withered. It’s okay if they’ve slightly dried — that only intensifies their flavor, but look to make sure they’re not entirely soft/wrinkly and in the process of collapsing.

* Avoid any that are slimy or bruised, or have other surface blemishes — like pits or gouges.

*Smell it: it should smell earthy. If there’s any hint of ammonia, or other off odors, then you know the mushroom has spoiled.

How you store your mushrooms is very important. If you’ve bagged them in plastic at the store, it’s imperative that you remove them from the bag when you get home. Plastic traps moisture, which will cause the mushrooms to rot. You want to strike a happy medium: not too dry, not too moist. I prefer to spread them out in a single layer on a parchment covered baking sheet, and then cover them with a linen or cotton dishtowel loosely draped on top, and then place the tray on a refrigerator shelf. They stay nice and fresh like this for a few days.

To clean them, you can use a soft brush, like a pastry brush, or a damp paper towel. Most people caution against soaking mushrooms to clean them because they absorb so much water that they can become waterlogged and mushy; however, I have had no trouble immersing them for a quick dunk and swirling them around to dislodge any dirt. I drain them in a colander and give them a good shake, and then turn them out onto paper towels to dry. I think it’s best to store them unwashed, and then clean them shortly before use.

Ratatouille Frittata
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Ratatouille Frittata

Frittatas – so much you can do with them and I like to cut up left overs into single servings so I can pop out of the Freezer and into the microwave for a quick meal.

You need a 10” oven proof nonstick skillet and a little time.

Ingredients

  • medium potato cute into ½ inch cubes
  • 6 large eggs
  • 5 Egg whites – I used packaged
  • 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt divided in two
  • 1 egg plant or 2 small Italian eggplants – cube in ½ inch pieces
  • 2 plum tomatoes cube in 1/2″ inch pieces
  • 1 medium zucchini cube in ½ inch pieces
  • 2-3 tablespoons slice black olives
  • 6 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
  • Small handful of grated pizza cheese – or cheddar
  • About 1 tablespoon or less of olive oil

ingredients

 

How

Preheat oven to 350

In a steamer cook the potatoes about 5-7 minutes until fork tender

Meanwhile in blender combine eggs, tarragon, pepper, half the salt – Using the blender made a fluffier airier frittata.

In a large nonstick oven proof skillet heat oil over medium heat

Add zucchini cook about 2 minutes until it begins to soften

zucchini

Add eggplant and the remaining salt cook about 3 minutes

add eggplant

Add the tomatoes and olives stir to combine cover and cook about 3 minutes until the eggplant is mostly tender and the tomatoes have given some liquid.

 

Add potatoes and toss to combine

add tomatoes and olives

Add the egg mixture (I gave it a very short quick pulse to combine again) and cook about 2 minutes or until the edges start to set.

add egg mixture

sprinkle with cheeses

cook unitll sides start to fiem sprnkly with cheese

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the frittata is set, puffed and browned.

bake

Let set for 3-4 minutes before serving

serve