Peanut Butter Chocolate Candy

Here is a recipe I came across in the Costco Magazine.  It was so odd I decided to try it and it turned out really well. The peanut butter layer has a crisp texture kind of like English toffee. I only made 1/4 batch, which was enough I will be eating it for a week.

16 oz sugar
12 oz honey
1/2 cup water
18 oz peanut butter
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp shortening
course salt (optional)

Line a cooking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

In a heavy saucepan combine sugar, honey, and water and bring to a boil.  Cover and boil for 5 minutes. Insert a candy thermometer and continue cooking until the mixture reaches 295 degrees F.  (almost hard crack) (note, this didn't take as long as I thought it might, maybe 10 minutes).  Meanwhile, put the peanut butter into a pyrex bowl and find a wooden spoon.  When the sugar mixture is hot enough pour it into the peanut butter and stir with the wooden spoon (a medal spoon might ruin it for some reason) until mostly mixed (it is OK if the peanut butter isn't entirely mixed in.) Pour out onto the parchment paper and spread until it is about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.  Use a pizza cutter to cut into squares while it is still warm.  Then let cool thoroughly (about 45 minutes).

Melt the chocolate and shortening in the microwave, cooking for 30 seconds, then stirring and repeating until the chocolate is all melted.  Pour on top of the peanut butter layer. Cool slightly and then sprinkle with course salt if desired.  Cut again with the pizza wheel, following the original cut lines.  Cool until the chocolate is firm.  Break into pieces along the cut lines and store in a sealed container for up to a week.

Fresh Corn Phyllo Pockets

Here is a recipe that can be served as a main course, or as a fancy and fun side dish. Be sure and take the phyllo dough out of the freezer  and place in the fridge hours before so it will be thawed.

Cook 2 ears of fresh corn on the cob  (or use 2 cups frozen corn, cooked)
Cut the corn off of the cob
Mix in
4 oz feta cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 T Whipping Cream
2 TB grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped onion

Thaw
8-10 sheets of Phyllo pastry
Melt 
melted butter (4-6 tb)

Take one rectangle of phyllo dough and fold it in half.  Brush the dough with melted butter.  Place a tablespoon or a little more of corn filling in the center of the dough.  Gather up the dough and pinch the top together to make a little pocket. Place in a buttered cupcake tin.  Repeat until the filling is gone.  Brush butter on each of the pockets.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes until the tops of the pockets are nicely browned.  Cool slightly, then remove from the tins and serve.  This recipe makes about 8 pockets.

Zucchini Casserole

Where I live lots of people grow zucchini in their gardens.  I don't do a garden, but I had a friend give me two large zucchinis from her garden.  I decided to cook it up in a casserole.  Here is the recipe  I made up myself.

2 good sized zucchinis cubed, (about 4 cups)
1 can cream of celery soup
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 small package stuffing mix, prepared according to package instructions.

Cut zucchini into bite sized pieces. Boil or steam until tender but not mushy. Saute the onions in the oil until they are translucent. Mix the soup, sour cream, onion and zucchini plus 1/2 cup of the stuffing together and put in a casserole dish.  Top with the rest of the stuffing.  Cover and bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.  Remove the lid and bake another 10 minutes to brown the stuffing topping.

Lowfat Vegan version

Substitue simple white sauce for cream of celery soup. Cut out the sour cream and make the stuffing mix without added fat.  

Note, I tried this with the addition of 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes mixed in and I like it. 

End of the Summer

It is the end of August and the end of the summer.  It is time to evaluate how my vegetarian experiment went.  Over all it turned out to not be very hard to live a loosely vegetarian life style.  Once I got a core set of recipes, it was pretty easy to come up with tasty dinners.  A few recipes I tried were failures, but hey, that was bound to happen.  I wasn't terribly strict with my resolve either.  If I was at a restaurant, or visiting at someone's house, I just ate what was given to me. Maybe being strictly vegetarian would be harder.

So, did I notice any benefit to being a vegetarian?  I didn't really notice any improvement to my health.  I didn't lose weight or gain energy or anything.  My food bill went down.  I think we were spending maybe $50-$100 less on food a month.  The main thing I liked about the whole experience was the sense of non-harming.  It just seems good not to take another animal's life to support my own if I don't have to. 

Going forward, my husband and I have decided to start eating meat again, but not as much as we did before.  We were thinking maybe 70 % vegetarian, or one or two meals a week with meat. Since we are still going to be cooking a lot of vegetarian food, I will keep adding recipes as I try new ones. 

Brocolli and Stuffing Casserole

Here is one I made up for dinner today. Not a lowfat dish, but delicious.

4 cups broccoli, cut into bite sized florets*
1 can cream of celery soup
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pk cornbread stuffing mix, prepared with vegetable broth and butter.

Steam broccoli until it is tender-firm.  Meanwhile mix soup, cheese, and sour cream together in a bowl.  Prepare the stuffing and set aside. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.  Add the broccoli and soup mixture.  Stir until the broccoli is thoroughly coated.  Sprinkle with the prepared stuffing. Place in a 350 degree oven for 1/2 hour until the sauce is bubbly and the stuffing lightly browned.  Makes 4 servings.

To make a lowfat version, replace Cream of Celery Soup with the Basic White sauce recipe.  Leave out the cheese and sour cream.  Instead sauté 8 oz mushrooms and sprinkle over broccoli before topping with white sauce and stuffing mix.

*Here is a hint about broccoli.  You don't have to throw away the woody stem.  After you have cut off the florets, peal the outside tough skin from the stem, cut what's left into bite sized pieces and cook with the rest of the broccoli.  Since I learned this trick the stem has become my favorite part.

Winter Vegetable Soup

I love to make soup in a crock pot, and this one gave me a chance to try out some new vegetable combinations.  It had a nice licorice under-flavor.  It is not only vegan, but also gluten free. It is also low fat, so about anyone can eat this stuff. It is from the Betty Crocker book (but with modifications :)

2 cans diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
4 medium red potatoes (I just used 3 pealed russets)
1 celery stalk
3 carrots
2 parsnips
2 leeks
1 can vegetable broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the vegetable as for stew. Put everything in a crock pot and cook on low for 8 or more hours.  The original recipe had a corn starch thickening, but I just stirred it well before serving and the cooked vegetables thickened it enough for me.

I served it with cornbread. (not gluten free, but hey, I don't have a problem with gluten.)

Sweet Potato and White Bean Soup

This one is a recipe I have used for years.  It is from the Pillsbury Low-Fat Cook Book (with variations).

Brown
1 cup chopped onion and
1 tsp minced garlic in
2 Tbsp margarine

Pour into a crock-pot and add
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 can vegetable broth
3 sweet potatoes, pealed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup dried white beans (Great Northern, or Cannellini work well)

Cook on low for 8+ hours
15 minutes before serving add
1 1/2 cup frozen corn (thawed
1/2 cup milk

Remove 1 cup of soup and blend in a blender.  Return it to the soup as a thickener.

This is a low-fat soup high in vitamin A, C, Calcium and Iron. It is gluten free. 

For a low-fat vegan version omit margarine (spray a little cooking spray in the skillet instead) and use low-fat almond milk (Silk makes a good option) instead of milk.

Carrot Curry Soup

Here is another super simple soup.

1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic minced (or 1 fresh clove garlic)
1 square curry or 1 Tbsp curry powder
4 cups vegetable broth
2 lbs carrots, pealed and sliced
1/2 cup half and half, or canned milk
In a skillet  heat oil and add onion, and garlic, and cook until onions are translucent and slightly brown.  Put onion mixture, curry, broth, and carrots into a crock pot.  Cook on low for 6+ hours or on high for 4 hrs.  With a slotted spoon, scoop the carrots and onions into a blender.  Add half and half, or milk. Blend, adding enough of the remaining broth that the mixture blends thoroughly and is the desired consistency.

Serve with your favorite bread

For a middle-eastern variation, use coconut milk instead of half and half.   Serve with naan or focaccia bread

For a low-fat vegan variation, omit the olive oil (instead spray skillet with your favorite cooking spray) and the half and half.  Serve with a vegan whole wheat bread.

I can imagine, if I were entertaining, making both the fresh pea soup, and this soup, offering a variety of artisan bread, and using the colors to make quite a pretty table.

Fresh Pea Soup

This recipe was so fast and I liked it a lot. It has a fresher flavor than split pea soup. It is from the Cook's Encyclopedia (with modifications). This recipe only makes enough for 2 people if you are eating it as a main dish.

Cook
1/2 cup chopped onions or shallots
in
2 Tbsp of butter
 in a saucepan until lightly browned.
Add
2 cups water or veggie broth (I used veggie broth)
3 cups fresh peas (frozen are fine)
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Simmer about 12 minutes
Blend in a food processor until smooth
While hot, ladle into bowls and top with either drizzled cream, a dollop of sour cream or a few dots of cream cheese.

Serve with your favorite side bread

For a low-fat vegan variation, omit butter (use a little cooking spray in the skillet instead) and drizzle with low-fat almond milk instead of cream, sourcream or cream cheese.

So easy, so yummy.

Cookbooks

Here is a note about cookbooks.  I got Betty Crocker Vegetarian Cooking when I first decided to do a vegetarian summer.  I chose it because I wanted mainstream recipes that weren't too spicy.  It has some recipes I like, but a lot of them are just their other recipes, but they have substituted TVP (textured vegetable protein, i.e.) in place of the meat.  I don't want to use fake meat... like...ever. 




Recently I picked up a vegetarian cook book at a thrift store.  It is called The Cook's Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking by Lina Fraser.  I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but I plan to this week.  It looks promising, and none of the recipes call for imitation meat substitute.

Cauliflower-Cheese Soup

This was a very fast, simple and hearty soup recipe from the Betty Crocker Vegetarian cookbook

In a sauce pan melt
1 Tbsp butter
Add
1/2 cup chopped onion
cook until translucent
Add
1 Tbsp flour
1tsp salt

In a separate bowl mix
3 cups plain soy milk
2 tsp corn starch

Add to the onion mixture and stir.
Add
3 cups cauliflower florets (or 3 cups broccoli florets, or a combo of both.)
Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft.  (Be careful that it doesn't boil over.  Burned soy milk is a dickens to get of a stove top ;})
Add
1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (6 oz)
Stir and heat until the cheese melts.  Serve with your favorite dinner bread and some peas.  (I mixed my peas into the soup at the table and it was delicious.)

The whole time start to finish is 30 minutes.

The Last Meal

It is May 30th and I just cooked my last meal with meat for the next 3 months (Salmon and ham fried rice)  Actually, that isn't exactly true.  I am going to make a turkey dinner when I have company on Sunday, but that doesn't count.  I am not going to be militant about this, but mostly, for the next 3 months, I will be cooking and eating pretty much without meat.  I don't know how it will be and how much I will miss the meat, but here we go.

Black Bean and Green Chili Enchiladas

I cooked this for Sunday dinner, adapting a bean recipe from Betty Crocker and using it in my normal enchilada recipe instead of meat.

In the crock pot combine:
8 oz dried black beans

I forgot to take a picture until we had already eaten some.

1/2 cup chopped onions
3/4 cup chopped bell pepper (red or green)
2 tsp chopped garlic (about 2 cloves)
1 bay leaf
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
2 tsp cumin
1 small can green chilis
1/2 tsp salt

 Cook over low heat for 6 hours or more
add 1 1/2 cup cooked rice (optional) and stir into the beans.

45 minutes before serving time get out:
10 corn tortillas
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (about 4 oz)
1 cup sour cream
1 can green chili enchilada sauce (28 oz or so)

Heat a skillet on medium heat.Pour enough of the green chili sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 casserole dish to cover the bottom. Put one tortilla on the dry skillet to heat for about a minute. Remove it and, using a hot pad to hold it, fill it with some of the bean mixture, sour cream, and cheese.  Roll in up and place it in the dish on top of the chili sauce, folded side down.  Repeat with all of the tortillas.  Pour the rest of the green chili sauce over the enchilada rolls and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until heated through.  Serve with shredded lettuce.

This is a lot of work, but I really like enchiladas and it makes enough for us to have it for two meals.

Note: To make this low-fat and vegan, peal and grate 4 carrots. Stir fry until soft.  Substitute the carrots for the cheese and sour cream when assembling the enchiladas.  I was surprised how good the carrots taste in the enchiladas.  It also made this meal easier to digest since I wasn't mixing protein and dairy.

Shopping

I went grocery shopping this week and had a strange experience.  I was walking down the meat isle and suddenly all the meat looked like dead animals to me. I kind of seemed disgusting.  I guess it is because I have been thinking about vegetarianism and why people chose a vegetarian life style. The experience made me understand why some people might choose vegetarianism permanently.  It really does not seem right that I should kill something to eat, when I could find plenty of good things to eat without killing other animals. 

That said, I went home and the next day made chicken soup, and it tasted delicious.  I understand that humans are naturally omnivorous, and it is in our nature to eat meat.  Both sides of the argument make sense to me.

Graham Muffins

I usually make muffins for Sunday morning breakfast.  When I had kids at home it simplified the morning because they could grab one whenever they were ready to eat, and I didn't have to bother with a lot of plates and silverware to wash.  Now that I am an empty-nester, I have continued the tradition.  I had some graham flour lying around the house, so I looked up a recipe for graham muffins. As usual, I modified the recipe to suit my personal tastes.

Graham Muffins

mix together:
1 cup white flour
1 cup graham flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar (the original recipe called for white)
1/2 tsp salt

in a separate bowl mix together
1 egg
1 cup milk (I used soy milk)
4 tbsp melted butter
cinnamon sugar * (optional)

Add the dry and wet ingredients and stir until everything is moistened.  Put in cup cake tins and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

*Cinnamon sugar: 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon.  Mix until blended and store in a shaker bottle.

Mushroom Fettucini or "No meat does not equal low fat"

A realization I had this week is that vegetarian meals are not necessarily low fat.  I don't know why I thought they would be.  I guess vegetables are mostly low fat, so I thought vegetarian cooking was low fat.  Here is a dish I made this week that was not low fat, but was very yummy. It is adapted from the Betty Crocker book again.

Cook one box fettucini according to package instructions. Drain and place in a 9X13 baking dish.

In a skillet brown
8 oz sliced mushrooms (I used Portobello, but the recipe called for mixed wild mushrooms)
1 onion, cut in thin wedges
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

stir in
2 Tbs flour
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth

Heat until thickened and then add
1 1/2 cup half and half (the recipe called for whipping cream, but I couldn't bring myself to go that far with the fat)
4 oz goat cheese, cubed (goat cheese is a little pricey, but if you think of it as a meat substitute, it doesn't seem so bad,  I mean, how much would it cost to serve pork chops to 8?)

Pour the sauce over the top of the noodles and place in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the whole thing with:
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Return to the oven and heat for another 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.  Garnish with 1/4 cut fresh parsley if desired.

Serves 8

Creamy Split Pea Soup

Here is another vegetarian recipe I tweaked from Betty Crocker Vegetarian Cooking. I liked this one enough I have made it twice already and love taking the leftovers for my lunch at work.

In a crock pot put:
I bag (16 oz) dried split peas (green or yellow)
6 cups water (or mix part vegie broth)
1 cup pealed and chopped sweet potato
1 cup chopped onion
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp salt

Cook on low for 6+ hours.
Add 3 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
2 tsp dill weed

Simmer until the spinach wilts, about 15 minutes
Add
1 can coconut milk or 1 cup half & half (I like the coconut milk, because it adds a little middle-eastern flavor)
Cook until warmed through
Serve with your favorite deli bread.

For a low-fat vegan variation use low-fat almond milk instead of half & half or coconut milk.
Serves 8

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

Here is a crock pot black beans recipe that we both really liked.  I modified the original recipe to make it less spicy, substituting green chilies for Jalapenos.

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (serves 8)

(From Betty Crocker Vegetarian Cooking with modifications by me)

1 bag (16 oz) dried black beans

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper

1 T minced garlic

2 dried basil leaves

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

5 cups water

2 T vegetable oil

1 T cumin

1 small can green chilies

1 t salt

3 cups hot cooked rice

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

In a 3-4 quart crock pot mix all the ingredients except the rice and cheese

Cover and cook on high for 6 hrs, or low for 8 hrs or more

Serve the beans over rice, top with cheese.

For a low-fat vegan variation, omit the oil, and grated cheddar cheese.  You can also substitute brown rice for white rice.

Taking Inventory

Today was my grocery shopping day.  Before I went to the store, I decided to see how much meat I have in the house.  In addition to my kitchen freezer, I have a chest freezer in the garage.  I went through both of them and discovered that I had roughly 16 lbs of frozen meat!  I don't really want any of that meat to still be in my freezer on June 1st, so I decided to make a concerted effort to use it all up by then.  Since I am already doing 3 vegetarian dinners a week, and will change to 4 in May, that might be a challenge.  I decided I better not buy any more meat, and just plan my meat meals to use up what we have.  Only 1lb of the meat we have already is beef.  The rest is chicken, ham and pork.  So after I cook beef enchiladas tomorrow I will be done with beef for the next 4 months.  That is a strange thought.  I wonder if I will miss it.

Tofu Curry and Stir-fry

Tofu Curry and Stir-fry
This is one of my favorite vegetarian dinners, and it is ready in about 20 minutes.

Ingredients
1 package extra firm tofu
4 T olive oil, divided
1 can coconut milk
1 block S & B Golden Curry, Medium spicy
Stir-fry vegies
1 T soy sauce
1 t sugar
rice

Put 2 T olive oil in a skillet or wok and heat.  Drain the tofu and cut it into 1/2 inch squares.   Put it in the hot oil cook, stirring once or twice, until the tofu starts to brown.  Add the coconut milk and the curry block. Stir until the curry has melted and combined with the milk. Turn down the heat and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a separate skillet or wok, heat 2 T oil on medium high.  Add stir-fry vegetables, and cook until done. Sprinkle with soy sauce and sugar.  I just use a frozen stir-fry mix, but you could also use fresh vegetables if you want.

Cook enough rice for however many you are serving.  The sauce recipe serves 2 or 3 adults as a main dish. Double as needed.

Serve as follows: rice, then vegetables, with the tofu sauce poured over the top. Salt to taste.

Getting Started

I preparation for our vegetarian summer I made a plan of attack.  I decided that I would gradually switch to vegetarian cooking by trying and collecting vegetarian recipes and incorporating vegetarian dinners a few a week.  I started in March cooking 2 vegetarian dinners a month.  I purchased a vegetarian cook book to start trying recipes and I also made a list of recipes that I cook already that are vegetarian. Each week in March I made one of my tried and true vegetarian recipes, and one new one.  In April I bumped it up to 3 vegetarian dinners per week.  In May I will do 4 and then go to all 7 in June.

Here are some of my tried and true, been-cooking-them-for-years, vegetarian dinners.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Potato Casserole
Wisconsin Cheese Chowder (if I use cream of Mushroom or Celery soup instead of Cream of Chicken)
Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
Spaghetti with Maranara, Pesto, or Alfredo Sauce.
Eggs and Pancakes
Cheese Omlet
Vegetable Curry Over Rice
Tofu Curry and Stir-fry Vegetables
Carrot Casserole

I will start putting some of the recipes on the blog, but it might take a while to put them all up.  As I do I will put links to them on this page.

Our Vegetarian Summer

Starting in June we are going to attempt to have a vegetarian summer. Why, you may ask.  Well, there are three reasons.  The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints suggests that people should eat meat, "only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine." (D&C 89:13).  It is a part of the "Word of Wisdom" that is pretty much universally ignored by members of the LDS church.  Why would it be there, though, if it didn't have some benefit for those who practice it?  So we want to try it, that is, only eating meat in winter (not in summer) and see if there is some benefit.

The second and third reasons are why most people choose vegetarianism.  It is better for the environment and the food supply to eat lower on the food chain. It takes much less resources, for example, to grow and eat corn directly, than to grow corn, feed it to a cow, and then eat the cow.  Finally, there is something appealing in the idea of non-harming.  Why do we want to kill another animal so we can eat, when we really can eat just plants and do OK.

I want to document our experiment, sharing recipes and experiences.  I am not going to be militant about this.  If we go to eat at someone's  house, and they offer us meat, we will eat it, no problem.  I am just not going to buy and cook meat myself.  We will continue to eat milk and eggs.

So, Here we go. Wish me luck.