help a poor newb

[Shryke]

so i promised to make someone dinner next week - only i forgot she was vegitarian (not vegan thankfully)

 

i was pondering making a spinach and ricotta cannelloni, but i need more ideas!

 

help me and i will love you forever (or not as the case may be)

[Killian Kalthorne]

My advice is not cause a fire and keep the emergency numbers on speed dial.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Well, what sort of ingredients could you get your hands on? For example, it would be fairly easy to turn out a nice tofu or cheese Italian dish, such as lasagna, or a Chinese dish. If you want, I could even type up some step-by-step instructions for you (I have most of the recipes jotted down in the various cookbooks that are lying around the kitchen)…

[Shryke]

Well, what sort of ingredients could you get your hands on? For example, it would be fairly easy to turn out a nice tofu or cheese Italian dish, such as lasagna, or a Chinese dish. If you want, I could even type up some step-by-step instructions for you (I have most of the recipes jotted down in the various cookbooks that are lying around the kitchen)

[Gorth]

You should have picked up a meat lover instead

 

Not much help there I am afraid. I don't even know the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan. Aren't there any places in Wellington where you can order stuff like that delivered from?

[theslug]

As much as I'd like to comment on how much I despise vegetarians if you can use eggs and milk, quiche is a good idea. Extremely easy and quite versatile.

 

Could also add a nice garden salad. Throw in a bunch of tomatoes, chic peas, cucumber, and what not in some mixed greens and your good just in case something goes wrong.

[mkreku]

My ex is a vegetarian. She makes some kind of vegetarian pie that's really good. I could get that recipe from her, if it would help..

[Shryke]

I don't even know the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan. Aren't there any places in Wellington where you can order stuff like that delivered from?

 

basically vegitarian = no meat

vegan = no animal products at all (no milk/cheese/eggs/etc)

 

and i don't wanna get stuff delivered - i'm gonna be cooking it myself

[Gorth]

vegan = no animal products at all (no milk/cheese/eggs/etc)

You just described sheep and cows

 

and i don't wanna get stuff delivered - i'm gonna be cooking it myself

Masochist...

 

I suspect it is not because of the food, but because you want to do it for her then

 

In that case, if leaving out the meat is the only requirement, isn't just about any dish available in a no meat version? Pizzas, Pasta, Quiche, Stews, Curries, Rice dishes etc.

 

List of delicious looking food stuff

[Humodour]

so i promised to make someone dinner next week - only i forgot she was vegitarian (not vegan thankfully)

 

i was pondering making a spinach and ricotta cannelloni, but i need more ideas!

 

help me and i will love you forever (or not as the case may be)

 

Yeah guys, suggest me some vegetarian recipes (or just ones involving no meat, like omelette). I moved into a share house and I've been living off pasta, nachos, burgers, and toast. It's starting to get boring.

 

Some of the more fancy ideas I have are: French toast (egg, milk, bread, frying pan, topped off with tomato sauce) and potato salad (I have potato salad dressing and potatoes, is that it?)

 

Edit: easy recipes preferred.

Edited May 31, 2009 by Krezack

[Shryke]

and i don't wanna get stuff delivered - i'm gonna be cooking it myself

I suspect it is not because of the food, but because you want to do it for her then

 

well yes that too - but i do actually enjoy cooking as well

 

that Thai rice sambal looks pretty good - i might try that one

[tarna]

so i promised to make someone dinner next week - only i forgot she was vegitarian (not vegan thankfully)

 

i was pondering making a spinach and ricotta cannelloni, but i need more ideas!

Happened to read this before my wife ( the smarter of the two of us :wink: ) went to bed a had her give me this recipe.

 

Cook some Penne or Gemelli pasta and set it aside.

 

Saute some onions, mushrooms, fresh basil, frozen asperigus and garlic if desired.

( fresh asperigus doesn't saute well apparently )

 

Mix some reconstituted/hydrated sun dried tomatoes to the sauted vegetables.

 

Toss vegetables with pasta.

 

Make a sauce by mixing fresh pesto sauce with some heavy whipping cream ( to taste ).

If you don't want to use a sauce, saute your vegetables in an olive oil instead. Just something to keep the dish from being too dry.

 

Add freshly grated parmesian or feta cheese before serving.

 

 

 

BTW - What flavor of vegetarian is she? ( Ovo ( eats eggs ), Ovo-lacto ( eats eggs and milk products), don't remember the rest. There is something like 6 different kinds of vegetarian depending on how 'strict' your diet is ( Vegan being the strictest ( nothing with a face )).

 

My recipe ( much simpler ( and lazy )).

 

Mix Ricotta cheese ( or cottage cheese ) with steamed/boiled broccolli and stir in some good grated yellow cheese. Throw this into a baking dish and top with more grated cheese. Bake until bubbling. Remove and allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes to allow casserolle to firm up. This will help it to maintain it's shape when served and not flow across the plate like gruel :wink:

Serve with garlic bread/bread sticks/whatever.

[Hurlshort]

I like to buy those ravioli or tortellini packages where all you have to do is cook them. Then I throw on a good sauce and I've got the main course down.

 

For veggies, my favorite is asparagus. Put them on a cookie sheet, drizzle olive oil, freshly ground salt and pepper over it, then bake them for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. They taste fantastic.

 

That's a whole meal for my family, although a loaf of french bread would be a good finish.

[Walsingham]

lasagne. This always works, and is pretty easy.

 

Red Sauce:

In order of adding to a large saucepan, starting on a high heat and gradually getting cooler until it is JUST simmering

 

good olive oil, a good slathering thereof

crushed almonds toast until brown. This is vital because it flavours the oil and takes some of the sharpness out of the sauce. Most veggie tomato sauces are too acid and lack depth.

2 x Caramelised red onions (do it yourself, it's not hard)

garlic to taste

soy sauce

fresh black pepper

a tiny quantity of chilli pepper

tinned tomatoes

fresh chopped basil leaves

Good chestnut mushrooms

Courgettes

a teaspoon or so of molasses or dark brown sugar; molasses if at all possible

 

Leave this cooking while you prep everything else. At least 40 mins.

 

Pasta:

 

I prefer green sheet pasta for this, because it looks better. But it's cosmetic. You may or may not have to pre-cook it. Check the label.

 

White sauce:

 

For special wooing, DO NOT USE normal white sauce. In a bowl, mix a large quantity of ricotta, mascarpone, and grated parmesan cheese. If you want to be a wuss you can thin it slightly with milk, but do not make it runny.

 

Construction:

Very simply, and starting with red sauce, layer red sauce, pasta, white sauce, until you have used everything up or run out of pan. Grate more parmesan on the top layer, add a little more black pepper, and bake until delicious looking.

 

Serve with a clean dry white, or a rich chocolatey red. Goes well with bitter chocolate and coffee for dessert.

[Shryke]

awesome - you guys rock

 

looks like for the next few days i'm gonna do some experimenting and see what i like best

[Enoch]

Listen to Wals.

 

I was going to suggest a red sauce cooked with ****loads of wild mushrooms and fresh thyme, but after reading Wals' suggestion, I want that instead. (And I don't even like those soft cheeses-- semi-solid dairy products that remind me at all in taste or texture of spoiled milk are one of my few food hangups.)

 

 

EDIT: My lasagna tip is this: even if the pasta advises pre-cooking, you can get away with not doing so (handling cooked sheet pasta is a real pain) if you make the whole shebang a day in advance and let the assembled lasagna sit in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. The dry pasta will absorb enough of the moisture from the sauces to approximate pre-cooking.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Enoch

[Walsingham]

I should be a bit more clear about the white sauce. The emphasis is on the ricotta and mascarpone, not the parmesan. Unless she's some sort of cheese freak, in which case we should probably start over.

 

Enoch is right about the pasta boiling.

 

Incidentally, we were discussing at the weekend whether there would be any merit in a savoury cheesecake, with white stilton and dried fruit, on a savoury oatmeal base. Thoughts?

Edited June 1, 2009 by Walsingham

[Monte Carlo]

I struggle with vegetarian food, but try this one.

 

Monte's Vegetarian Mediterranean Meze

 

Concept - a little bit of everything and extremely easy to make, the veggies I know love this.

 

Serve a large platter of the following -

 

Home made houmous (there are a million houmous recipes, you could literally start a war arguing about it but this is mine)

Add chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper, garlic and paprika into a blender and blast it until it is just slighty lumpy. Serve with some chopped parsley on top with some grilled pitta bread.

 

Pan-fried Halloumi

Slice some halloumi cheese into one inch thick strips and sear in a frying pan with a very small amount of olive oil and lemon juice. Cook until brown and crispy at the edges on both sides. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.

 

Salad

Finely dice tomatoes, red onion and cucumber and make a salad, dressing it with olive oil (this is really good with chilli oil, actually, the heat plays of nicely against the cold veggies).

 

Home-made dip that isn't tsatsiki but almost

Take some low-fat natural or Greek yoghurt, a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and some finely diced cucumber left over from the salad. Mix and use as a dip with your pitta bread.

 

Miniature Veggie Moussakas

Fill some tiny dishes / ramekins with a mixture of fried onions, courgette, tomato puree / stock, mushrooms, garlic and some chilli or paprika. Top with a cheese sauce (buy some, it's only dinner, or use pre-made bechamel with some grated cheese in it) and top with some aubergine slices that you've rinsed and dry-roasted in a hot frying pan. Put it in a hot oven for fifteen minutes and serve.

 

Hot chilli and Celery Cous-Cous

Finely slice some celery (peppery) and carrots (sweet) and fry them in olive oil until soft, adding some chilli oil, powder or flakes depending on what's in the larder. Add to some pre-prepared cous-cous and pan fry with this mixture and a knob of butter. Serve in a dish with some finely chopped parsley and lemon.

 

This would all go nicely with some chilled beer or a cold New World white wine. Pudding would be Turkish pastries, pistachio nuts with a very sweet dessert wine and some grapes.

 

Then put on some Barry White and let nature take it's course

[Rostere]

Awesome, we should have a sticky thread called "Cespenar's Cookbook" or something like that.

[Walsingham]

Awesome, we should have a sticky thread called "Cespenar's Cookbook" or something like that.

 

I agree that we should have a recipe section. I seem to remember lots of recipes cropping up in the Black Isle games.

 

However, in general I think you should ALSO plan yourslef a delicious meaty meal to have a reward for the day after. Plenty of moo cow and flossy the lamb.

[taks]

my brother gave me a cool cookbook covering the hill in st. louis (and italian in st. louis in general). the hill is a rather well known italian neighborhood on the edge of the city with a few dozen restaurants/eateries that have quite a reputation for quality. the book includes tony's, st. louis' only mobil 5 star restaurant (currently only 4 stars). at least one or two of the recipes included a vegetarian dish i think. i'll look them up when i get home, but i recall thinking they were pretty good.

 

taks

[Walsingham]

I've been trying to think of something you could use as a starter. Some sort of salad? Maybe salt crusted hibiscus and cucumber. Or I'm going mad. Probably the latter.

[Monte Carlo]

^ Yes, Mister Blumenthal, you are mad.

[Walsingham]

Nettle flowers. That's what i was thinking of. Veeeery subtle sweet flavour. Used to eat them when I was a kid. I think. Unless being stung by all those nettle leaves drove me mad.

[theslug]

Awesome, we should have a sticky thread called "Cespenar's Cookbook" or something like that.

My vote goes for: Slugcat's House of Walsausages as well as Other Delectable Treats and Culinary Treasures