Intro + recipes

[Guest guest]

On behalf of SquidBreth

 

Intro + recipes

 

Sunday, May 2, 2010 2:14 PMSquidBreth

 

 

Hey Folks,

 

Thanks for having me. I was very surprised. I had so much trouble

joining because I made the mistake of changing from AOL 9.1, which worked

perfectly, to AOL 9.5, which is a pain where I sit. Every time I tried to join

your group, it crashed. It's like being on my old Toshiba 286! So, I thought

I hadn't managed to communicate my desire to join. Apparently, the Web Gods

were listening and passed along my message.

 

Anyway, I'm Jan. I just managed to feed my boys Morningstar vegetarian sausage

for breakfast and Morningstar veggie burgers for lunch without so much as a

whimper, so it's been a good day so far. Let me pass along a couple of my

favorite veggie dishes to you (my invention, no credit necessary). They're

probably not vegan, but I'm sure they can be appropriately modified.

 

Miracle Wraps

 

I call these Miracle Wraps because it got my elder son, the

meat and potatoes man, eating vegetables... even LEAVES!!! My little boy is

happy to eat vegetables (although he absolutely won't touch leaves, either),

but my big boy is absolutely anti-veggie... until now! So, here it is, the

Miracle Wrap that convinced my older son to eat vegetables and ask for seconds!

 

Ingredients:

1) Soft Flatbread Wraps of your choice. I like the oval ones;

they're easier to wrap, and we chose the light spinach ones, but any

wraps or tortilla will work.

2) Avocados, Hass or Green Californian, makes no difference. We used Hass.

Quantity is to your liking, as with everything else in this recipe.

3) Leaves, your favorite kind. We used a baby spinach, baby arugala, and

spring mix.

4) Mushrooms, your favorite kind. We used baby portabellas.

5) Black Olives, sliced, again, you can use any kind of olive you

prefer.

6) Grape Tomatoes, sliced. Need I say it again? Any tomato you like will

work.

7) Fresh Mozzarella, sliced. For Vegans, just leave this out or

replace with your favorite cheese substitute.

8) Hummus. Tahini or Baba Ganouch would work just as well.

9) Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste.

Optional (notes):

1) My boys liked a little goat cheese in their wraps. My younger boy also

added some shredded cheddar. My older boy added a sprinkle of crumbled Feta.

This was too much cheese for me, but the kids liked it.

2) I considered buying and adding low fat firm Tofu to the wraps, but didn't.

Now, I regret that decision. I think it would have worked well and

added a little protein to the dish.

 

Procedure:

Not much to tell here. I spread some hummus on the wraps.

Dumped a handful of leaves on it. Added a bit of salt and pepper.

Then I piled on the other ingredients and rolled it up. Before I was done

making a wrap for my little boy, my big boy wanted a second

one. I'm telling you, folks. If you have veggie-hating kids, this

is one you've got to try!

 

Another Note:

I got the idea for this from a kosher bagel shop & deli near

where I work. They use only plain iceberg lettuce, ordinary

tomatoes, and avocados in their avocado wraps. However, they use a

dressing on it that is delicious. I'm not sure about the

proportions, but the deli guy told me it was made of balsamic

vinegar, mustard, and mayonnaise. My boys wanted no part of

this sauce, so I substituted hummus, which I knew they loved.

However, you might want to give this a try. Remember, it's got to be thick

enough not to run out of the wrap, but thin enough to drizzle through the

lettuce or mixed greens easily. Think of dijonnaise thinned out with a bit of

balsamic vinegar. It's nasty-looking stuff, but it tastes excellent on the

wrap.

 

Vegetarian Chili with Avocado Salsa

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:

8 medium Portobello mushroom caps, cubed

6 medium Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, cubed

2 boxes low fat firm tofu, cubed

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 Tablespoons sliced green onions

1 cup diced green, yellow, or orange bell pepper

2 (15 oz.) cans dark red kidney beans, drained

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained

1 (15 oz.) can pinto, lima, or other beans, or black-eyed peas, drained

2 (15 oz.) can kernel corn, drained

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup tequila

1 (8 oz.) can tomato puree

1 (5 oz.) can chopped green chilies

2 Tablespoons minced jalapeno pepper

1 dried red chili pepper

1 Tablespoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon Liquid Smoke

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Garnishes:

6 Tablespoons fat free sour cream

6 lime wedges

baked tortilla chips

avocado salsa (recipe to follow)

 

Directions:

Par boil potatoes. Saute mushrooms, pepper, and onion in oil. Simmer all

ingredients in a large pot, crock pot, or Dutch oven. Cook for at least

two hours (the longer, the better), stirring occasionally. Serve with sour

cream, lime wedges, chips, and avocado salsa.

 

Recipe Note:

The longer you cook, the spicier the chili will become. That's not

necessarily a bad thing, but you should be aware of it before embarking on this

recipe. You can minimize this effect, should you wish to, by adding the

spices one to two hours before you plan on serving, or by cutting down on the

pepper and chilies.

 

Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finely chopped and peeled avocado

1/3 cup chopped and seeded tomato

2 Tablespoons finely chopped Vidalia onion

1 Tablespoon finely chopped and seeded jalapeno pepper

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients; toss mixture gently. Serve salsa immediately.

In Vino Veritas,

*´¨) Janis Abbe

.. ·´ ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨ )

(¸.·´ (¸.*´ ¸.·´ `·-* *

Oenaphile, Logophile, Ailurophile, Bibliophile

" Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre

minds. " ~Albert Einstein

" A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. " ~Paul Simon

" I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints; the sinners

are much more fun. " ~ Billy Joel