Vegetarian Cooking, the 411, take one

The other day, my darling daughter asked me where chicken nuggets came from.  My response- it comes from a chicken.  Being the curious kid that she is, she had to know exactly where it came from, so I had to go into the story of the farmer, the chicken, and the egg.  She thought it was awesome though, so I was a happy Mom!

Vegetarian cooking is a whole other world of cooking.  Yes, it is possible to substitute various other foods for meats in meat based dishes, but not always.  It is also possible to make entire dishes, main courses, using no meats.  Shocking, I know!

The crash course version of vegetarian cooking might involve the necessity of post it notes in your kitchen (you should see my kitchen right now).  It's worth it though.

First tip.... typically, vegetables cook quicker than meats.  Some vegetables in the root and squash departments do not though (those need much long to cook).

Second tip.... those veggies that take a while to cook, like a tough cut of meat, are usually best when slow roasted.

Third tip... like a meat, veggies can be cooked "rare" or "well done."  In this case, it means do you want your vegetables to have a bite or be floppy.

Fourth tip...  not all meat based dishes can automatically have a veggie substitute.  Sorry.  However, sometimes tofu can be used (tofu needs a whole tutorial on its own!).

Fifth tip... do not forget cooking times.  The general rule of the thumb is to half the cooking time, but not always!

Sixth tip... it will still taste good.  Sometimes, it might taste better.  Vegetables equal pure awesomeness, for reals.

Reminder- vegan is NOT the same thing as vegetarian!  Typically speaking, vegan means no animal products (cheese, eggs, butter, broth, ect.)


Ok, let's practice!  Remember my recipe for Stir Fry?  That one is a simple something for you to start out with.  Instead of chicken and mixed veggies, we're going to do a few substitutes.

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper, diced
1 head broccoli, stems removed (or 2 cups broccoli florets)1/2 pound snow peas, ends trimmed
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1/2 cup Teriyaki sauce
1 T brown sugar
2 T rice wine vinegar
chopped garlic, as needed (1-2 T)
1 cup rice, cooked

Special equipment:
Wok

Directions:

1. In a zip lock bag, combine Teriyaki, brown sugar, and rice wine
2. Place prepared vegetables in sauce mixture for 10-20 minutes
3. Cook rice
4. In a large sauté pan or wok, cook vegetables. Halfway, add garlic (as much or little as you want).  Note: this will only take about 5-10 minutes to do (depending on how you want your vegetables).  
5. Serve over rice

For an extra "boost," try adding 1/2 T of fresh, grated ginger.

Serves 4-6


Remember my Chicken Salad recipe?  You can trade out the poached chicken for some diced zucchini and/or summer squash.  Personally, I wouldn't cook those veggies at all, but you can always bake them at 400 for 10-15 minutes to soften them up a little (don't forget to put some vegetable oil on them in your pan before you stick it in the oven!).  Tofu is doable, but that's a lesson for another day.

While we're at it, go ahead and substitute tofu pepperoni in my Pizza Sticks.  You won't even be able to tell the difference.  I do that sometimes just to make it healthy.

This was the crash course, but there will be more in the near future!