Monday Recipes

Here are today's six recipes. Enjoy!

Note: Since Christmas comes this Friday, this will be a shortened week. Next week will have five days' worth of posts, including New Year's Day.

CHAI RICE PUDDING

This comes from the February 2006 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 86. It starts off, “If you like chai tea, you'll love this creamy, comforting dessert studded with apples and raisins. For the best flavor, choose a strong, spicy chai tea; we used, Tazo's chai tea bags.”

3 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk or low-fat milk

4 black chai tea bags

1 cup short- or medium-grain white rice

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 medium-sized apple, peeled, cored and diced

1/4 cup dark raisins

whipped cream for garnish, optional

cinnamon for garnish, optional

Bring 2 cups water and 1 cup soymilk to a boil in large saucepan. Remove from heat, and add teabags. Cover, and steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing out any liquid.

Stir rice, sugar and salt into tea mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add remaining 2 1/2 cups soymilk, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes, or until rice is soft. Stir in apple and raisins; remove from heat. Cover pot, and let sit 10 minutes.

Spoon pudding into 2-quart heatproof dish. Serve warm or cold, with whipped cream and cinnamon, if desired.

Per serving: 208 cal; 5 g prot; 2 g total fat (0 g sat. fat); 43 g carb; o mg chol; 75 mg sod; 1 g fiber; 20 g sugars

CREAMY RICE PUDDING

Maybe ten years ago, this recipe was in several issues of Vegetarian Times in ads for Mahatma Rice. I'd lost track of the recipe, which I'd made several times for a certain someone who loved homemade rice pudding. I had to admit, it was definitely worth the time it took to fix it.

1 1/2 quarts 2% milk

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Mahatma rice (see note)

1/2 cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Note: The recipe called for Mahatma, Water Maid, Carolina, or River rice.

Combine milk, sugar and rice in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (The milk should just barely simmer, with bubble breaking only at the outside edge of the surface. After an hour, the rice should be soft.)

Add raisins, increase heat to medium heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until rice has absorbed most of the rest of the milkl, but not all, and the pudding is creamy (about 30 minutes longer).

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. When cool, pudding will thicken, but will still be very creamy. Serve warm or well chilled. Serves 8.

ROSE HIPS MARMALADE

This comes from my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking. This recipe is from friends of the family, an Episcopal priest and his wife. Both were involved in the civil rights movement. He past away several years ago, but I still remember them fondly.

This would make a good gift. Budda Teas sells Organic Rose Hips Tea, which could be used...Another place to check would be Frontier Co-op. Or try your nearest health food store.

3 lbs. rose hips

1 large lemon

2 large oranges

6 C sugar

4 C boiling water

Remove stem & flower area ends from rose hips. Cut each berry in half. Cover with boiling water; simmer for 30 minutes. Rub through sieve or food mill. Add to pulp juice of lemon & oranges, coarsely ground-up rind of oranges, & sugar. Boil about 20 minutes. Pour into jelly glasses. When cool, cover with paraffin.

THREE SISTERS SQUASH

This comes from Tara Parker-Pope in The New York Times' Cooking newsletter. Tara writes, “The sisters in this recipe are the Native American staples beans, corn and squash, which together offer a delicious main course for vegan diners. It comes from Maria Marlowe, a Times reader in New York, who said that she used the dish to help convince her family that eating vegan didn't have to mean sacrificing flavor.” Time: 45 minutes; makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 acorn or carnival squash

1 cup red onion, diced

2 to 3 serrano chiles, minced

3 cups cooked black beans

2 cups corn kernels

2 cups broccoli florets, diced

1 1/2 cups cooked wild or brown rice (optional)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

1 teaspoon paprika

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine olive oil and 1/3 of the minced garlic in a small bowl; set aside.

Remove stem from squash and cut each in half from top to bottom. Scoop out seeds and reserve for another use. Brush inside of each squash with the garlic oil. Place squash flesh side up on a baking sheet and roast for about 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and chile and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining garlic, the beans, the corn, the broccoli and the rice, if using. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until corn is bright yellow and broccoli is bright green. Stir in parsley, paprika, salt and pepper and continue to cook for about a minute. Adjust seasonings if needed.

Remove squash from oven. Scoop corn and bean mixture into center of each squash. Serve right away.

Tip

The squash can be made a day in advance and reheated in the oven at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

MUSHROOM, CHEESE, AND VEGETABLE STRUDEL

This comes from the November/December 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 72, and begins, “Whole-wheat phyllo dough lends a wholesome, nutty taste and golden color to the finished strudel. Veganizing this recipe is a snap too—simply substitute vegan cream cheese and vegan Cheddar cheese.” Serves 12.

To view this online, click here.

Filling

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1 medium red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

2 tsp. dried thyme

1 lb. white mushrooms, sliced (5 cups)

2 10-oz. bags baby spinach

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 14-oz. pkg. firm tofu, drained

8 oz. Neufchâtel cheese, softened

1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (4 oz.)

Strudel

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 lb. whole-wheat phyllo dough, thawed

1/2 tsp. poppy, sesame, or fennel seeds, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 18- x 13-inch baking sheet with cooking spray.

To make Filling: Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, bell pepper, garlic, and thyme in oil 10 minutes. Add mushrooms, and cook 10 minutes, or until wilted. Stir in spinach and nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until spinach has wilted, stirring occasionally. Drain, and cool in bowl.

Purée tofu, Neufchâtel cheese, and Cheddar cheese in food processor until smooth. Stir into mushroom mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

To make Strudel: Heat oil, garlic, and thyme in small pot over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Cool.

Cover bottom of prepared baking pan with 2 phyllo sheets, allowing sheets to overlap each other and hang off sides. Brush with garlic oil. Place 2 more phyllo sheets on top, and brush with garlic oil. Repeat 4 times, until you have a 6-layer bottom crust.

Spread Filling in crust, leaving 3-inch edge all around. Brush edges with garlic oil. Fold sides of phyllo over filling. Cover filling with 2-sheet layer of phyllo (4 sheets total), overlapping sheets in center. Brush with garlic oil. Repeat layering 2 sheets at a time until you have 4 layers (16 sheets phyllo total), brushing every second sheet with garlic oil. Tuck under edges. Sprinkle top with seeds, if desired. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting into slices.

nutritional information Per Slice: Calories: 299; Protein: 12 g; Total Fat: 15.5 g; Saturated Fat: 6 g; Carbohydrates: 31 g; Cholesterol: 24 mg; Sodium: 541 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 2 g

VEGETABLES WELLINGTON

This comes from the December 2011 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 34, and begins, "Adorn your table with this wow-worthy dish baked in a loaf pan for a spectacular presentation." Serves 8.

To view this online, click here.

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 lb. asparagus, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

2 medium red bell peppers, cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (1 1/2 cups)

1 5-oz. pkg. baby spinach leaves

1 4-oz. jar prepared pesto sauce

1 large egg

1 17.3-oz. pkg. frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 10-oz. log fresh goat cheese, softened

1 16-oz. jar prepared tomato sauce, warmed

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add asparagus, bell peppers, and onion, and sauté 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Add spinach, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until spinach wilts. Stir in pesto. Cool.

Whisk egg in bowl, and set aside. Cut 15- x 10-inch piece of parchment paper, and set on work surface. Place 1 sheet puff pastry on parchment paper. Lift parchment with puff pastry, and place parchment-side-down in 9-inch loaf pan. Press pastry into pan, being careful not to let folds get caught in parchment and allowing excess parchment and pastry to hang over sides. Cut squares from second puff pastry sheet, and press onto short sides of parchment-covered pan to make dough shell. Prick bottom of puff pastry all over with fork.

Spread goat cheese over bottom of puff pastry. Top with asparagus mixture. Fold excess puff pastry over vegetables, and brush edges with egg.

Cut 91/2- x 51/2-inch piece of puff pastry from remaining sheet. Set on top of asparagus mixture, pressing to seal edges. Refrigerate 30 minutes, along with unused pastry scraps and egg.

Preheat oven to 425°F, and place oven rack on second-lowest level. Brush top of Wellington with egg, and poke 2 or 3 holes in top. Cut decorative leaves and stems from remaining pastry, press onto top of Wellington, and brush with egg. Use tip of small knife to score leaves and top with decorative touches.

Bake Wellington 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350°F, and bake 45 minutes more. Cool 15 minutes.

Use parchment to lift Wellington from loaf pan. Remove parchment, and transfer Wellington to flat serving plate. Slice, and serve with tomato sauce.

nutritional information Per Serving (1 slice wellington and 1/4 cup sauce): Calories: 405; Protein: 15 g; Total Fat: 29 g; Saturated Fat: 11 g; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Cholesterol: 48 mg; Sodium: 657 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 6 g