Back in the Dark Ages (the 1950s), meat and potatoes were the order of the day; if one didn't eat meat for dinner, it was considered sacrilege. Red meat was king in many households, though chicken, fish, and pork were acceptable variations on a theme.
Of course, there were exceptions and rules to the beef/chicken/fish/pork/etc. rules: If one was a practicing Catholic (or had grown up as one), it was fish on Fridays; if you'd invited the neighbors for dinner and you knew they were Jewish, pork was definitely not what you were fixing that evening; if someone mentioned that he or she simply wanted a salad, chances were that a smaller number on the scale weighed heavily on someone's mind.
But a meatless meal? As in vegetarian?!? You might as well suggest that someone thought that he or she was a three-headed martian, dropped into Roswell with the thought of bringing back every third person back to Mars. What were you, nuts?
When you read about my lasagna experience with a certain ex-coworker, you'll see that there are still people who feel that way. Not to worry, it's entirely possible to adhere to a vegetarian diet and be perfectly healthy; in fact, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, "It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes." (http://www.eatright.org/about/content.aspx?id=8357)
Great, you're thinking, I came here to see what's cooking, and she gives me the food lecture? Okay, lecture's over. Here are few non-meat meals. One or two of them are definitely not vegan (someone who eats and uses no animal by-products at all). I'll post a note after each recipe on what can be done to make it vegan. So...here goes. Enjoy!
VEGETARIAN LASAGNA
I’d been making lasagna for years, using a favorite cookbook. One year, my oldest son took the same recipe, and replaced the meat with eggplant. His came out tasting so much better better than when I made it.
I tried recreating the eggplant version, but it never quite came out the same. So, I changed the recipe drastically, getting rid of some ingredients (most notably meat), adding others (tofu crumbles), and changing amounts where I felt the changes were needed.
True story: Years ago, a coworker thought I was wonderful, while I found him nice but definitely not my type. While we both had pleasant enough conversations over coffee, it was not something I wanted to pursue.
One afternoon, a group of us were talking about food; he mentioned he absolutely loved lasagna. I made a mental note of that, thinking, Next time I'm planning that, I'm soooo not telling him.
A few weeks later, I decided to take a rare day off and started making a huge pan of - you guessed it - vegetarian lasagna. Just before I put it in the oven, the phone rang; it was you-know-who, telling me he missed running into me at work.
About this time, my youngest came into the kitchen and said (loud enough for my coworker to hear), "So you're getting ready to put the lasagna into the oven, right?" The guy immediately stated that he was on his way over.
That evening, the guy ate two helpings of the stuff. (He was a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy; a meal without meat, to him, was nothing short of sacrilege!) The next morning, when I ran into him, he enthused, "That was the best lasagna ever! How much meat did you use?" I told him none. He continued, "Okay, no red meat. Ground turkey?"
I told him it was tofu crumbles.
"What's that?" he asked. When I told him, he looked at me aghast, and asked, "What are you, some kind of vegetarian?" He immediately decided I was not the right person for him. Go figure...
Tomato sauce:
2-3 onions, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. can tomatoes
2-8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2-6 oz. cans tomato paste
2 T olive oil
1 T oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. dill
1 tsp. anise
1 or 2-10 oz. package tofu crumbles
Brown onions & garlic in oil. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, simmer for 1 hour. While sauce is cooking, in a separate pot, cook 16 oz. lasagna noodles & make cheese layer.
Cheese layer:
2 C sour cream
2 C cottage cheese
2 eggs
4 C mozzarella, grated
2 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 C Parmesan cheese
Mix ingredients together in large bowl.
Assemble:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9" X 13" pan, place half the cooked lasagna noodles length-wise. Top with half the cheese mixture, then half the tomato sauce. Repeat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before cutting, as it tends to be a little runny when it first comes out of the oven. Serve with a salad and a loaf of hot Italian bread. Very yummy.
SPAGHETTI SAUCE
28 oz. can tomatoes (note)
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
3 onions, chopped
3 to 5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T oil
1 T oregano
1/4 - 1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. dill
1 tsp. anise
2 T honey
Brown onions & garlic in oil. Add tomatoes, sauce & pasted. Stir. Add everything ex-cept cheese & stir. Simmer 1 hour. Add cheese & stir until cheese is melted. Serve over hot spaghetti. Better the next day—if any is left!
NOTE: I usually use crushed tomatoes. If you’d rather use fresh tomatoes, 6-8 large ones may be used (diced, of course) in place of the canned tomatoes, & add an extra can of to-mato sauce.
Note:If you want to make it vegan, leave the honey out and use grated vegan cheese.
ANGEL HAIR PASTA
I had something similar to this at a local Italian restaurant several times, and decided to try making it. A hint for making this: wait until all the veggies have been cut up, then start the water boiling for the angel hair pasta. The veggies should be cooked for 2-4 minutes, and the pasta cooked for 2 minutes before the pasta is drained and then allowed to finish cooking for another 2 minutes with the veggies. Timing is important—unless you like disgustingly soggy pasta.
1/2 C water
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2green pepper, diced
1 T oregano
1 lb. angel hair pasta
Cut up veggies while heating the pasta water. DO NOT PUT PASTA INTO WATER UNTIL THE VEGGIES BEGIN COOKING. (There. I said it.) In veggie pot, heat 1/2 C water & balsamic vinegar until it begins to bubble; add onion, garlic, pepper & oregano and stir once or twice. NOW ADD PASTA TO POT OF BOILING PASTA WATER. (Boy, what a bossy broad.) Simmer veggies on low-medium heat for 2-4 minutes, covered. Cook pasta for only 2 minutes, then drain in colander. As soon as pasta is drained, remove cover from veggies, dump pasta into veggie pot, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring several times. Remove from heat. DIG IN!!! (Now, isn’t that good?)
BAKED NOODLES & CHEESE
No idea where this came from.
8 oz. noodles, cooked
2 1/2 C grated cheese
2 eggs
1 C milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 T butter
Layer noodles & 2 C cheese alternately in a 2-quart casserole. Beat eggs, milk, salt & pepper together & pour over noodles & cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese over it & dot with butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes until set.
Note:Not sure how to make it vegan; you can use vegan margarine and cheese, but the eggs...eh.
GRANDMA'S MAC AND CHEESE
Grandma was a character; I could write a book about her. This is her version of the ultimate comfort food. She told me she made this for my dad and my uncle when they were kids. Very simple, but very good.
1 lb. elbow macaroni
1-2 jars of Cheese Whiz
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Heat Cheese Whiz, either in microwave or boiling water. (Remove lids from jars first.) Drain macaroni, dump into a large bowl, add heated Cheese Whiz, stir, and PIG OUT!!!
Note:I'm really sooo not sure how to replace the jars of Cheese Whiz. Anyone know if there's a vegan replacement?
J’s B-B-Q GLUTEN
This is from my oldest son. Rather than reword any of this, the recipe is included exactly as he wrote it out for me. (This stuff is definitely good.)
Ingredients:
5 lb. whole wheat flour
2 onions
1/2 creamy peanut butter
2 bottles of B-B-Q sauce
1 stick butter
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
Huge ass bowl
Take whole wheat flour, empty into Big Bowl. Add enough water to knead into dough ball. Knead really well. I repeat, knead really well. For at least 10 minutes. Fill huge ass bowl with water, put dough ball under water for 2 hours. Pour off water and drowned roaches. Knead doughball under cold running water for 10 minutes or more. Water should be clear. You are washing out the starch and bran. You know it’s ready when stringy and it sticks together and is bouncy. Melt 1 stick butter and fry 2 chopped onions until clear. Dump onto Gluten. Add salt, paprika, and peanut butter. Mix with hands completely. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cooking pan with non-stick spray. Pinch off pieces bigger than a golf ball. Take piece and fold it and twist it and lay it down in pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip over and bake for 10 more. Pour B-B-Q sauce and bake 10 more minutes, then flip and pour more B-B-Q sauce and bake 10 more minutes. It’s done—enjoy.
(Xtra note—be careful when you first mix wheat and water. Don’t add too much water. Make a hard dough ball. It might take 20 minutes to knead it.)
