Thursday Recipes

I'm getting a late-ish start this morning. Some days are like that.

I realize that the first recipe is a New Year's dish, but I felt that it was a good recipe to start off with, especially since black-eyed peas at New Year's is for luck and good fortune. We could definitely use both!

That said, here are today's six vegetarian recipes to get your day started. Enjoy!

NEW YEAR'S BLACK-EYED PEAS AND GREENS

This recipe is from the December 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 68. It starts off, “'Eat poor on New Year’s, and eat fat the rest of the year,' goes the saying in the American South, where black-eyed peas are eaten at New Year’s for luck and good fortune. The peas are said to represent coins, and are often eaten alongside collard greens, which represent paper money, as well as golden cornbread. This version replaces the collards with superfood kale.” Serves 6.

To view this online, click here.

1/2 lb. dried black-eyed peas (1 1/4 cups)

1 bay leaf

2 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 3/4 tsp. salt, divided

1 12-oz. bunch kale, stems removed, leaves torn into pieces

2 Tbs. lemon juice, divided

2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced (1 1/2 cups)

2 Tbs. olive oil

4 green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh oregano

Set peas in saucepan, and cover with boiling water; let sit 1 hour. Drain, return peas to saucepan, cover with fresh water, and add bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and cook 20 minutes. Add vinegar and 1 tsp. salt, and cook 10 to 25 minutes longer, or until peas are tender but keep their shape.

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Add kale, and boil 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and toss with 1 tsp. lemon juice.

Toss tomatoes with 1/4 tsp. salt in colander. Let sit, shaking occasionally, to drain juices.

Combine remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, remaining 5 tsp. lemon juice, oil, green onions, parsley, and oregano in large bowl.

Drain peas, and remove bay leaf. Add to bowl with lemon juice and herbs, and mix well. Add tomatoes, and mix again. Serve warm, with kale on side.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 195; Protein: 10 g; Total Fat: 6 g; Saturated Fat: less than 1 g; Carbohydrates: 28 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 701 mg; Fiber: 8 g; Sugar: 6 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH COOKIES

This comes from the December 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 55. It starts off, “These sandwich cookies are held together by a rich (and ridiculously easy) chocolate filling.” Makes 24 sandwiches.

To view this online, click here.

Cookies

2 cups smooth natural-style peanut butter

4 oz. Earth Balance margarine (1 stick)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain soymilk or almond milk

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped

Filling

1/2 cup coconut creamer or soy creamer

8 oz. vegan chocolate chips (1 1/4 cups)

To make Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or coat with cooking spray.

Cream peanut butter, margarine, brown sugar, cane sugar, and vanilla 2 to 3 minutes with electric mixer, or until smooth. Beat in soymilk and 1/4 cup water.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and peanuts in separate bowl. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, and beat just until dough forms.

Scoop 1 Tbs. dough onto prepared baking sheets 2 to 3 inches apart. Make crisscross pattern on top of each Cookie by pressing down with fork. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges of Cookies begin to brown. Cool on baking sheet.

To make Filling: Heat creamer in top half of double boiler over medium heat until steaming. Pour hot creamer over chocolate chips in bowl, and let stand 30 seconds. Mix creamer and chocolate with wooden spoon until chocolate is melted, then whisk until smooth.

Spread 2 tsp. Filling on flat sides of 24 Cookies. Top with remaining Cookies.

nutritional information Per Cookie sandwich: Calories: 344; Protein: 7 g; Total Fat: 18 g; Saturated Fat: 5 g; Carbohydrates: 38 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 304 mg; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 18 g; Vegan

BRUSSLES SPROUTS, RADICCHIO, AND PICKLED RED ONION SALAD

This is also from the December 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 49. It states, “Leftover picked onions will keep a few days in the fridge, so make extra, and use them on grilled cheese sandwiches or chopped in deviled eggs.” Serves 4.

To view this online, click here.

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 large red onion, very thinly sliced (from root end to top, not horizontally into half circles)

3/4 lb. medium Brussels sprouts, quartered lengthwise

1 2/3 cups coarsely chopped radicchio (about three-quarters of 1 large head)

2 1/2 oz. coarsely crumbled Maytag blue cheese

1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil

Stir vinegar, 1/2 cup water, sugar, salt, and pepper in bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Mix in onion, and press down to submerge. Let stand 45 minutes, checking to be sure onion stays submerged.

Steam Brussels sprouts in steamer or on rack over boiling water 6 to 8 minutes, or until just tender. Lift out rack, and cool.

Place Brussels sprouts in large bowl, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Drain onion slices, and discard brine. Add onion slices to Brussels sprouts along with radicchio, blue cheese, and oil, and toss to combine.

nutritional information Per 1-cup serving: Calories: 160; Protein: 7 g; Total Fat: 11 g; Saturated Fat: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 12 g; Cholesterol: 13 mg; Sodium: 418 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 4 g; Gluten-Free

ITALIAN STYLE VEGETARIAN RICE AND BEANS

This comes from Jolinda Hackett, About.Com's Vegetarian Food guide. She writes, “Using just five ingredients, you can serve this easy vegetarian rice and beans dish with Italian seasonings as a side, or, add some sauteed tofu or seitan to make it a main meal. Recipe courtesy of Bush's Beans.”

To view online, click here.

Ingredients

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs (do not drain)

1 14.5 ounce can Great Northern or cannellini beans, drained

2/3 cup instant rice

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

fresh pepper to taste

Preparation

Place all ingredients in medium saucepan. Cook 3-4 minutes, covered, over medium-high heat. Uncover pan and continue cooking 2-3 minutes, or until rice is tender. Dish is slightly saucy when completely cooked.

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.