Thursday Recipes

It's been one of those days, which, of course, means posting later than I'd planned. But no matter...here are today's six vegetarian recipes to get you through the rest of the day, including two rice pudding recipes. Enjoy!

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.”

To view this online, click here.

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.

Note: I went onto the Mahatma website and couldn't find this particular recipe. Guess I'll have to keep looking and pose a link when I do find 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.

TOMATO-BASIL SALAD WITH BALSAMIC DRESSING

Servings: 6

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/37.shtml

Source: The New American Heart Association Cookbook

Ingredients

Salad:

4 medium tomatoes, sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried, crumbled

Dressing:

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Remaining Ingredients:

2 tablespoons shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

For salad, arrange tomato slices on a large, flat plate.

Sprinkle with basil.

In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Pour over tomatoes.

Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 50; Protein: 2 g; Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 5 g; Exchanges: 1 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat

SIMPLE VEGGIE SKEWERS

Yield: 12 appetizers

Source: The Complete Diabetes Prevention Plan

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/779.shtml

Ingredients

1 medium-small zucchini squash 12 cubes (3/4-inches each) reduced-fat white cheddar, provolone, or Swiss cheese (about 3 ounces)

12 small whole fresh mushrooms

12 pitted jumbo black olives

12 cherry or grape tomatoes

12 wooden skewers (6-inches each)

1/2 cup light ranch salad dressing (optional)

Directions

Trim the ends off the zucchini, quarter it lengthwise, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces.

Thread 1 of the zucchini pieces, 1 cube of cheese, 1 mushroom, 1 olive, 1 tomato, and another zucchini piece onto each skewer.

Serve immediately (accompanied by the dressing if desired) or cover and chill for several hours before serving.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 58; Protein: 5 g; Fat: 2.8 g; Sodium: 138 mg; Cholesterol: 7 mg; Dietary Fiber: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 2 g ; Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable, 1/2 Medium-Fat Meat

ZUCCHINI WITH SPICY ROMESCO AND WILTED CHARD

This comes from the April/May 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 28. It begins, “This recipe calls for a spiral slicer, which cuts the zucchini into thin, pasta-like strands for a delicious take on the 'classic' zucchini pasta with marinara. No spiral slicer in your kitchen? Try a julienne vegetable peeler or mandoline.” Serves 4 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Wilted Chard

4 oz. Swiss chard leaves, stems removed (4 cups)

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. grated lemon zest

1 Tbs. lemon juice

Zucchini with Spicy Romesco

4 large red bell peppers, chopped (6 cups)

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped (3 cups)

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 tsp. chili powder

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

4 large zucchini, peeled

Directions

To make Wilted Chard: Toss together all ingredients in large bowl, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Set aside to marinate.

To make Zucchini with Spicy Romesco: Blend bell peppers, tomatoes, oil, lemon juice, garlic, chili powder, and red pepper flakes in food processor until smooth. Add almonds and hazelnuts, and process until well combined but still chunky. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Slice zucchini into noodles with spiral slicer, and add to sauce.

Divide Wilted Chard among individual serving plates. Top each serving with 2 cups Zucchini with Spicy Romesco.

nutritional information Per 2 1/2-cup serving: Calories: 342; Protein: 11 g; Total Fat: 22 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 32 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 125 mg; Fiber: 11 g; Sugar: 19 g; Vegan; Gluten-Free

BELL PEPPER SALAD

Servings: 4

View recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/40.shtml

Source: The Diabetic Newsletter

Ingredients

1 medium-sized red bell pepper

1/2 cup creamy garlic dressing

1 medium-sized green bell pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 medium-sized yellow bell pepper

2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and drained

Directions

Preheat broiler.

Place bell peppers under broiler and lightly charred, turning to grill all sides.

Remove from broiler to a paper bag. Close bag and set aside.

When peppers cool, peel, core, seed and cut into strips.

Arrange peppers on a platter, alternating colors so that they form a petal, and spoon dressing over them.

Sprinkle with black pepper.

Garnish with capers and serve warm or chilled.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 30; Protein: 2 g; Sodium: 67 mg; Carbohydrates: 6 g; Exchanges: Sodium: 67 mg