(my recipe box, from One Canoe Two)
We’ve been… what would you call it? Soft? Semi? Sort of? Vegetarians for a few weeks now.
We eat meat from time to time, but mostly stick to veggies and beans and lots of fruit. Maybe that’s not vegetarian at all. I guess it’s just sort of omnivore with vegetarian leanings.
There’s a health component. I don’t really know one way or the other if eating less meat is good or bad, but the way I cook meat usually involves things like butter-sauteed mushrooms and cream sauces and cheese stuffings. So, yes. Skipping on all of that in favor of a salad (even if it does have a tablespoon of mayo) probably isn’t so bad for my ever-expanding middle.
But, the real reasons are financial. The cheapest, freshest produce near us is in bulk, and it never makes sense to buy, say, three heads of romaine if they won’t be eaten before they start to turn brown. But, if I make every meal out of mostly vegetables, it makes sense to buy loads of them. We eat them all. We save money. This is a good situation.
I’m still figuring out what flavor combinations work together so I can wing it on my own, so for now, I’m very recipe reliant. Here are some of our recent favorites:
Black Bean Salad from AdriennEats
Roasted Eggplant Soup from Smitten Kitchen
Chipotle Sweet Potato Black Bean Tacos from Naturally Ella
White Bean Ragout from Bon Appetit
For more, check out these great blogs:
Or, check out my food board on Pinterest. (Do you have one?)
What are your favorite recipes this summer?
you may also like::
Your Comments | Add a Comment
Jul 12, 2012 8:45 am
I love this blog: http://greatbigvegchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ (also has a recipe book now). It started as a way to get a boy to eat veg after he declared he hated it all!
Jul 12, 2012 8:49 am
I want those sweet potato tacos now. Who cares if it’s 8:45 am. I find I naturally cook & eat much more vegetarian food in the summer. The veggies are so beautiful at the market! And everything tastes how it should, not like a tomato in January. 101cookbooks.com/ is another good veg reference.
Jul 12, 2012 2:23 pm
Oops, recipe as requested, made these this week:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/08/zucchini-fritters/
Jul 12, 2012 2:36 pm
Haha you already gave me 1001cookbooks! But thank you, these look amazing. And zucchini is SO CHEAP right now!
Jul 12, 2012 7:22 pm
I recently made the broccoli version of these (http://smittenkitchen.com/2012/06/broccoli-parmesan-fritters/) and they were SOOO good. I subbed almond flour for the regular flour but that was the only edit. The recommended lemony sauce was great, too, and would likely be tasty with the zucchini ones as well. Veggies veggies veggies!
Jul 12, 2012 9:00 am
Yum!!!! Looks DELISH! Don’t forget websites like http://www.happyherbivore.com and http://www.fatfreevegan.com loads of no fuss, inexpensive delicious recipes!
Jul 12, 2012 9:53 am
Gina I need that enchilada recipe! They were awesome.
Jul 12, 2012 10:35 am
My husband is vegetarian, so as a result, we mostly eat veg at home. One of my go-to summer salads is very simple: tomatoes, cucumbers, onions (any kind, really, but scallions are awesome), oil, salt to taste. Sometimes I add mozzarella for protein.
Another surprisingly delicious salad is tomatoes, peaches (yes, peaches), onions (white, or sweet is usually best), oil, salt to taste. Everyone I tell this recipe to is always skeptical at first, but it’s really worth a try because it is just so good!
For colder months, I like to make a lentil soup/stew. The ingredients are red lentils, mushrooms, onions, leeks. (Can you tell I love onions?) Some people also add carrots. Serve it over rice and with a side of some greens, and you have a complete dinner meal.
Jul 12, 2012 1:57 pm
I’m making that tomato peach salad tonight (despite also being skeptical- taking your word on this one!).
Jul 13, 2012 2:39 pm
How did the salad turn out?
Jul 16, 2012 9:40 am
Great! Even peach-averse Josh liked it! Thanks for the recommendation. :)
Jul 12, 2012 2:11 pm
Gazpacho – I love it. My husband doesn’t like cucumbers so I have been doing this Tomato-Melon Gazpacho from Mark Bittman. I love his recipes; they are always simple and great.
http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/6948/Tomato-Melon-Gazpacho.html
Jul 12, 2012 2:11 pm
All my favorite vegetarian dishes come from my mom, who’s insanely good at cooking simple, flavorful Chinese food. To wit:
- Stirfry shitake mushrooms and baby bok choy in a wok with a little oil and soy sauce. BAM. (The mushrooms add a deliciously earthy flavor)
- Blanch green beans, then stirfry with butter/oil, a couple cloves of chopped garlic, salt and pepper to taste. BAM.
- Cut kernels off fresh corn on the cob. Saute. BAM.
I’ve also been doing a lot of roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar reduction (equal parts balsamic and sugar in a pot over medium stove, reduce until thickened, stirring frequently) because my husband loves them. And one of the quickest and easiest meals I know is to scramble some eggs in a pan, then add a couple fresh sliced tomatoes, cook until tomatoes are soft, serve over rice, done.
Jul 12, 2012 2:18 pm
Last summer, I had some GIGANTIC zucchini to get rid of so I got fond of some zucchini recipes: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/03/cheesy-zucchini-enchiladas.html and http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/06/zucchini-and-ricotta-galette/ Both are delicious, but the galette is more of a show stopper.
I also really really love this pasta salad and make it all the time in the summer – you can add whatever kinds of roasted veggies you have on hand although onions are a must: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/orzo-with-roasted-vegetables-recipe/index.html
Jul 12, 2012 2:19 pm
whole wheat pasta, cooked and rinsed in cold water
chopped green onion
1 diced red bell pepper
1 diced green bell pepper
1 diced tomato
1 handful broccoli florets
1 diced avocado
1 cup grilled shrimp
lemon juice (squeezed 1/2 a lemon over it)
splash of olive oil
cracked pepper
fresh basil
red pepper flakes
SO fast and easy, since the only thing you cook is the pasta. it’s my go-to summer potluck recipe
Jul 12, 2012 2:20 pm
er, well I did cook the shrimp. when you add shrimp or chicken to it, I guess that has to get cooked first ;)
Jul 12, 2012 2:36 pm
This sounds AWESOME.
Jul 12, 2012 2:27 pm
Those tacos look SO GOOD. It could just be that I adore tacos though.
For something easy and hearty, you can always make lentil loaf. There are about 10,000 recipes online but I like to use this calculator”. I like mine with bbq sauce, rice and mushrooms. My one piece of advice is to mash up the lentils after you cook them.
This pumpkin mac & cheese is awesome (although not necessarily seasonal, but for later)
Also, I like this risotto even though I often make it without the pesto altogether. You can also sub in basically any vegetable.
Uh, there is just a sampling of what I can share online. I really like all of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s cookbooks as well as the Native Foods cookbook if you wanted to get something tangible.
Jul 12, 2012 2:39 pm
we’ve been obsessed with cold veggies + quinoa salads this summer. this is the recipe that got us started on the quinoa kick: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/06/quinoa-tabbouleh
we’ve been having fun throwing in whatever is in the fridge and seems like it’d be delicious ever since – feta, tomato, green beans, mushrooms, corn, beans, whatever. Erik added pickled kohlrabi + leftover green beans to it for lunch today (if you’d told me a few years ago I’d just have pickled kohlrabi kicking it in the fridge, I would have laughed at you) and told me it was amaaaazing.
also, our CSA has a really great recipe base, which is mainly awesome because it focuses on what’s in our shares this week – which means that, even if you’re not a CSA member with LFF, it’s full of recipes centering on the current veggies you’ll find in abundance (aka cheapest!) at your local farmer’s market that week. it’s kind of perfect for summer dinner ideas: lffccsarecipegroup.blogspot.com/
Jul 12, 2012 2:50 pm
These are some of my favorite meatless summer recipes:
Lemon Cucumber Tofu Salad:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/lemon-cucumber-tofu-salad-recipe.html
Omelette with White Beans and Green Onions (this is actually good all year round):
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/01/omelet-with-white-beans-and-green-onions-recipe.html
Greek Antipasto Pitas (sometimes I skip the pitas and just eat as a salad):
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2010/07/no-cook-month-greek-antipasto-pita.html
Black-eyed Pea Salad: http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2008/06/marvelous-martha-and-her-beautiful.html
Another book to check out to the library is Almost Meatless by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond. It’s non-vegetarian recipes that are heavy on vegetables. I especially like the recipe for Quinoa with Sweet Potato, Kale, and Bacon, but that’s more of a fall/winter recipe.
Jul 12, 2012 3:00 pm
Ooh, great recipes up here already! I’ve really enjoyed this one for balsamic penne pasta and asparagus. I cut the butter in half and skip the brown sugar, not for diet reasons but because I like to taste the tang of the balsamic more.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/penne-with-roasted-asparagus-and-balsamic-butter
And I’ve been wanting to try this one:
http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/roasted-chickpea-fajitas/
I will eat anything that has avocado on it.
Jul 12, 2012 3:32 pm
I have tons of veg recipes for the colder months, but I’m really struggling with what to make in this heat, since I don’t even want to turn on my stove, let alone the oven.
This is yummy, though: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/smashed-chickpea-avocado-salad-sandwich/ (but needs more seasoning IMO- onion powder, sugar, more lemon juice, etc.)
and this: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/spring-tabbouleh-recipe.html
and also this: http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/06/linguine-with-pea-pesto/
Jul 12, 2012 5:17 pm
YUM! We have just started (like literally four days ago) trying to cut meat out of our everyday home cooking and just have it if we go out for a meal or on special occasion. We’re still eating fish though. So far so good, but Fin’s not a big veggie eater so I’m definitely going to be stealing all of these recipes to try and convince him that courgette does have some intrinsic value and isn’t just pointless green mush.
I think the biggest challenge for us is going to be trying not to just replace meat with huge quantities of cheese… mmm, cheese…
Jul 12, 2012 5:58 pm
One of my favourite salads is chickpeas, diced tomatoes, finely diced red onion (shallots/scallions would work nicely too), avocado, s&p with lemon juice and olive oil dressing. Chilli flakes optional :)
Puttanesca pasta: garlic, 1-2 anchovies, tinned tomatoes (or a few diced fresh tomatoes + some passata or tomato paste), olives, capers and a chilli. Saute the garlic then add the anchovies and chilli for 1-2 min. Add tomatoes, olives & capers and simmer. Season to taste. Should be ready by the time the pasta is cooked!
Frittata: cook up vegies of choice with some garlic (I like to use mushrooms, onion and diced potato but anything works). Whisk eggs up with a little milk. I use 1 egg per serve + 1 extra egg. Then put the eggs and the vegies in a non stick pan and cook until the egg is almost set. Finish it off in the griller. OR I also make these in individual serves in a muffin pan and cook it in a moderate (180C) oven for 15-20min. Frittata is good hot or cold :)
I also found this blog a while back: http://mealsforayear.blogspot.com.au/
Jul 12, 2012 6:01 pm
oooh I thought of more pasta recipes:
Roast pumpkin, baby spinach (or any green really) and ricotta
Garlic, baby spinach/rocket, lemon and chilli
I also forgot to say that I always put some kind of leafy green (usually baby spinach or rocket) in my frittatas :)
And I love roast pumpkin, rocket, feta cheese or blue cheese and pine nuts on pizza.
Jul 12, 2012 6:07 pm
i’ve been veggie for the last decade or so, and in my poor-est months i’ve lived on this for literally months at a time:
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes (the kind with peppers/jalapenos if on sale)
onion powder, garlic powder, lemon or lime juice, cayenne and brown sugar.
heat+eat
eat with chips, tortillas, or quinoa if feeling bored with it. add cheese or sour cream or fried egg if feeling fancy about it. healthy, and about $ 1.50 for two meals. also, yum.
Jul 12, 2012 6:27 pm
Ooh! And, if you like pizza, the Smitten Kitchen pizza dough and sauce is AMAZING.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/09/pizza-even-sweeter/
I made the sauce for the first time today and had to force myself to make the pizza instead of eating the sauce with a spoon right over the stove. (But, tip: decrease the salt, esp. if you’re not using kosher salt. I’d suggest starting with 1/4 tsp and adding if desired.)
Jul 13, 2012 8:49 am
One of my favorite easy summer meals is an orzo salad. Chop up a bunch of veggies (I like to use red onion, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, and spinach; zucchini or broccoli would be good too), toss w/ cooked orzo, mix in goat cheese and protein of choice (I use chicken, chickpeas, or canellini beans), and toss with a glug of red wine vinegar and a glug of olive oil, plus salt + pepper to taste.
This requires turning on the oven, but I like to make enchiladas with black beans and wilted spinach (seasoned with salt + chili powder +cumin), top w/ salsa verde and a bit of shredded cheese, then stick in the oven covered for ~20 min, uncovered for 10 @ 350.
Jul 13, 2012 10:11 am
All of these look delicious, and now I am officially obsessed with your food pinteresting (I don’t have one myself, but I may make Roger follow you)!
Mostly we’ve been making a lot of salads and some easier rice dishes. We don’t eat tons of meat, but we do eat some, and often eat seafood. When it’s not too hot to turn the stove on, I turn to http://theculinarycouple.com/ and http://onannasplate.com/ for inspiration.
Jul 13, 2012 10:33 am
I have one for you! Sloppy lentils. Basically, Sloppy Joes (lunch lady style), but use cooked lentils instead of ground beef/chop meat. We like to add chopped pickles or chopped pickled jalepenos and sliced cheese. I can find you a recipe if you like!
Jul 14, 2012 8:06 am
One of our favorite veggie meals (though not in this heat) is what we call “kitchen sink” pasta– cook a spaghetti squash in the oven, while that’s cooking saute onions, garlic and whatever veggies you want on your pasta in olive oil and a bit of white cooking wine. We usually throw in cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and spinach or swiss chard, but it’s great with pretty much everything. When the squash is done (usually 45-50 mins), hollow it out and top with veg, season with salt & pepper.
Jul 15, 2012 7:25 am
Ohhhh, that black bean salad with the avocados is now on my list. Yum!
This year I’ve discovered corn salads for when we have corn on the cob and need to use up leftovers. If you need a recipe, I posted one here (hey cool, and I even put in quantities!)
http://craftosaurus.blogspot.com/2012/05/summer-salads.html
Jul 17, 2012 11:40 am
May I suggest quinoa salad? It is super quick, easy, tasty, high in protein and very versatile. My favorite combination is quinoa, black beans, pineapple, pine nuts and fresh rosemary. I use part of the pineapple juice from the can, add 2 tbsp balsamic viniagrette and have a tasty complimentary dressing.
To make: cook quinoa (i like to make two cups), let cool. once cool, mix all ingredients in a large bowl, and bam, lunch (or dinner) for a week for two. :)
you can also mix the quinoa with garbanzo beans, cucumber, onion and dress it straight with balsamic viniagrette. or you can add a tbsp of curry powder to the cooking water, add steamed vegetables, and make a spicy dressing for a warm salad. really the combinations are endless, easy, and tasty. :)