Indonesian Beef...or Beans

Indonesian Beef is one of Josh's favourite meals that his mum makes. I haven't been able to find some of the ingredients in the US yet, but figured I'd post this anyway.
My veggie version substitutes black eye peas for the beef. I don't think it looks super appetizing in this photo, but it is yummy.

1 can of black eye peas, drained and rinsed (or 500g Beef strips)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 jar of satay sauce (500 grams)
1 packet of Dutch curry soup
1/4 cup of gravox (or 2 packs of brown gravy powder)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 or 2 can of coconut milk

Mix all but coconut milk together in crock pot. Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours (or 4 hours if cooking with meat).

Before serving, turn the crock pot off and mix in the coconut milk. Serve over rice.

Bean Curry

Jeni passed this recipe on to me and I'm so glad she did. It has my three favourite things: tasty, quick and nutritious. Thanks for sharing Jeni! The last time I made curry I didn't have garam masala so I left it out. Never again! Garam masala is my new favourite spice. Yum!

Josh Rating: It was okay (Josh doesn't like beans very much so don't let this rating put you off!)

Prep + Cook Time: 25 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
pinch cayenne, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
3/4 cup half and half
1 cup vegetable stock
1 can black-eyed peas, lightly drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until translucent and slightly browned. Stir in garlic and grated ginger root; stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add tomato; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in turmeric, cayenne, salt, paprika, and garam masala; stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add half and half, stock, and black-eyed peas. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro. Serve immediately with rice, chapati, or naan.

Recipe From: melskitchencafe.com

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1 litre vegetable stock

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bunch broccoli, chopped

3 carrots, shredded

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup flour

1 litre milk

Directions

Place vegetables in a saucepan and cover vegetable stock, cook until tender.

Make a roux with the melted butter & flour. Add to vegetables. Heat until thickened. Add milk. Heat until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Top with shredded cheese.

Vegetable Stuffed Cannelloni

Ingredients

18 small cannelloni noodles
5 cloves garlic, minced 5 shallots, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup orange juice 2 cups heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste 1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped 2 Lebanese eggplants, diced 2 roasted red bell peppers, diced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup ricotta cheese 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Roast two red peppers under the grill until skins are slightly bubbling.

In a large pot of salted water, parboil cannelloni. (I put some oil in the water and as soon as they were partially done I laid them out so that they weren't touching each other. Otherwise, they stick together and it's a major pain - that happened on the first attempt).

Meanwhile, cook 2 cloves garlic and 2 shallots in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 30 seconds. Pour in orange juice, raise heat to high, and reduce liquid by half. Stir in cream, and reduce until there is about 1 1/2 cups liquid. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set cream sauce aside.

(Lebanese eggplant - the original recipe called for regular eggplant but I'm not a big fan. These are good because they don't have so much of that mushy texture inside which is what I don't like.)

In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion, 3 shallots, 3 cloves garlic, zucchini, and eggplant in olive oil until all vegetables are tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in red peppers, basil, oregano, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set filling aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking dish. Stuff vegetable/cheese filling into cannelloni. Place in prepared baking dish, and cover with cream sauce. (I hand stuff - it's just easier. The first time I tried using a zip lock bag but it would split the cannelloni noodles and eventually the bag burst and I used my hands. Second time around I started with my hands and it was much cleaner and faster.)

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Pesto Pasta

Ingredients

1 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 onion, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 sweet yellow pepper, diced

1 jar (190g) pesto

1 container (400ml) sour cream

375 grams pasta

Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Cook pasta.

Sauté garlic, onion, tomato and yellow pepper in olive oil. Stir through pesto and sour cream.
Season with pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix cooked pasta through the sauce and serve. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Creamy Tomato and Chickpea Fettuccine

This is a recipe from our friend Amanda that she makes with chicken. I substituted the chicken for chickpeas and it's delicious! The chickpeas are nice and soft in this meal. I still made a chicken version for Josh because ít's easy to make both versions, but the chickpea version is so yummy I might only do that next time!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Cook Time: 20 minutes

Josh Rating: Loves it

Fettuccine

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans Italian diced tomato

2 cups cream

1 can chickpeas

1/4 tsp salt

Parmesan cheese

Boil pasta. While the pasta is boiling, cook onion and garlic in olive oil in a large frying pan until onion is soft. Add diced tomatoes, cream, chickpeas, salt and mix. Add cooked pasta, mix and heat through.

Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Cauliflower and Pasta Bake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Bake Time: 35 minutes

Serves: 6

Josh Rating: Loves it

14 oz penne pasta
1 cauliflower head
2 Tbs olive oil
2 onions (red or yellow), chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 oz (80 g) butter
4 Tbs flour
4 cups milk
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup firmly packed shredded fresh basil
5 slices day old bread, crusts removed
2 oz (60 g) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Boil pasta and drain. Steam cauliflower until just tender. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook onion and garlic until soft. Combine in a bowl with the cauliflower and pasta.

Melt the butter in a medium pan and mix in the flour. Slowly whisk in milk. Stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and stir through 1 ¼ cups of the Parmesan cheese and the basil. Combine with cauliflower and pasta. Pour cauliflower mix in a 9 x 13 inch dish.

Cut the bread into large cubes. Toss the cubes in melted butter then scatter them over the cauliflower mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 35 minutes until the top is golden.

Recipe from: The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook (Murdock Books, 1996)

Cheesy Bean Enchiladas

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

Josh Rating: 4 out of 5

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbs olive oil

1 (16 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 (15 oz) can enchilada sauce

1/2 cup salsa, plus more to serve with meal if desired

3 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp salt

10 flour tortillas

1 Tbs water

2 cups shredded monterey jack or cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Guacamole

Heat oven to 350 F. Sauté onion and garlic in oil until onions are soft. Add 1/2 of each type of bean and mash with potato masher. Then add the remaining beans. Add 1/2 of enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup salsa, cumin and salt. Simmer and mix on low heat for 3 minutes or until heated through.

Fill each tortilla with about 3 Tbs of the bean mixture and a sprinkle of cheese. Roll up leaving ends open and place seam side down in 9 x 13 baking dish.

Mix the water with remaining enchilada sauce and pour over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and back, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and guacamole.

Recipe from: Recipe Zaar

Pumpkin and Spinach Risotto

Prep Time: 10 - 15 minutes

Total Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Serves: 4 (or 6 with chicken)

Josh Rating: 5 out of 5

500 g pumpkin, chopped coarsely

2 Tbs olive oil

2 cups water

4 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups arborio rice

2 Tbs white wine vinegar

250 g baby spinach, chopped coarsely

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup cream

For meat option: chicken (shredded or diced)

Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Combine pumpkin and half of the oil in a medium baking dish; roast, uncovered, in oven for 20 minutes or until tender.

Combine the water and stock in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered.

Heat remaining oil in large saucepan; cook onion and garlic, stirring, until onion softens.

Add rice; stir to coat rice in oil mixture. Add vinegar and 1/2 cup simmering stock mixture; cooking, stirring, over low heat until liquid is absorbed. Continue addeding stock mixture 1 cup at a time, stirring until combined after each addition. Total cooking time is about 35 minutes.

Add spinach, nuts, cheese and cream to risotto; cook, stirring, until spinach wilts. Add pumpkin; stir gently into risotto.

If preparing this meal for a mixed family (vegetarians + meat eaters), separate a portion and stir in chicken.

Recipe modified from: Women's Weekly Vegie Main Meals

Vegie Pasties

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Makes: 12
Josh Rating: 4 out of 5

1 potato
1 carrot
1 parsnip
100 g (3 1/2 oz) pumpkin
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup vegetable stock
1/3 cup frozen peas
1 Tbs finely chopped parsley
3 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 415 F (210 C). Brush an oven tray with oil. Peel and cut potato, carrot, parsnip and pumpkin into 1cm cubes. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until soft. Add potato, carrot, parsnip, pumpkin and vegetable stock; bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the peas and parsley.

Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 triangles and place 1 Tbs of mix in center. Brush the edges of the pastry with water. Fold the pastry over and seal edges together. Brush with beaten egg. Bake for 25 minutes until puffed and golden.

I made gravy to serve over these, but they were pretty moist without it. Very yummy!

Recipe from: The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook (Murdock Books, 1996)

Spinach Pie

Ingredients

1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
500 grams baby spinach, washed & dried
1/2 cup brown rice, cooked
3/4 cup cheese, grated
4 eggs
Puff pastry (or pie dough)

Directions

Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Saute onion in oil until soft. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. (There will probably be a lot of water in the pan so try to strain as much out as possible). In a large mixing bowl combine cooked rice, cheese and eggs. Mix well then add the spinach mixture. Stir thoroughly.

I use puff pastry because it's easy and fast but you can use premade pie shells or make your own dough. Lay two sheet of puff pastry into a greased pie dish, ensure sides of dish are covered. Pour in pie filling and top with two more sheets of pastry (make sure you spray a little oil in between sheets). Cut vents in top of pie. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

*Note: I don't always measure precisely with this recipe. If I feel I need more filling I'll add a bit more rice or cheese.

One month and counting...

At the end of my first month as a vegetarian I have to say that I have not found it too difficult. I did think that Josh's sausage rolls that he made for our Australia Day party looked really yummy, but other than that I have not missed eating meat. I really appreciate people sharing recipes with me and it is fun trying new things. Keep them coming! Tara, I'm excited for the Spinach Pie recipe you have coming!

Cauliflower Soup

I know, it's another soup, but I love soup in the winter and this is so yummy! We first had this at Jeni's house and Maya loved it so much she wants it for her birthday dinner.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6
Josh Rating: 4 out of 5
Maya Rating: way more than 5

1 stick Butter
½ onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 whole cauliflower head, roughly chopped
2 Tbs fresh or dried parsley, chopped
2 quarts chicken broth
6 Tbs All-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup Half-and-half
2 - 4 tsp salt, to taste
1 cup (heaping) sour cream, room temperature

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown. Add the carrots and celery and cook an additional couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.

Serve immediately.

Recipe from: The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Lentil Shepherds Pie

At first when Josh told me his rating of this I told him I was going to scrap the Josh rating system, but then I remembered that he does not like Shepherds Pie made with meat either, so I tried not to take it personally. I dropped some off for Dad and Sara's family to try too and they liked it.

Prep Time: 30 minutes + optional soaking time (see below)
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Josh Rating: 0 out of 5

8 potatoes
1/4 cup milk
40 g butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
2/3 cup lentils
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 cup peas
1/3 cup parsley, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 220 C (425 F). Boil potatoes until tender, drain. Mash in a large bowl with milk and half of butter.

Melt the remaining butter in a medium pan; cook onion and garlic, stirring, until onion softens. Add undrained tomatoes, stock, paste, red wine vinegar, lentils and carrot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add peas and parsley, cook 5 minutes. Spoon lentil mixture into a baking dish. The lentil mixture will have a lot of liquid. Spread potatoes on top. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stand pie 10 minutes before serving.

Note on lentils: when I made this I did not pre-soak or pre-boil the lentils but I was concerned that they would not be soft so I simmered the lentil mixture for longer than 15 minutes. I think this cooked too much liquid out of it and it was a little dry in the Shepherds Pie. Next time I will pre-soak or even pre-boil the lentils for 20 minutes to make sure they are soft (but not mushy) and stick to the 15 minutes simmering time to make sure the Shepherds Pie is nice and moist.

Recipe from: Women's Weekly Vegie Main Meals

Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe from Corinne and it got rave reviews from both Josh and Maya - a big plus! It can be made with or without chicken. I made everything then separated some for myself before adding the meat to Josh and Maya's.



Prep Time: 30 min

Cooking Time: 30 min

Serves: 6 - 8

Josh Rating: 5 out of 5

1 onion, finely chopped

Olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

3 tomatoes, chopped

½ bag frozen corn

1 large chicken breast

1-2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed

1 lime or 1/4 cup lime juice (1 extra lime for garnish)

1 handful cilantro, chopped

6 corn tortillas, cut into strips (or tortilla chips)

1-2 avocados, diced

2 tsp chili powder

1 Tbs cumin

Salt and pepper

Cheddar or jack cheese, shredded

Sour cream

Sauté onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Sauté until fragrant (a minute or two). Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Add tomatoes, corn & black beans.

Grill chicken seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. (Or pan-fry it, but it won’t add the smokiness that the bbq does). Cut up or shred chicken and add it to the soup. Add more seasonings if needed. Add lime juice, cilantro, and avocado.

In large fry pan over medium-high heat, crisp up tortilla strips. Add salt. You may do this with oil or cooking spray. (For a shortcut, use tortilla chips instead).

Serve soup garnished with cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, and a lime wedge.

Yoghurt Parmesan Chicken/Tofu

This was my favourite meal before becoming a vegetarian. I hadn't made it for years because there was nothing I could find for me to eat with it. Then to give Greg some more variety I just made it for him and ate the side veggies which wasn't that substantial for me.

When I learned about the tofu trick I decided to try it with this recipe and it really works. I still make chicken for Greg and do tofu slices for me. It sounds gross but it works - Greg took a bite of mine last time I made it and liked it. He ended up eating all of the chicken pieces at dinner so the next day he took one of the tofu pieces for lunch and enjoyed it. It's good with gravy.

(You can see the texture looks more like chicken than tofu)

Ingredients

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
3 Tbs Parmesan cheese
3 tsp Season All
2 chicken breasts
1 block of tofu - cut into slices (depending on block size I get about 5 slices, 1 inch thick)
1-2 cups of plain yoghurt
1/4 melted butter

Combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan cheese and Season All. Pour yoghurt into a separate bowl and coat each piece of chicken and tofu. Then coat each piece individually in the crumb mixture. Arrange chicken and tofu in a baking dish and drizzle with melted butter. Bake in a 180C (350F)
oven for 45 minutes or until tender.

Tofu Trick

I typically can't eat much tofu because I don't love the flavour and I'm not a fan of the texture. Recently I was told about how to give tofu a more meat-like texture.

Buy firm tofu and squeeze as much liquid out of it as you can. Then put it in a zip lock bag and freeze it. Once it's frozen put it in the fridge to defrost. When it's thawed out squeeze as much liquid out of it again. Then it's ready to use. This is what I do for the Yoghurt Parmesan Chicken Recipe, which I will post soon. I know you all probably have that recipe but I've got pictures of it with tofu.

Green Pea Soup

We had this soup this week and Josh and I thought it was very yummy. Maya doesn't like peas and thought that a bowl of green slop looked pretty disgusting. She had to eat one spoonful to try it, then she had mac & cheese.

When exclaiming over how tasty this soup was, Josh suggested having a "Josh Rating" on recipes I post on my blog. I figure that since he's a dedicated meat-eater his rating would be a helpful indicator for non-vegetarians too.

I don't like mint in savory food, so I left out the mint but have included it in the recipe below.

Prep Time: 20 min + 2 hrs soaking

Cooking Time: 1 hr 40 min

Serves: 4 - 6

Josh Rating: 4 out of 5

1 1/2 cups green split peas

2 Tbs olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stick celery, sliced

1 Tbs ground cumin

1 Tbs ground coriander

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

5 cups vegetable stock

2 cups frozen green peas

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbs chopped fresh mint

4 Tbs plain yogurt or sour cream

Soak the split peas in cold water for 2 hours. Drain. Heat oil in a large pan and add onion, celery and carrot. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned. Stir in cumin, coriander and ginger, then cook for 1 minute.

Add split peas and stock to pan. Bring to the boil; reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add frozen peas to pan and stir to combine. Purée soup in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and then stir in mint. Serve in bowls with a swirl of yogurt or sour cream.

Recipe from:

The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook (Murdoch Books, 1996)