Well the first two days of the month went by without too many problems, which left me looking forward to my first full week as a (temporary) vegetarian.
Sunday afternoons I go to yoga, which requires me to consume a larger than normal breakfast (to prevent passing out in the studio). My usual go-to would be something like bacon and eggs...but that is not a possibility this month. Slight change: veggie and cheese omelet. I've got some broccoli stems in the fridge (worth not throwing away...I also used them in the fried rice that I made last week), and no fewer than three different kinds of cheese on hand.
(Nervous about omelets? That's what YouTube is for!)
As for dinner...given that I hadn't seen the sun in at least a week I was in the mood for something warm and comforting. And, as is my Sunday evening tradition, something that would provide me with leftovers for the week to come. After some careful thought I decided to go with a nice pot of chili (featuring zucchini, quinoa, and chipotle peppers), paired with homemade buttermilk biscuits.
As for dinner...given that I hadn't seen the sun in at least a week I was in the mood for something warm and comforting. And, as is my Sunday evening tradition, something that would provide me with leftovers for the week to come. After some careful thought I decided to go with a nice pot of chili (featuring zucchini, quinoa, and chipotle peppers), paired with homemade buttermilk biscuits.
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| I decided to go with biscuits because (a) I wanted some starch with my meal and (b) I had buttermilk in the fridge from the last time I made muffins. They are a super easy recipe, which I'm happy to share on request. |
Monday was another lazy day...preview for the week, since it's spring break. So I have more time on hand then usual, leaving me with time to experiment. I decided that this would be a great time to try out a recipe that's been on my mind for awhile: spinach and kale turnovers.
I used the original recipe as an inspiration, but made several small changes. For starters, I made my own crust using the fantastic whole wheat and flax pizza dough recipe featured here. Second, I subbed a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella in place of feta, omitted the nutmeg, and added a little pizza sauce to make the turnovers more calzone-like...
When I opened my fridge to make dinner on Tuesday, extra zucchini (from the chili) and kale (from the calzone) were staring me in the face. I decided that I had better use these ingredients before they went bad, and so I began to scour the internet in search of ideas. Before too long I found what I was looking for: I would use the zucchini to make fritters, which I would serve with pasta and a pesto made out of kale.
You're probably at least a little familiar with pesto, at least the classic garlic, parmesan and basil version. But "pesto" literally just means "paste", and so you can make it out of anything you want. Here's the recipe that I used to make my kale pesto...
Ingredients
-1/2 bunch kale
-2 cloves garlic
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/2 cup grated parmesan
-1/2 tbsp lemon juice
-salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Blanch garlic cloves for 2-3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. In the same water blanch kale for about 30 seconds, drain. Puree garlic and kale in a food processor. Add olive oil, parmesan, and lemon juice; blend well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one month.
The great thing about pesto is that it can be used in any number of ways. There are the obvious choices, like toss it with some pasta, and the not so obvious choices, like spreading it on fish (or chicken) before covering it in breadcrumbs and baking it in the oven (which is probably what I would be doing with my leftover pesto if I hadn't given up meat for the month) or using it as a substitute for pizza sauce.
Wednesday night was a too-lazy-to-cook-so-will-reheat-leftovers evening, so I didn't venture back into my kitchen until Thursday. And this was when I hit my first wall...what to cook? I couldn't decide what I was in the mood for (though I knew I didn't want pasta, since I had it yesterday and was planning on making it again tomorrow), and I was not going to leave the apartment to buy groceries...so whatever dinner was, it was going to be made with things that I already had on hand. That's when it hit me...tacos. They require very little effort, are always delicious, and I knew I had the ingredients on hand (tortillas in the freezer, cheese and lettuce in the fridge, taco seasoning in the cupboard with my spices, and chickpeas in the pantry).
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, on Friday I found myself making pasta for some friends who had come over to study (and drink). I decided to go with this particular recipe because it's delicious, quick, yields fancy results for little effort, and is relatively light on the calories. I usually make this pasta with shrimp, but it was just as good sans shellfish...to further change things up, I threw a good spoonful of kale pesto into the cream sauce...
Ingredients
-1 tbsp butter
-1 or 2 cloves of garlic
-1 tsp lemon zest
-2 tsp flour
-1 cup milk
-2 tbsp cream cheese (I like to use the fat free herb and garlic kind)
-3/4 cup parmesan
-1 cup frozen peas
1) Cook whatever pasta you desire as per package directions (I usually use 4 cups of uncooked penne...the quantities given above make enough sauce to comfortably cover that much pasta). Drain, but reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
2) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add garlic and lemon zest, cooking until fragrant. Add flour and mix well to form a paste. Add the milk slowly to prevent clumping (add a little, stir until smooth, add a little, stir until smooth.......). Cook until just thickened. Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese; stir until melted. Add frozen peas and cook until the peas are warm.
3) Toss pasta and sauce together. If the sauce is too thick, use some of the pasta water to loosen it.
Saturday: Not gonna lie, I cheated a little. Rather than cook for myself this evening, I took a drive out to the country with some friends for poutine.
I used the original recipe as an inspiration, but made several small changes. For starters, I made my own crust using the fantastic whole wheat and flax pizza dough recipe featured here. Second, I subbed a mixture of parmesan and mozzarella in place of feta, omitted the nutmeg, and added a little pizza sauce to make the turnovers more calzone-like...
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| Served with caesar salad. Lots of green, lots of delicious. |
You're probably at least a little familiar with pesto, at least the classic garlic, parmesan and basil version. But "pesto" literally just means "paste", and so you can make it out of anything you want. Here's the recipe that I used to make my kale pesto...
Ingredients
-1/2 bunch kale
-2 cloves garlic
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/2 cup grated parmesan
-1/2 tbsp lemon juice
-salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Blanch garlic cloves for 2-3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. In the same water blanch kale for about 30 seconds, drain. Puree garlic and kale in a food processor. Add olive oil, parmesan, and lemon juice; blend well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one month.
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| This recipe makes about 1 cup of pesto...enough for several different applications. |
Wednesday night was a too-lazy-to-cook-so-will-reheat-leftovers evening, so I didn't venture back into my kitchen until Thursday. And this was when I hit my first wall...what to cook? I couldn't decide what I was in the mood for (though I knew I didn't want pasta, since I had it yesterday and was planning on making it again tomorrow), and I was not going to leave the apartment to buy groceries...so whatever dinner was, it was going to be made with things that I already had on hand. That's when it hit me...tacos. They require very little effort, are always delicious, and I knew I had the ingredients on hand (tortillas in the freezer, cheese and lettuce in the fridge, taco seasoning in the cupboard with my spices, and chickpeas in the pantry).
 |
| Sometimes you just don't have the energy to whip up a masterpiece. |
Ingredients
-1 tbsp butter
-1 or 2 cloves of garlic
-1 tsp lemon zest
-2 tsp flour
-1 cup milk
-2 tbsp cream cheese (I like to use the fat free herb and garlic kind)
-3/4 cup parmesan
-1 cup frozen peas
1) Cook whatever pasta you desire as per package directions (I usually use 4 cups of uncooked penne...the quantities given above make enough sauce to comfortably cover that much pasta). Drain, but reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
2) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add garlic and lemon zest, cooking until fragrant. Add flour and mix well to form a paste. Add the milk slowly to prevent clumping (add a little, stir until smooth, add a little, stir until smooth.......). Cook until just thickened. Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese; stir until melted. Add frozen peas and cook until the peas are warm.
3) Toss pasta and sauce together. If the sauce is too thick, use some of the pasta water to loosen it.
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| Looks fancy, but doesn't take a "fancy" amount of effort! |
(Why would I drive out into the country for poutine? If you have to ask me that question, then I obviously haven't brought you with me to this little gem of a place.)
While vegetarian poutine is certainly not outside the realm of possibility, I will admit that I do not know whether or not what I ate for dinner on Sunday night was made without meat. However it was delicious, and was well worth the drive.
And that's one full week down...three to go. Thus far I have not found the change that burdensome as I have simply omitted the meat from recipes that I already know and love. Next week more challenges await...among them, the quest to make a delicious veggie burger!
While vegetarian poutine is certainly not outside the realm of possibility, I will admit that I do not know whether or not what I ate for dinner on Sunday night was made without meat. However it was delicious, and was well worth the drive.
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| While my poutine may or may not have been vegetarian, I did forgo my usual hot dog in favor of a delicious vegetable panini! |
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