My parents- mainly my mom -are skeptical about my vegetarianism. So I said that one night, if my mom would go out and buy the ingredients, that I would cook them a vegetarian dinner.
The only problem with this is that a) I don't know of many interesting vegetarian entre茅s and b) I'm not a super chef. I'm definitely not that bad, but I'm not exactly going to be writing a cookbook. Plus I'm a young teenager.
Any recipes that will blow my parents away? If you had time you could make a three or two course meal - here are some ideas
This soup is mild tasting but a nice starter
and its easy as well
Carrot and Cashew Soup
This soup is easy to make and is deliberately mild.
1 sm onion; cut into quarters
12 oz carrots; sliced or diced
2 c vegetable broth
1 c water; as needed
1 oz cashews; dry-roasted, unsalted
salt and pepper; to taste
Place onion and carrots in a saucepan with broth. Cover with a lid, bring
to a boil, and simmer until completely tender; adding up to 1 cup of water
as needed. Set aside.
Blend the cashews in a food processor with a little broth until smooth as a
puree as possible. Add the onion and carrot mixture and blend to make a
smooth and velvety soup. Pass through a fine sieve if you want the soup to
be smoother. Taste and season with a little salt. Serve pepper at the
table.
Variations:
"Pan-Roasted"
Coat a saucepan with olive oil cooking spray;
Heat with the vegetable chunks over high and brown but do not burn the
vegetables. Add broth and simmer until soft. Puree as directed above. Serve
with a garnish of green onion or chives if desired.
"Carrots and parsnips"
Use carrots and other root vegetables like parsnip or turnip for a more
complex flavor.
The main could be this and this recipe is realy easy and tasty
Soubise
Soubise is a kind of French risotto made with long grain rice instead of Italian, short rounded rice. Unlike risotto, it is not stirred during cooking but left to absorb the wine and stock as it gently simmers. I've added the fennel to the onion for an even sweeter, more delicate flavour and, if you wish, add saut茅ed mushrooms or spinach towards the end of the cooking time.
Serves 4-6
60g/ 21鈦?oz butter or marganne
600g/1lb 4oz onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (optional)
1 bulb fennel, chopped into 1cm/1鈦? in dice
500g/1lb Basmati rice
150ml/6fl oz dry white wine
350ml/12fl oz hot water or light vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
75g/3oz fresh vegetarian parmesan cheese
50ml/2fl oz double cream
125g/5oz fresh white breadcrumbs
1 bunch fresh chives, snipped very small
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a pan and cook the onion and garlic gently, with the lid on, for about 30 mintites, adding the fennel about half way through, until tender but not browned.
Add the rice and stir for 10 minutes.
Pour in the wine and hot stock together with salt and the bay leaf.
Bring to a simmer, stir and then cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice tender.
Remove the bay leaf and stir in the vegetarian parmesan and double cream.
Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 6. Lightly butter an ovenproof dish and fill with the rice mixture.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs mixed with the chives over the rice and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes until the breadcrumbs are a pale golden colour.
Serve with a green salad and steamed broccoli tossed in olive oil and grain mustard.
You could also serve it straight from the pan, simply garnished with fresh herbs, rather than bake it with breadcrumbs but this does give it a homely feel which makes it perfect for family meals.
and then a salad of simple tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and onions with a vinigar and oil dressing (add some herbs)
and then a dessert
APRICOT & PEAR CRUMBLE CRUNCH
Serves 6
The combination of these delicately flavoured fruits works wonderfully well.
Ingredients
1lb / 500g apricots
陆lb / 250g pears
2oz / 60g soft brown sugar
4oz / 125g of 85 per cent wholemeal flour
2oz / 60g butter or margarine
4oz / 125g flaked almonds
Method
1. Halve apricots, remove stones and place in a baking dish.
2. Add the pears, peeled and thickly cut.
Sprinkle a little sugar on top (optional).
3. To make the crunch crumble topping, place the flour in a bowl, add butter or margarine, and rub into flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
4. Add sugar and almonds, mix well together, and spoon over the fruit.
5. Bake at 375掳F/190掳C/gas mark 5 for 20-25 minutes until golden.
Serve with Greek yogurt.
or something simple
TROPICAL FRUIT SALAD
Serves 6
Total CHO 90g, Total calories 390
--------------------------------------...
Ingredients
1 banana. peeled and sliced
1 orange. peeled and segmented
1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented
8oz / 225g can pineapple cubes in natural juice
2oz dried figs, roughly chopped
1 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
rind and juice of 1 lemon
4floz / 100ml slimline ginger ale
Method
1. Place the fruits in a bowl, add the lemon juice and mix well.
2. Pour over the ginger ale and serve immediately. Fix them the good things that you already know how to cook. Veggie Lasagna is always a good pick. A good website is allrecipes.com You can search through there for something your parents might like. BTW, they will get used to your choice to be vegetarian. Just stay consistant to let them know that you are serious about this, and they will eventually give up trying to change your mind. Kudos to you for chosing to be a vegetarian, even though your parents don't agree with it. Make your parents a well thought out meal, centering around some wholesome carrots as your main course. Make this, and NO ONE will miss the meat!!! =]
:::Yummy Tortilla Soup:::
Yummy Mexican soup that is super easy, just dump the ingredients in the crock pot and let it cook! It is delicious!
2 cans vegetable broth/stock
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes (can use another can of crushed if you don't like chunks or vice versa)
1 can whole corn kernels
1 can black beans
1 small can green chilies (optional to taste)
1 14-oz can enchilada sauce
1 small onion (diced)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
1 jalapeno pepper (minced)
1 small zucchini ( small cubes)
2-3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
3 teaspoons cumin
3 teaspoons chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 pack of flour tortillas
a few tablespoons of veg. oil
Optional garnishes: sour cream, cheddar cheese, avocados and tortilla strips.
I just dump all of this in the slow-cooker and let it go for a few hours, sometimes I need to add a little extra stock, depending on how thick it is...
for a great garnish, you could use store bought tortilla chips, but I like to make my own tortilla strips, and it is super easy! You need: 1 pkg. flour tortillas, and a few tablespoons of veg. oil. Just brush both sides of the tortillas with the veg. oil and cut into thin strips. Place strips on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes, turning them halfway through. They are crispy and delish in the soup!
=] This is a favorite of all my friends and family! |
