Tag Archives: vegetarian

Eating, recipes

Cheesy, breezy, beautiful

I discovered Amy’s frozen meals a while back, after a long search for frozen dinners that didn’t include suspicious meat-like substances. One of my favorites is their Mattar Paneer, an Indian dish featuring peas and cheese in a slightly spicy sauce. I thought it would be a nice dish to add to our at-home repertoire, but I couldn’t find a place to buy paneer (the cheese).

A few weeks ago, I borrowed a vegetarian cookbook from a friend, and there it was! Muttar Paneer! I didn’t use a deep enough pot in the paneer-making process. I had no idea how quickly boiling milk would turn into a all-over-the-stove cloud of froth. In case you don’t know, either: very, very quickly. I recommend a very large pot. I had to improvise on the cheesecloth; I used two of Poppy’s burp clothes (clean, thank you very much), and they worked beautifully. I tied the cheese up in a nice little bundle and suspended it from the faucet to drain.

Muttar Paneer
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 cups frozen peas
8-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable stock
salt and pepper
Paneer, cut into small cubes (recipe follows)
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the paneer and fry until golden on all sides. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Pour off some of the oil, leaving about 4 tablespoons in the pan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry gently, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.

Add the peas, tomatoes and stock and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer, stirring occassionally, for 10 minutes, until the onion is tender.

Add the fried paneer cubes and cook for another 5 minutes.

Taste and adust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately.

Paneer
10 cups pasteurized whole milk
5 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
Bring the milk to a rolling boil in a large soup pot. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Return to the heat for about a minute until the curds and whey separate. Remove from the heat and add the garlic. Line a strainer with a double thickness of cheesecloth, and pour the mixture through. Squeeze all the liquid from the curds and leave to drain.

Transfer to a dish, cover with a plate and a heavy weight, and refrigerate overnight.

Recipes adapted from “Ultimate Vegetarian.” This makes a ton of food.

Eating, recipes

On the Beach

If it seems like a long time since I’ve put up a recipe, it’s because it has been. I started the South Beach Diet about a month ago, and while the recipes aren’t bad, they haven’t had me dancing in the streets. Tonight’s dinner, though, was good enough to share. For lunch, we had Red Leaf, Avocado and Apple Salad. For dinner, we topped the leftover salad with Shrimp Scampi. I had my doubts about the mustard-garlic-apple combination, but it turned out just fine. I think the shrimp will be even better in a few weeks when we can have it with whole-wheat pasta.

Both recipes are from the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook, and they’re both Phase I. For those of you on Weight Watchers, it’s 5 Points for the shrimp and 4 Points for the salad.

Red Leaf, Avocado and Apple Salad
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse-grain Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine oil, lemon juice and mustard in a jar. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, close tightly and shake vigorously to combine.
Toss dressing with lettuce; add salt and pepper to taste. Distribute salad among plates, top with avocado and apple slices, and serve.
Makes 4 servings.

Shrimp Scampi
1 1/2 pounds fresh or thawed frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons trans-fat-free margarine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Rinse shrimp under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat margarine and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until melted and bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Add shrimp and stir to coat.
Add lemon juice, parsley and red pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are pink, about 2 minutes. Do not overcook or the shrimp will be tough. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
Makes 4 servings.

Eating

Candied Sweet Potato Casserole

Rockford loves sweet potato casserole. He saw this recipe on America’s Test Kitchen and wanted to give it a shot. He cut the recipe in half and served it as part of a Festival of Sides. Mmmmmm … so good. He thought there was too much cumin, but I thought it was perfect.

Candied Sweet Potato Casserole
Serves six as a side dish.
Sweet Potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into 1-inch chunks
2.5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoons table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup water
Pecan Topping
1 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg white , lightly beaten
Pinch table salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
Pinch ground cumin

For the Sweet Potatoes: Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and water; bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring often, until the sweet potatoes are tender (a paring knife can be slipped into and out of the center of the potatoes with very little resistance), 45 to 60 minutes.

When the sweet potatoes are tender, remove the lid and bring the sauce to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a glaze, 7 to 10 minutes.

For the Topping: Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the topping together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and beat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the potato mixture into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish (or a shallow casserole dish of similar size). Spread the topping over the potatoes. Bake until the pecans are toasted and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately. 7 Points per serving.