But I'm quite happy about tomatoes.

[slemslempike]

I want to eat more things that aren't meat, but there's actually a shortage of things that aren't meat that I actually like. (Things that go in main meals, anyway - if someone can come up with new information about the ideal supper being soft serve ice cream and butterscotch sauce then I will be DELIGHTED.)

So, does anyone have a recipe for vegetarian main meals that are not terribly difficult to cook, and contain none of the following:

mushrooms
cauliflour
aubergine
courgette
sweetcorn
cheese that isn't cheddar
kidney beans
beans in general I don't have much experience of other than baked beans
I don't think I like spinach much either
leek
celeriac
artichokes

I'm not big on chickpeas or lentils (though a minor part might be okay), and I don't like things to be very spicy. I tried to look through books and online things but they all seemed to centre on either mushroons or courgette, or presume an awful lot more cookery skills than I have. I think I might have to stick to fish fingers but I thought I should at least try.

Comments

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

I shouldn't worry. I'm coming to things from the Human Skeletal Remains in Archaeology and Mesolithic diet point of view; it's fine to eat a meat-only diet as long as you include fat and bone marrow, and it's fine to eat a really mixed diet with lots of different meat, poultry and fish and as big a variety of veg and fruit as possible, given the constraints of the North West European climate. And with regard to the last item, only mushrooms would figure on the list; so if you can tolerate the taste of brassicae (for genetic reasons I can't) why would you have to bother about spinach? It doesn't really have that much more iron than other greens - somebody put a decimal point in the wrong place and confused generations, and anyway as with all green vegetables, your system can only extract a small proportion of the iron unless it's eaten in conjunction with haeme iron, i.e. meat.

Your body can only handle the protein from pulses properly if it's in conjunction with the protein from cereal grains, which provide more carbohydrate than we really need nowadays, what with transport, heating and low levels of physical exertion. Baked beans on toast works well if you don't mind the extra calories.

How are you on stir fries? I'm not a great enthusiast for packaged vegetables, but a stir fry pack plus chicken or shrimps is quick, easy and extremely good in terms of nutrition.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I want to eat less meat because I can't really afford to buy meat that's more ethically farmed - I'm quite happy with my nutrition, but I quite like the vegetables I like and want to eat more of them.

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

As long as you have small quantities of meat, that sorts the minerals. For the rest, just find out what vegetables (and fruit, don't forget fruit) you like and bulk up on them. Look on the supermarket shelves and experiment. I did a lot of that at a time when I had £10 a week to feed myself and two dogs on.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

For lunch today I had baked butternut squash 'cause Nigel Slater said I should in the Observer. You left squash out of your list. I hope that's because you don't mind it and it's not just an unfortunate omission.

Preheat the oven to 200ish. Cut half a mediumish squash into thickish slices. Nigel says you can eat the skin but I chose not to believe him and removed it. Bear in mind that handling butternut squash can cause contact dermatitis - it does in me - so you might want to wear gloves. Slosh the slices around in a glug of olive oil with some salt and pepper, lay them on a baking tray and cook them for about half an hour. Then fry an onion's worth of onion rings till they're tender but not browned, add half a tsp to a tsp or so of paprika and cinnamon and cumin, add raisin-type-things if you like, then bung them on top of the slices of squash and cook for another ten minutes. Remove and consume. (My squash was slightly blackened. Those bits tasted best.)

You could also do things like risottos that you can bung whatever vegetables you like in. Ditto pies. Stuffed peppers are versitile if you like peppers. And mostly I just eat pasta with broccoli tossed in butter and pepper and lemon juice, which uses one pan and is nearly wholesome.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I think I like butternut squash. I'm sure I've had it before. Also I do now like onions after over 20 years of thinking that I didn't, so i could do that. I think we have spices.

I should probably try to make risottos. They seem scary. Do they freeze? I need to make stuff that I can eat some of and freeze some of a lot of the time. What can I put in pies that isn't meat?

I like that idea of pasta and broccoli and lemon juice.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

I think risottos freeze. I'm sure they do actually but I also think I've heard something scary about the freezing of rice, so I'm hesitant. You can put root vegetables in pies, and peas and potatoes. I have a wartime recipe book by Marguerite Patten that has a recipe for Woolton Pie. I shall dig it out. I think it has mashed potatoes atop it.

[chiasmata]

I think the thing with rice is that you have to cool it quickly and heat it very well indeed, as otherwise it can harbour horrids.

[chiasmata]

Risottos freeze! I love making them because although you have to stand and stir them for 20 minutes or so, you can read a book at the same time.

[coughingbear]

Risottos are brilliant and actually really easy. The recipes all say stand there and stir and keep adding bits of liquid, but in fact it will be fine if you add bigger amounts of liquid and stir a bit then leave it for a few minutes. Even if the bottom burns a tiny bit that's very tasty. Fry some chopped onion in butter on a low heat until it's a bit translucent (garlic too if you like), then tip in some rice and stir for a minute, then start adding stock or water and stirring. The rice will take about 20 minutes so you can add things during cooking - I like mushroom risotto in fact, but most veg are good, and a little bit of chicken goes quite a long way in a risotto. Chopped up herbs (whatever you've got) and a spoonful of cream or creme fraiche are good stirred at the end, with some cheese if you like, but not essential.

Also, it's not vegetarian, but if you buy some happy sausages (quite a cheap way of getting free range meat), sausage gratin is fab. Slice up potatoes and an onion, make a layer in the bottom of a shallow buttered oven dish, squeeze the sausages out of their skins (I like this bit) and make a layer of sausage meat, then another layer of potatoes and onion, season a bit (not too much because the sausage will be salty), pour in a bit of liquid - milk is fine, or stock, then stick in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour on 160-180 degrees. (Prod it a bit after 40 minutes to see if the potatoes are cooking.) I don't know how well it would freeze, but I don't see why it wouldn't; alternatively it's the kind of thing I make and eat a couple of days in a row. Broccoli or any other green veg is nice with it. Or of course just make a basic gratin - as above only without the sausage - and grate lots of Cheddar on top for protein. You can put other things in too of course; parnsip is nice in gratin. Or indeed a layer of sliced tomatoes in one with lots of cheese on top.

Also agree with oursin about roast veg, which is also brilliant because you just do the ones you like.

[pisica.livejournal.com]

Stir-fry. Can add in no-cook noodles, or chopped-up veggie sausages, to give it more carbs or protein.

AD recently made a lasagna that used cheddar cheese. This is because we live in a small Scottish village where 'ricotta' is considered weird and exotic. He used chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, broccoli, onion and auburgine for the layers. No-cook lasagna noodles make it easy.

Soups and curries are also good to play around with. Given that potatoes, carrots and broccoli aren't on your no-go list, you probably have more options than you think. Vegetable biryani is also a possibility (and cooks the rice in with the veg, which is a big plus for me).

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Roasted or grilled vegetables. Delicious. Just brush with or roll in oil before cooking, sprinkle with herbs or spices if so inclined, salt lightly after cooking, toss in lemon or lime juice or a good vinegar.

[kylegirl.livejournal.com]

I like raita/tzatziki a lot - yogurt and cucumbers and garlic, with olive oil, lemon juice, and other herbs and spices as you like them. I eat a lot of yogurt lately, both sweet and as a accompaniment for savory things.

How do you feel about tofu? When I first started trying to eat less meat I was unenthusiastic about tofu, but I've come to really like it, especially baked or fried (thin-sliced and pan-fried in oil is delicious, though messy - baked is nearly as good and much easier and less messy). I find the key with tofu is to do something to prepare it by itself before you toss it into another dish - if you bake the tofu before you put it in the stir-fry it's better than if you just toss it in there.

I like just about any vegetable stir-fried, ideally with lots of garlic and something wet added at the end - soy sauce or lemon juice or wine or stock (chicken, usually - I have not found a vegetable stock I like) some combination thereof.

[yiskah.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was going to suggest tofu! I was ehh about it before I moved in with a veggie, but I'm now a convert. We mostly have it in stir-fries (but frying the tofu separately first to make it crispy) with mange tout and baby corn and onions and bean sprouts.

Slem, you may want to explore Thai food - I made a fabulous pad thai a while ago with noodles and nuts and tofu and various green vegetables - I think it's supposed to have mushrooms but I left them out cos Tom hates them. You can make it as spicy or not-spicy as you like.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Steamed asparagus! Admittedly it's not in season, but if you don't mind flying it over from Peru... or your pee smelling funny... or the expense...

Okay, how about peas?

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

Fried rice: cook some rice. If you aren't good at rice, substitute those udon noodles in a packet that don't need precooking. Put some oil (peanut, canola, anything without a strong flavour, ie not olive) in a wok or frypan. Put a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and some grated fresh ginger (I keep it in the freezer, it lasts forever) in the oil, turn on to medium hot (putting the garlic in before it gets hot helps stop it burning) and fry until the oil is properly hot and a couple of minutes after that.

Put about 2 cups chopped or small veg (peas, carrots, broccoli, celery etc) in the pan and fry for a couple of minutes. Throw in: 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, a few grinds of pepper. (This is faux-Vietnamese. You can use just soy if you like.) Put the lid on for a couple of minutes to let the veg get a bit soft. Throw in the rice or noodles and push around until it's all nicely mixed up and the rice is starting to get a bit fried. If you want to use leafy greens like pak choi, put them in with the rice because they cook very quickly. Eat.

For added protein, beat an egg or two and fry them (like an omelette with nothing else in, or scrambled eggs that aren't scrambled), cut the cooked egg into strips and mix those in when you serve it. Or (firm) tofu: surprisingly nice when marinated overnight in soy sauce and vinegar and fried or baked. You have to fry the tofu separately from the vegetables, though, or it gets soggy. You can freeze marinated tofu to cook later. Fried rice won't freeze, but it keeps for a couple of days in the fridge.

Roast veg are very good, as oursin says: carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beetroot, that sort of thing. Cut up roughly the same size (except carrots should be slightly smaller), toss them in olive oil and salt/pepper, and roast for 45 min or longer at about 200C/400F. They're done when the insides are soft and the edges of the potatoes are nicely browned.

Soup, if you have a blender: Fry a chopped onion, two chopped cloves of garlic and some optional chopped celery in butter in a large pot over medium heat. Throw in three peeled, diced potatoes and four cups of water or stock. Cook until the potatoes are nearly done. Throw in something green (eg chopped broccoli or spinach - you might like spinach better like this). Cook another five minutes. Puree. Stir in some cream, sour cream or yoghurt just before you serve it. This makes a lot and freezes OK. The technique also works for carrot soup, but carrots take longer to cook and should go in at the same time as the potatoes.

That said, I've been eating mostly eggs lately, and there is no shame in eating eg apple crumble for dinner.

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

Also couscous can be made reasonably interesting by cooking it, letting it cool, adding chopped veg (cooked or not, depends whether you want it to be salady or pilaf-y; parsley and mint are also nice) and sloshing olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice over it. I also went through a phase of eating couscous with brown sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and almonds and dried apricots for a while.

Tabouli: 1/2 c (dry volume) bulghur wheat - cook and let cool. (Easiest way to cook bulghur: pour 1 cup boiling water over it, cover it and leave it until cool.) You can use couscous if you don't have bulghur.
Large handful parsley, chopped.
A couple of sprigs of mint, enough to make about 2 tbsp when chopped.
3 tomatoes, chopped.
1/4 c olive oil.
Juice of 3 lemons.
A can of white beans if I am worrying about my protein intake.

Mix the herbs and tomatoes (and beans if using) in with the bulghur. Pour lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt over the top and mix it in. Chill and eat.

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

Pasta with grilled red(/yellow/orange - not green) peppers, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Part of my staple diet. Stuff the pepper under the grill when cooking pasta; you can put the tomatoes there as well if you want; cut the cheese into small squares. Add to cooked pasta and stir until the cheese melts.

You can add basil, balsamic vinegar+olive oil, onion, garlic if you want.

[sheenaghpugh]

I dislike even more veg than you do. Actually it's easier to list the veg I can eat - carrots, peas, spuds, tomatoes and lettuce. I hate all the brassicas, beans (except baked), sprouts, turnips., parsnips, swedes, sweet potato, squash, cauliflower, all the As - artichoke, asparagus, aubergine. Actually I may not ever have eaten artichoke, I just know I wouldn't like it. That's not as daft as it sounds; I've tried many foods and by and large, if I didn't already like it when I was ten, I'm not going to take to it now.

I like white fish and meat, though I prefer someone else to cook it and can't stand salmon or oily fish, let alone shellfish. I love dairy products which are the downfall of all my dieting attempts. Basically if I had to do all the cooking I would live on bread, cheese and fruit (apart from the fun stuff like cake and chocolate of course!).

Meat can be cooked with fruit; when I use the slow cooker I like to do pork with fresh pineapple or apricots and I do a stovetop chicken with apricots or grapes. White fish goes with grapes, too. I get most of the 5-a-day chore done via fruit.

PS

[sheenaghpugh]

- forgot Persian Jewels salad - brown rice plus flaked almonds,chopped apple, sultanas and pomegranate seeds with a bit of dressing. Dead pretty and quite healthy, without a vegetable in sight..

[medland.livejournal.com]

Omlettes.
Veggie/soy burgers with pasta and a tomato sauce.
Veggie stir fry with rice.

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

Peppers can be cut in half and stuffed with all sorts of things - basically, anything that is already cooked or will cook reasonably quickly - and then baked. E.g. cooked rice, frozen peas, a tomato cut into small bits, any spices to taste, cheese on top, stick in oven until you decide to eat it.

Butternut squash is brilliant. It's a bit of a faff (but not too much of one) cutting it up in the first place, but then you can do all sorts of things with it, including roasting the whole thing in chunks with olive oil, in which case you have a load of yummy things that will keep several days in the fridge and can be dropped at will into lots of food during the week.

Green beans? Green leafy sorts of vegetables (some need longer cooking than others but just about all of them taste good with garlic)? Baked sweet potatoes? I'm very bad at remembering recipes because I tend to make things up as I go along. Ooh, how about something like a Thai curry (buy a readymade paste + coconut milk) with squash or tofu and green beans?

Also, if you want 'less meat' rather than 'completely vegetarian', a little bit of something like bacon or chorizo goes a long way.

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

Also: lentils can be quite useful, so it could be worth doing a bit of experimenting. For example, there are the brown sort which can be bought tinned (rinse off the gunk they come in, even if the recipe tells you not to) or dried, and which stay more or less whole and have an earthy taste that goes well with bacon and cumin and thyme and really ripe fresh tomatoes and things like that. There are also the red split sort which come dried and which turn into a sort of mildly tasty mush which goes well with all sorts of Indianish spices and fried onions, or alternatively mixed with cheese and oats and baked with breadcrumbs and more cheese on the top. Apologies if that's all a bit obvious!

[jekesta]

I DELETED MY COMMENT BECAUSE IN CASE IT WAS MEAN.
I LOVE NIGEL BOND.