Category Archives: Meatless Main Dishes

Meatless Main Dishes are recipes that are hearty, healthy and contain no meat. For my non vegetarian friends and relatives, many recipes can be modified to include meat, and/or dairy.

Broth for Breakfast

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When it comes to breakfast Americans love their bacon and eggs, and most of all we love our sugar.  But, there are better choices for breakfast than pop tarts or cereal that’s so sweet you can smell the sugar (yes, you actually can).  As a matter of fact most of the rest of the world, if they get breakfast, start the day with soup which seems to be catching on here in the U.S.  One of the hot new trends is switching from a big, overpriced cup of gourmet coffee to a big, overpriced mug of bone broth.   I guess it’s a move toward better nutrition, but it’s still overpriced, and it’s made from bones, so I’m opting for a plant based version instead.  To each his own.  For me, there’s something comforting about a big mug of warm soup, and once you get over the idea that soup for breakfast is just too weird, you discover a whole panorama of tasty possibilities.  Here are some ideas I’ve  come up with that are broadening breakfast horizons at my house.  Give it a try.

 Spicy Breakfast Broth 2 Ways

Ingredients

  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • ¾ cup V8 Juice (spicy or original, your choice)
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped scallion including some green tops
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon dried ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 ounces plain avocado or guacamole
  • ¾ teaspoon Siracha (optional)

Directions

In a saucepan, heat the scallions in a small amount of vegetable stock.

Broth for Breakfast - Scallions 4

 

 

 

 

 

Add V8 juice, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper.  Season with a few drops of siracha.

  1. Serve with avocado toast on whole wheat bread.
  2. Whisk avocado or guacamole into the broth and serve a hard-boiled egg on the side.

Spicy Vegetable Broth - Breakfast 2                                                  Spicy Vegetable Broth - Breakfast 4

 

This recipe makes 2 generous 1-cup servings.  Store in a glass container in the refrigerator.  Pop in the microwave to warm or serve it chilled.

Broth with Bean Sprouts and Vegetables

Scallions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ cup mixed vegetables, fresh or frozen
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions
  • ¼ cup bean sprouts
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 fresh mushrooms thinly sliced, or 1 tablespoon mushroom powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste

 Directions

  1. In a saucepan, heat the scallions, garlic and ginger in 2 tablespoons of broth until softened.
  2. Add the rest of the broth, vegetables and mushrooms or mushroom powder. Salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Add the bean sprouts and heat through before serving.
  4. For extra protein float a boiled egg or serve on the side with toast sticks.

Thai Style Coconut Soup

Of course, if you prefer your breakfast creamy and a little sweeter, here’s a slightly more exotic way to start your day.

Thai Style Coconut Soup

Ingredients

  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 1 smallish red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small carrot, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used almond oil but olive oil works also)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 3/4 cup diced tomatoes (fresh is best but canned will work)
  • 1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened or vanilla
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used almond)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • salt to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh chopped mint, basil or cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions

Sautee the onion, peppers and garlic in olive oil in a large pot until onions are soft, about 3-5 minutes.

Coconut Soup 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add the remaining ingredients, except for the basil and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook over low heat for one hour.

Coconut Soup 2

 

Coconut Soup 3Transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot. Add basil or cilantro and enjoy your coconut soup!

*You can add ¾ cup chickpeas to increase the protein content, but it’s optional and I usually leave them out.

♦

Chickpea Tofu – The Quick Version

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In an effort to limit my soy intake without sacrificing protein content I’ve been looking for a reasonable alternative to tofu.  I was very excited to discover an almost perfect replacement that was easy and inexpensive to make, and I actually like it a lot more than tofu (thank you marystestkitchen.com).  It’s Burmese chickpea tofu (shan tofu) made from four simple ingredients: chickpea or garbanzo flour, a teaspoon of turmeric, a pinch or two of salt and water.  No specialized processes or tools, if you can boil water and wield a whisk you’re set.  Chickpea tofu is really versatile whether it’s fried, baked, made into little steaklets, added to salads, stir fry or almost any way you could use tofu, even desserts.  But let’s start with snacks.  Cubed and fried it’s even better than popcorn for binging on Downton Abbey or Game of Thrones because it’s crunchy, tasty and full of protein.  No guilt.  Spice it up any way you want, dunk it in your favorite exotic sauce or drown it’s crispy goodness in ranch dressing.  Try it.

Basic Chickpea Tofu

Ingredients:

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  • 2 cups chickpea flour (if all you can find is chickpea and fava bean, that’s okay).
  • 6 cups of water or vegetable broth (divided)
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Line a baking pan or casserole dish with parchment paper, or a clean cotton kitchen towel.

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The turmeric will stain it so don’t use the nice ones you got for your birthday.

In a large pot bring 4 cups of water or vegetable stock to a FULL ROLLING BOIL.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil, combine the chickpea flour, turmeric, salt and 2 cups of cold water.  Whisk it until it’s smooth.

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When the water or stock comes to a FULL ROLLING BOIL, carefully stir in the chickpea mixture.  If the water isn’t boiling it won’t be hot enough for the tofu to set properly.

Turn off the heat and stir constantly and vigorously for five minutes.  Don’t skimp on the time.

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The mixture should become glossy and get very thick within a couple of minutes.  If it doesn’t just put it back on the heat for a minute or two over a medium low heat and keep stirring.

Once the mixture has thickened, quickly pour it into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with a spoon or spatula.

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Let it cool to room temperature, and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour or even overnight.

 

 

 

Once it is thoroughly chilled, turn it onto a plate and remove the parchment paper.  At this point you can slice it or cube it any way you want for storage.

Chickpea tofu freezes beautifully, just pop the cubes in a zip lock and tuck them in the freezer.

chickpea tofu 005

You can make little cutlet patties, or cubes, or even slice it thin like noodles.  This really is one of the most versatile dishes I’ve ever seen.  Try it and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Healthy Soups Are Good Medicine

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“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates Winter is here in earnest and flu season is hitting its peak.  The really bad news is that the vaccine this year isn’t as effective as in years past so supporting your immune system is a good way to stay healthy.  Food as medicine is a very old idea and here are two great soups to help boost your immune system plus provide a bowl of comfort when you’re fighting off the miseries.  My first soup is a serious flu and cold fighter but it’s not a great first course on date night.

Garlic Soup

Ingredients: 3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced 1 – 3 small parsnips, peeled and diced 1 large carrot, peeled and left whole 1 small onion, diced 6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

What You Need

What You Need

In a heavy saucepan, sauté the onion in the melted the butter (or oil).  Add the minced garlic. Garlic Soup 10   Saute onion until translucent and the garlic is fragrant but not browned.   Add the parsnips and potatoes and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Garlic Soup 14

 

 

 

 

 

Add the stock and the whole carrot, cover and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender. Garlic Soup 17                                                                                                                                     Remove the carrot and set aside. Blend the soup until smooth. Garlic Soup 20

Slice the carrot and add back to the soup.  Garnish with ground black pepper and crackers. Garlic Soup 21 But what if you already feel awful and your tummy is out of sorts.  Sometimes you need comfort as well as an immunity boost.  This soup is will fix you right up and even kids and cranky husbands like it.

Spicy Ginger-Carrot Soup

This is based on a recipe I found for Punjabi Ginger Soup with a few added tweaks.  It really is delicious and you’ll eat it again and again even if you’re not feeling under the weather. Ingredients: 1 large onion, diced 1 sizable knob of ginger (about 2 tablespoons grated), or you can use powdered ginger. 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter if you prefer) 1 tablespoon cumin seed 3 teaspoons ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste) Salt and pepper to taste 1 15-ounce can of full fat coconut milk Spicy Ginger Soup 2           In a heavy skillet, saute cumin seed, turmeric and pepper flakes in the coconut oil until the spices are fragrant. Ginger soup 002           Add the ginger, salt, onion and the carrot and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the can of coconut milk and simmer until the carrot is tender.

Ginger soup 007

Spicy Ginger Carrot Soup

  Blend until smooth, garnish with some chopped mint and serve with some crusty bread. Ginger soup 013   There’s ginger to settle your tummy, tumeric to boost your immune system, a bit of pepper to help the aches and stuffy nose, and smooth yummy coconut milk to make everything feel all better.  Enjoy!

Vegetable Powders

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Magic in the kitchen is really all about enhancing flavor and, whenever possible adding nutrition.  That often means very expensive little jars of flavorings, extracts and packages of fresh herbs.

Recently I discovered a way to make many of those extra special ingredients at home for much less money (thank you, doomsday preppers).   I started with dehydrated tomatoes.  I used both fresh from the garden, and a #10 can of diced organic tomatoes from Costco ($2.79 for the whole thing).  It seems like a lot, but the end product could easily fit into a 1 gallon zip lock or a couple of quart jars.  It took about 24 hours (time can vary) to get the tomatoes to a dehydrated state.  I loaded up the spice grinder, and pulsed until the tomatoes were a fine powder.

Making Tomato Powder

Making Tomato Powder

After grinding, press the powder through a sieve to remove the large pieces.  Save the larger pieces to use in soups or as a sprinkle on garnish.

Tomato Powder

Tomato Powder

Store the powder in the cupboard in a tightly capped glass jar.  Add a spoonful to sauces, soups, homemade pasta dough, almost anywhere you would like to have the tomato flavor with out the need to reduce the water content.  Careful though, it’s pretty intense flavoring.

Another really great flavor enhancer is mushroom powder.  This is very expensive to buy so making it at home is a real money saver, and it’s also a stealthy way to add great mushroom flavor to any dish without upsetting all the anti-mushroom eaters.  I bought the mushrooms on sale.    I cleaned and sliced the mushrooms and put them in the microwave for about 1 minute.  This enhances the flavor.  (Some people even cook them first, or use the mushrooms from their stock, puree and spread them on the fruit leather sheet in their dehydrator, but it’s not a necessary step.)

Quick Steaming Mushrooms

Quick Steaming Mushrooms

After microwave steaming them, I placed the mushrooms in a single layer in the dehydrator.  It took about 12 hours to reach the desired state, but this can vary.

Dried Mushrooms

Dried Mushrooms

Once dried, I put them in the spice grinder and pulsed until I had a fine powder.  A word of caution, don’t open the spice grinder right away or you’ll be inhaling mushroom powder for the next 5 minutes or so.  I like it in my food, just not in my lungs.  Again, pass the powder through a sieve and put into a glass jar.

Drying Mushrooms 009

Last, but certainly not least, there’s kale.  We drink a lot of protein shakes and smoothies, and adding green vegetables is a super way to up the nutrition and to put some extra vegetables in your dishes without attracting any unwanted grousing.  The process is very similar to both tomatoes and mushrooms.  I cut and washed the kale and dried on paper towels.

Fresh Kale

Fresh Kale

Place the kale pieces on a single layer in the dehydrator.  You can crowd them, but don’t stack them up.  It’s easier to handle if you work with smaller, salad size pieces.

After the Drying

After the Drying

Process in the spice grinder until you get a fine powder.

 

 

Kale Powder

Kale Powder

Pass it through a sieve and store in a glass jar.

Add a teaspoon to shakes, smoothies, soups or pasta dough.  You can do this in your oven if you don’t have a dehydrator, and they are great additions to your pantry.

 

Three Seasonings

Three Seasonings

Let me know your ideas for using powders.

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