Need help with non-dairy vegetarian cooking

[Thorn]

Try http://www.theppk.com/ . You don't have to go all the way to vegan to enjoy the site. And, I hear the forum is pretty good, with a lot of simple recipes. I'm not vegan, but we don't keep eggs and dairy (except for a some parmesean cheese) in the house. I'm surprised at how even baked goods just don't need it.

Without a protein in the meal, I do find the hunger kick in. As have been mentioned, nuts (throw some walnuts in the spaghetti sauce), beans (soups and stews), tofu, seitan, TVP. I tend to stay away from pasta and potato (fast sugars), but if I use them, they are just a small portion with more sauce/toppings.

Tofu takes on the flavor of the sauce. When you cook without meat, I believe, you need more herbs and spices. Try some Indian recipes. Sometimes use the tofu as-is, just heating it in the sauce; other times, oven fry it (sprinkle with oil and bake until brown) to give a different texture. Seitan gives a chewy texture to meals -- use where you might have used chicken in a stew. Lightly mash chickpeas and mix with veggies and salad dressing and herbs for a chicken salad substitute.

[shootingstar]

We just had a filling dinner last night that was non-dairy, non-meat:

Roasted butternut and red pepper soup. Chop up the squash, some red pepper, garlic and small onion, put into roasting glass dish, etc. Then veggies are cooked in a veggie broth. Pureed and voila: a filling soup. Actually dearie makes these types of nutritious, filling pureed veggie soups. A whole batch can be made and frozen too.

99% of my cooking does not use any butter, milk or cheese...for the past few decades. This is true for traditional Asian dishes (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese) or dishes that are influenced by this type of cuisine. But like salads, Asian dishes require some time to chop veggies. But stir frying is fast-- less than 15 min. for 2 people. He makes the salads, I just don't tend to do it.

I do drink milk, have cereal daily and eat cheese outside of my cooked dishes. Sometimes I add a dollop yogurt to cereal, certain pureed soups. Yogurt influence is from dearie.

I cook with tofu several times per month or none at all. I do eat meat...about 3-4 times per month. But I haven't prepared any chicken nor pork in the past few years. Just lazy and alot of the meat in our area is packaged in such large amounts that it's impractical for us. I use egg whites when I make scrambled eggs, etc.

We actually rarely use any beans in any of our cooking. However I don't mind it when I order it in a restaurant, etc. Just haven't gotten into using beans in my cooking.

No doubt, lph you will ease into cooking changes over time.

[tealtreak]

forgot to mention hummus and other bean dips- used instead of dairy based spreads/dips......protein and delicious (:

[smilingcat]

Some of the way to save time in cooking is to make your herb mixes in big batches and freeze them. I do this with garam marsla (stereotypical Indian herb mix). When I make curry, it takes me less than 30 minutes of "work" and another 30-45 minutes of simmering.

Dairy free cuisine tends to be, like shooting star says, Asian.
Also check into Ethiopian, Morrocan dishes and other middle eastern dishes. Not all of them are goat and sheep.

Something simple from middle east would be falafal. You can bake instead of deep frying. We do this often.

Non-meat/dairy dishes tend to be heavy on spices and often uses a common spice mix. So again mix in batches and freeze.

Some of the spice mix I make in bulk:
Garam marsla, herb de provence, chai, dried version of bouquet garni. None of these have one set recipe! They all have some variation so if you were to look it up on internet, you will find several different variation. I have my favorites so that is what I make.

We also make spicy hot chutney out of mango. Stores really well in fridge and great on vegetarian dish. Check into lot of Indian dishes. Many of the recipe uses ghee (clarified butter) but you can substitute with canola, sunflower or other oil. Olive oil not recommended because of low smoke point.

A variation on Indian Samosa is pretty good. outer wrapping can be substituted with puff pastry you can buy at a grocery store. Filling is easy to make and its vegetarian, potato, lentil, onion, garam marsla for seasoning and almost any other veggies you can think of. Spread some chutney on top and it makes a very filling meal. And no need to deep fry, just bake

oooo puff pastry uses lots of butter, if he isn't okay then you will have to mix the pastry shell out of more traditional recipe. Just flour, bit of salt, oil and water.

enjoy your less meat diet. We do this to save on money!!

[Thorn]

oooo puff pastry uses lots of butter, if he isn't okay then you will have to mix the pastry shell out of more traditional recipe. Just flour, bit of salt, oil and water.

The vegan boards claim Pepperidge Farm's puff pastry sheets are vegan. Of course, that might not help you in Norway...

[smilingcat]

another thing we do:

I make chicken stock in big batches and freeze them in ice cube trays so I have frozen cubes of stock. I also make fish fume for seafood soup. Save the fish head and the bone to make fume. Fume should not be cooked no more than 30 minutes. Different than a fish stock. Again freeze into ice cubes.

Steamed mussels in butter sauce is yummy but again its butter. Belgian national dish I think... EASY!!

And practice Mise-en-place!! (everything in its place aka prep first dice chop slice and get the seasoning ready before you turn on the stove!!)

[Atlas]

Our staple quick meals are Indian curries with chickpeas and whatever vegetables are on hand, Thai curries with coconut milk, stir fries with tofu and peanut sauce, chili or bean stews, and roasted vegetables with baguette and olive oil to dip)

The Indian curries are not authentic at all but are tasty. I saute an onion and carrot in some oil (coconut or canola), add some curry spices (I like garam masala and tandoori spices instead of 'curry' powder), then add whatever other veggies I have, usually cauliflower, kale, and sweet potato, and a can of diced tomatoes. Let it simmer for 20 minutes until cooked.

Thai curries are even easier. Saute onion, carrot, and winter squash (snow peas, broccoli, bell pepper, and baked tofu are also good additions). Add curry paste and coconut milk, simmer until squash is cooked and finish with basil.

Stir fry is my favorite meal. Ours if full of broccoli, onions, bell pepper, and tofu. I make a peanut sauce with peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, and fermented tofu if available. All of it covered with sriracha.

Our meals always have a plant protein like beans, tofu, or nuts that help keep things filling. We eat rice with a lot of things (I prefer brown, he prefers white so it depends who cooks which one it is). All of these recipes depend on what vegetables we have in the fridge and can be full of different veggies or only have three different ones.

I also recommend theppk.com - both the recipes and the forum for more information

[lph]

Cool! Lots of good ideas here. I like and often make Indian or Asian type meals (stir fry, or curries using coconut milk, fresh ginger, chilis), but I've had trouble making them completely meat-free without feeling hungry soon after. I think I've been too stingy on the beans, and can certainly use more nuts than we do now. And I haven't tried tofu at all yet. Will check out our "Turkish-shop", as the local kids call it. I have no trouble eating a lot of grains, as long as it's not heavily processed. And I don't mind a certain amount of food prep, it's just that the two recipes from my new cookbook I tried were both for vegetarian burgers, and it took maybe an HOUR to get everything into subatomic particles just so I could shape them into something vaguely burgershaped...

I've never eaten great amounts of meat, so I'm surprised at how difficult it's been to cut it completely out of meals. We'd use maybe 200 g of minced beef in a spaghetti sauce for three people, which is about the size of one large hamburger, I think. And I loved chicken, until I read about the conditions they're raised, and die under. Appalling. I buy free-range every now and then, but it costs a small fortune so chicken is no longer a regular part of our everyday meals, unfortunately. For us, not the chickens ;-)

Thanks again for all of the great ideas!

[lph]

Oh, and I forgot to say - I ADORE samosas. The thought never struck me that I could make my own. Oooh.

I grew up having to take a long-distance bus to and from anywhere, but right next to the main bus stop in town there was a small stand where an Indian guy sold amazing samosas. We'd always buy one if we had the time, he'd always ask if we wanted "hot or mild" sauce, we always asked for the hot one, and it always made our eyes bug out

[Thorn]

Oh, and strange as it may sound, you can substitute tofu for the meat in Indian recipes, particularly if they call for paneer (tofu is just soy cheese) or mild fish. The substitution for fish came when I was watching a local cooking show and the cook was making a very interesting (and simple) tomato tamarind sauce. It sounded really great and then she threw in fish. But she said something about a "mild fish so that it picks up the flavors of the sauce"..hmmm...tofu. We tried it with tofu and it has become a staple meal with a side of brown rice and veggies.

[Crankin]

These are all great ideas. I eat very little dairy, mostly cheese and a bit of Greek yogurt. But, I would find it hard to cut out meats and grains at the same time, so I have ended up cutting out most of the grains, except occasional quinoa, brown rice, kamut, or kasha (buckwheat). I have cooked with tofu for a long time; just buy the extra firm. I've also found some easier type recipes for "black bean burgers" that use low salt, canned beans instead of having to soak the hard ones. Generally, I eat 2 vegetarian meals a week, but it's a bit harder when I'm trying to do a semi-Paleo thing. I was vegetarian for about a year, before I met my DH, but at that time, it was more to lose weight, rather than any type of health issue or political statement.

[Brandi]

Try http://www.theppk.com/ . You don't have to go all the way to vegan to enjoy the site. And, I hear the forum is pretty good, with a lot of simple recipes. I'm not vegan, but we don't keep eggs and dairy (except for a some parmesean cheese) in the house. I'm surprised at how even baked goods just don't need it.

Without a protein in the meal, I do find the hunger kick in. As have been mentioned, nuts (throw some walnuts in the spaghetti sauce), beans (soups and stews), tofu, seitan, TVP. I tend to stay away from pasta and potato (fast sugars), but if I use them, they are just a small portion with more sauce/toppings.

Tofu takes on the flavor of the sauce. When you cook without meat, I believe, you need more herbs and spices. Try some Indian recipes. Sometimes use the tofu as-is, just heating it in the sauce; other times, oven fry it (sprinkle with oil and bake until brown) to give a different texture. Seitan gives a chewy texture to meals -- use where you might have used chicken in a stew. Lightly mash chickpeas and mix with veggies and salad dressing and herbs for a chicken salad substitute.

I checked out your above link. even if you arenot a full on veggie it still has some great recipes. The New years day recipe I am going to have to try! Thanks for sharing!

[indysteel]

I checked out your above link. even if you arenot a full on veggie it still has some great recipes. The New years day recipe I am going to have to try! Thanks for sharing!

Agreed. I think I might try the Ancho lentil tacos this weekend!

[ehirsch83]

On the curries- we eat meat- but not always- I have found if I add in sweet potato and eggplant, it helps to fill me up!

I do a lot with sweet potatos(roast in oven as fries, add to curries, stir fry, etc.etc.etc.)

[OakLeaf]

I missed it until today - this week Martha Rose Shulman is doing strict vegetarian recipes with whatever's in the pantry.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/he...entil-dal.html