Vegetarian Information

Chili seasonings bring out the best in vegetables and beans; your family and friends will never miss the meat. You can improvise with these recipes, using whatever type of beans you like, and adding or subtracting other ingredients to match your personal preferences. You can always freeze any leftovers.

Easy Veggie Burger Chili
4 frozen veggie burgers
1 16-ounce bag frozen pepper-onion mix
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 16-ounce can pink beans
1 16-ounce can chick peas
2 cups frozen corn
1 tablespoon mild chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch cayenne, to taste
Cooked barley or other whole grains of your choice

Break the veggie burgers into 1″ chunks. Combine them with all of the other ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes or more, until ready to serve. Ladle over the cooked whole grains of your choice.

6-8 servings

Chafing Dish Chili
This recipe will serve a crowd; it’s perfect for a buffet, or just freeze the leftovers for future “fast food” meals.

2 large onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons mild chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
5 cups bouillon (or bouillon + beer)
1 pound green lentils
1 cup uncooked bulgur
2 28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, undrained, broken up

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30-40 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Turn off the heat and let it sit until ready to serve (or make ahead and refrigerate.)

Reheat and transfer to a chafing dish or other buffet serving dish. Surround with mugs or small bowls with handles, and your choice of:

Optional serving accompaniments
Fat-free sour cream
Salsa
Chopped cilantro
Red, green and yellow bell pepper slivers
Guacamole
Cooked whole grains
Bottled hot pepper sauce

10-12 servings

Squash Chili
1 winter squash, about 2 pounds
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, quartered or cut in 1/2″ pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon mild chili powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
pinch cayenne, to taste
2 cups bouillon
1 red bell pepper, cut in 1/2″ pieces
1 can small red or pink beans, drained
2 cups frozen baby lima beans
2 cups frozen corn
2 tablespoons cider vinegar, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Cooked barley or other whole grains of your choice

Pierce the squash with a knife in 2 or 3 places. Set in a microwave dish and microwave on high for 3 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Return to the microwave and cook about 8 minutes more, or until you can easily remove the flesh from the skin.

Meanwhile, bring the onion, mushrooms, garlic, spices and bouillon to a boil in a large pot. Reduce the heat and simmer 5-10 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add the squash flesh, cut in chunks, along with the red pepper, pink beans and lima beans. Return to boiling, reduce the heat and simmer 5-10 minutes more, or until the lima beans are cooked. Stir in the corn and vinegar and adjust the seasonings. Serve over cooked whole grains.

6-8 servings

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Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

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A flavorful, mild curry powder or curry paste, or a bottled curry sauce, makes just about any combination of vegetables into a gourmet meal. Try these recipes and then experiment with your own favorite vegetables, whole grains and beans. Serve the curry over cooked whole grains. If you like, serve the curry with small dishes of your choice of — mango chutney, hot lime pickle, chopped salted peanuts (or my favorite, the small Spanish peanuts), lime wedges, shredded coconut, sliced bananas, chopped cucumber, plain yogurt. Each diner can dress up the curry with their own selection of condiments.

Green Bean-Potato Curry
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons curry powder
pinch cayenne, or to taste
3 cups bouillon
6 medium potatoes, cut in bite-size pieces
1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
3 cups green beans (fresh or frozen) in 1″ pieces
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Cooked brown rice, barley or other whole grains of your choice

Bring the onion, garlic, spices, bouillon and potatoes to a boil and simmer 30-40 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add the tomatoes, beans and spring onions and cook 5-10 minutes more, or until the beans are just crisp-tender. Serve over cooked whole grains.

4-6 servings

Mushroom Mix Curry
4 medium red potatoes, cut in chunks
2 cups bouillon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
pinch cayenne, to taste
1 16-ounce bag frozen pepper-onion mix
1 16-ounce bag frozen corn-black bean mix
1/2 pound button mushrooms, quartered if large
1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, cut in chunks
Cooked brown rice, barley or other whole grains of your choice

Cooked barley or other whole grains of your choice Bring the potatoes, bouillon and seasonings to a boil in a large pot. Reduce the heat and simmer 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender. Add the frozen vegetables and mushrooms; return to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer 5-10 minutes. Add more bouillon if the mixture seems too dry. Serve over cooked whole grains.

4-6 servings

Any Vegetable Curry
2 onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup bouillon
1 tablespoon curry powder
pinch cayenne, to taste
6-8 cups vegetables (choose at least two and as many as you like, such as potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, zucchini, yellow squash, etc.), cut in bite-size pieces
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 can chick peas, undrained
1 cup yogurt
Cooked brown rice, barley or other whole grains of your choice
Lime wedges
Bottled mango chutney

Cook onions, green pepper and spices in the bouillon to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the longer-cooking vegetables (potatoes, carrots, etc.), return the pot to boiling, reduce the heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add the shorter-cooking vegetables, raisins and chickpeas and cook 5-10 minutes more, or until all the vegetables are tender. Just before serving, stir in the yogurt. Serve over whole grains, accompanied by the lime wedges and chutney.

6-8 servings

Read my Good Food Book FREE, with 100 healthful recipes.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

Free weekly newsletter on fitness, health, and nutrition.

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Three years ago I decided to go “meatless.” It wasn’t a difficult decision as I wasn’t a voracious carnivore to begin with, however there were a few dishes that I missed that contained meat and wondered how I was going to live without these favorites.

Rather than resign myself to the notion that these dishes could never be converted over to a meatless status, I decided to pull myself up by my vegetarian bootstrings (cotton, of course), and see if I could find a way to convert these meat-ies to meatless.

The first was my Grammy’s recipe for American Chop Suey, actually, almost everyone’s Grammy made this or some variation of it. I tried different ways but this one comes the closest:

Meatless American Chop Suey

1 vidalia onion chopped

1-2 tbsp. butter

1/2 pkg Quorn (brandname) veggie grounds frozen

2 cans Campbells Tomato Soup

1 tblsp. catsup (yes catsup, you can’t really taste it, it just adds a rich color to the sauce)

sea salt and pepper to taste

1 lb of your favorite fancy pasta in its rigati form, that means with lines, or something like like gemelli or rotini

Melt butter in a medium sized skillet over low heat. Add vidalia onion and gently saute until translucent. Add frozen Quorn grounds and heat till thawed. Add 2 cans soup and cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Add catsup salt and pepper and cook an additional 102 minutes.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain thoroughly and add sauce to pasta. Stir to incorporate completely. Serve. Serves 4-6 people as a side.

This next one is an adaptation of a Greek-Middle-Eastern recipe for Dolma. I loved this dish as a youngster summering on Cape Cod. A wonderful Lebanese family “turned me on” to this dish and I have finally found a way to make it meatless and spectacular!

Veggie Dolmas

1 jar of Grapeleaves in brine

Filling:

2 cup basmati rice cooked

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup of pine nuts ground

1/2 cup quorn grounds thawed

2 tbsp. dried mint (or 1/4 cup fresh mint chopped fine)

1 tbsp. dried parsely (or 1/4 cup fresh parsely chopped fine)

1 tsp dried oregano (or 1/8 cup fresh oregano chopped fine)

1 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp pepper

1 small can tomato paste

Juice of 2 lemons

Remove the grape leaves from the jar, rinse and unfold carefully and rinse again. Lay paper towels and pat dry. Gently remove any stems that are still on the leaves.

In a large bowl mix the filling ingredients together till they are well incorporated.

Carefully separate a few of the leaves and line the bottom of a 1-2 gallon stock pot.

To roll take a leaf, place 1 heaping tsp of filling in the center of the leaf about 1/2 inch up from the bottom edge. Fold 1/2 inch up over the filling, fold each side toward the middle, then beginning at the bottom again roll the whole package up till you have a 1-2″ “log.

Continue with the rolling process till you use up all the filling.

Line the rolled leaves up in a circular pattern in the stock pot till all are in. Pour the juice of both lemons gently over the rolled leaves. Place a dinner plate on top with a stone in the middle to keep in place. Gradually add cold water till it just covers the leaves.

Bring contents to a boil then reduce and simmer for abount 1/2 hour till tender. Drain water by holding on to stone to keep plate in place and gently pour out cooking water. Leave plate on till almost cool.

Remove plate and serve with plain yogurt, yummy.

These can be frozen in 1-2 serving sizes for later. I like to do it this way then microwave them for a minute and a half for a quickie meal.

Cathy O is a successful author who provides information on gourmet gift baskets, gourmet food, and gourmet recipes. “In addition to being a freelance writer, I also dabble in Aromatherapy, Herbalism and painting when I am so inspired. Living in the Lake region of Western Maine has been of tremendous inspiration to me and I am proud and happy to call it home.”

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