My Journey toward a life of Vegetarianism

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I haven't had the flu since the 90's, I forgot how it just goes on and on and on.. the normal timetable for sickness just means nothing to it. It's a jerk.

Haven't got any chickens, too much time to make stock if I did, must have fast food. I love that roasting brussel sprouts is fast food. I made brussel sprout chips too the other night from the outer leaves..

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/15661311142/brussels-sprouts-chips

Don't be fooled by the 'p' word vegetarians, this blog is full of vegetarian recipes. She is great at simple photo layout instructions for each step, never over complicates. I tweak the oil level on everything though since I am not enamored with oils, and I usually add no salt. I have very low salt tolerance, everything tastes salty to me just as it is.

 

[Amaris]

Hope you feel better, teacake!

I had a really good Greek salad today. It was only a Skyline Chili Greek Salad (no meat), but it was still delicious, and for $4, I couldn't beat that kind of deal.

 

[Emher]

Feel better, teacake!

Quick shot of the ratatouille I made for dinner:

 

[Mage]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I am addicted to vegetables, and my girlfriend and I have atleast one vegetarian meal a week, sometimes two.

You can do amazing things without meat really, even though I truly love meat. But it's not the alfa and omega of a good meal. We had a lovely carrot and red lentil soup just now, home made. Well, the broth was from stockcubes, but other then that.... And it was filling, delicious and very nutricious.

And yes, brussel sprouts are amazing. Try parr-boiling them, then stirfry with some fresh ginger, garlic and red bell-pepper/capsicum and cashewnuts, and a bit of high quality ketjap manis, served with some fluffy basmati rice. You'll go nuts for that one. Sprouts and ginger, match made in haven. Can't find fresh ginger? Ground gingerpowder will do as well.

 

[Kenbushway]

That looks really good thestrangequark.
Yes do feel better Teacake, I hear protein helps fighting off the cold.
I have a healthy breakfast recipe;
http://www.wholeliving.com/130473/healthy-pepper-hash?center=155850&gallery=136187&slide=130473

You can omit the turkey if you want, the sauteed vegetables are good by themselves.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Roasted brussel sprouts with red capsicum, garlic, olive oil and and almonds.

I'm about to have a brussel sprout phase. Feel an obsession coming on. Will be adding fennel next time.. very excited!!

Roasting them is perfect, they are adorably delicious this way! This whole thing was prep time, five minutes. Cooking time 20 minutes.

That looks so good! I can't remember when I last had brussel sprouts.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I am addicted to vegetables,

Me too!

And yes, brussel sprouts are amazing. Try parr-boiling them, then stirfry with some fresh ginger, garlic and red bell-pepper/capsicum and cashewnuts, and a bit of high quality ketjap manis, served with some fluffy basmati rice. You'll go nuts for that one. Sprouts and ginger, match made in haven. Can't find fresh ginger? Ground gingerpowder will do as well.

Oh we can get fresh ginger anywhere here.. and that does sound fantastic. I'd imagine the ketjap manis carmalizes them a bit.. yum.

 

[thestrangequark]

I haven't had the flu since the 90's, I forgot how it just goes on and on and on.. the normal timetable for sickness just means nothing to it. It's a jerk.

Haven't got any chickens, too much time to make stock if I did, must have fast food. I love that roasting brussel sprouts is fast food. I made brussel sprout chips too the other night from the outer leaves..

I admire people who make their own stock, but there's no way I have time for that. I always keep a jar of Better Than Bouillon (usually one each of veggie base and chicken or No-Chicken chicken base) in the fridge. It is the best. Great flavor that really avoids that dehydrated bouillon taste, and it is so easy. I often just boil a kettle and stir in a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon in a mug -- perfect for when your feeling under the weather.

They have a couple of vegan bases in addition to all the non-veggie varieties; chicken, turkey, beef, lobster, etc.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I've never used any stock I didn't make. Well okay I've tried to use it but always ended up getting annoyed and throwing it out because I can taste the added thing. Though I consider doenjang and miso to be my instant stock so there's that. Otherwise I just throw in ginger and soy sauce and spring onions and sugar and.. whatever into the boiling water I want to transform into stock-ish stuff and uhh.. it is so! Or if you want euro flavours I boil leeks and wine and whatever else and okay if you do that long enough you are making stock which is I realize not the point of being instant. So personal soy paste choices ftw!

(I love making chicken stock.. evil chemist cooking)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Also tonight I had roasted brussel sprouts with roasted fennel and red capsicums and garlic squirted with lemon after cooking and it was divine. Ate it too fast to photograph. Made the roast fennel like this:

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_fennel/

The fennel has to start cooking before the sprouts. The red peppers were beautifully soft and making their own syrup with the garlic, it was incredible.

 

[thestrangequark]

I've never used any stock I didn't make. Well okay I've tried to use it but always ended up getting annoyed and throwing it out because I can taste the added thing. Though I consider doenjang and miso to be my instant stock so there's that. Otherwise I just throw in ginger and soy sauce and spring onions and sugar and.. whatever into the boiling water I want to transform into stock-ish stuff and uhh.. it is so! Or if you want euro flavours I boil leeks and wine and whatever else and okay if you do that long enough you are making stock which is I realize not the point of being instant. So personal soy paste choices ftw!

(I love making chicken stock.. evil chemist cooking)

I love making soup, for which I don't use concentrated stock, and like you, I love to experiment. I make a killer vegetarian chili, and to when I really want to up the game, I cook it for a good 5-6 hours and use a couple of bottles of beer.

A really interesting addition to a soup, which I learned from my mother, is coffee. Seriously, it's amazing, though it really compliments beef dishes the best. My mom used to make an amazing coffee pot roast which yielded the best broths and gravies...so not vegetarian.

For the day-to-day convenience, though, I just love the Better Than Bouillon. It's awesome to boil veggies in, and like I said before, when you're sick, nothing beats being able make a mug of fresh-tasting broth as quick and easy as boiling a kettle!

 

[Mage]

Making your own stock is great, but for a quick dinner during the week, stock cubes can give a lot of extra flavour to a lot of dishes, not only soups.

 

[thestrangequark]

^See, that's where I really prefer Better Than Bouillon. You should totally try it; the flavor puts stock cubes to shame.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I don't think we have Better than Boullion here, I've never seen it. But I do highly recommend doenjang which comes in a variety of darknesses and pungencies and contains beans

Doenjang and some grated ginger and you have perfection.

 

[Mage]

^See, that's where I really prefer Better Than Bouillon. You should totally try it; the flavor puts stock cubes to shame.

I'm Dutch, so not sure if we have that.

 

[thestrangequark]

^A shame! It's practically a staple in my kitchen.

I can't write about today's dinner, because it included fish.

Doenjang and some grated ginger and you have perfection.

Everything's better with ginger.

 

[CorporalClegg]

^See, that's where I really prefer Better Than Bouillon. You should totally try it; the flavor puts stock cubes to shame.

This.

I know people like to advocate making their own stock, but making a good, rich stock isn't very efficient with cost or time.

And some of the off-veggie bases can get really expensive. Something like a mushroom stock requires a few pounds of mushrooms (and many hours) to really get a desirable flavor. And they aren't cheap. Heck, even onion broth require at least a whole bag of onions.

But some of the good non-bullion bases are cheap and taste great and are still fairly low in sodium.

 

[Taylirious]

^A shame! It's practically a staple in my kitchen.

I can't write about today's dinner, because it included fish.

Doenjang and some grated ginger and you have perfection.

Everything's better with ginger.

YES!

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

^See, that's where I really prefer Better Than Bouillon. You should totally try it; the flavor puts stock cubes to shame.

This.

I know people like to advocate making their own stock, but making a good, rich stock isn't very efficient with cost or time.

Time I'll grant you but since I generally make chicken stock with roast chicken carcasses I've already paid for and eaten it costs nothing extra.

You know what is delicious? Kikkoman low salt soy sauce, the green one. I used to buy low salt tamaris but this stuff is way better. Intense soy flavour and minimal salt, it's like a soy stock in itself. You can add tons to stuff because it doesn't skyrocket the salt content. If you add this to lentil soup it's divine.

 

[Amaris]

I bought some crystallized ginger snacks a few weeks ago, and having never tried them before that, I rather like them. Of course, I gave one to my 3 year old nephew, and his reaction was... mixed.