OK, help me out here

(I actually had a couple of ideas for the subject line on this post, one of which was, "Where the hell is Yaniger when you need him?")

So anyway, Lent is coming. While I've always seen a pressing need for something like a Fat Tuesday, in which you allow yourself everything, I have never been able to determine the point of ritually denying yourself one or the other of the pleasures that make life worth living. Nonetheless, my daughter is now attending a Catholic school and she's all into this idea of giving something up. Right now, she's making a lot of noise about that "something" being meat. We haven't completely delimited her situational definition of "meat" yet, of course. Fish is likely to be in, broth may be in, bacon is right out. So far. She's tried to go this direction before, but my wife (a career carnivore) has more or less vetoed the idea. This time, I suppose due to the Catholicyness of the whole thing, the senior lady of the household seems like she might be on board.

The upshot of all of this is that I may be required to cook a lot more veggie stuff over the next couple of months. We have a couple of Deborah Madison cookbooks and such, but I thought I'd see what y'all have up your sleeves. So help me out here, fellow WFLDG'ers. What are your favorite vegetarian dishes? I need everything from quick weeknighters to elegant meals for company, so don't hold back!

Any takers?

[Robin Garr]

Mike, we do a lot of meatless meals while remaining obligate carnivores overall.

To get things off to an easy start, I'll give you some broader categories for meatless meals that work well for me.

Risotto. You can put all manner of veggie goodies here. Onions as a base, then mushrooms, or celery, fennel, or tomatoes! Radicchio cut in thin slices makes an excellent model, Friuli style. Load on the butter and cheese, and you won't miss meat.

Pasta. Cheese sauces. Do not go vegan!

Curries. Get an Indian cookbook. Spices and rice will fill you up without meat.

Tofu? If you like it - we do - it opens up a wide variety of Asian dishes.

Beans. Hearty and filling.

Salads. Bulk em up with crunchy veggies and cheese, and if you like them, creamy dressings.

Omelets, frittatas, tortillas. Lots of great fillings. Did I mention cheese?

That ought to get you started, and most of these are wine-friendly.

Do not go vegan!

I'm pretty sure my daughter doesn't want to be quite that holy.

Thanks!

Not Yaniger, but I'm pretty sure he'd go along with pizza with various plant and dairy stuff on top. if you're lucky the family might even let you put some dead animal on a few slices for the man of the house.

[Jenise]

An important consideration when going vegetarian is substituting the protein your body is used to in your meals without trippling the amount of fat you consume on an all-cheese-and-pasta diet which is pretty easy to default to--as you probably know protein is what makes you feel fuller longer and failure to address that causes a lot of well-intentioned failures for those who embark on this path. Look to Mexican and Indian influences for ideas on what to do with legumes--bean tacos and burritos, dal as a topping for rice, etc. A note: vegetable stock is your friend. I like Penzey's veggie stock base better than any of the full-liquid canned/bottled store-bought stocks I've tried (most rely too much on onion for my tastes), and they give body to dishes where I would have otherwise turned to chicken stock. Chinese stir-fries and roasted vegetable ratatouilles are wonderful ways to avoid larding out on the carbs and dairy fats we omnivores instinctively turn to when we try to elmininate meat. And hey, while you're at it, why not consider using this opportunity to increase your family's consumption of raw vegetables? The heart docs don't all agree amongst themselves on the exact right amount, but all I've read reccomend a minimum of 40% raw with emphasis on good fats like avocados and nuts plus the antioxidant properties of cruciferous vegetables. Voluntarily pair those with more whole grains and avoid someone having to make you do it later--an especially good plan for those with an above average fondness for alcohol.

Unless she wants to do more than what's "required" she only has to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays in Lent. You might suggest that she "do" something extra, such as chores or prayers or whatever.

My kids used to give up free time and each week they would volunteer a few hours at the hospital, or the animal shelter, or a soup kitchen. Generally some training is involved but most places were willing to assist and they got some work experience and character building along the way. I always thought giving up food was a worthless idea. Yet, I know how children are, once their minds are made up, that is it. Good luck, however do suggest the loss of time for her by giving the gift of time to another.

While there are now a number of cookbooks on the market for vegatarians, I would still look for one of the old Moosewood books. I have a few but I seem to like the older ones best. The dishes are not difficult to make yet do have flavor and draw upon a lot of different cuisines for inspiration.

For a very simple and quick weekday meal, I make a meatless burrito using Morningstar Farms crumble (or whatever its called) and black beans. Soften onion in skillet. Add crumble and drained black beans. Warm through. Put in shell and top as desired. Normally I will add some ground chillis to the onion while its cooking to spice it up.

For a nice company dish, I like to serve Imam Bayildi when vegetarian dishes are needed. Though its name comes from the fact that the eggplant absorbs lots of olive oil, the currents and lemon included give it a very nice, full flavor spectrum, satifsfying for most carnivores. I start with the Jeff Smith recipe from Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine. It goes into the oven and comes out ready to plate.

While there are now a number of cookbooks on the market for vegatarians, I would still look for one of the old Moosewood books. I have a few but I seem to like the older ones best. The dishes are not difficult to make yet do have flavor and draw upon a lot of different cuisines for inspiration.

As an owner of the original Moosewood cookbook, I must mention that many of the recipes are very fat-laden (though most are quite tasty). If that is an issue, beware, as butterfat abounds. Also of worth is Madhur Jaffrey's "World of The East Vegetarian Cooking" which has a number of very tasty recipes within it (her recipe for chana masala is quite yummy). In general, pasta, breads and legumes are your friends. Spicy is good, too. If seafood is on the table, that obviously extends the possibilities greatly. For instance, we had a semi-vegetarian family (well, the mother at least doesn't eat meat) over for dinner and I made a lobster paella using veggie stock. No problem there, and a great vehicle for Muscadet!

Mark Lipton

Problem is easy to solve...give up liver for lent!

Grilled big portabellas. Remove the stems, sprinkle some balsamic vinegar in the "bowl", brush them with olive oil, grill bowl side up first, flip them for a minute or two, flip them again and sprinkle with Romano cheese and/or a tiny bit of mozzarella.

Thanks, everyone!

Karen - I love the idea of getting her to look into community service of some kind rather than giving up a food group. It's probably too late for this year but if I start now, maybe we can work that out for Lent 2012.

Ratatouille.

Soups - tomato bisque, butternut squash, mushroom, vichyssoise, cullen skink (if fish is still OK), bouillabaisse, bilibi, whee!

The Chief Stupid was very enamored of dosa, last I saw him.

Dosa
Dal
Sambar
Iddli

-Paul W.

Growing up in a very Catholic family we gave up meat for lent which was OK by me cause mom served shrimp salad! I always looked forward to Lent.

Drew

My poor dear mother never forgave the Pope for Vatican II, and thought the church was backsliding when it was announced it was ok to eat meat on Friday. I've never been one for the mortification of the flesh, myself, but neither do I think that meat is compulsory, so meatless meals doesn't count as a big sacrifice. (Giving up wine *would* be a sacrifice, OTOH.)

Instead of meat based food:
Meals featuring chick peas, rice, beans, barley, quinoa
Mushrooms - try combinations of several kinds together
Cheese, of course
Vege curries, casseroles, stir fries with interesting sauces
Stuffed squash, capsicum, pumpkin, zucchini - with meatless stuffings

When in doubt, put in an extra onion and a bit more garlic.

[Jenise]

Mike, I sent a friend a recipe the other day for a cashew "cream" sauce. Raw cashews are ground and added to a sauce as a substitute for the rich dairy element in a traditional cream sauce. She emailed me today: "Just made some...I put it over lobster ravioli. wow. might be my new best friend in the kitchen for rich sauce base. If I did not know, I doubt I could pick up exactly what it was from...I thinned it with water & a tad bit of olive oil. A little goes a long way."

Might be in interesting element for your new repertoire!

Gratins - potato with cheese and milk/cream; spinach parboiled and chopped, with cream and parmesan; chopped spinach layered with gruyere and thinly sliced kobacha or butternut squash. Richard Olney's Simple French Food has at least a dozen.

Grilled eggplants, shitake mushrooms and red peppers, dressed in sherry vinaigrette.

Peel, cube and roast at 400degrees parsnips, potatoes, red bell peppers, plus quartered mushrooms and whole peeled garlic cloves or halved shallots. Dress them all in olive oil, salt, pepper and minced rosemary before roasting.

Eggplant parmigiana when you need something for big red wine.

Spinach salad with pecans, blue cheese, pears and dried cranberries.

Cabbage stuffed with brown rice or bulgur, chestnuts, tomato paste, garlic, mushrooms and herbs; poached in a rich stock with plenty of onions and carrots.

Last time I looked (which I confess was years ago), fish and seafood were exempt from the Roman Catholic fast day proscription against eating meat.

I don't and never have liked fish or seafood, so my childhood pre-Vatican II Fridays were usually mac and cheese days.

-Paul W.

Gratins - potato with cheese and milk/cream; spinach parboiled and chopped, with cream and parmesan; chopped spinach layered with gruyere and thinly sliced kobacha or butternut squash. Richard Olney's Simple French Food has at least a dozen.

That's a good reminder. We've made the endive gratin out of his book on numerous occasions.

Last time I looked (which I confess was years ago), fish and seafood were exempt from the Roman Catholic fast day proscription against eating meat.

True, but what my daughter still hasn't decided whether fish will or won't be acceptable for her during Lent. I think she's leaning towards allowing it, though.

My kids used to give up free time and each week they would volunteer a few hours at the hospital, or the animal shelter, or a soup kitchen.

[/quote]

I still think this is a terrific idea. I told my wife about it, Karen, and her joking reply was, "Oh how completely un-Catholic!". Not that the church would frown on helping others (of course it wouldn't) but that denial of pleasure is such a big part of the season.

I still think this is a terrific idea. I told my wife about it, Karen, and her joking reply was, "Oh how completely un-Catholic!". Not that the church would frown on helping others (of course it wouldn't) but that denial of pleasure is such a big part of the season.

In our house, during those years, free time was their biggest pleasure! They all have much more of it as adults than they did then. I'm not sure any of them would have considered food a pleasure at that age...more of a necessity.

I just looked up abstinence during Lent and this is what I found.
That's why, under current Church law, the days of abstinence fall during Lent, the season of spiritual preparation for Easter. On Ash Wednesday and all of the Fridays of Lent, Catholics over the age of 14 are required to abstain from meat and from foods made with meat So, I don't recall if I knew it was a requirement to give up meat. If I did know it, I've forgotten. I always thought the no-meat on Fridays was a chore. As a young bride, I served my in-laws a vegetable soup for dinner on a Friday. I was asked what the base of my soup was....chicken broth, I replied. Oh my.....

I just looked up abstinence during Lent and this is what I found.
That's why, under current Church law, the days of abstinence fall during Lent, the season of spiritual preparation for Easter. On Ash Wednesday and all of the Fridays of Lent, Catholics over the age of 14 are required to abstain from meat and from foods made with meat So, I don't recall if I knew it was a requirement to give up meat. If I did know it, I've forgotten. I always thought the no-meat on Fridays was a chore. As a young bride, I served my in-laws a vegetable soup for dinner on a Friday. I was asked what the base of my soup was....chicken broth, I replied. Oh my.....

Whoa! Didn't know that. I'll have to pass that on to the rest of the family.

BTW, Jenise, the cashew cream sauce sounds delicious.