simple-ish polenta dish
Natarajan Krishnaswami
32 oz water
1 tsp salt
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
3 shallots, diced
1 small zuccini (courgette), diced
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt (if using salted veggie stock/cooking wine, omit)
1/4 cup liquid for deglazing (wine/water/veggie stock)
8 oz pasta sauce
6 oz mozarella (or equivalent) shredded
Preheat oven to 350 \deg F.
Saute the vegetables (stirring gently so the zucchini doesn't turn to
goo) with the salt & oil until they are cooked and most of the water
released has evaporated. Add the liquid, and let it reduce to half.
Remove from the heat, and set aside.
Bring the water to a boil, add the 1 tsp salt, and slowly stir in the
polenta. Reduce the heat, and let it simmer, stirring continuously
and carefully (it bubbles a lot, and it HOT! A long-handled utensil
may be advisable) for about 5 minutes. It will be not-quite-cooked at
this point. Spread half into the bottom of a 2-2.5 quart casserole
dish.
Spread half the pasta sauce on the polenta in casserole. Sprinkle a
little grated mozzarella on it, and then spread the sauteed veggies on
top of that. Sprinkle a little more mozzarella, and spread the rest
of polenta on top. Cover with more sauce, and any remaining cheese.
Bake covered for 30 minutes. Let it cool uncovered for 15 minutes
before slicing. Serves 3-4.
Variations:
Using a vegan cheese substitute is an obvious alteration, but I suspect
it would vegan-ize well even if the cheese is simply omitted.
It might also be good to include some sort of fast-cooking lentil.
(I'm thinking adding mashed moong beans to the filling would be really
delicious.)
If you're using plain tomato sauce, adding garlic and herbs might be
nice.
Enjoy,
<N/>
--
you have been evaluated. you have a negative reference count. prepare
to be garbage collected. persistence is futile.
-- Erik Naggum
Ada M. Prill
[excellent-sounding recipe snipped]
> Bring the water to a boil, add the 1 tsp salt, and slowly stir in the
> polenta. Reduce the heat, and let it simmer, stirring continuously
> and carefully (it bubbles a lot, and it HOT! A long-handled utensil
> may be advisable) for about 5 minutes. It will be not-quite-cooked at
> this point....
I eat polenta a lot, usually for breakfast with just cottage cheese and
yogurt on top, and I've found it cooks very well in the microwave. I add
two parts very hot or boiling water to one part coarse cornmeal and zap it
for about a minute (for one serving) and then stir, and it's ready to eat.
That way it doesn't boil over or make a real mess of a pot, and results
are consistently good. I've found, though, that the bowls don't come clean
in the dishwasher unless I give them a preliminary swipe with a brush. It
doesn't look cooked on, but it seems very resistant to being washed off by
my dishwasher, which makes short work of most messy cooked-on casserole
dishes. (Sticks to the ribs, too.)
Thanks for this recipe. It's on the menu for next week.
Ada
Jean P Nance
complicated recipe. Many people are turned off by the idea of a
vegetarian diet because the recipes are so complicated, and call for so
many ingredients, some of them things most people don't ordinarily have
in their kitchens.
Do people ENJOY spending all that time and effort? Or do they think
it is the only way to show their family they love them? I am retired and
have all the time in the world to cook, if I cared to. But, I really
prefer doing other things too, and most of the time I throw together our
favorite dishes with minimum time and energy. I truly don't believe that
following complicated recipes would result in foods we enjoyed a lot
more.
Of course I realize that once you had such a recipe memorized, you
might be able to prepare it in minimum time. But then, these, "fry this",
"simmer that", recipes result in quite a pile of dishes, and we don't
have a dish washer.
Lynn
>|>
>|> Many people are turned off by the idea of a
>|> vegetarian diet because the recipes are so complicated
>|>
Keith Michaels wrote in message ...
>
>When I went vegetarian (about 7 years ago), it was a great adventure... I
>have NEVER gotten bored discovering new vegetarian food....
I agree with both of you. I like to buy cookbooks that are broken down
internationally, but after that, I generally just get the flavorings and
tailor it to seat-of-your-pants cooking. The best thing is, I went from one
box of instant rice, no beans that weren't green, and a freezer full of
things that once walked, flew, crawled or swam, to cupboards filled with
couscous, wild rice, quinoa and bulgar, as well as black beans, chickpeas,
lentils and pine nuts. I can't beleive how thrilled I was to find sesame
seeds in bulk.
Two books I use a lot (neither are vegetarian, so I don't use the recipes)
are "The Encyclopedia of Herbs Spices & Flavorings," and Sunset's
"Vegetable Cook Book". When I'm in the mood for something with a Middle
Eastern or South American or African flavor, I pull out the Encyclopedia to
check their "flavors of the world" section. Sunset's book has sections on
what herbs/spices go with what, as well as preparation techniques for
various veggies.
Gotta admit - it is an adventure.
Lynn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Life is a search for the truth; and there is no truth
- Chinese Proverb
=====================================================
Eleanor
because I was eating junk food and processed food.
When I decided to eat healthy, that took effort--but I believe eating
healthy takes effort for a nonvegetarian as well.
david
>
> Hmmm. If that recipe is "simplish", I'd hate to even read a
> vegetarian diet because the recipes are so complicated, and call for so
> many ingredients, some of them things most people don't ordinarily have
> in their kitchens.
Anything made from scratch takes time, tools, ingredients, and knowledge of
techniques.
What I hear you saying is you think vegetarian cooking always has to be
made from scratch and you hate cooking. The answer is "not so" and "no
problem". Natural foods stores nearly always stock meatless convenience
food entrees, many of them doctored up to taste just like meat. Check it
out.
dd
kusai
@ okcity.com
david
> I went from one box of instant rice, no beans that weren't green, and
> a freezer full of things that once walked, flew, crawled or swam, to
> cupboards filled with couscous, wild rice, quinoa and bulgar, as well
> as black beans, chickpeas, lentils and pine nuts.
How very strange that y'all equate "no meat" with good food. Why is giving
up meat like a cattle prod up the butt to force a person to adopt good
eating habits? Except for quinoa, all those things are common in
mediterannean cuisine, and should be part of everyone's diet.
dd
kusai
@
okcity.com
Natarajan Krishnaswami
> Hmmm. If that recipe is "simplish", I'd hate to even read a
> complicated recipe.
It sounds a lot more complex than it is, since try to put in a lot of
detail. It's actually quite a bit easier/quicker to make than lasagna.
> Of course I realize that once you had such a recipe memorized, you
> might be able to prepare it in minimum time. But then, these, "fry this",
> "simmer that", recipes result in quite a pile of dishes, and we don't
> have a dish washer.
It took longer to come up with the idea than to make it: I spent about
20 minutes in the kitchen the first time I made it, and two days
imagining/craving it beforehand. I had a pretty clear mental image of
what I wanted to arrive at, which undoubtedly made it easier to work
quickly.
I guess I meant "simple" in the sense of "few [no] exotic ingredients"
and "easy to get right", rather, than "few pots" and "few steps".
Soren Dayton
> Hmmm. If that recipe is "simplish", I'd hate to even read a
> complicated recipe. Many people are turned off by the idea of a
> vegetarian diet because the recipes are so complicated, and call for so
> many ingredients, some of them things most people don't ordinarily have
> in their kitchens.
This strikes me as a very strange statement. I know of virtually NO
simple meat dishes that actually taste good. Do you? I know of a lot
more simple vegetarian dishes that are *very* tasty. Are you talking
about the "throw a roast, some carrots, some onions, and some potatoes
into a dutch oven and cook for 4 hours" kind of recipe?
I lived in a house with 13 people in which food cooked for the house
was all vegetarian, but only two or three people actually were
vegetarian. People seemed to think that it was _easier_ to cook
vegetarian food.
Soren
Karen C. Greenlee
it. Although I do not have much experience with non-vegetarian cooking since
I've been a vegetarian since I was a child, from my friend's descriptions of
dinner preparation using meat, their's seems much more complicated and
time-consuming than mine. They have to thaw meat, cook it for a long time,
blah, blah, blah. Roasts & turkeys have to cook for hours. Since many eat
the standard "meat and three", they usually have more items to prepare and I
tend to make more one dish meals or just a couple of things.
I use some convenience items or throw some canned/pre-packaged things
together if I'm in a hurry. I enjoy cooking though, and sometimes I do want
to spend more time preparing elaborate meals, but that's not my every day
cooking style. Using "bag salad" and prechopped or dehydrated veggies and
such save a lot of time too. To reduce the number of pots and pans, etc., I
usually simply rinse out pans, skillets, utensils, measuring cups & spoons,
etc. and use them again for the next item instead of getting out more.
If you are looking for some quick & easy type vegetarian cookbooks, a
couple of good ones are "The Convenient Vegetarian" by Virginia Messina and
"Short Cut Vegetarian" by Lorna Sass. There are others too, but these are
two I'm very familiar with. Both are vegan also.
Hope this is helpful!
Karen C. Greenlee
************************************************************
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Find out more at: http://www.egroups.com/group/Veg-Recipes
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Jean P Nance wrote:[[[snipped by -mod]]]
... Many people are turned off by the idea of a
> vegetarian diet because the recipes are so complicated, and call for so
> many ingredients, some of them things most people don't ordinarily have
> in their kitchens.
... ... But then, these, "fry this",
Pat Meadows
>This strikes me as a very strange statement. I know of virtually NO
>simple meat dishes that actually taste good. Do you?
I do. Many, many. I think I know what Jean meant and why
she wrote it: I also think it's (generally) more complex
and takes more time to cook vegetarian meals than meat
meals. Not always - but usually.
Now - it may or may not be worth it to people to do this -
that's a different story. I tend to agree with Jean's
statement and think it's fairly accurate in my experience.
> I know of a lot
>more simple vegetarian dishes that are *very* tasty.
How about sharing a few of them with us?
Pat
Lynn
>>
>> I went from one box of instant rice, no beans that weren't green, and
>> a freezer full of things that once walked, flew, crawled or swam, to
>> cupboards filled with couscous, wild rice, quinoa and bulgar, as well
>> as black beans, chickpeas, lentils and pine nuts.
>>
>
>How very strange that y'all equate "no meat" with good food. Why is giving
>up meat like a cattle prod up the butt to force a person to adopt good
>eating habits? Except for quinoa, all those things are common in
>mediterannean cuisine, and should be part of everyone's diet.
You totally missed my point. Had nothing to do with meat, but was about the
"adventure" of exploring new foods and new recipes. In my case, that
coincided with adopting a mostly vegetarian diet. Besides, this is a
vegetarian group, in case you didn't happen to notice.
[Moderator's note: please remember that r.f.v.c is for anyone interested
in cooking vegetarian meals, not just for vegetarians.]
BTW - in keeping with the subject header, I was in a couple of bookstores
this week, and saw some cookbooks for quick or one-pot meals. They also had
books for the some-time (occasional?) vegetarian, as well as one to help
with the transition. They even have one of those "Idiot" books, although I
didn't see any recipes, just tons of information.
What seemed to be missing, was any that were specifically for the lone
vegetarian in the wolf pack. Seems to me that would be a good niche to
fill.
Eleanor
wrote:
>Lynn wrote:
>> I went from one box of instant rice, no beans that weren't green, and
>> a freezer full of things that once walked, flew, crawled or swam, to
>> cupboards filled with couscous, wild rice, quinoa and bulgar, as well
>> as black beans, chickpeas, lentils and pine nuts.
>
>How very strange that y'all equate "no meat" with good food. Why is giving
>up meat like a cattle prod up the butt to force a person to adopt good
>eating habits? Except for quinoa, all those things are common in
>mediterannean cuisine, and should be part of everyone's diet.
I think it's because when you become a vegetarian you start reading
labels very carefully to avoid meat products, and it slowly sinks in
that you're eating all sorts of awful garbage. At least that's what
happened with me. So I began looking for new and interesting things to
eat.
Soren Dayton
> On Thu, 6 Apr 2000 16:29:58 GMT, Soren Dayton <day...@overx.com> wrote:
>
> >This strikes me as a very strange statement. I know of virtually NO
> >simple meat dishes that actually taste good. Do you?
>
> I do. Many, many. I think I know what Jean meant and why
> she wrote it: I also think it's (generally) more complex
> and takes more time to cook vegetarian meals than meat
> meals. Not always - but usually.
>
> Now - it may or may not be worth it to people to do this -
> that's a different story. I tend to agree with Jean's
> statement and think it's fairly accurate in my experience.
Hmmmm. Bizarre. Completely contrary to my experience.
> > I know of a lot
> >more simple vegetarian dishes that are *very* tasty.
>
> How about sharing a few of them with us?
ok. Wheat and beans seem to be most of what I eat. You'll notice a
middle eastern and indian bend. So here's some stuff:
garlic and tomato lentil soup
based on Jaffrey's Food of the East (an excellent book, by the way.
I would recommend it to anyone looking to explore
more vegetearian food)
Brown 5 or 6 cloves of garlic (crushed or finely minced) in olive oil.
Add 2 chopped tomatoes
Add a couple of dried red peppers
cook the tomatoes until you have a chunky looking sauce. Shouldn't
take more than about 2-4 minutes.
Throw in a cup of lentils and mix it all up.
add 3 cups water. Get the water to boiling and then simmer.
Cook until mush (or almost mush)
when done, add juice from half a lemon and salt to taste
Eat this with rice or bread
black bean "Fool Moudammas" (cuz fava beans are hard to get)
based on Sunday's at Moosewood by the Moosewood Collective
Soak 1 cup of black beans overnight or use 3 cups canned.
Pour off the water and cook the beans (in about 5-6 cups water) until
tender.
in a separate container (while the beans are cooking) mix:
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic
juice from 1/2 lemon
some salt
(fresh) cilantro or parsley chopped somewhat finely.
freshly ground black pepper
Once the beans are done, immediately pour off the water and mix the
beans with the other stuff. The key is that the beans are still hot.
Mix everything. Then play with the spices until you like the taste.
The traditional way to eat this is with eggs (and fava beans) but I
eat it with pita bread and sliced tomatoes.
Tabouli
based on every tabouli recipe that I've ever seen
soak 3/4 cup bulghur wheat for about an hour
chop:
2 cups parsley
1-2 tomatoes
1 onion (I really like red onions, but I'm funny)
some mint
mix this with some olive oil, probably about 1/4 cup, juice from half
a lemon, salt and freshly ground black pepper
There's a thread in rec.food.cooking about simple hummus recipes.
Most of those are 5 minute recipes.
Dal (Indian Lentils kinds of things)
boil 1 cup dal (I've done it with split varieties of yellow peas, mung
(moong), urad, and red lentils. I've had it with green split peas
also. If you're using split peas, I would consider soaking for a
couple of hours because they will take longer). Once its boiling,
simmer it. You want to do this in anywhere between 2-5 cups of water
depending on how soupy you like it and how long its going to cook.
In that throw some turmeric and grate about 3/4 an inch of ginger.
And a couple of dried red peppers.
Add a tomato, cut in half into the water.
Simmer it until things have mostly lost their shape.
When that's almost done fry about 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon
whole cumin, some asafedita (if you've got it around), and maybe some
coriander seeds.
You want to fry these in 3-4 tablespoons oil or butter or ghee or
whatever. Don't use olive oil. I use peanut (Loriva unrefined peanut
oil is my favorite). The way to do this is heat the oil and throw in
a couple of mustard seeds. When the seeds start to move around and
blacken, throw in everything else and mix until everything begins to
change color a little. This is very noticeable and shouldn't take
more than about 15 seconds.
Throw the oil and spices into the dal, mix it. Let it sit, covered,
for a minute or two.
Add salt to taste.
Serve with Basmati Rice or millet.
You can vary this by adding things like sliced cucumber or zucchini
with the tomato. The zucchini makes it a little sweet. I've also
added left-over eggplant from other dishes.
And, in general, it seems like there are lots of things that might
involve lots of chopping (I agree) but are really good. I can think
of one stew that involves chopping 2-3 smallish potatoes, 2 tomatoes,
1-2 onions, 2-3 smallish zucchini and 2-3 hot peppers (I seem to only
be able get serranos and jalapenos around here).
Fry the onions, 2-3 cloves garlic and the peppers in oil (I use
olive). Throw in some 4-8 cloves (the spice) and 2 tsp cinnamon.
Throw in the potatoes after a minute or so. Mix the potatoes. And
let them cook for a couple of minutes. You'll feel like things are
_almost_ burning. That's ok. Throw in the tomatoes. Give those a
little bit of time. 2-3 minutes. Add a couple of cups of water and a
chopped bunch of cilantro. After about 10 minutes add the zucchini.
Cook this all until the potatoes and zucchini are tender. Then add
about 1 cup of cut corn and some salt.
I've been wanting to try this with chocolate added too. Now that
I've got good cooking chocolate. But I haven't gotten around to it
yet.
So that's something to get you started. None of this is "fancy" but
its really wonderfully tasty. And all vegan.
Soren
Soren Dayton
> And, in general, it seems like there are lots of things that might
> involve lots of chopping (I agree) but are really good. I can think
> of one stew that involves chopping 2-3 smallish potatoes, 2 tomatoes,
> 1-2 onions, 2-3 smallish zucchini and 2-3 hot peppers (I seem to only
> be able get serranos and jalapenos around here).
forgot to mention 2-3 carrots that you put in the with the tomatoes.
And I frequently add black or garbanzo beans.
Soren
Pat Meadows
<day...@overx.com> wrote:
>> How about sharing a few of them with us?
>
>ok. Wheat and beans seem to be most of what I eat. You'll notice a
>middle eastern and indian bend. So here's some stuff:
>
Thanks, they both look good. I'll give 'em a try!
Pat
Sandra Mort
steps, but I don't make polenta and I don't deep fry.
S'n'E
Wagner Mitchell Family
Soren Dayton wrote:
> > And, in general, it seems like there are lots of things that might
> > involve lots of chopping (I agree) but are really good...
But really, chopping isn't even a chore if you have a good food processor!
B-)
--
Wagner Mitchell Family
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
mailto:wagm...@sk.sympatico.ca
http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/mitchb
Sandra Mort
Chop a bunch of veggies, or buy them from the salad bar at the store, and
sautee until the way you like them. Fold into an omelette, with or without
cheese. Serve with a baked potato and toast.
Pasta with sauteed greens, canned and rinsed white beans and stewed tomatoes
with olive oil and freshly ground pepper. A splash of balsamic vinegar is
nice.
Dal (pressure cooker) and rice (rice cooker) with optional yoghurt and
pickles.
Chili or soups (any one of a number of kinds) made in the pressure cooker,
served with a starch of some kind (bread, rice, pasta).
Fruit salad, cow or tofu cream cheese and date or banana quick bread.
English muffin/bagel pizzas with sliced up veggies and tomatoes or sauce and
optional cheese.
Ice cream sundae
Quickly stir fried veggies with garlic (lots!) and preseasoned oils (hot
sesame, for example) and soy sauce & rice
Curried veggies and potatoes in the pressure cooker and rice
Pressure cooker mock risotto (MMM!!!!)
That's all I can think of offhand, but I'm WAY overtired, I didn't get my
nap today! :)
Sandra'n'VegetarianEva (11/15/98)
Adagio
>I think it's because when you become a vegetarian you start reading
>labels very carefully to avoid meat products, and it slowly sinks in
>that you're eating all sorts of awful garbage. At least that's what
>happened with me. So I began looking for new and interesting things to
>eat.
I agree here. I buy very little food now, that comes in a box. Aside
from the occasional treat or when I am in a hurry, most food is thrown
together from scratch, because I enjoy the quality of the food so much
better, and the taste!!! I never knew food could taste so good without
the "packaging" aftertaste.
Adagio
What lies behind us and lies before us are small matters compared to what
lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Sandra Mort
would say "Why would you miss meat when you are getting so many other new
foods" and I can't think of how to answer, since I don't eat many things
that I didn't eat before I gave up meat. However, most Americans (I won't
speak for any other culture) eat meat, plain vegetables (and not that many)
and starches (and again, a small variety). It's strange to me, but that'
how it is.
For the person who finds vegetarian food too much trouble, my suggestion is
to get one of Lorna Sass' pressure cooker books. My dh and I have a baby
and no interest or time for complicated dishes. We wash up some rice and
throw it in the rice cooker, or put water on to boil for pasta, and toss
something in the pressure cooker, and voila... dinner is ready.
Sandra, mom to Eva (11/15/98 and vegetarian from birth)
david drexler
>
> Maybe it's just me, but polenta scares me! I'll do complex dishes with 800
> steps, but I don't make polenta and I don't deep fry.
So far as I can tell, polenta is a high falutin' word for what northeners
call cornmeal mush: a handful of cornmeal thrown into a small pot of
boiling water and stirred 'til it gets thick. I like my mush with milk and
maple syrup; polenta gets different goodies added.
I've never tried to make it as polenta. I'd like to see more recipes
posted.
dd
Adagio
>So far as I can tell, polenta is a high falutin' word for what northeners
>call cornmeal mush: a handful of cornmeal thrown into a small pot of
>boiling water and stirred 'til it gets thick.
It's funny. I once had someone come up to me and say "Have you tried
polenta? It's sooo good and goes with everything!" I couldn't believe
it when I went to the deli section of the grocery, and saw what it was,
and the price they wanted for it! Something like 3 dollars for a couple
of cups of cornmeal that was boiled and left to set! Heck, I'm in the
wrong profession! Pass the cornmeal! :-)
Sandra Mort
mush. It's eaten plain, with stuff on it, poured into a pan and chilled and
then baked or grilled or fried, and served with goodies added. But yeah,
you could call it cornmeal mush. For some reason, I'm afraid of cooking it
because I think it'll be full of lumps, which I hate.
> So far as I can tell, polenta is a high falutin' word for what northeners
> call cornmeal mush: a handful of cornmeal thrown into a small pot of
Orangerose
>because I think it'll be full of lumps, which I hate.
>
I've gotta say, contrary to the way you hear polenta *should* be cooked, I
think I have found the secret to lumpless polenta (and farina--cream of
wheat--too, by the way). You simply mix the cornmeal with the *cold* liquid
and bring it to boiling while stirring. Once the mush has thickened a little,
it will not form lumps, even if you only stir occasionally.
Kelly
Lynda
vegetarian main dishes, so this is a wonderfully interesting
thread to me. Thanks for the recipes, suggestions, and
references to books. As for polenta, I've never really made it
but one time I tried a recipe for something called "corn
foldovers." They were made with cornmeal and egg whites, among
other ingredients, and were supposed to be very light puffs.
Well, something went very wrong and I could see they weren't
going to puff at all, so I spread the batter in a pan, thinking
I would call it cornbread. When I removed it from the oven it
wasn't even cornbread--too flat. Out of desperation, not having
anything to substitute, I cut it in triangles and served it
as "polenta." Everyone loved it! (And apparently no one knew the
difference.) Now what I really love is gnocchi...
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
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Ada M. Prill
MUCH easier.
Ada
Stephanie
about going veggie... The first time I walked into Whole Foods, I felt
like a kid in a candy store... growing up on meat, all I knew was how
to fix those types of dishes. Heat a pan. Cook some meat. Add some
sort of vegetable to the side. Gravy optional...
But, for the first time I really had to *think* about what I was going
to eat. And there were so many things I'd never even heard of to
explore... And I've had so much fun mixing things up and seeing how they
go with eachother. (or not) And I have a four year old son who is a
very brutally honest judge of whether the things I come up with are good
or not. =) And he's been so naturally vegetarian... my ex husband
eats meat, so my son isn't totally without it... but given the choice,
especially when he was a toddler, he'd always choose to eat the
veggie/grain portions... (always found that interesting)
So I do think it takes effort, especially if you were raised with meat
on your plate three times a day... but it's worth it, and I think it's
fun, too.
Stephanie
Lynn wrote:
> You totally missed my point. Had nothing to do with meat, but was about the
> "adventure" of exploring new foods and new recipes.
--
Hash it Out!
http://www.hashitout.com