Saturday, February 16, 2008

What Am I Going To Eat?

As I noted in my last post, I'm going to make another attempt to go meat-free.

As it turns out, I already eat no meat for breakfast and lunch; I eat an orange, half a banana, and a handful of blueberries for breakfast, and Jan 1 began eating a container of radishes, broccoli, carrots and apple slices (with at LEAST 2 tablespoons of peanut butter on the side) for lunch. For a snack before and after lunch, I usually eat a fruitbar, half at a time (Larabar).

But dinnertime is where I'm going to run into a problem. For instance, my favorite vegetable stew and rice-bean dish includes kielbasa as a crucial accent ingredient. I'm not sure what I can substitute for kielbasa. Some sort of roasted eggplant?

If you have a suggestion, I'm all ears

If you have a a favorite vegetarian recipe, I'm also eager to hear it.

My old friend Sean (who's been a vegetarian as long as I've known him) just posted a few weird food choices (his words) that he likes. I'm not sure about the saltine one, but I'll try the omelette :-).

Thanks!

9 comments:

Nikchick said...

Not sure what your palate is like but I've got a bunch of recipes on my website that might fit the bill. I briefly tried listing the vegetarian recipes out separately but there are many other dishes under eggs, pasta, and vegetables that are also vegetarian or could be easily made vegetarian (substituting veggie broth, etc).

If you're cool with tofu, this Fettucine with Tofu and Peanut Sauce recipe is pretty good. And, since you're eating fish, I'll recommend this Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon as well.

Good luck! I'm a failed vegetarian myself. It's easier now to sub in fake meats than it was the last time I tried.

Unknown said...

I have never had good luck trying to 'replace' meat. The soy/tofu/tempeh products just aren't the same - it works better for me to find new veggies and grains to enjoy and not worry about the meat. A friend of mine did reccomend the Flexitarian Table. I have had really good luck with Moosewood, Nava Atlas, Crescent Dragonwagon, Super Natural Cooking, and especialy good luck with Lorna Sass. And Ken Haedrich...=)

Off the top of my head - spinach bouillabaisse, red beans and rice (just omit the sausage), Udon, Bakeovers (a square baker and any 'bisquick' mix works just) fine), Massaman Curry...again, I could go on and on and on. =)

John Ottinger III (Grasping for the Wind) said...

There is a tofu version of sausage that my wife buys which tastes very much like the real thing, so long as it is cooked with something else. Not sure of the name of it, but she buys it at Wal-Mart of all places, so it can't be hard to find.

John Ottinger III (Grasping for the Wind) said...

Oh, and check out my wife's blog.

http://the-blue-notebook.blogspot.com

she posts the recipes for the vegan/vegetarian meals we actually like eating.

(We are vegetarian for health reasons, but the fact that we aren't eating animals is a nice bonus.)

Bruce Cordell said...

Nicole, Liberty, and John, thanks for all the great food leads!

Anonymous said...

You could try eggplant, but I guess it depends what you're substituting for... texture/taste/other? Tofu something or other may work, but you can always simply leave the kielbassa out and add more beans of varying types.

Also, grilled peanut butter and apple sandwiches are great. We've also done grilled cheese with pear and brie in the past, which is very tasty!

Bruce Cordell said...

Sara,

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll will definitely be trying them.

I'm excited to try all the menu choices this thread has generated :-).

Unknown said...

Try GoVeg.com or VegCooking.Com and (I love this title) Post Punk Kitchen - they have a new cookbook coming out called Veganomicon. =)

Bruce Cordell said...

Veganomicon, that's awesome :-)