Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
When we think of peanuts, we think Virginia, ballgames and a top hat-wearing, cane-holding, monocled mascot. However, peanuts are also a staple in West African cooking and used prominently in many dishes. One such typical meal is a hearty stew made with tomatoes, sweet potatoes and peanuts.
This vegetarian version of the soup relies on the saltiness and creaminess of peanut butter -- the pantry staple and venerated American spread that is an often unsung hero in meals that don't include jelly or two slices of bread.
Presenting a new (and more acceptable) way to eat peanut butter by the spoonful.
Now that we've learned how to peel ginger with ease, this ginger juice recipe seems less daunting, especially with its powerful health benefits. Prized for its piquant flavor, ginger is a medicinal treat in addition to being a tasty one -- to list just a few of its talents, it treats stomachaches and indigestion, reduces toxicity and aids mild lung disorders.
Kickstart your day -- and immune system -- with a shot of the stuff by passing diced and peeled pieces of the root through a juicer. If deemed too spicy for more sensitive palates, mix the juice with water, other juices or sweeteners like lemon, sugar or agave.
Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.
Gardein is the latest plant-based protein line that is animal- and dairy-free. The product's "meaty texture" comes from a blend of soy, wheat and pea proteins, vegetables and grains (quinoa, amaranth, millet and kamut). In fact, the name Gardein is a combination of "garden" and protein."
Gardein is getting a lot of press these days because of Oprah Winfrey. Chef Tal Ronnen, who created Oprah's vegan 21-Day Cleanse menu, also helps Gardein in its development of different flavors, textures and variations.
Apart from a big juicy steak, I think a lot of us associate meat with certain recipes. From burgers to tacos and meatloaf, meat adds flavor and texture to meals that meat lovers crave.
But I know quite a few vegetarians who cook for their meat-loving spouses and friends on a regular basis, as I do. I've always wanted to cook the dishes I crave, without having to make something separate when vegetarians come to dine. Here are my staple meat substitutions and how to use them. Now you can keep those classics on the dinner table without a trip to the butcher.
Chickpeas have a firm texture that makes them ideal for burgers. Use them directly out of the can -- just drain, then pulse in a food processor for a chunky base that works well as a ground meat substitution. When working with beans, remember to add some spice with lots of seasonings. I like to use Worcestershire and steak sauce that are both vegetarian but have the seasonings cooks usually pair with meat. A dash of hot sauce can also add depth and warmth to the dish.
More meat substitutes and my Luscious Lentil Taco recipe, after the jump.
Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
Bread pudding may be the darling of fall and winter dessert menus, but the casserole also has a reputation as being quite customizable. Sweet or savory? For brunch or for dinner? With meat or without? Bread pudding can be prepared in a myriad of ways and economically designed to help singletons use up stale bread and odds and ends in the fridge.
As a meatless main dish, it spotlights one of the most beloved vegetarian-friendly proteins of all time: the egg. Make it a meal with a side green salad.
This variation is an individual meal that's perfect for those pajama-and-fuzzy-slipper nights.
The cookbook shelf of a former vegetarian. Photo: emdot, Flickr.
Whether you're a full-fledged veg or a pro-greens protein fiend, vegetarian cookbooks are the door to a world where beans, greens and grains are celebrated. These books will introduce you to a whole new pantry of ingredients. Just as a meat eater might strive to make use of the entire animal, vegetarian cooks grab inspiration from far and wide and turn every bit of edible, natural earth into a grand culinary experience.
What follows after the jump are five vegetarian cookbooks that any veggie lover must have, covering the staples of meatless cookery -- secret recipes from restaurants, classic culinary bibles, respected names and haute vegetarian food. Which do you think will reign supreme?
What makes a wine vegan? After all, wine is made from grapes, not beef. Where animal products do come into play is during the fining process. After fermentation, most wine is filtered and fined, which is basically removing all the sediment and leftover dead yeast cells and such from the fermentation process. Most winemakers use animal products like egg white or isinglass, but vegan wines are made with non-animal products such as clay.
Want to find out if your favorite brand is vegan? It's not always easy. Winemakers aren't required to disclose ingredients like the information on Oreo cookie labels, so you have to do some nosing around. One great source is the Barnivore Vegan Wine & Beer Guide, a community project listing of vegan and non-vegan wines. Cheers!
Today's the day to skip burgers and bacon -- it's World Vegetarian Day! Slashfood is celebrating the beginning of vegetarian-awareness month with lots of posts highlighting the best in fruits and veggies. They'll be a few roundups that aren't all-veg, but barring those, we're bringing you meat-free fare all day long. Check back here for posts on vegan wine, the best in vegetarian cookbooks and food festivals, plant-based recipes and more.
Following in the footsteps of her famous father, talk show host Montel Williams, 14-year-old Wyntergrace Williams has taken to the airwaves to solve other people's problems. But instead of counseling couples or advising addicts like Montel has done, the younger Williams is advocating for vegetarian meal options in public schools.
Williams' promo spot debuted last night during ABC Family's show "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." The 30-second PSA is part of a campaign to urge Congress to amend the Child Nutrition Act to include more vegetarian and vegan options in public school lunches. The CNA is up for reauthorization this year.
According to healthyschoollunches.org (the site that Williams is working with), though some schools are able to offer innovative school lunches that include numerous vegan and vegetarian options, some of which are even environmentally sustainable, many schools only meet the bare minimum nutrition requirements set forth by the CNA.
Who knew someone as adorable as Zooey Deschanel could be so difficult? Truth be told, when the actress and singer showed up as a guest judge/elfin dinner hostess last night on "Top Chef Masters," we were counting the moments until she threw the inevitable curveball: "I'm a vegetarian."
When she added "no eggs or dairy" -- never uttering the word "vegan" -- and professed her intolerance for soy or wheat, we sensed the evil guiding hand of the show's producers, eager to ratchet up the tension for the five remaining celeb chefs. The only way they could've played it up more would have been to have her break plates and pull a "Mommie Dearest" at the dinner table: "I told you, no gluten ingredients EVER!"
No such luck. The star of the heavily Bravo-promoted "500 Days of Summer" was a model of apologetic demureness when she met the cooks pre-meal, although she did decline Michael Chiarello's request to sing couple of a cappella songs in exchange for his culinary handiwork.
Behind her back, the Italian cuisine maestro was the most outwardly offended by the restrictions, calling them "off-putting."
In this weekly series, home cook Bruce Watson works his way through a decades-old family cookbook, adapting the best recipes exclusively for Slashfood.
When I was a kid, pea season was a mixed blessing. On the bright side, it meant that we would get fresh sweet peas on the table. Whether from our family garden or from a local farmers' market, the just-harvested peas were invariably sweet, crunchy and delicious. On the other hand, our regular servings of fresh peas translated into hours spent on the porch shelling the bright green pods. Even under the best circumstances, it was dull, tedious work.
My mother's pea salad recipe, which combines the sweetness of peas with the light flavor of dill, tended to overshadow the peas with a heavy helping of sour cream, mayonnaise and scallions. My modified version, included below, lets the flavor of the peas shine through, but retains the original's cool summer flavors.
Get the recipe for dilled pea salad after the jump.
Like ramps and asparagus, morels are synonymous with spring, and an edible reminder of the season's brevity. It feels less like morels have a season than a quick, annual engagement: catching them at the farmers market is like catching a solar eclipse, or Tom Jones at the MGM Grand in Vegas.
Morels are wild mushrooms that grow in forested areas throughout many parts of the country, and generally begin appearing sometime in April. They're usually available until the early summer, but their season can vary by a week or two depending on the region and the amount of rainfall. They're slender, knobby things with intricately ridged and wrinkled skin, and look like they sprouted from the pages of the Brothers Grimm. Their homely appearance belies their heavenly flavor, which is expressed to spectacular effect in the company of dairy, fat and and asparagus. Scrambled eggs are thus an ideal way to enjoy morels -- think of it as less an egg dish than a vehicle for delivering the best of the season to your very happy stomach.
Read the recipe for scrambled eggs with morels, asparagus and spring onions after the jump.
As one of New York City's most well-appointed concert venues, the Highline Ballroom gets its share of long lines. But the 180 people milling outside its entrance yesterday afternoon hadn't come for the music. They'd come for the soy.
Soy doesn't exactly scream "ruthless fight to the finish," or summon images of a marauding vegetarians. Yet the stakes at the first-ever Tofu Takedown were high enough to inspire even committed bacon lovers to attend the spirited competition, which was organized by Matt Timms, the hungry genius behind the chili, salsa, fondue, cookie and bacon takedowns.
Seventeen amateur cooks gathered in the ballroom to battle it out for tofu supremacy with entries that ranged from so-called "Ethiopian empanadas" to salted caramel tofu gelato. Somewhat surprisingly, sweet far outnumbered savory, demonstrating just how far tofu has come in its role as an ingredient for dessert.
Chili takedowns, cookie takedowns, bacon, salsa and fondue takedowns. Hey, man, competition is sorta part of living in New York City ("if you can make it here ...").
But a Tofu Takedown? Perhaps sensing the neglect felt by vegetarians unable to partake in the carnivorous joys of previous food fights, Matt Timms, the creator of the infamous Chili Takedown, is inciting meat-free madness on May 10. Because nothing says a fight to the death like fermented soybeans, right?
Watercress might just seem like a staple for ladies who lunch on tea sandwiches, but it has a fascinating reputation in the health world. Legend touts its powers as an aphrodisiac, a cure for baldness and even a cure for hangovers.
I'm not so sure about its powers to grow your libido or hair, but I'm guessing that its reputation as a hangover cure comes from its high potassium content. Since potassium is a mineral, which can become depleted due to dehydration from overindulging on alcohol, it could very well be that watercress might just help to soothe that morning-after headache.
I see watercress more as a delicious, energizing ingredient in fast and fresh modern cuisine. When the weather warms up, cool drinks and chilled soups not only refresh -- they also provide great ways add nutrition, giving you more energy to enjoy long summer nights.
Get Jennifer's Watercress Soup with Strawberry Salsa recipe after the jump.
What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate
