A Meatless Dinner

There are a lot of vegetarian meals that don't contain beans. Tempeh burgers, tempeh stew, eggplant parmigiana (as another person mentioned), veggie loaf, veggie lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, penne with pesto, gazpacho... Those are just a few dishes that contain neither beans nor meat. My boyfriend and I are both pretty much vegetarian, except for the rare bite of poultry or (in my case) fish. I cook a lot of veggies, serve a lot of whole grains, and often incorporate elements of Indian cuisine in my cooking.

I make lots of dishes without meat or beans. I make several dishes with melted cheese (such as empanadas), I use mushrooms a lot to make tomato sauces for rice and pasta or, with white sauce, for the same purpose. I like omelettes and quiches. I can make a nice omelette of just about any leftover I have around. The same goes for quiches although the quiche I like best is the fried onion one.

Here is a list of everything I have made in the last week that was meatless & beanless: - tofu & broccoli and brown rice - protobollo mushroom fajitas - tofu scramble breakfast burritos with spinach, cilantro and tomatos - thai curry tofu with brown rice - pasta and tomato sauce w/a side salad (garlic bread too if we are having people over) - potato and tomato soup with crunchy bread - french toast - vegetable filled omelets - mushrooms, onion, garlic, bell pepper, spinach (with or without cheese) - grilled cheese & tomato soup - vegetarian pizza - ziti pasta with zucchini, yellow squash & tomatoes w/fresh basil When pumpkins (really any gord with seeds) become available I make a pumpkin seed crusted tofu with cranberry sauce. It is to die for!

I like also to eat without consuming meat all the time, it is tasty, but too much can be kind of tired, besides, is no good to eat too much meat, so, from time to time, I go to the vegies too.

Actually I hate to cook so I do not have any recipes for you. However I write in because I want to tell you that if you ever have the chance to eat vegetarian Indian dishes, you must have a try! It is DELICIOUS! If you cannot take chilli hot dishes, do ask for non chilli ones. I am always surprised that although the dishes are all made from vegetables, they always leave my dear stomach satisfied. Some of the dishes to substitute for protein they use chick peas and coconut. Some of my favourites are uttapam, thosai (pronounced as toe-say) and capati (Oops capati is not entirely vegetarian. Sometimes it comes with a minced mutton curry). I learned that there is a difference between southern and northern Indian dishes so do ask your waiter about them. The ones I mention (uttapam, thosai and capati) are northern Indian. I think if you want to try southern Indian there is the naan (this is all I know). However I am not of Indian decent so I do apologise to Indian mylotters in case I got it wrong. So if you have the chance to eat at a vegetarian Indian restaurant, do jump in!

I love preparing meatless dishes, but it looks like my boyfriend will never eat such dishes with pleasure. I love making potatoes soup, full of vegetables like carrots, onion, probably some chicken meat but only for taste. I was making a very simple dish before, we loved it at home. Potatoes with melted cheese. I even may have a picture of it, let me check. All you need is potatoes and melted cheese, water and black pepper, also little oil. Ingredients are only few, the taste is delicious, of course if you like such simple dishes. Here people serve it as a side dish.

My favorite meatless meal is eggplant or zucchini parmesan. They don't use meat, but they do use cheese, so it's not a vegan dish. But they are yummy. You can find several recipes for them online. This one from taste of home was really easy and very good: www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Eggplant-Parmesan The Taste of Home website has several delicious meatless options. Good luck finding something yummy! ~Mandy