Vegetarian Foodie

Easy Vegetarian Recipe

Okay, here is my easy vegetarian recipe that appears as though one took great measures to prepare. This recipe has never been scoffed at by even the toughest customers. Additionally, this recipe is great to prepare ahead and simply heat up when needed.

(For additional, visit Easy Vegetarian)

Stuffed Cannelloni with Spinach and Cheese

• 14 Cannelloni (Cannelloni pictured below)
• A  glug of Olive oil
• An onion diced
• Garlic, A couple cloves diced
• A head of spinach washed and tossed in boiling water for a few minutes. Once cooled, cut into strips
• 2 Cups of pasta sauce (the one you like best)
• 1 Cup of Cottage Cheese
• A Tablespoon of bread crumbs (I usually just shave off crumbs from the dinner's baguette)
• 1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese (more if you really love cheese)
• Pepper (to Taste)

1. Cook the pasta until soft (about 12 minutes)- Lay in shallow baking pan side by side. I use two pans as pictured below.
2. Saute garlic and onion in a pan with olive oil until browned, add cooked spinach and cut the heat to low
3. Combine cottage cheese, bread crumbs and pepper-Mix until creamy
4. Add cheese mix to pan of spinach, onions & garlic...stir together. Cut the heat after a moment and proceed to stuff cannelloni pasta with this mix. When stuffing, I slice the cannelloni down the middle then fold it over slice side down in the pan.
5.Top stuffed cannelloni with pasta sauce and Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (Cheese should be melted and bubbly)

I serve this meal beside crusty bread, greens and wine. This recipe works with large pasta shells too.

P.S. Thank you Abby over at eat the right stuff for a mention of this recipe to celebrate National Vegetarian Week in the UK. Cheers!

Bangers and Mash

Bangers and Mash is English pub grub which offers a plate of sausages, mashed potatoes as well as a vegetable. Often the plate is topped with onion gravy.
Boca makes a delightful vegetarian banger that allows a vegetarian spin off a popular meat dish.
Another thing I like about this meal is the amount of freedom it allows the cook. You can choose your favorite vegetable side or simply prepare what is on hand. The mashers can be instant or properly mashed potatoes depending on how much time and energy you have.
This meal cooperates with seasons in that it is delicious on a stormy night with a hot glass of wine or equally grand on a balmy evening while drinking ice cold frothy beer.

Ranch Dressing Recipe

About 2 years ago, my friend Malia and I became obsessed with ranch dressing. Ranch dressing, when made properly, is simply dazzling with almost anything. We started comparing ranch dressing recipes from every neighborhood restaurant and decided that at the end of the day, ranch dressing was not living up to its potential. After many hours in the kitchen and modifications on dozens of recipes for ranch dressing, we came up with the following recipe. The secret is a lot of garlic! Feel free to add more if you are a real garlic lover.

• 4 cloves of garlic mashed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
• 1 scallion trimmed and sliced
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• Pepper to taste

1. Combine garlic and salt into a paste of goo
2. In a bowl, whisk everything together
3. Pepper to taste

The above recipe makes about 12 oz.

Serve as a side, with veggies, with crusty bread... whatever you like.

Costa Rican Casada

Casada is a traditional dish found in Costa Rica. Casada means "married" in Spanish and the dish reflects its namesake in that all the food appears married on the plate. A traditional casada consists of rice and beans, meat, cabbage salad and fried plantains (however, I never had a hard time finding a vegetarian casada while traveling in Costa Rica).

Aside from the very traditional rice and beans found on every casada plate, one can add what they like or in my case what is in the kitchen. Casada can usually be thrown together quickly especially when I combine fresh food with something quick and easy. Trader Joe's offers delicious vegetarian tamales that go great on a casada plate. Quesadillas always look good on a casada plate. Avocados are almost mandatory on my casada plate. The fun thing about casada is that no plate is really the same and casada offers an opportunity to get creative in the kitchen. The most recent casada plate sporting rice, beans, avocados, vegetarian bacon strips, tamales, shredded jack cheese, spinach and carrots is pictured below.