Indian Saffron Rice

 Ingredients

• 1/8 teaspoon powdered saffron
• 2 cups boiling water, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice, not rinsed
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Steep the saffron in 1/2 cup boiling water.
2. In a skillet that can be tightly covered, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the rice and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice begins to absorb the butter and becomes opaque, but do not brown the rice.
3. Quickly pour in the remaining 1 1/2 cups boiling water along with the saffron water. Cover immediately, reduce heat to low, and cook 20 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. For best results, do not remove the lid while the rice is cooking.

Baked Risotto with Asparagus, Spinach, and Parmesan

 Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  cup  finely chopped onion
• 1  cup  uncooked Arborio rice
• 8  cups  spinach leaves (about 4 ounces)
• 2  cups  vegetable broth
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
• 1/2  cup  grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 1/2  cups sliced asparagus

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.
Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes or until tender. Add rice; stir well. Stir in spinach, broth, salt, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer; cook 7 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup cheese.
Cover and bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Stir in asparagus; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Cover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed.

Hawaiian-style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers

Ingredients

• 3 cups cubed fresh pineapple
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cubed (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. dark or light brown sugar
• 1 Tbs. sweetened coconut flakes, optional
• 1 Tbs. lime juice

  Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange pineapple cubes, red bell pepper cubes, and red onion wedges on ungreased rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and vegetable oil, sprinkle with brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Toss to coat.
  2. Roast pineapple mixture on center oven rack 30 minutes, or until lightly browned, turning once. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sweetened coconut flakes, if using, then drizzle with lime juice. Remove to serving bowl and toss well to combine. Serve over rice

Hummus

 

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 3 garlic cloves, minced 1/3 cup tahini 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup water 3/4 tsp. salt

• Process the chickpeas in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides. Add the garlic and remaining ingredients. Pulse until blended.

Falafels

 

Ingredients

9 oz. cooked chickpeas 1 clove garlic Salt, to taste 1/2 tsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. vegetable oil 1 tsp. flour Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Directions • Combine all the ingredients, except the oil for deep-frying, and blend in a food processor.
• Taste and adjust the seasonings.
• Make balls (about the size of a lime) out of this mixture.
• Heat the oil for deep-frying and deep-fry 4 to 5 balls at a time.


Additionally use Pita bread.  Stuff the Falafels in the pita bread and garnish with lettuce and hummus (use hummus recipe for fresh hummus). 

Makes 4 servings

Vegetarian Grilled Portobello Sandwich with Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella

 

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 portobello mushroom caps, cleaned
• 4 slices onion
• 4 rolls, split
• 4 teaspoons vegginaise
• 4 ounces buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 4 slices tomato
• 16 fresh basil leaves, divided

Directions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate. 
2. Place the red bell pepper onto the preheated grill, and grill until the skin is completely charred on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Place the pepper into a plastic bag, seal the bag, and let the pepper cool. When cooled, remove the charred skin, slice the pepper into quarters, and remove the seeds. Thinly slice the pepper and set aside.
3. Mix salt and pepper into the olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the smooth side of the mushrooms with the seasoned oil, and grill, oiled side down, until the mushrooms show grill marks, about 3 minutes. Brush the gill sides of the mushrooms with more seasoned olive oil, flip the mushrooms, and grill until the mushrooms are softened and juicy, about 3 more minutes. Set the mushrooms aside and keep warm.
4. Lightly grill the slices of onion until softened and lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Spread the rolls out onto the grill to toast, about 1 minute.
5. Spread each roll with mayonnaise, and make each sandwich with 1 mushroom cap, 1 ounce sliced mozzarella cheese, 1 slice of tomato, 4 basil leaves, 1 slice of grilled onion, and 1/4 the roasted red pepper slices. Repeat for remaining sandwiches.

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium- size onion, chopped
1 medium-size carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock or water
1 small all-purpose potato, peeled and diced (i put a few potatoes)
1 pound dried green split peas, rinsed and picked over
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
SPLASH of Liquid Smoke
soy bacon bits for garnish

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot, and celery, cover, and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the stock, potato, split peas, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft and the soup has thickened about 45-60 minutes.  If the consistency becomes too thick, add more water.

2.  Stir in the liquid smoke, if using, and taste to adjust seasonings.  Remove and discard the bay leaf.

3.  To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with soy bacon bits, if using.

Thanks to Serina Junaid

Vegan Rice and Bean Casserole

Ingredients
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups cooked black or pinto beans
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1/2 cup chunky salsa
sea salt or black pepper to taste
1/2 cup daiya soy cheese shredded
kale chopped up into tiny pieces
mushrooms
vegetarian ground "beef"

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Oil casserole dish or baking dish.
Mix all ingredients together but the cheese.
Pour into prepared casserole dish.
Cover with cheese.
Cover dish and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is hot.

Thanks to Serina Junaid

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 15 ounce can black beans
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Preparation:

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil for a minute or two, then add sweet potatoes, carrots and bell pepper until onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, and add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine well.
Simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, until flavors have mingled and vegetables are cooked.
Makes 5 servings of homemade black bean chili.

Vegetarian Eggplant Paremesan

Ingredients

1 eggplant
    soy milk
    flour, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano
    homemade or store bought bread crumbs
    olive oil
    1 onion, chopped
    1 bell pepper, chopped
    8-10 mushrooms, sliced
    olives, sliced
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
    1 14 oz can tomato sauce
    oregano, basil, rosemary, salt and pepper

Directions:

Make red sauce first: In skillet saute onion and bell pepper. Add in mushrooms, olives and garlic. Cook through. Add in canned tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce and herbs to taste. Let simmer while preparing eggplant.

Slice eggplant into 1/2" thick slices.  Put a fresh skillet on the fire and heat 1/4" of olive oil until smoking, turn down heat. Put soymilk into a plate for dipping. Mix together flour, some garlic salt, pepper and oregano for dredging, this can go on a sheet of waxed paper.  On a another sheet of waxed paper, spread out some bread crumbs. Dip both sides of each eggplant slice into soy milk. Dredge in flour mixture. Dip into soy milk again, dredge again. Dip into soy milk and dredge through bread crumbs. Fry both sides in skillet, remove when done to paper towels to drain.

Place two or three eggplant slices on serving plate, cover with red sauce.  Sprinkle with vegan mozzarella and parmesan if desired.

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 8 oz. mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (3 C.)
• 1/2 C. regular long-grain rice
• 1-2/3 C. water
• 1/4 C. chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 red, yellow, and/or green peppers

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender and liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add rice, 1 C. water, basil, salt, and black pepper; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut off top from each pepper; reserve tops. Remove seeds and cut thin slice from bottom of each pepper so it will sit flat. In 5-quart saucepot, heat 3 qts. water to boiling. Add peppers and their tops and cook 5 minutes. Remove and place, stem side down, on paper towels to drain. When drained, stand peppers in 8-inch square baking dish. Spoon rice mixture into peppers and replace tops. Pour remaining 2/3 C. water into baking dish. Cover with foil and bake until peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.

Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna

 Ingredients

• 20 lasagna noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 3 cups ricotta cheese
• 2/3 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 egg
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 cups tomato pasta sauce
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional veggie Parmesan cheese)
• Optional: 2 cups meat alternative (Morning Star crumbles)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms, onions, and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. Drain excess liquid and cool. Boil spinach for 5 minutes. Drain, then squeeze out excess liquid. Chop spinach.
4. Combine ricotta cheese, Romano cheese, spinach, salt, oregano, basil, pepper, and egg in a bowl. Add cooled mushroom mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Lay 5 lasagna noodles in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread one third of the cheese/spinach mixture over noodles. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce over cheese. Repeat layering 2 times.
5. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Black Bean Burger

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed ($0.69)
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces ($0.99)
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges ($1.39)
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled ($1.49)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs ($1.25)

The Frugal Vegetarian's Price= $5.81

Directions

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Sauteed Wild Mushrooms With Spinach

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced shallot
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups mixed sliced wild mushrooms (any combination of shiitake, porcini, chanterelle, oyster, portobello, cremini)
1 1/2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 (10 ounce) bags fresh spinach

Directions
1Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2Add shallots and garlic and saute for 1 minute.
3Add mushrooms and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are tender.
4Add sherry and soy sauce and bring to a simmer.
5Add spinach (add spinach in batches if necessary), and simmer 1 to 2 minutes until spinach wilts, turning frequently.

Baked Eggplant with Mushroom and Tomato Sauce

Photo by Sue L

Ingredients
1 peeled eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1 1/4 pounds)
cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (8 ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 (8 ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce, divided
2/3 cup about 3 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided (substitute Veggie Cheese)
1/4 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese (Substitute Veggie Parmesan Cheese)

Directions
1Preheat broiler. Arrange the eggplant slices on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
2Preheat oven to 375°.
3Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat; add onion and next 4 ingredients (onion through mushrooms). Cover and cook 7 minutes or until tender, stirring mixture occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high; uncover and cook for 2 minutes or until liquid evaporates.
4Spread half of mushroom mixture in bottom of a 1 1/2-quart round baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange half of eggplant slices over mushroom mixture; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Top with 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 1/3 cup mozzarella. Spread remaining mushroom mixture over mozzarella; top with remaining eggplant slices. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon pepper; top with remaining tomato sauce.
5Cover and bake at 375° for 1 hour.
6Sprinkle with 1/3 cup mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes.

Lentil Loaf

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cups green lentils 2 1/4 cups water 6 slices white bread, torn into small pieces 2 eggs 1 cup vegetable broth 2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon dried parsley 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 packet dry vegetable soup mix 1/3 cup dried bread crumbs Directions: 1. Combine lentils and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes. 2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. 3. In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups cooked lentils, bread, eggs, broth, tomato paste, basil, garlic powder, black pepper, parsley, olive oil, and dry soup mix. Spread into prepared pan. 4. Bake for 40 minutes. Sprinkle top with dry bread crumbs, and continue baking another 10 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Welcome to The Frugal Vegetarian

Many people are surprised to hear that I'm a vegetarian.  "But you look so...healthy".  Yes.  I know.  It's amazing that as 34 year old black male that I can actually look like a man.  I admit.  I go to the gym basically every day to sculpt my body.  I live in Los Angeles after all.  The center for narcissistic vegetarians.  And guess what, most of us look pretty good.  So, how is it that I can look so healthy as a vegetarian?  It's my diet.  I don't subscribe to the notion that most Meat Eaters think about us herbivores.  I like that. 

I'm a 34 year, black man whose parents are from the West Indies.  What on Earth am I thinking being a vegetarian?  I'm missing out on so much good food that my mother makes that it's almost a crime.  I remember the look on her face when I first came home from school for Thanksgiving break as a newly minted vegetarian.  It all started off as a game for me actually.  My friend Dina and I were house sitting and she said, "You want to try being vegetarians for the week?"  And that's how it started.  I felt so good and energized and clean.  Dina stopped after three days.  The call of the meat just couldn't be quelled in her truly Italian sensibilities.  Her mom is a fantastic cook as well, so I didn't really blame her that much.   I was a freshman at Penn State University when my mother had a heart attack and had to have a triple bypass.  I think that was the wake up call for me.  She was so young.  In her 40's.  And I don't know if any of you know West Indian woman, but they are a strong bunch.  My mother being the strongest.  To see her go through that was a shock to the system.  I changed my lifestyle.  And it was a lifestyle change.  I was a total mess in the beginning.  This was 1995.  There weren't very many choices for vegetarians.  I'm not going to lie.  I was hungry.  I was so hungry and I was a mess.  I didn't know what I was doing.  I knew why I wanted to do it.  Health.  Living a long healthy life.  That was the goal.  As long as I kept that in my head I was OK.  But then that Thanksgiving came along.  Why, oh why I thought going back into that house, during the Meat Eaters most notorius day of gluttony, was beyond me.  Holidays in my house are a very special time.  My family, like a lot of American families, is a mixture of cultures.  This is an adopted holiday for my parents.  They have the rudimentary ideas.  Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and stuffing being the mainstays.  This being a West Indian family they also had lots of sides.  But all the sides had to have some kind of meat in them.  It's a prerequisite.  Spinach...with ham.  Okra...with ham.  Greens...with ham.  Kale...with ham.  String beans...you guessed it...with ham.  As I sit down at the dining room table my mother turns to me and says, "I don't have anything here for you to eat.  You should have told me before you came that you weren't eating meat anymore."  My oldest sister goes into a mania.  "What do you mean you're not eating meat anymore?  What's wrong with you?"  I didn't want to ruin Thanksgiving by saying that I didn't want what happened to Mom to happen to me.  I didn't want to ruin Thanksgiving by saying that the way that my family was eating was killing us all.  I didn't want to ruin Thanksgiving.  So I said nothing.  My sister didn't respond to this very well.  She stood up and put the Turkey to my left and put the Ham to my right.  "You want to come into this house and say your not eating Meat?  Try to resist it now."  15 years later I can say I have no urge to return to being a Meat Eater.  

There are vegetarians of differing sizes, ages, races, all walks of life.  There are also different types of vegetarians.  Pescaterian, Flexiterian, Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians, Vegan, Raw Vegan, and Macrobiotic are the levels.  Forgive me if I left one out.  It doesn't matter.  I'm only going to focus on Pescaterian and Lacto-ovo vegetarian.  I may occasionally give some Vegan recipes, but only on occasion.  The purpose of this blog is to show you how to be a healthy vegetarian in a not so healthy economy.  That is one thing I hear all the time.  "I thought about being a vegetarian, but it is so expensive."  Have you seen the price of meat?  Not only the physical price, but the environmental price on our planet.  Forgive me, I just watched "King Corn" and I'm about to watch "Food, INC" so I'm up on a soap box about that issue.

The purpose of this blog is to provide healthy and inexpensive vegetarian options for you.  I will provide recipes, restaurant reviews and workout tips for all of you interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  I look forward to opening up to all of you.  If you have any tips whatsoever feel free to email me at Michael@thefrugalvegetarian.com.

Stay healthy,
Michael