EasyVeg

I’ve learned something new about myself over the past year or so. I love curry. I LOVE it! For years I thought I didn’t like it, but I was either being an idiot and thinking I didn’t like curry without trying it, or I had some less than savory curry at some point and swore it off. Either way, I’m glad I gave it another go because now I just can’t get enough. Here is an easy recipe from One-Dish Vegetarian Meals that had me drooling before the dish was even done! It’s that good. Oh yeah. And it’s vegan. Bonus!

Ingredients
1 Tbsp safflower oil (I used olive oil; you use whatever you want)
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 Tbsp hot curry paste, or to taste (use mild or medium instead, if you don’t like it too hot)
1 - 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
1.5 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained (1.5 cups is about 1 can)
1/2 cup soft or silken tofu
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb fettuccine
8 oz green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)

Directions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the garlic and curry paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to blend. Stir in the tomatoes and their liquid, and simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Add the chickpeas and keep warm over low heat.
In a food processor or blender, combine the tofu with the coconut milk, and add salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.Stir the tofu mixture into the vegetable mixture and keep warm over low heat.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. When pasta has cooked about 3 minutes, add the green beans. When pasta is al dente, drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add the curried vegetables and toss to combine.
Eat!

Tips
Wait until nearly the end to add your pasta to boiling water. Even though cooking the pasta is just about the last step, out of habit, I cooked it first, and it was done way before the curried veggies were. My pasta ended up a little dried out because of it.
Try this dish without adding the coconut milk and tofu mixture. The curried tomatoes and chickpea combo is great on it’s own!

This is a recipe from New Vegetarian Cuisine. It was so quick, easy, and tasty, I found absolutely no reason to tweak it or change it in anyway. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups cooked orzo
1.25 cups chopped tomatoes
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
0.5 cup chopped scallions
3 oz feta cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp nonfat sour cream
4 sweet red peppers

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9″x9″ baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Slice the tops off the peppers and remove seeds and membranes. If necessary, slice a small amount off the bottom of the peppers so they are able to stand upright.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the orzo, tomatoes, spinach, scallions, feta, mint, and sour cream.
4. Spoon the orzo mixture into the peppers, and place peppers upright into baking dish.
5. Bake peppers for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Eat warm or cold.

Here is a quick and easy pasta recipe with big, beefy flavor (minus the beef).

Ingredients
1 lb. whole wheat penne pasta (or whatever pasta you like)
2 oz. mixed dried mushrooms (the packs I got had porcini, portobello, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms)
1 c hot water
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine mushrooms and hot water in shallow bowl. Let sit about 10 minutes until mushrooms are softened. Drain mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid, and coarsely chop.
Warm the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook stirring frequently for about 1 or 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, soaking liquid, oregano, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in milk, and simmer until sauce thickens slightly.
Meanwhile, cook penne according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot. Pour mushroom mixture over pasta, add Parmesan and parsley. Toss together, and eat!

Tips
Check the weight on your package of dried mushrooms. Many come in 1/2 oz packs, so make sure you’re buying enough for the recipe.
If you prefer larger pieces of mushroom, or your soaked mushrooms aren’t too big to eat, you may skip draining and chopping them, and just toss the entire contents of the bowl into the pan. It makes this recipe even easier.