October 11, 2009

Meatless Monday recipes = delicious

Just another meatless Monday...

Why should you go meatless on Mondays? For your health and the health of the planet, that's why. Meatless Mondays is a campaign to encourage people to go without meat one day a week, and when you take the pledge, you'll receive a weekly email with all kinds of delicious meatless recipes plus food-related news of the week.

So click here to check out their website and find out why going meatless on Mondays can improve your health, help the environment, and bring us together as a nation.

And click here for a recipe from the website that sounds so delicious I just have to share it with you, in case you haven't taken the pledge yet. It's called Foul Mudammas, which are regarded as "the original people's food." It's a savory breakfast popular in Eygpt and Sudan, and it looks a little like a tostada, but with flatbread instead of a tortilla, garlicky fava beans instead of refried pinto beans, and feta cheese instead of cheddar. I can't wait to try it.

Plus I've got a few terrific reader suggestions from last time:

First, WilliamB offers this recipe for Salsa-Juice Beans, which he says is a favorite in his household. Here's the preparation: boil black beans in a lot of water for 2 minutes, let sit for an hour, then drain off water. Drain the liquid from a good salsa or salsa fresca. Add it to the beans, plus enough liquid to be about twice the volume of the beans: water, veggie stock, tomato juice, etc. Then cook the beans in this liquid in a covered pot until almost soft. In a pressure cooker this will take less than 10 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer some of the liquid if there's too much, but be careful not to burn the beans. Puree or mash some of the beans until the liquid is thick. Season to taste with hot sauce, vinegar, V-8, or whatever "floats your boat," and serve over rice.

Next, Alea from Premeditated Leftovers linked to this recipe for Tomato Black Bean Barley Soup. I think she and WilliamB were on the same flavor wavelength.

And an anonymous reader suggested making tacos with refried beans instead of meat (and since we're on a black beans kick this week, those would work as well). And crepes or thin pancakes filled with creamed veggies and topped with a little grated cheese sound great. I'll have to find an easy crepe recipe because I love the sound of that.

Tonight we'll be having mushroom quesadillas, another idea from Alea. I'm going to tweak the recipe slightly and saute the mushrooms and onions first, omit the red pepper, and use cheddar cheese.

Do you go meatless on Mondays? It's a lot easier when you've got delicious meatless recipes to choose from. Tell us about YOUR favorite meatless meals in the Comments section. And click here if you want to check out the recipes and great reader suggestions from previous Meatless Monday recipes posts.

13 comments:

Carla said...

You might also toss in some fresh spinach, deveined, into those mushroom and onion quesidillas. A little Jack cheese. Refried beans on the side. Avocado or guacamole. Chips.

Yum.

Carla said...

You might also toss in some fresh spinach, deveined, into those mushroom and onion quesidillas. A little Jack cheese. Refried beans on the side. Avocado or guacamole. Chips.

Yum.

Angela said...

Carla- I've got black beans cooking now, and we've got salsa and some sour cream to use up. I can't wait! Guac would be delicious, but I'm not going out to the store. Using up what we have...

Leigh @ compactbydesign said...

Angela, I love making crepes for dinner. Mark Bittman did a great post on them for dessert with the ultimate non-recipe!

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/when-stuck-for-dessert-make-crepes/

Angela said...

Thanks Leigh! So excited to try those!

WilliamB said...

Question: would you consider beans made with leftover bacon grease suitable for meatless Monday? Obviously bacon grease is meat (duh) but it's leftover grease, something that most people toss in the trash, so using it is good for the planet's health.

Inquiring minds want to know.

MaddyG said...

I love your blog, Angela...been reading it for a week or so, and waiting for a good opportunity to comment!
We try to go meatless a few times a week. I love The Moosewood Cookbook. My family and I were impressed with Zuccanoes.
Basically, you slice a few zucchinis in half length-wise, scoop out the insides with a spoon...to make canoes. Then you mix those innards with cooked rice, an egg, sauteed onion, garlic, worcestershire sauce...sprinkle a little cheese on top and bake until the canoe body is tender. It's like a delicious little zucchini souffle. Totally easy. And fun.
Try it,if you're tired of beans...and if you love zucchini like I do!

MaddyG said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Angela said...

WilliamB- good question. Since I don't consider myself an official spokesperson for Meatless Mondays, I'll ask the editor. I could definitely see both sides. It depends upon the intention. Obviously, if it were to go "vegetarian" then the bacon grease would be a no-no, even by the adding of the flavor instead of finding a veggie alternative. But if it was going to go to waste, my frugal and waste-no-food side would say don't toss it. I'll address this on the next Meatless Mondays post. By the way, I'm totally excited to try your "tomato-ey" version of black beans next time. I did a simple crockpot version this time (followed the prep by Anonymous) and they came out perfect, but now I want to add some flavor next time.

MaddyG- I'm so glad you like the blog. Welcome! I LOVE the Moosewood Cookbook, it's a nostalgic favorite of mine. Those cute handwritten pages. It was our favorite during college. You should try the "country pie" - it is so delicious I've served it for company. And I love your zucchini recipe- I think we're at the end of that season though. I'm going to write it down for next year. I became a true zucchini lover this summer thanks to all my readers' recipe suggestions.

Thanks for commenting!

Ellen said...

This will be the first time trying to link one of my posts, and I'm not really sure how to do this. Guess I'll just post the link?

One of my favorites from childhood--Tapioca Cheese Souffle. Really easy. And you could modify it by adding in your favorite sauteed veggies too.

http://goldenhourglass.blogspot.com/2009/10/recipe-corner-tapioca-cheese-souffle.html

Ellen said...

Sometimes it's a lot easier when you have your delicious choices laid out in front of you. Here's my post on that subject:

http://goldenhourglass.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-culinary-repertoir.html

CB said...

Here's a general vegetarian eating tip I've recently heard: if a recipe calls for white meat substitute with white beans (white kidney, navy, etc). If a recepie calls for red meat substitue with dark beans (red kidney, black beans, etc).

Angela said...

Ellen- Thanks for the recipe. I'll definitely try that. We're big on cheese around here, AND tapioca.

I also like to make those kinds of lists, although sometimes I don't update them and completely forget about a recipe that had become a staple. A year or two later I'll think "hey, I haven't made such and such for awhile..." The lists work great...

Wildermiss- That sounds like it would work for a lot of things. Plus there are so many great veggie recipes available these days, I don't think it's even necessary to do the "substitution" thing...