Everyone Likes to Eat...

I am what my friend Eric calls a game-atarian. This means that I only eat meat that I kill (fishing and hunting). Apart from game, I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian for personal reasons, and I do not believe in trying to convert people (except to say that eating commercially-caught seafood is bad...). The purpose of this page is to post some recipes that I have come up with in furthering my more-or-less vegetarian ways.

Vegetarian Minestrone

This is heavy on beans. I never measure spices, so you are on your own there.

• 1/4 cup uncooked chickpeas
• 1/4 cup uncooked navy beans
• 1/4 cup uncooked black-eyed peas
• 1/4 cup uncooked pinto beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 zucchini, quartered and chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, chopped
• 8 cups water
• 3 Knorr vegetarian bullion cubes
• 1 16-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 16-ounce can tomatoes, or 3 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped roughly with juice
• 2 bay leaves
• Seasoned salt, thyme, oregano, basil, white and black pepper to taste
• About a handful fresh spinach, chopped

First, prepare the beans: Rinse the beans, put in a pot with water to cover by a few inches. Bring to a boil; boil rapidly for two minutes. Remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water until the water is fairly cool, about two hours. DRAIN AND RINSE THE BEANS. Chickpeas need to cook much longer than the others; as such, you should pick them out and put them in fresh water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until cooked. Drain the chickpeas and add the rest of the beans. Add fresh water to cover by a few inches, and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, or until the navy beans are tender (the others should be by that time).

While they are boiling, chop the onion, celery, potato, zucchini, carrot, and tomato. Keep the onion and tomato in separate containers; the other vegetables can be combined. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a large, heavy soup pot. Gently cook onions and pressed garlic in oil until onions are translucent, but not too brown, about five minutes. Add 8 cups water and the three bullion cubes. After the cubes have dissolved, add the rest of the vegetables, except the tomato. Add spices now. Simmer over medium heat about ten minutes. If the beans aren't ready yet, turn off the heat on the soup and wait for the beans.

Drain the beans, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Add the beans, reserved liquid, tomato sauce, and tomatoes to the stock. Simmer for at least 1/2 hour--the longer, the better. During the last ten minutes, stir in the spinach.

The problem with a vegetarian pea soup is that there is no ham in it. I never measure spices, so start slowly.

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 tablespoon oilve oil
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 medium potatoes, chopped (again, I like the skin on)
• 8 cups water
• 3 Knorr vegetarian bullion cubes
• seasoned salt, rosemary, thyme, white and black pepper, hickory-smoked salt to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups dried split peas (Green, yellow, or both)

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Gently cook the onion and pressed garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables. Cook over low heat for five minutes. Add water and bullion cubes. Add the spices. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the peas and cook until they are basically dissolved, about one hour.

• 8 (or so) medium mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• A splash of wine
• 3/4 cup brown rice
• 1/4 cup wild rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 Knorr vegetarian bullion cube
• seasoned salt, thyme, black and white pepper to taste

Over low heat, melt the margarine in a medium saucepan. Cook the mushrooms and garlic over low heat, until the mushrooms are nice and juicy, about five minutes. Add a splash of wine; cook another couple of minutes. Add water and bullion; when cube has dissolved, add rices and spices (oh my). Cook until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. If there remains excessive liquid in the rice, turn up the heat and cook the liquid off, stirring constantly and being careful not to burn some rice to the bottom.

• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 potato, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 cups water
• 1 (you guessed it!) Knorr vegetarian bullion cube
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3/4 cup lentils (I usually use brown, but red cook faster)
• milk (or soy milk, if you want to keep it vegan)
• handful of raisins
• seasoned salt, white pepper, thyme, curry powder
• Tabasco sauce (optional)

Melt the margarine in a frying pan; nonstick is preferable. Saute' the potatoes and garlic over medium heat for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Add the water, bullion, carrots, lentils, spices, and tabasco (if you wish). Cook uncovered over low heat (simmering) about 40 minutes. THe liquid should begin to thicken before the lentils are done; I usually splash in some 1% milk to keep it thin while they cook. You could also use soy milk or water. When the lentils are tender, add the raisins, cook for another five minutes, and serve over hot basmati rice. You can easily alter the heat content of this recipe with the white pepper and tabasco.