Here is the link to the Meatless Monday site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Meatless Monday

During WWII...it was meatless Friday...Catholic or not.
Wondering why Monday?
Linda c

Because it's catchy, I think.

I often have entirely meatless days, supper is often a bowl of cereal, an egg with potatoes or a peanut butter sandwich. I find myself wanting less and less beef/pork/chicken, but I have not reduced my appetite for seafood at all!

Of course, it's hot and I have an unlimited variety of summer vegetables, which I love. When winter comes and the garden is under 6 feet of snow, maybe I'll want beef then.

Annie

Alliteration, I predict.

I have lots of meatless days during the week. I thought it would be harder to adjust than it was. Highly recommended. I have lost and kept off over 20 pounds this year by eating this way - OK... and exercising more too.

Thanks Teresa for the new zucchini recipe. I should be known as zucchini lady instead of lakemayor lol I have a lot of the stuff to do something with. The recipe sounds really good....I love feta cheese!!

Karen

We have meatless (vegetarian) Friday to help cut the high cost of meat, along with many other meatless meals during the week. It's a good time to use lower-costing meat alternatives like gluten (homemade fake meat - aka seitan), eggs, beans, nuts and nut butters, as well as cheese.

If you never have time for that pancake breakfast, or other non-meat breakfast favorites, meatless days are a good time to slip them in for supper.

I also keep a stack of bean burgers and homemade multi-grain burger buns in the freezer. These are great when I need something quick.

Instead of a grilled cheese sandwich, we often make arepas (a gluten-free bread) with cheese. There are any number of bean-based recipes we use. This time of the year when the tomatoes are ripe there is a lot of Tabbouleh Tomato Salad, Black Bean Taco Salad, and Zucchini Caponata made on Friday. Even macaroni salads that are high in chopped fresh veggies and low in macaroni are served with a variety of cheeses and fruit for dessert.

-Grainlady

Grainlady, could you please post a recipe and tips for the arepas? I remember seeing them on a street food show, but they didn't show how to make them.

Teresa

I didn't realize that arepas were gluten free. They are one of the Venezuelan foods

I took my sister to one recently and I had one

I knew they were deep fried cornbread buns, but wasn't aware of them not having gluten. They are certainly good when filled with salads and vegetable based mixtures.

I have some good recipes for meatless dishes which I'll add to this thread later.

SharonCb

Every day is meatless for me! I've just recently realized that I'll pick out a starch or fiber to base my meal around instead of a protein, but I'll certainly work protein into the meal, too. For instance, I'll decide on rice, and figure out what I want to go with the rice, or I'll decide to have pasta, and throw something together around that. Or potatoes, and so on. I guess I don't do that all the time, but I find it's one way for me to plan meals. I eat lots of salads in the summer, and lots of soup in the winter. We do grilled veggies, some nights, pizza some nights, and sometimes I just heat up lots of different veggies, such as corn, spinach, beans or black-eyed peas, broccoli, whatever we have in the fridge and pantry, and put together a country style meal minus the meat. The few times I've purchased meat (or should I say the flesh of animals to include chicken or fish) I've been shocked at how much it costs. Of course, cheese isn't all that cheap, either, my DH is fond of saying, but there's no waste with cheese.

Sally

My younger son is a vegetarian and will be home just over a week between summer & fall semesters. I tend to cook mostly vegetarian when he's here anyway because he's usually here for such short periods of time but with only a week which will come out to maybe six dinners total, I'm probably going to just stick with meatless for every meal I cook.

I've posted these recipes before but here are two of my favorite veggie meals.

Anna's Spaghetti and Pesto Trapanese (Pesto alla Anna)
By Lidia Bastianich

3/4 pound(s) cherry tomatoes (about 2 1/2 cups), very ripe and sweet (I use regular ol' tomatoes and just cut them into chunks)
12 large fresh basil leaves
1 clove(s) (large) garlic, crushed and peeled
1/3 cup(s) whole almonds, lightly toasted
1/4 teaspoon(s) peperoncino (crushed red pepper), or to taste (I leave the pepper out when making this for my son as he does not like spicy foods and it comes out just fine)
1/2 teaspoon(s) coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste, plus more for the pasta
1/2 cup(s) extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound(s) spaghetti
1/2 cup(s) Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, freshly grated

Rinse the cherry tomatoes and basil leaves and pat them dry.
Drop the tomatoes into the blender jar or food processor bowl followed by the garlic clove, almonds, basil leaves, peperoncino, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine puree; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large bits or pieces have survived.
With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the puree into a thick pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. (If youre going to dress the pasta within a couple of hours, leave the pesto at room temperature. Refrigerate for longer storage, up to 2 days, but let it return to room temperature before cooking the pasta.)
To cook the spaghetti, heat 6 quarts of water, with 1 tablespoon salt, to boil in a large pot.
Scrape all the pesto into a big warm bowl. Cook the spaghetti al dente, lift it from the cooking pot, drain briefly, and drop onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the spaghetti, sprinkle the cheese all over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.

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Garden Vegetable Enchiladas
Bon Appétit : September 1998

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 cups coarsely chopped zucchini and/or yellow crookneck squash
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen, thawed
1 4-ounce can diced mild green chilies
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 1/2 cups whole milk (I use 1%)
2 cups (packed) grated Monterey Jack and/or sharp cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)

8 8-inch warm flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and onion and sauté until vegetables are just tender, about 4 minutes. Mix in 1 cup corn, canned chilies and 1/4 cup cilantro; season filling with salt and pepper.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in chili powder, flour and cumin; stir 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook until sauce is thick and bubbling, whisking occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread 1/4 cup sauce in bottom of 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Mix 3/4 cup sauce into filling. Place generous 1/3 cup filling in center of 1 tortilla; roll up to enclose filling. Place enchilada in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup corn and 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake vegetable enchiladas until heated through, about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup cilantro and serve.

Again, I leave the chilies and reduce the amount of chili powder out when making this for Ben.

The beauty of this recipe is that the enchilada sauce it makes is really good and you can fill the enchiladas with anything you like. Ben's favorite filling is spinach, black beans and corn. I have made this with chicken as well.

Also, I don't bother to roll up each enchilada (call me lazy!) I just put a layer of tortillas, a layer of filling and another layer of tortillas.

I love a lazy cook, May! Those recipes look great! It's been a while since I made enchiladas so that one may be on the menu soon.

Thanks!
Teresa

Meatless doesn't work in this house..my husband is after all...a Carnivore...and I'd say CAVEMAN..but he could live with out the nuts, berries and roots in the "lean" season..LOL

However, I will have to try that Greek Zucchini..as my 1 plant is putting out a fair bit of food...And I only like them as small 6" or so little guys..so the veggie crisper is filling up quick...with me being the only one eating them!!

oh and the enchilada recipe too...I'm thinking maybe toss in some black beans...That would be a great lunch for me to freeze and take to work.

Any one have any other good winter squash recipes??? I have a butternut, spaghetti and french pumpkin growing as well.

Teresa -

I printed a number of recipes for arepas from the Internet and have been trying a new one each time I make them. You'll also find videos you can watch to see how they are made.

I never heard of them until recently when I read about arepas on a gluten-free blog. Finding the pre-cooked white corn meal (P.A.N) was the hardest part - which often happens when you live in the middle of nowhere (LOL).

You will find the traditional recipes use P.A.N flour, salt, warm water and fat/oil of your choice. Some recipes include milk, butter, corn, sugar, or cheese, so I'd suggest a Google search and start there because I haven't settled on just one recipe. I'm also experimenting with using some high maize resistant starch in the recipe to increase the fiber and lower the glycemic impact.

I like to bake them on a griddle then transfer them to a solar oven and bake them for another 20-minutes until they are thoroughly cooked on the inside (they make a hollow sound when tapped). If the inside is a little soft when you bake them on the griddle, and don't have time to stick them in the oven, you can just remove it before you stuff them with the "goodies". They are plenty good with just butter on them, but you can fill them with almost anything you want.

I wish I would have known about arepas when my mother was alive. She was gluten intolerant and would have loved them. Much better than that awful rice bread she used to use.

-Grainlady

We tend to have many meals with little or no meat, but many things I like to flavor with just a bit of pancetta or proscuitto or bacon or chicken broth...

But coincidentally, we did have total vegetarian dinner on Monday... broccoli/onion/cheddar quiche with all the veggies and herbs from the garden, with a salad from the garden --- greens and figs and goat cheese w/balsamic and olive oil. I love summer eating!

Cooking just for one, I forget about quiche - and I do love them. I might try to find the time this weekend to make one and share with my mom and dad.

Grainlady, thanks for the information on masarepa. Some recipes I have seen call for the use of masa harina, which may or may not be the same thing. I've got an unopened bag of masa that is now approaching the "vintage" designation. It is time to toss it! A trip to Guzmann's Hispanic market here in town is on the agenda to find the masarepa.

Teresa

We don't eat a lot of meat in the summertime with all the fresh veggies in season. A lot of green beans and corn with various other dishes and of course cornbread, plus potatoes, often. What can you do with potatoes that isn't good!!! Fresh sliced tomatoes or chopped and mixed with cucumbers, onions and a little fresh cayenne pepper and some vinegar. Yum!!!

Love that summertime eatin'!

jude

Teresa, Ann T's 'green bean, zucchini and potato stew' is wonderful and it reheats well. When she posted it, the picture made me want to lick my screen, as her pictures often do.

I wish I knew how to post the recipe without typing it but, alas, I don't. Googling it works though.

jude

Jude,
No problem, I've already got that recipe on file and have made it often. I think I like it even better than the zucchini recipe at the top of this thread!

And I forgot to mention that Meatless Monday is ALL day, not just at dinner! I think I can do it....I think I can...I think I can....

Teresa