Showing posts with label Southern cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Southern cooking. Show all posts

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Week Eighteen Menu

This week, I felt like exploring exotic tastes and more varied cuisines.  I hope this week's menu inspires you!

Sunday
Southern
  • Vegan gumbo
  • Wild rice
  • Boiled greens
Monday
Quick and easy
  • Amy's non-dairy Burrito (made with organic beans and rice)
  • Apple slices
  • Cucumber and tomato slices
Tuesday
Chinese
  • Vegetable Lo Mein
  • Steamed rice
Wednesday
  • Vegan potato pancakes
  • Garden salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell peppers, and balsamic vinaigrette
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Lentils
Thursday
Southern Africa
  • African Millet Salad (check out this recipe on Food.com--just substitute vegan sugar for the brown sugar called for in the recipe)
  • Green salad with Romaine and Bibb lettuces and red wine vinaigrette
Friday
  • Quinoa stuffed bell peppers
  • Green salad with your favorite dressing
  • Black beans
  • Watermelon slices
Saturday
European (Irish)
  • Vegan colcannon
  • Steamed cauliflower
  • Navy beans
  • Vegan Irish soda bread
Breakfast of the Week
  • Vegan blueberry muffins
Dessert of the Week
  • Vegan pineapple upside down cake

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Week Fifteen Menu

Sunday
Comfort food
  • "Chicken" and dumplings (this was one of my mom's staples growing up, and I loved eating the dumplings.  I'm still playing around with her old recipe.  I've used fake chicken pieces, but I'm going to try seitan next to see if I can change the texture.  There are probably some good recipes for vegan chicken and dumplings online)
  • Cornbread
  • Green salad with vinegar and oil
Monday
Indian
  • Channa masala (chickpea curry)
  • Naan (Indian flatbread)
  • Brown rice
Tuesday
  • Cabbage toran (you can Google for a recipe)
  • Wild rice
  • Any type of white beans, lightly salted
Wednesday
Southern
  • Vegan jumbalaya
  • Steamed white rice
Thursday
Mexican
  • Vegan tamales
  • Refried beans (try making them from scratch one time--you'll never want the canned ones again!)
  • Spanish rice
Friday
  • Vegetable quiche (use a vegan egg substitute)
  • Green salad with balsamic vinaigrette
  • Green beans
Saturday

  • Vegan stuffed bell peppers with rice
  • Pinto beans
  • Green salad with your favorite dressing
  • Peas
Breakfast of the Week
  • Breakfast burrito with whatever fillings you like--maybe try hashbrowns, soy sausage or bacon, peppers and onions, lightly sauteed tofu, salsa
Dessert of the Week
  • Vegan doughnuts (Google for some good recipes)

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Week Seven Menu

Sunday
Japanese
  • Vegan ramen noodles
  • Miso soup (homemade--if you buy from a restaurant, make sure it's vegan!)
  • Edamame
Monday
  • Penne "Alfredo" (I use a mix made by Road's End Organics--it's gluten and soy free for people with food sensitivities--quick and easy and vegan!)
  • Steamed asparagus
  • Mashed sweet potatoes
  • Iceberg salad (tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, celery) in red wine vinaigrette
Tuesday
Southern
  • Black beans and rice
  • Vegan cornbread
  • Fried okra
Wednesday
Quick and easy
  • Amy's Whole Meal Enchilada with Spanish Rice and Beans (no dairy)
  • Salad with leaf lettuce and tomato vinaigrette
Thursday
  • Veggie wraps--fill with rice and various veggies like lettuce, tomatoes, onion, sprouts, avocado, bell peppers
  • Three-bean salad
  • Vegan coleslaw
Friday
Mexican
  • Taco salad in a fried tortilla "bowl"--add refried or black beans, salsa, diced tomatoes and onions, lots of leafy lettuce, a little guacamole, and vegan sour cream
  • Spanish rice
  • Calabacitas
Saturday
Fall favorite
  • Linguine with fall veggies (lightly saute diced onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and various varieties of in-season squash, then mix with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of olive oil and cooked pasta)
  • Garden salad with your favorite vegan dressing
  • Steamed broccoli
Breakfast of the Week
  • Your favorite vegan granola bar (good if you're on the go!)
Dessert of the Week
  • Vegan chocolate or carob chip cookies

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Week Two Menu

Sunday
Italian

  • Spaghetti with marinara
  • Garden salad with Italian dressing
  • Garlic bread with olive oil

Monday
Mexican

  • Tostadas with beans and guacamole (if you need cheese, try some soy cheese)
  • Spanish rice

Tuesday

  • Vegetarian Vegetable soup (click to see my recipe)
  • Garlic toast (use either olive oil or vegan margarine and mince several garlic cloves)

Wednesday

  • Veggie pita sandwiches (add whatever your favorite veggies are--I like chopped Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers with a little vinegar and oil, but sprouts and avocado are also nice.  Add whatever sounds good or comes out of the garden or farmer's market!)
  • Potato chips
  • Leftover soup from Tuesday is also nice with this meal!

Thursday
Chinese

  • Vegetable Chow Mein
  • Steamed brown rice

Friday

  • Vegan Louisiana Red Beans and Rice
  • Vegan Coleslaw

Saturday

  • Linguine in olive oil with peppers and tomatoes (slice green and red bell peppers and onions, dice tomatoes, and saute for a few minutes; throw in with freshly-cooked linguine drizzled in olive oil--for extra kick, drizzle in a little balsamic or red wine vinegar as well)
  • Veggie marinade--cherry or grape tomatoes, onion chunks, mushrooms, bell pepper chunks, and cucumber slices in a marinade of olive oil and red wine vinegar with minced garlic (the longer it marinates, the better it tastes)

Breakfast of the Week

Crockpot oatmeal (put it all together the night before and enjoy the next morning!)
Fresh in-season fruit

Dessert of the Week

Vegan brownies

Notes from Week One's Menu

Sunday's menu I labeled "comfort food."  My mother, who typically used to feed us a salad with every meal, once in a while fed us what I now call the "Starchy Trifecta" of pinto beans, cornbread, and fried potatoes.  I'm sure it hearkens back to her Southern roots.  I remember my grandma using up her leftover cornbread by crumbling it in a glass, dicing onion, and pouring either milk or buttermilk in the glass and drinking/eating it like a soup.  I've never been a milk lover so that was never an option for me.  Rarely did I make the pintos with hamhocks like my family always did, and since becoming vegan, I make my own version of the cornbread without eggs or milk.  That said, it's still a favorite for me and reminds me of my childhood!  I've started adding something raw and fresh (like sliced tomatoes) so I don't feel so guilty when I eat it!  I prefer to make the pintos from scratch--they taste better and have fewer additives.


For those of you unfortunate enough to have never tried huaraches, the name comes from the Spanish meaning "shoe," because the cornmeal is shaped like shoes made and worn in Mexico.  So I recommend that if you need to Google a recipe, try the phrase "eat huarache."  And just an advance warning--I will often refer you to "Chef Chloe" (Coscarelli), because she is my favorite vegan recipe creator on the Net.  And I love adding food from all over the world in my cooking, from Asian to Mexican, European to the Middle East.  I'm always looking for new flavor combinations and trying to find ways to create good tastes with plant-based products only.

Finally, just a look at last week's bruschetta suggestion:



My mouth is watering just looking at it!  Yum.  Happy eating!