Recipe Index

I have met many people who say that they would like to be vegetarians, but they just don't know what to cook.  They may already cook a few vegetarian dishes, but they know they would quickly get bored if they ate only those things day after day.  For those of you in that category, or anyone else who just needs a few ideas, welcome to our family cookbook!  What you see listed below is the actual recipe book that I put together for my home, and that I actually cook out of every day.  You see, for so long I had my favorite recipes scattered all over the place.  Some were in my head, some were in the recipe box that my mom and I put together when I left for college, and several were scattered about in cookbooks and magazines that I had lying around.  It was such a chore to go looking for a recipe, that I finally decided to put all of my favorites in one place.  If I try a new recipe that I find I like, and my family says it's a "keeper", then I add it to the book.  One of the unexpected benefits of the book was that I found it makes planning meals a breeze.  I just open it up and scan through the indexes.  Then I decide what to make each day (I do this on a weekly basis) and write up my grocery list.  It makes my life sooo simple!

A couple things to note about the recipes:

• You will notice that many recipes are marked Gluten Free or Gluten Free Adaptable.  Several years ago, my mother was diagnosed with a disease called celiac sprue that makes gluten (found in grains such as wheat, rye, and barley) indigestable.  I have my recipes marked so that I know which are good options to serve her when she visits.
• You may also notice that there are some items that are store bought and aren't actually "recipes" at all.  These are in here because, as I mention above, I do use the book as a meal planner.  If I didn't put things such as "hot dogs", "brown rice", and "spaghetti" in the book, I would forget that they are a meal option!
• Since most of these recipes are my own creation (or adaptations of others'), they don't always have exact measurements.  If you are trying a recipe and have a question, please feel free to send me an e-mail at .

Animal Product Substitutions

In general, I do not try to replace meat, I just do without it.  But there are some products that I use regularly to replace animal products in recipes.  There are lots of options out there, but here is what I use.

• Eggs

To replace eggs in recipes, I most often use Ener-G Egg Replacer.  This powdered mix (it comes in a box) can be found in the baking section of the health food store and is good for binding when baking such things as cakes, pancakes, etc.  It will not work for egg-based foods such as scrambled eggs, quiche, etc.  I have also found that it does not work well for cookies, and tends to make them dry.  For chewier cookies, use two heaping tablespoons of soft, silken tofu to replace one egg.
 

• Milk

Dan and I do not drink milk (or milk substitutes) on their own, nor do we put them on cereal, so I cannot testify to the "drinkability" of the following products.  However, I use them in recipes with great success.

Soy Milk

My favorite brand of soymilk is Edensoy Extra Original Flavor.  This comes in small, aseptically packed 8oz boxes, similar to the juice boxes that they have these days.  It's great because they do not require refridgeration and I can keep a stock of them in my pantry, pulling a box out whenever I need it for a recipe.  The milk is slightly sweet and the "Extra" provides additional vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, Vitamin D, and B12.   I find that this milk works best in baked goods, and even mashed potatoes, but does not do well in milk-based foods/desserts, such as pudding or hot chocolate.  This is for two reasons.  First, when heated by itself, the milk develops a bit of a grainy taste and smell and is not as sweet and creamy as "real" milk.  Second, and this is actually very important, the milk is slightly brown, not the white color that people are used to seeing when they use real milk.  This tends to put off the taster.

Rice Milk

A better substitute for pudding type desserts is rice milk.  Rice milk is slightly sweet, white, and does not change its taste when heated.  I use Rice Dream, but I haven't tried a lot of brands, so I don't have a clear favorite.  The problem with rice milk, is that it is thin and not very creamy.  However, I have had great success mixing with equal parts of coconut milk, below.

Coconut Milk

When I was growing up, I hated everything coconut.  Even the slightest taste of coconut oil in something was enough to turn me off.  I still hate shredded coconut with a passion, but I have grown to appreciate the sweet hint of coconut milk in some foods.  As mentioned above, I found that rice milk was too thin to work well for pudding, and though I hate to admit it, one day I happened to read an article by Martha Stewart on coconut milk.  So I tried mixing the two, and voila!  Success!  The result is white, sweet, creamy, and only slightly hinted with the taste of coconut.  A couple of precautions about coconut milk, though.  First, when you buy it (it comes in a can, usually with the oriental food), make sure that you buy "coconut milk" and not "creamed coconut".  They are very different.  Also, treat yourself to this only on occasion, because it is very high in fat.  They do sell low fat coconut milk, but I haven't tried it because I am afraid it wouldn't be as creamy.
 

• Cheese

There are lots of lactose-free cheeses on the market.  These are designed for lactose intolerant people and contain the ingredient casein, which is a protein derived from milk.  If you are striving to be totally dairy free, however, they aren't for you.  There are only two products that are totally vegan.  One brand, Soymage, only makes vegan products.  I like the Soymage Mozzarella for a grilled cheese sandwich.  It doesn't taste like mozzarella, but it is creamy and salty and satisfies my craving.  I did not like their American Cheese flavor.  There is also another product called VeganRella, which is only one of a line of several lactose-free cheeses.  I have not tried this product, and have heard mixed results from friends.  Unfortunately, both of these products can be difficult to find, even at a health food store.  In general, if I have a craving for cheese, I turn to the recipes in Joanne Stepaniak's The Uncheese Cookbook (see Resources) or make my own "Cheese" Sauce, which is actually an adaptation of one of her recipes.

Note:  A common ingredient called for in cheese substitues is Nutritional Yeast.  Ms. Stepaniak writes, "Nutritional yeast, saccharomyces cerevisae, is a natural whole plant grown as a food crop.  It is prized for its delicious, cheesy taste and high nutritional content.  [It] is a reliable source of high quality, easily assimilated protein and is the foremost natural source of B-complex vitamins...It is an inactive yeast, which means it has no fermenting power as does the live yeast used in leaving or brewing, rendering it more digestible.  [It] is not...brewer's yeast or baking yeast.  None of these products should ever be substituted in recipes calling for nutritional yeast."  (The Uncheese Cookbook, p184)
 

• Mayonnaise

To replace mayonnaise, which is laden with eggs, there are two main products to choose from, Vegenaise and Nayonaise.  Both of them are tofu based.  Vegenaise has a muted taste which I tend to associate more with mayonnaise.  Nayonaise is a little sharper and reminds me more of Miracle Whip, which I prefer.
 

• Meat

As mentioned above, I usually do not try and replace meat, but instead just do without.  Sometimes, however, when you're craving that meaty taste, you may want to try one of the following:

Vegetarian Hot Dogs

The great thing about hot dogs is that since the real ones don't have that much meat anyway, it is easy to make them without it.  There are lots of brands on the market (I don't yet have a clear favorite) and they are easy to find.  They are also great to bring to "BYOM" (bring your own meat) cookouts.  Make sure you find ones that do not use egg whites.  (Note:  Some time ago Dan and I discovered Morningstar Farms Corndogs.  While these do have egg whites in the hot dog and milk in the batter, they are a great once in a while treat...they taste fantastic!)

Sloppy Joes

A very recent discovery is a vegetarian sloppy joe mix made by Fantastic Foods, which I found at my local health food store.  Just add water and tomato paste.  Dan loves them, and you absolutely cannot tell them from the real thing.

Gravy

I have to admit that one thing I have missed since becoming a vegetarian is gravy.  Almost all vegetarian cookbooks have recipes for veggie gravy, usually based on mushrooms, but I have yet to find one that I really like.  So I am resigned to buying dry mix gravy at the health food store (though I have seen it in regular grocery stores too).  Hain Foods gravy comes in Chicken Style and Brown.  Both are good.  Not quite like the real thing, but an acceptable substitute when I get that craving.

Bacon Grease

Some recipes (or your taste buds) call for bacon grease or bacon bits.  While you can buy vegetarian bacon bits and vegetarian bacon, they will not produce the grease that is so good in some dishes.  What tastes so good about bacon grease?  Grease, salt, and smoke.  So make your own "bacon" grease, by mixing vegetable oil, soy sauce, and liquid smoke.  Proportions are approximately 1T oil, to 1t soy sauce, to 1/8t smoke.