flesh or no flesh - that is not the question!, page 1

I love to cook (that's an understatement), and since becoming a Vegetarian I have experimented with a few recipes.

Vegetable Pita's

- Whole Wheat Pitas
- Feta Cheese
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Green Pepper
- Sun-dried tomatoes (in oil, or dried - whichever you have)*
- Spinach
- Red Onion
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Oregano (flakes or fresh chopped)
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper

*If using sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drain the oil and pat down the tomatoes to remove the oil. If using dried tomatoes, bring a pot of water to boil, and place tomatoes into the pot until they soften and absorb some of the water.

Combine in a bowl: finely chopped garlic, chopped green pepper, chopped spinach, finely chopped red onion, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped fresh tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. Add a teaspoonish of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoonish of oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well and let marinade for about half an hour.

Cut open the tops of pita pockets, and fill with mixture. Place on a cookie sheet inside the oven for about 20 minutes (or eat cold if you want, either way). Or another alternative, is to spread the mixture on top of the pita bread, to make mini pizza's. I love feta cheese, so I always add more if I'm making pita bread pizzas.

Vegetable Soup

- Spinach
- Fresh and canned tomatoes
- Onion (white or yellow)
- Green Pepper
- Garlic
- Zucchini
- Celery
- Leek
- Carrots
- White Kidney Beans (well these are what I use)
- Olive/Grapeseed oil
- Organic Vegetarian Broth (or you can make your own if you've got the time)

Chop the vegetables into bite size pieces (i usually cut very small) about the size of a dimeish.

In a little bit of oil, saute the chopped onion and leek (the green part - or the white if you can handle the texture) for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic last before adding the other chopped vegetables. Once the garlic starts to cook (not burn) add the zucchini, green pepper, celery, carrots, and spinach to the frying pan, turning the vegetables regularly. Add a little bit of soup broth and cover for a while (I don't usually time, I just sort of wing it).

Now.

I have a crock pot, and most of the time once I have sauteed the vegetables, I just add them to the crock pot with the rinsed beans, chopped tomatoes, canned tomatoes (which totally changes the flavor - in a good way), broth, and any other starch 's I plan on using (potatoes, rice, barley) and place the crock pot on low so the vegetables can absorb all the flavors. Salt and pepper to taste.

Or.

Transfer sauteed vegetables to a large Saucepan and combine with broth, rinsed beans, chopped tomatoes and canned tomatoes. Add noodles or barley and cook on high for 20 - 30 minutes. (I cover it, but you have to watch it as it might try and boil over - been there, done that once on the gas stove...ahh).

I like to have lots of vegetables and less broth - but it's really up to you how much you use and what kind of vegetables you use. These are just the ones I use and like in soups.

- Leeks make all the difference in the flavor
- Potatoes are good if cut small enough and left to chill out in the crock pot
- Canned tomatoes, I find, help bring out the best flavor - as just using the vegetable broth is quite bland and requires lots of salt
- Rosemary does not work well in this soup (I've tried...ick).
- Oregano does not so much work well in this soup either

(more to come.)

- Carrot

lasagne

spinache-potato-pot