Pea Risotto was for dinner tonight for Meatless Monday, with a some sauteed mushrooms.

This was good, really good. I didn’t follow a recipe, but it is similar to this one, but I like shallots more than green onion.

If you didn’t want to do it meatless, it would be really good with bacon or with seafood.

It is a pretty intensive recipe for a week night, but it has tons of leftovers, which will be nice for lunches.

1 large Acorn Squash (about 3 lbs)
6 cloves garlic
5 t. rubbed sage
1 1/2 c slow cooking polenta
1c skim milk
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
1/2 stick butter
salt & pepper to taste
6 c. water.
olive oil spray

Preheat oven at 425
Cut squash in half and peel garlic. Put garlic in squash and sprinkle with 2 t. of rubbed sage and spray with olive oil.

Roast in oven for 45 minutes.

After done, puree in food processor until smooth.

(My polenta called for 4 cups of water, but I ended up with 6 cups and 1 cup milk. I like my polenta a little runny, but you could use less)

Bring water to boil with 1 t. of salt. Stir in polenta slowly. Then stir in milk. Bring down to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes stirring often.

Then, stir in squash, butter, and sage and bring back to a simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. Just before finishing, add maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

It takes lots of salt, but it is a big pot. It is easily 6-8 servings.

This recipe, with the butter and syrup and all, is a great recipe for those of us on WeightWatchers and other diets. Lose the butter and milk (maybe add some soy milk) and it makes a great vegan recipe. This is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It would be good with a fried egg or with a tomato sauce.

Overall, a really great recipe.

We have been really bad about Meatless Monday. Actually, I’ve been very bad at getting proper meals on the table at all. But it is now fall, and I love cooking this time of year. So, I’m going to start to try and get back into Meatless Mondays, starting today (which is Meatless Wednesday.)

Tonight I made what I’ve been craving for weeks: Beer Cheese Soup.

I started with this recipe and changed it more to my liking. CJ hates celery, so that was eliminated. I used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. I used Guinness because I like dark beer flavors best. We topped with the “traditional” popcorn instead of bacon, though I think bacon would be very good.

It isn’t exactly what you would get in a Wisconsin bar, but it was good. Next time I think I would remove the vegetables all together or blend it. The chunks were kind of distracting, but I think they added good flavor. I think I would try it with a real hoppy beer like a Surly Furious for a different beer taste, and I would add more beer.

Overall, it satisfied the craving and was an excellent vegetarian meal. CJ didn’t even complain, like he often does on Meatless Mondays.

Risotto. I love it. And it is great for a Meatless Monday. True I use some chicken stock, but veggie broth could substitute.

This is my go-to risotto. Great for kids (if they like rice) and great for picky adults too.

Start with an onion and a bunch of garlic, chopped. Use half an onion or less if you aren’t a big onion fan, I thought a full onion was almost too much.

Put in a pan with some olive oil and saute until soft.
At this time, put a whole box of chicken stock and half a box of water on the stove. Bring it to a simmer and keep it there.

Add the risotto rice (arborio is what I use) to the onion and garlic mix. I put in about a cup of risotto rice. I’m not so much with exact measurements. You want to saute the risotto rice until translucent.

Next up, add in two ladle fulls of the simmering stock, a couple T. of dried herbs, salt and pepper to taste, and a 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes.
Now, here’s the key to making risotto. You bring this all to a boil and then lower the temp. You cook the rice until most of the liquid is absorbed, then add another ladle or two of stock. Let that soak in, then more stock. You keep adding stock until the rice is soft.

When the rice is soft, add in cheese and fresh basil.
I like manchego cheese with this, but mozzarella or other semi soft cheese would work well in this. Stir it in and let it cook for a minute or so.

Serve as a side dish or main dish.

Tonight I’m making a mushroom risotto.

A nice vegan meal for us on this Meatless Monday.

The main is roasted butternut squash with toasted walnuts and lentils. It is topped with a squeeze of lime (and cilantro that I forgot for the picture) which really makes the flavors pop. The rice is spiced with saffron, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. The spinach is plain sauteed spinach.

Good, easy, and cheap, just how we like it.

Today, for Meatless Monday, we have roasted veggies and rice. Lots of fresh veggies and herbs were used. Pretty boring, but an easy meal.

I’m beginning to realize that Meatless Monday is tougher than I ever imagined. Not because it is hard to eat veggies or come up with food ideas. It is hard because it follows Meatful Sunday. We always have leftover meat in our fridge on Mondays, and I think it is a waste not to eat it on Monday. Why cook a completely new meal when we have more than enough tasty leftovers? Seems wasteful.

Anyway, click here to hear how CJ feels about the whole thing.

(Spicy Indian Chickpeas with Basmati Rice)

My New Year’s Resolution is to eat less meat. Specifically, I want to stick to a vegetarian diet once a week. Therefore, in comes Meatless Monday.
Meatless Monday is a “nation health campaign to help Americans prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer…” According to wikipedia, it dates back to a government movement during WWI for families to eat less meat to save money for war bonds.

If you know me, you know that this is not why I’m doing it. I’m doing it because Americans eat too much meat. Meat, produced under most circumstances (including organic), is much worse for the environment than how most veggies (especially organic) are produced. Also, meat takes a lot more inputs of energy and water than veggies. And we all know that our next war will be over water, we are already fighting over energy.
Plus, veggies, grains, and beans are tasty. It helps expand my collection of recipes. And, it is good for our health.

So, today was my first Meatless Monday of the year. Or, should I say, our first Meatless Monday.

These chickpeas were great. Spicy, a little tart, and a bit tangy, they really hit the spot on a cold Minnesota evening. They were also super low fat and have lots of fiber. Served on rice, they make a complete protein. Even CJ liked them.