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The Spicy Meatless Thread... (ya I went there)

I know going into this that this thread is going to get meat bombed... but there's gotta be at least a couple other people on this forum that have herbivore tendencies.  Lately almost everything I have been cooking has been meat-free unless its for the dogs.  I've been toying with recipes and finding ways to get the flavors of dishes that usually have animal muscle as the main feature.  Hopefully some of y'all do the same from time to time and we can swap and share some spicy veggie recipes. I've held off on making this thread for a while because I know the ridicule that will inevitably come, but I guess its better to clog my own thread with my hippy food rather than all the other cooking threads. 
 
So here goes, last night per request I made some arroz congri and tostones.  
 
For the rice and beans, I chop up a green and red bell pepper, 2 onions and about 4-5 cloves of garlic. Cook up that in the pot before adding the rice and beans and sufficient water.  Season it up, and pretty much just leave it on the stove for a while.  I don't have any fresh pods yet so I seasoned my batch up with some smoked naga powder for good measure.  The tostones start by cooking them a bit on each side before pulling them from the pan.
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After the tostones are cooked and pulled from the pan you gotta squish em dip em in cold water and throw em back in the pan, for the second round of frying. When you pull them out you can season them with whatever you want, I like to make a garlicky spicy sauce concoction to dip them in.  Also, make yourself a guava-lime rum drink for good measure. 
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Eventually, after a long long time (especially if you use brown rice), your arroz congri will be ready.  
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Happy vegetarian eating! (I also ate left overs this morning covered in cheese and a fried egg)
 
Let's see what you got....
 
SmokenFire said:
Love the way that sushi came out!  Looks great.   :)
 
We did vegetarian last night and I kiped your falafel recipe.  Some lentil dal, jerusalem salad, tzatziki and homemade naan round it out.  Loved it!
 Looks like you baked the falafel?  If you did how did it turn out?
 
Rawkstah said:
 Looks like you baked the falafel?  If you did how did it turn out?
 
Pan fried em.  They came out good, but not as crispy delish as when deep fried.  :)
 
I baked the falafel tonight, finished them in the broiler to try and get them to crisp a little. Definitely didn't get as crunchy as frying them but probably a little bit better for me. Baked at 450, just kept and eye on them and flipped them after 10-15 min. 
 
dragonsfire said:
If you spray some oil on them then they will crisp up, I use a pump bottle at times.
 I did that, i mean they get a little crunchy but nothing like a good oil dip in the deep fryer... 
 
I make seitan at home using the simmer method.  To cook the dough you simmer it in broth and it flavors it while it simmers too.  It's pretty tasty, but if the heat is to high you end up with brainy looking seitan.  Anyway, after you make the seitan you're left with a pot of broth.  It is usually more beefy tasting than regular veggie broth, I don't know why.  I hate wasting so I used it to make onion soup.  We had some left over french bread that was getting stale and happened to have some cheese in the fridge too.  Onion soup is pretty easy its just a ton of onions cooked down and in broth.  I added smoked hab powder, a squirt of mustard, white wine, thyme, minced carrot and celery, 2 cloves of garlic, and some parsley.  Sliced up the bread and put the cheese on there then into the broiler.  It was pretty satisfying.  Dude isn't a fan of cooked onion, and he told me that if he knew I was going to make this he probably would have protested, but he was glad he was in the dark about it cause he really enjoyed it.  Win! 
 
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Been in the kitchen all day! Was craving a burrito earlier, didn't have tortillas, so I made some flour tortillas and did that, no pics so I guess it didn't really happen.
 
Then I made some protein bars and protein packed fudgecicles.  Not spicy but here's a pic of the protein bars, they're coconut flour, flax, oats, banana, apple, and blueberry.
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And for dinner... seitan gyros! I made the seitan last week, I make it with smoked hab powder, added to the moon to the gyro. The side is a lemon dill farro. mmmm
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Rawkstah said:
Then I made some protein bars and protein packed fudgecicles.  Not spicy but here's a pic of the protein bars, they're coconut flour, flax, oats, banana, apple, and blueberry.
Those look fantastic! Care to share the recipe? I'm right in the middle of a miserable 30 day diet, and I'm already getting sick and tired of all the crap I'm "supposed" to be eating. My wife keeps saying to eat more protein, soooooooo........

Gyros look awesome too!
 
I am not good at following recipes, but I looked over this one, subbed honey for the maple syrup, added a dash of salt, and used 1 c blueberries and 1 c chopped apple.  I spread the bars out thinner in a bigger pan, because I'm using them more as a snack than a protein bar.  It is pretty dense, could be because I used soy milk, and  also they're not very sweet.  I'm ok with that, but if I make them again I'd add more apples and cinnamon (maybe walnuts?) and skip the blueberries (if they aren't super ripe they tasted a little sour in the bars)
http://omnomally.com/2014/10/29/banana-blueberry-protein-bars/
 
Did I mention that I'm now addicted to frittatas.... Made one for lunch.  Leftover farro, beet greens, onion, morningstar sausage patties, garlic, and dubliner cheddar cheese. I really like these hearty grains in the frittatas. Also I lucked out with  my overwinters, they are both putting out peppers, so I got fresh Nhu pepper on my frittata today.  
 
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I love Indian food, but I rarely make it from scratch at home.  Today that changed! Butter tofu curry!  This is the recipe I used http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/vegetarian-butter-tofu, but added ghost powder.  The naan isn't homemade, I buy frozen dough and cook it in a skillet when I want a piece.  The red stuff is mango pickle.  Its a salty hot goodness that pairs well with the subtle sweetness of the curry.   Now I feel fat and must lay on the couch with my dogs for a while. 
 
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Rawkstah said:
I love Indian food, but I rarely make it from scratch at home.  Today that changed! Butter tofu curry!  This is the recipe I used http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/vegetarian-butter-tofu, but added ghost powder.  The naan isn't homemade, I buy frozen dough and cook it in a skillet when I want a piece.  The red stuff is mango pickle.  Its a salty hot goodness that pairs well with the subtle sweetness of the curry.   Now I feel fat and must lay on the couch with my dogs for a while. 
 
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Matar(mutter) Paneer Masala is awesome if you eat cheese. A variation is made with spinach instead of peas. I love them both. There are also tikka and makhani versions. Its probably one of the most satisfying non meat meals (with some naan of course) i have ever eaten.
 
Sambar is up there too. Its pretty easy to make with the MTR brand sambar masla powder. Really nice heat level and excellent blend of spices. No salt added too so its easy to adjust to your liking.
 
Mutter paneer is one of my favorites.  I still eat cheese, I just try not to make it a focus and omit it when I can.  Tofu is an easy replacement in these dishes and you barely notice the difference (yes I admit the cheese just taste a bit better).  Indian food always intimidated me a little at home, I guess its all the spices that are required, but after last night I am definitely going to try more dishes.  Usually I get my Indian/nepalese kick at a lunch buffet.  There's a place nearby that has one with a number of vegetarian and vegan options so I usually stuff myself to the brim and don't eat for the rest of the day.  I'll have to remember the names of the dishes next time to try them at home.
 
I've also been itching to do Ethiopian again too, just need to get some teff to make injera.  
 
 
 
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