Friday, November 23, 2007

Vegetarian Pie Recipe

Great way to use up leftover rice! My husband needs his meat but I sometimes prefer to go without, and this pie packs in the flavours! I eat it with a salad, while I serve it to hubby as a side dish to his beef...

Ingredients
2 cups (300 g) cooked brown rice
1 2/3 cups grated, strong-flavoured cheese (or mixture of your favs)
4 TBSPS grated Parmesan cheese
2 shallots, chopped (or onions, chopped with a bit of garlic)
2 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup (150 g) canned asparagus tips, drained (I used fresh, blanched OR any leftover, firm, cooked green veggie)
3 TBSPS pinenuts, toasted (or to taste)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
7 oz (220 g) unflavoured plain yogurt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 370 F (190 C / Gas mark 5)
Combine the rice, cheeses, shallots (or onions & garlic), zucchini, carrot, asparagus, pine nuts, eggs, and yogurt. Season with pepper.
Spoon mixture into a deep well-greased 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 40 minutes or until firm.
Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully remove sides of springform pan. Cut into wedges and serve.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Vegetarian Peanut Pasta Recipe

Lovely pasta sauce, with a little kick. It is very nice with chicken as well.
Prep:10m Cook:20m Servings:4

Ingredients
1/4 cup reduced-fat peanut butter -- plus 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup water -- plus 1 1/2 tablespoons
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper -- or to taste
8 ounces spaghetti -- uncooked
10 ounces fresh snow peas -- trimmed
1 large carrot -- shredded

Directions
Combine first 6 ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture
begins to boil, stirring often. Remove from heat and set sauce aside.
While sauce cooks, cook pasta according to directions, omitting salt and fat;
add snow peas to pasta the last 3 minutes of cooking time.
Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add carrots and sauce, tossing to coat.