My Vegetarian Recipe of the Day

You’d think with all these great recipe ideas I’d be making him some fantastic meal. Well, what he really wants is egg with cheese. So, I’ll be making… eggs with cheese. Then one of our sons turns 4 on Monday, so we’ll be going to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch. I’m not sure what our dinner plans are yet, but we may be going to a Tomato Festival tomorrow, so that may mean eating out for dinner, as well. So, I’d love to be able to say I’m going to be busy tomorrow feeding my sweet hubby, but, well… that’s just not the case. Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads. And a special Happy Father’s Day to my sweet husband.

So, I’ve been negligent posting here. I’ve been busy working on a new homeschooling wiki that my husband and I have started. So, as a sign of penitence, today I’m going to post three vegetarian sides to accompany your Father’s Day barbecue.

Paradise Couscous Salad (from Fabulous Foods)

1 cup orange juice
1 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups couscous
2 cups fresh orange sections
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1 cup packed baby spinach
1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Apricot Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

In a medium pot, bring orange juice, water, and olive oil to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover; remove from heat and let stand for 7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Add orange sections, cranberries, red pepper, red onions, and spinach, mixing well.

In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat; add pecans. Sprinkle with the sugar and cayenne; sauté several minutes or until pecans begin to brown. Remove from heat and cool, set aside.

Before serving, toss couscous mixture with Apricot Vinaigrette, mixing well. Toss with sugared pecans. Refrigerate until serving.

Apricot Vinaigrette

1/3 cup apricot nectar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together apricot nectar, olive oil, vinegar, mustard and sugar.

Grilled avocado, tomato, and red onion salad (From Food Network)

10 tomatoes, quartered
4 avocados, peeled, halved, and pitted
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 red onion, sliced
1/2 lemon
1 cup pesto sauce
1/2 cup pine nuts
Parmiggiano-Reggiano

Preheat a grill over medium heat.
Cover a large tray with tomato quarters, and set aside.
Place avocado halves in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Place each half on a hot open grill for about 30 to 45 seconds. Remove and place on top of the tomatoes arranged on tray. Drizzle with olive oil again.

In another bowl, cover the red onion slices with the juice from the lemon half and olive oil. Place onions in the empty avocado pit holes. Cover with the lemon/olive oil mix. Then, top with pesto, distributing generously on all sides. Sprinkle pine nuts and cheese on top, to taste.

Grilled vegetables with chipotle dressing (From Epicurious)

1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chilies
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup olive oil
3 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium-size yellow crookneck squash, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 Japanese eggplant, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 red onion, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices
1 chayote squash, peeled, cored, cut into 12 wedges

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Add oil and whisk until well blended. Season dressing with salt and pepper.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place all vegetables on 2 large baking sheets. Brush vegetables with 1/4 cup dressing. Grill vegetables until tender and beginning to brown, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes for tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant and onion and 15 minutes for chayote squash.

Separate grilled onion slices into rings. Arrange all grilled vegetables on platter. Drizzle remaining dressing over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Is Dad a bit adventurous? Does he long for a trip to the Islands? Well, you may not have a trip to Jamaica in your budget (We don’t— sorry, dear), but with this recipe, you can help him FEEL like he’s in Jamaica. This great recipe comes from Vegetarians in Paradise, which is a nice website with a lot of interesting recipes.

JAMAICAN SPICE PORTABELLA

Marinade

1 1/2 C. (355 ml) unsweetened pineapple juice
1 3/4 t. salt
1 3/4 t. ground allspice
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
3/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 1/2 t. dried thyme
1/4 + 1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 C. (79 ml) fresh ginger, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 to 4 serrano chiles, cut in half, seeded, and finely minced
1/2 C. (118 ml) chopped onions
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. maple syrup
4 large portabella mushrooms

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a 9” x 13” (23 cm x 32.5 cm) shallow pan and stir well.
Cut stems of mushrooms flush with the base so mushrooms will lie flat. Put mushrooms and stems into the marinade, turning to coat evenly. Marinate several hours or overnight, turning several times to flavor evenly.
Remove mushrooms from the marinade, and grill them over hot coals about 5 to 10 minutes, turning frequently and basting with marinade each time you turn them. Watch carefully to avoid burning.

So, let’s say you decided to start Dad’s day off with breakfast in bed. There’s very little in the way of food that my husband likes more than a nice, big, cheesy omelette. This one has a bit of a kick to it to make for a great start to a special day.

Avocado, Cheddar Cheese Omelette

8 Eggs – large
1/4 cup Milk. Cooking oil as needed
1 Avocado – sliced
1/4 cup Yellow bell pepper – small diced
1/4 cup Red and green bell pepper – small diced
1 Jalapeno pepper – seeded – finely diced
1/4 cup Onion – finely diced
1 T. Fresh cilantro – minced
2 tsp. Fresh parsley – chopped
Salt to season
Fresh ground black pepper to season
1 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese – shredded

Saute peppers and onions in a small amount of oil. Add cilantro and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender. Reserve. Combine eggs and milk. Mix well and reserve.

Heat a non-stick omelette or egg pan over medium heat. Portion beaten egg into pan. Stir in sautéed pepper and onion. Cook until set. Flip omelette and cook until done. Add sliced avocado and top with cheese. Fold omelette and turn out onto warm serving plates.

Top with additional cheese and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs. Repeat process to create 4 servings.

I know it doesn’t get the press of Mother’s Day, but Father’s Day is coming up in a few weeks. So, what do you do for Dad? Is it breakfast in bed? Or barbecue in the afternoon? Surely, you have to have dessert, right? But what if Dad is a vegetarian? No eggs and bacon. No burgers on the grill. What to do… what to do… Not to worry. You can still make Dad a super Father’s Day meal without any meat. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll share with you my favorites for Dad.