A Veggie Venture

Thanksgiving Vegetable Recipes & Vegetarian Entrées

2009-11-20T07:30:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the 4th annual collection of Thanksgiving vegetable recipes from A Veggie Venture! To inspire Thanksgiving menus, look for new recipes all month long. In 2006 - 2008, I featured Thanksgiving side dishes. This year, I'm focusing on new recipes for Thanksgiving vegetarian entrées, main dishes that will satisfy all who gather at the holiday table.For anyone hunting Thanksgiving vegetable

Farro Risotto with Butternut Squash & Mushrooms ♥

2009-11-15T05:00:00.006-06:00

Today's vegetarian entrée recipe: Another idea for a vegetarian (and in fact, vegan) main dish for Thanksgiving but will have everyone, I'm willing to bet, coming back for seconds. The recipe blends four fall flavors: nutty Italian farro, butternut squash, mushrooms and sage. Very pretty on a plate. So this is fun! I'm having a great time testing recipes suitable for vegetarian Thanksgiving

How to Cut, Peel & Cube a Butternut Squash and Keep All Ten Fingers

2009-11-09T10:45:00.015-06:00

How to peel, cut and cube a butternut squash, one of those unwieldy-looking winter squashes. A step-by-step illustrated guide to cutting up a butternut squash, so easy the squash almost cuts itself up.Okay, I admit it. There was a time when my eyes glazed over recipes for butternut squash. My Inner Knife Phobia whispered, "How in the world would you cut one of those things without losing a finger

How to Cut a Butternut Squash - Has Moved

2009-11-09T10:30:00.010-06:00

So sorry, this post has moved to How to Cut, Peel and Cube Butternut SquashWhy did I move the post? I made a technical error naming the post. I tried to fix it before e-mail messages went out but oops, see that I didn't make it. Again, so sorry.

Savory Bread Pudding with Butternut Squash, Chard & Cheddar ♥

2009-11-03T07:45:00.003-06:00

It's November and at A Veggie Venture, that means it's time to explore new Thanksgiving recipes! This year, I'm adding a new set of recipes to the 2009 edition of my collection of Thanksgiving vegetable recipes, vegetarian entrées, main dishes to inspire all who gather at the Thanksgiving table. Look for more vegetarian options all month long!Today's vegetable recipe: A savory bread pudding, two

(Un) Fried Green Tomatoes ♥

2009-10-15T10:15:00.005-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: Thin slices of green tomatoes dipped in a seasoned cornmeal breading, then baked at high heat. Virtually no fat, thus 'healthy fried green tomatoes' (and baked, of course, not fried) but still full of flavor. Weight Watchers 2 points.Fried green tomatoes have been a long time reaching A Veggie Venture, though not for lack of trying. Three years running, I tried new

How to Roast Garlic ♥

2009-10-15T10:08:00.007-05:00

Today's recipe: How to roast whole heads of garlic to a deep, dark and luscious creamy paste. Plus, a reminder that October 15th is when we plant garlic in the fall! When roasting vegetables, or baking a casserole, or simmering a big pot of soup, I love to throw something else into the oven, too, making efficient use of the energy. More times than not, that 'something else' is a dish of garlic

Whole Pumpkin Baked with Custard ♥

2009-10-09T04:00:00.003-05:00

Today's pumpkin recipe: Stuff a whole pumpkin with custard, bake it, and what do you get? A fun fall dessert! Finally, pumpkins! For a year now, I've been waiting-waiting for pumpkin season. You see, two recipes had tucked themselves into the back of my brain and refused to let go. One cooked meat and vegetables into a stew, right in a whole pumpkin settled into the coals of a campfire -- sorry,

Supper Casserole with Pumpkin & Green Chile Cornbread Topping ♥

2009-09-30T18:45:00.003-05:00

Today's recipe: A one-dish casserole supper, meat cooked with on-hand vegetables and flavored with green chile salsa. The cornbread topping repeats the green chile flavor and adds pumpkin for color, moisture and nourishment. Who else has noticed? When winter turns to spring, we long for the first bites of spring, waiting with much anticipation for the first asparagus, the first artichokes, the

Rosemary Potatoes ♥

2009-09-16T16:00:00.002-05:00

Today's recipe: Just in time for roasting fall vegetables, four tricks for roasting starchy vegetables like potatoes and winter squash using less oil without compromising on texture or flavor.Here in St. Louis, we're caught in that lovely 'bridge' between summer and fall. There's no deciding whether to slice up a quick Insalata Caprese to get the final fill of summer tomatoes or to tip over into

Perfect Stovetop Brown Rice ♥

2009-08-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

Today's recipe: A new technique for cooking brown rice, yielding moist and flavorful grains of rice. No more gummy brown rice!Who's noticed? If you follow the directions on a bag or box of brown rice, it turns out tough and gummy and unappetizing. It's no wonder that people turn to rice cookers for help -- or worse, douse brown rice with butter; or worse still, stick with the far less healthful

Cool-as-a-Cucumber Avocado Soup ♥

2009-08-23T04:30:00.001-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: a quick blender soup recipe, just four ingredients and served cold. Low carb. Vegan. Weight Watchers 2 points.Sigh. Do your eyes go dreamy too at the thought of avocados? There's simply no matching their silkiness, their smoothness. Pillow makers? How about avocado, not the color, but the cool slipperiness. Blending cool cucumber with smooth avocado, it was a recent

Tomato Platter with Olives & Feta ♥

2009-08-17T07:27:00.005-05:00

Today's vegetable 'recipe' - wait no, let's call it vegetable 'serving inspiration': A platter of perfect summer tomatoes, topped with olives and crumbled feta. Perfect for one or two or a crowd.My friend Mary brought a big plate of tomatoes to supper on Friday. I loved her tomato serving idea so much, I re-created it on Saturday! So this isn't so much a 'recipe' as a serving suggestion, for it

Grilled Pepper & Tomato Salad ♥

2009-08-10T11:45:00.004-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe comes from a reader: Familiar tomatoes and familiar peppers combined in a salad that somehow manages to turn out entirely different. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.Sold! It took about 10 seconds to buy into this recipe, sent by a reader just last week. Here's what Laurie B. wrote about her salad recipe that combines roasted peppers (bell peppers and hot chilis both)

Julia Child's Cucumber Salad ♥

2009-08-03T09:27:00.014-05:00

Today's quick salad recipe: How to soak large, seedy cucumbers so they'll be not just edible but tasty! Low carb. Vegan. Weight Watchers 0 points! Summer 2009: Seems we can't turn around without stumbling over another story of Julie & Julia, the blog-turned-book-turned-movie that opens nationwide on August 7. Just yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch climbed aboard the Julie & Julia wagon with

Stuffed Peppers ♥

2009-07-27T14:50:00.003-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: My aunt's recipe for green peppers stuffed with a mixture of ground meat, fresh corn and rice or another starch such as quinoa, then topped with a tomato-y sauce and melt-y cheese. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 to 3 points, depending on size.My 3x5 recipe box is gill-packed with 'retro' recipes that date to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Thing is, the recipes weren't 'retro'

Stacked Ratatouille ♥

2009-07-21T08:30:00.003-05:00

Another hit recipe from our favorite cookbook this summer, Seven Fires. Appearance-wise, it's dramatic; preparation-wise, it's ever so simple. It's just sliced rounds of baked (and 'burned'!) eggplant, tomato and summer squash, topped with a lemony spinach if you like. Works as well for one or two as for a crowd. Low carb. Who remembers the 2007 movie Ratatouille? I watched it again recently on a

Raw Eggplant Salad ♥

2009-07-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

Today's unusual salad recipe: Small pieces of raw eggplant tossed with celery, olives and capers. Surprisingly pleasant! Vegan. Low carb. Weight Watchers 0 points. So. Can we eat raw eggplant? Yes! Do we want to eat raw eggplant? Yes again. The inspiration for this simple summer salad came from a few slices of eggplant leftover from another recipe, just hanging out there on the counter

Homemade Bread & Butter Pickles ♥

2009-06-30T09:00:00.001-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: A recipe from a reader, easy bread and butter pickles. No canning required, can be frozen.Many thanks to an anonymous reader who left her recipe for bread and butter pickles a couple of years back. I actually made these late last fall -- although too late to share -- and then nibbled on them off and on throughout the winter.The pickles are great -- crunchy but not too

Tuna & White Bean Dip ♥

2009-06-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

Today's recipe: An easy bean dip, with a touch of umami from a simple can of tuna. Easy to make with a few quick pantry and refrigerator ingredients. Fresh tasting and endlessly variable. Positively addictive. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.Okay so you might think that this is just one more bean dip, nothing special about that. But I beg, think again. For one thing, it's one of those

Fire-Charred Tomatoes ♥

2009-06-11T10:30:00.002-05:00

Today's tomato recipe: From the new and most-inspiring cookbook "Seven Fires" (much recommended as a Father's Day gift idea), tomatoes cooked on a very hot fire til charred, creating a smoky, luscious bite of summer. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point.In 2007, I lucked into spending a day with author and writer Peter Kaminsky just back from Argentina where he'd been cooking over fire with

Pickled Beet Dip ♥

2009-06-07T10:00:00.001-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: A quick and easy dip made with pickled beets, cream cheese and horseradish. Quite addictive, smeared on bread. Great color for outdoor gatherings. Low carb. No surprise that I loved this beet dip -- yes, when you collect beet recipes, people starting calling you the Beet Queen for good reason. But I didn't expect everyone else to love this beet dip -- but they did! The

Mixed Fruit & Vegetable Salad ♥

2009-05-31T09:30:00.001-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: An unusual and refreshing salad, a bright mix of chopped fruits and vegetables tossed with no more than salt and pepper and a little cinnamon. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point. Vegan. No added fat. So why is it that 'vegetables' are usually served as a side dish and 'fruit' as dessert? This salad really surprised me. Not only is it pretty -- isn't it pretty?! -- but

Barely Roasted Asparagus ♥

2009-05-19T10:30:00.001-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: A lesson in timing, how barely roasting fat spears of spring asparagus turns out something entirely new: crisp with good 'snap', garlicky and glorious. Vegan, low-carb and Weight Watchers 1 point.This is the time of year when a reader might complain, "Alanna, are you cooking anything except asparagus?" (Yes, it really happened, in 2007 with the oh-so-lovely Asparagus

Avocado Dip ♥

2009-05-11T23:00:00.000-05:00

Today's vegetable recipe: A Middle Eastern avocado dip, smoother than guacamole but otherwise similar. Very impressive appearance when served in the empty avocado shells - positively gorgeous, if I may say so myself! Low-carb and vegan. So May 5th passed without the hoped-for, planned-for, considerably-anticipated Cinco de Mayo party, something about a calendar mix-up and a dining room with fresh