Veggie Teens

Meatless Monday Recipe: Summertime Succotash

Post by Chef Owen May

Take advantage of the fresh summer zucchini and corn. For more easy vegetarian recipes for teens, see Veggie Teens Cookbook: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers. 

Ingredients:
½ tablespoon olive oil
2 cups onion, diced (See Culinary Techniques: How to Dice an Onion)
4 cups zucchini, sliced
2 cups corn kernels (fresh, cut from the cob, or canned and drained)
32 ounces tomatoes, canned, diced
16 ounces garbanzo beans, canned 28 ounces vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ cup brown rice, instant
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pan. When hot, add onions and sauté approximately 5 minutes.
2. Add zucchini; cook 5 minutes (if using fresh corn, add when you add zucchini)
3. Add dried herbs and cook 30 seconds.
4. Add tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and vegetable stock (and corn if using canned).
5. Bring to a boil and add rice.
6. Cover and reduce to a simmer and cook until rice is done, approximately 8-10 minutes
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meatless Moday Recipe: Lunch Wrap

Post by Elyse May

This easy recipe is perfect for a cool summer lunch or dinner! For more easy recipes for teens, see Veggie Teens Cookbook: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers. 

Ingredients:

Romaine lettuce
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Red peppers, cut in thin strips
Black olives
White American cheese or cheddar cheese, Tortilla
Italian dressing

Directions:

1. Cut salad ingredients into bite-sized pieces.
2. Toss with salad dressing.
3. Wrap in a tortilla; close with a toothpick if necessary.

Any salad can be wrapped in a tortilla, flat bread, or pita for an easy meatless meal!

What to do when there's a mouse in the house

My week has been full of animals. We have a baby rabbit in our backyard, accompanied by a family of quail. A couple of scorpions and a mouse were sharing our house too. Because I love animals, I asked my dad if we could find a way to catch them without killing them. My dad caught the scorpions in a jar. 

The easiest way to catch the mouse would have been with a mouse trap or a sticky trap but we decide to use a cage instead. We loaded the cage with sweet apricot pits (the kind you buy, not fresh) and the next day the pits were gone--but no mouse. We reloaded
the cage a couple of times with no success. We needed to attach the food to the trigger somehow. We had no idea how to do this until my dad came up with the idea of using peanut butter. It worked! The next day we had him in the cage. 

We released the scorpions and the rodent into the desert. If you have rodent problems, instead of using a trap that will kill the animal, use a cage so you can catch it in and release it back into its natural habitat. 

Meatless Monday Recipe: Cherry Tomato Pasta

Post by Chef Owen May:

Meatless Mondays are a great way to experiment with vegetarian meals without making a major commitment. My daughter Elyse is the only vegetarian in our family but we all eat meatless meals numerous times during the week. (If we're lucky, she's the one who makes them!)

Meatless meals are generally less expensive, often easy to make, may be better for the environment, and are usually healthier. Those are all nice, but if they don't taste great (or worse yet, if they taste "weird"), the rest won't matter because your family won't buy in.

This Meatless Monday series is a weekly recipe for a meatless meal that is inexpensive, simple, healthy, and that your whole family will love. This one is straight out of our book, Veggie Teens Cookbook: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers. Bon appétit!

Cherry Tomato Pasta
Serves 4

Ingredients:
8 ounces of whole wheat pasta (any shape)
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved (or two medium tomatoes chopped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded (see Culinary Techniques)
½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. While the pasta is cooking, sauté tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add minced garlic and sauté for about a minute. Be careful not to burn garlic or it will become bitter.
3. Drain pasta and return it to the pot.
4. Toss with tomatoes, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, vinegar and basil.
5. Add the salt and fresh ground pepper or red pepper flakes to taste.

Dr. Michelle May's Notes: The whole wheat pasta, tomatoes and monounsaturated olive oil make this a great dish for even the most health conscious diner. For a little more protein, add grated parmesean or goat cheese.

Culinary Techniques: How to Chiffonade Basil

Post by Elyse May (aka Veggie Teen) from my book, Veggie Teens: A Cookbook and Guide for Vegetarian Teenagers.

In addition to hundreds of recipes, there are 21 "Veggie Teens Culinary How To" instructions in Veggie Teens, each with three-step photos. This one is a fun and easy way to cut strips of basil or other large flat leaves like spinach. The technique is called "chiffonade."

Stack several washed basil leaves.

Roll them tightly.

Cut them into 1/4 inch slices and separate them into thin strips.

Add fresh strips of basil to pasta dishes, like my easy recipe for Cherry Tomato Pasta.