Cooking tasty vegetarian food is very simple. Strangely it seems that a lot of people I come across who are not vegetarian (or seeking to become vegetarian) say that they are not so sure what exactly to cook. This always leaves me rather perplexed because it is not my experience at all! It is quite simple to create your own recipes and tweak recipes that use animal products so they can become vegetarian friendly.
If you are going to buy pre-processed products, then checking the labels for product information is very important. A lot of things that can be bought from the supermarket can have within them ingredients that are unexpected. One of the biggest culprits is cheese. A lot of cheese is made with animal rennet. Rennet is found in the stomach of cows. There are cheeses that are made with non-animal rennet. White cheeses are usually less likely to use animal rennet but that is not always the case, so check the ingredients. Gelatin is another product that finds it's way in to many foods. Gelatin is taken from animals collective tissue. It can be found in chocolates, ice cream, jelly, marshmallows, lollies to name a few. There are also other food additives that are sometimes used, which involve insects. I would recommend doing a search on the Internet if you would like more information. There is plenty of it available.
Asian grocers can be a vegetarians best friend. One can find vegetarian varieties of vegetarian sauces such as vegetarian oyster sauce, different varieties of mock meats, soy protein products, tofu, tempeh, bean curd, seaweed, different types of mushrooms/fungus. One thing to look out for is that some of the pre-made sauces may have fish products in them. If your wanting something solid to add to dishes. Tofu, Tempeh, and Bean curd are good options. These are all made by soybeans. It is good to try and find those that are not genetically modified. Sometimes these come with flavouring already. They can also be marinated before being used in cooking. These products are becoming more popular in local supermarkets, but the best place to buy them are Asian grocers. They usually have a wide variety, and so are able to sell them cheaper. Some people find the taste of tofu unpleasant when they first try it. In some ways tofu can be an acquired taste. The taste of it is very much dependent on how it is cooked and what it is combined with. When I first tried it I thought it was a bit strange. After some time experimenting with it, I have grown rather fond of it. Mushrooms can also work really well in the place of meat.
As far as cooking styles go, most Asian cuisine suits vegetarian food very well. Rice and noodle dishes can easily be made vegetatian. The famous combination of soy sauce and sesame oil is a simple flavour. Indian cooking is especially well suited. There are many spices and herbs one can be inspired to use. Some of the better known ones are; cumin,coriander, fennel, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, and cloves.
A very easy way to cook an Indian inspired vegetable dish is to fry some spices in oil with chili and ginger. For extra ease you can add a pre-mixed powdered spice blend such as garam masala. Once the spices are browned, then throw in a variety of vegetables in order of their cooking time. Add some water during the cooking, usually shortly after adding the first round of ingredients. To make the sauce thicken, coconut cream can be added near the end of cooking. I have also used chick pea flower as thickener in the past. Potatoes can also be slightly mashed to make a thicker textured sauce.
Vegetable soups are also very easy to prepare, the biggest problem with soups is in the "stock". If you find a soup recipe that calls for "stock" no need to worry as
there are vegetarian stock options available. Often even in vegetable soups non-vegetarians would usually use beef or chicken stock as are force of habit. It is good to remind people you may be visiting for dinner to keep that in mind. An easy soup recipe is to boil pumpkin in water with fresh herbs such ascoriander, basil, thyme, rosemary, sage. Add a bit of oil and salt and pepper to taste. Eventually the pumpkin will turn mushy and it is quite easy to mash it together, and turn it into a soup like substance. Adding a bit of coconut cream at the end is also nice. Then there is Mediterranean cuisine. There are dips such as hommus (chick pea based), baba ganoush (eggplant based), tzadziki (yogurt based), skordalia (potatoe based). An array of different types of breads.
And another great friend to vegetarians the "falafel". Powdered falafel mixes are quite easy to come buy in the supermarkets, one usually just adds water to them, and then lightly fries them in oil. Falafels can be used instead of meat patties. Then there are all the other richly flavoured foods. Olives, sun-dried tomatoes spinach pies, rice in vine leaves etc. Grains, legumes, pulses, noodles, pastas can easily be added to vegetable dishes. So many varieties can be created in the simple formula of grain + spices + vegetables. Don't be afraid to experiment. Look to recipes for inspiration but there's no need to follow them to the letter! One's cooking will always improve through trial and error. It's always best to learn through experience what works and what doesn't.
Salads are also another category. Again the sky is the limit as to the varieties. Greens, steamed vegetables, grains, capsicums, olives, avocado, artichoke, herbs, tomatoes etc. Oil plus vinegar, salt, spices and pepper or oil plus lemon, salt spices and pepper - can create a standard dressing. Tahini which is made from sesame seeds is also quite popular to use. Tahini has a rather strong flavour but usually ends up being rather popular with vegetarians and vegans. It is often used in middle eastern dips. Tahini also works well as a spread, and to thicken sauces (especially pasta sauce).
I'd also like to share one of my favourite snack. Some corn crackers or rice crackers, spread with avocado and Miso (soybean paste). Miso is used in Japanese cooking, and is a good ingredient to add to soup. You can buy many different types of Miso. Make sure you get plain Miso, a lot of the Miso soup packet mixes will contain some sort of fish ingredients. I have also been rather creative with using Miso, adding it to many different foods. It is nice as a general spread on bread with some sort of good "fat". Now moving on to the subject of sweets. A lot of sweets that one can prepare are quite easy to prepare using vegetarian ingredients. Standard cake, cookie, and pudding recipes for example usually use some form of flour, some form of fat, some form of sugar, and some form of liquid - which can all easily be made with vegetarian ingredients.
For those who don't wish to use eggs - they are substitutes such as egg replacements. Personally I don't find eggs really to be necessary, adding a bit of extra oil or banana can counter their absence. Though in some sweets, eggs do play a central role. This is not so much in my area of expertise. I do can not say how good egg replacements are when it comes to making something like a Pavlova.
I hope this article has sparked some ideas for vegetarian cooking. One thing I can't stress enough is experimentation, creativity, and not being afraid to try new things. Since I became vegetarian so many new food possibilities have become available to me! It is funny how many people view a vegetarian diet as restrictive. In my experience is has enabled me to try so many new things. Things I never would of tried, if I never became vegetarian. As a friend of mine is fond of saying "necessity is the mother of invention", through necessity I have had to learn to boldly seek out new foods. And my tastebuds are very happy! I hope yours will be too.
