I've been trying to go vegetarian for the past 2.5 weeks... but I need help!?

Question

So I read this book about being vegetarian and decided to become a vegetarian (maybe even vegan some day). I'm a freshman at UC Berkeley, and I have no idea how to cook, much less how to good a healthy vegetarian meal. I went to the store and bought the following:

Worcestershire sauce
Medium firm tofu
Sea salt
Olive oil
Thai bowls
Vitamin water
Broccoli, Celery, and lots of other veggies
Fruits
Stir Fry sauce
Curry paste (how the hell do I use this?)
Florentine pasta
Soy milk
Rice milk
Tofurella (cheese looking thing)
Peanut butter

Now what the hell can I make with this stuff? I made some potato onion soup last night, but that's all I know how to make! I have a kitchen in the building and I'm not afraid to use it. I don't even know how to prepare tofu, much less how to make it tasty.

HELP!!!

Answer 1

Have you tried eating on campus some? There are lots of vegetarian options at Berkeley and it could give you some ideas of what to make at home. A lot of the stuff on your list you can just eat (like water, thai bowls and peanut butter). Peanut butter spread on a rice cake is delicious too - and a complete protein.

Here is a recipe I have for tofu steak I thought of when I saw worchestershire sauce:

1 pckg extra firm tofu
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
1 cup of water
1 tsp cornstarch
salt & pepper

Slice tofu into 6 cutlets. Drain on paper towel. Heat non-stick pan. Slice onoin and saute w/ 1 tbsp oil. Set aside. Add remaining oil and fry tofu about 10 min until golden brown. Add onion, vinegar, worchestershire sauce adn stir. Add cornstarch and stir until thick. Add water if too thick. Salt and pepper totaste. Serve w. veggies and rice. 2 servings.

PS: Berkeley is a great place to be a vegetarian.

Answer 2

it quite is uncomplicated. Many vegetarians i know are on the heavy component. the important difficulty that occurs is which you will over devour. nutrients does not fulfill you an identical way and you may think of you're hungry on the grounds which you're no longer ingesting a important - like meat. just about all vegetarians will over-salt their nutrients.... Meats are cured and heavily salted or pro, while greens and end result are not. Are you ingesting extra cheese, dairy to fulfill your salt cravings? Are you ingesting lots extra starches and carbs for the flexibility strengthen which you are going to have in many cases gotten from a meal that incorporates meat? Carbs supply you a severe. The carb severe isn't an identical through fact the flexibility you will get from a a extra balanced meal so as which you will possibly be compensating and ingesting extra and your physique hasn't adjusted completely. you're no longer hungry, somewhat. Your physique and innovations are merely no longer used to it. It takes a jointly as to evolve. you will desire to purchase Boca fake burgers (beans or nuts and rice style extra advantageous than soy) and Morningstar hen patties or nuggets - those are the main respectable tasting veg strategies that are fairly flavored that isn't make you pass over meat lots.

Answer 3

I like tofu sliced thin and fried in olive oil--then you can dip it in peanut butter. I usually use a little curry paste in coconut milk, add veggies & simmer (stir a lot--coconut milk tends to burn quickly), serve over rice. Soymilk can be pretty gross, depending on brand, but I love the Silk brand with cereal. Sounds like you could make a good stir fry, too, pasta with veggies & tofurella or just throw all the veggies together for a soup. Might want to stock up on some nuts, too, for extra protein & garlic heated in olive oil will add a lot of flavor to just about anything.

Answer 4

First things first....you should read labels. Worcestershire sauce has anchovies, which is a fish, and I believe it also contains beef bouillon. It is impossible to teach someone to cook over the internet, especially if they have no basic knowledge in the subject. My suggestion to you is to see about taking a cooking class at the local college. Even if I were to give you recipes, if you dont know how to cook, you wont have luck in making a meal. You could definitely benefit from watching some cooking shows on food tv and investing in a few good cookbooks to help you.

Answer 5

well throw out the worcestershire, it has anchovies.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegetable-and-Tofu-Burger/Detail.aspx
i found that recipe for you. allrecipes.com has some awesome veggie recipes, as well as goveg.com, and peta.com. considering you are a college student i would take advantage of the fact that you can choose from a variety of options at the cafeteria. i always take advantage of it, you can order vegan veggie burgers, soy nuggets, and other veggie items. my school has one vegan entree at every meal, and then there are the vegetable side dishes and the salad bars. i really reccomend taking advantage of that as much as you can. also, if you really like eating in your room, i would go to your local grocery store or health food store and stock up on Amy's brand foods. they have vegan options that taste great. chinese food is really easy to make for vegans, hibachi rice and stir fry taste great and are filling. i hope this helped, good luck!

Answer 6

Worcestershire sauce has ancovies.

My grandma is a vegan, she eats hot pots in the winter,

put some vegetable stock, to a constant boil with cubbed tofu and veggies in a small dutch oven, once eaten, put more veggies in the constant boil and comsume. You can try squash and melons in it.

Answer 7

Buy the cookbook "Vegan with a Vengeance" Best $17.00 you'll spend

Answer 8

You do need help! e-mail me! It's good to meet a fellow vegetarian. I'm more than happy to help but I need to know a few things beforehand. Such as your general knowledge about foods. Suc as jello and such. [e-mail]

Answer 9

Go to www.goveg.com and get some recipes

Answer 10

OK first of all you need to go to the following sites - vegan wolf www.veganwolf.com this site will tell you everything you need to know about vegetarian cooking. It will give you a list of staples to keep handy to make you cheap tasty meals. Then go to the vegetarian society www.vegsoc.org there are some great recipes there. THen you need to organise a food plan. I have no idea what vietnam water is but with curry paste - here is a recipe. Btw you have all the ingredients for a tasty stirfry - you need rice. Also you can get vegan ramen noodles and make a great soup with the vegies. Tofu pretty much absorbs the flavour of what you put with it so marinate it in soy sauce. Then use it as meat and fry it with vegies and soy sauce for a pretty tasty stirfry.

Basically you take a teaspoon of paste (more if you like it stronger) and add it to a fry pan with the vegies and the tofu, add vegetable stock and cocanut milk and you have a tsaty curry. There should be directions for how to make a curry on the packet.

Tofu Burgers
Makes 8 burgers
Once cooked, these tasty burgers freeze well.

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Ingredients:

1 block/285g/10½oz firm tofu
50g/2oz bulgar or 100g/4oz cooked millet or rice
2 fl oz/50ml hot water
1 small onion, very finely chopped
50g/2oz mushrooms, very finely chopped
50g/2oz carrot, grated
1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp dried mixed herbs or 2tsp any fresh herb, coriander, dill etc.
2 tbsp wholewheat flour plus a little extra for coating.

Method:

1 Break up the tofu with your fingers into very small pieces.

2 Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and squeeze well to shape into burgers.
(As the mixture is very sticky it will help if you dip your hands and utensils in cold water).

3 Refrigerate for an hour or two.

4 For a crisp coating, toss the burgers in a little wholewheat flour before frying.

5 Deep fry the burgers in oil, a few at a time.

6 Drain well and serve hot or cold

Tofu Kebabs with a Simply Delicious Mayonnaise Dressing
250g/9oz regular tofu, drained and pressed
150ml/5fl oz (½ jar) Simply Delicious Organic Mayonnaise
15ml/1tbsp Dijon mustard
15ml/1tbsp medium curry paste
1 clove garlic, crushed
2.5cm/1” piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 cherry tomatoes
8 shallots, halved
16 button mushrooms
vegetable oil to brush
8 bamboo skewers
15ml/1tbsp smooth mango chutney
To serve:
225g/8oz basmati rice, cooked

Method

1. Cut the tofu into bite sized cubes and place in a shallow dish.

2. Mix the Simply Delicious Organic Mayonnaise with the mustard, curry paste, garlic and ginger and season well. Pour over the tofu and stir gently to coat. Cover and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

3. Thread the tofu onto the bamboo skewers, alternating with vegetables. Reserve the marinade.

4. Preheat the grill.

5. Brush the kebabs with a little vegetable oil and grill until cooked and the marinade starts to bubble and go golden brown.

6. Place the reserved marinade in a small sauce pan with 15ml/1tbsp smooth mango chutney. Heat through gently.

7. Serve the kebabs on a bed of rice with the warm marinade drizzled over.
Tofu and aduki filled cabbage leaves with chunky tomato sauce

Ingredients

1 large savoy cabbage
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green chilli, seeds removed, finely diced
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
150g marinaded tofu, mashed
150g cooked aduki beans, drained
110g mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp vegetable stock powder
1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce

400g can chopped tomatoes
100ml light vegetable stock
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste


1. Separate the leaves of the cabbage carefully. remove the thicker part of the stalks.

2. Put the leaves (whole) into boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Drain and immediately immerse in cold water to cool. Drain when cold.

4. For the filling: fry the onion, garlic, chilli and red pepper in the olive oil until soft. Turn into a bowl and add all the remaining ingredients. Season to taste. Allow to cool.

5. to fill the cabbage: taking each leaf in turn, place on a clean te atowel and dab dry.

6. Place a tablespoon of the filling in the centre of the leaf, and fold the bottom over the filling. Fold in the sides, and then fold down the top. Secure with a cocktail stick and place into a steamer, folded side down.

7. Repeat until all the leaves/filling are used up. Any tattered or small leaves can be doubled up to make a "whole" leaf.

8. Steam for about 20 minutes until cooked.

9. Put all sauce ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

10. Serve three stuffed leaves with rice and sauce as a main course, or serve as part of a buffet or tapas meal.

Red Curry Fried Rice
° 100g rice, cooked
° 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
° ½ tablespoon vegetable curry powder
° ½ teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
° 1 tablespoon coconut milk (optional)
° 1 sprig curry leaves
° 150g yarn beans/long beans, finely chopped
° salt, to taste

Green Curry Fried Rice
° 100g rice, cooked
° 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
° ½ tablespoon “Earthen Pot” green curry paste
° 1 tablespoon coconut milk (optional)
° 2-3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
° 100g bamboo shoot, diced
° 6 slices carrot, diced
° salt, to taste

Method
1. Red curry fried rice: Mix the curry powder and chilli powder with a tad of water to form curry paste.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan, fry the curry leaves for half a minute. Stir in the curry paste and fry until fragrant over medium heat. Add in the coconut milk.
3. Throw in the yard bean and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice and season with salt. If it is too dry, sprinkle some water on it. Fry about 2-3 minutes or until rice is heated through. Set aside.
4. Green curry fried rice: Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Stir in the green curry paste, lime leaves and fry until fragrant over medium heat. Add in the coconut milk.
5. Throw in the bamboo shoot, carrot and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice and season with salt. If it is too dry, sprinkle some water on it. Fry about 2-3 minutes or until rice is heated through.
6. Serve both type of fried rice on individual serving plate or bowl.


Good luck here are some more sites. also start with recipes you are familar with and adapt them to be vegetarian. like vegetarian pasties, flans, quiches etc. If you don't know how to cook get on to some cooking videos or dvds simple things to make. get some beginner cook books. REad up on the internet about vegetarian cooking and just experiment. make things taht are easy like lentil soup. Just take lentils and add to vegetable stick with vegies and simmer. you need about 1 litre or 1.5 litre of vegie stock alos massell stock cubes - vegetarian ones are great.

crystalbyblog.blogspot.com
thaifood.about.com
www.vegan-food.net
www.indianchild.com
www.rasamalaysia.com
allrecipes.com
www.ivu.org
recipefinder.ninemsn.com.au
www.vnv.org.au
www.vegiedelights.com.au