Eric is one of the typical men who feel that dinner just isn’t right without meat. I can understand, that’s how we were brought up, there’s always some kind of meat for dinner, even if it’s just a little bit. That’s how I typically cook for him too. Even if it’s a salad there’s a little bit of bacon or chicken or turkey lunchmeat on it. But one of my nutritional goals is to start having at least one vegetarian dinner per week.

I’m starting small, mostly vegetarian meals but a tiny bit of meat. This was the meal I used to tell him my plan. He really liked it! We had steamed broccoli with Gruyere white sauce, a pear stuffed with herbed goat cheese, wrapped in a slice of turkey bacon, drizzled with honey and baked until tender, and zucchini pancakes (I called them fritters but Eric said they’re definitely pancakes). I want to make them again and get better pictures, then I’ll post the awesome recipe.

The funny thing was, I included the bacon to have some sort of meat in it, but he actually preferred the pear without the bacon! I still want to try it with prosciutto (the current ingredient I’m experimenting with) but it was really amusing to me that he liked the meal better without the meat. I’m making sure we still have some kind of protein, usually cheese, but it’s a great adventure coming up with vegetarian recipes.

Sweet and Savory Pear
serves 2
Ingredients
1 red or Bartlett pear
2-3 TBS goat cheese
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
2 slices turkey bacon
olive oil
honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the pear in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds creating a small bowl. Mix the goat cheese with Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Put half the mixture in each pear half. Wrap with the slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove toothpick, drizzle lightly with honey and serve.

Gruyere White Sauce
serves 2
Ingredients

1 TBS butter
1 TBS flour
1/2 cup milk
3 TBS grated Gruyere
salt and pepper

Instructions

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Whisk in the flour until lumps are gone. Add milk and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over steamed veggies.

I’ve heard of prosciutto, and even know how to pronounce it thanks to the Foodnetwork, but I’ve never tried it before. I realize one reason is because it’s pork, which I’m allergic to. I can eat a little once or twice a week and be okay, but I don’t cook with it very often. But I saw it on sale the other day and decided to get some.

I have a few ideas of how to use it. So far I haven’t tested any of them on Eric yet, just myself. Here’s one I really liked and it only took 5 minutes to make.

Prosciutto Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Quesadilla
serves 1
Ingredients

1 flour tortilla
2 TBS goat cheese
1 piece prosciutto torn
2 TBS sundried tomato spread

Instructions

Spread one half of the tortilla with the sundried tomatoes. Sprinkle the other half with the cheese and prosciutto. Fold the tomato side over. toast in a pan for 2 minutes on each side. Cut into triangles.

I remember having brussel sprouts once as a kid when I made them for a report on Belgium in the 3rd grade. Apparently I’ve always preferred healthy food because I chose bringing in brussel sprouts over Belgian waffles. I’ve always found them fascinating because they look like baby cabbages (I love cabbage). But I’d never had them as an adult. I decided to buy some and experiment.

I chose to keep it simple, basically sautee them and sprinkle with parmesan. Eric had never had brussel sprouts. It turned out well, though next time I’d cut them into quarters instead of halves so they get even more tender.

Parmesan Brussel Sprouts
serves 2
Ingredients

10 small bussel sprouts
1 TBS olive oil
salt and pepper
2 TBS parmesan

Instructions

Remove outer leaves and cut sprouts in half. Saute flat side down in olive oil for about 5 minutes, until crispy golden. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir to lightly cook round sides. Remove and sprinkle with parmesan.

I love eggrolls, lumpia, mandu, and potstickers. Basically fill something with meat and veggies, fry it and give me a shoyu based sauce to dip it in and I’m a happy camper. It started in Korea where I lived pre-school through 1st grade. We would have yakimandu at every church potluck, school event, or birthday party. I loved it, my favorite joke was “This mandu isn’t yucky, it’s yummymandu!”

Then we moved to North Carolina for a few years and I settled for premade eggrolls frozen in a box. Now, after 15 years living in Hawaii and eating fresh homemade eggrolls and lumpia, I don’t think I could settle for anything else! (Well, except Ling Ling Potstickers, they’re one of Eric’s favorite things to make me for lunch)

I love homemade eggrolls, although they can be kind of a pain to make, if you make a bunch at a time you can freeze them and then they’re ready to go the next time you want some. They freeze really well. I usually make firecracker shrimp at the same time since I have the wrappers out, they’re really good and Eric prefers them over eggrolls. They freeze well too. One important thing is to make sure you use the frozen wrappers from an asian market (unless you’re in Hawaii or an Asian country you probably won’t find them at your regular grocery store). Defrost them overnight in the fridge and always keep them covered in a damp towel, even after you’ved filled them, until they’re fried or being frozen. Seal any leftovers in a ziploc bag.

I like to use ground turkey in my eggrolls, I figure it makes them a little bit healthier than beef since I’m deep frying them. I don’t use pork because I’m allergic to it and can only eat a little at a time, this way I can eat more! I always use Napa Cabbage (I love the stuff!) and the other ingredients vary depending what I have on hand. I have a big bag of dried shiitake mushrooms that I rehydrate by steaming (you’re supposed to do it in water overnight, but I’m lazy and this is faster).

I love serving them with some fresh mango. If I just have a few left and need some side dishes, it’s great with asian slaw and sweet garlic noodles. I also love to make different dipping sauces, having more sauces gives variety and makes it seem more special somehow. The easiest one that requires no prep is Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce. I’ll also give you the recipe for a yummy soy based sauce.

Turkey Eggrolls

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cornstarch
2 TBS Aloha Shoyu
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 carrots grated
2 cups shredded napa cabbage
6 rehydrated shiitake mushrooms
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp mirin
1 TBS Aloha Shoyu
30 egg roll wrappers
a little cornstarch and water to make a paste for sealing wrappers

Instructions

Mix the first seven ingredients in a bowl, let it sit while you prepare your veggies. I use a food processor to grate the cabbage, mushrooms and carrots and mix them all together.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the meat mixture. Fry it, stirring until it’s cooked through. Add the veggies, mirin and shoyu. Mix well and transfer to a bowl.

Fill one wrapper at a time with a TBS of the filling. I tend to use more and kinda overstuff them! Rather than drawing out how to fill and wrap it, I found this site for you.

Heat a couple inches of vegetable oil in a pot on high. Carefully lower eggrolls in with tongs, let cook for 2 minutes or until golden (a little longer if frozen). Remove with tongs and drain on a wire rack over paper towels.

Egg Roll Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

2 TBS Aloha Shoyu
2 TBS Rice Vingear
a few drops of sesame oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 TBS chopped green onion

Instructions

Whisk ingredients well.

I laughed out loud when reading the blog of some missionaries we support and pray for. Poor Bethany faces many challenges cooking in Sudan, not only is she limited in ingredients and kitchen tools (have you made a whole Thanksgiving meal over a charcoal fire?) but she has to worry about baby chickens getting in her cake batter! Check out the whole story here.