Friday, July 2, 2010

My Experience With Vegetarian


How did I started my foods a from normal meat diet to a vegetarian diet?

It is all because of my regular visit to the temple on First and Fifteen of a Lunar calendar month from the past culture.

Sometimes go with friends and sometimes not, travel and return back to workplace by a meter-reading taxi during the precious lunch time.

The staff of one temple invited me and friends one day for a "ZAI' dishes. I was wondering what "JAI" was and how special of this name to the foods. I asked them what's the meaning of "ZAI" and how special are the foods.

No answer from them, I thought they were too busy to think and explain it to me, or my question were not important at that time, as they were taking it daily and there was nothing unusual to them.

A while later, someone said "ZAI" was the food cooked without adding meat and was healthy for all by nature.

Cooking vegetarian dishes isn't easy as some make it out to be. Between getting the fresh vegetables and produce at the local market, to peeling and properly washing everything, requires time and effort.

This article will share my experience with vegetarian chili, truly a great recipe if you have some time. I know what most of you are probably thinking, "Vegetarian Chili, how horrible is that". I probably would have agreed with you several years ago, as my favorite chili dish in those days was loaded with fresh smoked bacon and spare ribs. Throw in a can of beer and now you were really cooking. Unfortunately that was just one of those recipes that contributed to my forty-pound weight gain, so change was desperately needed.

Vegetarian cooking, I decided to master my own version of meatless chili. What I really needed was to find an adequate substitute for that oozing fat that was so filled with flavor. Now the bacon part wasn't so bad, as those wonderful little imitation bacon bits did the job, but what could I do for that fat flavor.

Thinking that meat fat is essentially an oil, and the unhealthy type as well, I thought about substituting the natural meat fats with tasty Canola oil. Being low in saturated fat and high in mono saturated fat, it has to be health benefits as well. But the real advantage was the taste. It just added a unique flavor to the dish that really helped move it along.

My past vegetarian dishes of this sort usually produced much frustration, as it so hard to mimic some of the flavors in the meat, albeit their health risks. So I pressed forward in this quest for a great chili, and decided to choose the vegetables. A mixture of fresh red peppers, mushrooms, onions, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, tomato paste, beans and vegetable stock got me rolling, and I used the recently purchased "slow cooker" for this particular recipe.

The chili powder I used was a smoky blend of flavorings, and I added a small amount of cayenne pepper to give it some kick. I love those red beans, some drained cans. The entire thing simmered for about five hours on low. I steamed up some brown rice, and poured the concoction on top.

I have this experience of vegetarian chili wasn't without drama, as several friends came over to taste this delight. Unfortunately the response was a bit mixed, as there were more complaints then compliments. I might have went wrong with the vegetable stock, as it was low salt and kind of flat in taste. Well anyway, back to the table, at least I got my fiber for the day.

Vegetarian cooking can be fun as well as healthy. If you want some really great tips and lindavegetarian please feel free to visit the blog. There have great FREE recipes as well:VEGETARIAN DISHES

Article Source: http://the-vegetarians.blogspot.com/