Monday, January 17, 2011

Days 11-15: Vegetarians on the Run

We had a very busy long weekend and weren't home much, so we've experienced being vegetarian while eating out, packing lunches, and generally being on the run. Well, I should say I've experienced that. The boys and Scott . . . well, we've revised the rules once again to "I'm cooking vegetarian," and that's the best I think I'll get.

It is an interesting experience being a vegetarian on the run . . . at the St. Paul RiverCentre (we were there with our campground for the the Sportsman Show) the choices are pretzel with cheese, fries, or nachos. At Ikea, things were looking much better: crepes filled with spinach and cheese and a salad. At a Mexican restaurant: cheese enchilada and beans. Weekend on the run = lots of cheese, lots of carbs, not really a lot of healthy eating!

But, I did manage to cook a little bit, testing recipes for a party I'm having next week. I'll share just one today (in case the guest of honor is reading), and post the rest next week.

Mango-Pineapple Chutney

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 large sweet yellow onion, minched
4 inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced (or 1 tbsp. minced ginger in a jar)
1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
3 large ripe mangoes, peeled, cored, and diced
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add red pepper flakes and cook until it starts to sizzle, then stir in the onion. Reduce heat to low and cover and cook until onions are soft, about 20 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium, and add the ginger and yellow pepper until you can smell the ginger (about 2-3 minutes). Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes about 3 1/2 cups of chutney.

This is crazy good. Eat it with a fork, put it on grilled fish or chicken, serve it over cream cheese with crackers, lick the spoon, spatula, pan, and your fingers. Yum.

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