Mother's Day Feast

Which I didn't prepare.  My vegetarian daughter, now in high school, prepared an full dinner from scratch for us in fulfillment of her Foods class requirements.

Veggie Daughter has been a vegetarian for seven years now, and is the reason I resurrected my college vegetarian meal planning skills.  Daughter reintroduced fish back into her diet two years ago; this is a fish menu we had tonight.

Gazpacho
Trout
Spinach-Strawberry Salad
Homemade rolls

(pescatarian) Eel for Thanksgiving

My vegetarian daughter loves Thanksgiving, and has put down my vague guilty suggestions that I should make some main dish for her, alternate to the Turkey.  She loves the vegetable sides, and declares herself more than delighted just to have all those vegetarian versions of the carb ones (mushroom gravy, stuffing that baked in the oven with vegetable broth, mashed potatoes without broth, etc.)

This year, early in the November, I heard a radio spot about the eel industry, how it is mostly processed, cooked, and vaccum-wrapped in China, even if you buy it in a restaurant here.  And, I heard one of the inevitable "what our Pilgrim ancestors really ate," which mentioned the importance of eel.

Eel.  My daughter loves unagi, and now I'd learned that I wouldn't be expected to prepare it, just warm it up from frozen.  All it took was a quick trip to my local Ranch 99 Asian market to get the prepared frozen eel.   It became the "dare" food on the Thanksgiving table, and lots of people, including the kids gave it a try.

Salmon and Potato Cakes

For those of you who include fish into your vegetarian diet. These were easy to make and the kids liked it. We topped them with sour cream and just a drizzle of ketchup mixed with Worcestershire sauce. Double the recipe: leftovers are great.

Serves 4

2 Cups red skinned potatoes, boiled and smashed (smash with skins on. I think this took about 4-5 large red potatoes. )
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1-7 oz can salmon, skin and bones removed
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tablespoon dried dill or thyme (double if using fresh)
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Cup croutons, crushed to make 1/4 Cup crumbs (any flavor, I used Caesar)
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
oil (canola or olive)

saute onion and garlic in 1 teaspoon of oil. Remove from heat.

Combine onion and garlic, potatoes, salmon, eggs, spices, mustard and croutons in a bowl and mix. Shape into patties. Salt and pepper each side. Fry in just a little bit of oil until golden brown on each side and heated through. Serve with sour cream.

Stay tuned for later this week. I'm trying out a recipe for Quinoa Stuffed Peppers and a Carrot Cilantro salad.

Dressed up Salmon Cakes over Field Greens

If your idea of vegetarian includes fish, click here for a great recipe. Stay tuned for tomorrow. I'm trying a summer Chilean Bean Stew with a Jicama-Orange Salad and Maple Cornbread.

A Better Tuna Sandwich

Some people on a vegetarian diet still eat fish, and some don't. I thought I would include this recipe for those that still eat fish.
A while back we were visiting my parents and my Dad had me try some tuna he had made. It was great! Fast forward to today. There is no school so all the kids were home for lunch. They asked what kind of sandwich they could have and I said "Tuna". My eight year old got really excited and said, "Can we have tuna with carrots in it?!" So we did...here is how to make it.

Finely chop
1 medium sized carrot
1 stalk of celery
Some pickles-my Dad used sweet, but I prefer dill

When my Dad makes this he chops everything in a food processor. I have a hand crank food chopper that I use.
Put your chopped ingredients in a bowl. Add two 5 to 6 oz drained cans of Tuna and mayo or salad dressing enough to moisten everything. Serve on bread, or this also makes a good dip for tortilla chips and such.
Adding the veggies makes the tuna go farther, but it also adds a nice crunch. Chopped small enough the flavors blend together well, and you don't get an overpowering taste from any of them. You could also add onion or bell peppers if that floats your boat, although the flavors of those would come through stronger.
I was surprised that my kids had liked it so much when my Dad made it, but I am happy to give them a tuna sandwich that has less tuna in it and more veggies...