Zesty risotto

Ingredients: 425g/15oz broad or runner beans 1 onion a little cooking oil 255g/9oz Arborio (risotto) rice 1.2 litres/2pt hot vegetable stock 2 heads pak choi juice and grated rind of a lemon

Method

1. Cook your chosen beans until just tender. Refresh to cool. Leave broad beans whole but runner beans should be snipped into diamonds.
2. Chop the onion and fry in a little oil until it starts to soften.
3. Add the Arborio rice and cook, stirring continuously for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Pour in a ladle full of hot stock and simmer gently, stirring often until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
5. Keep adding the stock in this way until the rice is creamy and soft. This will take 15 to 20 mins.
6. Trim the ends off the pak choi and slice thinly. Wash thoroughly.
7. Add this to the risotto with the beans, lemon juice and rind and warm through.
8. Serve immediately, sprinkled with black pepper, freshly chopped herbs, snipped chives and grated parmesan cheese if liked.

Barbeque Tofu recipe

ngredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 pound (tub) firm or extra firm tofu
  
• 1 jar of vegan BBQ sauce
  

Directions:

This recipe is fast and easy to prepare. It is good sliced and added
to veggies or put on vegan bread for lunches. It is a little spicey, so some
kids may not like it.

Prehead the oven to 300. Slice the tofu the long way to make slabs. Cover the bottom
of a jelly roll pan with 1/4 inch of sauce. Put the tofu on top. Cover
the tofu with sauce. Just make sure the tofu is covered, you don't have
to drown it. Put it in the oven and cook for about 2 hours. If
you like your tofu very firm, cook longer. Check every now and then
to make sure nothing is burning. I've never had a problem with that, but
but ovens are all different.

Addictive Bean Curry recipe

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 tablespoon oil
  
• 1 teaspoon vegan mustard seeds
  
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon grated/chopped gingerroot
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 large (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
  
• 2 cans (19 oz each) kidney beans (or mixed beans or other beans)
  
• 1 teaspoon (or more!) curry paste
  
• salt to taste
  

Directions:

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and stir fry the
mustard and cumin seeds until they pop. Add onion, ginger,
and garlic and stir fry until lightly colored. Add
tomatoes with juice, beans (drained and rinsed), and 1 tsp
curry paste (to start!). Simmer for about 20 minutes or
until thick and saucy. Keep adding curry paste to taste
during the cooking. Salt to taste. Patak's Madras curry
paste is my favorite but other type work well too. This
is easy, healthy, and really addictive! Serve with rice,
pita, toast, chapattis, nan, straight from the pot....

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 30 min

Black Bean Burgers

3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
2 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 medium-size sweet onion, diced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 cup egg substitute
1 cup ketchup
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white cornmeal
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 hamburger buns
Cilantro Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Toppings: lettuce leaves, tomato slices

1. Mash beans coarsely with a potato masher in a large bowl. Stir in oats and next 6 ingredients.
2. Cover and chill 1 hour. Shape mixture into 12 patties.
3. Stir together flour and cornmeal; dredge patties in mixture.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties in batches 6 minutes on each side, adding additional oil as needed. Serve on hamburger buns with Cilantro Mayonnaise and desired toppings.

Makes 12 servings.

Note: Uncooked patties may be frozen. Thaw in refrigerator, and cook as directed. Freeze cooked patties up to 1 month. To reheat, bake in a shallow pan at 350*F (175*C) for 25 to 30 minutes.

Basic Hummus

2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and liquid reserved
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat and cook garlic for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Place garbanzo beans in a blender or food processor with about 1 teaspoon reserved liquid. Process until smooth. Mix in the sauteed garlic, sesame seeds, salt and pepper. Process to desired consistency, increasing the amount of reserved garbanzo bean liquid as desired. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Broccoli-Carrot Frittata

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup diced carrot (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup water
Cooking spray
8 large eggs
1/4 cup skim or low-fat milk
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon seasoned salt, optional
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1. In covered 10-inch omelet pan or skillet with ovenproof handle* over medium heat, cook broccoli and carrot in water until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to break apart broccoli. Drain well. Set aside.
2. Evenly coat pan with spray.
3. Beat together eggs, milk and seasonings. Stir in cheese and reserved broccoli and carrot. Pour into pan.
4. Cook over low to medium heat until eggs are almost set, about 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Cover pan, remove from heat and let stand about 8 to 10 minutes or broil about 6 inches from heat until eggs are completely set and no visible liquid egg remains, about 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Cut into wedges and serve from pan, or either slide from pan or invert onto serving platter.

Makes 4 servings.

* To make handle ovenproof, wrap completely with aluminum foil.

West African Bean Fritters

1 can (15 ounces) Blackeyes or 1 1/2 cups cooked dry-packaged Blackeyes, rinsed, drained
1 large egg
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped gingerroot or 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeño chili
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup cornmeal
Vegetable oil, for frying
Ginger Tomato Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

1. Process Blackeyes, egg, onion, gingerroot, jalapeño chili and salt in food processor or blender until smooth. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs.
2. To shape fritters, roll 1 tablespoon Blackeye mixture into a ball or oval shape; coat lightly with cornmeal. Repeat with remaining mixture.
3. Heat oil in medium saucepan to 350° F. Fry fritters, 4 or 5 at a time, until browned, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels; keep warm in 200° F. oven until ready to serve.
4. Spoon Ginger Tomato Dipping Sauce in center of small plates; arrange fritters on sauce.

Makes 4 servings (6 fritters each).

TIP: Fritters may be rolled and coated several hours before cooking; refrigerate, covered.

Ginger Tomato Dipping Sauce

1/2 can (14 -1/2 ounce size) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeño chili
1 tablespoon chopped gingerroot or 1 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1. Process all ingredients, except oil, in food processor or blender until smooth. Sauté sauce in oil in small skillet until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Makes about 3/4 cup

Nutrient Information Per serving: Calories 162; Fat 3g; % Calories from Fat 16; Potassium 327mg; Carbohydrate 28g; Folate 117mcg; Sodium 1196mg; Calcium 63mg; Protein 9g; Dietary Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 53mg

Why People Must Be Vegetarian

"A fully divine person is a fully human being. A fully human being is fully divine. Right now we are only half a human being. We do things with hesitation, we do things with ego. We don't believe that it is God who arranges all this for our enjoyment, for our experience. We separate sin and virtue. We make a big deal out of everything, and accordingly judge ourselves and other people. We suffer from our own limitations about what God should do. Understand? Actually, God is inside us and we limit Him. We like to enjoy ourselves and play, but we don't know how. We just say to others, 'Ah! You shouldn't do that,' and to ourselves, 'I shouldn't do that. I must not do this. So,why should I be vegetarian?' Yeah! I know. I am vegetarian because the God inside me wants it."

"When we are pure in our deeds, speech and thought, even for a second, all the deities, the gods, and the guardian angels will support us. At that moment, the entire universe belongs to us and supports us, and the throne is there for us to reign upon."

A lifetime commitment to a vegan or lacto-vegetarian diet is a prerequisite for initiation into the Quan Yin Method. Foods from plant sources and dairy products are permitted on this diet, but all other foods from animal sources including eggs should not be eaten. There are many reasons for this, but the most important comes from the First Precept, which tells us to refrain from taking the life of sentient beings, or "Thou shalt not kill."

Not killing or otherwise harming other living creatures is of obvious benefit for them. Less obvious is the fact that refraining from harming others is equally advantageous for ourselves. Why? Because of the law of karma. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." When you kill, or cause others to kill for you, in order to satisfy your desire for meat, you incur a karmic debt, and this debt must eventually be repaid.

So, in a very real sense, the keeping of a vegetarian diet is a gift which we give to ourselves. We feel better, the quality of our lives improves as the heaviness of our karmic indebtedness diminishes, and we are offered entrance into new subtle and heavenly realms of inner experience. It is well worth the small price you have to pay!

The spiritual arguments against eating meat are convincing for some people, but there are other compelling reasons for being a vegetarian. All of them are rooted in common sense. They have to do with issues of personal health and nutrition, ecology and the environment, ethics and animal suffering, and world hunger.