Around the House: Vegan Dishes Can Taste Like Meat

By Yehudit Garmaise

Try one of our three fake-meat dinners during the Nine Days instead of serving pasta and cheese every day of the week.

Vegan Burgers: Wash a bag of dried brown lentils, and boil for 40 minutes until they are soft. While your lentils are cooking, finely chop:

½ cup of nuts like almonds or cashews

One onion

Several stalks of celery

Several peeled carrots

Handful of mushrooms

Then mix together and sauté for around four minutes

Once the lentils are cooked and drained, mash and add:

Shakes of Salt

Shakes of Pepper

3 T. Soy sauce

½ cup Barbeque sauce

Two eggs

1/2 c. cornflake crumbs  

Combine the sautéed mixture with the lentil mixture and form into hamburger patties. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. If you have time, slip the burgers into the refrigerator for 30 minutes, so they solidify more. Drizzle the burgers with olive oil and bake for 25 to 30 min. at 400 degrees or fry them in a pan.

Serve in fresh pita pockets with romaine lettuce, sliced onions, and tomatoes.

Tofu Shnitzel: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash, cube, and pat dry 3 blocks of extra firm tofu. Dip the tofu in a bowl with 6 beaten eggs. Then, coat the tofu in a bowl of 3 c. seasoned cornflake crumbs, and 3. c. grated parmesan cheese.

Gently place the breaded tofu in rows on a greased cookie sheet that is lined with tin foil.  Drizzle the breaded tofu with olive oil, and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top of the tofu browns.

Serve with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli florets tossed with olive oil, soy sauce, honey, and roasted sesame seeds.

Vegetarian Taco Bar: Saute ½ of an onion and add 1 pound of vegetarian ground meat before leaving on a simmer with a jar of marinara sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and lettuce to serve in bowls at your Taco Bar, in which family members can fill their taco shells as they like.

Serve with grated cheddar cheese, guacamole, salsa with cilantro, boiled corn on the cob, and Spanish rice.