There’s a vegetarian living in my house!

One of the members of our home is a vegetarian and the rest are all big meat eaters.  This in itself would not be too much of an issue but she is also not exactly a fan of fruit and vegetables!

As a teenager, in the olden days, as the children remind me, I did the same thing! I still, as an adult, don’t eat a lot of fruit and while I do eat my veggies I am still not crazy about them.   I do, however, eat meat, fish and chicken.

Meal planning has become even more important in order to ensure that everyone in the house gets the nutrition and balanced diet they need.

So now we are trying low carbs/no carbs at night, with a vegetarian whose favourite food is rice!

It’s a challenge

I love a good challenge and this is it!  New recipes have to be found and tried and new flavours tested!

While it is still cold here in South Africa (anything below 22C for me is cold), thick soups are on the menu for ‘after school’ lunches. Minestrone, butternut, French onion and tomato soups are some of the choices. Vegetable lasagna and spaghetti with cheese and tomato are some of my other menu choices.

Deconstruction

Deconstructed dishes for dinner are needed to cover everyone’s tastes and preferences. Since I do not run a restaurant and do not want to cook 3 different meals, deconstructed works best.

A deconstructed dish is typically a dish that has been broken down into individual ingredients. For example, cottage pie would be served as mince and mash potato and bolognaise would then be spaghetti and mince. Some meals are easier to deconstruct than others.

The fun is in creating the concept. It is easy to deconstruct a burger where each person can create their own by having all the toppings separately, however a lasagna would present a challenge.

The way I do this is to look at a recipe and then see if you can divide and cook the ingredients into individual components that still have the taste and flavor of the original. Thank you to my favourite TV show, ‘Master Chef Australia’, for showing me how.

If you enjoy cooking like I do, then half the fun is in inventing the ‘revised’ recipe. If you don’t enjoy cooking, then it is better to find recipes that have clear and easy layers that can be served separately.

I would love to hear from you about any recipes you have served deconstructed and why.  I would also love to make any of your tried and tested vegetarian recipes!