Tag Results: vegetarian

Deanna’s Recipe of the Week #8 Green Beans with Coconut

It's not been a great year weather-wise for us to start growing our own vegetables at home, but our scarlet runner beans seem to be thriving. I've still not run out of things to do with them but this has been my favourite recipe so far and is based on one from Meena Pathak's book 'Flavours of India'.

Incidentally, can anyone explain why things seem to grow more successfully in Chorlton than practically anywhere else in Manchester? The tomatoes in our hanging baskets in the deli are coming on a treat but all the ones I've seen in Wilmslow are really slow. Our passion flower is like something out of 'The Day of the Triffids'!

Green Beans with Coconut (Serves 4)

2 tbsp Veg oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies
8-10 curry leaves
1 small onion, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
400g green beans, cut into 1 in lengths (You could also use French beans or mange tout if you prefer.)
salt
75g grated coconut
juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat the oil in a pan until hot and add the mustard seeds, dried chillies and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle, add the onion and green chilli. Increase the heat and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the green beans and salt. Cover the pan with a lid and cook over a low heat for 5-10mins until the beans are cooked but still crunchy.

Sprinkle over the grated coconut and lemon juice. Mix together well and serve hot.

Tags: Chorlton, fabulous recipes, meena pathak, scarlet runner beans, vegetarian

Posted by: Deanna Thomas on August 18, 2007
Categories: North Star News
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A Quorney Issue

I came across this interesting entry on Wired.com, especially in light of National Vegetarian Week as detailed in my previous entry.

I have eaten Quorn once or twice... or was it Tofu? And certainly it was by accident after someone had told me it was chicken... probably.

The point is (as the Wired article so deftly points out) what exactly is it? Some sort of mushroom?, or fungus? or perhaps - as my Dad once told me (a man with a talent for tall stories) - it is a by-product of a water filtration process. My guess is that all these derivations are true in some way, but that doesn't make it any more palatable to me. Whatever Quorn may be (and this Wiki entry gives some clues) it can't be traced, like a good piece of organic steak right back to the farm / water filtration plant that might have produced it, and that can't be good, can it? And why, if you are a vegetarian (and some of my best friends indeed are!) would you chose to eat something that resembled meat (which of course, it doesn't, not in the slightest) but wasn't. The same principle follows in my opinion for non-alcholic beers or herbal cigarettes- I mean what's the point in a poor substitute? Surely it's better to either do it or don't it. The middle ground has no merit whatsoever.