New Vegetarian

[Hippie Staff]

Hello All,

I am a new vegetarian. I am overwhelmed by how many "hidden" animal sources that are in products. I would appreciate any suggestions for websites, books, vegetarian friendly products and any insight that you might have.

Thanks,

geogirl

[RAINFOREST MOONCLOUD]

Hello, out there! I am sure that, like me, you all love and appreciate what this wonderful, wonderful planet has to offer in the way of sustenance and nourishment, both spiritual and emotional. However, we must not forget the physical! I have found these wonderful recipes which rely heavily upon Nature's bounty, given to us all free and with love. I hope you all anjoy them as much as I did -

BAKED OR BARBECUED ARMADILLO
2 lbs. armadillo meat
1 stick oleo or butter
Lemon juice
Dash onion salt
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Lemon pepper to taste
Season with salt, pepper, lemon pepper, lemon juice, and rub with butter. Wrap in foil and bake at 325 degrees F. for approximately 45 minutes. Remove foil, add more butter and brown. For barbecued armadillo, baste with barbecue sauce over grill after removing foil.

BRAISED BEAR STEAK
Older bear meat can be prepared as follows:
Flour
Salt and pepper
Thyme
1 cup sliced onions
4 tbsp. bacon fat
Bear steak, 3" thick
1 1/2 cups broth
1 cup red wine
2 tbsp. tomato paste
Pound the flour and dry seasonings into the steak with the edge of a plate or a meat pounder. Brown the onions in the bacon fat and add the meat. Brown meat well on all sides. Add part of the broth and wine and bring to a boil. Cook briskly for 5 minutes. Turn steak, reduce heat, and cover the pan. Simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours, adding more liquid if necessary. When steak is tender, remove it to a hot platter. Add the tomato paste and additional liquid, if needed, to the pan juices to make a smooth sauce. Taste for seasoning and pour over the steak. Surround with boiled potatoes, garnish with parsley, and serve with sauteed mushrooms.

DEEP FRIED BEAVER
2-3 lbs 1 inch cubes beaver
6 eggs
2 cups flour
Salt, pepper, ginger, sage, poultry seasoning, etc.
Oil for frying
Milk
Mix eggs, flour and any combination of the spices above for a variety or about 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Alternate beating and adding about 1 tbsp. of milk until the mix has thinned enough to jiggle when shaken. Continue to beat with a fork until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Stir in the beaver cubes until all cubes are well coated.
Drop individual coated cubes in hot oil (at least 2 inches deep). Cubes will sink and then float as they start frying. Stir and turn until golden brown making sure no chunks remain stuck to the bottom of your fry pan.
Eat plain or dip in sweet and sour sauce, BBQ sauce, honey, honey-mustard sauce or your favorite steak sauce. Try different types of salad dressings.

MOOSE OR ELK ROASTS BAKED IN FOIL
Moose or Elk, 3-4 lb. roast
1/2 pkg. of dry onion soup
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place roast on piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Sprinkle 1/2 pkg of dry onion soup over meat. Bring edges of foil together and seal tightly. Place in shallow roasting pan and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There will be ample juice collected inside foil which can be thickened for gravy.

CRISPY FROG LEGS
5 lbs. small frog legs
3/4 cup lemon juice or vinegar
Crushed ice
1 cup milk
6 eggs, separated
2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. salt
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
Wash frog legs thoroughly. Place in a large Dutch oven; sprinkle with lemon juice, and cover with crushed ice. Refrigerate 1 to 3 hours.
Combine milk, egg yols, olive oil, and 1/4 tsp. salt; mix well. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into batter.
Sprinkle frog legs with salt and pepper; dip each in batter, and dredge in flour. Fry until golden brown in deep oil heated to 375 degrees F. Drain on paper towels. Yield: about 6 servings.

MUSKRAT MEAT LOAF
1 1/2 lbs. ground muskrat
Water
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup dry crumbs
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 minced or grated onion
Soak muskrat overnight in salted water (1 tbsp. salt to 1 qt. water). Drain, remove meat from bones, and grind. Mix ground meat thoroughly with other ingredients. Place in meat loaf dish. Place dish in pan containing hot water. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 1 1/4 - 2 hours. Serves 6-8.

OPOSSUM ROAST WITH LIVER
1 opossum, skinned and cleaned
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 opossum liver, chopped
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 hard cooked egg, chopped
4 slices bacon
Clean opossum.
Rub opossum with salt and pepper. Brown onion in fat, add opossum liver and cook until tender. Add bread crumbs. Worcestershire sauce, egg, seasonings, and water to moisten. Stuff opossum with this mixture and truss. Place in pan, belly down. Put bacon strips across back. Add 1 quart water to pan. Roast uncovered in 350 degree F. oven until tender (about 2 1/2 hours), basting every 15 minutes.
Add water, cover and bake in 350 degree F. oven until about half done (45 - 60 minutes). Split peeled potatoes in half lengthwise and place in pan around opossum. Add more water if needed. Cover sliced potatoes and opossum and cook 30 more minutes.

RACCOON ROAST WITH BARBECUE SAUCE
1 small to medium raccoon cut into serving size pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1 teaspoon instant minced onion
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup chili sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ( 7 oz.) bottle of beer or pickle juice
Place pieces of raccoon in a foil-lined roasting pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and roast, covered for a half hour. Meanwhile, mix other ingredients in a small bowl for barbecue sauce. After meat has roasted a half hour, uncover and pour barbecue sauce over the pieces. Then roast, uncovered, for another half hour to an hour--until tender. Baste several times during cooking, using your barbecue sauce.

RATTLESNAKE SALAD
1 med. rattlesnake, cleaned and cut up
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 tbsp. sherry
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
4 boiled eggs, diced
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles
1 cup mayonnaise
Combine first 5 ingredients and boil until tender. Chop meat finely and mix well with remaining ingredients. Serve on sandwiches or over quartered tomatoes and lettuce.

SQUIRREL FRICASSEE
2 dressed young squirrels (2 lbs.)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Pepper
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 - 3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. grated onion (optional)
Wipe squirrel thoroughly with a damp cloth. Remove any hair and scent glands. Examine carefully to locate imbedded shot and remove with a sharp pointed knife. Wash thoroughly inside and out in warm water. Drain well and cut into serving pieces. (Never wash after cutting up.) Combine salt, pepper, and flour. Dredge meat and coat well. Heat shortening in a heavy skillet; brown meat slowly on all sides to a rich brown (about 15 minutes). Add 1/4 cup of water; cover tightly; reduce heat and simmer gently until tender (about 30 minutes). Add remaining water as needed.
Squirrel should be very tender when done. Remove squirrel to a hot platter; cover and keep hot. Blend any leftover seasoned flour into the fat remaining in skillet. Add milk gradually and cook until gravy boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Serve at once with squirrel. Add the grated onion for additional flavor, if desired. 4 servings.

BARBECUED SNAPPING TURTLE
After cleaning turtle, soak meat in salt water at least 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator if to be used the next day.
Parboil turtle in a pressure cooker or boiling pot until meat is ready to fall off the bones. Season the water with a dash of black papper, dash of vinegar, some diced celery, and some bell pepper (1 bell pepper and 1 stalk of celery).
Make your own barbecue sauce or combinethe following and stir to mix well:
1 1/2 cups bottled barbecue sauce with onion bits
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup catsup
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Dash of bottled hot sauce
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place turtle in suitable size baking dish based on amount of turtle you are cooking. Pour sauce over meat. Place in oven and let sauce get hot. Watch and baste often. When sauce is hot and boiling, lower the temperature to 200 degrees F. Minimum time in oven is usually 30-40 minutes.

[treehugger]

I can probably help you more if I know more about the environment where you live...if it's veggie friendly, you can probably find lots of veggie stuff at health food stores. If not, check out your local 7th day adventists, many of them advocate vegetarian living.

I really like the Moosewood cookbooks.

Sorry if I'm not more help.

Kath

[Pedata]

I did an unfruitful search for a book that got me started as a vegetarian. Maybe you can find it in a library, which is were I originally found it.

It's called 1001 Meatless Recipes.

It's a LOT of scratch cooking, so it might not help you if you don't have plenty of time to be in the kitchen. But, because it's scratch, you'll know exactly what's going into your meals.

It explains, in detail, how legume and grain matches make proteins, how amino acids work, etc. A lot of important things to know in order to get your required protein levels. Each recipe is marked as complete protein or incomplete protein.

Eggs and cheese are used in some of the recipes but there are plenty that don't.

Good luck

[LIBRA]

You have to ck every label, cause its in everything. Hair products, skin products, antiointments and stuff. A green market or something like that will sell many products that have no animal bi products in them. Just ck and re ck your labels!!

[toman]

Originally Posted by RAINFOREST MOONCLOUD

Hello, out there! I am sure that, like me, you all love and appreciate what this wonderful, wonderful planet has to offer in the way of sustenance and nourishment, both spiritual and emotional. However, we must not forget the physical! I have found these wonderful recipes which rely heavily upon Nature's bounty, given to us all free and with love. I hope you all anjoy them as much as I did -

I must say this made me giggle...

[RAINFOREST MOONCLOUD]

Originally Posted by toman

I must say this made me giggle...

Giggle? At what?

[toman]

Muskrat meatloaf?

[RAINFOREST MOONCLOUD]

Before engaging in uninformed derision perhaps you should first make sure you know what you are talking about. Try the recipe (as I have) and you'll realise what you are missing out on in the first place. Just because something sounds slightly silly to your ears doesn't mean that it is.

[toman]

I think you missed the point, Mr. Serious. The title of the tread was "New Vegetarian". Last I checked deep fried beaver wan't a vegetable.



(oh, and if you're a troll, you get the *boring troll of the year* award. Congrats!)