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 »Becoming a Vegetarian Family

That '70's Dish

It's July. Next door, something is sizzling on the grill. The smell wafts over my way.

Seven months into the vegetarian family experiment, July may be the cruelest month.

But according to recent news reports, we're not alone. Former US president Bill Clinton may have joined the part-time vegetarian ranks. At least we can assume he feels our pain.

According to a recent article in the Times of India, the former president is trying to adopt a vegetarian diet, perhaps with the help of his vegetarian daughter, Chelsea.

However, on Clinton's recent trip to India, the news report says he opted for chicken curry, despite his vegetarian intentions. In response to the article in the Indian newspaper, PETA president and founder Ingrid Newkirk sent a congratulations/encouragement letter to Clinton.

I understand Clinton and I feel his pain, too. I originally thought becoming vegetarian would be a matter of a simple decision, then a resulting life change. Not that easy. And particularly more complicated when cooking for a family.

Still, like a hunter-gatherer on a mission, I scour vegetarian cook books borrowed from the library. I search for something that will offer the satisfying and filling taste and texture. Recently I encountered one such recipe.

This Garden Vegetable Pie is reminiscent of the tasty casserole dishes of the 1970's, which is not surprising. The recipe is one of several included in one of the most groundbreaking diet-change books of the last century. Diet for a Small Planet (Ballantine Books) emerged onto a food scene dominated by meat and dairy, but opened the eyes of readers to the nutritional and environmental appeal of grains.

Read the Nutritionist's Note for this recipe.

The book is a manifesto for change in eating habits, awareness of food security issues in so-called developing nations and then, surprisingly, recipes. Here is where I found the Garden Vegetable Pie.

The dish has a hearty appeal that may lie in the cooked mushrooms, or maybe in the parmesan-rice crust. Or maybe it's the sesame seeds. Whatever it is that makes this casserole-type dish work, I enthusiastically endorse it as one of those dishes that satisfies without stuffing. What follows is an adapted, simplified version.

Part 1: Make a Parmesan Rice Crust

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Pepper to taste
• 21/2 cups of brown or white rice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Beat egg and mix with everything else. Pat into a 9-inch pie pan. (It's tasty if you forget the egg, too.) Cover the bottom of the pie pan but not the sides. The bottom crust is tastier if the rice hasn't hardened.

Part 2: The Garden Vegetable topping

• 2 tbsp margarine or oil
• 1 - 2 cups sliced mushrooms (depends on how much you like mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
• 1-cup low-fat milk
• 1/4 pound grated cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley and other herbs to taste
• 4 cups lightly steamed or sautéed vegetables
• Another two tablespoons of sesame seeds plus more grated cheese for a topping

Preheat oven to 350ºF oven.

Heat two tablespoons of margarine or oil and sauté a cup or two of sliced mushrooms. Add flour and keep stirring until brown. Gradually add milk and cook until sauce thickens. Add cheese, salt and pepper and herbs. Put cooked vegetables on the piecrust and pour sauce over them. Bake until vegetables are heated through and sauce bubbles. Sprinkle on topping.

Adapted from Frances Moore Lappé's Garden Vegetable Pie from the 1991 20th Anniversary Edition of Diet for a Small Planet (Ballantine Books).