Ten terrific vintage vegetarian recipes (that are ideal for summer!)

Summer calls for lighter fair. Few of us want to spend hours in the kitchen with the stove radiating heat, if we can avoid it. We'll cook or bake a little sure, and flock to the grill like seagulls to a French fry, but ultimately, more often than not, we’re in the mood for meals that are a cinch to whip up and that take advantage of some of the season's best produce – which, if we’re especially lucky, hails from our own garden.




With amazing fruit and veg out in full force, summer (much like late spring and early fall) is a particularly delicious time if you're a vegetarian. I'm not one myself, but I do eat meatless meals sometimes and have both vegetarians and vegans in my family. I know that many of you are such yourself and I've strived since day to provide vegetarian and/or vegan alternatives for many of the vintage recipes that I've shared over the years (some of which where meat-free or even vegan as they stood right out of the gate).

I have not, however, devoted a post just to vintage vegetarian recipes, so with a little over a month left (on the calendar at least) of summer and plenty of that scrumptious, juicy, daydream-about-it-in-January produce still on the trees and grocery store shelves alike, I wanted to dedicate today's vintage recipe post to dishes that are completely meatless.

In most cases, if canned or frozen veggies are called for, as they so often wear in the mid-twentieth century, but all means please sub in fresh ones, if you’d prefer. Likewise, a good many of the following ten vintage vegetarian recipes can easily be made vegan by omitting or substituting ingredients (such a soy/rice cheese for the daily version) for ones that are completely devoid of any animal products.

There are countless reasons - personal, medical, cultural, and religious all very much included - why people opt, or need, to be a vegetarian/vegan, and no matter yours, of if you're a carnivore who just enjoys meat-less meals sometimes, I hope that you'll all enjoy and these fun, filling vintage vegetarian recipes this summer!




1. A slew of healthy, fantastic veggies team up in this filling 1940s green salad recipe, for which you could easily swap in peas, corn, canned beans (pinto, kidney, black, etc), olives, or chickpeas in favour of the lima beans, if so desired.




2. If you can get your paws on fresh apricots, which are still in season in many areas that grown them (my own corner of Canada very much included), by all means use fresh fruit instead here in this charmingly pretty - and very tasty sounding - 1950s recipe for Apricot Baskets.




3. Scrumptious Italian flavours mingle marvelously in this classic red tomato sauce, pasta, and cheese dish from 1954 that tastes as delicious cold as it does warm (I've made a GF version before and it's always a big hit with everyone at the table).




4. This 1960s recipe for Lemon Butter Sauce would be perfect on grilled vegetables, drizzled over baked potatoes, tossed with pasta or quinoa, used as a dunking sauce, you name it!




5. What would any well balanced roundup of mid-century recipes be without at least one gelatin salad inclusion? This example - which has a distinctly Christmassy colour palette - is full on 1950s and includes such beloved ingredients of the era as tomato juice, mayonnaise, and pimento - you've always got to have the pimento! :D It is, like many Jell-O salads, vegetarian, and honestly, if you like veggies in your gelatine, I think it sounds rather nice. I could see being a delicious side dish to a plate of grilled corn or veggie tacos. *Edit* If you don't eat animal based gelatine, swap in a vegan substitute like agar instead here.




6. Serve this dead simple vegetable soup cold, pureed or whizzed in the blender first, and you've got an easy-peasy, no fuss take on that Mediterranean warm weather gem, gazpacho.




7. This filling recipe from 1945 for Stuffed Eggplant is especially well suited to cool summer evenings, Sunday dinners, and when the weather starts feeling decidedly like fall again.




8. Four ingredients is all it takes to make this quick, super easy, splendidly tropical inspired vintage fruit salad/dessert (that would be great for breakfast or brunch, too!). If Miracle Whip isn’t your favourite thing, why not use sour cream, whipped cream, mayo, Cool Whip, yogurt, or even ice cream instead?




9. The inclusion of bell peppers in this simple mid-century potato salad is really, really appealing and would give it a great hit of crunch.




10. Summer would not be summer without at least one rich, flakey, wonderfully classic cherry pie. This recipe from 1950 sees the unexpected and very appealing addition of pineapple. Yum-yum!!

{To learn more about a specific image, and in most cases, for a larger version of a given recipe page, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

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If we take desserts and (some) salads out of the equation, many vintage cookbooks and recipe ads were, how shall we say, spartan with the number of vegetarian recipes they included (save for some meat/dairy/egg-free recipes that were commonplace out of sheer necessarily brought on by rationing during the war years).

That said, there are a small number of actual (dedicated) vintage vegetarian cookbooks out there, as the practise of eating meat and/or animal product free has been an important part of many cultures and religions for hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of years now.

Then as now though, there were plenty of amazing dishes that did not need meat in the slightest and it's worth pouring over such sources when you come across them for recipes that fit the meat-less bill or which can easily be made vegetarian/vegan.



{It's practically a crime not to avail of all the fantastic array of in season produce that is available during the summertime. Load up and go to town on these and other fabulous vegetarian and vegan recipes while such offerings are still at the peak of freshness.}


Plus, you can always whip up your own 21st century vegetarian/vegan take on classic dishes, too. From potato salad (use dairy/egg-free mayo, such as those from Earth Balance and Follow Your Heart) to caesar salad, ice cream to trifle and scores of other summertime menu staples that more than hold their own when they're free of any meat and/or other animal products.

I hope that you enjoyed these recipes. If you have any other favourite vintage vegetarian or vegan dishes that you'd like to share here, please don't be shy. I know that plenty of my readers scan through all of the comments on my posts and your impute would be very welcome by many a savvy veggie adoring vintage epicurean.

Fill your family up with this quick 1940s spaghetti stuffed pepper recipe

At first glance the image in today's vintage recipe might elicit a slight sense of hesitation. The pimento stuffed olive slices are a rather kitschy touch that may not appeal to everyone, but swap those for a few shavings of your favourite hard Italian cheese (parmesan, pecorino, etc), fresh basil leaves, or even a little pan-fried pancetta for extra protein, and you'll quickly see the appealing side of this marvelously easy meal.

I thoroughly adore bell peppers - there isn't a shade I don't go gaga for (orange and purple tie as my favourite colours, but no matter the shade I'll always jump at the chance to cook with this vitamin C packed veggie) - and try to always have at least a couple in the crisper at all times.

Many stuffed bell pepper recipes call for meat and/or rice, but instead this version from 1948 is crams a portion of tomato sauce drenched spaghetti into each delightful green pepper.

Being married to one of Italy's native sons, I pretty much always keep homemade tomato sauce on hand and highly recommend using you own sauce here, but by all means if you don't have any, reach for your favourite jar of store bought sauce to help make this filling dish even speedier to get on the table.

This recipe calls for canned spaghetti in sauce, but I've always made it with precooked pasta (for those like me who aren't able to eat gluten, both rice and corn based pastas hold up wonderfully, in my experience, in this yummy recipe) - do try it with canned spaghetti though, if you'd like (doing so will make this dish even quicker to whip up).

{Hailing from the late 1940s, this charming Italian inspired stuffed bell pepper dish is the kind of fun, quick-to-prepare food that appeals to dinner guests of all ages and is especially well suited to busy weeknight meals. Image via curly-wurly on Flickr.}

I like to add in a clove or two of garlic (or - and this is an extra lovely treat - some oven roasted garlic, if I have any to hand), generous lashing of freshly cracked black pepper and fresh basil and/or some dried marjoram.

You could add ground meat or tiny meatballs to the sauce, as well as grated or crumbled cheese, fresh or sundried tomatoes, olives (black or green), or any other vegetables you desire. Play around with various ingredients until you find a version or two that your family chomps at the bit for.

Not only is this delicious spaghetti stuffed bell pepper recipe ready in a jiffy, it's pretty darn economical . too- especially if you can get peppers on sale or are able to grow some of your own in your garden. I generally make this dish with green or yellow peppers, but any shade will work so long as the pepper is relatively firm to begin with (as it will soften a fair bit during cooking).

Redolent of a Mediterranean mama's kitchen, and perfect for those days when the fridge and pantry are getting low, this vintage recipe is fabulous any time of the year, but works especially well during the bitingly chilly days of January, when one's belly really needs to properly warmed come dinnertime.

1950s Busy Day Baked Beans are terrific for the hecticness of September

✯ Day 244 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

While recipes (vintage or otherwise) generally appear on Chronically Vintage on Wednesdays, as yesterday post was all about (my cat) Stella's birthday, I bumped the usual food filled entry up a day. In fact, I think this ends up working out quite well because now we can launch the new month off on a tasty note.

Though it's definitely still more summer than autumn here in Toronto (despite - or perhaps because of! - the powerful storms we've been experiencing in this neck of the woods recently), my mind is already drifting to thoughts of hearty comfort foods with intoxicating aromas that haven't seen the light of day since the last snowfall.

It's scarcely a secret that September can be a hectic month - especially if you have little ones that are headed back to school, or if you've making a beeline for campus life yourself! Aside from academic related reasons, the ninth month of the year is often an action packed one because many other events (sports, Girl Guides or Boy Scouts, clubs, etc) start their new seasons now.

We're also beginning to think about the fall and winter holiday season ahead, digging out and reintroducing cold weather clothes into our wardrobes, raking leaves, possibly harvesting our gardens (and, for some, canning the bounty you've lovingly grown), and readying our homes and lives for the upcoming changing of the seasons.

September is rarely a month when I have time to simply stop and smell the roses (or pumpkins, as the case may be) and I know that many of you are in the same boat, so to help usher in September, today's classic 1952 recipe for Busy Day Beans is one that requires but a handful of ingredients and can be table-ready in no time at all.

{Fragrant, delicious Busy Day Beans are a 1950s staple that work just as well for harried folks today. Vintage recipe image via Curly-Wurly on Flickr. Click here for a larger version of this great recipe.}

You can tweak this simple, delicious recipe to your heart's content. I, for one, would swap out the onion flakes for fresh onions, shallots or green onions (scallions) - sprinkling a handful of the later across the top of each serving before bringing it to the table.

Likewise you can  increase or decrease (or remove entirely) the mustard – why not use spicy, brown, or honey mustard instead, as well. Feel free to toss in any other vegetables (some diced boiled potatoes would be wonderful!) you like, or even cubes of meat (ham, bacon, stewing beef, etc) or tofu for added protein and stick-to-your-ribs filling power.

Ready in just 30 minutes, this speedy vintage one pot dish is the kind meal that's a welcome treat during this mile-a-minute month and well on all through the blustery days of autumn and winter.

Classic 1950s Mushroom Rice Pilaf is a great summer staple

✯ Day 229 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Summer has so many exquisite tastes, from succulently sweet peaches to tantalizingly tart lemonade, sun-kissed tomatoes and freezing cold ice cream. Whole cookbooks could be - and have been, in fact - devoted to the boundless wonders of summer's harvest and the dishes we turn to most at this sizzling time of the year.

One flavour that I associate with summer - amongst so many marvelous ones - is that of bell peppers. I can't say as though I recall having them grow in our garden (or the gardens of my grandparents) when I was little (that was more the realm of peas, beans, corn, zucchini and carrots), yet summer - and moreover August - seems to make me pine for the taste of bell peppers in all their rainbow of hues and varying degrees of sweetness.

If I stop and ponder why this is, part of the reason may be that I associate peppers with Mexican and Tex-Mex foods, where they are a common workhorse of an ingredient.

Growing up, "Mexican night" was amongst my very favourite ethnic food meals and when it happened to take place, as it did at least a couple of times a year, in the summer all the better. We could load up our tacos and burritos inside with the fixings my mom laid out - piles of crisp lettuce and juicy toms, seasoned meats, bright orange cheddar, zippy salsa, filling refried beans, tangy sour cream - and then take our plates outside to eat in the backyard, loud notes of Gipsy King songs wafting from the black boombox.

Today's recipe for Mushroom Rice Pilaf starts out on the plain side, but is by no means boring. It's delicious as it, but could so easily be jazzed up in any number of ways.

You could put could certainly put a Mexican spin on it, or go into the direction that the canned tomatoes naturally lead and give it an Italian note. Toss in some seasonings, cheese and breadcrumbs and it's Spanish rice. Ditch the tomatoes, add carrots (and/or baby bok choy), soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and cilantro or green onions (scallions) for an Asian inspired pilaf that’s sure to draw rave reviews.

{Teaming with lots of delicious vegetables like bell peppers, onions and tomatoes, this classic, quick-to-prepare Mushroom Rice Pilaf recipe from 1952, is an awesome standby to have on hand, always ready to pair with other dishes or serve as an all-in-one meal.Click here for a larger version of this lovely rice recipe, which comes by way of Charm and Poise on Flickr.}

 

Like rice its very self, pilafs are endless versatile. I eat a lot of rice (due in part to the fact that I cannot have foods with wheat or gluten, and also just because I adore rice to no end!), and make some form or pilaff or other similar rice and mixed ingredient dish at least once a week.

I love that dishes like this mushroom pilaf take relatively little time and do not require you to turn on the oven, which is a massive plus during these scorching hot days of August.

Vegetarian (vegan if you use a vegan oil or margarine in place of butter), this dish would be wonderful for a buffet or potluck table. You can add meat, seafood, grilled vegetables or even some dried fruit or nuts to help elevate from a side dish to a full-on meal.

So, we work our way through the middle of August, I'm all to happy to give into my capsicum cravings (especially since they're such a stellar source of vitamin C) and whip up this 1950s mushroom rice pilaf, with it's crisp, delightful green peppers, for dinner tonight. Yum-yum!