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Vegan Granita Madness!

While on a layover in Chicago this summer, after traversing what felt like the entire airport with a toddler and 7-year-old in tow, we had to make a mad dash for food and beverages at  the Starbucks right across from the gate before our flight was to take off. I noticed they had granitas -- something not offered at our local Starbucks -- including a "Caramel Espresso" granita.

I'm not a huge fan of Starbucks at all, but the idea of a refreshing coffee slushy sounded wonderful -- and possibly non-dairy. The baristas told me it actually included cream, but that it could be made without any milk at all. It turned out it was made with caramel sauce, which has dairy, so I asked for a plain espresso granita with no cream. They had that bemused but slightly bewildered look that vegans know so very well -- and far prefer to the eyeroll response! -- but they made it for me. It turned out great! So I decided to make one of my own this week (chocolate flavored!). It turned out far better than any Frappuccino or Coffee Coolatta I've tried to rig up at the store over the years, and I hope to make this refresher for the rest of the summer!

PS - We ended sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours before we even took off....so I was so grateful to have food and a caffeine boost before dealing with my very unhappy toddler for the next 7-or-so hours!

Chocolate Espresso Granita

Ingredients:
one tray of ice (12 ice cubes)
2 tablespoons vegan chocolate syrup, or to taste
2 shots of espresso (or about 4 oz of strong coffee)

Blend in blender, and enjoy with a straw!

Got Okra?

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Here's a quick, cheap, and easy meal I made the other day. Gumbo! Sounds labor intensive, right? Wrong! All I did was crack open 2 cans of lentil vegetable soup, added some tomato sauce, some nutritional yeast and hot sauce and a little bit of water. Then I threw in a bag of frozen okra, brought it all to a boil and then simmered with the cover on for eight minutes as per the package's instructions. It was really delicious gumbo. Try it on a night you're just too tired to cook.

Pin It (Way Belated) Vegan, Grain-Free Thanksgiving Madness

Well, kiddies, it's certainly been a while. I guess this blog is turning into a seasonal thing (see the last post about summer gazpacho). This Thanksgiving was another solitary one. My poor husband cooked his turkey carcass for himself and ate the leftovers in a stew for about a week (something that's fast becoming a tradition for him around here). My son would never eat something like that in a million years, and, in fact, when someone asked him if he was going to eat turkey, he started going on and on about how he was not, in fact, a turkey -- he did NOT have wings and did NOT fly. Still not sure what exactly goes on in his little brain, but I'm very curious :)

As for my meal -- it was really good! REALLY good. I'd say about as close to a traditional Thanksgiving meal as you're going to get without meat, dairy, or grains. The stuffing absolutely tasted EXACTLY like stuffing but without the heavy afterfeel!!!

I don't like Tofurkey so I was at a loss when I knew I wanted to make myself a "real" Thanksgiving meal but I didn't really want to include grains, and of course, wanted to keep it vegan. Exact measurements for the "stuffing" to come soon but I wanted to show you, give some links, and wish you a happy, healthy holiday season.

I hope I post at some point during it all (just don't count on it).

Festive Thanksgiving Yumminess Platter:

No Gobbles Here

Featuring:
(NOTE: scroll down within the posts for these goodies)

Spaghetti Squash (added a little more nutritional yeast and it tasted just like garlicky "Mac N' Cheez")
Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

Grain-free, Vegan Stuffing (measurements to come)
Tofu
Celery
Thyme
Sage
Leeks
Onions
Garlic
Button Mushrooms

Sautee in olive oil until very carmelized/browned.

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Easy Summer Gazpacho

Summer is here, thus I made some of this gazpacho last night. Like drinking the most delicious salad ever, it is! And so easy and yummy -- you'll barely notice that it's insanely good for you, too. It's all made in one shot in the blender, keeping you cool during the prep AND the slurp :)

Pin It I Ate This

Yum.

Who: Your ever-loving veganized blogger
What: "World Famous Tofu Scramble" with home fries and toast (see pic above)
Where: Cup and Saucer in Portland, OR
When: this weekend
Why: I need to eat to keep on living and it may as well be delicious

Pin It Chocolate Balls! Two Kinds!

I have been really annoyed with the prices of pre-packaged bars. But they're so darned convenient! And I consider Lara Bars a pretty healthy, quick snack for Toddler V. Soooo, I decided to take a crack at these at home. I rolled them all into little balls, or shaped them into square-ish "bites." I'm happy to say, it was easy as pie to make, delicious, and portable! V loved them. Just firmed them up in the fridge and then put a few in a ziploc bag at a time and popped it in my bag. They came out tasting ridiculously similar to fudge. Success.

But.

Then.

I had an idea.

I was wondering what I should do with my leftover almond flour. Before I knew it, I was just mixing ingredients like a madman. And heck, I ended up somehow with a super indulgent-tasting, gluten-free (as far as I know), high protein snack that tasted JUST like peanut butter brownies!

Here are the recipes.  Remember-- First set of balls: Fudgy! Second set of balls: Brownie-y! Both gluten-free as far as I know!

You'll notice that the "brownie" kind uses peanut butter as a binder, and the "fudgy" kind uses dates as a binder. However, you can just add a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to the "fudgy" recipe if you want, too. It's quite versatile.

And sure, you can make either of 'em "salty" if you want. ;) Just add a pinch or two.

I'm including just a pic of the "Lara" balls, since they both looked EXAC the same. And I totally didn't get a pic of the other one. Gobbled them up, I did.

Oh, and you TOTALLY don't have to go out and buy packaged almond flour. Suuuper expensive! Just throw almonds in the blender-- just don't blend too long, or it becomes a paste -- and you don't want that. Why am I writing like a valley girl today? No idea. Sorry about that.

"Lara" Balls

About 10 pitted medjool dates
1/4 cup walnuts (optional, but pretty essential to deliciousness)
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: chocolate chips, mint extract, peanut butter to taste

Blend together in blender or food processor. (You could actually chop and mush it all up without either of those devices, to tell you the truth.) Form into balls or more sufficiently chaste shapes. Suuuper easy. There I go again...


Brownie Balls

2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbs peanut butter (or to taste)
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/4 cup agave syrup (or to taste)
Splash of milk (soy, almond etc) or water if needed

Mix everything in a bowl. You're gonna have to put your back into it to get that peanut butter all up into everything. Work it, 'cause it's worth it.

Form mixture into balls and pop into fridge.


Both recipes should keep for a few hours in a ziploc bag at a reasonable room temp.

Pin It Curly-Sue

Wow. I've been hearing about soy curls for years, but I never got around to trying them until a year or so ago. A Mexican restaurant that caters to vegans (I know, awesome, right!?!!) opened near us and I gave their soy curl burrito a try. Heaven! They were just so tasty, and I get them every time we go there now. So when I was in the New Seasons bulk foods section recently, I spotted these lovelies and thought I'd take a couple of scoops home to try out. Not bad at all! I think mine tasted almost as good as theirs!

It wasn't hard to prepare these at all. I just boiled some water in a small saucepan, let it cool until it was just warm, and then added some soy sauce, garlic, salt and lemon juice. (Next time I might try boiling veggie or no-chicken broth instead of water for even more tastiness.). Dumped in about 1/2 lb. of soy curls and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then I fried up a large onion, diced. When it was a little browned, I added some garlic. A minute or so later, I added the (well-drained) soy curls. To my surprise, I found that they browned quite nicely -- so really go for it. I like my Lodge Logic cast iron pan which really makes it easy to brown stuff. And the browned curls were quite delicious.

Voila! Then you can use it in any recipe! I used it in a veggie thai red curry (pretty basic, but maybe I'll post about it later). My personal preference is to add the curls to the individual serving plates so that it doesn't get too soft/soggy. These have a great, "dry" texture. I probably shouldn't say this, but my husband actually thought they were chicken strips! Yeah, about halfway into the meal I asked him, "So how do you like the new soy curls?" (he knew I had bought them). He paused and said, "Wha? Soy curls? I thought this was chicken!" I don't remember what chicken tastes like, honestly, so I can't tell you if he was right. They are good, though.

And a close-up:




Does look a bit like chicken, eh?



Another goodie I have been making is a stuffed spaghetti squash. Squash has been on sale in all the supermarkets lately, so I've been taking advantage. So easy: just cook for an hour on 375 degrees. Then cut in half and scoop out the seeds and gook. Then scrape the flesh with a fork until you get a bunch of spaghetti-looking strands. Don't panic: they will be somewhat crunchy, and will stay that way. It's such a fun and interesting texture.

Then, sautee 3 minced cloves of garlic in about 2 tbs earth balance. Add flesh and sautee until almost cooked through. Add parsley flakes, about 2 tbs nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and (at the very end), a few good splashes of lemon juice. This is sublime. The pic doesn't begin to do it justice.

Pin It An Early Vegan Thanksgiving!

If I was hosting a vegan thanksgiving this year, this would absolutely be on the menu. I was inspired by the ingredients in my fridge to create a yummy protein-filled dish inspired by Angelica Kitchen's famous, and fabulous, open-faced tempeh sandwich. (This awesome vegan restaurant has a cookbook, available on their site, and their recipe is on p.175.) I merely tweaked the marinade a bit, subbed mashed cauliflower for the mashed potatoes, and used a different gravy recipe using chickpea flour instead of rice flour.

This could easily be converted to gluten free by subbing in a wheat-free soy sauce. Everything really came out delicious -- the tempeh had sort of a buttery quality (in a good way), and the cauliflower tasted sublime with the gravy. I'm gonna pat my back on this one -- *pat pat* -- even if it wasn't totally my recipe -- what a feast! And meat-luvr Husband V actually devoured it -- and he hates tempeh. So yeah, awesome all around! Well, Toddler V was too picky to eat this, but back in the day, he LOVED this mashed cauliflower so I would try feeding it to your littles.

Note: If you're big eaters at all, I'd definitely double the recipe. My husband the human vacuum cleaner was licking his plate clean and sad when we ran out. And that was with me holding back a bit...not cool, not cool.


Marinated Tempeh with Mashed Cauliflower Platter

Prepare the following:


Marinated Tempeh

1 lb tempeh
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce, tamari, or Bragg's aminos
2 tbs agave syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice the tempeh into thin slices. Place the slices in a single layer in a glass lasagna pan. Pour marinade over it. Bake until the marinade is all sucked up, about 35 minutes. The tempeh will look nice and brown.

Meanwhile, prepare both of the following:


Mashed Cauliflower

1 large head Cauliflower
1/2 cup Earth Balance or to taste
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast or to taste
1-3 cloves garlic, whole (opt.)
salt or garlic salt to taste
ground pepper to taste

Rinse, and take the leaves and core off of cauliflower. Cut an "X" into the bottom, and place it into a small amount of water in a large pot. Cover and steam on medium low until soft. Add whole cloves of garlic to the water if desired. Place cauliflower and optional garlic cloves in a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher, add Earth Balance and mash some more. Add all seasonings and mash until smooth. You can use a blender if you want this reeeaallly smooooth.


Vegan Chickpea Flour Gravy

I used this recipe, with the following changes:

---Reduced the veggie broth amount to 3 cups
--Eliminated the ginger.
--Didn't use unsalted veggie broth, coz I kind of love salt.
--Added a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast
--Threw in some parsley
--Some more specific cooking directions: after adding broth, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently until desired thickness is reached, slowly. This is so good, you will want to eat the leftovers with a spoon (ahem...not that I did that..)

To assemble the platter/feast:
Place a scoop of mashed cauliflower in the center of the plate with tempeh slices coming out of it like spokes of a wheel. Cover cauliflower with gravy so that it runs down into the plate for tempeh dipping. Garish with dried or fresh parsley.

And have a Happy Thanksgiving! Just kidding.

Pin It Breakfast of Champions...Chocolate!

Autumn is upon us, and for me, that means I'm starting to get the baking itch. That doesn't sound too appetizing, but...things are going well so far, anyway. I've been trying to up my protein level, and experiment with gluten-free recipes...and this one does great on both fronts. Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour was on sale for $2.50 a bag, and so was the 24 oz tub of Whole Soy & Co. Vanilla Soy Yogurt, so I decided to throw them together into a hi-pro snack. I call them Breakfast Muffins, but if you look at chocolate for breakfast as verboten, then just think of them as snack muffins. They are full of protein and all sorts of nutritional goodness, so they are a great way to start the day or get a boost during the day and really feel full. I really liked these, and Toddler V, who lives on air, kept asking for more! They didn't last this time, but when they do, I'll put them in some ziploc bags for some to-go snacky power-ups. For mom, too.



My sad, last muffin enjoyed with stovetop espresso

High-Protein, Gluten-Free Chocolate Breakfast Muffins


1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Vanilla Soy Yogurt
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup sugar

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately and then combine. Spoon evenly up to 1/2 of the level of a lined muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes a dozen or so small muffins.

Almondy.





Pin It 'Pacho!!

I made an amazing gazpacho the other day -- something I have been fantasizing about every summer for years but somehow never got around to. HELLO!? So easy!! And really good, refreshing, and versatile. Mr. V popped some defrosted cooked shrimp from Trader Joe's on top and was in heaven! I also provided a little bowl of chopped up veggies to sprinkle on top for extra crunch. Yum! Klassy. I would love to serve this in a fun way, like in a margarita or martini glass with a lemon or lime hangin' over the edge. Spectack.

I didn't get a pic, but I did get one of the chickpea salad I made tonight.


Quick N' Easy Gazpacho

5 vine tomatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 yellow, red or green pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups tomato juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbs tamari
1 tsp, sugar
salt to taste
Old Bay seasoning (oh yes I did!) to taste


Pulse in blender for 10 seconds or until desired consistency is reached. You may have to do this in small batches.


Now on to the...

Chickpea Salad

2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked
1 large red onion, chopped fairly fine
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large handfuls of grape tomatoes, halved
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
dried parsley and salt to taste

Combine all ingredients, marinate for at least 4 hours.

Pin It Summah Time And the Livin' Is Easy

Grill, baby, grill!

This summer has been all about grillin'. What an easy and pretty healthy way to enjoy a meal on our brand new deck. The Deck has been more enjoyable than this ex-big city dweller could ever had imagined. What a pleasure!

What have we grilled you say? Everything!

Organics to you comes in on Tues afternoon and I marinate it and Mr. V pops it on the grill.

-Asparagus
-Zucchini
-Spring onions
-'shrooms

etc!

Tofu has really been the MVP tho. Just get the super extra firm kind and it is just amazing. Top a spinach salad with it and you got yourself an amazing, filling, summer meal.

Marinade is easy:

Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Tamari (opt.)
Finely chopped garlic (opt. but DELISH (see below))
Agave syrup -- drizzled (opt.)
salt
pepper
Old Bay Seasoning

BE GENEROUS and just dump all this up on there. Ain't an exact science. The longer the better for marinating time.

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Faux Tamale Pie

The tamale pie I made last night resembled the real thing in taste only. Not only was it made without meat or cheese, but also without all the corn! I've been making this lately with quinoa polenta. This stuff is sooo tasty and filling and GREAT for you! I had a ton left over and couldn't even finish it for lunch today. Best of all, it's super easy and quick to make -- a great mid-week staple.

Quinoa Vegan Tamale Pie

1 tube of quinoa polenta cut into thin slices
1 soy chorizo package
1 bunch spinach, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 jar tomato sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 package FYH cheddar soy cheez
nutritional yeast to taste
red pepper or tabasco to taste
optional - but delicious -- guacamole (mash avocados with some salt and a few drops of lemon juice)

Sautee onion in olive oil until mostly soft. Add chorizo and brown. Mix in tomato sauce and spinach and cook a bit longer. Add nutritional yeast and spices to a desired level. Layer in a glass pie dish or small glass casserole dish: first the chorizo mixture, then the quinoa. then the cheez -- repeat until all ingredients are used.


Bake in a 325 oven for 15 minutes or until cheez is melted. Add dollops of guacamole to each serving.

Pin It Salad That Never Swam


I've been meaning to make tuno salad with chickpeas for years. I first encountered it in the 1990s at the Sri Chinmoy bakery in Queens, NYC. Interesting sect of people...they sure make some great vegetarian food! Unfortunately, their mock tuna salad was made with real mayo, so I never got to try it. They have a couple of actual restaurants with some real tasty vegetarian food, so if you ever find yourself in Queens, I advise you try them! Oneness Fountain Heart is one...it's painted all blue...and it's yummy.


Here's my vegan version...really easy. Makes me wish I'd tried it much, much earlier. Next time, I'll try fresh chickpeas, though I suspect that "canned food" flavor is part of why it tastes so much like mom's tuna sammys from back in the day!

Mock Tuna Salad
1 can chickpeas
3 tbs vegan mayo
1 tbs sweet relish
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp dijion mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
2 stalks celery, chopped in small pieces
1 tbs red onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
fresh dill to taste
tiny pices of nori to (desired fishy) taste


Mash chickpeas a bit with potato masher. Add mayo and mash until a slightly chunky consistency.Stir in remaining ingredients. This recipe is quite personal and can be adjusted any way you want in order to resemble the tuna you remember. Add bits of carrot, scallions, raisins...whatever!

Pin It Orjeg -gy Goodness!

No, that's not a typo. It's just how my just-turned-two-year-old says "orange." I had a hankering for an orange muffin, and I did something about it, dammit! Also I've committed to making more baked goods with ground flax seeds in order to get all that goodness into my little guy's diet. Unfortunately, even though he was excited about "chocolate cake!" -- he licked all the icing off and left me the soggy, drooley cake, lignans and all. Yeah, thanks, kid.

This was loosely based on Angelica Kitchen cookbook recipe for orange and poppyseed layer cake. If you're ever in NYC and haven't been, you must RUN NOT WALK to Angelica's Kitchen in the east village immediately. It is the mecca of vegan food as far as I'm concerned: it was where I first tried tempeh in 1994, and undoubtedly was a major influence in my vegan conversion that year. You leave this restaurant on a high from its fresh, local ingredients, and consciously prepared food.

In 1999 or 2000, they published a cookbook, and I stalked the restaurant until it finally was available (it was delayed for a bit). It was expensive for a poor schmo like me, but I would've paid a lot more. Now, although armed with their secret recipes, it's difficult to convert my kitchen to Angelica's. They use some pretty hard-to-find and expensive ingredients, and everything is so labor-intensive and time consuming.

But when I can, mmmm boy. It's like I'm on East 12th street all over again.

Orange Muffin/Cupcakes With Frosting
(Adapted from The Angelica Home Kitchen by Leslie McEachern p.260)
4 cups unbleached flour
1 tbs plus 1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup light olive oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbs orange zest
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbs ground flax seeds mixed with 2 tbs water
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line cupcake pans. Wisk wet ingredients together in small bowl. Wisk dry ingredients in large bowl. Add wet to dry, and mix to form a batter. Do not overmix. Fill muffin cups halfway. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.

Frosting
1/4 cup earth balance
2 cups vegan powdered sugar
2 tbs orange juice

Get earth balance nice and fluffy in a mixer. Add sugar and OJ until desired consistency.
When muffins are cool, ice them. Let sit a while for best flava.

Pin It I've Got Crabs!

Crabs...cakes, that is! I'm not sure if I've ever eaten them but I've been intrigued for some time about whether they could make a good vegan snack. Sure do! I'd like to keep experimenting with egg replacers, but these turned out pretty egg-cellent if I must say so myself!

I made some Asian cole slaw on the side -- inspired by an Asian slaw served alongside real crab cakes in Real Simple magazine. I shredded red cabbage in the ol' food processor and added rice vinegar, sesame oil and salt to taste. A perfect compliment to the fried cakes!

Vegan Crab Cakes

2 cups zucchini, shredded
1/4 cups tofu, crumbled
Egg Replacer for 1 egg (I used ground flax seed mixed with water)
1 tbs. vegan mayo
1 1/2 tbs Old Bay Seasoning (found it at Safeway)
1 1/2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tsp parsley, chopped fresh or dried
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tsp mustard
1/4 cup minced white onion or thinly sliced chives
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
2 sheets Nori, crushed into little pieces (or more to taste "more fishier")

First, place your shredded zucchini in a collander and sprinkle with some salt. Let sit for about 15 minutes and then squeeze out as much water as you can, using paper towels if needed. Mix zucchini, tofu, egg replacer and panko well. Then add the rest of the ingredients, shape into small, flattened ovals. Try coating these patties in a layer of plain panko. (I found it tasty with and without this step)

Fry until well done and crispy. Drain on paper towels. I served with some vegan Russian dressing (vegan mayo mixed with ketchup). This worked excellently, but any creamy, sweet sauce will do!

[Edit] I recently tried vegan tartar sauce with this and it was great! Just mix vegan mayo with some pickle relish, finely chopped onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Pin It Chick Pea Paradise!

Well, I made fresh chick peas yesterday. It's usually the only thing I'll eat canned, but oh my, have you tried these things fresh lately? Sooo nutty and flavorful. I fried a bunch up with salt and paprika in olive oil --- heavenly. And then used the rest for this hummus recipe. I used very little water because I like my hummus thick (like my men...j/k!). It was really great, and such a treat to eat warm. I finally broke out my food processor, after MUMBLE MUMBLE years. And so far, what a treat! It took like five minutes to make the thing. What a powerful machine! I really look forward to using it more.

Anyways, so a tip in case you lose track of your measurements along the way (which I did), is that 1 cup dried chickpeas = 2 cups cooked. Easy! I soaked them over night and then cooked as the directions called. It didn't take long at all to cook -- I wonder if using a smaller pot than I usually use to cook beans was the reason? Another tip -- after I brought it to a boil, I skimmed off the foam.

I left out the pine nuts because I'm not a huge fan.

Pin It And...We're Back!

We just started up Organics2U again and I thought I'd share a rad recipe that Lady Martha Stewart conjured up...and I veganized!

With Thanksgiving coming up, I would really give this recipe a try. Its fun, festive looking...and my picky-beyond-the-pale toddler actually took several bites, too. Success!

This Quinoa Pie with Butternut Squash was pretty awesome! I used squash and onions from my O2U box. All I had to substitute was cheddar soy cheez for the parmesan (I just sprinkled a bunch of daiya pre-shredded cheez to taste), I used a whole onion, and I used a boatload of Earth Balance to sautee it in. Really, try this -- you'll look super fancy pants while serving your guests something hearty and vegan!

Pin It

Verde Vegan

Tonight I threw together an Italian dish inspired by a recipe in Real Simple magazine this month. I love this mag! I got it for $5 for a year subscription on Amazon. It has so many helpful tips, and quick recipes. This recipe is so easy, I won't type out the measurements and all. All you have to do is boil up some linguine while you sizzle some garlic in olive oil in a pan. Then you add chopped bite-sized pieces of asparagus and saute until almost done. Then add chopped fresh spinach. When pasta is done, drain and return to its pot. Mix in asparagus/spinach/garlic mixture and add some garlic salt and red pepper flakes. Voila! I also steamed an artichoke that we picked at as a side dish. Sometimes I make dinner into WAY too much of a production. Who has the energy every night? Throwing something like this together made me realize that dinner can be cheap and easy if I just keep it Simple. Real simple. Hhahahahahaha!

Pin It

Makin' Takeout

I made a really good Chinese dish tonight - - and what's up with me making things that taste like meat lately? My husband has never "complimented" my cooking by saying it tasted like meat EVER. He likes vegan food, but he's pretty bummed I he never comes home to some steak and potatoes. So yeah, he told me he could have been fooled this was chicken! It was good anyway :)

If that's the taste you're going for, I would recommend a heavy, sugary sauce, like a General Tsao's. Or use this in place of chicken strips -- maybe dipped in some BBQ sauce? Organics2U items in red as usual.

Tofu "Chicken" and Broccoli with Baby Bok Choy

1 block tofu

1 small head of broccoli, chopped into florets

4 baby bok choys, ends chopped off, leaves separated (the more the better)

Cornstarch (see directions)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup mirin

1/4 cup rice vinegar

4 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp sesame oil

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, minced

sesame seeds (opt.)

red pepper flakes (opt.)

2-4 cups rice

Slice tofu into width-wise pieces about 1/2 inches thick. Place pieces on a large plate, cover with 3 paper towels and cover towels with a large soup pot and frying pan for weight. Leave while chopping veggies, mixing the rest of the ingredients for the sauce, and preparing rice in the rice cooker.

Remove paper towels and cut each slice into thirds to make 3 squares. Cut each square into 2 triangles. Place triangles in a plastic ziploc baggie. Shake in a little cornstarch. Gently shake bag so cornstarch to lightly coats tofu triangles. If you need more, add more sparingly. 

Cover the bottom of a large frying pan generously with olive oil. Heat on medium until  hot and then carefully add as many triangles that fit comfortably. Be patient and leave them to fry on one side until that side looks well done. Then flip with a thin spatula. Do the rest in batches and remove to a paper towel-lined plate when done. Meanwhile start steaming the veggies. Be careful, as they will steam quickly. Take out when about 3/4 done. Add to frying pan with more oil or water if needed. When done to your liking, add sauce to warm and then add tofu. Plop on generous helping of tasty rice. Spoon on extra sauce if needed.

Oh, and if you don't have it -- you gotta get a rice cooker! Perfect every time. I have a Zogirushi and I love it. Make sure to follow their recommendations and 1) rinse rice and 2) when done, fluff rice and then close cover again for a bit to re-steam.

Pin It

You Can't Beet 'Em 

It's been a while, but I had to share a dish I made for dinner tonight. It's probably more of a side dish, but we ate it as our main meal. I could've used a bit more, so doubling the recipe would be a good idea if you want to serve two people a hearty meal. I'll bold the organicstoyou items again just for fun.

Middle Eastern Side Dish with Green Chard

1 bunch of Green Chard 

4 beets (roots only)

1 can chick peas

1 avocado 

4 or 5 cloves of garlic, smashed and then minced

1 small bunch of parsley, chopped

lemon juice 

soy sauce

garlic salt

cayenne pepper

paprika

olive oil

Wash off excess dirt from beets, place in baking pan and bake at 400 for 1 hour or until a fork can go in about half way or more easily.

Meanwhile: Rib the chard and discard the ends only. Chop ribs into small pieces, rinse, and put aside. Do the same for the leaves and keep separate. Chop garlic. Drain and wash out chickpeas. Chop parsley. Halve avocado, pit, carefully remove "meat" and slice lengthwise into about 6 slices per half. 

When beets are done, dunk in a bath of very cold water and then peel the skins (should come off fairly easily with fingers).

Sautee garlic in olive oil. When half done, add beets and chard ribs. Cover and cook until mostly soft. (this took longer than I expected!) Add chard leaves and cook until mostly wilted, then add chickpeas and cook through. Add a touch of paprika and cayenne pepper according to desired spice level, garlic salt to taste, a splash of soy sauce, and then shut off heat and add several generous splashes of lemon juice and the parsley.

Garnish plates with avocado.

The whole mixture will turn nicely pinkish -- this was fabulous!