Spicy Tofu Stir-Fry, Coming Right Up!

Spicy Tofu Stir Fry.



I had a nice surprise today when my friend and business partner was able to stop by for a working lunch. I made us a quick stir-fry, using veggies I had on hand and one of my favorite ready-made products: Tree of Life’s Smoked Tofu.



I love this product because it’s delicious, has a truly “meaty” texture to it, and is incredibly convenient. I often bring along a package when we’re headed to the zoo or park or somewhere where I know vegan-friendly protein sources will be non-existent. My husband brought three packs with him when he and the kids went camping, too.





Locally, I can only get it at Dale’s Natural Foods in Flint, Michigan so I always buy four or five at a time (they last quite a while in your refrigerator).


Spicy Tofu Wrap with Daiya and veggies

Usually I eat it cold in wraps. Today my friend felt like a stir-fry, so I was happy to accommodate. The tofu held up beautifully and the spices made my job almost non-existent. If you’ve always “hated” tofu, or if you’re afraid to try it, this product might pleasantly surprise you. Below is the “recipe” for my stir-fry. It's pretty much a no-brainer when the main ingredient is this good!



Spicy Tofu Stir-Fry for Two

1 package Tree of Life Spicy Smoked Tofu, cut into cubes
2 small shallots, sliced
3 small portobello mushrooms, sliced
2 nice-sized broccoli florets, chunked
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup Imagine Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 cups prepared jasmine rice

1. Heat oil in a skillet and add shallots, mushrooms, garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté until mushrooms start to carmelize, then add broccoli.

2. Stir-fry vegetables for about two minutes, then add broth. Scrape the bottom of the skillet to incorporate any brown bits of mushrooms or shallots.

3. Add the tofu and gently stir-fry until tofu is heated through and the broth has reduced down. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over prepared jasmine rice and sprinkle each plateful with sesame seeds.

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Spinach-Quinoa Powerhouse Patties

Spinach-Quinoa Patties.

Spinach patties have always been one of my comfort foods. I'll eat them hot or cold, in a house, with a mouse, yadda yadda yadda. In my previous life, my spinach patties were equal parts spinach, egg, and sausage. I suppose calling the old version spinach patties was a lot like calling a Snickers a peanut bar.

My new version is vegan, and in place of the eggs I use flax meal and water. Then, since flax is so crazy good for you, I added even more. The nutritional yeast gives a great flavor with the added bonus of packing in B12 (something that vegans need to supplement for a well-rounded diet). Spinach is a super food by itself, but adding quinoa raises these patties to super-hero food in my opinion. Spinach, quinoa, flax meal and nutritional yeast . . . I think I created a patty that can provide complete nutrition in a little round package! (Probably not- but they were so good I'm feeling a little full of myself right now)

Adding the fennel and Italian spices created an almost sausage-like patty. Adjusting the spices used could produce all sorts of different flavor combinations.

Spinach-Quinoa Patties

2 cups fresh, raw spinach
1 cup prepared quinoa (I used red quinoa which made the patties look really nice)
3 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons flax meal, divided
2 small shallots
2 baby portobello mushrooms
½ tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
½ to 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed (to taste. I put whole seeds in a pepper mill and coarsley ground them, so I had some broken seeds as well.)
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for frying




1. Put 1 tablespoon of flax meal in a bowl and mix in 3 tablespoons warm water. Leave it to thicken for about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, slice shallots and mushrooms and sauté with garlic in a little olive oil until the shallots are starting to soften and the mushrooms just begin to carmelize.

3. Add all of the ingredients (except oil), including the flax mixture and cooked shallots and mushrooms, into a food processor. Pulse until it's coarsely mixed (but not liquified).

4. You should have enough to form four good sized-patties. Scoop mixture out by the tablespoon-full, and form into patties about the size of your palm. Fry them in a little hot oil, cooking for about three minutes on each side until they begin to brown up a bit. If you try to turn it the first time too quickly it will fall apart, so take care to cook it long enough so it holds together, then gently work the patty up with a thin spatula before you turn it. You could also divide the mixture in two and have some pretty darn tasty veggie burgers.

5. Drain on paper towels when done and serve with your favorite mustard or whatever you like.

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Say "Gnocchi" Three Times Fast

Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce.



I have dear friends who can make gnocchi like it's nothing (Mukul, Kate, and Lisa- I'm talking to you!). Gnocchi is something I love to eat but the process to make it always intimidated me. When I outted myself as a new vegetarian, people from all over began sending me links to recipes. This one was sent to me from my friend, Lisa, who found it on the Kitchen Boss site.

What follows is the recipe from the site along with my pictures as I attempted to cook out of my comfort zone. I made minor changes to make the recipe vegetarian, and also made suggestions to make it vegan. This is the first time I ever made gnocchi, as you will notice by my lame, mishappen little potato dumplings. They look goofy, but they were great.


Gnocchi:

3 large Russet potatoes
2 large egg yolks, beaten
1-2 cups unbleached white flour (may not use all)
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Few gratings nutmeg (optional)
(You can omit the eggs to make gnocchi vegan. Here is an excellent recipe for gnocchi from Tyler Florence. Replace his egg white with the equivalent amount of Egg Replacer and you have vegan gnocchi!)




Gnocchi:

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Prick potatoes and bake until done, 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from oven, and slash lengthwise through each potato, pressing short ends to open to release steam (you want the potatoes as dry as possible = less gummy gnocchi). When cooled enough to handle but still quite warm, scoop out the potato flesh and force through a ricer. Measure out 3 lightly scooped cups (do not pack) and spread out into a rectangle on a clean board or counter. Allow potatoes to cool until warm room temperature.

2. Sprinkle with salt and grate over nutmeg. Drizzle the egg over potatoes, followed by 1/2 cup of flour. With a (metal) bench scraper, begin to lift and fold the potato mixture on to itself, cutting the flour and egg into the potato mixture. When almost incorporated (mixture will begin crumbling), sprinkle over another 1/4 cup flour , and repeat until mixture is in small crumbs. Lightly press the dough together into a ball and move it aside. Clean any sticky dough from counter with the scraper and cover with a light dusting of flour.

3. On the floured surface, lightly press the dough together and fold/knead just a few turns -- dough should be workable with some potato texture and not sticky. Adjust by adding more flour if necessary -- the less flour and handling needed, the more tender the resulting gnocchi.

4. Cut the dough into quarters. On a lightly floured board, roll one portion of dough into a long rope, about 1/2" wide. With the bench scraper, cut 1" pieces of dough from rope and place on a floured sheet pan -- these are your gnocchi.

5. Cook gnocchi at a gentle boil in a large pot of abundant salted water. Gnocchi are done when they bob to the surface and cook about a minute longer. Scoop from water and place in sauce.


Mushroom Sauce:

1¼ pound cremini mushrooms, wiped and trimmed
.07 ounce package dried porcini mushrooms (or equivalent weight loose)
2 cups Imagine No-Chicken broth
¼ cup dry white Italian wine
2 plump cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons Earth's Balance No-Soy spread
1 tablespoon white truffle oil (this is very strong- you may want to half this amount if you haven't had truffle oil before)
Fresh grated Parmesan to garnish (optional)
Salt
Fresh black pepper



1. Warm the No-Chicken broth and pour over the porcini mushrooms in a bowl. Allow mushrooms to soak at least 20 minutes to hydrate. When hydrated, remove the mushrooms, rinse and trim away any tough gritty bits if present. Coarsely chop the mushrooms and set aside. Filter the mushroom soaking liquid through cheesecloth, a paper or tea towel and reserve.

2. Slice the creminis. Heat a large sauté pan medium-high – you want it large enough to eventually hold both the sauce and cooked gnocchi. Add the olive oil. When shimmering, add the mushrooms and a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, and allow the mushrooms to exude their juices. Let the juices cook and reduce down until almost completely evaporated. Add the porcini, garlic and red pepper. Continue to cook until well combined, everything smelling fragrant and beginning to dry out.

3. Add the wine and let reduce. Add ½ cup of the mushroom-soaked stock and let reduce until rich, add in another ½ cup stock, reducing again. Stir in the parsley. Taste and check for salt; correct if necessary. Turn off heat if the gnocchi has not yet finished cooking.

4. Meanwhile, begin cooking the gnocchi. Gently scoop the gnocchi as it’s done into the waiting mushroom sauce. Turn the heat to med-high and add another ½ cup of the stock, turning gnocchi to coat. If the gnocchi looks like it can absorb more stock, add in a little more -- you don’t want it to become too soft. Fold in the Earth's Balance and truffle oil. Garnish with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese if desired.

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In the Midst of Unspeakable Fruit Carnage, Dinner is Born

When the lights went out on our clean kitchen last night, we had oranges, apples, bananas and a lemon all sharing counter space. Each in their own decorative bowls, they sent out their fruity vibes through the whole house. We had a window cracked and with the curtain pushed aside it was a lovely summer tableau: the sky turning purple, crickets singing as fireflies danced above our pond, and our fruit on the counter, barely lit by the moonlight.

This morning, after an apparent suicide pact, all the fruit was over-ripe and squishy. I can't bring myself to describe what happened to the apples, but suffice it to say they were well on their way to becoming gelatinous goo. The lone lemon was left, inexplicably unfazed by the carnage around it. That lemon had to go.

Note: I don't really think of this as a recipe since I just threw it together. I literally stood in the middle of the kitchen, lemon in hand, thinking, "what am I going to do with this thing?" It was so good, though, and looked so pretty on the plate that I felt it was worth sharing. I absolutely love lemon in anything, and when I made this tonight I used a pretty heavy hand with the zest and juice. Adjust it to your taste. Amounts are approximate but, as written, should serve four people. Get the quinoa started before you prep and cook everything else, since that will take the longest.

Gardein Scallopine with "Butter" on Seared Spinach, Lemony Asparagus with Shallots, and Red Quinoa with Garlic

1 cup red quinoa
2 cups Imagine Low-Sodium Vegetable Broth
2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 small shallots, peeled and sliced
1 lemon
1 bunch fresh asparagus
3 tablespoons Earth's Balance No-Soy spread, divided
4 generous handfuls of fresh spinach
1 package Gardein Chick'n Scallopine (4 cutlets), thawed
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste



1. Put quinoa, 1 tablespoon of garlic and broth in a pot and bring to boil. When boiling, reduce to a low simmer and cook until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is al dente (about 15 minutes).

2. While quinoa is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When oil is ready, add remaining garlic and the shallots and toss to coat. Sauté until they begin to soften up, about 3 minutes. Zest the lemon over the shallots, then cut lemon open and squeeze in some fresh juice (use your judgement- a little goes a long way).

3. Add in the asparagus, tossing to coat, and heat until asparagus is tender (about 5 minutes for thin spears). Add salt and pepper to taste, then put in a covered bowl to keep warm while you finish the spinach and "chicken."

4. Using the same skillet, melt one tablespoon of the Earth's Balance over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook down, tossing often. Add salt and pepper to taste. You want it to start to dry out a bit and get a few crispy edges. Put cooked spinach in another covered dish to keep warm and prepare the cutlets.

5. Use the same skillet. (I know- it's a hassle. But it's worth it because it develops the flavors in my opinion AND there are fewer dishes in the end!) Heat up the remaining oil over medium heat. Sprinkle the cutlets with the lemon pepper seasoning and cook about 3 minutes per side.

6. By now the quinoa should be done. Plate all your ingredients then quickly melt the remaing Earth's Balance in (surprise!) the same skillet, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Drizzle the melted spread over the cutlets.

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Bob's Red Mill, You Had Me at "Hello"

My Honey-Molasses Multi-flour Bread.



Bread is all mixed up with so much history and folklore. Baking bread, “breaking bread,” tearing into it with your hands, that yeasty smell while dough rises under Grandma’s white tea towel . . .

I love stories when the hero traipses off to seek his fortune carrying nothing but a sack filled with crusty bread and a jug of wine. I could totally do that. Add a stockpile of vegan jerky and I’m all for it.

I never made my own bread before becoming a vegetarian. I always loved to cook, but was never a baker. Anything with pastry or dough or a kneading stage was definitely out of my comfort zone. I know now part of that is that one should really follow a precise recipe to get the best results from baking. That’s not me at all. I’m a “little of this, little of that” kind of cook. Actually, I think it goes deeper. I have a real attitude problem and don’t like being told what to do. Then for my first post-meat Christmas I asked Santa for a bread maker. Soon I realized that even if I “screwed up” and the bread had a big old crater in the middle, it was still delicious.

With the bread maker I’ve become a (sort-of) bread baker. I’m still intimidated to go all “old school” and do the hand kneading and punching down and greasing of loaf pans. But now I love combining different flours and grains and coming up with a new loaf. Sometimes it’s a delicious (but damn ugly) loaf. Sometimes I get lucky, and it looks as good as it tastes.

A Book of Verse

A book of verse, underneath the bough,
A jug of wine, a loaf of bread - and thou
Beside me singing in the wilderness -
Ah, wilderness were paradise now!

- Omar Khayyam

NOTE: All flours and grains used in the following recipes are from Bob's Red Mill. Their products are wonderful and the sheer variety of grains makes me a happy baker!


One more note: I get my honey from a personal friend who is a caring, educated, ethical bee-keeper in Michigan. His honey is fantastic. If you're in Michigan, you can contact Don Schram via email (don@mibees.com), at his website, Huron City Bee Company, or Facebook. If you'd prefer, veganize these recipes by swapping out the honey for agave nectar. I just recently made the multi-flour loaf with agave in place of honey, and it was wonderful!



My Honey-Molasses Multi-flour Bread
This bread is dense, moist and “rustic.” It rises about half the height of an average loaf. It’s really good toasted for sandwiches.

1¼ cups water (warm for rapid setting)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or canola oil)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups spelt flour
¼ cup buckwheat flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup flaxseed meal
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add the following on the “add in” stage:
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds (or coarsely chopped pumpkin seeds)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped almonds

Directions:

1. Put the ingredients into your machine in the listed order, up to the seeds and nuts. Make a well for the yeast in the dough so it stays dry as long as possible.

2. Choose setting on bread machine: light crust, 1.5 pound loaf, rapid wheat settings.

3. Add the seeds and nuts at the “add-in” stage of the cycle.
 


My Soft White Bread

1¼ cups warm, unsweetened almond milk
1½ tablespoons honey
1½ tablespoons Earth’s Balance No-Soy spread, cold
1 tablespoon almond or cashew cheese (optional. If you add it the bread will be really soft. If you don’t the loaf will be yummy and soft as it is)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
3 cups unbleached white flour
1½ teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add the following on the “add in” stage:
¼ cup rolled oats OR wheat germ

Directions:

1. Layer ingredients in order listed in your bread maker

2. Use the white bread setting for a 2 pound loaf. Use the LIGHT crust setting

3. Add the oats or wheat germ during the “add in” stage


My Dense Wheat Germ Bread

1¼ cups warm, unsweetened almond milk
1½ tablespoons honey
1½ tablespoons Earth’s Balance No-Soy spread, cold
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat germ
1½ teaspoons bread machine yeast
½ plus ¼ cup rolled oats

Directions:

1. Layer ingredients in order listed in your bread maker, stopping at the oatmeal

2. Use the white bread setting for a 2 pound loaf. Use the LIGHT crust setting

3. Press start. When your machine reaches the “add in” stage, add the ½ cup of oats

4. When the dough reaches the final rise, sprinkle the ¼ cup of oatmeal on the top


Teff-Amaranth Bread
Stolen from Bob’s Red Mill with a few minor adaptations

1 cup water (room temperature)
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk (room temperature)
1½ tablespoon Earth’s Balance (room temperature)
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
¾ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons teff whole grain
1 tablespoon amaranth grain
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
½ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour, unbleached
¼ cup organic amaranth flour (I used soy flour)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Directions:

1. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature and follow your bread machine cycle instructions. Set machine for a 1½ pound loaf with a LIGHT crust setting

2. Allow bread to cool on rack 15-20 minutes before slicing

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Wanton Wonton Soup

I had this recipe kicking around in my head for a week or so. I had most all of the ingredients I wanted to use, but when it came time to cook tonight I had to do more improvising than I thought. I didn't have bok choy, so I tossed spinach in instead. I ran out of soy sauce and made up the difference with miso paste. Turns out I didn't even have regular wonton wrappers- I only had the round. Oh well. The flavors were great and it turned out to be a delicious meal.

There are numerous definitions for "wanton." For this recipe, I'm using it as a synonym for "reckless" and "without regard to the rules." But this soup was so good, you might think of the word "wanton" in a whole 'nother way.


Wonton Soup

1 16 oz. package of Match ground “beef”
1 cup chopped scallions
½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup spinach
1 cup bagged broccoli coleslaw veggies
½ cup water chestnuts, sliced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon ground ginger
½ tablespoon soy sauce
1½ teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Five spice powder
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons dark miso paste, divided
1 package wontons wrappers
8 cups No-Chicken broth
½ cup bok choy, sliced (I didn’t have any, so I used spinach)
½ cup sliced mushrooms



1. Do a quick sauté of scallions, chopped mushrooms, spinach, coleslaw, and water chestnuts in a hot skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil until they just start to get tender. Once they’re cooked down a little, put vegetables in food processor (but don’t pulse yet).

2. In the same skillet, add more oil and cook the Match “meat” through with the garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Break it up like hamburger and let it brown a little bit.

3. Put the browned “meat” into the food processor with the vegetables. Add vinegar, oil, five spice powder, hot pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon miso paste. Pulse until mixed and it begins to look like ravioli filling. Don’t pulse it down too much, though, because you want some different textures in there.

4. Assemble the broth. Add the No-Chicken broth, remaining miso paste, bok choy (or spinach in my case), and sliced mushrooms to a pot and cook to boiling.

5. While broth is heating, assemble the wontons, following the package instructions. I only had round wrappers, so my wontons ended up looking like empanadas. I made 24 using about a tablespoon of filling in each. That left half of the wrappers and mix for me to freeze and use another time.

6. Stir the broth to make sure that the miso is dissolved. When broth is boiling, carefully add the wontons. Do not overcook: wontons are done in about 3 minutes and if you overcook them they’ll start to fall apart. Serve soup immediately.

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Sweet Potato Stew for When You’re Feeling Blue

I’ve had a crappy week. I’ve been sick, I’ve had family issues, my career is sort of sucking right now, and to top it all off, it’s raining today. I have not felt like cooking at all, either. It's just been a funk, filled with Diet Coke and handfuls of trail mix. But a girl's gotta eat, right?

I've been known to medicate with food. In the past, I thought a lot of “medicine” was the way to cure what ails you. Now when I medicate with food, it’s mostly through cooking and savoring a small serving of something special.

Today’s stew was just the thing for a dreary afternoon pity-party. It was easy and thrown together with things I had in the pantry and refrigerator. The whole house smells like sweet potato pie. I had lunch with all my menfolk surrounding me. My husband asked for seconds, which always flatters and makes me happy. My tummy’s full, I feel better and I’m off to take a nap.


Sweet Potato Stew

1 carton Imagine Organic Creamy Sweet Potato Soup
½ tablespoon Berbere' Spice Mix*
½ tablespoon minced garlic (I used minced garlic packed in olive oil)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (or Parmesan cheese)
1½ cups cooked grains (I used a brown and wild rice blend)
1 head of pre-steamed broccoli, chopped
Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes, for garnish

1. Heat all ingredients in a soup pot over medium heat. When soup begin to boil reduce heat to low and simmer for a few minutes more, until the grains absorb some of the liquid and the stew thickens.

2. Sprinkle a little bit of red pepper flakes over each bowl and serve with some good bread. We ate my latest experiment, made with leftover cashew cheese in the dough (posted here).

*I’ve been using this in everything! I made one batch and put it in a small canning jar in the cupboard.

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