Joanna's Goddess Pasta Salad

Joanna scores again with this yummy, rich, light and tasty pasta salad!

Omelet Update

I made this again today, this time with spinach and topped with Tofu Feta...

Spinach Tofu Omelet with Easy Tofu Feta

Here is the exact measures for the recipe:

Spinach Tofu Omelet (makes 4 - 8" omelets)
Ingredients:
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and pressed*
1/4 cup chickpea flour*
1 cup rice or soy milk*
1 15 oz can of spinach, drained
1/2 cup nutritional yeast*
1 tsp basil
1 tsp turmeric*
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for frying

Directions:
Crumble tofu into a medium to large size bowl. Add soy milk. Blend to the consistency of yogurt with a handheld immersion blender. (I suppose you could also do this in a regular blender or a food processor.) Add all of the other ingredients and mix well. Heat a frying pan on medium high heat. (I use an 8" pan to make a perfectly round 8" omelet) with about 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the omelet batter and smooth out to about 1/2" thick. Fry until the edges are golden and crispy, and the omelet moves around as one unit when you shake the pan. Flip. (Flipping is tricky. I have no flipping skills, so I slide it out of the pan onto a plate, cooked side down, then put the pan on top of the plate, and flip the uncooked side of the omelet back into the pan.) Cook the other side for about 5 minutes.

*These are the main ingredients for the batter...from here you can probably add just about ANYTHING you want to your omelet.

Tofu & Seitan Omelet

I made this on Easter Morning, thinking I was so cool, and that I had invented the ultimate vegan breakfast. I was seriously so excited, I brought it out to my husband and told him, "I think I have just invented the best vegan breakfast ever!!!"

To my dismay, this has already been invented. MANY TIMES, BY MANY PEOPLE! Any how, I loved it, and am going to continue to play around with my recipe until I get it just right.





Basically, I blended a package of drained and pressed extra firm tofu with my handheld immersion blender, then added turmeric, nooch, some oregano, cumin, a little soymilk, chickpea flour and some chopped up bits of seitan. I poured this mixture into a small nonstick pan with some olive oil and fried it until it was gloden. Then I flipped it and fried the other side.

I think next time I will add spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms. Maybe some tofu feta. That sounds good, doesn't it?

Pistacio Pesto and easy Tofu Feta

I had a lot of pistacios. I wanted to make something with them. So I made this.

Pistacio Pesto topped with Easy Tofu Feta

Pistacio Pesto
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Pistacios, salted and roasted, shelled of course
1 cup raw pine nuts
2 Tbsp Basil, dried (fresh would definitely have been better)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process untill smooth. Heat in a saucepan before serving. Serve over pasta, or spread on bread. Makes about 2 cups.

Easy Tofu Feta
Ingredients:
1 package Extra Firm Tofu, drained and pressed
1 tbsp dried basil (fresh would probably be even better)
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Crumble Tofu into a bowl until it resembles feta. Add the other ingredients and mush it all together with your hands. Stores in the fridge for about a week in an airtight container. Use as you would any feta. On salads, pasta, sandwiches, or on crackers with the Pistacio Pesto.

Basic Chocolate Cuppers with Peanut Butter Cream Cheeze Frosting, Chocolate Chips and Caramel Sauce

Oh my. This frosting was so delicous, I almost didn't need the cupcakes. Almost.





I used the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe from VCTOTW but I only had rice milk, no soy. When I added the apple cider vinegar to the rice milk, it didn't curldle. So, I added a little Ener-G Egg Replacer, just in case. The actual cupcakes came out perfect. Just spongy enough, and light but still moist.

But the frosting. Oh, the frosting. I used a whole tub of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese mixed with 1 cup of creamy peanut butter, 1/4 cup of earth balance, 1 tspn vanilla and a little more than 2 cups of powdered sugar. I could have eaten this for dinner. With a spoon.

But to make it even better, I added chocolate chips, and then drizzled them with a "caramel" sauce made of brown sugar, Silk Soy Creamer and Earth Balance, I didn't really measure this stuff, I just mixed it up until it seemed right. If I had to guess, I would have to say it was about 1/4 or 1/3 cup EB, 1 cup brown sugar and about 1/3 cup creamer. I melted the EB and brown sugar together in a sauce pan, then added the creamer. I brought it to a slow boil and then reduced the heat and kept it cooking until the sugar was completedly liquid (no graininess) and then I removed it from the heat. Let it cool, and then drizzled it over the cupcakes.

GOOD NEWS! There is still a lot of frosting and sauce left over. Probably enough for another batch of cuppers. Sadly, I'll probably just inhale it all before I get a chance to make another dozen.

SO SAD! VCTOTW Carrot Cupcakes.

I really don't know why this happened. They all sank. REALLY SANK!



Thank goodness for LOTS of cream cheese frosting!

Ho'made Spicy TVP Chili and Sweet Skillet Cornbread

Chili and Cornbread!

Huge pot of chili!

I made a HUGE pot of Chili tonight. For no other reason than it sounded good. And it was. I served it up with some good ol' skillet cornbread, and I was a happy gal.

These are both my own recipes and I don't want to brag, but DAMN this meal was tasty!

The Chili:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, diced
1 whole head, or 8-10 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Orange, Yellow or Red Bell Pepper (Not Green), Seeded and diced (optional)
2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes with the juice(No salt added)
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 tbsp hot chili powder
3 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup TVP granules

Directions:
Put oil in a large pot. On medium-high heat, add onions and garlic. Heat until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant. Add bell pepper (optional) and all cans,stir well. Add spices, stir well. Add TVP granules, stir well. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring every once in a while.

Serves 8 hearty bowls.
Per Serving:
Cal: 406, Fat: 6g, Carb: 70g, Prot: 23g, Fiber: 18g

Skillet Cornbread

The Cornbread:
Ingredients:1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Earth Balance
3 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
4 tbsp warm water
1 cup plain soy, rice or almond milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 of a 15 ounce can of yellow corn, drained

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix egg replacer well with warm water and set aside. Put 1 tbsp EB in the skillet and put it in the oven until it's melted. Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, Baking Powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Take the skillet out of the oven and swirl the EB around until the bottom of the skillet is coated. In a seperate bowl mix together soy milk, oil and egg replacer mixture. Mix wet into dry and mix up until just moistend. Fold in the corn. Pour batter into skillet and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve Warm.

Makes 8 big wedges.
Per Wedge:
Cal: 222, Fat: 9g, Carb: 33g, Prot: 4, Fiber: 2

Joanna's Tester Soft Oatmeal Cookies

ooh. these remind me of breakfast. this is exactly how my oatmeal tastes after i drench it in EB and brown sugar. me likes, me likes. this recipe is so easy, and doesn't make a giant mess in the kitchen. i was craving something, so i just made them. done. (i have baked with tofu before, and was really excited to see it in this recipe because i like the way it holds the dough together without it getting to liquidy.) i'm eating these for breakfast tomorrow.

Tofu "Chicken" Salad, Waldorf Style?

I was inspired by Troubled Tofu (link to her AWESOME blog on the left) a while back and have been playing around with the recipe for months. I think I have it perfected!

Although there is a lot of Tofu in this salad...the real star is the CRUNCH from all the fresh raw veggies in here.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 package extra firm tofu (pressed, drained and cubed into tiny little cubes...TINY!)
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 cup grapes (green or red, or even raisins), halved
1 cup vegan mayonnaise (vegannaise, or any brand, or make your own!)
Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Directions:
Chop up the tofu into tiny, tiny, tiny little pieces. Add olive oil to a skillet on medium high heat and add garlic. Then add tofu. Saute until golden, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Add all other ingredients, mix it all up. Chill before serving. Serve on a sandwich, in a wrap, on a bed of greens, or eat it with a fork right out of the bowl!

BONUS:
Soy Mayo, from the "Hot Damn Hell Yeah" Cookbook. (pg11)
1 package tofu
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients except oil in a food processor or blender and puree on high speed a few minutes, until smooth. Add oil, a little at a time until desired creaminess and texture. Makes about 2 cups. Keep refrigerated. Lasts about a week.