Sundried Tomato Dressing (Dip and Spread)

Been doing a lot of walking and hiking as of late. Sometimes for 10 miles or more. Walking around for over four hours, your mind starts to wander.  Some of the places my mind wanders to... 

...what a wild time we are living through right now 

...how scared some of my fellow angelenos must be 

...binaural beats and telepathy 

...Denny's new vegan pancakes 

...delicious blue cheese wedge salads and grilled cheese sandwiches 

Well, I was able to put that last one into reality. I whipped up a multi-use sun-dried tomato sauce and used it in this wedge along with the classic iceberg, chopped apples, chopped almonds,  Follow Your Heart blue cheese crumbles, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Then I used it on a grilled cheese on sourdough with sliced apples and more blue cheese. At least I solved one of the world's problems.  

Soup and a Sandwich! Slow and Low Onion Soup & Oil-Free Egg Salad Sandwich

Everybody knows soup and sandwiches go together like peanut butter and jelly! Both of the recipes below definitely stand on their own without depending on one another, but because they both are great make ahead recipes, it makes it a snap to plan a few combo meals throughout your busy week.

The Engine 2 Challenge Week 3: Making Lasting Lifestyle Changes

Let's just start this post off with a huge thanks to Rip Esselstyn himself.  He is touring the country and making lots of stops.  I was lucky enough to catch his appearance at the Whole Foods Market in Huntington Beach on Tuesday, earlier this week.

I have to admit, the crowd that was there, was pretty difficult.  I mean, like hecklers at a comedy show, there were people arguing every point he made.  "But what about raw milk?" "What's wrong with lean meat?" "What about the specific vitamins you can get from bison and not anywhere else?"  I mean, seriously?  Why would anyone come to a lecture and appearance by a VEGAN, PLANT STRONG, lifestyle promoter and ruin it for the rest of us trying to get and stay inspired on what is a very difficult journey for many.

Vegan MoFo VIII, Day 24: Walnut and Currant Vaganzola

Walnut and Currant Veganzola Balls from 500 Vegan Recipes (page 90)

Before there was Daiya or Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese many of us were busy in the kitchen creating our own cheese-like concoctions to spread on crackers.  This recipe is one of those concoctions.  Unlike many home made cheeses that require agar powder, fermentation time, or lots of specialty ingredients...this one is ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!

Vegan MoFo VII, Day 17: Curry Tofu and Arugula Salad

Curry Tofu and Arugula Salad from
The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions (page 177)

Man, I don't know about all of you, but where I live we are experiencing a late summer heat wave like we haven't had in YEARS.  Hovering around 104 since Saturday. Sheesh.  You better believe no ovens are getting turned on around here. And if I can help it, no stove either!  This recipe from The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions: Veganize It! Foolproof Methods for Transforming Any Dish into a Delicious New Vegan Favorite is quick and easy, and requires no cooking.

Two for Tuesday: Salad and a Sandwich

In case you didn't know already, there has been a heat wave in Southern California recently.  Temperatures topping 100!  Anyhow, after a long day at work, and a long drive home in the heat, cooking up a big ol' meal just isn't on the list of wants.  So, a simple salad and a sandwich is what we had for dinner.

For the Salad:
My favorite salad of late includes all store bought ingredients for maximum ease in preparation.  I am totally in love with Follow Your Heart's Vegan Creamy Garlic Dressing.  I also absolutely adore the 365 Seasoned Croutons from Whole Foods, and of course, Parma Chipotle Cayenne Sprinkles.  Add those toppings to a generous helping of Spring Mix or baby spinach, toss in a handful of nuts and/or seeds, and voilla!



For the Sandwich:
This is an old standby recipe (from Cozy Inside!) that never ever disappoints.  The mix makes enough for 4 to 6 big sandwiches, so I have enough for dinner for the 2 of us tonight and lunch for both of us tomorrow!  The mix also tastes great on a pile of greens as a salad all on its own.

Waldorf Style Chicken Salad Sandwich
1 package extra firm tofu (pressed, drained and cubed into tiny little cubes...TINY!)
4 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
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!

A New Year Deserves a New Look...and a New RECIPE!

So I am working on a new page design, and I may be launching a new site, so stay tuned...until then, here's a new burger recipe for you!

Tofu'n'Roots Burger



Serving Suggestion
This burger has a mellow, slightly sweet flavor. I like to compliment this with a schmear of spicy chipotle dipping sauce on a toasted bun with a thick slice of red onion. I like a green side to go with. Streamed kale, broccoli or asparagus would work beautifully here.

Ingredients (makes 8-10 patties)
2 tbsp margarine
1 bulb (5-6oz) fennel, roughly chopped
1 medium (6-7oz) onion, roughly chopped
12 oz peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
2 cloves garlic, chopped
a pinch of salt
2 cups water
1 cup TVP granules
1 tsp cumin
18 oz extra firm tofu, pressed and drained)
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten flour
1 cup all purpose flour
oil for frying (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cookie sheet by lining with parchment or silicone baking mat, or spraying with nonstick spray. In a frying pan or skillet, melt margarine over medium high heat. Add in fennel, onion, sweet potatoes and garlic. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Sauté until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add in 2 cups water, deglaze and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in TVP granules and cumin. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and crumble in tofu, and flours. Knead with your hands until very well incorporated. Let sit at least 20 minutes. Form into patties and bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes, or bake 20 minutes, and finish off with a pan fry for about 3 minutes per side.

VeganMoFo and "Ham & Eggs"

I'm a little late on the scrambled 'fu bandwagon. Oh well.



Mostly I make all my scrambles starting out the the same way. Extra firm tofu, drained and pressed. A preheated cast iron skillet with about 2 tbsp of oil in the pan. I crumble the tofu straight into the pan. Then I add some turmeric, for that eggy color, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. From there, I can make it any way I want to. This morning I made "Ham & Eggs" with chopped up pieces of the "Ham" from the Split Pea and "Ham"burger recipe.

Other ways I enjoy my 'fu?

• With grilled onions and mushrooms
• With sundried tomatoes and spinach
• With NOOCH!
• With imitation bakin bits
• In a breakfast burrito...

Muffin Cup Quiche

Sunday morning with my dearest girlfriends...what a treat! I made these muffin cup quiches for the event. Not all the girls were vegan, or even vegetarian, but every last one of them got gobbled up, so I would have to say they were a big hit.



I made two variations, a mediterannean influenced sundried tomato and spinach one, and a brocolli "cheddar"version, complete with fake bacon. I used phyllo dough for the crusts. I will give you the recipe for the base quiche mix, and let you know what I added in for the different variations, but seriously, you can make these any old way you want to. In fact, you don't even have to make individual cups. One recipe would fill a premade pie crust quite nicely.

Basic Quiche Mix
Ingredients (makes 12 muffin cup sized quiches)
1 block of extra firm tofu, pressed, drained and crumbled
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp yellow prepared mustard
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup chickpea (besan) flour
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions
In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mush it all together with your hands until well incorporated.

For the mediterranean style quiche I added 2 cups of spinach leaves, chiffonade, and about 6 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped into little pieces.



For the broccoli "cheddar" quiche. I added 1/2 of a medium white onion, diced finely, 1 tablespoon of mello white miso, about 2 cups of brocolli florets, and about 1/4 cup of imitation bacon bits.



For the crust, I used phyllo dough. First, you need to prepare your muffin pans by spraying them liberally with nonstick spray. Following the instructions on the box, I carefully unrolled the package of dough, and, using a pizza cutter, I cut the dough into 8 even pieces. Then I oiled each layer lightly, and grabbed about 3 or four layers for each "cup". I pressed it into the muffin pan, and then scooped some of the quiche mixture into the cup.



I baked mine at 350 for 15 minutes. Checking them at 10 minutes. I am still experimenting with my electric oven, so no guarantees to accuracy of timing and temperature. Take them out of the oven when the crusts begin to brown.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

Because one cannot live on veggie burgers alone!



Do you shop at Whole Foods Market? If so, you have probably perused the deli counter, drooling over the amazing vegan salads that they offer, and then seeing the ones you can't have because of one stupid ingredient that makes it not vegan! This is one of those salads. At Whole Foods, this salad contains HUGE chunks of feta cheese. I replaced the feta with tofu, and voilla, a vegan version that tastes yummy hot or cold.

Truth be told, I wasn't planning on making a recipe out of this, so I didn't write down any measurements, but I can tell you everything I mixed in, and you can add or take out anything you like to make it your very own yummy salad.

Ingredients I used:
1 pound of Orzo, prepared in salted water according to package instructions
1 block of extra firm tofu, drained and pressed and cubed*
Olive oil, I probably used about 1/4 cup for the whole thing
Sundried tomatoes, chopped up
Fresh Spinach, Chiffonade
Garlic
Onion powder
Basil
Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the orzo, drain, and then add in all of the other ingredients, and mix well. Serve hot or cold.

*If you have a favorite tofu feta recipe, use that.

Island Inspired Coconut Pineapple Macadamia Nut Curry Tofu

Well, I'm back. Tan, burnt, rather, relaxed and ready to get cooking. Maui is a beautiful island full of beautiful foods and tantalizing cocktails served up in beautiful displays of tropical goodness. All the restaraunts we frequented were extremely vegetarian friendly, thank goodness, because I was traveling in a group of nine, and heaven knows I wouldn't have been able to talk them ALL into going to a completely veg establishment. I was astounded and amazed by the curries and stirfries, and the neverending use of pineapple and macadamia nuts.

BUT...

I also came home to a BROKEN COMPUTER! The Geek squad came out yesterday to do their thing and we ordered the required part. It won't be in for 8-10 business days! WOE IS ME! I will try to update you folks as often as possible from my office, but you all know how that can be.

For now, here is a island inspired tofu dish. DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY ALL OF THE SWEET SOUNDING INGREDIENTS! This curry packs a punch.



Coconut Pineapple Macadamia Nut Curry Tofu
Ingredients
Tofu
1 block of extra firm tofu, drained and pressed and cut into bite sized chunks
2 tbsp oil for frying (I used coconut oil)
Salt and pepper to taste
Curry Sauce
1 15 oz can coconut milk
1 tbsp green thai style curry paste
2 tbsp cornstarch plus 2 tbsp water mixed together to form a slurry
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup of pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup of macadamia nuts, chopped (I used dry roasted, but raw will work too)
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika to taste

Directions
In a heavy bottomed skillet, add the oil and heat, add in the tofu, season with salt and pepper and pan fry until nice and golden. In a seperate pan, or pot, bring to a boil the coconut milk and curry, reduce to simmer, about 5 minutes. Add in the cornstarch slurry, slowly and stir vigorously to prevent lumps from forming. Remove from heat, fold in the pineapple chunks and macadamia nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over tofu pieces and sprinkle with paprika. This works well with a side of fragrant Jasmine rice.

Coconut Curry Tofu Bake with Mushrooms and Chickpeas

From trash to treasure.

This started out as a burger recipe, but I was getting frustrated with the texture. I put the "dough" in the fridge, and went to bed, All day at work, my mind wondered..."What can I do with that? It would be horrible to have to toss it out." Then I thought, "Why not make a casserole, with that as the base?" So I did.

To my surprise, it came out AMAZING! I might even make it again!



Coconut Curry Tofu Bake with Mushrooms and Chickpeas
Ingredients
1 15 oz can of full fat coconut milk
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed and crumbled
1 tbsp yellow curry powder
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water to make a slurry
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp veggie broth powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 15 oz can chickpeas
1 medium onion (I used a yellow onion), diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup ground raw cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
a sprinkling of paprika
salt and pepper to taste
oil for sauteing (I used coconut oil)

Directions
In a large skillet, bring coconut milk and curry powder to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add in mushrooms and crumbled tofu. Cover and simmer about 15 minnutes, uncover and continue to cook another 10. Add cornstarch slurry, mix well, cook for about 3-5 more minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, allow to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour, veggie broth powder and garlic powder. Add the flour mixture to the cocnut curry tofu mixture and knead together until a sticky dough forms. Set aside. In a skillet, saute the onions, garlic and chickpeas for about 5-7 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. In a casserole dish, spread the dough out along the bottom. Layer the chickpea and onion mixture on the top of the dough. Sprinkle the ground cashews all over the top, then the nutritional yeast and sprinkle the top with paprika. Bake, covered with foil, for 20-25 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes to brown the top. Remove from oven, allow to cool about 10 minutes before serving.

I topped mine with a really simple (and really SINFUL) noochy-garlicy-creamy sauce I made with 1 cup of soymilk, 4 tbsp of Earth Balance, 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1/8 cup of nooch, 1 tbsp flour and salt and pepper. In a saucepan, I melted the margarine into the soymilk, added the nooch and garlic, brought it just to a boil, reduced the heat and mixed in the flour and stirred until thickened. Delightfully disgusting stuff!!!

VeganMoFo and "Pantry" Tofu with Cabbage

I had half of a block of tofu in the freezer, and half of a bag of coleslaw cabbage and carrots in the fridge. I defrosted and cut up the tofu, sauteed it with some peanut oil, salt and pepper, along with the cabbage and called it dinner. It was better than I expected!



Other food today included coffee with silk creamer for breakfast, leftover tamale filling for lunch, above mentioned tofu and cabbage for dinner and some soymilk and soy nog mixed with kahlua.

Alone on a Saturday night. The Scarborough Fair Tofu Burger

If you are a regular visitor to my blog you know that it's a rare occasion that Dan and I leave the house on the weekends. Instead we have stay at home date night, and we cook up some fun dinners in the kitchen, that we wouldn't have the time or energy to make up on a weeknight.

Well it's Saturday night, and Dan has left me for the night to hang with the boys and do boy stuff. I'm sure none of it revolves around cooking. Drinking? Maybe. But cooking? No way.

From the Burger Test Kitchen: Thai Inspired Spicy Tofu, Black Bean & Potato Patties

Cooked, on a whole wheat bun, topped with carmelized
onions on a bed of shredded cabbage and vegenaise.

Thai Inspired Spicy Tofu, Black Bean & Potato Patties (makes 10 patties)
Serving Suggestion: Serve with a side of Thai style peanut coleslaw. As a burger, on a nice wheat bun with thai peanut sauce on a bed of shredded cabbage.

Appetizers Take 3

Way "too vegan" to serve to regular folks. But man, sure was tasty. I guess I'll just go with the phyllo cups and mini lemon cupcakes. Thanks for all of your feedback!

Ginger Soy marinated and grilled Tofu skewers with Thai peanut dipping sauce:

Ginger Soy Marinade:
1/3 cup soysauce or tamari
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 tsp ground ginger

Mix it all up and use as a marinade. Tofu should only marinate for about 30 minutes or it gets too salty.

I just took one block of extra firm tofu, drained and pressed, and sliced it into 6 pieces, and then cut those six peces in half. (See the diagram.) I then marinated the slices for 30 minutes and placed them on the skewers. Then on an indoor grill (a bbq would be fine too) I grilled each side of the skewer for about 1-2 minutes and then flipped it over to the next side. 4 turns total.

Simple Thai Peanut Sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanut oil
1/3 cup chopped green onions
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes

Put it all in the blender and puree until smooth.

Curry Couscous stuffed mushrooms:


Curry Couscous Stuffed Mushrooms:
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup couscous
8 oz mushrooms
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp yellow curry powder
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 tsp garam masala
Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Carefully remove the stems from the mushrooms. Reserve stems, chop and saute in the olive oil in a pan along with the onions and garlic until fragrant, about 7-10 minutes. Bring water to boil. Add couscous, reduce heat and stir until all water is absorbed. Add in the sauteed mixture, curry, garam masala, salt and pepper. Mix together well. Stuff into the hollowed out mushrooms and bake for about 15 minutes. Eat the leftover couscous mixture for dinner!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Burgers

Another creation from the "Just the Burgers" test kitchen.

Something about the sweetness of a sweet potato or yam combined with the smoky spiciness of chipotle peppers has always reminded me of fall. For this burger, I didn't even need a bun to enjoy the savory with the sweet and just a hint of Autumn peeking through.

Before cooking.


Plated with a dish of Chipotle Dipping Sauce (from Cozy Inside.)


This one is baked.


This one is fried:


I think I actually like it baked, better than fried.

More from the Burger Test Kitchen...

Seafood Burgers (Crab Cakes?)



"Super" Burgers (with Quinoa & Peas)



Bakin Cheezeburgers (rumor has it they taste like Carl's Jr Western Bacon Cheeseburgers)

"Sausage & Egg" Breakfast Burritos

Mmmmmm....Breakfast burritos. Handheld yumminess to get my day off to a good start. This one has TVP sausage, Tofu Eggs, Potatoes and Easy Tofu Sour Creem, and of course, ketchup!

Southern Fried Tofu Fingers with Mushroom Gravy

If I eat these for dinner, I serve them with Gravy and maybe some mashed potatoes. If I am haveing them for lunch, it's plain with ketchup.