Tofu with Black Bean Sauce November 2, 2009

I made this the other day and it was great! I found the recipe on Tastespotters.com and changed it up a bit.

Ingredients:
1 Block Firm Tofu, drained, cut into ¾ or 1 inch cubed
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
½ Medium Yellow Onion, diced
2 to 3 Thai Bird’s Eye Chilies, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 cup green onion
2 Scallions, chopped
3 Tbsp Sesame Oil

Sauce
3/4 Cup Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce2
2 Tbsp Black Bean Sauce
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Sake
3/4 tsp Corn Starch

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Fry the bean curd in batches until light golden in color. Drain the bean curd on paper towels and set aside. Pour off the oil and reserve 1 Tbsp. Heat the oil on low heat. Cook the garlic until they are fragrant and golden in color. Then turn the heat on high. Toss in the chilies, peppers and onions. Give it a quick stir, mix in the bean curd and add the sauce and green onion. Bring it to a quick boil and season with sea salt if necessary. Serve immediately with rice or udon noodles.

Creamy “Mac and Cheese” October 16, 2009

I was in a mac and cheese mood the other day and decided to try out a new recipe. The recipe had great reviews on vegweb.com, but some people commented about it being too salty and a few other things so I decided to make some changes and it turned out pretty well. Also, I added some peas to it to make it a little more nutritious. This mac and cheese isn’t like the real thing, but it is pretty good.

Ingredients:

1 cups of plain soy milk
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 of a block of firm tofu
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 frozen peas (optional)
1 lbs of pasta of your choice preferably macaroni
baking pan (9×9)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Boil water in a big pot and cook the pasta as directed. Mix all other ingredients in a blender. Spray baking pan with cooking spray. Drain pasta once it’s done and pour it in the baking pan. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and stir to coat evenly. (Optional: add frozen peas)
Bake until the top of the pasta looks slightly browned and crispy about 15 minutes.

Tortilla Soup October 15, 2009

I used to love tortilla soup before I went vegan, and the other day I realized that I could make a vegan version at home! I don’t know why it took me so long but I’m glad I figured it out. This recipe turned out fantastic and my (non-vegan) fiance loved it as much as I did! We ended up eating it in less than two days.

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Serrano pepper, minced
4 cups reduced sodium veggie broth
1 can (14 1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can corn
1/4 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chili pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 avocado
tortillas chips(optional)
soy cheese (optional)

Sauté onion, garlic, and pepper on medium heat with olive oil. Add broth, tomatoes, and corn. Add pepper, salt, cumin, chili pepper, and paprika. Bring to boil, then reduce to low and simmer for 8 minutes. Stir in cilantro.
Serve with sliced avocado, tortilla chips and soy cheese.

Okra & Tomatoes October 14, 2009

I’ve always enjoyed fresh okra and tomatoes, and when my parents gave me some fresh okra I knew I had to make it! I have never made it on my own before and just jumped into it because I’ve had it so many times. It turned out delicious and I even had more for a late night snack!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lb. fresh okra, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 fresh Serrano pepper, minced
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 onion, chopped
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium pot. Add onion, garlic and pepper and cook until the onion is soft. Add okra and stir, then add the can of tomatoes (liquid and all) and 1 cup water. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until okra is done. Feel free to add more water if it cooks down.

Tip: When buying okra, look for small okra – when okra get too long the end gets stringy and hard to eat.

Sesame Green Beans October 13, 2009

I recently visited my parents and their garden has been doing great lately so we went out and picked some fresh green beans. I love green beans so I made them right away. I found a variation of this recipe online and changed it to my tastes. My fiance really liked this how they turned out and went back for a second helping.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 pound fresh green beans, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sesame seeds and let cook for a minute or two, then add fresh green beans. Cook, stirring, until the beans turn bright green.
Pour in vegetable broth, salt and pepper. Cover and cook until beans are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until liquid evaporates.

Bento 41 September 22, 2009

Long time no bento!

This bento has vegan butternut squash ravioli with spaghetti and marinara sauce. The vegan butternut squash ravioli are great, but for $4.99 a serving it’s kind of expensive.

Herb, Ranch and Veggie Snack September 3, 2009

As a child I never got into radishes, but my Mom had some fresh radishes the other day and I decided to try them out. And guess what? I loved them! Especially with a little vegan ranch dressing.
I started to play around with different toppings and found that fresh herbs such as basil, rosemary, lavender, and thyme were a great addition to the veggie/ranch combo! If you have fresh herbs around you should try it out, even if you don’t have ranch. It adds a nice flavor.

In this picture I have made some sliced radishes and cherry tomatoes with ranch and a variety of herbs.

Madsen Bike Giveaway September 3, 2009

Madsen Cycles is giving away a bike a week. Check out the link below to find out how to win your own bike!

Seasoned Bean Thread Salad September 1, 2009

I found this salad at mmy local asian market and thought it might be pretty neat to try out. I love seaweed salad and this has seaweed, plus other vegetables like carrot mixed in with bean threads and vinegar.

This salad was actually pretty good and had a taste much like seaweed salad. I was expecting the bean thread noodles to be soft, but they were kind of hard and chewy. I wish they were softer, but overall I’d give this salad a 5 out of 10.

Charade’s First Birthday! August 18, 2009

I often check out the blog Charade. It give tips on how to live on a student budget which I think is great, even though I’m not even a student anymore! Well she’s having a great week of giveaways so you should go check it out.

Click the link above to go.