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.

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.

Onigiri and Miso Soup April 9, 2009

Today for lunch I decided to use my onigiri shaper to make some onigiri (rice balls) to go with some leftover miso soup. It was my first time using it and it worked really well! Just fill it full of rice, press down on the lid, then pop out.

The meal turned out to be simple, yummy, and filling!

Since I made plain onigiri I ate it with a little wasabi and soy sauce.

Quick and Easy Salad April 8, 2009

I have been craving salad lately, but I get tired of preparing a single serving whenever I’m in the mood. So I put my Lock and Lock to use and came up with this.

All my favorite veggies are clean and ready to go for an impromptu salad. All I have to do is mix it into a bowl and add some dressing. Plus, Lock and Lock boxes are fantastic at keeping food fresh. I’ve even tested it with finicky avocado slices and there was no brown in sight! I tried to make the salad mix look cuter for the picture (the carrot sticking out of the peppers in the lettuce are supposed to be rats…? I know I’m weird haha).

This would also work well for fruit salads!

Yummy Candy in my Tummy March 31, 2009

A couple weeks ago I found a great recipe online for vegan Reese’s style peanut butter cups. I was enthralled to say the least. A couple days later I set out to make the little devils and they came out fantastic!! I gave some to my parents and they declared that they were much better than the Reese’s version.

I got the recipe from the wonderful website vegweb.com and below is a altered recipe from that site. I changed a few of the steps but it’s basically the same recipe. Also, for mine I had a little bit of flavored dark chocolate (crystallized ginger, yum) so I added that in for an extra umpf even though it didn’t need it.

Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup peanut butter (reduced fat and creamy)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups of vegan chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon salt
mini paper muffin cups

Microwave the chocolate chips for about 2 minutes at 50% power in a glass or microwaveable bowl.  Stir until creamy, you might need to microwave them a little more.  Make sure you do not overcook them.

Using a spoon or paint brush spread the chocolate evenly within the muffin cups making sure you fill the crevices on the sides.  Place the coated muffin cups in the freezer so that the chocolate hardens.

In a separate bowl combine the peanut butter and salt and fold in the powdered vegan sugar.

Spoon the peanut butter into the chocolate cups leaving a little room for the top layer of chocolate. Then use a spoon to fill in the top and wait as long as you can to eat them (estimated time 10 minutes hehe).

Can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

________________________________________________________

A few tips:

I used a brush for the first chocolate layer to make sure I got the sides well, then I used a spoon to fill over the peanut butter.

If you have problems with the peanut butter being too stiff, put in the the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. I used natural creamy peanut butter and had no problems though. Actually I would get a spoonful then shape the peanut butter into shape and drop in in the cup so it came out really pretty on the inside.

It is messy! Be prepared to get chocolate everywhere. But it is also fun and if you have kids around 12 yrs and up it might be a fun activity to do together.

Asian Delight February 17, 2009

The other day I wanted a simple lunch so I made some brown rice and soy beans. I added a little chili sauce and miso dressing to the rice and it turned out beautiful. With a nice cup of hot tea, it was perfect.