Tofu + Green Bean Stir Fry

Just another quickie stir fry.  It was really good, 'cause we haven't had stir fry in a while.  And I FINALLY used up the tofu in the freezer.  Yes, this has a lot of garlic.

Adapted from WTHDAVEA

Sauce: corn starch, soy sauce, mirin, agave, chili paste
Veggies etc.: green beans, bell pepper, fried tofu, shallots, 3-4 cloves garlic per serving (!), grated ginger
Served over brown rice with chopsticks, no duh!

Easy Vegan Ramen Soup

Yay ramen noodles!  So good for the hot summer days...
Although, you really have to be careful.  Both M and I H-A-T-E seaweed.  We checked the ingredients list on the ramen to make sure it didn't have seaweed, and it didn't.  But it did have "dried vegetables".  So, I dumped the packet in the soup.. and spent the next 20 minutes picking out seaweed from the soup.  Blech.  Oh well, it was still pretty good.  I've made this soup sooo many times, and it's always tasty!

** update: I didn't use the seasoning packet with the next round.  No duh.  Instead, I added dried ginger, white sugar, chili bean paste, veggie bouillon, garlic powder, and vegetarian mushroom/fish sauce.  It was super yum - probably better than with the seasoning packet!  And I felt a BIT better eating it... no weird chemicals.

It pretty simple: saute carrots, onions, and cabbage.  Add in 2 cups veggie broth (to give the soup body), and then enough water to make soup.  Add in 2 packages ramen and their seasoning packets (not the oil packets), vegge bullion, dried ginger, and a little spicy stuff.  Cook until the noodles are done, and serve with fake meat.

Orange Stir Fry

Yay!  More stir frys... because I like them and they make me feel better.  This one was actually the first decent tasting orange stir fry that I have ever made - I could really taste the orange, and the sauce was super yummy.

Adapted from here.

Veggies were red bell pepper, onion, carrot, broccoli, grated ginger, and peas.  I also added deep fried tofu from the Asian Market.  The sauce was 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3/4 cup orange juice, a bit of rice vinegar, 3 tbsp brown sugar, and 2 tbsp corn starch.  The key is to add the sauce about 3 minutes before you are ready to serve so it has a chance to get really thick. 

Served over brown rice, eaten with chopsticks.

Stir Fry

:)
It's another stir fry...

Veggies: carrots, onion, broccoli
Sauce: soy sauce, sugar free maple syrup, mirin, hoisin sauce, corn starch
Brown rice...
And the best part:  the Tofu Cube!  I got the giant deep fried tofu cubes from the Asian Market.  Then I cut an X in the tops and stuffed them with...
Stir fried spinach and garlic with 2 slices of ginger that were removed, mixed with a bit of hoisin sauce.

Add the tofu cubes once the veggies are done cooking, when you add the sauce.  They will heat through.  And they are so much fun to eat!  (I took bites out of my cube without cutting it... M cut hers.  Typical.)

Adapted from my new favourite blog, WTHDAVEA

Simple Tofu Veggie Stir Fry and Baked Pasta Shells

I am so sore.  Honestly, I have absolutely nooooo clue why, but here I am, feeling all stiff like I can hardly move without some sort of pain in one of my muscles.  Buuut, I suppose that's what I get for working out so hard.  The really annoying thing is that I have no clue what I did.  It seems like if I am this sore, there should be something that I can point the finger of blame on and say that's what is giving me all this pain.  But oh no, not this time.  All I know is that I did something yesterday morning in bootcamp (the best class ever!) that worked me really hard.  I suppose things aren't so bad because M is really sore too.  Hehe.  She shares my pain!!  But, I don't know about the rest of the world, but I don't really mind being sore all that much, because it means that my muscles are getting a whole lot stronger, a whole lot faster.  And it means I worked really hard, so I can eat more ;).  It feels kind of like a badge of honor, too.

So, here's a quickie tofu stir fry that you can whip up in about 30 minutes, shove sdome rice under, and call it a meal.  Simple, quick, delish!

Also, since I am so behind on blogging, I will post a baked shell recipe too.  This one kept M and I well stocked with left-overs for quite a while.  I was totally in LOVE with this dish, even though it was kind of time consuming to make.  But, honestly, the shells were kind of fun to fill, and the most tedious part was picking out the non-broken shells to fill.  Now I still have about 15 shells in the fridge that were broken, and I have to do something with them.  We'll see...

Simple Tofu Veggie Stir Fry

Adapted from FOOD SNOB

Serves 3

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp black bean sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp corn starch

1 medium red onion, sliced
1 medium head broccoli, cut into florets
 1 small bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups fried tofu

Rice to serve

Mix together the soy sauce through corn starch in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water, and add the onion.  Stir fry for 1 minute and then add the broccoli.  After another minute, add the bell pepper, and then one minute later add the green onions.  When the broccoli turns bright green, about 2 minutes later, add in the sauce and tofu.  Mix well, heat
through, and serve over rice.

Stuffed Shells

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Serves 10

1 small onion, chopped

1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp salt
½ cup parsley, chopped

4 medium cloves of garlic, pressed
3 tbsp mirin
3 tbsp red wine
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp salt
28 oz can crushed tomatoes

14 oz can crushed tomatoes

25-30 jumbo pasta shells, cooked (pick out the non-broken ones)

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, and sauté the broccoli and onion for 8 minutes, until the onion is tender. Remove from heat and mix with the ricotta, salt, and parsley. Set aside.
Heat the frying pan again, coated with nonstick spray, and sauté the garlic for a minute or so, until it starts to brown. Remove from heat and mix with the mirin through crushed tomatoes. Set aside.
 Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a casserole dish with nonstick spray and fill enough pasta shells with the broccoli mixture to fill the dish in a single layer. Place the shells, opening up, in the dish side by side. If you have leftover filling, go ahead and fill more shells and use another baking sheet. Pour the tomato mixture over the shells so that they are mostly covered. Cover you dish(es) with foil, and bake for 45 minutes, uncovering for the last 10 minutes. Serve.

Korean Stir Fry

Happy Fourth of July to everyone!  Honestly, I really don't get very excited about holidays, even though it seems like everyone else in the world does... But I suppose that's just me.  I get more excited about going to the grocery store than my birthday.  Isn't that kind of pathetic?  One advantage to that would be I can go to the store any old time, and birthdays only come around once a year.  But, while on the topic of birthdays, M gave me something that I have been wanting all summer- a panini press!  Whoohooooo!!!  Now, like M said, I will be grilling/pressing everything under the sun.  In fact, this morning for breakfast I will be making a kind of breakfast sandwich with some bagels that we got from Einstein's yesterday morning.  I am rather nervous and super excited to see how things turn out.  (Random thought: I really need to dust this computer... it's beenon my to-do list for a while but I keep forgetting about it.)  One thing I was also greaful for about this press was that it was about $50 cheaper than the other one I had been planning on getting.  The one I have is from Sur La Table (love that name!) and I got it for about $75.  It's a Breville, which, so I've heard, is a really great brand with top-notch products.  The first one I spotted was at Williams Sonoma and would have been around $120.  The only thing different was that the Sur La Table one only had grills on one side and the Williams Sonoma one had the grills on both sides.  So I just have to be sure to flip everything over... But I suppose I can now go crazy with pancakes and the like now, because I have a griddle.  And M can make toast!  She's so excited...

And about this stir fry.  I just have to say that Chili Garlic Sauce is amazing and I can't live without it.  It really jazzes up a stir fry, and both M and I l-o-v-e the flavour.  Here's a nice simple stir fry, that is supposedly Korean, according to I Eat Food, soooo... yeah.  I'll just play it safe and call it a stir fry.  So there.  It's really good..  Veggies.  Tofu.  Rice.  Sauce.  Chopsticks.....

"Korean" Stir Fry

Adapted from I Eat Food

Serves 4

1/4 cup chili garlic sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp soy sauce, plus more to serve

1 small onion, chopped
2 large carrots, cut on the diagonal
1 Tbsp ginger, grated
3 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 large head broccoli, cut into florets

1 medium small bell pepper, chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 ½ cups fried tofu

Rice to serve

Mix together the chili garlic sauce though the soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water and add the onion and carrots. Stir fry for a minute and then add in the ginger and garlic. Stir fry for another 2 minutes and then add the broccoli, bell pepper, and scallions. Cook for another 4 minutes until the broccoli is a vibrant green. Add the tofu and sauce, and stir fry for another minutes until the sauce has thickened. Serve over rice with additional soy sauce to taste.

Honey "Chicken" Stir Fry

I haven't really made an official stir fry in such a long time, and I figured that last Friday was the perfect night to make the stir fry that had been waiting on my list for so long.  By the way- the list of recipes that I want to cook is probably about 3 weeks worth of food.  I am never going to catch up, even if I eat five thousand calories a day... sigh.  Anyway, so I went with this quickie dish that night, and it surpassed my expectations by quite a bit.  There was that lovely hint of honey (alliteration!), along with the usual soy sauce.  I wouldn't say that the flavour was very complex or involved by any means- in fact, it was a rather simple recipe as far as stir frys go.  But there was certainly enough flavour to make it taste really really really good.  And I mean really good.  I still hold my firm belief that corn starch is one of the most amazing substances that I have ever used in the kitchen, because of the amount of intensity it can add to a dish.  Amazing stuff!  You should try it some time...

All in all, I would certainly make this dish again (if I every get a chance to make something again), and I was very satisfied with this filling and colourful stir fry.

Honey "Chicken" Stir Fry

Adapted from Tigers and Strawberries

Serves 2

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce plus extra

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp corn starch

2 large carrots, cut on the diagonal

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 medium head broccoli, cut into florets

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1/3 lb snap peas, trimmed

4 green onions, chopped

2 cups vegetarian chicken

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Cooked rice, to serve

Mix together the honey though corn starch in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Heat a wok coated with nonstick spray over medium high heat.  Add a bit of water with the carrots.  After a minute add the broccoli, garlic, and ginger, and stir fry for another 2 minutes.  Add the bell pepper and snap peas, and stir fry for another 2 minutes.  Add in the remaining ingredients except rice and heat through for another minute or so.  Serve over cooked rice with extra soy sauce.

Broccoli Almond Stir Fry

Broccoli and Almond Stir Fry

Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good

Serves 3-4

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tsp corn starch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 head broccoli, cut into florets

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 teaspoon ginger, grated

Mix together the coriander through oil, and set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water. Add the broccoli, garlic, and ginger, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the sauce, and heat through. Serve, topped with almonds.

Two Simple Tofu Stir Fries

Both of these recipes are so good they will knock your sock off.  I loved them both, especially the spicy tofu stir fry.  That one is mostly tofu, with an amazing sauce- but I think next time I would toss in some veggies, just to get something besides tofu in there- like snow peas.  The spicy, peanuty, thick sauce is to die for, and I would be willing to use it in so many places.  As for the broccoli and tofu stir fry, well, I haven't had pressed tofu in quite a while, and this made for a very nice change of pace.  Not to mention it got rid of some broccoli that had been sitting around for quite a while... so that made it even better.  The sauce was not as thick as the spicy stir fry, but good in it's own right.

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

Adapted from 175 Quick & Easy Chinese Recipes

Serves 3

9 oz pressed tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 large head broccoli, cut into florets

3 cloves garlic, pressed

2 cups button mushrooms, sliced

2 large green onions, chopped

4 slices ginger

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp vegetarian fish sauce

3 tbsp rice wine

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp agave nectar

1/2 tbsp corn starch

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pine nuts, to serve

Mix together the soy sauce through salt and pepper, and set aside.  Heat a wok over medium high heat, and add the ginger slices with a bit of water.  After a couple seconds, add in the broccoli, garlic, mushrooms, and onions, and saute for 5 minutes.  Add the sauce and tofu, and stir fry for another minute, until the veggies are tender and hot.  Serve, topped with pine nuts.

Spicy Tofu Stir Fry

Adapted from Ken Hom's Quick Wok

Serve 6

5 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp corn starch

3 tbsp peanut sauce

1 tbsp chili bean sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp sugar

1 small onion, chopped

1 tbsp pressed garlic

2 lb fried frozen tofu, thawed and cut into bite-sized pieces

Mix together the soy sauce through sugar.  Set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat, and add the onion with a bit of water.  After a minute or so, add the garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.  Add in the tofu and sauce, and heat through.  Serve.

Stuffed Bell Peppers Plus Sweet Roasted Cashews

Here's another set of delicious recipes that can be made in just a few minutes each.  The cashews take no time at all, and develop a very nice flavour in the oven.  I especially liked the subtle sweetness of the agave- not to mention the added side effect of all the nuts sticking together.  Just a btw- did you know that cashews have the lowest fat content of all nuts?  I thought that was rather interesting.  Walnuts, of course, have teh omega-3 fatty acids, and almonds are just plain old nutriet packed - the "king of all nuts", is what I have heard them called.  Anyway, I liked these cashews...

The last time I made stuffed bell peppers, they were not very good at all.  These, on the other hand, are the exact opposite, and there is a perfect balance of bell pepper to filling, which was my problem last time.  Not to mention they take minimal prepwork, and are a good way to use up leftovers.  Even M, who has eaten many stuffed peppers, said they were really good.  I actually tried to eat them with my fingers, because cutting them with a fork is kind of hard.  Failure.  But, hey, they still tasted excellent.

Agave-Coconut Roasted Cashews

Adapted from 175 Quick & Easy Chinese Recipes

Makes 1 cup

1 cup cashews- whole or pieces

1 tbsp agave nectar or honey

1/3 cup dried coconut flakes

Chili sauce, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, and spread onto a baking sheet.  Roast for 12 minutes or so, until lighty browned and they smell really nice, checking occasionally.  Serve hot or cool.

"Burger" Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Adapted from 175 Quick & East Chinese Recipes

Serves 4

8 oz Boca crumbles

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1 large green onion, chopped

1 tsp finely chopped or grated ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine

1/2 tbsp brown sugar

3 small red bell peppers, or enough to put the stuffing in, cut in half, stemmed, and seeded

1 tbsp Panko break crumbs

Heat a wok over medium heat with a bit of water, and add the Boca crumbles, carrot, onion, and ginger.  Saute for 5 minutes, and then add the soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar.  Heat through, and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 375.  Stuff each bell pepper half, and then put the stuffed peppers, filliing side up, on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with Panko, and then bake for 35-40 minutes, until the peppers are deflated and the filling is lightly browned.  Serve.

Mini Sweet Potato Balls!

These are soooo cute!  Not to mention fun to make, and they taste fabulous, especially with a dipping sauce.  I was very happy to be able to use my treasured black sesame seeds in these- in fact, they are now over halfway gone.  Boo hoo... but anyway, it was so worth using the sesame seeds, because that added so much more to these delectible little finger foods.  The only down side is that I now am finding sesame seeds all over the floor, because they keep flying off the plates. Which is not really such a big deal, but still. 

Anyway, these taste great, and are good hot or cold, so they make a good lunch item for me, as well as a nice and filling side dish for dinners.

Sweet Potato Balls

Adapted from 175 Quick & Easy Chinese Recipes by Jenni Fleetwood

Makes about 28

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped, and boiled until tender
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp garam masala or other curry powder
1 oz grated ginger root
1 cup whole wheat flour
Sesame seeds or poppy seeds, for rolling the balls in (about ½ cup)
Dipping sauce, to serve (I mixed up thick soy sauce, rice wine, and chili garlic sauce, which was excellent)

Mash the sweet potatoes, and then mix in the sugar, masala, ginger, and flour, until they are well blended. Roll into balls about 1 inch across, and then roll the balls in the seeds to coat. Put on a baking sheet, and repeat with remaining sweet potato mixture.
Preheat the oven to 375. Bake for about 12 minutes, until heated through. Serve with a dipping sauce.

Coconut Udon Tofu Stir Fry

This stir fry is amazing.  I wasn't feeling all that great today- my stomach had been hurting and I have this aweful taste in my mouth.  So I didn't eat very much for my lunch, and by dinner I was so hungry that I didn't really care how much my stomach hurt, I was eating a lot.  So I made this stir fry, which turned out to be just the thing that I have been craving for a long time.  It's been ages since I have made udon noodles, and these seemed to turn out really well.  I thought it was just slightly sauce heavy, and M agreed, so go a bit heavier on the veggies if you want.  And I always love the tofu, as usual...

A Noodle Dish

Adapted from Eat Air

Serves 4

12 oz fried tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 heat broccoli, cut into florets
5-7 green onions, white parts thinly sliced, green parts chopped into 1 inch pieces

4 small carrots, cut on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper

2/3 cup edammame
1 tsp ginger, grated
2/3 cup reduced fat coconut milk
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp basil

1 tsp curry paste

1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
Udon noodles, cooked, to serve

Peanuts, to serve

Mix together the coconut milk through the corn starch in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water. Add the carrot and sauté for a couple minutes and then add the broccoli and ginger. Cook for 3 more minutes and add in the bell pepper and green onion. After another minute add the edammame, and then stir fry another couple seconds. Add in the sauce and cook for another minute. Add in the tofu, heat through, and serve over udon noodles topped with peanuts.

Multi-Nut Stir Fry (Pine Nuts!)

Here's something really pretty, really tastey, and really easy.  In other words, I could eat this every week and still be happy.  I got some pine nuts for Christmas, (I know, I'm weird), and this is how I broke the pakcage open.   Oh my gosh, this was so good.  The pine nuts and sun flower seeds, neither of  which I had eaten in a stir fyr before, were absolutely fabulous.  Although the ration of noodles to veggies was higher than I would normally do, this has got ot be one of my favourite stir fries that I have made in a long time.  The leftovers were good, too, which was a huge plus.

Triple Nut Stir Fry

Serves 4

Adapted from 101 Vegetarian Cookbooks

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons mirin
½ cup tamarind juice
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Chili sauce, to taste

Fine-grain sea salt

2 bundles soba noodles, cooked
12 ounces fried tofu

1 onion, sliced

4 carrots, sliced into thin strips

2 baby bok choy, sliced

Sesame seeds, pine nuts, and sunflower seeds

Mix together the sugar through the sea salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat a bit of water in a wok over high heat, and then add the onion. After a minute add in the carrots, and then cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add in the bok choy and cook until almost tender. Add the tofu, sauce, and noodles. Keep stirring until combined. Serve topped with sesame seeds, pine nuts, and sunflower seeds.

Sauted Snow Peas

These were quite easy to make, and rather similar to another recipe for green beans that I have made numerous times before.  However, I loved the addition of the onions.  I was making another dish on the same night, and I had some leftover onions, so I decided that I would just put them in with the snow peas.  And they turned out to be just the right thing to go along with the sauce.  These were so useful for my lunches during the week, to go with the hummus wraps.  A nice veggie side dish, with an excellent flavour.

Simple Snow Pea Stir Fry

Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Serves 4-6

1 lb. snow peas
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame seed oil, divided
Hot sauce, to taste
3 slices ginger root
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
¼ cup chopped onion

1/2 tbsp peanut oil

Black and white sesame seeds

Mix together the soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, and hot sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat, and add the remaining 1 tsp sesame oil with the peanut oil. Put in the ginger for about 45 seconds, and then remove- this flavours the oil. Add the onion, then garlic, and finally snow peas. Cook for 3 minutes and add the sauce. Cook until tender, about another minute, and serve with sesame seeds.

Spring Rolls

I have not made spring rolls in ages, but here they are on the menu again.  And they are better than ever!  I spotted an interesting recipe in my cookbook, and though that it looked like a good way to use up some rice noodles that M and I got for a prize a while back when we spent $20 at the Asian Market.  Odd, I think, to win free noodles, but there you have it.  Anyway, I loved these spirng rolls, and they came in handy for my lunch and dinner.  The egg on the outside really gave them a nice coat, and baking them really created a nice cruncy outside.  The really amazing thing, though, was that they are about 35 calories each.  That's what I call low calorie, especially if you think about all the oil that goes into other spring rolls.

Thai Spring Rolls

Makes about 20

Adapted from Low-Fat No-Fat Thai

About 2 oz cellophane noodles

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 carrot, shredded

1 small bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 small can bamboo shoots, drained

4 oz frozen tofu, thawed and chopped

2 tbsp vegetarian oyster flavoured soy sauce

2 tsp agave nectar

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

20 spring roll wrappers

2 tbsp flour mixed with water to form a thick paste

1 egg white

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the noodles.  Remove from heat, and let sit for 20 minutes.  Drain, and roughly chop.

Meanwhile, for the filling, heat a wok over medium high heat.  Add a bit of water, and then the garlic.  Stir for a couple seconds, and toss in the bell pepper and cabbage.  After those are tender, about 3 minutes, add the carrot, green onions, bamboo, and tofu.  Heat through, and remove from heat.  Add in the cooked noodles, soy sauce, agave, and cilantro, and mix through.

Heat the oven to 425. 

To make the wraps:  Place about 2 tbsp of the filling in a line in the middle of a wrapper, horizontal to you.  Fold the edge farthest away from you over the filling to cover it, and then fold in the two sides.  With your finger, add a bit of the flour paste to the edge closest to you.  Roll the edge closest to you up to create a roll (it should seal with the flour paste).  Brush with the egg white, and place on a baking sheet coated with nonstick spray.  Repeat with remaining filling.

Bake for 10 minutes, until heated through.  Serve with a dipping sauce.

Japanese Pancake...

These pictures turned out aweful.  I guess my camera didn't like the okonomiyaki.  But I did.  This was really quite a weird dish,  mainly, I think, because I used whole wheat flour.  But it was also interesting, and a nice change from the norm.  What I thought was really funny when I was making the batter was that there was more egg that flour, and that seemed really unbalanced.  Again, the photos do not really do this dish justice, because it was quick, and good to eat.  A good dish to use up eggs, too, which I am really bad about.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza)

Serves 2

Adapted from eCurry
1 cup cabbage, finely shredded
3/4 cup finely chopped white and tender green leeks
1 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 tsp baking soda
Water
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 tsp peanut oil
2 tbsp bbq sauce
2 tbsp tamarind juice
Toasted almonds
Chopped green onions
Opt: cheese, fake meat, noodles

In a small bowl, mix together the bbq sauce, ketchup, and tamarind juice. Set aside.
Mix together the flour with the water, and add the baking soda with the salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth. Stir in the leeks, cabbage, and half the carrots.
Heat a large frying pan coated with nonstick spray over medium heat.  Add the oil, and then add the flour mixture and use a spatula or back of a spoon to press into a round shape. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the bottom has become solid. Spray the top with nonstick spray and then flip it over. Flatten the other side with the spatula, and then cook for 3-5 more minutes. Remove from heat and spread some of the bbq sauce mixture on it. Top with remaining carrots, almonds, green onions, and whatever else floats your boat. Cut into wedges and serve.

Coconut Rice and Veggie Stir Fry

So, I did not really read the recipe when I decided to make this dish.  I just skimmed the ingredients, and then thought "Ok, that's goog.  I'll just add more veggies."  Hah, and then when I realised that the tofu was supposed to cook with the rice in the original, I felt kind of stupid.  And this one turned into another stir fry, that was actually quite a nice change from other stir fries because of the cinnamon and other spices in the rice.  You really can't go wrong with cashews and cinnamon.

Coconut Rice with Tofu and Veggies

Serves 4

Adapted from Happy Healthy Life

1 cup long grain brown rice
1/4 cup light coconut milk

1 ¼ cups water

A few drops coconut extract
1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg and cloves

1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 Tbsp agave nectar
2 Tbsp rice vinegar

14 oz fried tofu, cut into bite sized pieces

½ cup light coconut milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp mirin

Dash of nutmeg and cloves

2 tbsp agave nectar

3 carrots cut on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 heads broccoli, chopped into florets

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

Cashew pieces, to taste (about 1/3 cup)

In a pot, add the rice, coconut milk, salt, coconut or regular water, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon.  Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add the agave, vinegar, coconut flakes, and vanilla extract.  Cook until the rice is done, about 30 more minutes. 

Mix together the coconut milk, through agave, and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a wok over medium high heat.  Add the carrots, onion, and ginger with a bit of water.  Sauté for 3 minutes, and then add in the broccoli and bell pepper.  Sauté until almost tender, and then add in the coconut milk mixture.  Add the tofu, heat through, and then serve over the rice topped with cashews.

Another Stir Fry

Here's another quick stir  fry with the very typical long list of ingredients in the sauce.  It's really good, just life every other stir fry that has come along recently here.  M really likes it, because of the chicken and peanuts, which are among her favorite ingredients.  Mine too, but I like a lot of things.  I was very pleased with how this turned out.  Plus, I actually managed to not under or over cook the rice this time, so that was a really nice change. Yay!  Go me.

Coconut “Chicken” Curry

Adapted from Chinese and Thai 400

Serve 6

½ cup tamarind juice
1 tbsp vegetarian chicken bullion1 tbsp agave nectar

¾ cup reduced fat coconut milk

Chili sauce, to taste
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp corn starch
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed

2 cups broccoli florets

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup frozen peas (I used snow peas when I made this, but it would be better with peas)

1 vegetarian chicken, about 3 cups, chopped
12 oz fingerling potatoes, cut in half if large and boiled until tender
Rice and peanuts, to serve

Mix together the tamarind juice through corn starch in a bowl, and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat with a bit of water. Sauté the onion for 2 minutes, and then add the garlic. Sauté for another minute and add the broccoli and bell pepper. Sauté for another 4 minutes, and then add the sauce. Add the peas and “chicken”, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add in the potatoes, and simmer for another 2 minutes, until heated through. Serve over rice, topped with peanuts.