Pink Tofu + Cranberry Salad

For the dry fried tofu: cube & press a brick of tofu.  Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat.  Fry the tofu in a dry pan, pressing on it gently, until a nice firm crust develops.

For the cranberry sauce: This recipe, using stevia (chunky version)

Heat the fried tofu with cranberry sauce and a drizzle of maple syrup.  Serve over lettuce, with diced avocado and pecans.

Adapted from HHL

Cashew Stir Fry

Alright.. dry fried tofu.  You cube/press tofu, and then 'fry' it in a pan - no oil, no water, no nothing.  Just press on the tofu to get out the moisture over medium heat, and the tofu should develop a nice crust, like it's fried but not really.  GREAT STUFF!
Veggies were broccoli, carrot, mushrooms, garlic, and onion.
Sauce was soy sauce, corn starch, sugar free strawberry jelly, dried ginger, stevia, a wee bit of molasses, rice vinegar.
Served over brown rice, topped with cashews
Adapted from Vouge Vegetarian.

Two Serving Veggie Pot Pie-Thingy

Hey.  I got up at 4am this morning, and couldn't go back to sleep.  Bleck.  The worst part of it is I didn't get to sleep until 10 or so last night, since I was working on an English project, then had to come home and make soup, salad dressing, pizza, and salads (the pizza was AMAZING, by the way.  but more on that later).

 

 

Anyhoo, here's a lovely little dish that makes 2 servings... in an effort to get though all of my saved recipes I am cutting most things down to 2 servings... 

I added a gravy sort of thing, and I think that made this dish taste SOO much better than the original recipe.  But to each his own, I suppose.

 

Adapted from Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

 

For the crust:

mix 1/4 cup flour, 1 tbsp applesauce, and 2 tbsp cold water.  Spread into 2 ramkins coated with nonstick spray, and bake for 10 minutes, until firm.

For the Tofu:

Mix crumbled tofu, stemmed/wilted spinach, nooch, lemon juice, and garlic.  You should total about 3/4 cup-ish tofu mix

For the veggies:

Peel, cube, and boil a very small sweet potato until tender.

Saute bell pepper, red onion, and mushroom until almost tender.  Add chopped rosemary, paprika, vegan worchestire sauce, home made vegetable broth powder, a few drops butter extract, and a small corn starch slurry.  Add a few tbsp water as needed to make it a sort of gravy.

 

Add the tofu mix to the ramkins, then top with veggies.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, until heated through.

Lunch Wrap + Blueberry Muffins

Double whammy today! 
A) I'm proud of myself for starting to be braver about eating raw foods - like onion.  I used to be so scared to eat raw foods like onion and cabbage, because I thought it would mess up my stomach (don't ask).  However, my courage is slowly returning.  Thus, I put raw onion in my lunch wraps, and am loving it!
B) Have been searching for frozen blueberries for a llllllooooong time, and finally found them!  I don't like fresh blueberries (I know, don't hate), but decided to try frozen.  Voila, I like 'em!

And with all of that...

Muffins are from HHL, changes are whole wheat flour, baking blend stevia in place of sugar, omitted orange juice and oil, gingerbread cookie tea, and no almonds.  24 mini muffins at 35 calories per muffin.
The wrap is adapted loosely from VegBurgers.  It consists of:

• avocado
• raw red onion slivers
• silken tofu blended with lemon and cilantro,
• iceburg lettuce
• smoky cashew-pesto cheese, using this pesto recipe (omitting the oil, using water instead, and omitting the miso), and adding sun dried tomatoes to it
• tofu, pressed, cooked on the panini press after being smothered in bbq sauce (omitting the oil, omitting the bourbon and adding vegan worchestire sauce and rum extract)

And I suppose that I should go ahead and add in here that I made a pizza with the bbq sauce:
Pizza crust topped with bbq sauce, paninied mushrooms and red bell pepper, arugula, and the cheese from above.

Chilli with Sour Cream

 

More soup, catching up still...

 

As far as I remember, this was pretty tasty!

 

 

Side note on my life:  Homecoming is tomorrow.  I, obviously, don't have a date, and am not going (will probably be fast asleep when the dance starts at 9).  Is it weird that I'm proud to scoff at people who waste time/money on that stuff?  ;)  I literaly told someone "Why would you spend $100 on homecoming?  Do you know how much tofu that would buy?"  That totally got so many laughs from my friends... :D

 

Anyhoo...

 

Chili, adapted from Vouge Vegetarian

 

Veggies:

• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Canned, diced tomatoes

 

Seasonings:

• Vegan worchestire sauce (annie's is vegan)
• Cilantro
• No chicken broth powder
• Chili powder
• Cumin

 

Other:

• Setian of choice
• sour cream, to serve (use stevia, add the nooch - deeeelish!)
• Pinto beans
• Corn starch slurry

Very Full Burritos with Salsa and "Feta"

Wraps are so frustrating to photograph... sorry.. (it doesn't help that I was hungry!)

 

 

I promise you, though, these were excellent.  Filling, flavourful, and just messy enough.

Adapted from Oh She Glows

On a panini press, cook sliced onions and mushrooms with some chopped garlic.

Mix with heated:

• diced & cooked potato
• black beans
• chopped basil & parsley
• nooch
• paprika

Pile into a wrap, and top with feta and salsa

What's Up In My Kitchen - Recipe Round-Up (Finally!)

Ok, go glance at this article.  It will make you smile.

Blended chia pudding: if you don't like the texture of chia pudding, just blend it!  Makes all of the lumps go away, and it has the texture of yogurt.  Here, topped with piles of granola.

 

Made a batch of tofu feta.  Only this stuff is better than your normal tofu feta, because it's a LOT firmer.  Changes: 1/3 cup agar flakes, 3 tbsp olive oil (I ran out).  Wow, this stuff was good on a salad!

 

Pancakes... Mmmm... Sans frosting and raisins (which I left out and added a few pepitas), these make 2 292 calorie servings.  And the servings are HUGE!  I wanted to make the frosting, but forgot to chill my can of coconut cream... :(

 

 

 

Roasted Veggie Salsa - my first shot at homemade salsa.  I would recommend using less lime juice, but otherwise I loved this recipe.  Oh, and I used hatch chilis instead of jalapenos.  Because I have ALWAYS wanted to use those things...

 

Quinoa/Adzuki bacon.  Dang, this stuff smelled SO good in the oven.  Changed: cooked the beans, cooked up 1/3 cup quinoa to replace the buckwheat, Italian seasoning instead of thyme, and no oil.  It was a bit crumbly, but that was OK by me.

 

As for lunches... well, I've made a wrap with peaches, basil, lettuce, avocado, and sugar free blackberry jelly - yum!  Lots of fruit!

 

 

 

My other wrap has been peaches (can you tell I like peaches?) with the tofu feta, bacon, lettuce, and avocado.  Again, yum!  (adapted from Iowa Girl Eats)

 

 

 

Another new b-fast food: banana bread in a bowl.  Blendm, let sit for 45 minutes or so, and it's like ice-cream for breakfast.  Did I mention you should top it with chocolate (which turned out very good, by the way!)

 

 

 

 Salad dressing!  Good for using up a surplus of basil... Fat free and creamy basil blast for your salad!

 

And, finally, 100% whole wheat strawberry pepita muffins (adapted from Chocolate and Carrots)!  Mix:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup pepitas

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup stevia baking blend

1 cup almond milk

1 tbsp apple cider or white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup chopped frozen strawberries

 

Pour into muffin tins and bake (I have only a mini muffin pan - this made 24 muffins, 250 calories for 7 muffins.  Bake for about 17 minutes for mini muffins, probably 27 for regular)

 

 

Rice, Chickpea, Lettuce Salad

You want dinner.  And you want it NOW!

 

 

I'm sure we've all been there.

 

Salad to the rescue!

Adapted from Cookie and Kate

Alright..

• Lettuce (iceburg + arugula)
• chickpeas
• carrot curls (made with a vegetable peeler)
• cooked brown rice
• feta (LINKY HERE)

Dressing here - minus the oil, and use tofu in place of yogurt.

Weeeeird Pizza #2

Tofu fingers.. on a pizza?  Sure!

 

 

It actually worked out really well.  Quite intense goodness!

Adapted from Veg-Bergers

First, make some mini tofu logs, about as big as your pinky.  In one bowl, mix 1/3 cup soy milk with 1 tbsp dijon mustard.  In another bowl, mix 1/2 cup cornmeal, paprika, thyme, basil, and oregano.  Dip the tofu in the milk, then coat with cornmeal.  Bake in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes, until firm.
Spread a pizza crust (cooked for a few minutes in the oven) with tomato sauce (from a can), and sprinkle with nooch.  Top with broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, orange pieces, and tofu.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350, until broccoli is cooked.  Serve with ketchup, incase the tofu falls off. ;)

Simple Soba Salad

You really can't get much more clean-out-the-fridge-before-vacation than this dish.

 

 

Man, you should have seen the inside of the fridge after this.  It was 99% empty!  Almost scary...

 

Adapted from Maple Spice

 

Sauce: blend

•  1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• a pinch of dried ginger
• stevia extract to taste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
 

Grill tofu slabs drizzled with sauce, broccoli, red onions, red bell peppers, and carrots.  Serve over soba noodles, topped with avocado and leftover sauce.

Pearl Couscous, Veggies, Tofu

I've had this little container of pearled couscous in my pantry for ages now.  It's actually expired... but the couscous totally tastes fine, and I'm not dead yet.  Just goes to show you that the labels are usually quite generous with their dates.

 

 

I don't know if you guys even CARE or not...

 

But I DO know that you care about a pile of carbs, protein, veggies and olives!

 

Gotta love those olives...

Adapted from Olives for Dinner

First up, press your tofu slabs - 2 per person

Cook some pearled couscous (aka Israeli couscous)

Mix together

• Mirin
• Soy sauce
• Rice vinegar
• Liquid smoke
• Dried thyme
• Lotsa fresh parsley
• A drop of butter extract
• Vegetable bouillon
• A few drops stevia extract

Place chopped onions, red bell pepper, and tofu slabs on a panini press, and drizzle some of the sauce over the tofu.  Cook for ~8 minutes...
Serve: couscous, veggies, tofu, leftover sauce, and black olives.

Limey Wild Rice and Broccoli Salad

I hope you like lime...

Because I have a pile of lime-intense food for you today.

If you don't want to be BLASTED with lime, I would cut it down drastically... same goes for the lemon.  All kidding aside, though, this was one unique dish!

Adapted from The First Mess

Cook up some wild rice.

Chop and grill on a panini press onion and broccoli.

The dressing was... (all blended in my lovely Mr. V)

1 orange

1 lime

1 lemon

~6 oz tofu to thicken

a few drops stevia extract

a large handful of fresh basil leaves

The whole shebang got topped with sunflower seeds and chopped avocado.

Soba Noodle Salad

Adapted from Leafy Greens and Me

This was pretty easy: cooked soba noodles, tossed with shredded carrots and cabbage
The sauce was:
lime juice
mirin
soy sauce
sesame oil (a weeee bitty bit)
stevia extract
It was topped with tofu, drizzled with the sauce, and grilled on the panini press.

And no one will blame you if you top it all off with cashews.  Totally slipped my mind...

BBQ Baked Tofu and Pintos

Ok, I have a confession to make...

I CAN'T GET ENOUGH BBQ SAUCE

Dang, that stuff is so addicting...

Adapted from That Was Vegan and The Wednesday Chef

Alright, first up, cut up enough 1/4 inch-ish tofu slabs to cover a 9*13 casserole dish.  This should be about 1 block, depending on what size you buy.  Then press the tofu.  Lay the tofu in a single layer in the casserole dish, and *smother* with bbq sauce (can you tell I'm trying to use it up?)  Bake for 20 minutes at 375, flip, bake for another 15 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes. 

While that is going, saute up a chopped small-ish red onion, and a chopped bell pepper - about the same amount of bell pepper as onion.  Mix the veggies with ~3 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans, 1/4 cup ketchup, 3 tbsp molasses, 3 tbsp sugar free maple syrup, ~1 tsp liquid smoke, 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp dried mustard, and a 4oz can of hatch chilis.  If you can get your hands on fresh hatch chilis, all the better, but I couldn't :(.  Anyhoo, spread this over the tofu, and then top with sweet potato tater tots (again, I WOULD link to a recipe here, but they turned out kind of bad...) - or, you could just smaaaaaaaaaall dice sweet potato and mix with cinnamon and call that done...

Bake this entire thing for about 20 minutes.  It should be nice and bubbly!

Rice 'n Bean Burgers

What's that?  You're tired of seeing burgers, you say?

Meh. 

My burgers, though, are like snowflakes...

Each one is different! ;)

Adapted from HHL

Mash up 1 1/2 cups red kidney beans until only a few remain whole.  Mix with 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice, a generous 1 cup mashed sweet potato, ~1/4 cup nooch, ~3 tbsp chili powder, liquid smoke, paprika, a few tbsp bbq sauce, a splash of cider vinegar, and sauteed garlic and shallot.  The mixture should be fairly sticky - if not, throw in some sugar free maple syrup (or just add some anyway...).  Now, drop the burgers (like drop cookies, only bigger!) onto a baking sheet, and bake at 375 for 20 minutes or so.  They should be nice and crunchy!  Serve on buns, with pickles, avocado, and tofu mayo.

Saturday Dessert Plate #2

I think I'll start posting this every Sunday.  Some things remain the same, and some change!
See last time's plate here.

Newcomers and updates:

The candied almonds were completely frozen this time, and the texture was much better.  The taste is still somewhat off, but that *might* be remedied next week... stay tuned!
Made some orange cardamom mousse!  It's not that hard... really.  Chuck into a vitamix: 1 small peeled orange, ~8 oz tofu (I used half silken and half firm because that's what was readily available), 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, a small splash of almond milk, ~1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup, ~3 tbsp stevia (might want to add more, it could have been sweeter), and 3 tbsp cocoa powder.  Blend until smooth - and further.  The texture of this was great, with the help of Mr. V!  Just slightly puffy....  Recipe adapted from Oh My Veggies.
No-bake chocolate-PB balls!  The texture was a bit odd - still needs some work.  But the flavour was all there.  Mix together 2 tbsp brown rice flour (might go with oat flour, or straight up oatmeal, next time), 2 tbsp almond meal, 1  scant tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp stevia  (would add more next time), a heaping tbsp PB2, and enough sugar free maple syrup to make a dough-like substance.  Chill until firm.  Recipe adapted from Chocolawty.

Peach & Tofu Salad

These are a few of my faaavourite things:

Tofu and almonds and avocado and peaches...

Quick, healthy... summer!

Adapted from HHL

Base of iceburg, topped with sliced peach, avocado, raw almonds, and tofu slathered with bbq sauce and grilled.
Dressing... yeah.  Just throw on whatever you happen to have - something light.  The bbq sauce will provide most of the dressing, just add a splash of mirin or balsamic vinegar.

Was that easy enough for you? ;)

What's Up Wednesday #6

Interesting article about agave - Why I Never Use Agave Nectar.  I never knew this stuff!

I tossed leftover veggies/setian on a bbq sauce - slathered bun, and called that dinner.  (Ok, so I had my usual soup and salad too...)

Friday was a MASSIVE cooking session for me! 
First up, I made Colby Cheese from Ordinary Vegetarian.  This was my first time trying agar... THAT STUFF IS SO WEIRD.  No kiddin'... I omitted the lemon juice (all my lemons went into making lemonade!), used 2 roasted bell peppers, cashews, and straight up sesame seeds instead of tahini.  It smelled fabulous...
Secondly was a strawberry bbq sauce, which also smelled really good.  I slathered it on tofu slabs, and stuck that on a sandwich.  Uh, YUM!  (Adapted from Vegan Yack Attack) Changed to the sauce: half recipe, 3/4 cup strawberries, add a bit of water, and ~1/4 cup sugar free blueberry jelly... I ran out of strawberries...

Lastly was this super-awesome-amazing salad dressing from Fat Free Vegan.  I followed it pretty closely, just doubled it, used a shallot in place of onions, and used sesame seeds in place of tahini.  Oh, gosh, this is the BEST dressing I have made in ages.. Susan is such a dressing genius.

And on Tuesday, I made a little army of vegan sausages!  OK, guys, repeat after me: I will read the instructions in the recipe and not blindly assume that all water goes directly in the dish.
I totally added the two cups of water to the gluten... and you can imagine how watery THAT turned out... -_-  Oh, well.  I ended up omitting the apple part of the sausages, using 1/2 cup oat flour in place of oats, 1 1/4 cup gluten, and 1/4 cup brown rice flour in place of rice.  They actually turned out realllllly good, though.  Although they did need about 45 minutes of baking time, not 30.  But, still, I think the flavour can best be discribed as 'calming', if that makes any sense at all...

One last thing... this morning I made Coffee Gingerbread Oatmeal... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Good stuff.  I made bottomless oats, and then added the banana and spices from this recipe (and stevia), using instant coffee powder in place of brewed coffee.

Oh, sorry, I lied.  HERE's the last thing... I made a coffee flavour of my b-fast tofu dip, which went very well with pizzerts.  Just blend silken tofu, almond milk, instant coffee grounds, and stevia.