Kung Pao Veggies and Tofu

I made this recipe from Andrew Weil a few months ago. I really liked it, but I forgot about it somehow. I was looking through my food photos on Facebook a few days ago and saw the picture I took of it. I was reminded of how delicious it was, so I ran into the kitchen to make it again. I changed the recipe to suit the contents of my fridge. If you don't have all of the ingredients, you can adjust accordingly. 

Kung Pao Vegetables and Tofu

Ingredients:

1 container of tofu, drained and cut into small pieces

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into small pieces

1 cup red onion, chopped

1 cup crimini mushrooms, chopped

1 cup unsalted peanuts

4 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon garlic chili paste

Sauce Ingredients:

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

Stir the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Cook the tofu pieces in two tablespoons of peanut oil on high heat. Flip occasionally and cook until they are golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, until they are translucent. Add the broccoli, mushrooms and peanuts and cook for a few more minutes. Then add the garlic chili paste, tofu and sauce. Stir continuously until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Serve with brown rice or rice noodles. 

This dish is so delicious that you will completely forget how good for you it is. Broccoli, mushrooms and onions all contain powerful anti-cancer properties. Tofu is known to fight high cholesterol and heart disease, and peanuts are known to prevent hypertension. 

Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!

Snowday Stew

In case you didn't hear the news, had a big snowstorm here on the east coast Sunday into Monday. We had lots of food in the house, so I wasn't one of those crazy people who ran out to the store to buy soy milk and bread. I didn't have any plans for meals though, so I took inventory of the fridge and decided to make eggplant and peanut stew. Like I said yesterday, I'm a huge fan of spicy peanut sauce, so I've made this dish a few times since my original post.  I didn't have all of the ingredients called for in the recipe, so I improvised. Never be afraid to improvise if you don't have all of the ingredients a recipe calls for. It's pretty impossible to "break" something like this. Here's what I did:

Eggplant Peanut Stew
Ingredients:
2 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup red onion, diced

Small piece of fresh ginger, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large eggplant, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 bag frozen okra
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
sea salt
cayenne pepper
red pepper flakes
dried basil

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic and ginger in 1 tablespoon of peanut oil for a few minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Add the eggplant and tomatoes and cook for about 5 more minutes. While that's cooking fry the okra on high in the other tablespoon of oil until the okra slime dissipates. Add the okra to the pot along with the broth, coconut milk, peanut butter and maple syrup. Add a pinch of salt, a little basil and the cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, until the eggplant is soft. Enjoy!

Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is a favorite of mine. You could really cover just about anything with spicy peanut sauce and I would gobble it down, but the mixed veggies and rice noodles in this dish are what make it really delicious.

First I cubed a block of drained tofu, and I cooked it in a little peanut oil, soy sauce and  rice wine vinegar until it was crispy on all sides. I removed it from the pan and set it aside. Then I added a little more peanut oil to the pan and sautéed shittake mushrooms, broccoli, a chopped bell pepper and snow peas. I added some dried spicy Thai peppers mainly to add a little flavor to the vegetables - they're too hot to eat! After they veggies were tender, I added chopped bok choy and returned the tofu to the pan and let it all cook together for another minute or two. I then added peanut sauce and mung bean sprouts and stirred everything together until it was heated throughout. I served the dish over rice noodles and topped it with chopped peanuts and scallions.

This dish is so versatile that you can use any veggies you like. The spicy peanut sauce will work with just about any vegetable, and it has such a great flavor that you don't need to use anything else to season the veggies.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons tamari sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil or peanut oil
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (less if you're sensitive to spicy foods, more if you like your food really spicy)
1 cup coconut milk

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a food processor or blender. Easy peasy!

Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!

Spinach Mushroom Lasagna

I've had a hankering for lasagna for a few weeks now, so I finally headed into the kitchen and set about making one. I had a few recipes, but in the end, I just threw a bunch of stuff together and did my own thing. The ricotta recipe is based on the cashew ricotta recipe in Veganomicon. 

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

1 package of no-cook lasagna noodles (I used rice pasta)

28 ounce can of tomato sauce (or you can make your own, of course)

5 ounce container of spinach

10 ounce package of mushrooms, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

14 ounce package of firm tofu

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons vegetable broth

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup Daiya cheese (or more, to your liking)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. 

Sauté the spinach in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.

In a food processor, blend together the cashews, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, broth and nutritional yeast. Crumble the tofu and add it to the food processor. Blend until the mixture is thick and looks like ricotta cheese. Add more vegetable broth if the mixture is too thick. Add the cooked spinach and pulse until it's mixed in.

Sauté the onion in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook until they're soft.

Spoon a quarter of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer a third of the noodles over the sauce. Spoon another quarter of the tomato sauce over the noodles, followed by half the ricotta and half of the mushrooms. Cover with a third of the noodles. Then spread another quarter of the tomato sauce over the noodles, followed by the rest of the ricotta and mushrooms. Cover with the rest of the noodles and spread the rest of the sauce over the top. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle the Daiya cheese over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Enjoy! This tastes even better reheated the next day!

Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!

Skillet Macaroni with Broccoli, Mushrooms and Cheese

Well's Vegetarian Thanksgiving interactive recipe post from the New York Times was making the rounds on Facebook last week, and the skillet mac and cheese caught my eye because I really love mushrooms, broccoli and cheese together. I didn't have an oven safe skillet, but there were a few recipes I wanted to try that called for one, so Dennis bought me one. Most girls like their guys to buy them expensive jewelry and things, but I prefer kitchen stuff!

As soon as I got my hands on that skillet, I ran to the kitchen and set about veganizing the recipe. It was pretty good and I'll definitely make it again. Next time I will probably add more nutritional yeast and a little less milk, but here's what I did when I made it the first time:

Ingredients

4 ounces Daiya cheddar (about half a bag)

2 ounces Daiya mozzarella (about a quarter of a bag)

1 tablespoon Earth Balance

1 small yellow onion, chopped

6 ounces cremini or white button mushrooms, sliced

3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

3 cups unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces small pasta shells, cooked and drained according to the package instructions (I used rice pasta) 

4 cups small broccoli florets, cooked in boiling water for 1 minute (broccoli can be added to the pasta during the last minute of cooking, then drained with the pasta in a colander)

Preparation

1. Mix the cheeses in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. Melt the Earth Balance in a large, high-sided, oven-safe skillet. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and it comes to a simmer, and then reduces by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes.

4. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables in the skillet. Stir well to coat.

5. Whisk in the milk in a steady, thin stream until creamy. Then whisk in the nutritional yeast, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to bubble and the liquid thickens, about 3 minutes.

6. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the cooked pasta and broccoli. 

Then add half of the mixed cheeses and give it a quick mix. 

7. Preheat the broiler after setting the rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the ingredients in the skillet. Set the skillet on the rack and broil until the cheese melts, about five minutes. (If your skillet has a plastic or wooden handle, make sure it sticks outside the oven, out from under the broiler, so the handle doesn’t melt.) 

Yield: Makes four servings.

Like what you're reading? Then follow me on Twitter!

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Welcome to day 2 of Pumpkin Week! Todays' dish is pumpkin oatmeal. This is one of my favorite breakfasts for this time of year. If I have time, I bake it after cooking it on the stovetop and make sort of a casserole. I usually top half of it with pecans and the other half with pumpkin seeds, making his and hers oatmeal, since Dennis doesn't like pecans.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

1 cup rolled oats

1 banana, cut into chunks

1 cup canned pumpkin 

2 cups milk of choice (I use hemp milk)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons cashew or almond butter

handful of pumpkin seeds

Boil oatmeal in milk. Turn down heat to medium and stir in the pumpkin, banana, spices and seeds. Cook together for a few minutes until oatmeal has thickend. Turn off the heat and then stir in the nut butter.

Baked Oatmeal

Once oatmeal has been cooked, transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle chopped pecans or pumpkin seeds on top. Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.

Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins

I have declared this week to be Pumpkin Week!

This is the time of year for yummy fall foods, my favorite of which is pumpkin. I've been adding it to everything lately and I'll tell you all about it in upcoming blog posts.

This is a recipe given to me by friend Vanessa. It wasn't vegan, so I veganized it and swapped out wheat flour with spelt flour. The topping is supposed to be crumbly, but when I made it, my margarine wasn't cold enough and the topping was sort of a paste. I put it on top of the muffins anyway, and it gave them a nice little crunchy crust, which was pretty tasty. These muffins did not last very long at all in my house!

Muffins:
2 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons water mixed with 3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups apples, peeled and finely chopped

Streusel Topping:
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold margarine such as Earth Balance

Directions:
Preheat over to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
Add liquid ingredients and stir until just moistened.
Stir in the apples.
Spoon into greased muffin tin or a muffin tin lined with paper liners, about 3/4 full.
Sprinkle with streusel topping.
Bake for 40 minutes.

Makes 24 muffins.

Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!

Tofuna Salad

Even though Autumn is here, we had a few warm days here in NJ, and I felt salad was in order. Like I said on Tuesday, I've added small amounts of soy back into my diet and I've been okay with it. I came across a tofuna salad recipe that looked really good, so I made it - with my own alterations, of course. Dennis and I both really loved it, so  it will definitely be back in my meal rotation.

Tofuna Salad
serves 2-4

1 container firm organic tofu, frozen

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon tamari

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 celery stalks, diced

1/4 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced

1 teaspoon kelp

1 teaspoon dried dill

1.  Remove tofu from freezer. Allow to thaw. Squeeze the water out of it.

2.  Crumble tofu, add remaining ingredients and mix. Chill for a few hours so tofu can absorb the flavors. Season to taste.

3.  Serve as a salad or on sandwiches.

Feel free to add or subtract ingredients to your own liking!

Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!

Raw Kale Slaw

It's been really hot and humid here in New Jersey lately, but last weekend was pretty nice, so Dennis and I decided to go on a picnic. We're not really beach people, but we really like packing up food and going to sit in the park. Our favorite picnic destination is Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown.

I made a big batch of raw kale slaw to take with us. I was introduced to kale slaw a potluck last year. Sadly I don't remember who made it (Sue something?), and I don't think she came back to any other potlucks or meetups. She told me she chopped up the kale into really small pieces, added some shredded carrot to it and mixed in a little vinegar, Veganaise and garlic gomasio. It was so good that I immediately made a batch at home. I make it every once in a while for lunch now, and this time, I decided to make a raw version with cashew mayo instead of Veganaise. 

To start, chop one head of kale and shred two carrots. I did this in my food processor because it's faster than doing it by hand.

To make raw mayonnaise mix together 3/4 cup of water, 1 garlic clove, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 cup stone-ground mustard and 1 cup of raw cashews that have been soaked for an hour in a high powered blender or food processor.

Add the mayo to the kale and carrots and mix. Sprinkle in some garlic gomasio if you have it. (If you don't, you should get some - it's really good.) Refrigerate for a few hours to let all of the flavors combine with each other. Then enjoy!

I also made potato salad and quinoa salad. This was such a delicious lunch!

We had really amazing white donut peaches for dessert. I threw my pit over by a tree and this really cute little squirrel came over and feasted on it. He seemed to enjoy it as much as I did!


Like what you're reading? Then sign up for my healthy living newsletter!