I hated tofu at one time. I thought it was tasteless and yet a weird taste and what was with the crumbly texture? This was until I found the trick to tofu.
I wish I could remember what website it was off of. I'm pretty sure it was "Vegan Dad". I was looking for something to BBQ. I was craving BBQ. I also used to hate BBQ but I'm pretty sure that was the meat part because it turns out I FREAKIN' love BBQ tofu!
So I found this recipe and the guy said the secret to tofu is that you need to freeze it in the marinade overnight before you need it. It seems to make the tofu more willing to absorb flavor. It's almost like it makes it more porous or something. I wish I could explain the science to you about it but that's really more my husband's territory, I just know it works.
So I feel the need to share it with everyone because if it's one thing I've heard when people talk about tofu is that it tastes like nothing. So I'm here to tell you folks it doesn't have to.
In honor of non-tasteless tofu, I'm sharing my three favorite tofu recipes!
BBQ Tofu (the one that started it all):
2 pkgs of tofu
Marinade:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
tbsp butter
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
couple drops of hot sauce
3/4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (vegetarian of course)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Freeze overnight and fry or bake.
Lemon Tofu:
1 pkg tofu
Marinade:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Freeze overnight and fry or bake.
Sweet Sesame Tofu:
1 pkg tofu
Marinade:
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp soy sauce
So there you go! Now go and tofu on!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Chickpea Salad!
I love a lot of foods and I think if I had to choose a top five they would be in no particular order:
1) Chickpeas
2) Raspberries
3) Chocolate
4) Peanut Butter
5) Quinoa
One of my go-to meals is a chickpea salad. My favorite is to serve it with marinated tofu (marinated overnight - *see my tofu tip post for more info!), quinoa, and kale sauteed in coconut oil, onions and Braggs soy sauce.
The key to the Chickpea salad is the dressing, and letting the salad sit in the dressing for a few hours before dinner to marinate to let the veggies pick up the flavor.
You can use whatever veggies you like I'm just telling you the ones I like best. I also don't give quantities for veggies, you can figure that part out for your likes.
Chickpea salad:
Dressing:
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Vinegar
1 tbsp Water
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
garlic to taste (I use 1-2 cloves)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of chickpeas
Veggies! I use: Cucumber, red and green peppers, onion (your choice), tomatoes
I love mixing it with the quinoa because the quinoa picks up the dressing, I also like mixing it in with the sauteed kale.
Anyway, have fun with this one, it's super customizable!
1) Chickpeas
2) Raspberries
3) Chocolate
4) Peanut Butter
5) Quinoa
One of my go-to meals is a chickpea salad. My favorite is to serve it with marinated tofu (marinated overnight - *see my tofu tip post for more info!), quinoa, and kale sauteed in coconut oil, onions and Braggs soy sauce.
The key to the Chickpea salad is the dressing, and letting the salad sit in the dressing for a few hours before dinner to marinate to let the veggies pick up the flavor.
You can use whatever veggies you like I'm just telling you the ones I like best. I also don't give quantities for veggies, you can figure that part out for your likes.
Chickpea salad:
Dressing:
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Vinegar
1 tbsp Water
2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
garlic to taste (I use 1-2 cloves)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of chickpeas
Veggies! I use: Cucumber, red and green peppers, onion (your choice), tomatoes
I love mixing it with the quinoa because the quinoa picks up the dressing, I also like mixing it in with the sauteed kale.
Anyway, have fun with this one, it's super customizable!
Curried Coconut Noodles
Yeah..... so it's been awhile. I had two kids so I'm going to call that my excuse. I've been busy blogging about them and not food.
Well now that my littlest munchkin is almost two I seem to be having some more time to cook these days!
I even had a chance to go through my recipe box and clear out the recipes from Foods 9 (grade 9). I kept a couple but come on it's been 16 years!
So I was trying something new tonight and as always I start out and then realize I only have about half the ingredients I thought I did. Tonight it was vegetables. I had a few carrots with black ends and a cabbage that had seen better days.
I really wanted to try and make a Laksa type soup. My favorite restaurant in town makes amazing Laksa but I'm sure they have some spectacular asian ingredients I don't have tonight like lemongrass. My kids love noodles and my littlest (let's call him Mr. O) is currently wheat free so rice noodles are great! I'm lucky because my eldest (Mr. E) will eat almost anything. Mr. O.... well we are working on it.
So I salvaged the cabbage and carrots and made a pretty amazing soup. I don't normally write recipes down but this one was too good not to.
It's kind of a soup and kind of a pasta dish so it's a soup-pasta hybrid. If you have leftovers it sucks up the juice and become pasta though so I think it's best served right away. What I made was a great amount for 2 adults and two young boys. If I had older children I would double it. For sure. Especially older boys...maybe triple.
Enjoy my surprisingly good tribute to Laksa!
Curried Coconut Noodles with Optional Sweet Sesame Tofu Garnish:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion cut in long strips
2 garlic cloves chopped
1-2 tsp grated ginger (I freeze mine for easy grating)
2 carrots (cut in long strips)
1/2-1 cup shredded cabbage
2 cups veggie bouillon (or 2 cups water a bouillon cube)
1 can coconut milk
1/2 -1 tsp curry powder (I went 1/2 because the curry I have is hot and I add sirachi anyway)
2 tsp soy sauce (I use Braggs for wheat free)
1-2 tsp minced fresh basil (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 pkg of rice stick noodles
Garnishes:
Cubed tofu baked for 20 minutes at 375 F in 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp soy sauce
Chopped Cilantro
Soy Sauce
Sirachi
1. In a medium-large saucepan fry onions in coconut oil until they start to brown. Add in garlic and ginger and sautee a couple minutes longer.
2. Add carrots and cabbage and sautee a couple minutes longer.
3. Add in the bouillon and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
4. Add the curry, soy sauce and basil and simmer on low-medium for 15-20 minutes.
5. Cook the rice noodles separately.
6. Rinse rice noodles in some cold water and then add them to the soup to reheat.
7. Serve immediately with the garnishes.
Well now that my littlest munchkin is almost two I seem to be having some more time to cook these days!
I even had a chance to go through my recipe box and clear out the recipes from Foods 9 (grade 9). I kept a couple but come on it's been 16 years!
So I was trying something new tonight and as always I start out and then realize I only have about half the ingredients I thought I did. Tonight it was vegetables. I had a few carrots with black ends and a cabbage that had seen better days.
I really wanted to try and make a Laksa type soup. My favorite restaurant in town makes amazing Laksa but I'm sure they have some spectacular asian ingredients I don't have tonight like lemongrass. My kids love noodles and my littlest (let's call him Mr. O) is currently wheat free so rice noodles are great! I'm lucky because my eldest (Mr. E) will eat almost anything. Mr. O.... well we are working on it.
So I salvaged the cabbage and carrots and made a pretty amazing soup. I don't normally write recipes down but this one was too good not to.
It's kind of a soup and kind of a pasta dish so it's a soup-pasta hybrid. If you have leftovers it sucks up the juice and become pasta though so I think it's best served right away. What I made was a great amount for 2 adults and two young boys. If I had older children I would double it. For sure. Especially older boys...maybe triple.
Enjoy my surprisingly good tribute to Laksa!
Curried Coconut Noodles with Optional Sweet Sesame Tofu Garnish:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion cut in long strips
2 garlic cloves chopped
1-2 tsp grated ginger (I freeze mine for easy grating)
2 carrots (cut in long strips)
1/2-1 cup shredded cabbage
2 cups veggie bouillon (or 2 cups water a bouillon cube)
1 can coconut milk
1/2 -1 tsp curry powder (I went 1/2 because the curry I have is hot and I add sirachi anyway)
2 tsp soy sauce (I use Braggs for wheat free)
1-2 tsp minced fresh basil (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 pkg of rice stick noodles
Garnishes:
Cubed tofu baked for 20 minutes at 375 F in 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp soy sauce
Chopped Cilantro
Soy Sauce
Sirachi
1. In a medium-large saucepan fry onions in coconut oil until they start to brown. Add in garlic and ginger and sautee a couple minutes longer.
2. Add carrots and cabbage and sautee a couple minutes longer.
3. Add in the bouillon and coconut milk and bring to a boil.
4. Add the curry, soy sauce and basil and simmer on low-medium for 15-20 minutes.
5. Cook the rice noodles separately.
6. Rinse rice noodles in some cold water and then add them to the soup to reheat.
7. Serve immediately with the garnishes.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Back.... with Avengance!
Yeah... it's been awhile. Ok so I have some good excuses, I think. I got laid off, went to Hawaii, moved cities, got 2 new jobs. It's all good though I don't really have to explain myself to you all, I probably don't even have a following! If I do, don't be offended, please forgive my absence and thanks so much for reading!
So what have I been up to lately. I have gone from making normal dinners to being laid off and having lots of time for more elaborate things, to being in Hawaii and being very lazy and wanting to eat out and eat bad (btw Hawaii has some AWESOME Mexican food, try Maui Tacos, it's a fast food chain), then to moving here and having two jobs and no time to cook.
So I'll start with a couple cupcakes I made. The first were peanut butter cupcakes which I loved so much for their simplicity. They were so creamy and tasty.
The second set of cupcakes are the Chocolate Cherry Creme Cupcakes. I made them for my hubby's birthday because he loves blackforest cake. They are pretty neat looking. I don't like cherries so I can't tell you about taste but my man sure loved them. So pretty!
*Warning - the next one is NOTcompletely vegan*While we were in Hawaii, basically the only food we could get was Mexican food. So we ate A LOT of it. Mind you there was this place called Wok Star on the main road in Kihei, Maui which had vegan and vegetarian options, not to mention one hell of an awesome owner. But anyway one of the first meals I remember while we were still on Oahu was at Chili's. I ordered this crazy big Taco salad with cheese quesadillas on the side.
So basically I made a black bean and corn relish with some red peppers, red onion, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, vinegar, and olive oil. Then I let it sit for about an hour before throwing it on some lettuce and tomatoes then I added salsa as more dressing to the relish (you could also use a balsamic vinegar) and of course some avocado!! YUM!
One thing that my hubby wanted these Medjool Coconut, Almond Date Treats from Save On. I bought them and then thought, what the heck!? I could make these! So I did. The ingredients are Dates, Almonds, and Coconut. All you need is a food processor. I also rolled them in Coconut afterwards.
Now this next one I'm very, very proud of. I made gnocchi. It was a long and tedious process but I was unemployed so I had the time. I used the good ol' pesto recipe from VWAV which is also where the Gnocchi recipe came from. My friend Jeff helped me and it was lots of fun eating the fruits of our labour.
Ok, then I went on a pancake kick and these were my best attempt, using my Dad's good old family recipe, veganized. Then I melted chocolate chips and let strawberries sit in sugar overnight and topped with those. Not healthy for sure but man were they delicious. I had them for dinner/dessert even.
Lastly, I made this beautiful Chocolate Raspberry Blackout Cake from VWAV also! This cake was amazing. I made it as a dessert for a Sunday night dinner I made for my parents. I made the raspberry glaze though rather than using preserves. Do we even have preserves in Canada? Is that like jam?Anyway until next time!! Keep baking what you love and loving what you bake!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Hello.. long time no see.... ahem. Moving on. I have been cooking, don't you worry about it. I went to the Taste of Health in Vancouver and I got to meet Isa Chandra Moskowitz which was needless to say the highlight of my week. Her cupcake book made me realize I could be a vegan if vegan's could eat these delcious cupcakes!! She did a demo for us from her new brunch book, so tasty! And I also saw a demo by Raw Rose on raw food and bought her cookbook. I'm not saying I'm going raw but I really like the concepts and I'm not going to say, I could never do that because I used to say that about being vegan so I can do anything! mwahaha! So what have I been up to well I'm glad you asked... let me show you.
Above you'll see probably the most ridiculously easy concept salad ever. I put down some spinach, some tomatoes, some avocado, black beans and covered it in salsa (this particular kind was corn and black bean) Then I put some tortilla chips for scooping. The only prep work was soaking and cooking the black beans ahead of time. It was so delicious and simple though. Take away the chips and I'm not sure it could be healthier. Awesome.
OK above is a variation on a recipe from VWAV. There is the Sesame Asparagus recipe. So instead I just added more of everything and more vegetables and served it over quinoa or rice. So it's garlic cooked in toasted sesame oil then add rice vinegar and soya sauce and I added a little bit of miso paste too. Then I put it all together with toasted sesame seeds on top. Mmmmmm for days.
Herb-Scalloped potatoes from Veganomicon. It was ok. I used potatoes that were little. I think it needed a little more liquid cuz I found it dry. But then I fried it up the next day for breakfast with hot sauce. Freaking good! I love leftover potatoes in the fridge! Instant breakfast!
So it was my co-workers birthday on September 28th so we celebrated at work this week and she loves bananas. And since I am the cupcake ninja and always make the cupcakes on anyone's birthday I found the banana split cupcakes. I didn't make enough icing to make them look super fantastic like the pictures in my book but they were pretty good. REALLY SWEET! Too sweet for me but I did use strawberry pineapple jam instead of pineapple preserves since I couldn't find any so maybe that contributed to it. It also made them kind of mushy. But not a terrible experience. I'm determined to make every cupcake in the book eventually. My friend Jeff missed out on cupcakes for his birthday since we didn't meet him until a couple months ago so we're celebrating his un-birthday (6 months after your birthday since you literally can't get further away from a birthday) which is coming up in a week or two. He wants the hardest cupcakes in the book... of course. Tiramasu here I come!
I also made the cookies and cream cupcakes just for the hell of it. OMG! My top three for sure. If you're wondering what the other two are they are the Brooklyn Brownie Cupcakes and the Green Tea Cupcakes. But yeah these were a big hit with everyone. My only tip is to keep them in the fridge... if it was possible to make them better... cold did it!
Well that's about it for now. I'm excited for thanksgiving! I'm hoping my mom might make me vegan perogies again. Oh and she also made us vegan spaghetti sauce (she usually uses butter), salsa and applesauce. I am SO spoiled! I also bought a huge bag of potatoes so you may see more potato recipes soon. Hopefully squash too but we haven't bought one yet! Why oh why!?
Happy cooking till then!
Above you'll see probably the most ridiculously easy concept salad ever. I put down some spinach, some tomatoes, some avocado, black beans and covered it in salsa (this particular kind was corn and black bean) Then I put some tortilla chips for scooping. The only prep work was soaking and cooking the black beans ahead of time. It was so delicious and simple though. Take away the chips and I'm not sure it could be healthier. Awesome.
OK above is a variation on a recipe from VWAV. There is the Sesame Asparagus recipe. So instead I just added more of everything and more vegetables and served it over quinoa or rice. So it's garlic cooked in toasted sesame oil then add rice vinegar and soya sauce and I added a little bit of miso paste too. Then I put it all together with toasted sesame seeds on top. Mmmmmm for days.
Herb-Scalloped potatoes from Veganomicon. It was ok. I used potatoes that were little. I think it needed a little more liquid cuz I found it dry. But then I fried it up the next day for breakfast with hot sauce. Freaking good! I love leftover potatoes in the fridge! Instant breakfast!
So it was my co-workers birthday on September 28th so we celebrated at work this week and she loves bananas. And since I am the cupcake ninja and always make the cupcakes on anyone's birthday I found the banana split cupcakes. I didn't make enough icing to make them look super fantastic like the pictures in my book but they were pretty good. REALLY SWEET! Too sweet for me but I did use strawberry pineapple jam instead of pineapple preserves since I couldn't find any so maybe that contributed to it. It also made them kind of mushy. But not a terrible experience. I'm determined to make every cupcake in the book eventually. My friend Jeff missed out on cupcakes for his birthday since we didn't meet him until a couple months ago so we're celebrating his un-birthday (6 months after your birthday since you literally can't get further away from a birthday) which is coming up in a week or two. He wants the hardest cupcakes in the book... of course. Tiramasu here I come!
I also made the cookies and cream cupcakes just for the hell of it. OMG! My top three for sure. If you're wondering what the other two are they are the Brooklyn Brownie Cupcakes and the Green Tea Cupcakes. But yeah these were a big hit with everyone. My only tip is to keep them in the fridge... if it was possible to make them better... cold did it!
Well that's about it for now. I'm excited for thanksgiving! I'm hoping my mom might make me vegan perogies again. Oh and she also made us vegan spaghetti sauce (she usually uses butter), salsa and applesauce. I am SO spoiled! I also bought a huge bag of potatoes so you may see more potato recipes soon. Hopefully squash too but we haven't bought one yet! Why oh why!?
Happy cooking till then!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Cooking in season!
I've found my new love (no offence to my husband of course): cooking in season!
We got a bunch of blueberries and fresh corn on the weekend and I looked through my recipes and found Corn Chowder and a Scones recipe I've been meaning to try (both from VWAV). I tell you when they say fresh is best they know what the heck they're talking about! Cutting corn directly off the cob into soup and watching plump fresh blueberries sizzle on the pan as the scones bake, it's an unreal feeling that makes you feel so good.
I've also taken to eating tomatoes with just salt and pepper. And greek salads with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. Also fruit salad with fresh peaches, blueberries and strawberries with just a sprinkle of sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup. Here's a picture of our fridge after we picked up blueberries.
So here are some meals I've made lately (lots of greek salad you'll notice). Below is some pesto garlic bread and pesto with a vegan roux mixed.
Below is a California type sandwich. The banana peppers were amazing! Yum yum. For more info see my other blog.
This was towards the beginning of summer when scapes were first out. Below is onions, scapes, beans, and mushrooms. A little pesto pasta (I swear it's not the only thing I eat, only like once every two weeks... not sure how it keeps coming up here)
Well that's a good enough update for now I think. I'll try and make my posts more frequent rather than huge ones all at once. What's in my future? A curry recipe... some cocoa-chocolate chip scones... some more birthday cupcakes perhaps... coconut pancakes with pineapple sauce, scalloped potatoes, pizza from scratch.... Very ambitious I know. The best part about summer is all the selection of fantastic fresh fruit and veggies... but unfortunately it's also a time when people are ridiculously busy and running around and vacationing etc. So you have all these ingredients but no time to do anything with them! Grrrr! The irony of it all! Oh well I'm only leaving for one more weekend this summer so I'll find some time hopefully. Until next time... love lots, laugh often and buy local!!!!
We got a bunch of blueberries and fresh corn on the weekend and I looked through my recipes and found Corn Chowder and a Scones recipe I've been meaning to try (both from VWAV). I tell you when they say fresh is best they know what the heck they're talking about! Cutting corn directly off the cob into soup and watching plump fresh blueberries sizzle on the pan as the scones bake, it's an unreal feeling that makes you feel so good.
I've also taken to eating tomatoes with just salt and pepper. And greek salads with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. Also fruit salad with fresh peaches, blueberries and strawberries with just a sprinkle of sugar and a drizzle of maple syrup. Here's a picture of our fridge after we picked up blueberries.
So here are some meals I've made lately (lots of greek salad you'll notice). Below is some pesto garlic bread and pesto with a vegan roux mixed.
Below is a California type sandwich. The banana peppers were amazing! Yum yum. For more info see my other blog.
This was towards the beginning of summer when scapes were first out. Below is onions, scapes, beans, and mushrooms. A little pesto pasta (I swear it's not the only thing I eat, only like once every two weeks... not sure how it keeps coming up here)
Well that's a good enough update for now I think. I'll try and make my posts more frequent rather than huge ones all at once. What's in my future? A curry recipe... some cocoa-chocolate chip scones... some more birthday cupcakes perhaps... coconut pancakes with pineapple sauce, scalloped potatoes, pizza from scratch.... Very ambitious I know. The best part about summer is all the selection of fantastic fresh fruit and veggies... but unfortunately it's also a time when people are ridiculously busy and running around and vacationing etc. So you have all these ingredients but no time to do anything with them! Grrrr! The irony of it all! Oh well I'm only leaving for one more weekend this summer so I'll find some time hopefully. Until next time... love lots, laugh often and buy local!!!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Well I went out for breakfast a couple times in the past month or so and my favorite thus far was The Pantry's Smothered skillet (without cheese and eggs) but I did cheat and have the hollandaise sauce (I know I know , it's made with eggs but it's yummy). And I would have had it without the sauce but then it would just be vegetables which are good and all but pretty dry. So I thought about it at home and made some little cubed hashbrowns with mushrooms, onions, peppers and hot sauce (I don't have banana peppers at home sadly) and then made cheezy sauce from Veganomicon and then topped it with tomatoes and green onions. Over all amazing but I added too much hot sauce but that's easily enough to fix next time. Oh and look how pretty it looks!!
LOL! I just love this picture. I made my Dad Boston vs. Brooklyn Cupcakes for his birthday (lots of work but yummy) with chocolate buttercream icing and this is what happens when you don't pay a lot of attention. I actually did it 3 times.
I also made a couple dozen cupcakes for my friends shower (VCTOTW the Vanilla made with whole wheat flour with chocolate buttercream icing).
Then below is Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans recipe but with Asparagus rather than beans, we decided it tastes better this way. My hunny made this! It's awesome!
Finally, I love love love love the following recipe. Whole Wheat Naan bread with spaghetti sauce as pizza sauce then onions and peppers then covered in beautiful pesto sauce (VWAV). I added pineapple as a topping and it just made it perfect with the salty pesto and sweet pineapple. This is one of my favorite things ever I think.
So that has been what I've been up to lately. Sorry all the pictures come at once, kind of overwhelming. The past week I've been doing the master cleanse and I ended up stopping after 5.5 days cuz of being sick. I just couldn't handle both and my heart really wasn't in the cleanse anyway. So I am weaning back onto food and loving every bite. Trying to start off on the right foot with lots of fruit and vegetables. The breakfast I am loving right now is chocolate almond milk with Vanilla Almond Cereal and a banana. I'm used to my hunny making me breakfast, he always makes us smoothies from the Thrive Diet book so I was kind of lost but I'm liking non-liquid breakfasts, haha. So I am excited about food again, feeling pretty creative! Hopefully lots more great recipes to come!
LOL! I just love this picture. I made my Dad Boston vs. Brooklyn Cupcakes for his birthday (lots of work but yummy) with chocolate buttercream icing and this is what happens when you don't pay a lot of attention. I actually did it 3 times.
I also made a couple dozen cupcakes for my friends shower (VCTOTW the Vanilla made with whole wheat flour with chocolate buttercream icing).Then below is Maple Mustard Glazed Potatoes and String Beans recipe but with Asparagus rather than beans, we decided it tastes better this way. My hunny made this! It's awesome!
Finally, I love love love love the following recipe. Whole Wheat Naan bread with spaghetti sauce as pizza sauce then onions and peppers then covered in beautiful pesto sauce (VWAV). I added pineapple as a topping and it just made it perfect with the salty pesto and sweet pineapple. This is one of my favorite things ever I think. 
So that has been what I've been up to lately. Sorry all the pictures come at once, kind of overwhelming. The past week I've been doing the master cleanse and I ended up stopping after 5.5 days cuz of being sick. I just couldn't handle both and my heart really wasn't in the cleanse anyway. So I am weaning back onto food and loving every bite. Trying to start off on the right foot with lots of fruit and vegetables. The breakfast I am loving right now is chocolate almond milk with Vanilla Almond Cereal and a banana. I'm used to my hunny making me breakfast, he always makes us smoothies from the Thrive Diet book so I was kind of lost but I'm liking non-liquid breakfasts, haha. So I am excited about food again, feeling pretty creative! Hopefully lots more great recipes to come!
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