Sweet and Sour Tofu

While making the weekly menu this week, it was decided that it would be a week of favorite dinners. By favorite dinners, I mean the meals we do not cook as often because one of us loves the meal, while the other is just OK with it. That being said, I had first pick, which was Sweet and Sour Tofu. Although my husband enjoys this meal, he claims it is not in his top 5. That's fine! It is definitely a top 5 for me, and I hope you enjoy it too. I usually use store bought sweet and sour, but if you have extra time, there are some great recipes online for homemade sweet and sour sauce. Either way, it is the tofu that makes this dish excellent! Enjoy

Ingredients:
1 Block of tofu, drained and cut into one inch cubes
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
4-8 Tbsp. of water
1 egg
1/2 c. oil
1 green pepper cut into large chunks
1 onion chopped medium to large
1 can of chunk pineapple drained
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Sweet and sour sauce
Rice for serving

Directions

1. Mix the flour, cornstarch, water, and egg in a large bowl. Begin with 4 Tbsp. of water. If the batter is too thick, add more water 1 Tbsp. at a time.

2. Heat the oil over medium/high heat in a large pan. Dip the tofu in the batter, and then gently place in hot oil. Fry until golden, flipping occasionally. Drain tofu on paper towel. Repeat with remaining tofu. Set fried tofu aside.

3. In a second large pan, heat the 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. add the onion and green pepper and sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the pineapple and cook until heated. Add the tofu. Pour sweet and sour sauce over the tofu mixture until well coated. Remove from heat and serve with rice and additional sweet and sour sauce if needed.

Tofu Fish Sticks

So as a new mom of an infant who is now eating solid foods, I am finding it very difficult to find quick meals for when we are in a hurry. Many of the kids frozen meals are either meaty or full of preservatives. I started thinking about what I ate when I was a kid, and I suddenly had a fond memory of fish sticks. We are raising our daughter vegetarian, so I had to come up with something similar that she would enjoy. The nice thing about this is that it is quick to put together, and it can be thrown into the freezer and used by portion size when needed. This would also be good as fish sandwiches, just slicing the tofu into rectangle slices versus the "sticks." Enjoy!



Ingredients:

1 block of extra firm tofu drained and sliced into one inch sticks
1/2 c. of milk
1/2 of a lemon juiced
1 tsp. of soy sauce
1/2 c. of "Andy's" fish and shrimp breading
2 Tbsp. of kelp powder
Tartar sauce for serving

Directions:
Mix the milk, lemon juice, and soy sauce in one bowl. In a rimmed plate, mix the fish breading with the kelp powder. Dredge the tofu into the milk mixture, coat with breading, back into milk mixture, and finally add a second coat of breading. If not using immediately, place tofu sticks in a zip type bag and freeze until ready to use.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 425 degrees. Place breaded tofu on baking sheet and lightly spray the tofu with cooking spray. Cook the tofu for 30 minutes or until heated through and the breading is toasted,  flipping occasionally and adding more cooking spray if necessary. Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges

Vegan Pantry Soup

In an effort to clean out my pantry and vegetable bin, I put together this soup. I was quite pleased with the outcome, as well as was my family. In fact, my husband stated that if this soup was at a restaurant, he would want to go back to that restaurant just for the soup. I know that is not an official critic's report, but I will take it! This soup is a simple crock pot recipe that can be made in advance, and sit in the crock pot on low for the day. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 c. of vegetable broth
2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. of chopped celery
1/2 c. of chopped onion
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger chopped
1/4 c. sliced sundried tomatoes
2 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. of curry
1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1 tsp. of garam masala
1/2 tsp. of coriander
1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste




Instructions

1. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
2. Once oil is heated, sauté the celery and onion until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes)
3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook a minute more
4. Add the curry, cayenne pepper, garam masala, coriander, and cinnamon and stir into vegetables until well coated. Remove from heat
5. In a crock pot, add broth, chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, spiced vegetables, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low for 5-8 hours

Nana's Shepard's Pie

This is by far one of the easiest comfort food recipes that is perfect for a chilly evening. Most of the ingredients are usually on hand, and I always think of making this in advance so that I can use the leftover mashed potatoes from a meal earlier in the week. This way, I get to eat mashed potatoes twice, which is never a bad thing! My mom, who is now referred to as Nana in our house, handed this recipe down to me, and now I am passing it on to you! Feel free to substitute the meatless crumbles with a homemade version of ground beef (e.g. tempeh, seitan, or tofu), but keep in mind that this meal is to be easy J Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp of olive oil

1 package of frozen meatless crumbles

½ c of chopped onion

½ c of chopped celery

¼ c of chopped green pepper

1 can of tomato soup

1 small can of whole kernel corn

1 small can of mushrooms

4 c. of mashed potatoes (instant or homemade)

 

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.       Heat oil in a large pan over medium/high heat. Brown the crumbles, onion, celery, and green pepper for 5-10 minutes until everything is cooked through, and veggies are tender-crisp. Stir in the soup, corn, and mushrooms with the crumble/vegetable mixture and remove from heat.

3.       Pour the mixture into a greased casserole (I use an 8x8 square casserole)

4.       Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the crumble mixture

5.       Place in preheated oven, and bake for 45 minutes

6.       Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving

Harvest Hash

The cool weather brings out all of the cravings for comfort food, so I took some items from one of the last farmers’ markets of this year, and made this delicious brunch hash. Serve this with an egg, and you have a meal that will hold you over for the entire day! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

One bag of cranberries
1 small to medium size butternut squash
3 small Yukon gold potatoes
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
5 fake sausage links (store bought or homemade) thawed
1 honey crisp apple
Butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Eggs (optional)

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 400

 

1.       Cook cranberries as per bag instructions. Set aside to cool

2.       Cut squash and potatoes in inch size cubes. Toss with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roast in preheated oven for one hour, shaking every 15 minutes

3.       Meanwhile, in a medium size pan, melt 1 Tbsp of butter over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add apple and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

4.       Cut “sausage” in inch size cubes. Add to onion, garlic, apple mixture. Add another tablespoon of butter if beginning to stick.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in a large bowl and set aside

5.       When potatoes and squash are finished roasting, add to the sausage mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon, careful not to smash the squash and potatoes.

6.       Spoon some of the hash on top of a plate. Spoon some cranberries over the top. Serve with an over easy egg if desired

Mock Pulled Pork Sandwich

One of my favorite chefs made an eggplant pulled pork sandwich, but he did not give a recipe. Unfortunately/fortunately for me, I had bought a large eggplant at the farmers’ market, and thought, I can do this on my own. So I did, and here is the end result. I can tell you now that I have never been so proud of a dish. I hope if you try it, you enjoy it too!

Ingredients

1 Large purple eggplant

1 c. flour

1 tbsp. corn starch

1 ½ c. soda water

Oil

Bar B Q Sauce

Premade coleslaw (optional)

Buns

Directions

1. Peel the eggplant and chop of ends

2. Shred the eggplant “guts” in a food processor or hand held shredder

3. Place eggplant in colander, and salt the shreds. Let sit for one hour

4. Take the salted eggplant and wring it out in a dish towel or flour towel until most of the moisture is out.

5. Mix the flour, corn starch, and soda water in a medium bowl

6. Heat about a ½ c of oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add eggplant to flour mixture. Once coated and the oil is heated, fry the eggplant until crisp on both sides, continuously separating so that you do not have one large piece. This may take two batches. Once all of the eggplant is cooked, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.

7. In a saucepan, heat about 1 c. of Bar B Q sauce. Add the cooled eggplant and cook until heated through on low heat.

8. On each bun, place a heapful of eggplant and add coleslaw over the eggplant if desired. Serve with fries and pickles.

Garden Curry

It is hot, and so is this dish! Ha! Did you see what I did there? No? Yes? Ok, anyway, I think I took in too many pepper fumes, but it was worth it for this splendor of curry vegan cuisine. I love curry, and I love spicy, and in my state of utter exhaustion, I pulled together this meal. If anything, you need to try it at least once and tell me what you think! I loved it, but I haven’t eaten a full meal in two days as I juggle work and an 8 month old.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp of olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 mild green chili pepper chopped

1 red Serrano pepper chopped

1 large red bell pepper chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 Tbsp curry

1 Tsp Turmeric

½ Tsp ground cinnamon

¼ Tsp Cayenne pepper

1 med-lg tomato chopped

1 cup of frozen green peas

Salt and pepper

1 can of chickpeas drained and rinsed

1 14 oz can of coconut milk

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium/high heat

2. Once oil is heated, saute onions until they sweat, about 2-3 minutes

3. Add chili pepper, Serrano pepper, and bell pepper to onion, and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until tender

3. Add garlic to vegetable mixture and cook an additional 30 seconds

4. Add Turmeric, curry, cinnamon, and cayenne to vegetables, and stir until coated

5. Add peas and tomato, stir to combine, and remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste

6. In a separate 2 quart pot, add chickpeas, seasoned vegetables, and coconut milk. Return to heat and simmer for about an hour.

Serve with rice