Pizza Night In Ohio

Pizza Night in Ohio* 9/30

Pizza Un
(sauce: smoked tomato, garlic, basil; topping, black olives, fyh mozzarella)

Pizza Deux
(sauce: pureed roasted red pepper, garlic, olive oil; toppings: smoked tofu, kalamata olives, fyh mozzarella)

Iceberg Lettuce Salad
(w/ Green Goddess dressing and Pine Nuts)



Tonight we decided to take it easy after making the Indian food last night -- so what we do? Make our own pizza dough and two different sauces ;)

We used a quick pizza dough (ap flour, water, yeast, salt) that only needs to rise for 10 minutes. It's pre-baked for 5 minutes, and then you add the toppings and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Both of them turned out very well, and yes, the soy cheese actually did melt!

There are no pictures of the first pizza because the kids ate it before I could get the camera out. I'm guessing they were hungry...



* Okay, so it's not Hockey Night in Canada ;)

Tags: pizza, dough, tomato sauce, red bell pepper, soy cheese, kalamata, olives, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Tandoori Tofu, Puri, Toor Dal, Vegetable Pakoras with Tamarind Chutney, Coconut and Shredded Yellow Beets

Dinner 9/29

Tandoori Tofu over Saffron Rice
(smoked tofu, soy yogurt, smoked paprika, cayenne, ginger, cumin, tamarind, garam masala, salt, pepper)

Poori/Puri

Toor Dal
(yellow split peas, turmeric, corriander, mustard seed, tomato, onion, jalapeno, salt, pepper, fresh cilantro)

Vegetable Pakoras with Tamarind Chutney
(onion, zucchini, baby eggplant)

Spicy Coconut and Shredded Yellow Beets
(recipe via Maya Kaimal)


The classic tandoori gets a remake with smoked/roasted tofu, and the soy yogurt and spice mixture -- and turns out almost as neon red as the classic, but no FD&C red 3 and yellow 5 here ;) The saffron (basmati) rice is a good combo with the tofu, very fragrant and cooling.

The pressure cooker really shines when making the toor dal -- cuts the cooking time down from 45 to 15 minutes.

The soup, pakoras, poori/puri, and the spicy coconut and shredded beets are like old friends at this point, easy to make, and play well together -- satisfying all the way around. The bonus -- leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Tags: tofu, tandoori, coconut, beets, pakora, eggplant, zucchini, onion, toor dal, tomatoes, rice, saffron, tamarind, chutney, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Seitan Osso Buco, Collard Greens and Chickpea Soup, Green Beans

Dinner 9/28

Seitan Osso Buco

Collard Greens and Chickpea Soup
(are you missing spinach as much as we are?)

Green Beans
(blanched, then sauteed with olive oil and garlic)




The seitan osso bucco (buco) adaptation comes from the old-school Waverly Root cookbook -- the seitan is cubed and dusted with AP flour and seared in olive oil, and added to a cooked carrot/onion/celery base with a braising liquid of red wine, veg stock and tomatoes. It's all cooked for an hour at 375F, and it really thickens up quite nicely... served over pasta.

The only good thing about the spinach ban is that other greens get a chance to be explored -- we really like collard greens, kale and chard anyway, so it hasn't been too bad... yet.

Tags: seitan, tomatoes, green beans, soup, collard greens, chickpeas, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Raw Food Wednesday: Falafel with Moroccan Carrot Dressing, Raw Challah Bread

Raw Food Wednesday 9/27

Raw Falafel with Moroccan Carrot/Orange Dressing
(almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds, garlic, parsley, cilantro, oregano, sea salt, black pepper)

Raw Challah Bread
(almond meal -- soaked, pureed/ground, to make almond milk, then dehydrated the pulp for the bread, along with apricots, apple and raisins)



Another raw dinner from the Gabriel Cousens book... The falafel was an easy one to make, very similar to previous versions and just as tasty. The dressing (pureed carrot, orange, tomato, allspice, fresh ground cumin seed, olive oil, sea salt, pepper) was originally going to be for a salad, but tasted so delicious and spicy, that we decided to just combine the two -- and as a bonus, it looked cool visually...

As for the nutty and sweet Challah Bread... why yes, it was difficult to braid it like that ;)

Tags: raw food wednesday, raw food, raw, challah, falafel, orange, cumin, carrot, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Stir-Fry with Ginko Nuts, Spring Rolls

Dinner 9/26


Stir-Fry with Ginko Nuts/Seeds
(smoked tofu, carrot, red bell pepper, ginko nuts, Chinese celery, garlic, ginger, tamari, sriracha sauce over refried jasmine rice)

Spring Rolls with Ponzu dipping sauce
(napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, sesame oil, tamari)




The spring rolls were awesome (as Liz always makes them), and the ginko nuts/seeds are always a interesting textural addition to the stir-fry...

Tags: ginko, stir-fry, rice, tofu, ponzu, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Carbonnades a la Flamande, Braised Leeks

Dinner 9/25

Carbonnades a la Flamande
(seitan and onion stew braised in beer)

Whole Wheat Fusilli Pasta

Braised Leeks

French Bread




The weather was rapidly approaching Fall-like tempratures by dinner time, so one of our favorite stews was on the menu tonight -- straight outta Julia Child...

Tags: seitan, leeks, pasta, bread, carbonnades a la flamande, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Fettucini w/ Red Sauce, Wilted Greens with Balsamic Vinegar, Garlic Bread

Dinner 9/24

Fettucini w/ Red Sauce and Italian "Sausage"

Wilted Greens with Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic Bread



Somewhere along the line we had some of those Tofurkey Italian Sausages in the back of the fridge and they needed to be used soon. Long time readers know that I'm not really a big fan of them in general, but I also hate to throw anything out ;)

The greens were actually Vietnamese Spinach (a.k.a. "mong toi" from the CAM market last week) and were really nice -- very dark greens with a good deal of that spinach flavor that I'm missing right about now. Wilted with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, tamari and balsamic at the end.

Tags: spinach, fettucini, garlic, bread, balsamic, vinegar, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Smoked Eggplant and Tomatoes with Wilted Arugula over Fettucini, Potatoes, Tomatoes and Okra, Apple and Cherry Salad

Dinner 9/23

Smoked Eggplant and Tomatoes with Wilted Arugula over Fettucini

Potatoes, Tomatoes and Okra

Apple and Cherry Salad
(with Fig Vinaigrette)


A recreation of a dish we used to eat at "Liberty Street Brewing" in Akron (down in the valley) -- the wonderfully smoked ingredients and peppery bite of the arugula match well together over the pasta -- now if we could just get their fantastic micro-brewed beer again...

The addition of the potatoes made for a good spin on the traditional slow-cooked tomato/okra combo...

Tags: potatoes, tomatoes, okra, eggplant, arugula, pasta, salad, fig, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Wild Mushroom Quesadilla

Dinner 9/22

Wild Mushroom Quesadilla
(bluefoot mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, black beans, tomato, lettuce, fyh soy cheese, avocado)




These may have been the greatest quesadillas we've ever had -- every item was in harmony, and the mushrooms were spot on. We picked up the bluefoots and shiitake mushrooms at the West Side Market in Cleveland -- you know we're suckers for the unusual mushrooms...


This was also a recreation of the quesadillas we used to get from the old "lopez y gonzales" on Lee Rd. (where Rick Bayless started)... I think one of the reasons we learned how to cook was simply to recreate all those dishes we loved when we used to eat out. ;)


Although they're called bluefoots (a cultivated version of blewit mushrooms), they're usually purple on the stem, and these were almost violet. The flavor was very "meaty" for lack of a better vegan term -- and combined with the shiitake in the quesadilla were absolutely perfect.

Tags: mushrooms, bluefoot, shiitake, quesadilla, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Panade, Steamed Artichokes

Dinner

Panade
(adapted from Paula Wolfert)

Steamed Artichoke



School Open House = Panade (made ahead and reheated when we got back).

Sometimes you've got to plan ahead and this was one night where it paid off -- we totally forgot about our daughter's open house -- see all the projects they've been working on, sign-up for the dreaded Parent-Teacher Conferences, make sure the teacher isn't accidentally feeding your kid milk products for snack time, etc...

Luckily we had already planned on the panade and had prepped it at lunch time, cooked it for three hours at 250F (low and slow), and just cooked the artichokes when we got home.

I need to get a bigger calender and start marking these things down. ;)

Tags: panade, paula wolfert, artichokes, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Raw Food Wednesday: Burritos, Chile Rellenos

Raw Food Wednesday

Raw Burritos

Raw Chiles Rellenos



Back to Garbriel Cousens book for the main course tonight... raw burritos

The shells are made from flax seed, avocado and salt, with a little mexican oregano and fresh ground cumin seed to punch up the flavor. Then dehydrated for 2-3 hours at 115F and then are flipped for another hour (as opposed to 145F in Cousens book -- I get why he does that, but so far I haven't done it)...

The filling (the reddish chunky looking item in the foreground) is basically a sun-dried tomato, pumpkin seed and sunflower seed with red jalapeno (which must have been a hot one), salt and pepper. I decided to dehydrate for awhile, just to firm it up. Wonderfully spicy, and the shells were just soft enough to roll up with out breaking.

Also guacamole, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and cashew sour cream (cashew cheese thinned out with lime, salt and pepper.

Also a raw favorite standby, chiles rellenos -- the filling is sunflower seeds, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Topped with some of the cashew sour cream as well...

The red bell pepper is sweeter (and milder) than using a poblano, but you can always experiment with different fresh chilles, depending on your attraction to the burn ;)

Tags: raw food wednesday, raw food, raw, chiles, burritos, flax seed, avocado, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Kung Pao Tofu, Jasmine Rice, Chinese Broccoli with Mushrooms, Long Beans and Tofu Curry

Dinner 9/19

Kung Pao Tofu
(tofu, broccoli, carrot, water chestnuts)

Jasmine Rice

Chinese Broccoli with Mushrooms

Long Beans and Tofu Curry
(chinese long beans, tofu, coconut milk, red curry paste, sriracha, tamari)




If it seems like we've been making a lot of Chinese food the last week or so, you're right. Not that there anything wrong with that ;)


More fun mushrooms tonight, this time the Eryngii mushrooms (a.k.a. Eringe / Eringii / King Trumpet) also from the CAM market trip Friday. They have large and thick stems -- very porcini like -- but with a smaller cap. The mushrooms matched well with the Chinese Broccoli -- which, like all greens, wilted down to almost nothing...

Tags: tofu, broccoli, rice, mushrooms, long beans, curry, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Seitan and Lentil Stew with Chanterelle Mushrooms, String Beans, French Bread

Dinner 9/18

Seitan and Lentil Stew with Chanterelle Mushrooms
(onion, garlic, carrot, seitan, chanterelle mushrooms)

String Beans

French Bread



After the Chinese market trip Friday, we continued on to the West Side Market and scored some Chanterelle Mushrooms. After cleaning them gently, we simply cooked them with olive oil, salt, pepper and a splash of tamari at the end -- just to heighten the umami experience of course. ;)

These went on top of the seitan and french lentil stew, and served with a side of string beans (with actual strings, just like the old days) -- also from the WSM.

Tags: chanterelles, mushrooms, seitan, lentil, stew, string beans, bread, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Pasta Puttanesca, Roasted Broccoli, Bistro Salad

Dinner 9/17

Pasta Puttanesca
(onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, kalamata olives, celery, tomato, soyrizo, basil, salt and pepper)

Roasted Broccoli
(recipe below)

Bistro Salad

Garlic Bread




Our son wanted to cook again, so we made puttanesca again -- next time I'm going to teach him the finer points of ye olde stir-fry instead of how to mow the lawn. I think he'll find the stir-fry more useful ;)



Roasted Broccoli

This recipe is a nice alternative to steaming broccoli for 8,000th time ;)

2 heads of broccoli, cut into long strips and peeled
1 tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (optional)

Heat the oven to 450F.

Prep the broccoli, toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper -- if you want a little kick, add the optional red pepper flakes.

Put the broccoli into roasting pan in a single layer, and roast for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them around the 12 minute mark -- they should just be starting to get browned, not burnt. Serve hot.

Tags: pasta, puttanesca, broccoli, salad, garlic bread, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Stir-Fry with Tofu and Baby Corn, Jamine Rice

Dinner 9/16

Stir-Fry
(tofu, carrot, baby corn, red bell pepper, cherry pepper, ginger, garlic, tamari, black pepper, sriracha pepper)

Jasmine Rice



Some nights you just want the "heat" -- and the cherry peppers and sriracha fit the bill for a good burn...

Tags: stir-fry, tofu, sriracha, rice, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Spring Rolls w/ Dipping Sauce, Lotus Root, Chinese Celery and Bunashimeji Mushroom Soup, Mashed Potatoes wrapped in Yuba Sheets

Dinner 9/15

Spring Rolls w/ Dipping Sauce
(carrot, napa cabbage, bean shoots, ginger, garlic, sesame oil; sauce -- agave, sriracha, tamari, sesame oil)

Lotus Root

Chinese Celery and Bunashimeji Mushroom Soup

Mashed Potatoes wrapped in Yuba Sheets
(see below)


We went to CAM Supermarket in North Randall today -- a huge Chinese market (about the same size as Tink Holl) and loaded up the cart with some pantry items (rice, sesame oil, baby corn, dried mushrooms, frozen yuba sheets) and tried out some of their fresh produce (Chinese Celery, Bunashimeji "Crab" Mushrooms, Lotus Root). It's a cool store -- as long as you stay away from the live fish and packaged meat area...

We made a quick lemongrass and fennel stock and used that as the base for the soup made with Chinese celery (like regular celery, but with more leaves and very pronounced aromatics) and the fresh Crab Mushrooms (sort of like enoki on steriods) topped with stir-fried tofu and scallions.

Usually when we get fresh lotus root, we make chips, but we were already deep-frying the spring rolls and yuba sheets, so I found as recipe that calls for blanching slightly larger slices in water, then poaching them in a mix of chile oil, sesame oil, tamari, rice vinegar and agave. This is then chilled and served at room temp. A nice crunchy texture with a kick.

The spring rolls were quick and easy -- Liz has got these down to a science...

Finally, the yuba sheet and mashed potatoes -- where do I even start with this one? First let me say the yuba sheets, which were HUGE, were exactly the ones I've been looking for since I first saw them on the original Iron Chef series with Michiba-san. The round sheets were supple, not brittle like the dried or other frozen ones I've used in the past. A joy to use -- just think of them as the Chinese version of phyllo...

Anyway the recipe was pulled deep from our cookbook archives -- it comes from a 1960's era cookbook and suggests serving it with ketchup or worcestershire sauce (!). It's really as simple as making mashed potatoes and rolling them in the yuba and deep-frying for 3-4 minutes. Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Sort of Samosa-esque. Would I make them again? Probably not, but you never know... ;)

Tags: yuba, tofu, spring rolls, lotus root, bunashimeji, mushrooms, lemongrass, fennel, chinese celery, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Pumpkin Seed and Pecan Encrusted Tofu with Enoki Mushrooms, Potato, Onion and Chard Galette, Braised Fennel, Pecan and Apple Salad

Dinner 9/14

Pumpkin Seed and Pecan Encrusted Tofu with Enoki Mushrooms
(adapted from Candle Cafe)

Potato, Onion and Chard Galette

Braised Fennel

Pecan and Apple Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing


The tofu dish was adapted from the Candle Cafe cookbook -- they used seitan, but the tofu worked just fine. It uses an interesting marinade of tomato paste, umeboshi vinegar, red wine, tamari, etc... then after chilling for three hours, it's then rolled in a mixture of flour, the ground pecans and pumpkin seeds, salt and pepper. They were cooked off in the cast iron pan with canola oil. I though the marinade was going to be overwhelming, but turned out surprisingly good... The enoki were a nice addition both in texture and flavor.

The cast iron pans got a work out today, with the potato, onion and chard galette. There's always that moment of truth when it comes time to flip the galette over -- thankfully no problems today, it released perfectly into the larger pan... ;)

Tags: mushroom, enoki, potato, chard, onion, galette, pecan, pumpkin seeds, tofu, candle cafe, umeboshi, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Raw Food Wednesday: Pizza, Fennel and Red Pepper Salad, Lime Mousse Tart

Raw Food Wednesday 9/13

Raw Pizza
(buckwheat crust with dehydrated tomatoes, olives, basil, cashew "cheese", dehydrated enoki mushrooms)

Fennel and Red Bell Pepper Salad
(from Juliano's "Raw")

Dessert

Lime Mousse Tart


The pizza featured two dehydrated items: the tomatoes -- olive oil, salt, pepper, herbes de provence; and the enoki mushrooms -- olive oil, salt, pepper, nama shoyu.

The pizza also featured two types of cashew cheese -- the base layer of shallots, lemon juice, salt and pepper dehydrated for 8 hours; fresh "cheese" mixed with salt, pepper and nama shoyu which was then piped onto the pizza at the end.

The pizza shell comes from Gabriel Cousens book "Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine" and is made from sprouted buckwheat and sunflower seeds -- and wow! We have a winner! The flavor of the crust was a perfect match for the ingredients.

The dessert, of course, is from Sarma's fabulous book "Raw Food / Real World" -- even if you don't eat raw, this is one of those items that will make you want to explore it further. The secret ingredient is... avocado! Although you'd be hard pressed to guess that was the filling while eating the deliciously refreshing mousse tart.

Tags: raw food wednesday, raw food, raw, pizza, enoki, mushrooms, lime, avocado, fennel, red bell pepper, olives, basil, tomatoes, buckwheat, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Garlic Tofu, Tofu Triangles with Agave, Sriracha and Cashew Dipping Sauce

Dinner 9/12


Garlic Tofu
(stir-fried tofu, garlic, red bell pepper, baby corn, snow peas, jasmine rice with a garlic sauce: veg stock, tamari, fried garlic, shallot, lemongrass, sriracha hot sauce, cornstarch, pepper)

Tofu Triangles with Agave, Sriracha and Cashew Dipping Sauce




Another restaurant recreation -- this time Lemongrass in Cleveland Heights.

In the days when we were vegetarian (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), we used to eat weekly at Chef Paul Wongngamdee's previous restaurant ("Paul's Siam Cuisine") and order these dishes. It got to the point that when they saw us pull in the restaurant parking lot, they would start to prepare the meal. ;)

The trick to the garlic sauce is to put as much fried garlic as you think you can stand -- and then put even more into the sauce.

The appetizer is a recreation from Chef Paul as well -- pressed tofu triangles, deep-fried with a sweet/spicy peanut sauce (we only had cashews on hand tonight).

 

Tags: tofu, agave, cashew, sriracha, lemongrass, garlic, rice, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Red Curry Tofu, Brussel Sprouts

Dinner 9/11

Red Curry Tofu
(grilled tofu topped with a deep-fried rice ball and red curry sauce: coconut milk, tamari, red curry paste, sambal oelek)

Seared/Steamed Brussel Sprouts



A re-creation of the dish we had at Dragonfly last weekend. We ended up making mini-verions using a smaller size of tofu -- a block cut into eight thick squares, marinated in tamari, salt, pepper, lemongrass, ginger and a pinch of smoked paprika, then grilled.

 

The rice balls were made from leftover jasmine rice (from Saturday) that added a little rice flour and tamari to help them keep their shape -- the rice at Dragonfly was a short grain (couldn't tell if it was arborio or sushi) that was already pretty glutinous, but our jasmine wasn't -- hence the rice flour.

The sauce was straight-ahead coconut milk based -- Liz added the sambal oelek to punch up the flavor -- which it certainly did.

We loved it at Dragonfly -- we loved it at home ;)

Tags: dragonfly, tofu, curry, brussel sprouts, rice, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Bruschetta, Fava Bean Puree with Mint, Braised Leeks, Smoked Tomato and Spinach Salad

Dinner 9/10

Bruschetta
(tomato, basil, onion, garlic, ciabatta)

Fava Bean Puree with Mint
(fava beans, olive oil, mint, salt, pepper)

Braised Leeks

Smoked Tomato and Spinach Salad
(smoked tomatoes with alder wood, pine nuts, baby spinach, salt, pepper, herbes de provence, olive oil, sherry vinegar)


sort of a quicky bistro meal -- the fava beans and leeks needed to be used, and there's more tomatoes stockpiling as we speak, plus we already had the ciabatta that Liz made yesterday... by the time we had returned home (after running errands all day) we had just enough time to make dinner and watch the Simpson's premire. Good to see Fat Tony again... ;)

Tags: spinach, tomato, leeks, fava beans, bruschetta, ciabatta, garlic, smoker box, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Seitan and Tomato over Jasmine Rice, Chinese BBQ Tofu, Szechuan Eggplant, Gyoza

Dinner 9/9

Seitan and Tomato over Jasmine Rice
(seitan, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, tomato, veg stock, tamari, cornstarch)

Chinese BBQ Tofu
(hoisin, rice vinegar, agave, five-spice powder, tamari)

Szechuan Eggplant
(recipe below)

Gyoza
(shiitake, napa cabbage and mushroom sauce)



It's (homemade) Chinese take-out food tonight -- although in that case, it'd be dim sum instead of gyoza ;)

More importantly -- new plates (for the seitan/tomato and gyoza)!


Szechuan Eggplant

1 eggplant cut into 3/4" cubes

1 tbs. vegetable oil (or canola/peanut)
1 tbs. garlic, crushed
1 tsp. ginger, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

for the sauce:

1/2 cup veg stock (or water)
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup sherry
1 tbs. tamari
2 tbs. sugar (or agave)


Cut eggplant into 3/4" cubes, add salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Rinse eggplant and pat dry.

Heat a wok to med-high, and add oil. When it just begins to smoke add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flake and stir-fry for 30-45 seconds. Add the eggplant and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until the eggplant starts to show some color.

Combine all of the sauce ingredients and pour over the eggplant.

Bring the sauce to a boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup and is glazing the eggplant.

Check for seasoning / heat level -- If it needs a little kick, we usually add a shot of sriracha (rooster) sauce -- and serve over rice.

Tags: eggplant, seitan, tomato, gyoza, tofu, bbq, barbecue, shiitake, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Peach Coffee Cake

Breakfast

Peach Coffee Cake



By the time I stumbled out of bed, Liz had already made this coffee cake and was about to put it in the oven -- so I grabbed the camera.

All I know is that she veganized it out of some coffee cake book (replaced the eggs with soft tofu and a little ground flax seed) -- which is vague and unhelpful, I know ;)


here's the final product -- the peaches were local and plenty ripe...

 
 
 
 

Tags: peach, coffee cake, vegan, food, breakfast, tofu666

Tofu Marsala over Pasta, Wilted Kale, Ciabatta

Dinner

Tofu Marsala over Bumbola Pasta
(recipe below)

Wilted Kale

Homemade Ciabatta



The bumbola pasta is the not-often-seen bumblebee shape -- from Francis Ford Coppola's line of Mammarella Pasta. The kids liked it -- and it tasted fine -- but I think the shape made it hard to cook evenly. Perhaps this is why it's rarely made?


Tofu Marsala (serves 4)

A veganization of the classic dish -- and it's easy to boot! ;)

Jess asked in the comments about what kind of marinades we use for tofu, and I replied that we really don't make too many dishes using that technique -- but this one sort of falls into that category -- albeit just using tamari as a quicky marinade...


1 block extra firm tofu, portioned into eight cutlets
1 tbs. of tamari
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbs. canola oil, divided use
1 cup of cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs. tomato paste
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup of marsala
1 tbs. lemon juice
1 tbs. soy margarine
salt and pepper to taste

On a pie plate (or shallow dish), add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper to the all-purpose flour and stir to combine.

In a shallow bowl add 1 tbs. of tamari, and dip each piece of tofu, coating both sides. Then dip each piece of tofu in the flour, and turn to coat completely, shaking off any excess.

In a large pan (big enough to fit all eight cutlets) over med-high heat, add 1 tbs. of the canola oil, and swirl to coat the pan. Gently add the flour-coated tofu pieces. Cook until the tofu just starts to brown in spots, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove the tofu from the pan, and put into a very low oven to keep warm.

Add the remaining 1 tbs. of canola oil to the pan and add the sliced mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt to release the liquid in the mushrooms, and stir until they brown, about 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic and tomato paste, stir for 1 minute.

Off heat, add the marsala. Return the pan to the stove, and scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. Bring the marsala up to a simmer, and reduce by half, about 5-7 minutes.

Off heat, add the lemon juice and stir to combine.

Return the pan to the stove and whisk in 1 tbs. of soy margarine.

Check for salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the tofu and serve over pasta.

Tags: tofu, marsala, mushrooms, pasta, kale, bread, ciabatta, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Burgers and Fries

Dinner 9/7

Okara "Courage" Burger

French Fries


Have I mentioned that school has only been in a week and already it's kicking my ass? Between the homework and after-school functions, it's like I'm back in school!

And as much as I'd rather be cooking as usual, I'm not tonight -- so it's to the freezer for convenience food... things will be back to normal tomorrow, promise. We were in such a hurry to get out the door that I didn't have time to take a picture -- just pretend the food looked somewhat like this shot from March ;)

Tags: burger, fries, school, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Raw Food Wednesday: Eggplant Lasgana, Zucchini Noodles

Raw Food Wednesday 9/6

Eggplant Lasgana
(dehydrated eggplant "noodles", tomato/fennel sauce, pesto, cashew "cheese")

Zucchini Noodles
(with tomato/fennel sauce and pesto)


More of an experimental Raw Food Wednesday tonight -- trying out some ideas for a possible future event -- the zucchini noodles would have worked better on asian soup spoons, and the lasgana (while incredibly tasty), was a size too big to just pop into the mouth, so I'll have to re-work that.

For the eggplant lasagna -- dehydrated eggplant strips (cut from japanese eggplants with a mandoline, marinated in lemon juice, garlic, salt and olive oil for a few hours and then dehydrated for 8 hours at 115F -- they served as the "noodles" between the cashew "cheese" layer, the tomato and fennel sauce (tomato, onion, fennel, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper) layer and pesto (basil, pine nut, garlic, salt, olive oil).

For the zucchini noodles -- cut on the spiral cutter gadget thingy and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme and oregano and dehydrated for 30 minutes at 115F. Topped with the tomato/fennel sauce and alternately the pesto...

Tags: raw food wednesday, raw food, raw, eggplant, tomato, fennel, zucchini, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Okra and Tomatoes, Hoecakes, Tofu wrapped in Spicy Grilled Eggplant

Dinner 9/5

Okra and Tomatoes with Hoecakes

Tofu wrapped in Spicy Grilled Eggplants

We mixed the hoecakes (1 cup water, 1 1/4 cup fine cornmeal, salt to taste, let sit for 5 minutes before cooking in a cast-iron skillet with a little oil), so we broke out the cast iron...

The tofu/eggplant combo was sort of decided at the last moment after I had finished grilling the eggplant (Japanese eggplant, olive oil, salt, pepper, smoked paprika) and decided the spicy/pseudo-blackened tofu (tamari, smoked paprika, cayenne) looked naked... but now I'm not sure if the eggplant looks too much like bacon to be disturbing. ;)

Tags: eggplant, tofu, okra, tomatoes, cornmeal, hoecakes, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Seitan, Lentil and Lobster Mushroom Stew in Crepes, Glazed Carrots, Roasted Beet Salad

Dinner 9/4

Seitan, Lentil and Lobster Mushroom Stew in Crepes

Glazed Carrots

Roasted Beet Salad



It's the multi-purpose wraps from "Vegan with a Vengeance" again, this time with seitan, lentil and those lobster mushrooms from Columbus. Put them all together and... magic! ;)

We glazed the second (and final) batch of "maroon" carrots, the purple color coming through loud and clear...

Tags: vwav, crepes, beets, seitan, lentils, carrots, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Panini Sandwich, Chanterelle Mushrooms

Dinner 9/3

Panini
(fried tofu, grilled eggplant, basil, soy cheese, roasted garlic, roasted red pepper)

Chanterelle Mushrooms




Before we left Columbus, we stopped by the North Market, and picked up the chanterelles (as well as lobster mushrooms) -- after the long drive back home, it was a perfect time for the panini...

Tags: chanterelle, mushrooms, panini, tofu, basil, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Columbus Ohio: Dragonfly Neo-V, Pattycake Bakery

Brunch 9/2 @ Dragonfly Neo-V and Pattycake Vegan Bakery, Columbus, OH

Sadly, no pictures -- the camera was packed in the suitcase and I didn't feel like rummaging around in the trunk of the car for 10 minutes in the steady rain -- the final remenents of Ernesto... Plus, there was an OSU game later in the day, so parking was a challenge around the restaurant.

We drove stright from home to Dragonfly (247 King Ave. Columbus, OH. 614-298-9986), so we arrived with a good appetite... There's two parts to the brunch -- the buffet set-up at the bar, and a choice from the menu. The kids skipped the buffet (good idea) but wanted the chocolate chip pancakes. They were both very pleased with their choice. I had a chance to try a tiny bit at the end, and had I been in more of a breakfast mood, would have gladly ordered these as well.

The buffet consisted of 8 or so plates -- yellow tomatoes in olive oil, baba ganoush, chinese long beans with sesame dressing, green salad w/ dressing, bread, a cold rice and bean salad and roasted beets with a sour cream sauce.

For the second option, Liz went with the Red Curry Tofu -- a deep fried rice ball, grilled tofu and a spicy (but not overly hot) curry sauce. We'll have to try and deconstruct that one in the future. I had the Beet Risotto -- a finely exectuted bit of arborio rice, beet juice and the wilted green on top -- well played.

The couple of times we've eaten at Drangonfly, we've always had great food and the staff was always helpful and informative when we asked questions about ingredients or techniques... Highly recommended.

After working our way up N. High St. (and the OSU football traffic), we stopped by Pattycake Vegan Bakery (3009 N. High St. Columbus, OH 614-784-CAKE) and picked up blueberry muffins, spelt fudge brownie, chocolate cupcake, vanilla cupcake, banana chocolate chip muffin, chocolate and cherry bar. Despite having just had brunch, these almost all disappeared before we made it to the hotel ;) Also highly recommended.

Tags: columbus, ohio, dragonfly, pattycake, bakery, muffins, cupcakes, brownies, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666

Garlic Eggplant, Green Beans and Tofu over Jasmine Rice, Glazed Maroon Carrots in Sake, Napa Cabbage with Shiitake Mushrooms

Dinner 9/1

Garlic Eggplant, Green Beans and Tofu over Jasmine Rice

Glazed Maroon Carrots in Sake

Napa Cabbage with Shiitake Mushrooms


We used to make this garlic eggplant dish once a week when we started eating vegetarian (20 something years ago?!) -- because it was quick, easy and we really needed lots of those types of dishes ;) Tonight we also added the green beans and tofu because the sauce (garlic, hoisin, sherry, veg stock, pepper) works well with all of those ingredients.

We also scored some beautiful carrots, which were braised simply, and finished with a sake glaze.

The napa cabbage needed to move, so it was cut into long noodle-like strips and stir-fried with sesame oil and paired with the stir-fried shiitake mushrooms.

Tags: eggplant, green beans, tofu, rice, sake, carrots, cabbage, shiitake, vegan, food, dinner, tofu666