Brococoli Almond Sweet-and-Sour Tofu - Vegan Yum Yum (p. 40)

THE RECIPE:
1 tub extra firm tofu, pressed
2 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer, plus 4 tsp. water, mixed
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 peanut or canola oil [I used peanut]
1/2 c. sliced almonds
1 to 2. c steamed broccoli
sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

RECIPE FOR SWEET-AND-SOUR SAUCE:
3.5 TBL. seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 c. + 1 TBL. H20 [H2 the izzo!]
2 TBL. + 2 tsp. sugar
2 TBL. tamari
2 tsp. ketchup
1 tsp. molasses
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1.5 TSP. cornstarch + 2 TBL. water, mixed.
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1) Slice the tofu into triangles or small cubes. [Lauren (the author, of course) suggests that smaller is better. This is where the pre-cubed tofu in the tub would be very handy, since my hand-cut cubes were fairly sizable pieces.]
2) Toss the tofu with the egg replacer/water mixture until coated. Then toss in cornstarch until each piece is coated and dry, adding more cornstarch if needed.
3) Heat oil in a large wok.
4) While the oil is heating, make the sweet-and-sour sauce. In a small sauce pan, mix rice vinegar, water, sugar, tamari, ketchup, molasses, ginger powder, and salt and whisk until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and whisk until the sauce thickens. Lauren cautions to keep your eye on the sauce and whisk frequently, as the sauce will burn is left unattended. When thick, turn off heat and set aside.
5) Place tofu in the hot oil, and fry for 3 to 5 minutes until golden on the bottom, then flip and brown the other side. Lauren suggests not crowding the tofu cubes and advises cooking the tofu in batches, if necessary. Right before you are going to take the tofu out, add the almonds and fry them for about 30 seconds.
6) When done cooking tofu and almonds, drain the oil and place the mix into a large bowl.
7) Pour sweet-and-sour sauce over tofu and almonds, add fresh steamed broccoli, and gently toss to coat. Optionally, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve immediately.

Comments: What a slimy and sticky mess the tofu was! My methodology was to place the tofu cubes in a bowl, dump in the peanut oil, then dump in the cornstarch on top. This resulted in a sticky, gooey gunk. And the large tofu cubes did not hold their shape well. That said, if I were to make this dish again, I would lightly coat the tofu cubes in the oil, then roll each cube around a plate of cornstarch, much like one does when coating a chicken breast with breadcrumbs.

That said, I am not sure I would bother trying to pan-fry the tofu again. It doesn't seem the healthiest way to prepare the 'fu and, as previously insinuated, the results were underwhelming. ["I know you can overwhelmed and I know that you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever, just be whemled?" "I think you can in Europe" - Name the movie, win a bike!]

On the other hand, the sweet-and-sour sauce was a delight! This would be a great sauce for dipping vegan egg rolls (Note to self: Find recipe for vegan egg rolls) or even drizzled over steamed veggies and rice.

Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta - Vegan Yum Yum...(p. 216)

This is easily one of my new favorite meals, hands down. The "cream" sauce is made by blending well cashews and other ingredients - the KitchenAid blender worked like a charm.

THE RECIPE:

6 to 8 oz. uncooked whole wheat spaghetti [I eyeballed the amount]
1 to 2 large, ripe tomatoes [I opted to use 2]
1/2 c. raw cashews
1/4 c. water
1 TBL. tomato paste
2 TBL. olive oil
2 to 4 cloves garlic [I don't remember how many I used, but I am going say that I used 2 or 3 and definitely not 4 for fear of rancid garlic breath)
1 tsp. salt
2 to 3 TBL. wine or water [Whoa, that's like comparing apples to oranges]
1 or 2 tsp. black pepper
1 large handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
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1) Boil water and cook pasta.
2) Core then roughly chop the tomato(s). Add to blender, along with cashews, water (or wine) and tomato paste. Blend until very smooth.
3) Add olive oil to large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and saute until golden.
4) Pour the sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt, and let cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5) Add the drained pasta to the saute pan along with the black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

This recipe is delicious, as is. No changes or suggestions necessary. This recipe will be incorporated to my meal rotation.

Random Thought

So, as I was reading JL's blog, I noticed that she "tags" her entries. Going forward, I will be tagging entries for quicker reference in the future.

P.S. Damn "Insert Link" button on Blogger is still not functional! In any event, here is the link to her blog. You'll just have to bear with old school cutting and pasting for the time being! http://soapparently.wordpress.com/

Stir-Fry 2004 Plus! - An ORIGINAL by SDP and LH

SDP and I wanted to make dinner together and I suggested stir-fry...Little did she know that we were making a vegan meal! Again, like Stir-Fry 2004, we did not follow a recipe and instead used our kitchen intuition to throw together this dish. The results were phenomenal.

To start, heat up some tamari, water, and sugar in a wok. Add veggies. SDP bought and brought over a vacuum-packed assortment of pre-washed, pre-cut vegetables, that included carrots, broccoli, onions, red/yellow/green peppers, mushrooms, etc. This was a pleasant convenience. We also added in some finely chopped garlic and ginger. Towards the end of the cooking time, we tossed in cooked brown rice. At the end of the cooking time, SDP added some pan-fried chicken and I added my pan-fried tofu for protein.

Just as good, if not better, than last time!

Nutritious British Broccoli and Spinach Quiche - The PETA Celebrity Cookbook by Ingrid Newkirk (p. 69)

Cookbook:

I had made this quiche B.B. (Before Blog) and had enjoyed it very much so. Why is it "British" quiche? That I do not know! Or care!

THE RECIPE (COURTESY OF ABOVE REFERENCED BOOK):

2-3 garlic cloves
1.5 c. broccoli
2 c. spinach
1 lb. tofu, drained and cut into chunks
2-3 TBS. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional)
1 vegan pie crust (See 11/08/08 Entry for recipe)
1 tsp. paprika
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1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Combine garlic, broccoli, spinach, tofu chunks, nutritional yeast, salt, cayenne.
3) Combine in food processor (option) [I opted out of this step; instead I just chopped everything really well]
4) Roll out pie crust and place in pie dish.
5) Spoon tofu mixture into pie crust.
6) Sprinkle paprika on top.
7) Bake for 1 hour and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.



Why is my link not working?! Must play around with Blogger to create active and visible links. In the meantime, the following is the url for the cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Peta-Celebrity-Cookbook-Ingrid-Newkirk/dp/1590560272/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260239543&sr=8-1

Ten Minute Brownies Revisited - See 11.15.09 Entry

Did not have any vegan chips, but I did have a hunk of Trader Joe's chocolate. At TJ's there is a physical list of Vegan Friendly Products - just ask at the customer service center! This bar of chocolate is a real value item too. For the recipe, I used a chef's knife and chopped the sh** out of a small hunk of the bar.

Again, there are some issues with pan size/ baking time/ proportions of wet and dry ingredients...the brownies were not cohesive squares when cut. They were crumbly but delicious and fudgy nonetheless. In fact, DP's dad wolfed down two at the dinner table! The brownies were extra energy needed to banish all helicopters on the front lawn!

Homemade Lara Bars - http://enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com/2008/02/home-made-lara-bars-energy-bars-part-3.html

Its a well known fact of life that Lara Bars are delicious. These homemade Lara Bars, courtesy of the above referenced website, were really good too! The recipe yields two bars.

Here's the recipe:

Very Cherry Bars

1/4 cup chopped dates (roughly chopped whole dates, not pre-chopped)
1/4 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries [I used Craisins]
1/3 cup whole pecans, almonds or walnuts [I used cashews]
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 TBSP peanut butter [I used crunchy Skippy]*

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1)Pulse dates and cherries in a food processor (This is where my Magic Bullet came into handy) until processed to a paste; transfer to medium bowl.

2) Add the nuts and cinnamon to the Magic Bullet and pulse until finely chopped. Add the nut mixture to the fruit paste.

3) Use your fingers to knead the nuts into the fruit paste.

4) Divide mixture in half. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap, and use hands to form the bars.

Notes: * While the peanut butter was not included in the original recipe, I added it to the mixture since it was so dry and did not hold its form well. It was a tasty addition. It would be fun to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters!

As far as the mixture being a little on the arid side, it may be attributable to the dates I used. The ones I used were purchased in a plastic container. Word on the street from my coworker, RA, is that there are more juicy, fresh dates. She might have mentioned these plumper dates being readily available in a barrel? I'll have to investigate this further...

Also, I encourage you to check out the website mentioned above...the blogger makes suggestions for different variations of Lara Bars. HELLO chocolate chip cookie dough Lara Bars!