scrambled tofu

Scrambled tofu: one of the vegan breakfast staples! Or so I hear. This was only the second time I've ever made it, but it turned out delicious and I plan to make it a regular feature at my table. The recipe I use comes out of Vegan with a Vengeance, but I use spinach instead of mushrooms (I've never been a big mushroom fan). If you want to add spinach I'd just throw it in in the last couple minutes of cooking, cover the skillet with a plate during that time so it wilts nicely, and then mix it up. I found some vegan crispy onion topping at my local health food store, so I sprinkled that on top also -- the little bit of crunch really made it excellent! I served the scrambled tofu with tempeh bacon and a slice of bread (with some red pepper hummus on the side to dip it in).

Recipe taken from theppk.com:

Ingredients
1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium chopped white onion
2 cups cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of 1/2 a lime (or lemon)
1 carrot (this is optional, I grate it in at the end, mostly for color)

Spice blend:
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon thyme, crushed with your fingers
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high. Saute onions 3 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms, saute 5 minutes more. Add garlic, saute 2 minutes more. Add spice blend and mix it up for 15 seconds or so. Add 1/4 cup water and deglaze the pan, scrapingthe bottom to get all the garlic and spices.

Crumble in tofu and mix well. Don't crush the tofu, just kind of lift it and mix it around. You want it to remain chunky. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water if necesary to keep it from sticking too much. Lower the heat a bit if you find that it is sticking. Add lime juice. Add nutritional yeast and mix it up. If it seems too dry add splashes of water. The moistness really depends on how much water the tofu was retaining before you added it.

Grate the carrot into it and fold. Serve with guacamole and salsa and potatoes and toast and tempeh bacon. Then rub your tummy till well into the afternoon.

artichoke stew

I recently picked up a book called "This Crazy Vegan Life", by Christina Pirello. The basic idea behind the book is that veganism doesn't need to just be about eating a plant-based diet -- that the worldview can be extended to things like fitness and lifestyle. My terribly out of shape self could definitely do to embrace the concept of "overall wellness" more, so I picked it up in the hopes that I might find some inspiration. I may write a full review on here later, but for the moment let's just say I have mixed feelings about the book, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't already vegan -- though ironically someone who is already vegan probably won't find too much of use.

Regardless, there are some good low-calorie recipes, and I hopped all over this artichoke stew one when I saw it. I absolutely looove artichokes. This stew was delicate and spicy at the same time, and even better as leftovers. Simple to make, too: Saute some garlic and leeks in oil, add red pepper flakes and a pinch of saffon, then carrots and artichokes and tomatoes. Add water, cook for about 10 minutes, add some basil and peas, and salt and pepper to taste, let cook a little more, and then eat!

seitan and polenta skillet

Hmm, I need to keep better track of the time between my posts! I swear it's only been a couple days, but already a whole week has gone by. This is one of my favorite recipes to use when I can't think of anything else to make, but I almost always have some polenta, seitan, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach laying around. They may not quite be vegan staples, but they are around here! The recipe comes from Nava Atlas's Vegan Express cookbook. The first time I made this dish I ate it so fast that I became woozy -- it's just that good. I usually make some sort of potato thing to serve with it.

Ingredients:

One 18-ounce tube polenta
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Cooking oil spray, optional
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 pound seitan, cut into bite-sized pieces or strips
4 large or 6 medium stalks bok choy, with leaves, sliced crosswise*
5 to 6 ounces baby spinach**
4 scallions, sliced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
1/4 cup oil-packed sliced sun-dried tomatoes, optional
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the puckered ends off the polenta, then slice 1/2-inch thick. Cut each slice into 4 little wedges.
2. Heat a wide nonstick skillet. Add a drop of the oil and spread it around with a paper towel to create a very light coat, or use cooking oil spray. Add the polenta wedges; cook in a single layer over medium heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side.
3. Transfer the polenta to a plate. Heat the oil and soy sauce slowly in the same skillet. Before they get too hot, add the seitan and stir well. Raise the heat to medium-high and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in the bok choy, spinach and scallions, then cover and cook until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in vinegar to taste. Gently fold in the polenta wedges and sun-dried tomatoes, if using. Season with salt and pepper, and serve at once.

* I had no bok choy when making this, but it was still really good.
** When I saw this number I was like "Holy crap, that's a whole package of spinach!" But I learned something new about cooking -- spinach shrinks down a lot when it wilts, so even though I felt like I was putting in a ton of spinach I probably could've thrown in more (I put in about half a package, ~3 oz)

the awesomest vegan french toast ever

This recipe comes from Viva le Vegan! by Dreena Burton. If you can't tell already, I'm a big fan of her cookbooks. Eat, Drink & Be Vegan is my favorite, but pretty much any recipe you pull out of her books is guaranteed to turn out wonderful. As long as you make it right, that is -- I won't get into the time I misread 3 tbsp of tamari as 3 tbsp of tahini. That one turned out... weird, no fault of Dreena's of course.

When I first went vegan I was very sad that I was never going to have French toast again. I've always loved French toast, and I was happy when I learn that it (like so many things) also has a vegan equivalent. Now, I know a lot of people really love the "Fronch" toast recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance, but I find that recipe lacking compared to Dreena's version. She includes tofu and flax meal in the batter, which makes it thick and coat the bread like real eggs would. It also calls for vanilla non-dairy milk, which I almost never have on hand, but I substitute normal almond milk and just add a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract and it works fine. I tried this recipe out on my parents and they were really impressed by it.

In this picture I was making French toast as breakfast-for-dinner, so I also included tempeh bacon, and a random polenta creation. I cooked the polenta slices in a frying pan for five minutes on each side, and then topped each with a dollop of salsa and vegan sour cream. It was very compimentary to the rest of the breakfast, oddly enough.

chickpea salad with tofu and rice

This recipe for Creamy Chickpea Salad with Fresh Herbs is my absolute favorite thing to put on top of salad. And crackers. I'd probably eat it out of a spoon even. Point: It's delicious. I throw it on top of some baby greens and drizzle a little vinagrette or Annie's Goddess Dressing, and that's all that's needed for the best salad ever.

That's hardly a meal though, unless you're just having a light lunch. For dinner, I paired it with a wild rice mix and some baked tofu (both the Lemon-Herb Tofu from Viva Le Vegan! and the Italian tofu recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance are good).

another simple dinner

I realize I've been posting a lot of easy meals here lately, but I guess that's okay -- I mean, I did create this blog for beginners right? I get kind of intimidated reading some vegan blogs where the recipes call for all kinds of exotic ingredients and two hours of prep time. Being vegan does NOT require extra work at all, as illustrated by this dinner. This is another of my "Lisa is too damn tired to cook" meals, and consists of angel hair pasta, roasted asparagus, and breaded eggplant slices (made by Dominex; I found them in the frozen section at my local health food store and am in love). If you want to include some protein in the meal you can crumble about half a block of tempeh into your sauce. I occasionally do that, and it gives the sauce a more "meaty" texture.

sometimes i feel lazy

It's okay to be lazy sometimes, so long as it's not at the expense of your health or wallet. Okay, I admit, I do occasionally indulge in an Amy's Organics frozen vegan meal of some variety and they're a little pricey -- but if I'm feeling slightly more motivated than "throw frozen food in the oven" I can still make a meal like this with very little effort.

Easy as pie: canned tomato soup, grilled cheese (using Tofutti slices), and a salad of baby spinach with shredded carrots and experimental polenta croutons (from the recipe in Eat, Drink & Be Vegan). Not a bad lunch at all!