Barbecue Tofu & Brussels

Barbecue sauce tastes great on fried tofu and brussels sprouts (I know this may sound a little weird) so I threw them together for this easy dish. Considering I just started a new full-time job, I don't have as much free time on my hands as I used to. So tonight, I kept dinner fast and simple.

Ingredients:

1 block of extra firm tofu, cubed*
2 cups of brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise 
1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
Oil for frying

*You can press your tofu if you have time. I was lazy and hungry so I just drained it.

Directions:

- Fry up cubed tofu in oil until all sides are golden in color.
- Add brussels sprouts and cook until tender about 5 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add your barbecue sauce and green onions, mixing everything around until the tofu and brussels sprouts are evenly coated.

Serve with your favorite side such as rice, noodles, or baked beans for a filling meal.

Sweet & Sour Seitan + Miso Soup!

I was in the mood for Asian food the other night after seeing A Vegan Goddess's recipe for Miso Soup. I also had half a batch of Crock-Pot Seitan in the fridge and a bottle of La Choy Sweet & Sour Sauce in the pantry so I quickly whipped up some Sweet & Sour Seitan and served it with some sticky rice for the main course. My boyfriend is a huge fan of seitan, so much of a fan, that he didn't have any room for his soup. Oh well, more soup for me!

As far as the soup goes I followed the recipe for the most part but I was in the mood for more of a sweet and sour miso soup with some spice.

These are the changes I made to her basic recipe (Without optional additions):
 *I used white miso paste*
- 2 T of vinegar (Instead of 1)
- 4 T Braggs (Instead of 1T tamari)
- I added 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
- I added 1 T sesame chili oil
- I also added some Sriracha to my bowl

As far as the Sweet & Sour Seitan goes, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

- 1/2 batch Crock-Pot Seitan (Or about 4 cups of seitan), sliced in strips
- 1 cup sweet and sour sauce of choice (I use La Choy brand)
- 1 T crushed red pepper (Optional)
- 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained
- 8 oz can pineapple chunks, drained and sliced in half
- Oil for frying

Directions:
- Fry seitan and crushed red pepper in oil until the seitan is browned to your liking, stirring/ flipping occasionally.
- Add sweet and sour sauce, water chestnuts, and pineapple chunks. Stir until the mixture is hot and evenly coated.
- Serve with rice.
*Bell peppers and onions would also be a great addition to this but I was lazy*

"Cream Cheese" Wontons

Cream Cheese Wontons were always my favorite thing to get at Pick up Stix and I can still have them, not at Stix of course, but in the privacy of my own home!

I got the idea for this recipe HERE on VegWeb. Instead of using chopped jalapenos, I used thinly sliced green onions this time since I didn't have any jalapenos on hand.

All you will need is:

-Tofutti Cream Cheese (or other vegan cream cheese)
-Wonton wrappers (find in the refridgerated section of an Asian grocery store)
-Diced jalapenos or thinly sliced green onions

Directions:

Preheat deep fryer to 360 F

Set out as many wonton wrappers as you think you will eat.

Place jalapenos or green onions in the center of the wrapper, then place a spoon-full (maybe like 2 teaspoons) worth "cream cheese" on top.

Bring all the wonton edges to the center and press down on the cream cheese, try your best to press together all edges.

Deep fry wontons for about 3 minutes. Take them out when they look golden. Enjoy with some sweet chili sauce. Yum!

Simple Tofu Tacos

INGREDIENTS:

-1 block extra firm tofu
-1/2 a white or yellow onion, chopped (about a cup)
-1/2 a bell pepper, chopped (about a cup)
-1 cup kale, leaves pulled off tough stem in chunks
-1.4 oz packet taco seasoning (watch out for animal products)
-10 corn tortillas
-2 tablespoons oil, divided
Your favorite taco toppings I used:
-Shredded lettuce & cabbage
-Salsa
-Tofutti sour cream
-Diced tomatoes
-Ketchup  (Weird I know, but good!)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare veggies and toppings, no need to press the tofu, just drain it.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a hot wok or other large non-stick pan. Take your block of tofu and crumble it into the pan. Fry the tofu until it begins to turn golden, stirring occasionally.

Once tofu begins to turn golden, add the bell peppers,onions, and the other tablespoon of oil (if you need it). Continue to cook until bell peppers and onions are soft, stirring occasionally.

Add kale and taco seasoning (no need to add water or anything), mix until all the tofu and veggies are evenly coated and kale is wilted. Take off heat.

Heat your tortillas however you chose, add taco filling and toppings, enjoy!

Perfect Chocolate Ice Cream

I've finally got it! The perfect recipe for some amazing, vegan, chocolate ice cream without the lingering coconut taste. I have been messing around with making chocolate ice cream for awhile now... This is it!

INGREDIENTS:

- 15 oz. can of coconut milk (Highest fat content you can find)
- 1/2 cup raw sugar
- 1/2 cup plain vegan creamer (I used Silk)
- 1/4 cup chocolate syrup
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 banana

DIRECTIONS:

- Throw all of your ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add mixture to your ice cream maker and follow your ice cream makers instructions.
- My ice cream was ready in about 30 minutes.

*When my ice cream was finished I put it into a tupperware and let it sit in the freezer for about 15 minutes, then scooped it out. The texture was amazing this way, absolute perfection.*

Spicy Korean Kimchi Rice

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups white calrose rice
2 cups water
1.5 cups prepared kimchi
1 to 2 tablespoons sriracha hot sauce
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, to taste
4 tablespoons vegan buttery spread
1 small white onion, sliced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup frozen veggies of choice (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Put 1.5 cups calrose rice and 2 cups water in a rice cooker and cook for about 25 minutes. If you don't have a rice cooker follow the directions on the rice package. Once the rice is done let it cool completely.

2) Put white onions, frozen veggies, and kimchi (no liquid) into a fry pan with a couple of tablespoons water (you can add a couple of tablespoons of the kimchi liquid to the veggies as well if you wish). Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

3) Add the cooled rice and 4 tablespoons of "butter" to the fry pan. Mix in your green onions, sriracha, and sweet chili sauce. Keep moving the rice around in the pan until the rice doesn't look too saucy, about 10 minutes.

I love to eat any kind of fried rice with cut up seasoned and roasted dried seaweed sheets (not nori that you use to roll sushi), cut into bite-size pieces.

Pictured is the brand I always get, it's my favorite!

You can also use this rice as a filling in spring rolls! Just let it cool down to room temperature and add avocado, shredded carrots, and red cabbage to the mix and whatever else tickles your fancy. I dipped my spring rolls in a dip composed of blended sriracha and "mayo"... Yum!

VegWeb's My Husband's Deviled Egg Solution: Potato Angels!

 My Husband's Deviled Egg Solution: Potato Angels! off VegWeb is amazing: Roasted potatoes with a potato-salad-like filing made to resemble deviled eggs... I wish this recipe had been posted before Easter, as I definitely would have brought it over to my Dad's. I served my deviled "eggs" with some cubed, pan-fried tofu, coated with my favorite barbecue sauce and some thinly sliced green onions... My boyfriend LOVED this meal... Score!

Notes/Changes:

- I used 7 white rose potatoes instead of new potatoes as that was all I could find at the local market
- Since the potatoes were much bigger I ended up quadrupling the "egg" filing
- These were best when the potatoes reached room temperature and filled with cold "egg" filing... Leftovers were also good but leave the deviled "eggs" out until they reach room temperature

Spicy Korean Kimchi

I love this stuff! My obsession with it started when I was introduced to it by my (now ex) Korean boyfriend. Most versions of kimchee aren't vegan, they contain anchovies, but this recipe hits the spot! I got the idea for this recipe here.

The picture above is the kimchee right after having the spicy paste mixed in and before it has been fermented, it tastes good just like this, but fermenting it makes it taste more authentic.

This is an acquired taste. It is very spicy and vinegary, not everybody's cup of tea.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large head of nappa cabbage
1 huge daikon radish (mine was like 1.5 feet long!)
2 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp ginger
1/4 cup green onions
1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
Water

Spicy Paste:
2 tbsp white sugar
4 tbsp Braggs
4-6 tbsp gochugaru*
2 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS:

You will need 3 regular sized pickle type jars to store your kimchi or 1 big jar if you have it.

*Gochugaru: Is red chili pepper, dried and ground into a coarse powder. It can be found at any Asian grocery store.

Prepare veggies:
- Peel off the nasty outside leaves off the nappa cabbage and cut the head in half length-wise, then cut the cabbage halves width-wise in 1/2 inch shredds. Rinse well in a colander. Place in a large nonreactive container.
- Peel daikon radish and cut in half and half again both times length-wise. Then cut width-wise in 1/4 inch pieces. Rinse well in a colander. Place in the large nonreactive container with the nappa cabbage.
- Sprinkle the nappa cabbage and daikon mixture with the coarse salt and mix thoroughly. Put a plate with a few cans of veggies on top of the mixture and let it sit for 2 hours.

Meanwhile:
- Wash and thinly slice the green onions
- Wash, peel, and grate the ginger
- Peel and crush the garlic with a garlic press
- Mix together paste ingredients in a bowl

Once the 2 hours is up:
-Thoroughly rinse and drain the nappa cabbage and daikon radish mixture (I used my salad spinner to get the excess liquid off).
- Rinse out the large container you were using and put the nappa cabbage and daikon radish back in it.
- Add green onions, ginger, garlic, and the paste. Mix everything until evenly coated.
- Put the un-fermented kimchi mixture in the jars (You can even eat it right now if you want to) and fill the jars half way with water. Close the jars tightly.

Jarred and ready to ferment

- Let the jarred kimchi sit out at room temperature to ferment for 2 to 4 days or until you see bubbles.
- Once the kimchi has fermented put it in the fridge.

Finished product

Stay tuned for some awesome recipes using kimchi!

Easter Dinner

I had a fantastic Easter this year! My Dad and Step Mom are starting to get into this vegan thing and almost all the dishes were vegan! The vegan items included: Bryanna's Soy and Seitan "Turkey", mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes (coated with "butter" and brown sugar), carrot and onion stir-fry, stuffing, salad with poppy seed dressing, and Pineapple Upside Down Cake for dessert!

This is by far the best holiday meal I have had as a vegan and I love that some members of my family are being so supportive! I hate when all there is for me to eat is basically whatever I cart over and a salad. Sorry I don't have too many pictures of all the goodies I got to eat. I was halfway through my dinner when I realized I forgot to take pictures!

Bryanna's Soy and Seitan "Turkey" turned out fantastic and I will be using this recipe again for the next holiday get together! I used Method #1, hand kneaded my "turkey" dough, and baked my "turkey" in a 2.5 quart Corningware Casserole dish. The texture was fantastic, it had the exact same texture taste of turkey. My only suggestion for this recipe is reducing the amount of Bryanna's Homemade Vegan "Chicken-Style" Broth Powder used... The flavor was too overpowering on the outside of the "turkey" but the inside tasted much better. Bryanna says to use 1/3 cup broth powder for 2 cups of water, next time I am going to try using only 4 teaspoons of broth powder (The regular amount used when using the broth powder in other recipes).

Bryanna's Soy and Seitan "Turkey"



Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Vegweb's Crazy Good Banana Muffins

Wow, these Crazy Good Banana Muffins off VegWeb were crazy good!

I only made a few changes:

- I used 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour and used 1 cup all purpose flour.
- I added about 1/4 cup dried cranberries because I wanted to use them up.

These turned out fantastic! Strong banana flavor and super moist... Yum :)

A Great Video About Bottled Water!

Just double click on the video and it will take you to YouTube where you can watch the full size version!

P.S. Get rid of your expensive bottled water habit and buy a Brita filter!

VegWeb's Melty Cheese

My favorite cheeze sauce so far has been Melty Cheese. I love it on nachos and also I use it to make macaroni and cheeze.

Tips:

- If you find you need a bit more of a cheezy flavor, add more nutritional yeast flakes, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- When your cooking the cheeze sauce, whisk constantly, don't let it burn or your sauce will taste nasty.

***For my nachos, I topped my mound of tortilla chips with refried black beans, pickled jalapenos, tomatoes, green onions, black olives, Tofutti sour cream, homemade guacamole (mashed avocado+sea salt+lime juice), and melty cheese***

VegWeb's Veggie Manchurian

The Veggie Manchurian off VegWeb is fantastic! I had never tried Indian food before going vegan and it's amazing how much more variety I eat now... Food used to be kind of boring until I was forced to think (well cook) outside of the box a bit... Vegan cooks are so creative!

Notes/ Modifications:

- Instead of 1 Tablespoon each of garlic, chili powder, coriander use 1 Teaspoon (I think this was an error). I still use the full tablespoon of garlic.
- I double the recipe for the balls (First 8 ingredients) but leave the sauce amount the same, the first time I made this I remember having way too much extra sauce.
- Corn flour = Corn starch.
- I bake the balls until they look golden brown and use a mini muffin pan to cook them in so they will retain their shape more easily.

How the balls should look when they're done in the oven:

Bryanna Clark Grogan's Chinese-Style Vegan "Beef" and Asparagus

I found this recipe on Bryanna Clark Grogan's blog and it turned out great... My BF loved it! He especially loved the "beefy" flavored Soy Curls... I used the browning broth to brown an extra bag of Soy Curls for later use, and really liked the idea, I will definitely be using that idea again and again.

Notes/ changes I made:

- I used a whole 8 oz bag of Soy Curls (instead of 5.3 oz)
- I used 1 tbsp of regular sesame oil and 1 tbsp olive oil (Because I was using more Soy Curls)
- I used mirin instead of dry sherry (Didn't have any)
- I used 1 tbsp minced garlic (Out of a jar)
- I used maybe 1 tsp powdered ginger instead of the 1 tbsp fresh (Didn't have any)
- I used veggie broth instead of "chicken" broth (Laziness)
- I used store bought vegetarian oyster sauce instead of her recipe for it
- I accidentally used 4 tbsp + 1 tsp gravy browner instead of 4 tsp (2 extra tbsp... Because I screwed up!)
- I added about 1/2 lb baby carrots quartered (sliced top to bottom twice), 1/2 a large white onion sliced, and 1/4 cup frozen peas. I added the carrots and onion about half way into browning the "beefy" strips.
- I served mine with white calrose (sticky) rice

El Torito Style Sweet Corn Cake

This is soooo easy! I just veganized the recipe on the back of the El Torito Sweet Corn Cake Mix package, which didn't require much effort. I only had to substitute regular butter for vegan butter (I used Earth Balance stick butter for easy measuring). Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

- 7.4 oz package El Torito Sweet Corn Cake Mix
- 15 oz can cream-style corn
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a bowl combine corn cake mix, melted butter, water, and cream-style corn. Mix until ingredients are combined.
- Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Mine took about 55 minutes but my oven is lame.
- Use an ice cream scoop to serve the sweet corn cake as a side dish or for dessert.