Vegetable Tofu Lo Mein

 

One of my favorite quick meals.  I get pre-cooked, seasoned tofu and chopped veggies off the salad bar at the supermarket to make it a lot easier.  I like to use brown rice spaghetti just because that's what I usually have at home but you can also use any of those Asian noodles.  I use about 2 oz. spaghetti, which is one serving, to make two servings of this dish becuse I prefer to load it up with veggies and tofu rather than pasta but go ahead and add more if you like. 

 

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Serves 2

Ingredients

Canola oil or cooking spray
3oz. teriyaki style pre-baked tofu, thinly sliced (I like the one by Wildwood)
2 cups or more chopped fresh vegetables (cabbage, bell pepper, onion, carrots, etc.)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water + extra tsp of soy sauce
2oz. spaghetti, cooked

For topping: Cilantro, green onion, chopped cashews, sriracha hot sauce

Method

Heat oil in skillet and add tofu, cook over medium heat a few minutes on each side until lightly browned.  Remove from pan and set aside. 

Add vegetables, cook until softened; about 5-10 minutes.  While cooking, whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and broth together in a bowl and add to the cooked vegetables veggies.  Stir in and cook a few minutes longer.  Add in tofu and cooked spaghetti, stir.  Remove from heat and serve with desired toppings.

Buffalo Tofu Tacos



This tofu dish is not just for the vegetarians.  I've had people tell me they thought it was chicken.  You want to press as much water out as possible to get that chewy texture.    I use the TofuXpress and it gets all the water out so I'm left with a shrunken block.  Looks like less tofu but the texture is much better.  I end up with 1/2 block making about 2 tacos depending on how much you fill them.

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Makes 2-3 tacos

Ingredients

1/2 block extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
Buffalo sauce (note: some are not vegan)
Salt and pepper
Canola oil cooking spray

Shredded lettuce
Diced onion
Ranch Dressing (I like the vegan one by Organicville)
Taco size tortillas (either flour or corn)

Method

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut your tofu in thin squares.  (By doing this rather than thick cubes, you will get crisper tofu).  Add to a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add just enough buffalo sauce to lightly coat.  Gently toss together being careful not to break the tofu.

Lay tofu pieces in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet (or line with parchment paper).  Lightly spray with canola oil.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

Toss baked tofu with more buffalo sauce and lay into tortillas with toppings.

Spicy Tofu and Avocado Maki Rolls

 

Ingredients
(Quantities are up to you but I have listed what I used)


Sticky rice (I use Annie Chun's Rice Express - 1/2 container or about 1/2-3/4 cups rice per roll)
Rice vinegar (about 1/2 tsp per 1/2 cup rice)
Soy paper or nori (I used these soy wraps that I got at Whole Foods)
Precooked teriyaki style tofu, cut into thin strips (I used the kind by Wildwood and 1/4 of 1 block for each roll)
Sriracha sauce (as much as you can handle)
Sliced avocado (roughly 1/4 of an avocado per roll)
Cilantro leaves
Toasted sesame seeds

Method

These are basically the instructions that I follow if you want to be all professional about it.  But Simply put here's what I did:
Get a bowl of water for dipping your hands so the rice doesn't stick to them. Get your bamboo mat out and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Then lay your soy paper sheet or nori on it.  (The soy paper is large so next time I'll probably cut it in half.)

Add rice vinegar to rice and mix.

Dip hand in water, then take a handful of rice, roll into a ball and then press out all over your soy paper or nori.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Toss tofu sticks with a bit of sriracha sauce.  Lay across the center with avocado slices, then sprinkle with cilantro leaves. See pic below.

For rolling I literally just followed how it was done in the video.  I find that watching someone else do it a lot easier than reading step by step instructions. 

Vegan Tomato Bisque with Cashew Cream

 

 

Another great use for cashew cream.  Making creamy soups healthy but subbing for the heavy cream.  I puree this is 2 batches because it doesn't all fit in my blender and one batch I don't completely puree because I like to have some texture but that's just my preference.  This can also be a very tasty tomato soup without the cashew cream.

 



 

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Makes 4-6 servings

 

Ingredients

 

Cashew Cream

1/2 cup cashews, soaked over night (or at least an hour in hot water)

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

 

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

Pinch of salt

3 Tbsp flour

3 cups vegetable broth

1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes (preferably san marzano tomatoes), roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method

 

Heat olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over low heat.  Add onion, garlic, thyme, and salt.  Let cook 10 minutes, stirring a few times.

 

Stir in flour and cook for a few minutes stirring constantly.  Pour in broth and tomatoes, turn up to medium heat and continue to stir until it comes to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.

 

While simmering, make cashew cream by cashews (drained from the water they soaked in) with the almond milk until completely pureed.  Add more almond milk if necessary.

 

When soup is done cooking, stir in cashew cream and salt and pepper to taste.  Puree in blender in batches. 

 

 

©2013 Rachel Morris

 

 



 



 



Peanut Butter & Jelly Banana Pancakes

I don't even know what to say except these are kind of amazing so go make them. 

 

 

Pancakes

Your favorite pancake recipe (I use my vegan pancake recipe)

Cinnamon

Sliced banana (make sure it's ripe!)

 

PB Sauce

Honey roasted peanut butter, like the grind your own at the supermarket (or regular PB and add a little honey or agave)

Almond milk

 

"Jelly" Sauce

Good quality, all-natural fruit preserves instead of the cheap generic jelly (I love Bonne Maman brand and I used mixed berry)

Splash of water

 

Method

 

Begin making you pancakes and add some cinnamon to the batter.  Cook as you would but lay your banana slices on the pancakes before flipping.

 

For PB Sauce simply add some PB to a small bowl with a little almond milk. If you want to measure I usually go with a 1:2 ratio of PB to almond milk.  Then microwave for about 5-10 seconds, remove and stir adding a little splashes of almond milk and stirring until it's slightly pourable but still thick.  If needed add a little honey or agave for sweetness.

 

Next put some fruit preserves in a small bowl with a splash of water and microwave for 5-10 seconds.  This will also make a nice pourable sauce. 

 

Simply pour your these sauces all over your pancakes and dig in. 

 

 

©2013 Rachel Morris