Sundried Tomato Cream Pasta

Another delicious "I can't believe it's vegan" cream sauce.  I'm officially obsessed with cashews now that I've discovered just how rich and creamy they can make sauces, soups or anything.  With this the fresh basil really adds a lot of flavor that completnets the sundried tomato very nicely.  Another great addition to stir in at the end, kalamata olives or pine nuts.



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Serves 2

Ingredients

1/3 cup cashews, soaked in water overnight

1/4 cup chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes from a jar (drained of oil)

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 - 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (if you like it spicy)

1/2 - 3/4 cup vegetable broth

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups cooked pasta, cooking water reserved

Fresh basil (optional but really amazing in this)

Method

Heat olive oil in skillet and saute onion and garlic with a pinch of salt over medium heat until onion is translucent; about 3-5 minutes.  Add to food processor or blender with cashews, sundried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, crushed red pepper and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth.  Puree adding more broth as needed. 

Heat skillet over low-medium heat and add enough reserved pasta water to just cover the bottom.  Add in sauce and pasta, stir and cook 1-2 minutes or until heated through.  Add a tablespoon of pasta water at time to thin out if needed.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat, stir in basil, drizzle with a little oil from sundried tomatoes or just plain olive oil if desired and serve.



Mega Vegan Breakfast Sandwich w/ Tempeh Bacon and Tofu Egg

 

You're probably going to have a hard time finding a vegan or vegetarian breakfast at a restaurant, so make your own!  I made mine with my homemade tempeh bacon, transformed my tofu scramble into tofu egg slices, vegan cheese, tomato, onion, and avocado because I add it to every sandwich!  I used a hearty Ezkiel sprouted grain english muffin with a smear of Earth Balance. You can also try swapping veggie sausage patty for the tempeh bacon for another tasty variation.

Ingredients

English Muffin (I like Ezkiel Sprouted Grain)
Slice of Extra-firm tofu (press as much water out as possible)
Tofu egg slices (recipe below)
Tempeh bacon slices (homemade recipe or storebought)
Vegan cheese (I used Galaxy Foods Vegan Mexican Shreds)
Sliced tomato
Thinly sliced onion
Mashed avocado
Earth Balance vegan butter
Hot sauce

Tofu Egg (makes enough marinade for about 1/3-1/2 block tofu)
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp olive or canola oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp black salt (optional - gives an eggy taste and can found in Indian markets or online)
Pinch of black pepper
Firm or extra-firm tofu, sliced about 1/8-1/4" thick



Tofu Egg Slices

Method
Mix your tofu marinade ingredients in a bowl.  Lay tofu slices in a flat, shallow dish and pour marinade over it.  Let marinate an hour or longer.

Two cooking options 1).  stovetop in lightly oiled skillet, few minutes on each side. 2). In oven at 400 degrees on lightly greased baking sheet, about 5min on each side.  If I'm already baking tempeh bacon, I go ahead and throw the tofu slices on the same baking sheet with tempeh and then just take it out when it's done (the tempeh takes longer to cook).

While your egg is cooking, toast your english muffin with a smear of Earth Balance and some vegan cheese to get it all melted.  Then layer your ingredients and dig in!




Peanut Butter & Jelly Banana Muffins



 

My PB&J Banana Pancakes were so delicious I just had to turn them into a muffin.  I worked from my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe with a few minor adjustments based on what I had on hand.  I didn't have any Earth Balance vegan butter so I figured I would make these without any added fat.  I had a Silk strawberry soy yogurt so I threw in that in lieu of the Earth Balance (applesauce is also a good sub for butter or oil in baking).  Since I was going healthy with these I used whole wheat and oat flour.  I'd say they turned out pretty great for a healthy little treat.  I'm also going to try baking this in a loaf pan and adding extra layers of jelly so stay tuned for that!

 

 

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Ingredients

1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond or Soy Milk

1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice or Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/2 cups Flour (I use 1 cup Whole Wheat + 1/2 cup Oat Flour)

1/2 cup Quick Oats

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/3 cup Earth Balance Vegan Butter, softened (optional: sub applesauce or soy yogurt)

1/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar (packed)

3 very ripe Bananas (medium-large size), mashed

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

 

Jelly or fruit preserves (raspberry or strawberry are my faves)

 

Peanut Butter Glaze

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar

3 Tbsp almond milk

3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter

 

Method

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin pan, set aside.

Mix lemon juice and soy milk in small bowl and set aside (this will curdle slightly).

Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon), set aside.

In another bowl add butter, sugars, mashed banana and mix with an electric mixer on low speed (or whisk by hand) for about a minute or two. Next whisk in the almond milk/lemon, and vanilla. Whisk together until mixed.

Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined (you don't want to over mix). Add heaping tablespoon full of mixture to muffin tins, should be about half full.  Next in each muffin tin add about a teaspoon of jelly to middle.  If you want more peanut butter flavor then add a bit on top of jelly (see pic below).  Then take remaining batter and dollop on top gently smoothing out.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

While baking make your peanut butter glaze by whisking the ingredients together in a bowl.  You can adjust ingredients to taste. 

 

When muffins are done, let cool and then spread glaze on them.  Can be topped with chopped peanuts for crunch or a sprinkle of powdered sugar to make them pretty!

 

 

 

 



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.