I was totally uninspired tonight. Matt took Emma to the park to play some soccer, which gave me the opportunity to throw something together. For some reason, breakfast seemed much easier to cook than dinner did (why? it’s the same amount of work), so that’s what we had!

Low Fat Blueberry Banana Muffins

(veganized from this recipe)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 TB baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 – 1/4 tsp allspice

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup Tofutti BTSC

1 1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer (whisked with 2 TB warm water)

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and add to dry. Stir until just combined. Pour into greased or papered muffin tins. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

These were SOOOOOOO good. In place of the sour cream, you could probably use a soy yogurt. And in place of the egg replacer, you could probably use a few TB of applesauce or some ground flax seed.

With our muffins, we had a tofu scramble. I threw in whatever we had lurking around the kitchen, which turned out to be some kale (yes, I’m on a kale kick right now), a potato, a green pepper, and some onion. If you make yours with a potato or the kale, remember that they need a head start, meaning that they go in the skillet about 10 minutes before any of the other veggies (unless you are adding other veggies that need extra cooking time too). When the potatoes are cooked through, add in the peppers and onions and cooked until they are tender. Crumble in the tofu and let it brown a bit on all sides. When the tofu is browned up, add some salsa (the amount you add is up to you) and some S&P. I think it’s important to let it brown up because it won’t get mushy when you add the salsa, just FYI.

So, Emma and I were at the grocery store yesterday morning and I asked her what she’d like to have for lunch. Her response: pizza. Hmm… I know it was an honest answer because there wasn’t anything pizza related in sight. In fact, I have no idea where it came from aside from a craving. I thought it sounded pretty good too and I grabbed a pack of pizza dough (whole wheat, of course). On the way home from the store, I realized that I didn’t really buy anything to put on the pizza other than sauce so I started brainstorming all the things in our fridge and freezer that could fit the bill. Here’s what I came up with: tofu, basil, spinach. It basically turned into an inverted pizza (sauce on the top) and was actually pretty good. All I had was extra super duper firm tofu, which I thought would be too much for this, but not so. Once blended, it was a thick creamy consistency and it only tasted of basil and spinach. I’ll definitely be making this again.  Hers was just tofu and sauce, while mine was tofu, sauce, kalamata olives, green olives and roasted red peppers.  Definitely more tasty with all the stuff piled up on top!

Tofu Pizza

1/4 of a package of tofu (I guess that would be about 1/4 of a pound)

handful fresh basil leaves

handful fresh or frozen spinach (or kale)

1/2 clove garlic

Pinch S&P

Puree everything in a food processor or blender. Roll out your dough. Spread tofu mixture on top of dough and top the tofu mixture with marinara or pizza sauce (I used jarred). Top with your favorite toppings.

Tonight’s dinner was leftover Mexican style tabbouleh salad from the other night topped with grilled tofu “steaks” and grilled veggies.  I’ve made the grilled tofu and veggies before, but this time I changed it up by using a different marinade, which was so awesome!

Lemon Garlic Marinade

2 cloves garlic, chopped

juice and zest of 3 lemons

1/4 cup olive oil

1 TB Worcestershire sauce

1 TB grill seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

A few twists of freshly group black pepper

First, a note about the Worcestershire sauce:  I am still using up a bottle that I have had in my fridge for years.  I know that vegan varieties exist, but I feel like I should use this up before buying a new one.  Now, back to the marinade.  Mix everything together in a baking dish and throw in your favorite veggies.  Tonight, we had zucchini, onions and a summer squash, which were all chopped pretty thick.  I grill mine on an indoor grill and have to do everything in several batches, so I move the done ones into a 250 degree oven to keep warm while I grill another batch.  Cutting the veggies thick (squash especially) keeps them from getting overdone when they are keeping warm in the oven.

I also don’t marinate my tofu because I don’t want it to stick to the grill or the marinade to burn before the tofu is cooked.  I find that it works best if I grill it plain and drizzle the marinade over it after it is done cooking.  Because of this, it’s a good idea to grill the tofu (and anything else left un-marinated) first, and all marinated items second.

Dessert was the last of our white peaches from Amy, which I grilled and drizzled with a vanilla lemon creme.  Oh… my… GOD!  These were insane.  I can’t even express with words how good they were.  Scrub up your peaches (or any other stone fruit) but leave the skin on.  Cut them in half and remove the pit.  Grill on a hot grill for several minutes.  Remove and let cool.  I wanted to drizzle them with something sort of like a whipped cream and came up with the idea for this vanilla lemon creme which was SOOOOOOO delicious:

Vanilla Lemon Creme

2 TB Tofutti BTSC

1/4 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 TB powdered sugar

1-2 TB non-dairy milk, either plain or vanilla

Whisk together all the ingredients except for the non-dairy milk.  Add in enough non-dairy milk until you reach the desired consistency.

Matt’s been out of town the last few days and I have not been doing much cooking, which explains my absence the last few days. I woke up starving this morning and thought a nice, hearty breakfast was just the thing I needed, so I went to work on a revamped version of my tofu scramble. I didn’t have any veg sausage on hand, but I did have some potatoes that were becoming less than fresh and I thought they might be a tasty addition.  I was so right!  I think this is my new favorite way to make tofu scrambles.

Tofu Scramble

1 package extra firm tofu

1 onion, chopped

5 baby yukon gold potatoes, diced

1 roasted red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup chopped frozen spinach

1/2 cup chopped frozen kale

pinch red pepper flakes

1/4 cup jarred salsa

In a very large non-stick skillet, heat 1 TB olive oil over medium high heat and add the potatoes.  Spread the potatoes out in a single layer on the bottom of the skillet and let them brown for several minutes.  Keep turning them to avoid burning them, but you want to let them get a little color on all sides.  When the potatoes are about halfway cooked, add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook for another several minutes.  When the onions have gotten some color and the potatoes are nearly cooked, add the rest of the veggies.  Cook for a few more minutes to allow the frozen ones to defrost.  Crumble in the tofu and let it brown up a bit.  Add in the salsa and S&P to taste.

This is so good that you wouldn’t even know it’s tofu.  To me, tofu scrambles are much lighter than egg scrambles- like I can eat a serving of a tofu scramble and not fill like I have a brick sitting in my stomach.  The best part for non-tofu eaters is that you really can’t tell that it’s tofu (it’s important to use the extra firm variety so that it’s not mushy or watery).  I think the addition of the salsa also helps to eliminate the beany taste of the tofu.  This would be really good as a breakfast burrito with some avocado in it.  Yummy!

The other night, I ended up making the teriyaki quinoa recipe from ED&BV.  We had some leftover, so I decided to grill up some veggies and tofu to go with it.

Veggie Marinade

1 TB dijon mustard

1 TB toasted sesame oil

2 TB rice wine vinegar

1 TB grill seasoning

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 inch piece of ginger, cut into chunks

Combine all ingredients in a large baking dish and throw in your favorite veggies.  Marinate for as long as you can.  I was only able to marinate for about an hour, but they were still really good.  If using an indoor grill, be sure to remove the battery from your smoke detector before firing it up! 

Amy was so thoughtful to bring us a bunch of fruit from her travels and I decided to grill up the pineapple she brought us for a little sweetness.  I did not marinate the pineapple, nor did I marinate the tofu (didn’t want it to stick to the grill), but I did brush some of the marinate onto the tofu once it was done grilling.  We didn’t have a huge selection of vegetables in the fridge, so I ended up using some red and green bell peppers, a yellow onion, green onions, and a summer squash that Amy brought us.

This will definitely be added to our list of regulars.  I’ll have to remember next time to open up all the windows and turn on the fan before beginning to grill everything.  It gave the tofu a really yummy smoky taste and almost meaty texture that even non-tofu eaters may enjoy.  I was less excited about the quinoa.  It was just OK– nothing special.

I came across this awesome website a few days ago and have already pre-ordered my copy of the corresponding book. The recipe for tofu fish sticks sounded weird, but I thought I would try them out for lunch today. These were surprisingly really, really good. Emma had hers with some ketchup and tartar sauce for dipping, while I made mine into a sandwich. My sandwich sort of reminded my of the drive thru fishy sammies (filet o’ fish). Anyway, I can definitely say that this recipe as one that kids and adults will love.

For the tartar sauce, I put about 1/4 cup or mayo and 1/4 cup Tofutti BTSC into my food processor along with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and about 1/2 cup dill pickle chips. It wasn’t dill-y enough for me, so I added in about 2 T of chopped fresh dill. Pulse until the pickles are chopped (you still want a little chunk, though, so don’t go too long). This would make a tasty spread for falafel or veggie sandwiches too.

Matt’s cousin, Amy, came over for dinner last night. She had been dying to try the lentil tacos (and a recent convert to a vegan diet), so that’s what we had. I also made some tofu ranchero so that we could have lots of leftovers to have another night this week. I also made my own refried beans, which turned out a little on the dry side, but still really tasty.

For the beans, I used 1 medium onion and 1 large jalapeño satueed in about 2 TB of olive oil until they were super soft. I then added about 3 cups of cooked pinto beans and I smashed them up with a potato masher. A little S&P and I was done! I topped them with a bit of chopped cilantro just to give them an extra bit of flavor. As I said, they were slightly dry and I think next time I will add in a bit of veg stock to fix that. Other than that, they were incredibly yummy, and not spicy at all.

When Matt and I lived in San Francisco, there was a taqueria around the corner from our apartment that offered tofu rachero as a burrito or taco filler. I was scared to try it at first, but I’m glad I eventually came to my senses because it’s AWESOME! I did a search on the internet for a ranchero sauce recipe and came up with this one that has served me well for the last few years. Since I don’t follow it exactly, here is my version of it:

Tofu Rachero

1 T olive oil

1 jalapeno, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

2 cups vegetable stock

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp oregano

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 package of extra firm tofu, chopped into cubes

S&P

Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat and add olive oil, jalapeno, celery, onion, bell peppers and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper. Simmer for about 20 minutes and puree using a blender or hand blender. Save half of the sauce for another time. Add tofu to the remaining half and continue to simmer for as long as possible. (One batch of sauce makes too much sauce for one package of tofu, so I usually make a full batch and freeze half for another time). The longer you can let the tofu simmer in the sauce, the better. I will sometimes make the sauce on the stove and then transfer everything to my slow cooker to let it simmer all day. So delicious!

For dessert, I pulled out some cupcakes that I had in my freezer that were leftover from Emma’s birthday. As I was flipped through Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I came across the photo of the cookies ‘n cream cupcake. It’s just a plain vanilla frosting with some Newman O’s crunched in… mmmmmm!!!

I was in the mood for a big breakfast yesterday, so I decided to make some blueberry pancakes and tofu scramble.

For the pancakes, I followed the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. The recipe gives you the option of using all all-purpose flour or by using half whole wheat and half all-purpose. I opted for the latter and used half all-purpose and half white whole wheat flour. While the cakes were cooking up on the griddle, I sprinkled in a few frozen blueberries into the uncooked side (I used vegan chocolate chips for Emma’s, though, just for a special treat). These are the absolute best pancakes I have ever had! I can’t wait to make them again.

Here’s how I make my tofu scrambles:

Tofu Scramble

1 package extra firm tofu

1 1/2 to 2 cups soy sausage

1/2 tsp. chili flakes

1 medium onion, diced

3/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced

pinch of turmeric

S&P

Start by sauteeing the onion in a little bit of olive oil until the onion begins to get tender. Add the roasted red peppers and red chili flakes and cook a few more minutes. Add in the sausage and fry it up a bit until it is crispy (if it is in patty form, you will need to chop it up. I used soy-rizo, which comes in a long tube, so there was no need for me to chop). Scoot the veggies and sausage over to the side of your skillet and add in the tofu (chopped into small squares). Fry the tofu a bit to give it a firmer texture, then combine it with the sausage and veggies. Sprinkle some turmeric over the top and stir it in. Add S&P.

Other fun add-ins: fresh or frozen spinach, mushrooms… just about anything that would taste good in an omelet. A note about the tofu- typically, I would mash it up so that it resembles scrambled eggs when the dish is all cooked. Since the sausage I used was kind of a mushy mess, I opted to chop the tofu instead.

Last night’s dinner was not what I had originally planned to make. The plan was for pizza, but I’ve been pretty busy lately getting the food ready for Emma’s birthday party that I just didn’t feel like rolling out the dough. I have what I think is a good pizza idea, though, so stay tuned for that next week.

A quick survey of the fridge and pantry revealed an unopened package of basmati and wild rice blend, a block of tofu and some rainbow chard that I needed to use up. I thought it sounded pretty tasty and got to work on the rice. No secrets there… just followed the directions on the package.

The rainbow chard was equally as simple. I cut off the tough stems, and then chopped up all the large leaves. In a large skillet, I started by sauteeing some onion and garlic. When that was tender, I added in the chard and sauteed for another 5 minutes. When the leaves were wilted, I added in some S&P and a splash of red wine vinegar. It was pretty tasty! I sprinkled some toasted pine nuts over the rice and chard to serve.

I wanted to try something a little different with the tofu, so I started by cutting the block into small squares. I cooked them the same way that I make the triangles- in a nonstick skillet with a dab of canola oil. When they were browned up on both sides, I put a little bit of BBQ sauce on each side and flipped it over so that it could get seared into the tofu. Emma had her usual triangles without the BBQ sauce. For a simple meal, it came together pretty quickly and tasted pretty good.

On the side, we had a little bit of fruit salad, since I had a half eaten banana to use up before it became inedible.

I have to admit that I have been in a cooking rut and, consequently, a blogging rut lately. I just can’t come up with many creative meals lately. We were in pretty bad shape grocery-wise, so I turned to New Vegetarian Cooking for inspiration. I came across a recipe that I’ve made before, Soba with Green Soybeans. I didn’t have any soba noodles on hand, so I substituted udon and it came out pretty good. The recipe is basically the noodles, mixed with lots of green onions, edamame and a dressing made from soy sauce, sesame seeds, toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and a sweetener (I used agave nectar). It turned out pretty good, but I every time I’ve made this, I realize afterwards that the recipe calls for way too many green onions. I will make a note to cut back on those next time. Just for some extra zing, I thew in a small handful of chopped cilantro.

To go with my noodle dish, I went with Carrie’s brilliant idea for faux “egg” rolls. I pretty much followed her method for making them, except I used my own concoction to make the tofu marinade and dipping sauce:

Dipping Sauce

Equal parts fresh lime juice and soy sauce (or to taste)

splash of rice wine vinegar

splash of water

a small handful of each – chopped fresh cilantro, mint and green onions

a pinch of red pepper flakes

about a 1 inch piece of ginger, minced or grated

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated

I made two separate batches of this- one went into a small baking dish to marinate the tofu and one went into a small bowl for dipping. To the tofu marinade, I also added about a teaspoon of red curry paste. I used half of a block of tofu, reserving the other half to make my pan-fried tofu triangles. I cut up the egg roll tofu into small strips and dunked them in the marinade for about 2 hours. Meanwhile, I got my veggies ready, which didn’t take too long considering we only had green cabbage and carrots as suitable egg roll stuffers.

To assemble the egg rolls, I took 1 sheet of phyllo, brushed it ever so lightly with olive oil and topped it with another sheet of phyllo. I did this until I had 3 sheets of phyllo in a nice stack. I cut it in half lengthwise and the two halves each made one egg roll. Nothing scientific about it- throw in some carrots, cabbage, and tofu and roll it up! I used a little bit more olive oil to seal the edge and then I brushed the entire roll with the oil. I baked them on a baking sheet line with parchment paper in a 350 degree oven until they were golden brown (about 10 minutes). These were yummy! I love that you can still get the crispiness of a traditional egg roll without the deep frying and extra calories (and without the egg). I will definitely be making these again- actually, I have them planned for later this week.

The pan-fried tofu triangles are just as easy to prepare. I took the rest of my tofu, cut it into triangles (for Emma- I don’t know why that shape for food appeals to her) and patted them dry. Heat a very large, non-stick skillet to medium-high heat and put in a tiny drop of canola oil (like probably 1/8 to 1/4 of a tsp is all you need). The trick is to use a non-stick skillet for this or you will end up with a big mess. Swirl the oil around the pan and add in the tofu. Cook the tofu on both sides until it is golden brown. Serve with the same dipping sauce as the egg rolls. I make this all the time, especially if I’m not sure whether or not Emma will eat what I’ve already prepared for dinner. She loves them! She wasn’t as fond of the egg rolls or the noodles, but did manage to eat a few bites of noodles after picking off the onions and cilantro. She said they were “dirty.”