So for dinner last night, I made the Lentil-Rice Balls from Vegan Lunch Box. I found these to be pretty good (almost too bland for me, actually, but that’s the aim for a kid’s palate I suppose), but Emma wouldn’t even take one bite. I gave her some ketchup to dip, but all she did was eat the ketchup with her spoon.  At least I try.

To go with our Lentil-Rice Balls, I challenged my culinary skills with pasta with jarred marinara sauce. That’s pushing it!    To redeem myself for such a lame side dish, I made some awesome eggplant and zucchini. I am not usually a fan of eggplant, but I bought some this week to try out.  It was really good.

Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant & Zucchini

1 medium eggplant, sliced about 1/4″ thick

1 large zucchini, sliced about 1/4 ” thick

1 cup flour

1 cup soymilk (you really need to use soymilk here)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 to 1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs

3 TB Italian seasoning mix

After slicing the eggplant, lay it out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes, then rinse and pat dry.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.

Station 1:

In a shallow bowl or on a plate, combine the flour with some S&P.

Station 2:

In a shallow bowl, combine the soymilk and apple cider vinegar. Add in some S&P.

Station 3:

In a shallow bowl or on a plate, combine the panko, Italian seasonings and some S&P.

Start the breading process at Station 1- dust the eggplant/zucchini with flour. Then pass through Station 2. At station 3, be sure to press the breadcrumbs into the veggie to give it a thick crust. Put on prepared baking sheet.

When all of the veggies have been coated, spray the tops of them with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking time. Top with marinara sauce.

]]> http://www.missionvegan.com/italian-feast/feed/ 1 http://www.missionvegan.com/grilling-vegan-style/ http://www.missionvegan.com/grilling-vegan-style/#comments Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:29:22 +0000 maida http://www.missionvegan.com/?p=147 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.

When we returned from our weekend away, we were in pretty bad shape grocery-wise.  I went out to Sigona’s, the only place for produce, as far as I’m concerned, and picked up some delicious produce.  Take a look at the salad we had after my shopping trip:

It was just a simple garden salad, but everything was so fresh tasting that I had to share.  My beats were still cooking when it was time to eat, so they didn’t make it onto the salad.  Drizzled on top is my balsamic dijon vinaigrette.

I used the filling recipe from ED&BV for the phyllo bites. The only change is that I made small phyllo cups to put the filling in as opposed to making rolls. To make your own phyllo cups, you can read this previous post to learn how. These are really, really tasty, but started to get a little dried out towards the end of the party.

I pretty much followed my recipe for the corn and black bean salsa exactly, but I added red peppers for something a little different. This turned out a little more beany than usual, but I think I liked it better that way. Here is the recipe that I followed exactly and it made a huge batch. You will probably want to scale it back a bit. Aside from the cake, it was the biggest food hit at the party:

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

6 cups frozen corn kernals

3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

2 green bell peppers, diced

2 red bell peppers, diced

3 jalapeño peppers, minced

2 medium red onions, diced

3 tomatoes, lightly seeded and diced

juice of about 7 limes

1/2 cup jarred salsa

1 cup chopped cilantro

S&P to taste

Put all of the veggies (except the tomatoes) on a tray, drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and stick under the broiler until they start to char. You may have to do this in a couple of batches depending on how much you are making and the size of your tray. In a large bowl, put the beans, tomatoes and broiled veggies and stir to combine. Add the lime juice, S&P, salsa and cilantro. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Don’t be afraid of the jalapeño peppers– the salsa turned out extremely mild and I think I will add more next time for a little kick.

The veggie platter was super simple. I took some baby carrots, sliced cucumber, and celery and served that with some pita and 3 kinds of hummus (store bought). The hummus went quickly and I wish I would have bought at least 3 tubs of each kind.

Sadly, watermelon season hasn’t hit yet. I won’t tell you how much the watermelon cost, but I will warn you all to save your money until it warms up a bit more. Our watermelon was a little disappointing– good, but not as sweet as the ones you can find in the middle of summer. The honeydew, on the other hand, was outta sight! I should have bought 2 honeydew instead of the watermelon.  Oh well!

And lastly, a vegan chocolate birthday cake. I’d love to take credit for this, but I ended up ordering it from Whole Foods. I don’t particularly care for Whole Foods, but I didn’t know where else to go for a vegan cake that would be big enough to serve 30 people. Aside from my wedding cake, this was the most expensive cake I have ever bought in my life. Next year, I think we’ll just have vegan cupcakes now that I have Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (thanks, Amy! I can’t wait to try out some recipes). The birthday cake was very good and everyone enjoyed it, but I don’t know that I would ever spend that kind of money again. Since I was making all the rest of the food, there was no way that I could have made a cake too.  And I definitely couldn’t have made one that gorgeous!

Emma had the best time with her friends at her party. Thank you so much to everyone who came and for all of the fun gifts!

On the side, we had a nice salad made of organic red leaf lettuce, organic pears, and organic golden beets. I picked up some beets the last time I was at Sigona’s and they had been sitting in my fridge for nearly a week waiting to get used. I don’t cook beets often and I wanted to do something more creative with them other than boiling them and putting them on a salad. Well, that didn’t happen this time, but I’ll keep an eye out for a recipe involving beets that doesn’t involve salad.

So the salad was really simple. A bed of leaf lettuce, some pears, the beets, and some toasted walnuts, pine nuts and pistachios, topped with my favorite vinaigrette:

Balsamic Dijon Vinaigrette

1 heaping tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp agave nectar

Splash of balsamic vinegar

Olive oil to taste

S&P to taste

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, agave nectar, balsamic vinegar and S&P. Whisk in enough olive oil to suit your taste. I prefer my vinaigrette dressings to be heavier on the vinegar and lighter on the olive oil, but feel free to adjust the quantities to your preferences.

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.

Needless to say, I was both excited and scared to try out this sausage recipe. I was excited because (a) everyone seems to love them and (b) the combination of spices sounded like it would make a really tasty sausage. I followed the recipe exactly and, after they were done steaming, I put them in the fridge until dinner. When it was time to eat, I fried them up in a little bit of olive oil, just to give it a little extra crispiness on the outside. Since I was incredibly afraid that the texture was going to be super funky, I made some oven roasted potatoes to go with them and some steamed carrots. Carrots were about the only other veggie we had in the house, so that’s what I had to go with. I also decided that I needed to make a tasty, filling, and nutritious dessert just in case.

I make oven roasted potatoes all the time because they are so yummy. I’ve always made them the same way: scrub up your potatoes and cut them into bite sized pieces. Put them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle on some salt, pepper, garlic powder and Mrs. Dash table seasoning blend. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes, flipping them a few times to brown evenly.

Isn’t this the worst photo you’ve ever seen of a plate of food? I think so. OK, so now for my review of the sausages… they weren’t bad. The flavor was great and I love the spiciness of them. The texture is still something that I need to get used to, but it wasn’t so bad dipped in a little ketchup. I served the sausages with some caramelized onions on top, for a little sweetness to balance the spiciness. To my complete shock and amazement, Emma even ate a few bites. She seemed to really like them, but got a bite with too many peppers and that was it for her.

Since I was so unsure of how my sausage would turn out, I wanted to make a hearty dessert just in case our main course consisted solely of potatoes and carrots. I thought immediately to make some sort of sweetened quinoa topped with apples and came up with this recipe:

Quinoa “Cake” with Spicy Apples

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

2 cups unsweetened vanilla soy milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup raisins

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup maple syrup

pinch of salt

Bring the soy milk to a bubble and add all of the ingredients. You will have to whisk the cinnamon in to avoid clumping. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed the liquid. Spoon about 1/2 cup the cooked quinoa into lightly greased ramekins and chill in the fridge. When cool, slide a knife around the edge to loosen and invert the “cake” onto a plate.

For the apples, which I make all the time as toppings for oatmeal, pancakes, etc., peel and core 2 to 3 apples. I used golden delicious for this recipe, but you could use any kind that you have on hand. Slice them and put into a dry non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook the apples for about 5 minutes, allowing them to brown a little on both sides. When the apples are getting tender, add about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, a pinch of ground cloves and a pinch of allspice. Pour in about 1/2 cup of juice and let the apples simmer until the juice has reduced to a syrup. Top the quinoa cakes with the apples and top with a few walnuts. I also made a caramel drizzling sauce to pour over the apples, for a little bit of added sweetness.

The dessert turned out pretty good. The quinoa cakes were a little on the bland side, which was my intention since the apples have a lot goin’ on. I ate the leftover quinoa the next morning mixed with some oatmeal and it was pretty tasty!

]]> http://www.missionvegan.com/vegan-sausages-oven-roasted-potatoes-steamed-carrots-and-quinoa-cake-with-spicy-apples/feed/ 0 http://www.missionvegan.com/noodles-with-edamame-and-green-onions-faux-egg-rolls-and-pan-fried-tofu/ http://www.missionvegan.com/noodles-with-edamame-and-green-onions-faux-egg-rolls-and-pan-fried-tofu/#comments Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:03:14 +0000 maida http://www.missionvegan.com/?p=28 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.”

]]> http://www.missionvegan.com/noodles-with-edamame-and-green-onions-faux-egg-rolls-and-pan-fried-tofu/feed/ 0 http://www.missionvegan.com/my-favorite-pasta-dish/ http://www.missionvegan.com/my-favorite-pasta-dish/#comments Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:43:16 +0000 maida http://www.missionvegan.com/?p=21 We were nearing the end of the week (i.e. we needed to do some shopping), so I decided to make my favorite pasta dish since it is made with things that I try to keep stocked in the pantry. I love this pasta dish and I make it often. The recipe is so versatile that you could do a lot with it- throw in some extra veggies or some faux meat, if you’d like.

I got the idea for this recipe from New Vegetarian Cooking by Rose Elliot. After making her recipe for “Linguine with Peppers, Basil and Pecorino” once, I decided to change it up a bit (and veganize it):

1 TB olive oil

pinch of red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicy)

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup olives, chopped (I typically use a mixture of green kalamata)

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped or sliced

Fresh basil leaves, either torn or chopped

Any kind of pasta noodle (I typically stick with linguine)

Boil your noodles per package directions. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic and let them saute for a minute. Add in the roasted red peppers and olives and let them heat through. When the pasta is cooked, toss it in the skillet with the veggies. Do a taste test for seasoning and add a little salt and pepper, if needed. Be sure to taste first- the olives are already very salty. Throw in the basil and toss through.

This dish is so easy to make and can be made a million different ways. I’ve added blanched broccoli florets to it and have also wilted in some baby spinach leaves. For this particular batch, I threw in some artichoke hearts. As I’m sitting here typing this, I just had the idea to add some toasted pine nuts next time. Wouldn’t that be tasty?!