Thai Tofu, "Cheese-steak", Breakfast Wraps

Continuing on the cookbook challenge theme...tonight I made another recipe from Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

RED THAI TOFU




What I liked:
It was quick with no extra steps. I like recipes that do not require pre-marinating the tofu. Also, it was fairly pantry friendly.

What I disliked:
I'm not sure what to say, I didn't absolutely love it. It seemed to be lacking something, but I don't know what. Maybe depth of flavor? I'm not sure. It could have something to do with the fact that I didn't have all of the red pepper it called for, I suppose. It could have also been that I didn't like the brand of curry paste I used. It was okay, but if I was served this in a restaurant I would be disappointed.

What I substituted:
I realized I didn't have a whole red bell pepper when I was already done frying the tofu, so I used what I had (about 1/4 cup) and added some mushrooms.
I also substituted a home made sugar syrup for the agave.

Recipe notes:
After frying the tofu with a small amount of non-stick spray and removing it from the pan the recipe says to add the shallots, garlic, ginger and bell pepper to the oil. I didn't have any oil in my pan at all and I checked the recipe to make sure I wasn't supposed to be adding some, haha. I just added about a tsp of oil.

My man's opinion:
He thought it was good, but not great. He said there was a little too much ginger for his taste. He ate it though.

Would I make it again?
I probably would if I was low on produce because it is quite pantry friendly, except I would tweak it a little. I tried my hardest to stay true to the recipe this first time so I could review it.
Also, I might try a different red curry paste when this one runs out (Thai Kitchen).

I made the SANCTUARY DRESSING recipe also, but I made a measuring mistake on that one, whoops!
I halved it (due to how much silken tofu I had) and accidentally used the full amount of garlic powder. I know that recipe will be good next time I make it. It was so creamy! I used it up though. Here's a salad with it:


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I've made a few other things in the last couple of days that definitely fall into the "cheap" category.

First up is poor man's version of the CHEESE-STEAK SANDWICH! A man's wich!






This is just a toasted hoagie roll with homemade seitan, grilled peppers and onion topped with a homemade cheezy sauce.
(Try something like this: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7057.0 for the sauce. )

Simple, cheap and possibly quick if you already have seitan in the fridge!
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Not sure what to have for breakfast? Got 20 minutes? Breakfast wraps are here to wipe your tears away!
Tofu scramble wrapped in a tortilla, so easy! I love it because I can make the tofu and veggies and from there change the spices and sauces for my boyfriend and me. (we like different things sometimes!)

His has a mexican vibe goin' on...tofu scramble, veggies, salsa, 'queso' with chili powder, jalepenos.


Mine has curry powder, extra veggies and the watered down queso with peanut butter added for a sauce (sounds weird, but it's good!)



Yep, still eating pretty good on a budget! Tomorrow I plan to make more recipes from Appetite for Reduction...yum yum yum.

I'm not really hungry, but I wanna eat that cheesesteak again...

"Whole lotta bakin' goin' on!"

I will be out of town for a few days, so I made a ton of food for my partner to eat. Mostly I did this so he doesn't have to spend money on eating out ;)

I decided a pan of veggie filled lasagna was in order. (sorry for the poor pictures, at night my camera gives everything a nice seventies glow)




No recipe here... just cooked lasagna noodles, tomato sauce spiked with extra garlic, tofu ricotta from Veganomicon, sauteed veggies (spinach, onion, zucchini, broccoli, green peppers) and topped with some nutritional yeast.

I made more blueberry muffins (same as the ones in the last post!)


I used this vegweb recipe (www.vegweb.com) :

Very Simple Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nondairy milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin pan (optional).
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in nondairy milk and oil.
Fold in blueberries. Pour into baking cups and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Makes: about 8 muffins

I generally use water instead of milk and they still come out yummy.

Next I made a couple of breakfast burritos:


Pinto beans, tofu scramble, avocado, salsa, homemade cheezy sauce.

For dinners I also made a huge batch of fried rice and sesame broccoli:


Cashew fried rice with seitan and tofu 'egg', broccoli with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

Since I'm visiting my parents for the holidays but not staying for xmas celebrations, I will be bringing a little gift for their table: pumpkin walnut bread with dried cran-cherries


I got the recipe from here:
http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/11/vegan-pumpkin-walnut-bread/

It's easy, yummy and very pantry friendly too!

And some seitan sandwiches for lunches:

These have seitan seasoned with steak sauce, grilled onion, vegan mayo and dijon horseradish mustard.

Phew!

Off to the Olympic Peninsula tomorrow bright and early, hopefully I will find some decent food!

PANCAKES!...and penny pinching

So....I did end up making those cinnamon rolls with several substitutions and just a sugar glaze instead of frosting and they were pretty good! However I forgot a picture and after the first day, they looked a bit grody but still tasted delicious heated up.

Today I made PANCAKES! A benefit of unemployment is making yourself breakfast in the not so early morning. (I now wake up at 8:00 instead of 4:45!!!)

These are whole wheat pastry flour pancakes from this veg web recipe: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5337.0 since I didn't have all the ingredients for the Vegan Brunch pancakes.

I also used the Vegan Brunch whole berry sauce with just a little less sugar added in....so yummy! And cheaper if you have a few frozen berries in your freezer than real maple syrup.

I'm trying not to buy any food until I figure out if I can get some food stamps..I have an appointment later today to find out. My cupboards are so bare! :( At least there are pancakes! :)

Oh dear, first post...

Well, here I am.
I guess to get this started I will post the scrumptious vegan breakfast I made today!

This is a delicious vegan version of eggs benny in which I usually forego the meat alternative. It doesn't really need it but add it if you want a more substantial breakfast. Also, you'll notice that I do not use scrambled tofu as an egg substitute and that is because I feel the sauce is sufficiently eggy tasting. Plus that's just a little too much soy in the morning for me ;)
Without further ado, I present:

EGGLESS BENEDICT

Ingredients:

• 2 vegan english muffins
• 1 large slicer tomato
• 4 strips tempeh or other meat substitute
• vegan hollandaise sauce (recipe below)

1. Make vegan hollandaise. While it is heating, saute tempeh

2. Toast muffins and top with sliced tomatoes and tempeh

3. Slather in hollandaise sauce and devour

Serve with morning potatoes or fruit. Serves 2.

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VEGAN HOLLANDAISE

Ingredients:

• 1 box aseptic-style tofu ( firm will do in a pinch, but needs more blending and does not reheat as well)
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1-1 1/2 lemons
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk ( I used almond here)
• 5 tbsp vegan margarine (such as earth balance)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp kala namak salt ( *see note below)
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Blend the tofu with milk until smooth

2. Scrape mixture into saucepan over medium low heat (do not boil) and add the juice of 1 lemon, mix well.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, saving the kala namak salt for last. Add this carefully, as its pretty eggy/sulphuric.

4. Taste and decide if it needs the extra 1/2 lemon's juice. Add salt and pepper according to taste (you'll be surprised that you need to add more salt but the kala namak is really more savory than salty and i find that it always needs a little table salt to accompany it.)

5. Garnish with paprika and serve immediately as the sauce tends to take on a grainy texture if left sitting too long without heat.

If sauce is too thin, keep heating it and stir occasionally. You can add a little cornstarch if needed. This sauce is best reheated on the stovetop instead of the microwave. It also may need a splash of non-dairy milk if it thickens in the fridge.

* KALA NAMAK is an indian black salt (it's actually pink!) with a sulpheric egg-like taste. I would try not to leave this ingredient out because it really gives the eggy flavor to the sauce. Plus once you try it you'll find other awesome uses for it, namely savory tofu scrambles! You can find it in an indian grocer or as I did, in a specialty salt shop. You can also order it online from their website here.

http://www.atthemeadow.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_93&products_id=369

MMM...so full.... :)