Random Food Pr0n

Gochujang glazed tofu with steamed broccoli over jasmine rice. I mix Gochujang (San - J brand), rice vinegar, soy sauce and a Sriracha together and pour over extra firm tofu after frying a bit, continue to fry so you get it all caramelized and tasty. Post gym meals usually look like this on the weeknight.

 

I went up to the counter to pay for lunch at Blossom Vegan and saw slices of mocha chocolate cake and was like 'please bring me a slice with two spoons to share with my dude!"... 

Vegan mint milk shake split for two via Saturn Cafe. We usually get the loteria meets Star Wars table in the back! I like ordering pancakes and french fries - because I can! 

 Even when they spell my name wrong this drink is super yum. Coconut milk vanilla bean frap + a banana blended in minus the whip cream. Tip: just get it with coconut milk, soy milk makes it taste watery and gross!

These are just a few of the things I have been munching on....  

Food I Made Then Ate + A New Zine

Chichi beans + basmati rice. I adapted this recipe from  Staten Italy: Nothin' but the Best Italian-American Classics, from Our Block to Yours (by the pizza cuz guys). I served it with leftover naan.

 

Southern-ish bowl: basmati rice topped with pan grilled spiced tofu, collard greens and black eyed peas. Hefty amounts of hot sauce included! I love collard greens - simply made with olive oil, lemon juice, pepper flakes. It is so comforting!

Not the best photo but whatever! Fried veggie dogs with ketchup, mustard and sauerkraut from the neighbor (the best ever!) on naan - because we love Trader Joe's naan. Fries with ketchup round out the meal.

I released the newest issue of The Stay at Home Girlfriend - #16 over the weekend, please check it out! It is full of cats, vegan recipes, music, mental health/self care, beer tastings and more!

Miyoko's Creamery Aged English Smoked Farmhouse Review

I got to finally try this much talked about product. I usually feel pretty bad when I drop $10 on a luxury product but had a gift card for Whole Foods and treated myself!

I crumbled half the wedge, almond milk and some pepper for a pasta sauce and mixed in some conchelie pasta. It was tasty and rich. I paired it with balsamic tofu and oven white beans, broccoli and baby zucchini in a olive oil, lemon, nooch and pepper marinade. This might be as fancy as I get guys!

I like the cheeze on it's own, nibbling on it delicately. It is also really good on whole grain crackers. I shared some with my neighbor who was impressed as well. I will have to try more flavors. I should note I never had fancy cheese growing up, I cannot compare it to non-dairy cheese of the past. I know tthough I just really like it! So far it has been in every Northern CA Whole Foods we have been too. Some locations have more flavors than others.

[Vegan Mofo] 5 Ingredient Meals - Tofu Buffalo Bites With Garlic Aioli

 I have the desire to eat party food for meals. If I could get away with having a plate of appetizers as a meal I would! Actually some of my fave meals have come from reworking an appetizer to super size standards, adding soup or a salad and calling it a day. Buffalo wings are one of those things I look forward to in all of their vegan reincarnations!
This is a super simple take on the dish, anyone can do it. It can be served as a snack, add the tofu bites to a salad and a bit more lemon to the aioli and use it as a dressing. Recipes are often a jumping off point to something more grand and as I wrap up Mofo I have been inspired by all that I have seen and will be taking that with me into the kitchen.

5 ingredient stars: Extra firm/firm tofu - drained and pressed, Frank's Hot Sauce, Hampton Creek Just Mayo, Sicilia lemon juice, garlic powder.

Cube the tofu into bite sized pieces. Fry on medium high heat till browned on each side. Turn heat down and add about a 1/2 cup of Frank's. You may need more or less - you just want each bite coated. Cook a few minutes longer till the sauce browns. Serve with 1/2 cup Just Mayo mixed with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and a big pinch of garlic powder mixed together. Yummy!

Grillin' & Chillin'

We bought a new (pink!) grill over the weekend and have been having bbq fun. So far a lot of tofu skewers and bbq friendly side dishes, my fave being baked beans. Something we discovered is bread brushed with a bit of Earth Balance and grilled is mega tasty. I like my toast topped with beans! I am making another batch of low sugar bbq sauce for tonight's grilling session. All the commercial sauces leave my stomach stressed out and feeling sick.


Are you grilling? If so what are you grilling?

[Vegan MOFO] Target Tuesday - Coco-Peanut Sauce With Tofu

 

Target carries vegan basics like tofu, rice, beans, frozen veggies, non-dairy milks, seasonings/spices and meat alternatives. Throwing a meal together can be a snap if you just step outside the box and look around.

When buying a new vegan cookbook or looking at blogs online I am often disappointed if the recipes call for special hard to find ingredients that have me order them online or try to locate them in a specialty market that I may not have in town. So when I come across a recipe that I can make from simple to find ingredients I bookmark it and get to work on dreaming up a meal around it.

The Garlic Broccoli with Coco-Peanut Sauce from Plant Based on a Budget is a meal that is easy to put together from the aisles of Target, affordable and easy to make. Bonus it is super yummy!

The only things I changed from the recipe was using organic maple syrup instead of brown sugar, garlic powder for garlic (no fresh garlic at Target), I added a squeeze of Sriracha and I added some extra firm tofu triangles to the mix. Bagged broccoli again came into play and I used basmati rice. This meal is something I will make again. Creamy peanuty taste with a hint of kick (I might add more Sriracha next time), afordable and a thumbs up from Matt. 

[Veagan MOFO] WWGFE Wednesday - Bacon Salad

If there was a way to log TV time, my charts would say that I watch 90% Food Network and Cooking Channel shows. I am kind of addicted to watching shows that are mostly stuff I will not eat. However the shows I watch give me inspiration to cook my own versions of what I see.

One cook/TV host that comes through each time with ideas for our meals is Guy Fieri.Whether he is at a 'funky joint' or cooking at home I am drawn to his food. Often when I need a meal idea I ask myself What Would Guy Fieri Eat?

 

In Guy's latest book he has a chapter dedicated to pork and in previous books he has had a lot of pork recipes and even a disturbing photo of dead pigs...Bacon seems to be the hold-strong trend lately so I thought my first WWFE would be something bacon related. 

I created a tofu bacon slab salad. I know that tempeh is the go to protein source for vegan bacon fun but I wanted to create a thicker cut and I am a tofu gal! I took strips of super firm high protein tofu and marinated them in liquid smoke (which he explained in a show he used to not use because he thought it was cheating or something), maple/agave syrup, cayenne powder, garlic, Himalayan pink salt and pepper. After about 30 minutes, I heated up some oil in a frying pan, fried each slab till it was brown.

The salad was organic greens, organic cherry tomatoes, rustic seasoned croutons, tofu-bacon slabs with my habanero ranch dressing on top (Guy is a fan of hot sauce). I added a side of cheezey garlic bread and it was all good! Maybe it is still to healthy to appear on a dive menu but the pigs will thank ya - not to mention your heart!

Recent Eats - Tofu Pizza, Greek-ish Salad & GF Ice Cream Sundae

Pizza night last week: garlic pizza dough from Trader Joe's (soooo good) topped with pizza sauce, Daiya, savory baked tofu and balsamic vinegar. To go with it a nice side salad!

A scoop of Purely Decadent Coconut Cookie Dough, smothered in chocolate sauce ontop of Lucy's brownies makes this one tasty vegan & gluten free sundae!

Summer calls for salad! This was on last night dinner plate: organic baby greens and a large organic tomato dressed in lemon juice, olive oil and herbs. Topped off with marinated balsamic tofu and zucchini slices and pine nuts. I used The Vegan Foodie's balsamic glaze recipe but adjusting a few things. It was so good. I had extra marinade so In tossed in a sliced zucchini and baked it for 15 minutes...I served the salad with some cheezey garlic bread and I can't wait to have it again!

Long Weekend Fun - Cooking, Baking & Reading

Long weekends are meant to sleep in, catch up on stuff and relax. I did that plus some tea sipping, reading, baking and cooking.

Since Chipotle introduced sofritas I go once a week! I love a nice salad with sofritas, black beans, fresh salsa and guac! Also our mall just opened a Teavana - so I had to get my blueberry tea fix! Matt got my free Izzy at Chipotle - I love text coupons!

We were supposed to BBQ on Sunday but after inspecting our grill and with the wind kicking in we decided not to. After buying ingredients for potato salad, I was craving it! I was sent a copy of Grills Gone Vegan by Tamasin Noyes to review and was looking forward to grilling but I did make the Tangy Dijon Sauce and served it warm over potatoes for a warm potato salad - soooo good! I served it with pan fried BBQ tofu, garlic cheeze bread and watermelon. Good!

Monday we slept in a little too much. After having breakfast at lunch time and trying to get my routine in order (yoga, tea, house work, lunch) I decided to make cookies with a jar of Speculoos spread Matt bought for me at Target. I am still adjusting the recipe - the cookies work well with tea though!

Dinner was a generic East-Feast. I made date-raisin chutney from the first Candle Cafe cookbook (I made some subs, like cinnamon for ginger because the two stores I went to had no ginger to be found). I served it over simple stove top yellow rice, so tasty - comfort food! I made the Mediterranean tofu marinade from Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero (subbing apple cider vinegar for white wine, and pan steaming the tofu instead of baking it). Also from the book I made Roasted Broccoli with Sage and loved it! I want more of it now!

Since Saturday I have been wrapped up in Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. If you like young adult books go get it now! It is really good, I have to force myself to put it down and do things like feed Mar, wash laundry and shower! I have more books in the YA genre that I picked up from the library to go through...First some tea though!

Pumpkin Mac, Baked Tofu And Broccoli

 

I have had the pumpkin cheeze sauce from Oh She Glows in my to do recipe pile for awhile now. I finally got around to it and was not let down! It is really creamy and satisfying. I did not really get a pumpkin taste, the nutritional yeast does come into play though. I was hesitant to give it to Matt because well, it's pumpkin based and he is often odd about things like this. He liked it though and he said it went well with the broccoli. I also made baked tofu from Appetite For Reduction - since I am trying to cook along with the cook book challenge over on the PPK.

The broccoli is easy. Take a few cups of broccoli heads, steam in a pan with a lid and a few drops of water, till the water is gone ( a few minutes) on low heat. Add a bit of lemon olive oil to the pan, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of S&P and a nice sized pinch of red pepper flakes. Toss and cook for 2-3 minutes and serve!

This is a pretty fast meal - one of those 30 minute meals, if you do not count the tofu marinating for a hour. However that is down time and does that really count?

Sweet & Spicy Stir Fried Noodles

Fast Sunday night dinner...Basically it is a package of baked tofu (Teriyaki flavored), some left over frozen veggies and fresh pineapple with fresh rice noodles. I cooked the veggies with tofu while boiling the water/noodles. I added the noodles to the oan, the pineapple and the sauce. Sauce: a dash of Sriracha, a tablespoon of fresh pineapple juice from the pineapple chunks, a squirt of Braggs and about a teaspoon of rice vinegar. Dump it over the mix and let it heat up and serve. 

Note: The fresh rice noodles from TJ's are hard to work with. They turn into a huge clump once cooked. I tried my hardest to break them up with no luck!

Beer Battered Tofu Tacos & Moco Loco

I was inspired by a Dean boy to beer batter something...Well, I modified the recipe, no fish (duh), extra seasoning and I made the meal a taco meal! Beer battered tacos with Sriracha slaw (Matt is warming up to the slaw!)...

 

I wish the beer batter stuck a bit more, but it was really tasty, fluffy and puffy batter! So puffy that some of my tofu looked like Twinkies at one point! Served with red rice and fresh off the tree lemons! 

  

By now you know I watch a lot of cooking shows. I always get inspired by non-vegan food to recreate it and make it vegan and easy. Moco Loco was one such dish that screamed to be made vegan. 

I made these black bean burgers with a slight spice modification, served it over organic basmati with a packet of vegan golden gravy mix...If I had planned a week or so in advanced I would have maybe bought and added a Vegg Egg on top to make it a true Hawaiian classic...Matt called  this meal interesting, I thought it was good and was way easy to put together after the gym!

BBQ Tempeh Chili & Baked Breaded Tofu

So one of my goals for 2013 is to try at least 2 new recipes a month, so far I am making new to me recipes few times a week! I often get stuck in food ruts and I am always looking for new recipes that will satisfy both Matt and I.

I bought a bag of panko bread crumbs when I was at Whole Foods, because buying vegan bread crumbs around  here is not working out. So I wanted to make something that included them right away. Usually in the past I just used bread crumbs as a baked mac and cheeze topper...I decided to try the crispy baked tofu recipe from Chow Vegan. I used a 30 oz block of WildWood (my go to tofu). I served it with stove top mac and cheeze, a baked potato and BBQ sauce for dipping. It was good, however next time I am going to eliminate 1/2 of the bread crumb, I had so much left over after breading the tofu. Also I will be playing around with spices to kick it up.

In the current issue of Vegetarian Times there is a article on 5 ingredient chili mixes. I was curios. Matt and I both like BBQ, pinto beans and tempeh, while I like slaw...so we went with the BBQ Tempeh Chili recipe. It was easy to throw together after a trip to the gym. I baked some sweet potato pieces as a side (which Mar ate most of unless I wanted to get scratched up). It was good, simple and made a nice sized pot.


What recipes are you making lately that you love? Any food goals for 2013?

Vegan Hawaiian Lunch Plate Special

I was watching Food Network yesterday and Guy F. was visiting Hawaii and talking about the plate lunches that are popular there. I was curios because it is white rice, macaroni salad and a protein. It seemed odd, comforting and carby. A winner!

We have white rice (in this case organic basmati), a basic macaroni salad that has red bell peppers and for our protein portion we have pan grilled BBQ tofu slabs! It was really good and perfect for a rainy, cold, PMSy night in! That was Matt's plate - he approved! I tried keeping the macaroni salad on the plain side because adding onions (I did add onion flakes though) would not make him happy!

[Vegan MOFO Day 3] Sandwiches & Soy Curls

Since I went to Whole Foods on Sunday I bought items I cannot find around here to try. I walked away with a lot of winners.

On Sunday after coming home from the film festival, hitting up the gym and then the store I was tired. I wanted something tasty and simple. A smoked jalapeno tofu sandwich with Daiya cheddar wedge cheese (new to me - I have only had the shreds!), vegan mayo, fresh organic veggies on a sourdough roll. Served with Matt's fave, crinkle cut fries (I usually by different fries but these were good!). I want more sandwiches for dinner!

We are no strangers to soy curls - I order them bi-weekly from Spencer's Market. However I usully prepare them the same way - pan fried in BBQ sauce, which is so soooo sooooo good but hey - I am trying to break out of a rut! So after trying buffalo soy curl pasta and liking it, I decided to do strait up buffalo soy curls. I just used my standard buffalo sauce Frank's + Earth Balance and after the soy curls re-hydrated I tossed them in the sauce and pan fried them. Served with steamed broccoli, mac & cheeze and left over oven toasted sour dough rolls. Another simple meal that is tasty and warms your insides!


I should note that these pics and the ones that might follow are of Matt's plate, in his office where he likes to relax with dinner after work. I am usually like "hey take a picture before I set it down!"...So ya that is my arm & Matt's skull plate! :)

Easy BBQ Pan Fried Tofu

What you need:
1 block extra firm - high protein tofu - patted dry - cubed
1/2 cup or more of your fave BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon of canola oil for frying

Heat up your oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Place the tofu in the pan and fry for about 15 minutes - turning every so often so it will not burn. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add BBQ sauce and let simmer turning once for 10 minutes.
Serve it in a bun, serve it over rice, serve it with sweet potato fries like above! It is easy, fast and yummy!

DIY Pizza, Easy Dinner And New Vegan Food Products

I have been under the weather the last few weeks, I have had four shingles out breaks and my body just feels tired. I have been hitting up Greens Market a few times a week since it opened to get ideas and buy great food. Well, when I stopped in last week the staff informed me of all the new vegan products and I was ecstatic!

First up Eat Pastry's Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough: Good stuff, not as great as a batch of my black ribbon chocolate chip cookies but really awesome tasting! It is so nice to have a tub of dough for those last minute snacks! I can't wait to get my hands on the other varieties! Also I will try to snap a picture next time I make some!


I have heard a lot of talk about Hodo Soy's Tofu lately. I picked some up wanting a quick meal and decided on a curry. I like the fact it is already really firm and pressed, you just need to run a cloth over it to get the moister off. They texture is also really chewy. I found a few varieties of vegan curry sauces at Cost Plus from the UK, it made things even easier! Now only if they got in some more vegan imported candy!


We were invited to a birthday party on Saturday night. The host was super awesome and provided us with our own pans and everything. We sampled salad pizza and got to take dough home and I made a Daiya cheeze pizza. It was my first time stretching pizza dough and it was fun. I want to try making my own dough and pizza again. Growing up we had homemade pizza from my grandma and like all great Sicilian dishes - I am intimidated to recreate them. I will get over this!

[day 13] Tofu Tips!

We all know it can be a pain to press tofu, not to mention the wasted paper towels. Well, after my go to tofu source ran out of extra firm tofu this week and I needed a few block to make Matt's BBQ tofu I turned to WildWood. The block I got was huge and it was vacuumed sealed without water. It did not need to be pressed just blotted and it was good to go! It was firmer than the old water packed tofu many of us are used to but it was good!

A few months ago over on the PPK someone mentioned using a Shamwow to press tofu. My good ol' pal Kyle gave me a Shamwow and I tried it and it worked great. It made me use less kitchen towels and paper towels! Who said info commercial products are junk?

[day 8] Matt's Omnivore Opinion - BBQ Tofu

The barbecue tofu is not prepared as a meat substitute, meaning that it doesn't try to look or taste like meat, which might scare off fellow omnivores, but meat doesn't always have to be the main course of a meal and vegan dishes don't always have to include mock meats; and I'm perfectly fine with that. The tofu is nice and thick with a barbecue flavoring; it also fills you up, which is a problem I find with some Vegan meals. I'm not a food connoisseur, so all I can say is that it tastes great and if you enjoy tofu you'll like it; and if you're not a sheltered eater you should take a chance on GOOD vegan food.

The side dish is vegan macaroni and cheese. Obviously it's not real cheese. It's different from your boxed macaroni and cheese; it's not as runny or thin. If you ever eaten home made macaroni and cheese then you'll love the Vegan version.

I know I may have not gotten into extreme detail but I'm no expert food reviewer, so all I can say is I approve of this vegan meal for all non-Vegans and for all meat eaters. Meat eaters especially shouldn't act afraid of vegan food when it's just as, if not more healthy than what you (and I) eat on a day-to-day basis. - Matt

BBQ Tofu From The Slow Cooker
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2 blocks of extra firm tofu drained, pressed. cubed
13.5 oz of BBQ sauce (our fave is Organicville)

Layer cubed tofu and BBQ sauce in slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-5 hours!

The mac & cheeze is courtesy of the old recipe found on Get Sconed! which seems to be removed! I hope it is posted again - it is tasty!