Tofu Scramble

Substituting eggs can be tricky. There isn’t one egg substitute that will universally work in all recipes. When it comes to scrambled eggs, tofu is the perfect choice.This recipe is super easy to whip up quickly in the morning using just a few ingredients. I typically have all these items on hand anyway. I made this scrambled dish as part of my valentine’s day meal and I am just now getting around to posting the recipe I used. I know. Shame. But it’s delicious so it is totally worth the wait. I hope to get that berry quinoa posted here soon. I love quinoa for breakfast – such a super food! But back to the tofu!

Tofu Scramble

Ingredients

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 block tofu, drained and pressed
• 2 tbsp oil or margarine
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)

Directions

Slice the tofu into approximately one inch cubes. Then, using either your hands or a fork, crumble it slightly.

Sautee onion, pepper and crumbled tofu in oil for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to medium and allow to cook 5-7 more minutes, stirring frequently and adding more oil if needed.

Source: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/breakfastrecipe1/r/TofuScramble.htm

Experiments in Chocolate

And so begins my new journey to find chocolate that I can easily make at home. I love chocolate and this recipe interested me. It’s three ingredients and takes just minutes to make. The coconut oil I was apprehensive about since I’ve never used it before. It was easy enough to find in the grocery store (by the Crisco) but it has 12 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. Twelve. Grams. Thank God I don’t eat many foods with sat fat in it on a regular basis otherwise I would need bypass surgery after a spoonful of some coconut oil. It definitely came out oily and tasted like sugar covered in cocoa powder… which is basically what it is. But it was a good first attempt at making my own chocolate and I’m sure I will make this again. I’d love to be able to include this recipe in cookies, brownies, etc so keep an eye out!

Chocolate

• 6 Tbsp coconut oil
• 8 Tbsp unrefined sugar
• 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
• (And of course I sprinkled dried cranberries on top because I’m obsessed)

1. Melt the coconut oil in a pot on low heat. Stir in the sugar and cocoa/carob powder until it’s smooth. If you’re using a flavoring, like hot peppers or orange zest, stir that in as well.
2. Line a pan with parchment paper, and pour in the liquid chocolate. If you’re using toppings, sprinkle them on top.
3. Put the pan in the fridge to set, which takes 20-30 minutes depending on the temperature in your fridge.

Source: http://www.healthyveganrecipes.net/video/homemade-chocolate-recipe

Italian Roasted Vegetables

Vegetables are beautiful. Compare this image to the following items: Twinkies, chicken nuggets, Coke, mashed potatoes… It’s crazy that people find these foods delicious when visually they are so admittedly bland and unappealing. I love including a wide range of colors in my meals. With fruits and vegetables, this task is easy to accomplish. With a meat and potatoes diet… not so much. I love making roasted veggies because I can throw bite-size pieces of veggies into a pan, stick it in the oven, and then eat. Easy enough.

Italian Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of fresh vegetables, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp basil
• 1/2 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables in a pan

3. Put vegetables in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

4. Stir the veggies halfway through.

5. With five minutes remaining, add all spices and mix well in the pan.Return pan to oven until timer is up.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I initially planned on making this for my mom’s birthday. Her birthday was yesterday and I won’t see her until next weekend so this is considered practice. It turned out as decadent as I had hoped. Trying to combine “plants” and the word “decadent” is no easy feat so I’ll take the results as a huge success. I have never enjoyed baking as much as I enjoy cooking but I do love sweets. So I can’t complain that now I have a bunch of cheesecake sitting around the house for me to eat. With this stuff around, I have noticed myself eating dessert before and after meals. And sometimes in between meals. And do I lick the plate after? Always.

Chocolate Cheesecake:

• 1 package soft tofu
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 3 Tbsp cocoa powder

Chocolate Caramel Glaze:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp cocoa powder

And raspberries, too!

For the cheesecake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a blender, combine the tofu, almond milk, sugar, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and cocoa powder. Blend until smooth and pour into pie crust.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool; refrigerate until chilled.

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vegan-cheesecake/

For the chocolate caramel glaze:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda, vanilla, and cocoa powder.

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/caramel-popcorn/detail.aspx

Final touches:

Once the cheesecake has chilled completely, pour the glaze over the cheesecake and refrigerate. Add raspberries prior to serving.

Sweet Lemon Dressing

I use my salad dressing bottle from Target constantly. I refill this bottle at least biweekly. This bottle has a few different recipes for dressings labeled on it. I have tried any of them yet but I’m sure I will eventually. I found a lemony dressing recently that has been my go-to recipe for the last couple months. It tastes fabulous on fruity salads, which are my favorite right now. I initially used this dressing when I prepared a meal at work for 60 people. I used a spinach, green apple and dried cranberry salad for the dressing. The salad disappeared quickly. I didn’t even get to try any! But, I have made up for this times a million considering how much of this dressing I consume.

In other news, I accepted a job offer today within my company. I will be working MUCH closer to home and I will basically never have to leave downtown. This is good for three reasons:

1. More time to cook

2. More money to spend on food

3. Basically won’t have to use my car

I plan on walking to the grocery store whenever I need to stock up. It’s an expensive grocery store but I will be saving money elsewhere so I figure it’s worth it. I’m excited to embrace this hipster lifestyle of walking everywhere. As if I wasn’t already slightly hipster. Carbon footprint = what carbon footprint?

Sweet Lemon Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tsp diced onion
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a bottle and shake!

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/winter-fruit-salad-with-lemon-poppyseed-dressing-2/

Chinese Food Without Hair In It

We all know it’s tempting to get Chinese take out on a daily basis. The Chinese restaurant kitchens are squeaky clean, no one ever messes up your order, the vegetarian menu is strictly vegetarian, and the food is always hair-free. Oh, AND they never put MSG in your food. So why make it at home?

Well, because of sarcasm. That is why. However, making it at home can prove to be a challenge because it never seems to taste like the real thing. I’ve done enough failed experiments on Chinese…. Chinese FOOD, I should say… to know that it takes some extra effort to get it right. Here is a recipe that seems to work. I left out the MSG, fish sauces and oyster sauce. There might be some blonde hair though… you’re welcome.

Yields 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tofu block
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 cups veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery, etc)
• 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/8 cup water

Directions:

Cut the tofu into squares and dry thoroughly between paper towels. Combine tofu and soy sauce. Let it marinate in a bowl while you prepare the garlic and onion.

Heat vegetable oil over high heat in a skillet. Add garlic and onion and cook for one minute.

Add tofu and cook covered for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add water, pepper and sugar. Stir then add vegetables into the skillet.

Boil ingredients together for 5 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch in water. Stir into the boiling skillet. Cook until thick and no longer cloudy.

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-and-chinese-vegetable-stir-fry/

Black Bean & Guacamole Tacos

Great February day in Indy today. The weather was chilly but sunny so it was a perfect day to wander the city. I jogged to Marsh and picked up some goodies for a delicious late afternoon meal. Tacos! I based these off of Chipotle’s tacos because that restaurant can do no wrong in my book.

Yields 6 tacos

Ingredients:

For cooked veggies:

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 green pepper chopped
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 can black bean, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 cup corn

For rice:

• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 cup rice cooked
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/8 tsp salt

For guacamole:

• 1 avocado, mashed
• 6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 cup onion
• 1 tsp lime juice

And, of course:

• 6 hard taco shells

Directions:

Combine vegetable oil, green pepper and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Saute until onion is translucent – roughly five minutes. Sprinkle with dried oregano.

Rinse the black beans and combine them in the skillet with the onion and garlic mixutre. Add cumin.

Add the frozen corn and cook until it has thawed.

Cook the rice separately and add salt, lime and cilantro. Add the rice to the bean mixture.

I like to keep cilantro in a glass of water in case it gets thirsty. Or something.

Cut your avocado in half for the guacamole. I like to consider myself an expert at picking out avocados. This one was perfect on the inside.

Skin the avocaodo and cut it into small squares. Mash the avocaodo and add it to the chopped tomato. Add onion, lime and salt.

Toast the tacos in a toaster or an oven on low heat for 5 minutes. Fill the tacos with your bean and rice mixture and top with guacamole.

Valentine’s Day

Fruit quinoa and scrambled tofu for breakfast.

Give Me Greens

Do I ever get tired of fruity salads? Apparently not – they’re just too good!

Ingredients:

• Mixed greens
• Orange slices
• Blueberries
• Dried cranberries
• Lemon dressing