Stir Fry Noodles

I made a generic stir fry for dinner tonight. Not going to be eating at home much during the week, so won't be too many posts. It is inspired by the whole wheat linguini stir fry that Em mentioned in her last post (on the Vegetarian Times cover).

Ingredients
1/2 package of cooked noodles (I used Thai Rice noodles)
Extra firm Tofu
2 Eggs
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger - to taste
Green Onions - 5
Carrots - 3
Red Pepper -1
Green Pepper -1
Mushrooms -8 oz
Celery - 2 stalks
Peanuts - handful
Soy Sauce - 5 T
Brown Sugar - 2 T
Sriracha sauce - 3 T (or you can use any chili powder)
Sesame sticks




I added eggs to Velu's portion. Scrambled eggs (whites only) and set aside.
Saute tofu in warm oil till light brown and set aside.

Add 1 tsp oil in a warm wok.
Add ginger and garlic pieces and let cook for less than 1 minute.
Add all the vegetables and saute till the vegetables are cooked, but still crunchy.

Add soy sauce, sriracha sauce, brown sugar.
(At this point, you can also add some tomato paste and/or 1T of coconut milk)
Add Tofu and cooked noodles.
Let all the flavors mix together.
Add peanuts.
Serve with Sesame sticks on top..

Variations: Use a variety of noodles
Can use any vegetables (broccoli, peas, snow peas, onion)
Add hoisin sauce or black bean sauce instead of soy sauce and srirach sauce.
Play with the flavors and enjoy!!

PS: I put up a photo with the ingredients rather than the finished dish - this looks better!!

Vegetarian Times,VegNews and Vegenaise. Try to say that three times quickly!

Yesterday I purchased a copy of Vegetarian Times (March 2009 edition) . I no longer have a subscription because I felt that the recipes were primarily high calorie, high fat and too exotic (for the most part) for my family. I enjoy exotic but I do not enjoy eating a portion everyday for a month by myself nor do I enjoy throwing out food that I have spent time and money on. This edition looked a little different to me. The foods listed were pizza, enchiladas, mac-n-cheese. On the cover was an Asian StirFry with Whole wheat Linguine. I thought "We can handle this" and bought it. Vegetarian Times is not a vegan magazine but they are now providing an index in the back listing all of the recipes in the edition according to the following categories : Vegan , dairy Free, Gluten free, low calorie, low saturated fat, 30 minutes or less. I found this extremely helpful and I think I may have made a mistake letting my subscription run out! I did recently order VegNews which is a vegan magazine but have not received a copy yet. We'll see if I like it!

Anyhow, in Vegetarian Times there is a segment on South Indian Cuisine that I thought Anu might like although I am sure her cooking is far better than theirs! On the back cover is a ad introducing new "Reduced Fat Vegenaise" which I am very excited about. If you have not had Vegenaise, it is a vegan mayo and it actually tastes good. Now, I do not use much mayo but some things really do need it-potato salad, macaroni salad, big fat veggie burgers, salad dressings, etc so having a lower fat option is great. What really caught my eye was a recipe for Grilled Vegetable Corn Cakes with Garlic and Lemon Infused Reduced fat Vegenaise.


I was interested because, first of all, it looked yummy (there is no picture I could upload, sadly) and also because it is gluten free and Anu and I have gluten free friend who just might like this! As I looked through the website, I noticed the other vegan products from this company. I have tried the cream cheese and I preferred the Tofutti kind to be honest. I have also used the cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses. There is definitely a learning curve when cooking with vegan cheese but, overall, I like them. I learned that I can shred and then freeze them which was great since I HATE throwing out expensive products that are hard to find. There is also a ChickenFree Chicken product that I have never seen anywhere around here. But, I am willing to try anything, so I will keep my eyes open.

Tomato Florentine Inspired Leftover Soup

We got home from gymnastics class at 7:10 last night and I had nothing in mind for dinner so I took a look in the fridge and found some odds and ends that I thought would, perhaps, work as a soup. I will attempt to "create" a recipe but this one may never be the same. Obviously, you do not NEED to use leftovers to make this but that is how we roll over here. It was yummy and we had enough for lunches today.
Tomato Florentine Inspired Leftover Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box of small to medium sized pasta (we used shells)
• 1-2 TB olive oil
  
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3-4 cups veggie broth
• 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pasta sauce or marinara
• pinches of dried parsley, onion powder, dried basil
• 1 TB veggie bouillion mix or 1/2 a bouillion cube (or just some salt, tamari, soy sauce, Braggs or something salty)
  
• 1 TB tomato paste
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
  
• 2 TB prepared pesto (I used my vegan basil pesto posted here)
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, but really good)
• several cups of fresh baby spinach or 1 cup of thawed, previously frozen chopped spinach
• 1/2 can of chick peas or white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Boil a pot of water for the pasta and cook according to directions on the box. While pasta cooks, saute garlic in oil until fragrant but not burned. Add broth, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, spices/seasonings and cook until it just begins to boil. Turn down to a simmer. I added boullion here but I realize now it was redundant, oh well. I also added tomato paste and stirred to dissolve it a bit. Add nutritional yeast flakes and stir. If you are using red pepper flakes, this would be an ideal time to add. Stir in chickpeas and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted, if fresh, or warmed, if cold. Once all ingredients are hot you can add your pasta and stir in the pesto. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Enjoy!

Spinach Pesto Alfredo

Warning: If you thought vegan food is healthy, this dish can prove to you that vegan food can be rich and decadent - in taste and calories (I am sure!)!!

I adapted this recipe

Spinach Pesto Alfredo

Here is my version:

Ingredients:

Olive Oil - 1/2 T
Onion - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Baby Spinach (coarsely chopped) - 1 pkt (8oz)
Vegan Sausage/meatballs - 1 sausage + 8 meatballs (or equivalent)
Tofutti Cream Cheese - 1 container
Vegan Pesto - 4 T
Soy milk - 1-2 cups
Salt - to taste
Black pepper, Herbs (Italian seasoning), Red pepper flakes - all to taste
Cooked Pasta of your choice (I used Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Pasta)


Add chopped onions and chopped garlic in a pan with warm oil. Saute. (I tend to start boiling water to cook pasta as I start preparing the dinner)

Add Spinach, sausage and cook till spinach is wilted. The meatballs that I use would crumble if I add it too early, so I add it at the end.

Add salt, herbs, red pepper flakes - to taste. Let flavors meld for less than 1 minute.

Reduce heat and add Tofutti cream cheese. Stir till the cheese melts and mixes with the vegetables.

Add pesto and stir. Add soy milk - decide how much you would like - till the sauce is the consistency that you like.

Add cooked pasta and black pepper if you would like. This is the time to add vegan meatballs if you are adding those.

Enjoy!!

Varthalkozhambu and Keerai Masiyal

Now try pronouncing those words!!
Here is my promised link to the South Indian food that I made last week.

My friend Malini and her husband Girish are particular about their food, especially Tamil (a state/language in South India) food. So, I asked her to write out how Varthalkozhambu is really made. I make it similarly, but each family has some variation to the theme! I use dried red chillis rather than the fresh green ones and I always finish it off with jaggery (Indian version of hardened molasses) - my mother's varthalkozhambu had a sweet tinge to it and that's how I like it!

Not that I am expecting you to try it, but here live varthakozhambu and Keerai Masiyal

Even if you don't have the special dish to make it, this is really simple to make and tastes really good.

Vegan Basil Pesto

Yes, I know a foot of snow is expected to drop from the sky tonight but I still crave some pesto from time to time. M really enjoys the stuff and the little one needs something to pair with her non-stop intake of pasta products. I adapted a recipe from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook to suit M's vegan eating habits and he enjoyed it so I decided to make some today and freeze the leftovers.

Vegan Basil Pesto
Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or 1 TB dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
  
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 3-4 TB ground cashews (optional)

Place the first 7 ingredients (up to pine nuts) into the food processor and pulse for a few minutes until well blended. Scrape down sides as necessary. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the nutritional yeast flakes and, if desired, the ground cashews.

I am attempting to freeze this now so we shall see how it does. When I make it with parmesan cheese it freezes fine, so I am hopeful that it will make it until M gets home from his trip.

On another note, while looking for a photo to (steal) "share" from fellow bloggers, I found a recipe for "Chickpea Ravioli with Basil Pesto" compliments of Cooking Light. Yummy...I think I will see if I can make something similar and, NO, I did not "share" their picture.

Tortilla soup, trail mix and my conflict regarding Eggs!

That's a lot in the title. I made the trail mix cookies that Em blogged about - it turned out really good. I added chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, almonds, walnuts, chopped dates, craisins and raisins. I would have liked it with more nuts and fruits - my portion sizes may have been too small.


Tortilla Soup


3 T olive oil - divided
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery (is the plural celeries?)
1/2 green pepper
1 tomato
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups pinto beans - I soaked and pre-cooked dried beans. You can use black beans too.
2 cloves garlic, chopped
cumin (to taste)
1 bay leaf
dried red chilli flakes (to taste)
2 chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce - my favorite :)
sprinkle of cilantro
2 T lime juice
2 green onions, chopped
2 whole wheat tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Brush tortillas with Olive Oil and cut into strips. Bake for 12-15 minutes or till brown and crispy.

Heat remaining oil. Add garlic and onions. Saute till transparent.
Add carrots, celery and pepper. Cook for a few minutes. Add broth, tomato, bay leaf, cumin, red pepper flakes, chipotle peppers, salt (to taste), beans.
Bring to boil.

Add lemon juice, green onions, cilantro.
Serve with tortilla chips.





Our soup was a little spicy - reduce the heat in yours if you would like. V is starting to feel a litlte sick, so he really liked this. I won't lie - I wish there was a little sprinkled cheese on top or sour cream, but I still liked it.

So here is my egg dilemma. Part of being vegan is 'no eggs'. One of the secretaries in our office has a lot of chickens that lay eggs. When I talked with her about her chickens , she said that they all have names, eats only grains, and are raised in open areas etc. So, as close to organic as can be without getting certified. Also, I don't think they sell their eggs in a market or anything, just people in the department buy it from her. In reading 'animal, vegetable miracle', the point was about eating local. If I ONLY eat eggs that we buy from her, is that still being responsible? Is that enough? I still will probably not eat it too much, but do you have any thoughts?

Have a great week and be safe in the snow...