Thai Curry

This is my quick week-night dinner, a Thai curry. And it's gluten free!! :)

Ingredients:

1 packet extra firm Tofu
1/2 cup prepared Seitan - optional
2 bunches green onions
3 celery ribs
2 carrots
1 packet mushrooms
1 green pepper
1 can (15 oz) light coconut milk
3 T Taste of Thai Red curry paste
2 T peanut butter (natural style is better)
1 T sugar
Chilli powder - optional, to taste
2 cloves Garlic, chopped finely
1 t ginger
Basil - optional
3 T cashews/peanuts
1 T olive oil, divided

Press Tofu between 2 plates and a weight to remove water. You can also freeze the tofu and then thaw it for a different texture.
Heat some oil in a wok and add chopped Tofu and pieces of Seitan (if using) till they brown.
Set aside Tofu and Seitan.
In a separate heat coconut milk with the red curry paste till combined.
Heat oil in the wok, add ginger and garlic till you smell the flavors of garlic and ginger.
Add green onions, celery, carrots, peppers. Cook till slightly cooked.
Add mushrooms. Cook for 2 more minutes.
Put Tofu and Seitan back into the mix.
Add the pre-prepared sauce. Add sugar, chilli powder (if using), cashews, peanut butter. Cook till flavors meld together.
Add basil and serve over hot rice!

I also made the doughnuts that Emily posted a few days ago - I used a mini-muffin pan instead of the doughnut one. It tasted great, but not sure if it was the taste of doughnut or a cupcake! I am not sure why I keep trying these sweet treats - not that I need to gain any weight at all!!

Spinach Lasagna

I based this on Cheesy Lasagna which I have made before. I made the tofu ricotta ahead of time so I could just throw the lasagna together when it was time for dinner. Since I was making a small version for just the two of us, I adjusted a bit. I mixed the following in the food processor:

• 1/2 package of lite firm tofu
• 4 ounces tofutti cream cheese
• 1 clove of minced garlic
  
• 1 TB lemon juice
• 2TB vegetable broth
  
• few TB nutritional yeast
• pinch of nutmeg
  
• salt and pepper

I used 8 Tinkyada Rice Pasta Lasagna Noodles which I cooked for about 10 minutes. These are fabulous gluten free noodles by the way. In a square cake pan (maybe 8X8), I layered marinara, pasta, "ricotta," and baby spinach leaves, repeated and then topped it off with some soy cheese. I think it ended up baking for about 10 minutes covered with foil and then 15 minutes uncovered.

We both enjoyed it!

Indian-style Burgers

I am still stuck on trying different burgers! The weather was more suited for a soup, but I still ended up making burgers!
I also made some seitan (linked to the recipe) again and I'm still not loving it :(
Last night, we went to dinner to a friend's and Nadine used the 'Vegan Planet' cookbook to make a Tofu Cheesecake. I know I will not have the patience to attempt it, but it was SO YUMMY!!
Here is the recipe for Indian-Style Burgers.

Ingredients

1 potato - boiled and mashed
2 carrots - diced/grated
2t ginger - grated
1.5 C beans (I used pinto that I had)
.5 C salsa
.5 C oatmeal
3T cilantro
2t lemon/lime squeezed
Salt - to taste
Garam Masala (or any other form of Indian spices) - to taste
Chilli powder - to taste
2 T Tomato ketchup




Mash the beans and potatoes separately.
Mix all the ingredients and you can even puree them together a little - I like some texture in my food, so I left a lot of the pieces.
Bake patties in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, flip the burgers to the other side and bake for 15-20 more minutes.












I made these into wraps using tortillas, tahini sauce, bhel puri sauce, Indian pickle and some more salsa.
Ideally, this would have been great with a yogurt-based dressing. But, vegan-ism did not permit me to do that. Or it would have been good with a tamarind-based, cilantro, tomato or peanut chutney!!

Gluten Free Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Despite my previous difficulties while gluten free baking, these muffins seem to have come out great! They have JUST come out of the oven so we will see how they taste over time- that is the test in my book! I used the recipe for Allergy (Gluten, Nut, Soy) Free Banana Muffins from Vegweb.com but used vegan chocolate chips (Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips ) instead of raisins. For the liquid sweetener, I used a mix of agave nectar, maple syrup and plain applesauce. D asked if she could have two!!!

Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu and Tex-Mex Brown Rice

I am trying a gluten free menu with my daughter this week since she has some eczema and various other skin issues (as well as her chronic intestinal problems). I want to see if we can reduce the amount of wheat that she ingests and see if, perhaps, it makes any difference. I thought this would be easier while my husband is on a business trip since now I only have to please one picky eater. I had some tofu left over from another recipe so I found Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu in the Veganomicon cookbook (I even found a link for this exact recipe posted by another blogger here) soI thought I would make me some crusted tofu and D some crusted chicken (unless she decided to share my tofu but I am not holding my breath!). Now, I have never had any type of breaded tofu that I can remember although I am definitely a fan of fried tofu. It was a little bit different since you bite in thinking it tastes like chicken and then-SURPRISE-it is tofu inside. Obviously I had put it there so I was expecting it but it took me a few bites to decide that I did, in fact, like it quite a bit. By the way, the crust makes a great chicken coating and, I expect, it would be fabulous on seitan too. I did not add all of the chili since I thought it would be too spicy but I was wrong-add it all! I also did not have any lime zest which would have been good too. I made a dip with tofutti sour cream and salsa and it was yummy. On the side it a little dish I whipped up what I have named Tex-Mex Brown Rice. I feel like all I do is find ways to combine these few ingredients (corn, black beans, tomatoes, rice) in different ways since my whole family generally likes them together. D keeps asking for Puerto Rican style rice and beans but I don't know how to make it and, I think, the recipe usually contains ham or pork which I am not willing to use.

Tex-Mex Brown Rice

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small onion chopped
• one garlic clove minced
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 cup cooked black beans (1/2 a can works well)
• 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 small can of tomato sauce (like Hunt's)
• 1 TB chili powder
• 1 TB minced chipotle chilis in adobo
  
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Goya adobo seasoning
  
• pinch of onion powder
• 2 cups hot, cooked brown rice
• 3 TB chopped cilantro (optional)

Cook onion and garlic briefly in oil. Add beans, sauce, corn and spices and cook until warmed. Add rice and stir to mix. Top with cilantro. This thickens over time and I think it will make a good burrito/quesadilla filling for tomorrow.


**** I think when I usually make this type of rice I tend to use salsa and just a bit of tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce or tomato paste to thicken it up but I must have forgotten tonight and grabbed the can of tomato sauce. It really does not matter.

Tofredo

As I mentioned, I made a Shepherd's Pie last night that was not all that post-worthy so I have decided to write about one of our old favorites-Rich and Creamy Low-Fat Vegan Alfredo which we affectionately refer to as "Tofredo." I know I have told you about this before but it is definitely on our regular menu so I thought it deserved some recognition. I always add black pepper and 1-2 cloves of minced garlic. I generally use Galaxy Foods Vegan Grated Topping-Parmesan Flavor or just Nutritional Yeast for the Soy Parmesan. I am not crazy about this grated topping and if you have a better idea, let me know. I have heard about Parma which is made out of walnuts but have not tried it yet. Looking at its ingredients, I could probably make my own in the food processor since I have all the ingredients.

I was thinking that I liked having a loose "theme" (like Burgers) to help steer me toward new recipes. Any ideas for a new one? I have a bunch of burgers in the freezer now and lots of ideas too! I want to eat less pasta but that is what my family likes so they will always be part of our menus. Of course, sweets are ALWAYS on my list also since I want to fatten M up!

Srilankan Eggplant dish, Enchillada Casserole and my bagel discovery

So many thoughts and all in one blog!!
I made this Sri Lankan Eggplant Curry for dinner tonight, but I won't go on and on about it because I know Em can't make Indian-spiced food. Can I just say, though, it was YUM! It was very close to Indian food, but still different. I will dice the eggplants smaller next time. V wanted to know when I would make it again!
So instead I am posting the recipe for Enchilada Casserole that I made last week.
An old colleague/friend, Kristie gave me this recipe when I was vegetarian. She brought it often to work parties too. I have modified it over the years (made it healthier, I think) and now have vegan-ized it too. This recipe is open to many interpretations and changes. You can change the vegetables, beans - everything according to your taste and interest. I experiment with it everytime. I assume that the filling will work for burritos too! Here it is...

Vegan Enchillada Casserole

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 Chipotle chillis in Adobo sauce, chopped (change based on your tolerance for the spice)
1 Green Pepper, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped spinach
2 cups cooked pinto beans (can use black beans, kidney beans or any other beans)
1 1/2 cups Salsa
1/2 package silken Tofu
2 T vegan cream cheese
2-3 T nutritional yeast
2 T Oil
2 Tortillas, warmed and torn into pieces
Salt - to taste
1t cumin powder
3 T Adobo seasoning (or to taste) or any other spice
1t nutmeg
Cilantro - optional


Preheat oven to 350
Blend together the Tofu, cream cheese, nutmeg.
Heat oil in a pan, add garlic and onion. Cook till browned
Add carrots and peppers. Cook 5-7 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
Add beans, salsa, chipotle chillis, salt, cumin powder, Adobo seasoning and cook till the flavors are all mixed.
Add the blended tofu mix, nutritional yeast and spinach and cook for 5-8 more minutes
Layer pieces of one tortilla in an oven-safe bowl (9x11 will work well) - you may need to spray with oil.. I don't!
Layer half the mix on top of the tortilla.
Layer the pieces of tortilla and the rest of the filling on top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.

For great zing, you can add enchillada sauce to the mix too. I used to, but find that these flavors are enough.
The photo looks like a glob, but you get the idea! I just added pita chips for color and style!



Tomorrow and Friday, I spend all day at a conference (Indiana Speech Language Hearing Association, if you were interested) in Indy. We have to leave at 6.30am to get to the conference. Traveling as a vegan means spending some time researching and planning my food options/choices. And I love to plan (especially about food), so this is not really a problem.
I planned to stop by Einstein's Bros to grab some breakfast early in the morning. I was researching bagels to decide which one I should get - vegan or not etc.
I found, to my excitement, that most bagels there are vegan. I always thought bagels had eggs.
In the process of reading the ingredient list, I discovered that their Ceasar dressing has anchovies in them.
My colleague was surprised that I was surprised. I have never been a huge fan of Ceasar dressing... not a big deal for me. But, it just goes to show how ignorant I am or how important it is to look at labels. You never know what's lurking there.. next to the high fructose corn syrup (They now have ads telling us it's corn and healthy!! That's what we need - ads telling us to eat stuff like that) and the fake sugars.
When did this turn from a recipe post to a rant??
Have a good few days, everyone. V bought a mini-muffin pan today - so I hope to get to the doughnuts sometime soon.