Monday, May 26, 2008
tofu! hummus! garlic!
tofu!
lately, i really love to bake tofu... in just about any kind of marinade.
this time, i took one out of VCon (which is where i seem to be getting everything that i cook these days...). I made the "marinated asian tofu", with the only modification being that i loaded it up with a ton of roasted garlic and some toasted sesame seeds.
yum!
I also pan fried some new potatoes with a bunch of roasted mushrooms and garlic, then served these both with a huge dollop of hummus (insert basic hummus recipe plus roasted garlic, chipotle and a bit of balsamic vinegar), and some shredded carrots.
Unfortunately for the hummus, I didn't have any raw garlic on hand, and the roasted garlic just didn't have enough oumf/umf/oumph (?). The lemons that I bought seemed to be a little lack lustre in flavour, hence the addition of balsamic vinegar. Sadly, it added more sweetness than kick into the mix. womp. Still delicious, but I would do things differently next time. (what can i say? it was my first time making hummus)
In case you didn't guess from this post, I love garlic... especially of the roasted variety.
One of the produce stores near my house sells huge bags of pre-peeled garlic on the cheap, so every now and then i grab a bag, toss it in olive oil and roast it. Then I put roasted garlic on/in everything... or you know, just eat it as a snack (yikes!). Occasionally, I will also add a mass of mushrooms to the mix, and then they soak up all of the olive oil/garlic goodness and taste absolutely divine. hurrah!
lately, i really love to bake tofu... in just about any kind of marinade.
this time, i took one out of VCon (which is where i seem to be getting everything that i cook these days...). I made the "marinated asian tofu", with the only modification being that i loaded it up with a ton of roasted garlic and some toasted sesame seeds.
yum!
I also pan fried some new potatoes with a bunch of roasted mushrooms and garlic, then served these both with a huge dollop of hummus (insert basic hummus recipe plus roasted garlic, chipotle and a bit of balsamic vinegar), and some shredded carrots.
Unfortunately for the hummus, I didn't have any raw garlic on hand, and the roasted garlic just didn't have enough oumf/umf/oumph (?). The lemons that I bought seemed to be a little lack lustre in flavour, hence the addition of balsamic vinegar. Sadly, it added more sweetness than kick into the mix. womp. Still delicious, but I would do things differently next time. (what can i say? it was my first time making hummus)
In case you didn't guess from this post, I love garlic... especially of the roasted variety.
One of the produce stores near my house sells huge bags of pre-peeled garlic on the cheap, so every now and then i grab a bag, toss it in olive oil and roast it. Then I put roasted garlic on/in everything... or you know, just eat it as a snack (yikes!). Occasionally, I will also add a mass of mushrooms to the mix, and then they soak up all of the olive oil/garlic goodness and taste absolutely divine. hurrah!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
tempeh "shepardess pie"
I had tried tempeh years ago, and had not been too keen on the flavour... but decided to give it another shot.
tempeh is much higher in fiber and slightly higher in protein and other nutrients than tofu. it has what is often described as an "earthy" or "nutty" flavour.
I have basically no experience with tempeh, so i took this recipe directly from the Veganomicon with no additions (except for some grated carrot...)
directly out of the oven...
plated with a bit of italian parsley.
the verdict:
ok, so the shepardess pie was pretty good, but i have to say that i am still not particularly crazy for tempeh. i think that it has more to do with the texture than the flavour (??) maybe. i can't quite put my finger on it.
my husband jake, however, thought that it was great.
i don't know...
perhaps i will try it again in the future in a different incarnation, but for now, tempeh will not be making a permanent home in my kitchen.
tempeh is much higher in fiber and slightly higher in protein and other nutrients than tofu. it has what is often described as an "earthy" or "nutty" flavour.
I have basically no experience with tempeh, so i took this recipe directly from the Veganomicon with no additions (except for some grated carrot...)
directly out of the oven...
plated with a bit of italian parsley.
the verdict:
ok, so the shepardess pie was pretty good, but i have to say that i am still not particularly crazy for tempeh. i think that it has more to do with the texture than the flavour (??) maybe. i can't quite put my finger on it.
my husband jake, however, thought that it was great.
i don't know...
perhaps i will try it again in the future in a different incarnation, but for now, tempeh will not be making a permanent home in my kitchen.
Monday, May 19, 2008
tofu burgers!
summer is here!!
with summer, comes tofu burgers!
here's a quick simple recipe for some delicious tofu burgers that i stole from my friend shmoo...
buy a package of pressed tofu and slice into appropriate burger sized portions (they should be about 1/2 inch thick)
chop up a bunch of garlic and ginger (the amount really depends on taste... i like a lot of garlic, so i go with about 4 or 5 cloves, with a similar amount of ginger)
toss the ginger into a dish appropriate for marinating with about a 1/3 cup of soy sauce or tamari, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and a hit of sriracha sauce.
toss in the tofu and leave to marinate for as long as you want (i would give it at least an hour... it only gets more delicious with time)
these can be grilled on the bbq, or fried in a pan... whatever is easiest.
cook about 5 minutes on each side.
i served these burgers on a multi-grain bun with vegan mayo, ketchup, jalapeño hummous and a pile of wilted spinach.
with summer, comes tofu burgers!
here's a quick simple recipe for some delicious tofu burgers that i stole from my friend shmoo...
buy a package of pressed tofu and slice into appropriate burger sized portions (they should be about 1/2 inch thick)
chop up a bunch of garlic and ginger (the amount really depends on taste... i like a lot of garlic, so i go with about 4 or 5 cloves, with a similar amount of ginger)
toss the ginger into a dish appropriate for marinating with about a 1/3 cup of soy sauce or tamari, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and a hit of sriracha sauce.
toss in the tofu and leave to marinate for as long as you want (i would give it at least an hour... it only gets more delicious with time)
these can be grilled on the bbq, or fried in a pan... whatever is easiest.
cook about 5 minutes on each side.
i served these burgers on a multi-grain bun with vegan mayo, ketchup, jalapeño hummous and a pile of wilted spinach.
spinach phyllo pockets
first entry!
so... i have been meaning to start a vegan food blog for a while now...
yes.
i'm kicking it off with my first phyllo experiment ever, from last week.
phyllo fresh from the oven!
there were a few slightly different fillings that i used for these...
filling number one:
plenty of wilted spinach, lots of garlic, lemon juice, pinenuts, soft tofu, olive oil, salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne, a pinch of nutmeg
filling number two:
a variation on filling number one, this one nixed the pine nuts, cayenne and nutmeg, and went easy on the lemon juice.
in their place was half a can of cannellini beans, and some truffle infused olive oil. yum!
these were alternately paired with diced tomatoes or roasted red peppers.
Fillings were made by combining all ingredients in a blender and pulsing gently until they reached a creamy texture.
I'm not going to go into the details of prepping phyllo here, but you can find step-by-step instructions by doing a quick google search. It's surprisingly easy to work with, and makes even the most low maintenance dish seam fancy. Hurray for phyllo!
The phyllo pockets were served with boiled baby potatoes smothered in Earth Balance, then sprinkled with salt, pepper and dill.
yum!
so... i have been meaning to start a vegan food blog for a while now...
yes.
i'm kicking it off with my first phyllo experiment ever, from last week.
phyllo fresh from the oven!
there were a few slightly different fillings that i used for these...
filling number one:
plenty of wilted spinach, lots of garlic, lemon juice, pinenuts, soft tofu, olive oil, salt and pepper, a pinch of cayenne, a pinch of nutmeg
filling number two:
a variation on filling number one, this one nixed the pine nuts, cayenne and nutmeg, and went easy on the lemon juice.
in their place was half a can of cannellini beans, and some truffle infused olive oil. yum!
these were alternately paired with diced tomatoes or roasted red peppers.
Fillings were made by combining all ingredients in a blender and pulsing gently until they reached a creamy texture.
I'm not going to go into the details of prepping phyllo here, but you can find step-by-step instructions by doing a quick google search. It's surprisingly easy to work with, and makes even the most low maintenance dish seam fancy. Hurray for phyllo!
The phyllo pockets were served with boiled baby potatoes smothered in Earth Balance, then sprinkled with salt, pepper and dill.
yum!
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