Vegetarian Sausages September 7, 2009

I love the Tofurkey brand sausages they are great to barbecue and slice up in pasta for a nice change form TVP or veggie dogs, so when I came across a recipe for them I jumped at it and it was fantastic. Again I can’t take even the slightest ounce of credit for this recipe BUT I did vary up the spices a little. I added a little liquid smoke and next time I would substitute the olive oil for seasame oil to give it a little flavor, also I didn’t have nutritional yeast on hand so I used 1.2 cup of TVP and I think it added even more to the texture.  Here is the original recipe to do with what you please but please try it, it really is a simple process with outstanding results.

This recipe comes from Everyday Dish which I encourage you all to visit. It also has a handy video to go with it proving how easy it is, please visit http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=109 .

Spicy Italian Vegetarian Sausages

Makes 8 links

2 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup chickpea flour
2 tbsp Bills Best Chik’Nish Seasoning (if using another brand which is salty, or saltier than Bill’s Best, you’ll want to greatly reduce the amount you use)
2 tbsp granulated onion
1 to 2 tbsp fennel seed, optional
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper, preferably freshly ground
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp dried chili flakes, optional
1 tsp ground smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2 1/4 cups cool water*
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients. Whisk together the water, garlic, olive oil and soy sauce and using a fork, gently stir into the dry ingredients. Stir just until ingredients are mixed. If dough mixture is too dry, you can add another tablespoon of water or as needed.
2. Scoop 1/2 cup dough mixture at a time and shape into logs. Place logs on piece of aluminum foil and roll up, twisting ends. Place sausages in steamer and steam for 30 minutes. Once sausages have cooled, remove from foil and refrigerate until ready to eat. After cooling, the sausages may feel a bit dry on the outside. Don’t worry, as they will soften and firm up considerably after chilling.

Variation: You can shape the dough into little patties instead of links. If you don’t want to use aluminum foil, you can wrap the links in damp muslin or tea towel and tie ends with cotton twine.

Copyright © 2008 Julie Hasson

Spinach Pesto July 6, 2009

Pesto is one of my favorite things. It’s good as a sandwich spread, as a dip for grilled veggies but best of all it’s great tossed with hot pasta. This version is a take on Michelle’s recipe which I absolutely love.  What is the most awesome about this recipe is that it’s cheaper than making classic pesto and is sooo much better than buying it pre-packaged! Michelle also likes to make it lower in calories by subbing some of the oil for veggie stock. I also am curious what it would be like substituting the parmesan for nutritional yeast (nutch), let me know if you try it out.

Spinach Pesto

Spinach Pesto

2 cup baby spinach washed and dried

1 cup of fresh basil leaves washed, trimmed and dried

1/2 cup cilantro leaves washed trimmed and dried

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (rennet and lipase free) or “nutch”

2/3 cup Walnuts

1/3-2/3 olive oil (can use veggie broth to cut the fat, I like all the oil)

3 garlic

sea salt and fresh black pepper

a box of a hardy pasta, ones that are tubes or have grooves suit pesto the best

A word to the wise Michelle uses a hand powered food processor, which gives this pesto a wonderful chunky and inconsistent texture. I used a food processor but realizing early on it would not give me the same texture I left out a handful of the spinach and herb mix as well as some of the walnuts and roughly chopped them, adding them to the mix right before I tossed with hot pasta.

That being said the prep is pretty easy, wash all the greens and pat dry, save a handfull to put aside if you are using a mechanical food processor.

Using the food processor grate the garlic and cheese, add the greens, nuts, and oil, and blend until you like the consistency.

If you are like me and like it a little chunky, remove and add hand chopped remainign greens andnuts, mixing in a large bowl adding salt and pepper to taste.

While that sits boil the pasta in salty water, drain (but don’t run water over it) and toss with sauce, serve hot. YUM!YUM! Enjoy!

Enchiladas May 17, 2009

If you are having a meat eater over for dinner this is a great thing to make, imitation ground beef is one of the most convincing soy products and with all the flavor added to this recipe there is absolutely nothing to miss.  This is Mags favorite new food and until this she was not a huge fan or mushrooms or peppers and had never had ground soy. You want to keep everything chopped small and relatively the same size and even picky veggies eater won’t know what they are eating.

Enchiladas

1 medium onion diced finely
2 small green, red or yellow peppers (I use a mix) diced into small pieces
1 package of mushrooms cleaned and chopped into same size pieces as peppers
1 package of veggie ground round ( Mexican flavor)
2 cloves of garlic peeled and grated
4 cups of baby spinach washed, dried and roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper the taste
12-20 small  tortillas
enough shredded sharp cheese to cover  about 2 cups or less
1-2  large bottle of medium salsa, I like to have two for extra dipping and a more saucy enchilada
1 250 ml tub of gelatin-free sour cream
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a deep rectangular baking dish(9×12) with cooking spray

In a large fry pan saute diced onion for about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add peppers, mushrooms and cumin and cook for another 5-8 minutes. When veggies start to get a little soft add ground round and break up in pan until everything is combined. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, tasting to see if any salt and pepper are needed. Add spinach, 2 tbs of water, 2 tbs of salsa and grated garlic stirring well. Cover and set aside.

Spray your baking dish with cooking spray and cover bottom with about 1/2 jar of salsa , just enough to cover the bottom.

On a dinner plate place a piece of paper towel sprinkled lightly with water, place about 5 tortillas on top and cover with another piece of paper towel. Micro wave for 10-15 seconds to make them warm enough to bend easily.

Using one tortillas at a time add about 1/4 cup or filling  in the shape of a log under the half way point on the tortilla. fold edge over the filling using your fingers to slide it back until the filling is pressed firm within the roll. You can use your finger to push loose filling into the side while you fold up each edge and roll. Take note of the images as this is difficult to explain…sorry.

Once enchilada is rolled place edge side down in baking dish, repeat until all the filling is used up. Cover with remaining salsa making sure no edges are left dry.

Finally cover with cheese and bake for about 25-30 minutes until cheese is browned and bubbly.

Serve with more salsa and sour cream.

***note you can use enchillada sauce I just like the chunkier texture of salsa and usually have lots of it at my disposal**

More on Tofu April 3, 2009

I’m always looking for new ways to cooks tofu and incorporate it into my meals. I found this tutorial by Melissa Ray Davis a while ago and loved the pictures and the information so much I needed to post it here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

http://hubpages.com/hub/How_to_Cook_Tofu_Like_the_Pros

Turkish Lentil Kofta April 1, 2009

I try to eat vegan when I can because it simply makes me feel better so when I had this dish in a Turkish restaurant I set out to make them at home. They are cheap and easy to make and this recipe yields quite a bit. They are esp good in the summer as they are served chilled.

Lentil Kofta

Turkish Lentil Kofta

1+ 1/2 cups red lentils rinsed well and drained
1 cups fine grain bulgar
3- 3+1/4 cups of water
3 tbs olive oil for frying
1 medium to large sized onion peeled and diced
1/2 cup of washed, de-stemmed and chopped parsley
2 tbps fresh washed chopped  dill
3-4 green onions washed, trimmed and chopped
2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
Juice of a lemon
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mint
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a medium to large saucepan bring 2+1/4 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Rinse lentils in a fine mesh strainer removing any imperfections and add to pot and cover.

While the lentils are cooking rinse the bulgar and add to lentils along with 3/4-1 cup of hot water) after they have boiled for 8-10 minutes. Cook until lentils break open and water is mostly gone. Be sure you lentils are not so over cooked they turn to paste. Remove form heat and keep covered to absorb any extra moisture.

While lentils and bulgar are cooking chop onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until just tender. When onions start to go translucent add the cumin, celery seed, tomato paste,salt and pepper. When combined well, set aside.

In a large bowl add lentils/bulgar, onion mixture and lemon juice and mix well. Let chill in the fridge for at least 3 minutes before adding the fresh herbs and green onions, mix well and let sit  at least an hour until everything is chilled and has had a chance to absorb all the flavors.

Before serving shape into logs, balls or patties/ Serve on a bed of lettuce with lemon and cilantro/parsley for garnish. I like eating these with warm grilled flat breads or as part of a wrap.

Tofu “Turkey” with Stuffing Recipe December 22, 2008

My good friend Susan just recently had a bunch of veggies over for a Christmas dinner in which was like dying and going to veggie heaven . It was completely cruelty free  and delicious.  She made a Tofu Turkey for us which instantly inspired me to make one this year for the family. I have an older sister that is a vegetarian as well as her oldest daughter. This makes a huge quantity, serves at least 10 people, but I think I’ll freeze the left overs or send them home with Kelly.

The key to making this extra tasty is over flavoring the stuffing and marinade a bit, the tofu absorbs a lot of flavor but can be bland if not seasoned well.  And just to note double check the ingredients list and make sure you let this drain over night, forming it is a very important part of the making process.

Tofu Turkey

5  packages extra firm tofu

a medium sized colander

enough cheese cloth to line and top colander

a pizza pan , non stick spray and tin foil

Stuffing

1 loaf of pre-made bread (I use whole grains but can be any type, can be fresh or stale)
5 medium sized potatoes peeled, boiled and mashed
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tbs of poultry seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2 tsp of soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Basting Marinade

1/2 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup good soy sauce (not soya)
5 tablespoons orange juice (not concentrate)
1 teaspoon honey mustard
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tsp of poultry seasoning
a few drops of liquid smoke (optional)
1/2 tsp thyme
ground pepper to taste

Shape the Tofu

Line a medium sized, round colander with a cheese cloth or a clean dish towel. Crumble all 5 blocks of tofu into a large bowl. Transfer the crumbled tofu into the lined colander and cover with the extra cheese cloth. Place a heavy weight such as a plate with some canned tomatoes over it.  You will need to place to colander on a shallow bowl to catch the expressed water. The object of this is to get the most water out of the tofu and form it into a round compacted shape. Place contraption in the fridge overnight for best results.

Make the Stuffing

Wash, peel, and boil potatoes. When then are soft, drain and mash with margarine, until consistent. Set aside and let cool. With your hands tear small pieces of bread and place in a large mixing bowl. Saute mushrooms and onions in olive oil until tender. Seasoning with salt and pepper as they cook. Add cooled potatoes, sauteed veggies, fresh garlic, sesame oil ,soy sauce and spices to the mixing bowl with bread. Mix well with hands and season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Pre-heat oven and make Basting Marinade.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F and prepare you baking sheet with non-stick spray.

To make the marinade whisk all ingredients in a liquid measuring cup, until consistent. Set aside.

Stuff the “Turkey” and Bake

Remove the weight from the tofu.  Hollow out the tofu so that there is approximately one inch of tofu lining the colander. Set aside the  excess tofu in a separate bowl. Brush the inside of the tofu shell with a small amount of the marinade.

Fill the tofu shell with the stuffing the cover with the set aside tofu to create a seal, pressing down firmly. Place a greased baking sheet on top of the colander containing the tofu “turkey” and carefully flip over.  You should now have a dome of stuffed tofu. Carefully shape your “turkey” by pressing on the sides  form a more oval  shape. Brush the tofu turkey with 1/2 of the marinade. Sprinkle some extra thyme and rosemary on top then cover the “turkey” with foil.

Bake “turkey” for one hour covered with foil then remove the foil, baste “turkey” and bake for an additional hour.  Reserve a few tsp of marinade for  when the “turkey” is ready.  Turkey should be a golden brown when done. Place the tofu turkey on a serving platter and  brush with the remaining marinade before serving. Enjoy.

Macaroni and Cheese September 3, 2008

Breaking out the Fall dishes already, and this one can really be dressed up. I’ll do both basic then common additions. My best advice with making any macaroni and cheese is to always use the sharpest/ strongest cheeses you have because with the other flavors it really mellows out. Cheeses like Brie or Gouda really add to the creaminess, cheeses like Goat, Feta, Blue or Parmesan will add tonnes of flavor but for that reason should be used sparingly the texture is also something to take into consideration. Also be careful because a lot of stronger cheeses contain rennet or lipase, just check the labels.

Basic Recipe

3 generous tbsp s of butter

5 level tbsp s of white flour

1 box of whole wheat or white macaroni (or a mix)

2 cups of milk, any percentage will work but the higher the fat content the richer it is

3 cups of sharpe cheddar cheese (you can split this up into a variety of cheeses)

1/4 Parmesan, or another strong cheese

1 tbsp prepared mustard

1 tbsp grainy mustard

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Topping

Bread crumbs, Parmesan and approximately 1 cup of shredded cheese. You can also use store bought or homemade croutons, grind extra pepper on top and use different cheeses.

Preheat oven for 350.

Boil water for pasta an cook accoridng to package directions.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat and whisk in flour. Stir constantly until butter flour mixture starts to brown, this might take  up to 5 minutes.

Slowly whisk in milk and spices. Once mixture begins to thicken add small handfuls of the cheeses until you reach a unified consistency.

Drain cooked pasta, and add to cheese mixture. Coat completely then transfer into a medium-large baking dish. Cover with breadcrumbs parmesan, pepper, and extra cheese and bake about 30 minutes, until everything is brown and bubbly.

Variations

If you want to throw some veggies in this dish I highly recommend mushrooms and red bell peppers. Just saute them in some butter before adding the flour and continue the recipe as is. You can have a lot of fun changing the cheeses to compliment the flavors.

If you like spicy food, I usually will add 1 jalapeno chopped, 1-2 cloves of garlic chopped with some chipotle canned chillies and saute them in butter. When I do this I always use a strong cheddar, a white organic is very good.

When making it with mushrooms, I usually use a combination of portobellos and button mushrooms and sometimes criminis. I like to use thyme and pepper to spice it and add in some brie or Gouda to my cheese mix, along with my Parmesan.

You can make it more flavorful by adding diced fresh tomatoes, fresh or roasted garlic and basil to the mix right befor eyou bake it. Or rehydrate some sundried tomatoes and throw in some feta or goat cheese.

Israeli “Couscous” August 19, 2008

So I spend a lot fo time in the international isle of the supermarket and found this thinking it was just big cous cous…I was very excited;p…and wrong, it’s actually a type of Israeli pasta made with wheat flour. It says that it is toasted it over and “open fire” to retain it’s al-dente texture after cooking. I have a theory that sometimes more toasting is a good idea and seeing as I don’t have an open fire I used a dry skillet and man does it smell good as it toasts.It takes only about 5 mins over medium high heat but I think the extra step will work well for this recipe I am going to try today. You can also serve this as an alternative to rice or pasta, I imagine it would be good tossed into veggie soups the last 5-8 minutes of cooking time, and might make an interesting “risotto”.

Israeli Couscous Salad(s)

1 (250g) pkg of Israeli Couscous

2 1/2 cups of water

enough of your favorite veggie boullion to flavor 2 1/2 cups of water

Toast or don’t toast couscous, bring veggie stockto a boil. Add couscous and return to a simmer, let cook cover for about 8 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Tomato Basil

2 spring onions chopped

1 large clove of garlic grated

1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes chopped

Dressing

2-3 tbspn olive oil

6-8 leaves of fresh basil washed and torn (I’m using basil because I am currently growing it but cilantro and mint would work very well in this)

salt and pepper to taste although the broth gives it a lot of flavor so easy on the salt

juice of a lime

cucumber would be good especially if you are using mint and cilantro.

Mix and add dressing and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Warm Grilled Salad

BBQ or roast approxiatemly 2-3 cups of any veggies you like, I used zucchini, peppers and mushrooms but eggplant and tomatoes would work as well. If you have it roast garlic to add to the dressing. Roast veggies whole but chop into bite sized pieces when tossed into salad. Olives and sundried tomaotes would be a great addition to this.

Dressing

2-3 tbspn olive oil

1/2 juice of a lemon

1 clove of grated garlic or if you want a more subtle garlic clove roast a bulb of garlic and use about 1/2 of the bulb, place dressing ingredients( with exception of fresh herbs) in a food processor or blender and blend with garlic until smooth.

1/4 cup of fresh herbs like basil, oregeno, cilantro or mint.

salt and pepper to taste.

Mix warm couscous and salad dressing and toss with warm veggies, serve warm or room temperature. You can chill it and it tastes just fine.

“Tandoori” Paneer or Tofu July 26, 2008

So Saami and I were dreaming of grilling paneer and I was trying to come up with a marinade. I recently brought this over to his house and the intention was to BBQ an onion, green pepper and the slabs of marinaded paneer and make some sort of yummy grilled sandwich. However… it rained so I threw it all in the wok and made a stir fry. This marinade would also be good with tofu if you don’t eat cheese or cannot get paneer. I would suggest freezing and draining the tofu first, if you need more info look at my “Preparing Tofu” post.

Easy Curry Marinade

3 tsp Bryani paste (I use Patak’s)

1 tsp Hot Curry Paste (again…Patak’s)

1 large clove of garlic grated

juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp good soy sauce ( I used soy for the salt because paneer is relatively tasteless)

fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix Marinade in a small bowl.

Cut up paneer, I made 1/4 inch thick slices (in the shape of cards then cut in half later when I stir fried it) , cubing will work if you use this on skewers on the BBQ.

Marinate for at least an hour, I left it for about 5 that night.

Making Kababs alternating paneer(or tofu) with red onion, mushrooms and peppers would be very good, but because of my constraints, I stir-fried paneer first in about 4 tbspn of oil, removed form pan stir fried veggies until tender, then added in the panner to reheat( about one minute).

Preparing Tofu June 30, 2008

Preparing Firm – Extra Firm Tofu

This is how I usually prepare tofu whether I am making eggless salad, putting it in a stir fry or baking for a snack.

First freeze it. Take it out run under hot water to rinse off any ice. Place between 2 heavy plates and let thaw. This should get rid of a lot of water, but I also squeeze it between the plates once it is thawed to drain as much moisture out as possible. Once that is done, I cut it in thirds and place in a seal-able bag, add seasonings and marinate for about a day. *** Not to advertise but I really love the PC Memories sauces for marinating tofu, Memories of Bangkok or the black bean one are very good, I still add some fresh ginger and garlic but otherwise it’s a quicker way and you can use them in stir fries later or as a dipping sauce if you bake the tofu.*** Here is the marinade I use most often.

Thai Inspired

2 cloves of garlic grated

1 inch piece of ginger grated

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp soy sauce

fresh ground pepper and chili flakes to taste

a little bit of lime peel grated is good if you are using fresh limes

Once the tofu has sat for a few hours, to a day you can crumble it to make a vegan eggless salad. Just crumble tofu, add in chopped spring onion, tomato, red pepper or pickle depending on what veggies you like in it. Mix with veganaise (if you can get the garlic one it’s my favorite, but the health food stores usually carry a variety of flavors) add salt and pepper to taste. Pop some lettuce leaves, sprouts or spinach into a whole wheat pita and fill with salad mix.

Make Tofu Scramble by crumbling into a heated fry pan and cooking for about 10 minutes over medium heat. In a separate pan cook your choice of onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers,cherry tomatoes or spinach and season with salt and pepper. When tofu has browned and dried out a bit mix veggies and tofu together, Cooking it in separate pans stops the tofu form absorbing all the juices form the veggies and getting soft.

Slice tofu and make a stir fry with veggies serve over rice or rice noodles. Or slice it into 1/4″ slices, and bake it.

Baked Tofu, preheat over to 375F. Slice marinated tofu and place on a well greased or sprayed pan. Do not use your good pans for this as the tofu tends to stick. Brush with any extra marinade and back for about 10 minutes on each side turning once. Sometimes it take longer if the tofu is wetter, but it should brown and dehydrate a little. Let cool before eating. I usually refrigerate this and eat it cold as a snack, although it’s good to make a sandwich with or add to stir fried veggies.