Brunch: Tofu Scramble and Real Lemonade

I decided to make a nice brunch for myself today.

What You Need:



140g extra firm tofu, crumbled by hand and seasoned (seasoning recipe below)
110g tomato, rough chop
120g green pepper, chopped (I like big chunks, but whatever your preference is)
110g sweet potato, medium dice
60g fresh spinach
75g onion, diced
5g garlic (1 clove, minced)
2t oil
seasoning for tofu:
You can mix the following byb hand/with spoon in separate bowl. I just dumped it into the pan while everything was cooking.

1/2t tumeric
1/8-1/4t paprika
1/8t pepper
1/8t garlic powder
salt, to taste
1/4-1/2t lemon juice
splash of soy sauce (Bragg's would be perfect, but I didn't have any.)

Meh, this seasoning wasn't bad. I'd def. add more salt or even some nutritional yeast. (I am out of that, too!)

1. Put sweet potato (diced med-small) and onion (diced) over medium heat in sautée pan; cook until sweet potato is just getting tender: 5-6mins.
2. Add crumbled tofu (crumbled by hand) and seasoning (if you didn't add seasoning to tofu before hand).
3. Add garlic and green peppers, stir/sautée for 3-5 more minutes.
4. Add tomato, cook for 1-3 more minutes.
5. Dump mixture out onto plate. Add spinach to empty pan and sautée until just wilted. You can add garlic/olive oil/lemon juice/whatever if desired.

Real Lemonade Recipe from a few days ago...Y'know. 3 whole apples, one whole lemon. Seeds, skin, stems, everything. Put through juicer and enjoy. Click on the lemonade tag top read more.

So that's it. Oh, and Here's the complete nutritional info for the tofu scramble; one recipe = 2 servings, nutritional info set up for a single serving Truthfully, I chowed it all down myself, but it could be for 2 people. Especially with the fresh juice added.

5 Minute Garlic Toast with Pesto Dip

I just made this up as a quick snack tonight. I wanted some garlic toast, but I'm all out of butter, *gasp*! However, I did have some leftover Papa John's Garlic Sauce from the last time I ordered breadsticks:



So, I slathered some of the garlic sauce on 3 pieces of bread and popped said bread in the toaster oven.

While that was toasting away, I took a few spoonfuls of the pesto sauce from last night, and mixed it with some Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara Pasta Sauce:



This is my favorite packaged pasta sauce. I always pick up a jar at Super Target because it's only $1.97 there as opposed to $3-5 everywhere else I've seen it.

Enjoy!

And a quick list of other food consumed today:
Breakfast was the one-two combo of the S*bucks Soy Latte and a Clif Bar (Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch flavor today)

Lunch consisted of veggie sushi, as well as:


Really healthy today, hahaha. I also had a quick snack/dinner of a Boca Chik'n patty with vegenaise and ketchup. I'm trying to get rid of a lot of the more unhealthy foods in my house to concentrate on more fruits and veggies as well as losing some weight. Wheeee!

Now to figure out what I should eat next...

Italian Baked Tofu with Pesto Rotini and Sautéed Pattypan Squash

Whew! I need a better title for this dish. This was dinner. Very good. My first time with baked tofu! So very easy and tasty, I am excited to improve and expand on baked tofu.

I apologize for the slightly blurry photo, I'm trying my best to improve my photography skills. This one's a little better:



I'm too tired to put up all the directions and such right now, but I'll do it sometime tonight or tomorrow.

As Promised...

What You Need:
1 Block of Tofu (I used 16 out of 20oz of this jumbo sized tofu. Most water packed tofu blocks come in 16oz slabs.)
Pasta, any type
Pattypan Squash (I had nearly 500g worth)

Marinade:
Equal Parts of...
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
lemon juice
--> I believe I used about 3-4 T of each, mixed in a bowl.

2-3 Garlic cloves, crushed

Good pinch of...
Dry Italian Seasonings (I wound up using "poultry seasoning" because it was thyme, sage, rosemary, etc.)

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a bowl, whisk with fork, pour over tofu/veggies/whatever you are marinating.


Pesto:
Really Bad With Measurements on this one....
Basil Leaves (1-2c?)
Garlic (I used WAY too much, and that's saying something coming from me, so I'd say 1 big clove)
Pine Nuts (I believe I used about half a cup or more
Olive oil (1/4c?)
Salt, To Taste
OPTIONAL: Parma! Vegan Parm, really tasty addition. (Really, Really addictive stuff.)

---> Pesto Directions:
In food processor (Or The Magic Bullet!, blend all ingredients together. The result should be thick, like a paste rather than a thin sauce.


Ok. For the Baked Tofu:
1. Cut into an equal number of slabs. I got 6.
2. Lay tofu in a single layer on a flat surface like a small cooking sheet or, like me,In a big pot.
3. Pour marinade over tofu.
4. Flip after 30-40 mins to get other side of tofu marinated.
5. Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees F, depending on your oven.
6. Lay slabs out on cooking sheet,Like This. NOTE: save the marinade! Use it for the veggies!
7. Bake tofu on one side for about 20 minutes, then flip to brown other side slightly. I over didmine, but it was still tasty.
8. Remove from oven, cube or slice as desired.

For the Pattypans:
1. Slice/chop/cube/whatever 450-500g of pattypans
2. Over medium heat in a very lightly oiled pan, sautée patty pans for 2-3 mins
3. add some of the marinade (1/4c? I didn't measure, just poured some in)
4. Sautée for another 5-7 mins, until desired tenderness. Add more marinade if needed. The balsamic vinegar sort of becomes a glaze.
5. Finished! Serves 2-4.



So, yeah. The way I put everything together was to make the pesto while the tofu was marinating and prepped the veggies and had the pasta ready to go. Once tofu was in oven, I boiled some water and sautéed the pattypans for the last 10 minutes of the tofu cooking. Everything was done at about the same time.

I'm really, REALLY excited to try baked tofu again. I'm thinking of doing a more asian-flavored baked tofu next time.

Juicing Experiment #1

Ok, after only having 3 hours of sleep last night, I gleefully slept in until nearly 10am today! wheee!

I sat on the couch drinking water for a bit, pondering what to do with some of the ingredients in my fridge and cupboards. I know! JUICE!

On Christmas of 2006, I received a Jack Lalanne Juicer.

For those of you who don't know all about Jack Lalanne, he's insane. He's about 92 years old now, and swears by juicing everything. He does crazy stunts every ten years on his birthday, like when he was 60 years old, he swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf for a second time handcuffed, shackled, and towing a 1,000-pound boat.

yeah. The juicer is great. I LOVE it. It's small, sturdy, and clean up is straightforward. I haven't been using it as much as I should, so I decided to experiment a little bit.

What you need:


Hardware:
A Juicer

Software:
200g cucumber (I've got young babies fresh from a friend's garden)
100g celery, segmented to go into juicer easier
8g ginger root, peeled
160g apple, quartered (ok to leave peel, stem, and seeds)

Juice ginger first, then celery and cucumbers. Put apple through last.

Here's what it looks like:


GREEN. So what does it taste like?

Ass. Total and complete ass.

Haha! Quite the setup for a disgusting drink, huh? I need to document it so I know how to change it next time. I like cucumber juice, but this is the first time I've used celery in juicing and it is definitely strong. The ginger is great, but I like eating ginger. Overall, I'd up the cucumber, take back celery, and maybe add more apple.


Ok, ok. That was cruel. How about a tried and true juice recipe?

"Real" Lemonade

What you need:


1 whole lemon, with peel (mine came to about 150g)
3 whole apples

The type/flavor of apples makes a HUGE difference. The whole lemon is very tart, but balances with the apple for a very tasty drink. So, if you like super tart, Granny Smith will achieve that. 3 Red Delicious apples make it much more sweet. 2 Red Delicious and 1 Granny Smith is a nice combination. Pink Lady, McIntosh, whatever, go crazy and experiment!

Slice the "nubs" off the ends of the lemon:

Quarter all the apples (or slice in half, whatever fits in your juicer). Leave teh skin, stem, and seeds.

Put lemon through first, then all the apples. Makes about 2 cups of liquid. Drink and enjoy:

Lunch: Soup and Salad

Here's a typical lunch at work for me:



And:



The salad comes from a "salad bar" called Greens to Go, which is a counter service style place where they limit what you can have on the salad (3 veggies, 5 pcs protein, portioned out items). While that is unfortunate, it's still the freshest and most nutritious food I can get other than bringing food from home.

What's in the salad?
Mixed greens, romaine, broccoli, tomatoes, portobella mushrooms, cucumbers, snow peas, sunflower seeds, craisins, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

The Nile Spice soup is actually quite tasty for an instant soup. 110 cals total, 1.5g fat; 12 fiber, 12 protein. A little high in sodium, but that's ok with me.

I also have some carrots that aren't pictured for me to snack on for the rest of the day. I'm not sure when I'll eat next, but I have plans for what it will be.

So, I have now becomes completely obsessed with photographing every piece of food I eat. I can't promise that I'll keep up this crazy amount of posting. This blog is like a new toy to me. All food, all the time. The great thing is that my ultimate hope that this blog would motivate me to cook more is coming true. I'm really excited to make all sorts of food experiments I've been meaning to make for a long time. Somehow, the ability to post the food and share it with everyone makes it much more appealing to cook. I'm also excited to finally create and fine tune a few recipes of my own.

Raw Avo-Zuch Salad

Here is a raw avocado-zucchini-green pepper salad/dip I made back in January. It's very filling, very tasty and very refreshing:



RECIPE:
1 avocado, diced (mine was 100g)
1 zucchini, diced (150g)
1 bell pepper, diced (I think red would be awesome, but I only had green, about 100g)
1 red onion, diced (60g, to taste)
Lime Juice, To Taste
Salt and Pepper, To Taste
Optional: Diced Cucumber (100g?)

toss together in a bowl, add salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste. I think it would be tasty with some diced tomato in it, too.

I ate it as is out of the bowl, but it would be great with flax crackers or some other raw bread, or even regular crackers/chips/bread/etc.

Breakfast: Clif Bar and Starbucks

I was going to make some juice this morning, but I was running late. So, I settled for a Clif Bar (Banana Nut Bread flavor) and a Grande Iced Soy Latte from Starbucks:



*Did you know? The hot chocolate and the mocha from Starbucks are vegan, just ask for soy and no whip!

Second Post: Coconut Curry Noodles

Only the second post and I'm already getting serious. I just made up this recipe tonight with what I had in my cupboards and fridge. It's coconut curry bean thread noodles with Morningstar mock beef strips, bok choy, green bell pepper, onion, garlic. Simple, tasty and filling. Serves two, maybe 3-4 with smaller portions.

Behold, the finished plated dinner:



Not necessarily the best looking dish in the world, but darn tasty. Next time, I might just sauce the noodles, plate them first and then lay everything else on top for a better picture. My camera isn't the best, either.

So, you wanna make this dish? Let's go:


Software:
60g onion, sliced in half moon strips
5-10g garlic (one big clove) minced
50g bok choy, roughly chopped
100g green bell pepper, cut in squares/rough chop
2oz bean thread noodlesHere's what 2oz looks like (rice noodles would work ok, too)
1T Green Curry Paste
1 small can (5.5oz) coconut milk
1 package Morningstar Meal Starters Steak Strips

Hardware:
one 5-6c pot to boil water for noodles
one 12-14 inch wide, 2 inch deep pan
one heat resistant silicone spatula (or whatever device you use. I have a big one in orange and a small one in green. And a spoonula in green.)
one pasta spoon
one strainer of some sort

What to do:
1. Prep! Or, as chefs say, mise en place. This helps everything go smoothly. (Don't worry, I don't always do this, but I should!) What do you need to prep or set your mise? Chop the veggies, open the coconut milk and curry paste, get the noodles out and ready to pop in the water, open the mock beef strips.
2. Fill the pot with water, cover, and set on burner to boil.
3. On medium heat, use about one Tablespoon or less of oil (just enough to coat bottom of pan. Cooking spray is even better, but I'm out.)
4. Once pan is heated, add onions and cook until they start to brown.
5. Once the onions are starting to brown, add the whole package of Morningstar Beef Strips. Cook these for 10-15 minutes until quite brown, like this:


6. Sometime while the strips are cooking with the onions, the water should be boiling and ready for noodle action.
7. Once strips are brown enough for you, add bok choy, green peppers and garlic.
8. Stir these ingredients and cook for 2-3 minutes.
9. Drain and rinse the bean threads, add to rest of ingredients in pan.
10. Now add in the coconut milk. Note: I went for more of a thick flavoring rather than an actual liquidy curry. Feel free to add more coconut milk if you wish. Lite coconut milk works well, too.
11. Stir in the 1T of curry paste, more or less to taste. once dissolved, you're done!!!

Click Here for Full Nutrition Information. This Info is for one serving where the whole recipe equals 2 servings. So, if you made this into four recipes, make sure you cut the nutrition info in half. Make sense? Good.

So that was dinner tonight. I am not sure if I will have more photos, less photos, or lots and lots of links. We'll see how this goes. Hope you enjoyed.

First Post!

Hi there and welcome. Let's get down to the nitty gritty, shall we? What is this blog going to be all about? Food. Lots of food. All vegan food, as a matter of fact. This blog will have mainly photos: a mixture of food I make at home, food I have while going out to eat, and even various packaged products or other food items and kitchen appliances. I'll post as many recipes as I am able, of course abstaining from posting copyrighted material.

My hope is for this blog to motivate me to not only take more photos of the food I eat, but also to motivate me to cook more at home and experiment more with my food.

Well, enough talking, on with the food! Pictured above: a piece of soft pretzel from a New York Pretzel stand inside the NYNY Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. I always ask for pretzels with no butter. What happens is I have to wait for 5-10 minutes, but I then receive a fresh and hot pretzel. In the picture above, the piece of pretzel is hanging out in some spicy mustard as a dip.

Next, a crappy picture of some food I made at home. One sliced and pan-fried apple smoked sausage from Field Roast Grain Meat Company, some brown rice, sliced and roasted brussels sprouts, and some crumbled soy feta by Sunergia Soyfoods. Overall, it was a tasty dish, but if I make this again, I would definitely add a sauce or tomatoes. It was a bit too dry. I am in love with the soy feta. I think it's great. Tangy, crumbly, and tastes close enough to feta for me. Of course, I haven't had feta in many years, so I could be wrong, but I think it is a lovely addition to salads and pasta.



This next photo is of a sandwich I made a couple of weeks ago. It consists of two toasted pieces of wheat bread from my local gas station, sliced tomato, Vegenaise spread on both slices of toast, some pan-fried Smokey Tempeh Fakin' Bacon strips, and a Original Boca Burger. For the burger, I microwaved it for a minute inside the plastic pouch to get heated and moist. I then pan fried it in a sautè pan and once both sides were slightly browned, I slathered a mixture of A-1 Original Steak Sauce (yep, it's vegan!) and chipotle sauce, and seared those flavors in. This was quite tasty:



Last, but not least, I made some miso soup today. I am convinced that miso soup can cure anything. Except maybe scurvy or a mouthful of sores. Oh, and gashes or bruises or anything other than a cold or a hangover. I make my miso soup much differently than most people and certainly nothing like how restaurants make it. I start by sautèeing some thin half moon onion slices inside a medium pot. Then, I toss in some pre-sliced baby bella mushrooms, a large finely minced garlic clove, a plop of ginger paste (about a Tablespoon), and a generous sprinkle of red pepper flakes. I then add 6 cups of water, cover and wait for the water to boil. Once it's at a rolling boil, I plop in about 1/3c of miso (I use a brown miso). Once dissolved, I sprinkle in some sliced scallions (green onions) and ladle some soup into a bowl. The bowl pictured holds 2 cups. I use dulse flakes which add some more iron and calcium.




Well, there it is. The First Post. Excellent. I'll be taking photos of dinner tonight, and hope to post them tonight as well. Until then, hope you enjoy the photos!