Penne Pasta with Kicked Up 'Meat' Sauce

I've been eating a lot of pasta lately: it's cheap and filling and easy to make. However, I can easily get in a rut with pasta. I love Newman's Own pasta sauce, but just red sauce and pasta can get old.

I thought for a bit how to kick up the red sauce I had in the house. After a moment or two, I came up with a plan and began. (No real measurements, but the next time I do this I'll get more specific.)

Ingredients:
1 jar Newman's Own Cabernet Marinara (or any red sauce you like)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 med-large onion, small dice
.75c TVP (crumbles, dry)
1 can vegetable broth
fennel seeds (1T I think?)
salt
1/2 package fresh spinach


I started by sauteeing the onion and then the garlic. I added fennel seeds to the mix, to saute and toast them a little. I added some salt, then poured a little of the veggie broth in and let everything simmer for a minute or so. I added the jar of sauce, stirring everything together. I kept adding veggie broth to thin out the sauce and prevent the pre-seasoned red sauce from super-concentrating in flavor.

I added TVP, stirring and allowing it to hydrate in the sauce to soak up the flavors. I then added the spinach and turned off the heat, stirring until the spinach had adequately cooked in the sauce.

Pour over pasta of choice and enjoy!

Broccoli & Cauliflower with Baked Tofu in Curry Sauce

This was dinner earlier tonight.

Ingredients (roughly):
119g onion, small-fine dice
156g tofu (this was one 12oz package, weighed after baking)
1.5T curry powder
.75c frozen peas
1 package (16oz) of frozen broccoli and cauliflower
(comes to about 225g of broccoli, 225g cauliflower)
.13c ginger, minced
14g garlic, sliced thinly
1can (14oz) coconut milk
1/4can veggie broth
1T olive oil

Serve with:
Brown Rice or plain or noodles

1. I started this whole endeavor by cubing the tofu and setting onto a foiled and oiled pan. I used my toaster oven. Set at 350 degrees F, bake for 20 mins. Flip, then bake another 20 mins. I flipped one last time and baked another 20 mins, and it came to the perfect consistency (in my opinion)

2. Near the end of the second 20 minute baking of the tofu, I started dicing my onion and slicing my garlic. [This is where the ginger should be minced, but I forgot all about it until much later on.] I heated up a pan on the stove and poured about one tablespoon of olive oil. Check the tofu and flip and bake again as needed.

3. Put the onion in the pan, saute for a bit until onion is soft. Add garlic. [again, this is ideally where the ginger would be added, but I added it later because I forgot about it for a while.]

4. Add baked tofu cubes, saute in pan. Add curry powder, mix everything together well, then add some veggie broth to help the curry really get into the ingredients.

5. Add broccoli and cauliflower, adding veggie broth as needed to help cook the frozen vegetables.

6. Add coconut milk, stirring everything together. Add frozen peas.

7. Simmer until everything is cooked to your liking. Serve over brown rice.

Birthday 2010: Recap

My birthday was months ago, but here is a short recap on some of my fooding adventures on my holiday. First up, as pictured above, a piece of Chocolate Cake from My Local Co-Op, Mississippi Market. I really like picking up a couple pieces of this cake, that they always have available. It's delicious and simple and awesome with a glass of soymilk or almond milk.

Next up, Punch Pizza. It's my new favorite local pizza joint. Cheap, delicious food that is easily vegan and brings quality ingredients to the forefront. Plus, AMAZING freebies throughout the year via social networks. One of the smartest restaurants I've ever seen utilize Facebook, Twitter and a blog. First, the Punch Salad:


Mixed greens, pine nuts, balsamic vinegar. I believe the actual Punch Salad comes with prosciutto and cheese but vegan without those two. Focaccia comes with the salad and is also vegan.

Next, one of the "basic" pizzas, a margherita (crust, sauce, basil) with the dipping sauces of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the crusts:



Truly awesome pizza with a truly smart company. These folks should be the business model for all restaurants.

Twenty Eleven: The Year of Baking

As the delicious looking (and tasting) Garlic Pull-Apart Roll can show, I finally crossed into baking. Awesomeness. I really started at the end of 2010, but it helped to kick start 2011 into a baking frenzy.

I started with white bread:



(I used THIS RECIPE to start off everything.)

I moved into the rolls, and eventually to a focaccia-white bread mix and finally into wheat bread. Super easy, super delicious.

My goal, hopefully by the end of February is to make cinnamon rolls.

Oh, and? I started making the infamous chickpea cutlets at least once a week since the end of December 2010. Delicious lunches -- I've enjoyed them the most served cold with an A-1 sauce or yellow/Dijon mustard.

Obviously this is the first post in several months. Part of my New Year's Resolution is to post more often. I have been cooking a lot more and hope to showcase more of my risks in cooking as well as a lot of my "typical" meals.

Fried Pickle Slices

No Picture, though I will DEFINITELY be making these again, very, very soon!

I started with Claussen Dill Halves, my pickle of choice. I sliced the halves up into 1/4 inch slices. I used a tempura batter mix and dipped the slices in that, then rolled in panko bread crumbs. I did a few plain, then added seasoned salt to the panko so the rest were flavored.

I used a pan with vegetable oil to pan-fry the slices, a few at a time. I fried until golden brown and flipped so the other side of the slice would match.

I drained on a paper towel on my plate, and dipped in Frank's Red Hot.

DELICIOUS. Crispy, salty, tangy. I would probably cut my slices thicker next time, 1/2 inch or more. My tempura batter could also have been a little thicker.

Product Review: Tofurky Pepperoni Pizza

Last night, I tried one of three frozen vegan pizzas offered by Tofurky, powered by Daiya. The pepperoni is in the Totino's Party Pizza style that I remember growing up: diced up pieces of pepperoni. The crust is thin and crisps easily. The cheese: not nearly enough -- we added some of our own Daiya cheddar to the pizza.

The other two varieties offered are Cheese and Sausage. I am really interested in getting a cheese and adding my own "meat" toppings, such as the regular pepperoni slices from Yves or some Gimme Lean sausage.

It's expensive (I believe $8.99 USD at my local Whole Foods) for a frozen pizza, BUT given that a mock duck/rinotta (or soy cheese - Follow Your Heart brand) medium pizza costs $16-17 USD to get delivered, it's comparable and still really tasty. I mean, we're coming along when I can go buy a frozen vegan pizza at a store not 50+ miles or mail ordered to me.

Product Review: Ian's Mac and NO Cheese (GF)

So I'll start my renewed commitment to the food blog with a product review. Ian's Mac and NO Cheese which is also gluten free. It uses nutritional yeast for the cheesy base, so it is a lot different than Amy's Mac and Cheese with Daiya. I like it, though.

I use a microwave to make this stuff, and the directions are: poke holes in plastic, then micro for 2min on high, then remove overwrap, stir, micro one more min, and let stand. After the first 2 minutes, during the first stir, this stuff is REALLY questionable: it's runny, the pasta is not done, and does not resemble any mac and cheese I know. Do not give up! After the next minute in the micro, the sauce thickens and the pasta becomes more al dente.

This stuff alone is not bad, but I have been really enjoying it with mixed vegetables and sliced veggie dogs along with some ketchup and hot sauce. Definitely not for everyone, but worth a try.

Hello, World! I'm Not Dead.

Five months. FIVE months since the last post?!?! I have to stop this nonsense. There are perfectly good reasons for this.

1. My camera broke, so I got a new one. I don't really like the new one.

2. I need to renew my Flickr account. (Plan to do in the next couple of weeks.)

3. Need to cook even more! I've been eating plenty, just not very *blog-worthy* stuff.

Never fear, I do not plan on abandoning this project/documentation. I like to see how I've evolved both as a cook and as a photographer. Plus, it helps to keep me creative if I know I have an "audience" to present to -- no matter how big or small. There will be updates -- hopefully LOTS -- very soon.

Spicy Tofu Triangles

Mr. Coconut cooked these up a while back.

He marinated drained and pressed tofu in Frank's Red Hot and Old Bay Seasoning, then pan-fried until crispy. Very easy and delicious.

Roasted Beets with Beet Greens

Simple, nutritious, and delicious!

I roasted the beets by wrapping them in foil and baking until soft. Wash beets gently so you don't break the skin -- this keeps nutrients inside and the juices which stain everything sealed inside. Slice up after they are roasted/cooked.

I chopped up the greens and sauteed with onions and garlic and served immediately. I added a splash of white vinegar to the greens as well as salt.

Soft Tacos

Here's my attempt to make tacos photogenic. Atop a lightly toasted flour tortilla: taco-seasoned TVP, refried black beans with garlic, fresh sweet corn with lime juice and cilantro, rotel tomatoes with habaneros, chopped cilantro, Tofutti sour cream. I added fresh spinach and taco sauce before folding up as a taco and eating.

I know I said that the next taco night I'd make my own tortillas. I still plan on making my own, I just need to get a cast iron pan first. I know I can do it without one, but I'd like to get one anyway and this seems like the perfect excuse.

Loaded Potato Skins

Wow. These were a lot of fun to make and even more fun to eat.

I took about 6-7 russets and baked them in the oven until soft, about an hour. I let them cool down until I could easily handle them, and sliced each on in half. I scooped out the insides and set aside in a bowl. I wound up adding Tofutti sour cream, daiya cheddar and daiya mozzarella to the insides along with some butter and homemade bac-os, stirred it all up and scooped it back inside the potatoes. I baked a while longer, added a mix of cheddar and mozz daiya to the tops of the potatoes along with the rest of the bac-os and broiled until the cheese melted. I sprinkled green onions on the tops and devoured.

Here's a close-up of the potatoes:

Amy's Rice Mac and Cheeze

I already reviewed this in my previous post. Here's photo proof of the deliciousness. It's truly creamy, unlike any vegan mac and cheese I've had before.

Yum yum yum. Overpriced? absolutely. Worth it for the delicious convenience.

Homemade Bacon Bits

For the potato skins I made, I figured that they needed bacon bits. I've heard that Bac-Os(TM) are vegan (obviously check the ingredients as they can change and vary region to region), however I didn't really want to buy some. Instead, I decided to try my hand at making my own.

I bought some TVP, which I've used before in many dishes. I purchased it recently so I can give Taco Night another go.

I've made homemade tofu bacon before, so I just used those ingredients and applied them here.

I rehydrated 1/4c of TVP granules in about 1/4c of boiling water. Then I heated a pan up and poured about 1tsp of vegetable oil in it. I let the pan get very hot, then added the hydrated TVP.

Separately, I mixed together about 1/8c of soy sauce (use Kikkoman or better, no La Choy please!) with 1tsp of liquid smoke and a couple drops of Bragg's Liquid Aminos.

As the TVP fried up, I added the sauce mixture and continued to fry it until it crisped up a bit. Presto! Now you have some "bacon" bits to add to baked potatoes, salads, or any other dish you can come up with.

New Product Reviews: Daiya Cheese, Amy's Mac & Cheese, Rice Cheese Blocks,

So, this is a no-photo post. There is a very good reason for this.

I have found the best vegan cheese ever, and most (all?) of the dishes have resulted in not blog-worthy photos. What is this mysterious "cheese"? Daiya.

Seriously, check out that link. Gluten, soy, dairy free. Yet...delicious. It comes pre-shredded, in mozzarella and cheddar flavors. (At least at my local Saint Paul, MN, Whole Foods.) My chief complaint is that the package is not resealable and forces me to either dump the contents into another zip-top bag or to utilize my chip clips. (There are roughly 3 individuals who are laughing at my chip clips because they know exactly where they are from.)

Mr. Coconut and I have made several quesadillas and added the cheese to various burritos and pasta dishes. Not to mention just dipping the quesadilla slices in spicy taco sauce, awesome salsa and other dips. Yum! Other dishes in the past two weeks that added Daiya cheese: red potato hashbrowns with Daiya; red potatoes thinly sliced with garlic and onion and olive oil -- plus cheese at the end. I know, a bit potato-heavy, but other than quesadillas and potatoes and pasta, the Daiya cheese ran out quickly.

On that note, I also tried the Amy's Non-Dairy Rice Mac & Cheeze. Amy's previously had a "soy cheeze" mac & cheese that was not vegan. They also had a rice macaroni & cheese that was not vegan. However, this new stuff is made with the aforementioned Daiya cheddar. SO AWESOME.

Back story:

I loved making my own mac & cheese, and still love it even as a vegan. I'm a fan of Road's End mac and cheese mixes. I'm also a fan of making my own mac and cheese with nutritional yeast.

Long before I was vegan, I became obsessed with this frozen mac & cheese from Michelina's. It was creamy, dreamy, quick and comforting.

Guess what? The Amy's mac and cheese tasted just like I remembered Michelina's tasted like. Amazing.

Word is that Galactic Pizza an awesome local pizza joint, is using Daiya as its vegan cheese.

Another new product I tried in the past few weeks was the Galaxy Rice Cheddar block of cheese. I've talked about my love of the rice cheddar cheese slices. It's nice to have soy-free selections in the vegan cheese market. The block of cheese shredded finely was pretty good in Tofurky sandwiches after being heated up for 30 seconds. Not nearly as good as Daiya -- like no where near. This stuff is still the most awesome vegan cheese next to Daiya, though.

So now I have more Daiya and I plan on attempting photo-worthy dishes. My main thought is to make the best potato skins ever: baked up russets with sour cream, green onions, Daiya cheese, and -- possibly -- bacooo bits. (I have a plan on making my own Bac-O Bits with some TVP. Maybe, maybe even make some killer twice-baked potatoes, we'll see.

Afternoon Snack: Ants on a Log & Carrot Sticks

A snack blast from the past. "Ants on a Log" is a snack from many people's childhood, including mine. It involves filling celery sticks with peanut butter and covering with "ants" or raisins. To this snack I added chopped dates in addition to the classic raisins. I also had some carrot sticks. Just a simple snack, healthy and satisfying.

Chickpea Noodle Stew

My soup/stew of the week: Chickpea Noodle Stew! Another "throw a lot of things in the pot" stew, so again, I apologize for not having a concrete recipe.

Ingredients:
diced onions, carrots & celery for mirepoix
one can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
vegetable stock
olive oil for sauteing the mirepoix
garlic, 2-3 cloves, minced
salt, tt
elbow macaroni noodles (or any noodle at all)
vegetables (I used frozen broccoli and peas)
vegetable stock (1.5c/2c)
water

Instructions
1. Saute the mirepoix on low heat with olive oil and some salt until onions are soft and translucent. (do not brown the onions; looking for soft, maybe yellowish from oil, but not brown) This may take 5-15 minutes. I kind of wanted some texture from the carrots so I started adding other ingredients faster than I might for other soups.

2. add garlic & chickpeas

3. add vegetable stock and water

4. bring to boil, add some noodles. I just tossed in what looked like a good amount. My initial plan for this dish was something more brothy but the amount of noodles I added made it more of a stew than a soup. Still delicious, but next time I might back off the noodles a little more.

5. as noodles are nearing done time, add in some vegetables. I added chopped frozen broccoli and frozen peas. I also added more salt, but I'm a salt fiend.

6. Done! Scoop into a bowl and enjoy.

Double Decker Tacos!!!

Taco Night! If you follow the Flickr-linked photo above, you'll get complete labels on the fillings.

Taco night is awesome. And last night was no exception. Refried beans makes excellent "glue" to hold a soft flour tortilla to a hard corn shell. Perfect. Morningstar crumblesSomeone pointed out to me that Morningstar changed the crumbles ingredients and it's no longer vegan. Grr, stupid ingredient change! Boca crumbles are still vegan. with spicy taco seasoning was the "meat" for this dish. Other layers include: homemade garlicky guacamole, diced tomatoes, chopped black olives, chopped onions, spinach instead of iceberg lettuce, chopped cilantro, and spicy taco sauce.

It was delicious!! I believe that another taco night, or perhaps some taco pizza, will happen very soon.

Another pic:

Vegetable & Bean Stew with Spicy Biscuits

I made this quick vegetable stew the other day. I also made biscuits, a variation of the recipe from the other day. I added some liquid from the stew as well as red pepper flakes to the mix to create a spicy version. Another make it up as I go, so not an "official" recipe, but here's roughly what I did.

The Stew

Ingredients:
1 28oz can of Fire Roasted tomatoes
1 15(I think)oz can of dark red kidney beans
1 15(I think)oz can of white kidney beans (cannellini)
1 8oz can spicy Ro-Tel [diced tomatoes with habaneros)
1/2 a large onion, med. dice
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
frozen corn
cumin
paprika
chili powder
water
veg stock or bouillon cube
1tsp oil (for sauteing onion & garlic)

Instructions:

1. in stock pot, saute onion in oil until soft, add garlic and spices to taste

2. add drained and rinsed beans and can of tomatoes

3. add Ro-Tel, stir everything

4. add water. I basically filled the big tomato can with water and dumped it in and added a little more

5. bring to boil, add some frozen corn and or vegetables of choice. Sweet corn really works with these flavors but I'm sure many others would work.

6. bring down to simmer. If you feel like it, add vegetable stock or bouillon cube for flavor.

Done! The flavors of both the stew and biscuits are even better the second day. This lasted for most of the week for both me and Mr. Coconut's lunch.

Biscuits!!

These delicious biscuits are courtesy of a recipe from Savvy Abby a blog that has tips for cheap vegan living from a VegNews Associate Editor. Great blog, I just started reading it today thanks to a heads up from a VN newsletter I get. As I was perusing the blog, I saw the recipe for the biscuits and was happy that I had all of those ingredients so I immediately got to baking.

I used olive oil and rice milk for my oil and non-dairy picks. Mainly because that's what I had available. I used regular all-purpose white flour because, again, that's what I had. Savvy Abby says that any combo of oil or flour or non-dairy liquids can be used. The basic recipe is really versatile: add sweetness for a sweet biscuit, use fresh herbs and garlic and other add-in ingredients. Go wild!

Here is a pic of a biscuit I had with Smart Balance and blackberry jam:


Delicious! I used the suggestion of a 1/4 measuring cup to measure out the biscuit dough for baking. I found that it created biscuits which were a little too large and had difficulty in getting some of the centers to be done all the way. They were still delicious and took 15 minutes, tops. They would be great in soups, gravies, with a sausage patty and tofu, sandwiches, etc.