Spicy Noodles with Vegetables

Peanut butter
Soba noodles
Thai chilies
Broccoli
Tofu
Carrots
Chili oil
Tamarind sauce
Rice vinegar
Onion
Garlic
Soy sauce

Saute tofu in chili oil
Cook noodles and drain
Combine vinegar, peanut butter, tamarind, chili oil and soy sauce in a bowl
Saute onions and garlic
Add in vegetables and sauce mixture
Add tofu and noodles
Cook for 5-7 minutes

Sushi

For our first foray into homemade sushi, we borrowed several ideas from our favorite restaurant and came up with a few new combinations of our own.




Sushi #1: Avacado and cream cheese
Sushi #2: Pan-fried tofu with carrots, cucumber and green onion
Sushi #3: Tofu, mango, avacado, cucumber and green onio
Sushi #4: Wasabi, mango, avacado, cucumber, carrot and green onion
Sushi #5: Tofu, cream cheese, mango, avacado, cucumber, carrot and green onion

Baked Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Slausage Balls

We altered the slausage ball recipe, based on the ingrediants in the fridge.


1 Gimme Lean Sausage Style tube
1/2 c. nutritional yeast
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tbl. oregano
6 mushrooms
1/2 white onion

Sauce:
1 32 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. red onion
1 tbl. minced garlic
6 mushrooms
2 tbl. red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper


Cook one pound of whole wheat fusilli, slightly less than al dente. Drain and pour into a large glass baking dish.
Sprinkle cheese (Cabot Black Wax Cheddar) over pasta (about 1/4 cup shredded). Add sauce and slausage balls. Cover with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Jerked Tofu with Mango

The Jerked Tofu was great the first time, but we wanted to try it again a little differently. This time we added Champagne Mango and marinated it over night. Then to cook it, we slow cooked the mixture in a low-heated oven.

2 cups Jerk Sauce
1/2 cup leftover broth
1 mango
6 oz firm tofu, (half a block) pressed

Combine broth with Jerk Sauce, add tofu and chopped mango to marinate in the fridge over night. Cook in a metal baking dish, loosely covered with foil, on low heat. We started with it at 250, then turned it up to 300, and cooked it for about 2 hours.

Stef says ideally, cook half the time completely covered with foil, 1/4 time vented, 1/4 completely uncovered.

Serve over rice, which I make extra-dry. A little over 1 cup of rice to 1 and 1/4 cup of water (salt and pepper) in the rice cooker. After the rice cooker turns off, let the rice stand for 15 minutes or so before fluffing.

The salad pictured is rainbow chard, heirloom tomatoes and avacado, with a dash of salt and pepper and apple cider vinegar. Also, white corn, cooked the way Stef's mama taught her.

Flogging from Scribefire

I installed Scribefire awhile ago, but this is the first time I have tried blogging from it directly. I like it in theory; however, uploading a photo is more complicated than it should be.

I love these tiny peppers. They are especially good with hummus, Weaver St's vegan chikin salad, or just by themselves.

Technorati Tags: peppers

Dutch Style Pancakes with Vegetables

Pancakes adapted from http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1618,144179-240205,00.html.

1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1 c. milk

Mix thoroughly. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Have pan very hot. Pour in batter and cook thoroughly on each side.

Vegetable topping:

2 handfuls of kale
5 mushrooms
1/4 c. red bell pepper
1/4 c. yellow bell pepper
1/4 c. red onion
1/2 c. grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon apple cider or red wine vinegar
oregano, thyme, salt and pepper to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a pan. Add in onions first, then spices. Add in other vegetables and stir. Cook about 7 minutes on medium-low heat.

Top pancakes with vegetable mixture. Makes a lot!

New Wave Kugel (Dairy)

I was craving kugel and I wanted to use up some of the cheese in my refrigerator. I had leftover ricotta from the malai koftas and a few other odds and ends. The pasta was the vegetable alphabet pasta from Trader Joe's, which has a nice sweet flavor.

1/2 package multicolored pasta
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup soy margarine
1/2-3/4 cup fat-free ricotta
1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano and/or fontina (grated)
salt and pepper

Cook noodles until slightly less than al dente. Drain and cool. In a pot, heat soy milk and margine, add salt and pepper to taste. Melt in pamigiano-reggiano (or whatever cheeses you have in the fridge.)

In a baking dish, add pasta, cover with soy milk mixture and mix in ricotta. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

Goat Cheese with Dried Cranberries, Dark Chocolate and Walnuts

For New Year's, we made this treat to accompany the champagne.

Fancy crackers or wafers (honestly, we can't remember what kind of crackers we used.)
Mild, spreadable goat cheese (fresh)
Dried cranberries
Dark chocolate bits
Raw walnut, pieces

My favorite bagel

Half a pumpernickel bagel, half a poppy seed
Jalapeno cream cheese on one side
Veggie cream cheese on the other

Black Beans, Kale and Saffron rice

1 c. (uncooked) rice
2 c. water
2 bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp (or more) saffron
salt

Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add bouillon cubes and dissolve. Remove from heat, add saffron and salt, stir. After the broth cools slightly, ladle slightly less than 1.5 cups into the rice cooker, add dry rice and cook.

1 can black beans and lightly rinsed
1/2 cup leftover broth (see above)
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 handfuls raw kale
garlic powder
cayenne
salt and pepper

Bring broth to a boil, then add onions. Cook for a few minutes, adding spices to taste. When onions are soft, add kale and stir. Add in black beans and reduce to simmer, until the rice is cooked. Remove from heat and let the beans sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

We ate this with a little bit of cheddar, and the leftovers from yesterday.

Rosemary-Garlic Vegan Mashed Potatoes

3 Ukon Gold potoates
1/4 c. rice milk
1/4 c. vegan margarine
1-1.5 tsp rosemary
1-1.5 tbl. fresh garlic
salt and pepper (lots!)

Cut and boil potatoes in lightly salted water, about 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Blend in a large bowl, rice milk and margarine and spices. Add in potatoes and blend until as smooth as you like.

**In the past, I used soy milk and that was good too.


We had this with Kale and Kidney Bean Salad.

Malai Koftas

Potato Balls:
4-5 Yukon gold potatoes, boiled and slightly mashed
8 oz. ricotta (fat-free)
salt, pepper, a dash of curry

Chop the potatoes and boil until easily forked. Drain and allow to cool. In a large bowl, mix potatoes, ricotta and spices. Form into 1-2 inch balls and roll in a little oil (any cooking oil will do. I use olive because I always have that in the house.) Place in a baking dish and cook at 400 for 20-30 minutes, or until as brown as you would like.

Alternate 1: you can deep-fry or pan fry the potato ball if you prefer them crispier.

Alternate 2: make the balls ahead of time and refrigerate (or freeze). This will give your balls extra structural integrity.

Sauce:
1-2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 can tomato sauce
8-10 oz plain, fat-free yoghurt
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 tablespoon turmeric
1/2 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp ginger
salt, pepper

Heat oil in a large frying pan or pot and add mustard seeds. When these pop, add onions and fry until golden. Add in other spices and stir for a few minutes over medium-low heat. Add in tomato sauce and bring to a slow boil, cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When the oil begins to separate a little at the top, take the sauce off the heat and stir in the yoghurt. Serve with the potato balls and rice.

For vegan version: Use mashed tofu and a little olive oil in place of the ricotta. Substitute vegan yoghurt for cow yoghurt in the sauce.

Soy Hot Chocolate

3 cups soy milk
1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3-4 tablespoons sugar

Heat ingredients in a pot, stirring. Add more chocolate or sugar if desired.

Pour into chocolate pot and drink on the patio on an overcast, fall day.

Fresh Spring Rolls

20 medium spring roll wrappers
1 small package marinated tofu, crumbled
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 ripe mango
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup crushed cashews

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Heat water and pour into a shallow dish (such as a cake pan.) Dip the wrappers (individually) into the water to moisten. Fill with the tofu mixture, then roll tightly like a burrito. Place on a plate or wax paper.

Dip in soy sauce, chili sauce, peanut sauce, etc.

Special Potatoes

Boil several potatoes, ideally Ukon Gold, but others will do.
Drain in a colander and allow to cool a little.

Heat in a large pan, oil and mustard seeds (1 to 2 tbl.) When seeds pop, add potatoes and mash. Add 1 tbs. turmeric, 1 tbs. curry, salt, pepper, more oil or lemon juice if needed. Cook until browned and seasoned all the way through.

Saffron Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups vegetable stock
1 pinch saffron threads
2 tablespoons margarine



Bring stock to a simmer. In a separate large saucepan on an adjacent burner, heat the olive oil and add the shallots and the rice. Lightly saute: you actually are toasting the rice. Cook until the rice until it becomes translucent and the shallots become soft, stirring constantly. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Begin slowly adding the warm stock, 1 ladle-full at a time, to the rice pan, stirring as you go. This will bring out the starch in the rice and make the mixture creamy. As the mixture absorbs the broth, ladle more into the pot. When the first ladle of stock has been absorbed into the rice, add the pinch of saffron. When all of the stock has been ladled into the rice pot, slowly simmer until the rice is soft and creamy. Stir the margarine into the risotto for more flavor and creaminess. Set aside, keeping warm until needed.

Serve with Slausage, Peppers and Onions.

Slausage, Peppers and Onions

2 links of fake sausage, one spicy, one sweet/savory
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 yellow onion, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup white wine
Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet, and slice.
Melt butter in the skillet. Stir in the yellow onion, red onion, and garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Season with basil, and oregano. Stir in white wine. Continue to cook and stir until peppers and onions are tender.
Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through.

Add a little more white wine while simmering if needed.
Serve with Saffron Risotto.

Spaghetti and Slausage Balls

8 oz whole wheat angel hair pasta, cooked

Sauce:
1 32 oz can cherry tomatoes
1/4 c. old red wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 tbl. each: basil, oregano, thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper

Saute onions in small amount of olive oil (or lemon juice) until golden. Add in garlic until you can smell it, about 30 seconds to a minute, do not over cook. Add salt, pepper and spices, stir frequently. Add wine to deglaze the pan and reduce. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil, stir, then reduce heat to simmer, with the top cracked (or all the way on.) Cook 20-30 minutes (minimum) and stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Slausage Balls:
1 tube Gimme Lean sausage-style tofu stuff
1/4 c. diced onion
1/4 c. diced red bell pepper
1/2 c. nutritional yeast
1 tbl. oregano
1/4 c. whole wheat flour

Combine ingrediants in a bowl, oil hands, then roll balls (1 to 1.5 inches) and lay on wax paper. (1 tube should yield about 25 balls.) Fry balls until browned, then add to sauce.

Drain pasta and serve!

Kale Vegan Alfredo Pasta

Adapted from http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7348.msg69975#msg69975

1 1/2 cup soy milk
6 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2-1 tablespoon margarine
1/2 teaspoon each: dill, thyme,
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoon flour (amount various)
4 medium/large leaves of kale

6-8 oz cooked, whole wheat thin spaghetti

1 head cooked broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces


Add everything except the kale and flour to a saucepan and stir. Steam kale (or if you're making pasta, cook it in the boiling water before you add the pasta) for about 1-3 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like it. Remove and cut up in small pieces. Add to the sauce. Heat the sauce, and when it is fairly warm, start adding flour slowly, so that it doesn't clump. Whisk or stir constantly! When you have enough flour added, remove from heat and serve over pasta and brcoccoli.

This is good the first night; it is even better as leftovers.

I have also added mushrooms to the sauce too, either chopped portabella or cremini.

Split Pea Surprise

1 cup green split peas
1 cup frozen spinach
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 bouillon cube
1-2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1/2-3/4 cup dried coconut
1-2 tablespoons red thai curry
1-2 tablespoons ginger (grated or the paste in the jar)
dash of cumin and turmeric
water
toast mustard seeds in olive oil, add onion and saute with a little salt and pepper, add in bouillon cube, curry, ginger and other spices adding the garlic last, add in coconut, then spinach. add split beans and mix well. add water to cover, bring to a boil and stir. then simmer with the pot top partly open for 30 minutes or until peas are soft. stir occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom. if the water is boiling off too quickly, put the top completely on.

I think this would be good with other vegetables and I also though that instead of coconut, you could use coconut milk!

Lentil Surprise

1 cup red lentils
1 small onion
1 cup frozen spinach
1/2 pepper
1 tbl garam masala
1 tsp curry
1 tsp cummin
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
salt and pepper
3-4 cups vegetable broth

Saute onions until golden, add salt and pepper and spices. saute garlic until fragrant, add spinach and peppers. add lentils and coconut, stir.
Cover with vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, Cover. Simmer about 20-30 minutes. add more broth if it's too dry.
Enjoy!

Black Bean Extravaganza

1 can black beans
1 can (re)fried beans
1 can jalapenos
1 cup pineapple, chopped
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup kale
3/4 cup old tortilla chips
1/2-1 cup salsa
1/4-1/2 pepper jack cheese

In a casserole dish layer:
salsa
chips, crushed a little
refried beans
black beans
jalapenos
pineapple
onion
kale
cheese
salsa, and repeat
The top layer should have some cheese on top.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is browned on top.

Kidney Bean and Kale Salad

Adapted from the Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen by Donna Klein

1/2 head of kale
1 can kidney beans, drained
1/4 c. red onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 pickling cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
salt and pepper

Marinate beans, onion, cucumber and tomatoes in the vinegar and oil, for 30 minutes to an hour. Serve on top of fresh kale, add salt and pepper, mix.

Jerked Tofu

Adapted from http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave2/authentic_jerk.asp#Recipe5


1/2 pound firm tofu
1 cup vegetable stock
Pinch salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Jerk Sauce

Jerk Sauce
3 habaneros (or Scotch bonnet peppers), seeds and stems removed
1 onions, chopped
2 clove garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons tamari
1/8 cup minced scallions


Slice the tofu into bite-size pieces.
Bring the vegetable stock to a boil, adding salt, garlic and thyme. Add the tofu and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove tofu and drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle black pepper onto the tofu, then cover in jerk sauce. Bake for 30 minutes (or more) at 300. Next time, we will marinate the tofu in the jerk sauce for awhile in the fridge and then bake it for at least an hour, possibly on lower heat.


In a food processor or blender, process all ingredients until smooth.

Tomato Basil Risotto

Tomato Basil Risotto
Adapted from http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/11454/tomato-basil-risotto.html

8 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c. margarine, divided
1/4 c. chopped onion
1-1.5 c. chopped cherry tomatoes
1 c. mushrooms
2 c. Arborio rice
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook broth in a saucepan over medium heat until hot. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in large pot over med-hi heat; add onion, and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tomato; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add rice; cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add broth, 1/2 c. at a time, stirring constantly; allow rice to absorb liquid before adding more broth. Stir in remaining 2 tbsp. butter, chopped basil, and remaining ingredients.

Tofu and Vegetables with Garlic Sauce

Adapted from http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8731.0

½ pound firm tofu, cubed
1 carrot
1 can waterchesnuts
½ cup mushrooms
¼ cup green onions
1 cup kale
1 head of broccoli
4 cloves garlic
1 vegetarian vegetable stock cube
1/4 cup of tamari
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
½ tablespoon cayenne
½ tablespoon of turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Pan fry the tofu and then set aside.

Chop vegetables into bite sized pieces and mince garlic.

Boil 1.5 cups of water and add the vegetable stock cube, set aside.

Sauté garlic ginger, red pepper flakes and sweetner in tamari.

Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of cold water, set aside.

Add the broccoli to spice and tamari mixture and cook over high heat in a large skillet for 2 minutes. Then add the tofu back in. Add in the veggie broth and simmer 5-7 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir to distribute it. Cook for 1-2 minutes more or until it thickens.

Serve with rice, or Peanut Butter Noodles!

Kale Quesadillas with Vinegar Salsa

Tortillas
1/2 head of kale
1 can pinto beans, drained
1/3 pound feta
dash of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Mix together all ingrediants, then stuff tortillas. Grill in a pan!

1 yellow tomato
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Chop ingrediants, mix and cover. Ideally let salsa sit over night, but at least 1 hour.

Taco Salad with Homemade Black Bean Chili

I should have taken a picture, but I didn't have my camera at S's last night. So imagine a beautiful shell, stuffed with fresh greens, black bean chili, peach salsa and cheese.

Spicy as eff chili:
2 homemade (or not) veggie burgers, crumbled. (S makes hers with TVP.)
1 can of black beans, drained
1/2 red onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
2 jalapenos, chopped and some juice
1/2 can of leftover tomato sauce
salt

Saute veggie burgers in some olive oil until browned. Add in onion, garlic and seasonings. Stir frequently. Add in black beans, jalapenos and tomato sauce. Continue stiring and bring to a slow boil. Lower heat and cover slightly, let cook for awhile. It should be nice and thick.

Taco shells:
Chipotle tortillas from TJ's
Place in baking dish, or "mold," we use a casserole dish and a lot of aluminum foil to make it small enough. Bake at 350-375 for 10-15 minutes, until crispy.

Salad:
Several handfuls of fresh kale and rainbow chard
3/4 cup green onions chopped
1/2 cup small yellow tomatoes

Peach salsa: Wholefoods

Cheese: sharp white cheddar

Kitchen Roulette

How it all began...
I love cooking and I love organization, but for some reason I cannot keep track of the recipes I love. This blog-o-dex will hopefully remedy my little knowledge management problem and maybe other people will read it from time to time. Please feel free to use any of these recipes or ideas that you like. I will try to credit original sources as much as possible because 1) I am a librarian and I believe in that sort of thing and 2) it is actually useful information to have.

Kitchen Roulette: is the term I use when I cook up all the things I have lying around the house. The goal is to make a complete, delicious and nutritious meal using only ingredients I have already purchased. That said, I do have a lot of "fancy" foods and spices already, so it's not that I just stumbled across the pomelos and chili oil...

Lastly, I adore cooking with other people, espcially S, L, A, A, and J...you know who you are.