Oven Fried Tofish Sandwiches

Maybe it was a commercial, I don't know, but I got a fierce craving for a fish sandwich the other day. Being vegan, a fast food fish sandwich is unthinkable, and well, gross. Needing to satisfy this craving, I pulled some tofu from my freezer and sliced it up. What came next was close to amazing.

Oven Fried Tofish Sandwiches

One package extra firm tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, sliced thin

1 c. breadcrumbs

1 t. kelp powder
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 t. paprika
1 t. salt
Olive oil
 
Mix everything but the tofu and olive oil together. Pour some of the olive oil in a separate bowl. Dip the tofu slices first in the olive oil, then into the breadcrumb mixture, coating evenly and well. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, turning the tofu over after 15 minutes.

Serve on buns with some lettuce and vegan tartar sauce. Enjoy!

I have made tofish sandwiches before, but fried them. I much better like making them this way. They were crispy, tasty and omg good. My son and I had two sandwiches each, we couldn't get enough! Even my non-vegan husband agreed they were good. Success!

I served it with potato chips since we seem to have had fries several times lately.

Fat Tuesday Pancakes!

I started a tradition in my house years ago, and even those times I've missed it, my kids have reminded me. This year I decided to have some fun with it, and colored the waffles in traditional purple, green and gold. Yes, I made waffles instead. I have a waffle maker and thought it might go quicker.

Fat Tuesday Pancakes...er...Waffles

 

 

1 c. flour
3/4 t. baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
3 T. sugar or stevia
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 c. unsweetened or vanilla soy or almond milk
2 T. vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together. Pour oil and milk and mix well with the dry ingredients. Cook according to your waffle maker instructions. Serve however you like them - we're traditional, vegan butter and syrup.

To make the colors, make three separate containers of the waffle batter. Start with 10 drops yellow in one, green in another and stir to get the color. For the purple, use 2:1 ratio of red and blue. I could have used more than I did, but since this was my first try, I didn't want the colors to come out too bright.

Creamy Noodle Casserole

After watching the documentary Forks Over Knives, and much discussion afterward, my son and I wondered if there was a companion book and if we could get a copy. The next day we made a trip to the library, where we were lucky enough to find it! We checked it out, brought it home, and promptly began salivating over some of the recipes featured at the back of the book.

One of the recipes was for Creamy Noodle Casserole. While you can find the recipe in the book, Forks Over Knives: The Plant Based Way to Health, I made a few adaptations due to what I had on hand.

For instance, I added some leftover mixed vegetables and leftover black eyed peas I had, and used vegetable broth instead of the portobello mushroom broth called for in the recipe. It made a LOT.

I highly recommend you get the book, not just for the recipes but for the awesome information contained in it, and its companion cookbook Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook. I was very fortunate to have this one gifted to me by my beautiful friend, Melissa.

And get the dvd. You'll want to watch it a few times, and share it with your friends. The dvd and books are all excellent!

Garlic Potato Soup

Years ago I worked in a very small office. Every time I would pass by a certain individual, I was curious as to why I always smelled pickles. I never saw him eat pickles, so I was quite baffled by it. It was later I learned he regularly ate raw garlic at lunch. Since I favored garlic pickles, it seemed to make sense that I associated the smell with pickles.

Years later I find myself a huge fan of garlic. I put it in as many dishes as possible, and yes, I even eat it raw now. I love, love, love the flavor!

Garlic Potato Soup

Olive oil
One onion, chopped
One carrot, chopped
One stalk of celery, choppped
Potatoes, washed and cubed (I use between 5 and 9)
One entire head of garlic, peeled
4 c. vegetable broth
2 c. water
1/2 t. thyme
One bay leaf

Saute the onion, carrot and celery in olive oil. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Cook about 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Mash the potatoes and garlic just a little, season with salt and pepper and serve. Enjoy!

Rice Crispy Treats

I grew up eating Rice Krispies Treats. I made them several times all by myself as a kid, and continued that tradition as I got older. It was a sad moment for me to discover marshmallows contained gelatin, and as a vegan, they seemed like something lost forever.

But that didn't happen!

We vegans, we find a way. Always.

I had heard there were vegan marshmallows out there, but hadn't really taken the time to look. I was at Whole Foods one day, when lo and behold my sight fell upon something wondrous! Vegan marshmallows! I snatched up a bag and into my shopping cart it went! Hallelujah! I didn't even have anything in mind to do with them, just wanted them to have on hand.

It was a little while later I thought of trying to make the treat from my childhood. I bought the store brand of the little crispy rice. I had some vegan butter at home. I followed no recipe, just what looked right.

I melted some butter on low and dumped the entire bag of vegan marshmallows into the pot. I stirred and stirred until it melted, then poured some of the cereal into the pot. I added as much as I thought looked good, and then added a little more. I stirred and folded, folded and stirred to make sure each little piece of cereal was coated.

I coated a baking pan, then poured in the hot, sticky cereal.

I didn't wait long - probably just until it was cool enough to touch - before pinching off a tidbit. It was so good! Happy dances were then performed in the kitchen before I forced myself away to let it finish cooling and setting.

I should say the pan didn't last long. I made everyone sample it (which, I should point out, none complained about that!).

Drat. Now I've made myself hungry for them. Okay, off to make some more!

Potato and Kale Soup

La Fheile Bride sona daoibh! Happy St. Brigid's Day!

Part of my ancestry is Irish. Probably explains why I like potatoes so much. Growing up, my mom tells me that they referred to white potatoes as Irish potatoes, to differentiate them from sweet potatoes. Her ancestors did not emigrate during the potato famine, but came to a new country prior, so we never had that association of potatoes and starving.

So it seems fitting that on this day of celebrating Brigid, I should serve something with potatoes.

Potato and Kale Soup

One onion, chopped
Olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
Potatoes (I tend to use about nine of them, washed but unpeeled), cut into chunks
One sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
6 c. water
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
One bunch of kale, washed, stems removed, and leaves chopped

Saute onions in the olive oil until softened. Add garlic and potatoes and stir to coat with the oil. Add water and bring to a boil. Let simmer about 20 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Add seasonings, and the kale and heat through. Soup will thicken as it cools.

I have seen so many varieties of this soup, and given different names like Tuscan or Persian, depending on what is added or subtracted. I added Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage to mine, cut up into bite sized pieces. In the past I've added diced tomatoes. You could also try the Field Roast Mexican Chipotle for a spicier soup.

No matter what, this soup is yummy! Enjoy!

Need some ideas on how to celebrate Imbolc? Check this out!