Tofu in Pecan Sauce

If you aren't a fan of tofu, it's probably because you've never had it made well. Those squishy, marshmallowy squares really aren't very enticing, I gotta admit. I never make it that way.

Tofu in Pecan Sauce

One package extra firm tofu, frozen, boiled, pressed, sliced
One onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. thyme
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 c. chopped pecans
Vegan butter
3 T. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. vegan sour cream

In a frying pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the butter until softened. Add the pecans. Into the sour cream, mix the flour and seasonings. Add this to the onion mixture. Lay the tofu on top of this sauce, cover, reduce heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Turn the tofu over to get sauce on the other side. Cover again and let simmer a few more minutes. Watch the sauce doesn't burn. Serve over noodles. Enjoy!

I admit I was a little worried the tofu would be bland, not having marinated beforehand, but it absorbed this sauce readily and was absolutely delicious! The only thing I would do differently is to double the sauce.

Beefless Tips with Peanuts

I have been a fan of gardein beefless tips since the first time I tried them. My favorite way to prepare them is by sautéing chopped garlic in olive oil, then adding the beefless tips and some cracked peppercorn steak sauce. OMG, I could eat it every day! But, they also lend themselves to other yummy dishes.

Beefless Tips with Peanuts

One package gardein beefless tips
1 t. vegan vegetable or beef bouillon
1/2 c. water
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. cornstarch
1/2 c. dry roasted peanuts (watch out for gelatin!)
One small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 c. bok choy, chopped
One 16 oz. can bean sprouts, drained

In a wok or large skillet, heat up some olive oil. Stirfry the peanuts, onions and garlic until not quite soft. Add the bok choy and beefless tips and heat through. Mix together the water, soy sauce and cornstarch and pour into the pan. Add the bean sprouts and heat through. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Vegetable Garden Stew

When you grow your own vegetables, or are gifted with excess from a gardener friend, or you happen upon an excellent sale at the grocery store, a vegetable stew is always in order. It is so easy and so flexible.

Vegetable Garden Stew

One onion, chopped
One green bell pepper, chopped
One (or more!) clove garlic, chopped
One head of cauliflower, broken into smaller pieces
One can diced tomatoes
2 zucchini, peeled, sliced and quartered
Dash of salt, pepper, sage, thyme

In a Dutch oven, add all of the ingredients and enough water to not quite cover. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

Herbed Tofu Cutlets

It's been awhile since we've had tofu. I needed to correct that.

Herbed Tofu Cutlets

One block of extra firm tofu, frozen, boiled, pressed, sliced into triangles
1 c. soy sauce
3/4 c. dry white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. oregano
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 t. basil
Non dairy milk

Marinate the tofu triangles in the soy sauce, wine, garlic and oregano for at least an hour. In a plastic ziplock bag add the flour. In a separate ziplock bag, add both types of bread crumbs and the basil. Pour the milk into a shallow bowl.

In a frying pan, heat olive oil.

One at a time, add a tofu triangle to the flour and shake to coat. Dip it in the milk, then add it to the breadcrumb mixture and shake again, to coat. Place in frying pan and cook until nicely browned.

Repeat until all of the tofu is done.

Serve. Enjoy!

Stacked Enchiladas

Years ago I used to make an enchilada casserole that my husband adored. I still make it now, veganized, but I wanted to shake things up a little bit.

Stacked Enchiladas

One onion, chopped
1/2 c. non dairy milk
4 oz. can of chopped green chiles
One package vegan hamburger (I am partial to gardein beefless ground)
One can diced tomatoes
Corn tortillas
Shredded vegan pepper jack cheese

In some olive oil, sauté the onion. Add the green chiles, tomatoes and beefless ground and heat through. Stir in the non dairy milk to get a slightly creamy consistency.

In a casserole dish, layer the corn tortillas, onion mixture, and cheese. Continue layering and end with the cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

Dilled Chick'n Salad

Since we've been eating salads the traditional way, in a bowl with a fork, I decided to change it up a bit and make one you can eat on lettuce or in a sandwich.

Dilled Chick'n Salad

Vegan chick'n - I used Trader Joes chick'n strips - sautéed and diced
2 sticks of celery, chopped
4 oz. vegan cream cheese
1/2 c. vegan mayonnaise
1/4 c. vegan sour cream
1 T. dill
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. coarse ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix well. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve. Enjoy!

We ate ours on bread topped with lettuce. Everyone wanted at least two sandwiches each!

Healthful Salad

Continuing our walks, I am continuing with the salad experiments. And with the weather getting progressively warmer, I am totally okay with this!

Healthful Salad

Choice of dark green lettuce
One cucumber, peeled and cubed
Handful of grape tomatoes, halved
One bell pepper, diced
One avocado, diced
5 radishes, sliced
One peach, cubed
3 pineapple slices, cubed
One small can of mandarin oranges, drained
Handful of strawberries, sliced
Half of a red onion, chopped

Mix all of the above in a large bowl, and pour on the dressing:

2 t. mustard
6 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. white pepper
3 T. canola oil
1 T. parsley
1/2 t. dill
1/4 t. tarragon
1/4 t. basil

Mix well and pour over salad.

Mix the dressing into the salad until well coated. Cover and chill under serving time. Serve. Enjoy.

Got mixed reviews. Hubby didn't care for it, son loved it. Next time I would leave out the cucumber and cut back on the lemon juice. Otherwise, I liked it, too.

Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad

My dad told me he doesn't like pasta salad. I told him he has never tried mine. I can make a convert of anyone!

Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad

One package vegetable spiral pasta
1 c. vegan mayonnaise
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. stevia
1 t. garlic powder
One bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 c. vegan bacon bits
One head of cauliflower, chopped
One bunch broccoli, chopped
One red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c. shredded vegan white cheese

Cook pasta per package instructions, drain and let cool. Mix all ingredients in one very large bowl and stir to mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for several hours. Stir again before serving. Serve. Enjoy!

Asian Spinach Salad

Hubby and I have started going for walks every day we can. I've noticed that after every walk, he really wants a salad. This usually means we go to the grocery store and take advantage of the salad bar. So, to save some time, and get to try out new recipes, I've decided to make different salads at home.

Asian Spinach Salad

1/2 c. dry roasted peanuts
Fresh spinach leaves (I used the prepackaged, prewashed kind)
10 grape tomatoes, halved
Thinly sliced red onion (as much or as little as you like)
2 T.  rice vinegar
1 T. soy sauce
1/8 t. cayenne
6 T. canola or peanut oil

Mix the rice vinegar, soy sauce, cayenne and oil together. Shake well. Assemble remaining ingredients in a bowl, and pour on the dressing. Mix gently but well, to coat everything evenly. Serve. Enjoy!

Southern Skillet Dish

I was looking through my mom's collection of old Southern cookbooks, and came across a recipe for barbecue corn. This was amusing, because there was nothing barbecue-y about the recipe. It sounded pretty good, though, so I decided to adapt it.

Southern Skillet Dish (because I didn't know what else to call it!)

One bag of vegan beef crumbles
One green bell pepper, chopped
One stalk celery, chopped
One onion, chopped
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. black pepper
Dash of Tabasco sauce
One can of corn, drained
1/2 c. vegetable juice

Saute the bell pepper, celery and onion in a small amount of olive oil, under tender. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

Homestyle Barbecue Sandwiches

I live in Texas, and here, barbecue is just a thing. A big thing. There's probably something wrong with you if you don't eat it or cook it or, well, yeah. Not vegan friendly, to be sure.

Before I was vegan, my husband and I used to go out for barbecue sandwiches. Now he goes for the barbecue and I get fried okra. I needed to remedy this.

So I did.

Homestyle Barbecue Sandwiches

One can tomato puree
1 c. water
1 c. barbecue sauce

Heat everything in a frying pan. Add either vegan beef strips or vegan ground beef and heat through. Serve on buns with your favorite toppings. We like sliced onion.

I made this two different times, using either the beef strips or the ground beef. The beef strips were from Trader Joe's, and the ground beef was Gardein. I gotta say I much preferred the ground beef to the strips. It seemed to absorb the sauce better and stretch further.

Serve with chips, or French fries, or fried okra!

Warning - they are messy! Keep lots of napkins close by!

Needless to say, I am happy to resume my place amongst the barbecue lovers, vegan and cruelty free style!

Seasoned Black Beans and Cilantro Lime Rice

The other day I picked up some frozen vegan tamales at the grocery store, on a whim. Remembering how much I like the seasoned black beans and cilantro lime rice at our new favorite taco place, I decided to make some at home to accompany the tamales.

Seasoned Black Beans

2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. cumin
One can black beans, drained and rinsed
1-1/3 c. vegetable juice
1/2 t. salt
Handful of chopped cilantro

Saute the garlic and cumin in the olive oil. Add the beans, juice and salt and heat through. Remove from heat and toss in the cilantro. Mix gently.

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 c. rice
1 t. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. lime juice
16 oz. vegetable broth
1 c. water
1 T. lime juice
Handful of chopped cilantro

Bring the rice, butter, garlic, lime juice, vegetable broth and water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff the rice. Add the additional lime juice and cilantro and mix gently.

Serve. Enjoy!

White Chili

A heckuva storm blew through here the other day. A solid day of rain. It was wonderful! Despite moving into late spring and coming perilously close to summer, it was a perfect day for chili.

White Chili

1 c. dried great northern beans, rinsed
One clove garlic, minced
One onion, chopped
2 t. oregano
One can vegan cream of mushroom soup
6 c. water
1 t. cumin
One can of chopped green chiles

Add everything to a crockpot and cook on low for 10 hours. During the last hour I added some vegan chicken strips. Serve. Enjoy!

You can top your chili with diced avocado and a spoonful of vegan sour cream, if you like. White chili traditionally is made with chicken, but honestly, I didn't feel the chicken added anything. Next time I think I will forego the chicken and add more beans. You can also add a dab of hot pepper sauce, if you like, but I thought it was plenty spicy as is.

Summer Pasta Salad

---

Tofurky has these artisan sausages, and I had to grab a couple of them. I knew what I would do with the first one right away, but the other one stumped me. So I went to the Tofurky website and found the perfect recipe!

Summer Pasta Salad

1 package bow tie pasta
1 package Tofurky Spinach Pesto Sausage, sliced into coins
2 T. olive oil
One red onion, sliced
Handful of fresh spinach leaves
One yellow bell pepper, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1/3 c. balsamic vinaigrette dressing

 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse and set aside.

Brown the sausage for a few minutes in the olive oil. Remove sausages and drain on a paper towel, set aside. Cook the onion for a few minutes stirring often and brown lightly. Remove pan from heat and add spinach, stirring until the spinach wilts lightly. Transfer onions and spinach to a bowl. Add peppers, tomatoes, vinaigrette and pasta. Add the sausage to the bowl and mix all together. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve. Enjoy!

 

The original recipe can be found here.

I also got the Tofurky Chick'n and Apple Sausage and used it to make Sausage and Sauerkraut. It was fantastic!

 

Beer and Cheese Potato Chowder

It has been one rollercoaster of a year so far. Health issues, the death of my beloved Siamese, Fergus, and just general mayhem. I am determined that this second half will be better. My daughter is getting married, so it most definitely will be grand!

With all that has been happening, I have sorely neglected my blogs. That ends today. I have had several friends asking for this recipe, so here it is!

Beer and Cheese Potato Chowder

2-3 lbs. potatoes, diced
One onion, diced
One stalk of celery, diced
One clove garlic, minced
1/4 t. pepper
16 oz. vegetable broth
One can of beer
2 c. shredded vegan cheddar cheese
1/2 c. vegan sour cream

Add all ingredients except for cheese and sour cream to a crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Stir in the cheese and sour cream and cover until it melts. Serve. Enjoy!

I added garlic and onion croutons, but it didn't really need it.