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!

Meat(less)loaf

There is something definitely homey about meatloaf. It makes such a perfect sit down kind of meal. I always hear how the leftovers make for good sandwiches, but we never manage to have any leftover. Go figure.

Meat(less)loaf

Olive oil
One onion, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
One can pinto beans, drained (or cooked from dried if you have the time)
One package extra firm tofu, crumbled (see note)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. tomato paste
1 T. mustard
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped fine
1/2 c. old fashioned oats (not quick)
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
1/2 c. vital wheat gluten
1 T. parsley
1 T. basil
1 T. thyme
1 T. savory
Salt and pepper

Saute in oil the onion, celery, carrots and garlic until softened. In a food processer, add the tofu, soy sauce, tomato paste, mustard and walnuts. Whir until a paste. In a large bowl, add the oats, panko crumbs and vital wheat gluten. Add the herbs and salt and pepper. Now stir in the tofu paste and the sautéed vegetables until mixed well. Pour this into an oiled or sprayed loaf pan, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool slightly before removing from pan and slicing.

We topped our with a spicy ketchup and served it with mashed sweet potatoes and green beans.

Okay, about the tofu. You may have noticed that when it comes to tofu I typically say to freeze it in the package, boil to thaw and press to remove liquid. This is an excellent process to go through if you are sautéing or frying the tofu. But for this recipe, I do something a little different. I take the tofu out of the package before freezing. I put it in a Ziploc sandwich bag without the liquid from the package and freeze it. It does turn yellow, but that's okay. I don't boil it, just remove it from the freezer and let it thaw. I do squeeze out the excess liquid. I have found that freezing tofu this way makes it ideally crumbly for things like meatloaves or using in place of eggs in egg salad.

Fried Avocado Tacos

There is a local restaurant that my family goes to occasionally. Mostly for their spinach tamales. The last time we were there, while washing my hands in the bathroom, I noticed a sign the restaurant had posted on the wall about their new dishes. Avocado tacos. Avocado tacos?! Well, that certainly got a return trip!

They were only okay. While we were disappointed, it inspired me to try to make my own.

Fried Avocado Tacos

Avocados
2 c. beer (Mexican beer if you can find it)
2 c. flour

2 t. salt 

2 t. agave nectar 

1 t. baking powder 

2 t. Sriracha sauce

2 c. panko bread crumbs 

Peel and slice the avocados. In a bowl, mix the beer, flour, salt, agave nectar, baking powder and Sriracha sauce. In a Ziploc baggie, add the panko bread crumbs.

Dip the avocado slices in the beer batter, then add to the Ziploc baggie and give it a good shake to coat the avocado. Do this with all of the avocado slices.

In a frying pan in hot oil, deep fry the avocado slices until nicely browned.

Serve the avocado slices in taco shells with lettuce, tomatoes and a dab of vegan sour cream. You can also sprinkle on some chopped cilantro and a spray of lime juice. Enjoy!

Healthy Fried Mushrooms and Okra

I love the occasional treat of fried foods, but really don't like the frying part. And then there's that niggling at the back of my brain telling me not to eat fried foods, they are so bad for me! So I found a way to get fried foods without the danger of getting nailed by popping hot oil and the other bad stuff that goes with it - oven frying!

Oven Fried Mushrooms

1/2 c. plain soy milk
1/2 c. vegetable broth
2 T. olive oil
1/2 c. nutritional yeast
One package whole mushrooms
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
2 t. basil
2 t. oregano
Cajun seasoning to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Whisk wet ingredients and nutritional yeast in large bowl. Toss mushrooms in this mixture and coat well. Combine remaining ingredients in a large plastic bag. Scoop mushrooms into bag with a slotted spoon and shake until well coated. Arrange on a cookie sheet, spread out evenly and spray with an oil spray. Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes.

Oven Fried Okra

One package frozen sliced okra, thawed
1 t. Cajun or creole seasoning
1/2 t. garlic salt
1 c. corn meal
Oil spray

Spray the inside of a gallon sized ziplock baggie with the oil spray. Add the okra to the bag with the Cajun seasoning and garlic salt. Seal bag and shake vigorously. Add the cornmeal to the bag and shake up again. Spread the okra over a cookie sheet, spread out evenly and spray okra with oil spray. Bake at 425 for 40 minutes.

After 20 minutes, flip both mushrooms and okra and spray once more with oil spray. And yes, I put both the mushrooms and the okra on the same cookie sheet.

Serve. Enjoy!

There were no leftovers. Serve it with your favorite dressing. Our dressing of choice is homemade vegan ranch. Yummy!

Chicken Fried Tofu

Growing up in Texas, there are two dishes you can find served at a restaurant within a stone's throw, no matter where you are. Barbecue and chicken fried steak.

And if you are in Texas, never, ever, ever, refer to chicken fried steak as country fried steak. Trust me on this.

As I have tried to explain to many meat eaters, I bet nine times out of ten it is not the meat they like so much as it is the flavors of the food. To that end I like to make dishes that even I-will-never-be-vegan folks will eat and proclaim it delicious.

Chicken Fried Tofu

One package extra firm tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, sliced into 1/4" slices
3 T. nutritional yeast
2 T. panko breadcrumbs
2 T. soy sauce
Old Bay seasoning
Salt

In one shallow bowl, combine the nutritional yeast and breadcrumbs and mix well. In another shallow bowl, pour in the soy sauce. Dip the tofu slices in the soy sauce and place in the breadcrumbs mixture, coat well on both sides. Place coated pieces on a sprayed baking pan. Sprinkle on some Old Bay and salt. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over, season and bake for another 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve. Enjoy!

I served mine with some peppered cream gravy, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Delish!

What I like most about this recipe is it is baked, not deep fried. Yummy, healthy AND cruelty-free!

Panko Encrusted Seitan Cutlets

I am always on the lookout for new things to try or new ways to do it. I have numerous cookbooks and have been collecting recipes since I was 15 years old. It's fun to look through some of the recipes I have and sometimes I wonder *what was I thinking* or *OMG this sounds gross!* It amazes me sometimes what some cooks will come up with and think it will be even marginally palatable. And then there are those that I think sound odd but when tasted, are really quite good!

None of that, however, applies to this dish. From the moment I saw it I thought it would be scrumptious. It was!

Panko Encrusted Seitan Chops

Seitan
1 c. panko breadcrumbs
3 T. fresh chopped rosemary
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper

Make the seitan using the Seitan with Satan recipe, except substitute garbanzo bean flour for the nutritional yeast. Also, this time around I used Braggs Aminos in place of the soy sauce. No other reason than I was out of soy sauce! Let it drain after cooking. Slice into cutlets, about little less than 1/2 inch thick.

Mix the bread crumbs and other ingredients together.

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium high. Press the cutlets into the breadcrumb mixture until nicely covered, then place in the oil in the frying pan and cook until nicely brown on one side. Flip and brown on the other.

I served it with apples and dried cranberries baked in maple, ginger and brown sugar. My daughter noted that running her cutlet pieces through the mapley liquid added a really nice additional flavor to the dish.

If you've never had seitan (pronounced say-tahn) before, you are in for a treat. Seitan is derived from the protein portion of wheat and has a chewy texture. If you are a non-vegan or a vegan convert, it is a great substitute for meat, especially if you are trying to limit your soy consumption. According to Barbara and Leonard Jacobs in their excellent book Cooking with Seitan, "seitan has been a staple food among vegetarian monks of China, Russian wheat farmers, peasants of Southeast Asia, and Mormons. People who had traditionally eaten wheat had also discovered a method to extract the gluten and create a seitan-like product."

You can make your own, like I do, or buy it commercially made. You will find it in tubs or vacuum packs soaking in marinade in either the refrigerator or the freezer section of many natural food stores. You may also find frozen or fresh gluten in Asian markets by the name Mi-Tan. As gluten is a low sodium and extremely lowfat protein (containing around 10 mg. sodium, 0 g. fat, and 7.5 g. protein per ounce in its raw state), additional processing is what may add unhealthy attributes. Most of the commercially prepared seitan contains a considerable amount of sodium (up to 100 mg. per ounce). If you choose to deep-fry the gluten, the fat content will jump from virtually zero to the number of grams in whatever oil is absorbed (at 4.5 grams per teaspoon).

Like I said, I prefer to make my own, because then I can change up ingredients (as I did in this recipe) to suit me. I haven't tried changing up to flavors to mimic different meats, like pork, poultry or seafood, but I do happen to have a cookbook that gives the ingredients to do that very thing. Definitely on my list of things to try!

Try this dish. I think you'll like it!

Seitan