Mesir Wat

So, I finally hunted down some berbere (you know, through the wild and raucous aisles that are known as Amazon) and I'm now able to make myself some "Ethiopian" food. It's probably not authentic at all, but it has a sort of taste that I'm looking for. Or maybe it is kind of authentic. I'm not really sure. Anywho, this is my recipe for Mesir Wat, which is a lentil stew. I added berbere to this so it's probably more like kik wat... but with lentils. I have no idea. This is why I need a copy of Papa Tofu Loves Ethiopian Food.

To round out this meal, I served it with sauteed spinach (no collards on hand, otherwise I would have tried my hand at Ye'abesha Gomen. I love me some greens) and leftover potatoes that I cut up and sauteed in some coconut oil. Good idea, by the way!

I used red lentils, which normally cook pretty quickly, but I wanted to get this stew nice and thick so I simmered it about an hour. Just FYI. Oh, and most recipes for mesir wat contain a fair amount of oil. What you do is simmer the onion and the spices in the oil before you ever add the lentils. I might try that next time, but for now I just sauteed the onions and spices in about one tablespoon of oil.

Mesir Wat:
1 c. split red lentils, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tb. neutral-flavored oil
1/2 Tb. coconut oil
1 Tb. berbere
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. hot paprika 
4 c. water
1/2 tsp. sea salt

1. In a large saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in the oil over medium heat until soft and golden, about 10-12 minutes. You want to cook it a little slower than usual.

2. Add the berbere, cumin, and paprika and let it cook another 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the lentils and the water. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 45-1 hour. I used medium-low. You want to cook it until it's nice and thick, without a lot of extra water.

3. Before serving, stir in 1/2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste). Enjoy!

This will make four small-ish servings at around 206 calories, 4.5 g. fat, and 11.7 grams protein. The small serving is good if you have some sauteed greens and a starch (like potatoes, millet, or injeera to go with it). Otherwise, I'd go ahead and serve up two!

Anywho, next week I'm flying down to Athens, Georgia and I hear there are some very good vegetarian/vegan places down there. Athens is nothing like the town I currently live in. They have hummus places and brunch places and coffee places and Indian and Thai places (and that's just the food!). I'll have to let you all know what I try out. Have a great afternoon!

Golden Bowl: Take Two

I've had a hankering for cabbage lately, but I'm not really in the mood for anything spicy or Asian. I thought about the kind of food that I would like to eat and that turned out to be "comfort food". Many people's definition includes such items as macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chili, etc., but I've never been a mac n' cheese eater (not even before I went vegan), and I don't really care too much for pasta-heavy dishes. For me, comfort food means a return to the ingredients and flavors I'm most familiar with. The ones I grew up eating: onions, celery, mushrooms, carrots, beans, rice, potatoes...

So needless to say, I've been eating quite a few of these Golden Bowls. This version here is a winter-version of my other Golden Bowl recipe which features summer squash. It has all the items I want, regular ol' vegetables, a little salt and nutritional yeast for flavor, and tofu for protein. Also, the veggies are a little beyond crisp-tender with just the right about of bite to them without being soggy.

This recipe will serve two as a main dish when served with a cooked grain. Of course, I often just pile the whole skillet into a tupperware container and take it to work with me. It's super easy to make and it comes together in a flash.

Golden Bowl II (or, Attack of the Late Winter Vegetables):
1/2 a carton of extra-firm tofu, pressed and drained 15 minutes, cut into small cubes
2 c. green cabbage, cored and shredded
1 c. celery, sliced on a bias (about 3 stalks)
2/3 c. sliced white button mushrooms (about 4-5)
1 large carrot, sliced
1/2 a red bell pepper, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
2 Tb. nutritional yeast
Bragg's liquid aminos and/or salt

1. In a large skillet sprayed with some nonstick, saute the tofu cubes over medium-high heat until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally with a spatula. Once golden, sprinkle the cubes with some Bragg's liquid aminos (as desired) and set aside. Before cooking the veggies, you may need to wipe out the skillet.

2. Respray the skillet with some nonstick, add all the veggies and saute for five minutes. Add the tofu cubes back to the skillet and continue cooking the veggies another 2-3 minutes, or until the cabbage is mostly soft with just a little bit of crunch.

3. Turn off the heat and toss the veggies/tofu with the nutritional yeast plus some more Bragg's/salt to taste. Enjoy!

I love my golden bowls!

This particular version has: 384 calories, 15 grams of fat, 17 grams of fiber, 34 grams of protein, your entire RDA of Vitamin A and Vitamin C, plus a third of your daily iron and calcium. If you eat the whole thing by itself. Which I do. Every time. So good. Although I'm not gonna lie, I gotta take one of those Beano meltaways before I do. Darn cruciferous vegetables...

                                                                                           Noochy goodness.

I've also been juicing more, just like I said I would! I got a new juicer (one of them Breville juice fountains, though not the super-expensive ones) and gave my old Juiceman, Jr. (which worked really well actually!) to my parents who still juice quite a bit (I'm so proud!). Amber recently shared a juice recipe on her blog, Almost Vegan and it's a pretty famous one that's been making the rounds for quite a while. And for good reason. It's delicious!

It's a basic mix of kale, celery, cucumber, green apple. lemon, and ginger. It's addiciting and I feel so vibrant after drinking it. In fact, I drank it at 7 pm and actually rolled around in bed all night because I was so wired! I couldn't sleep at all. I just had way too much energy! I'm real excited to begin starting my mornings with one of these because they make me feel great.

I have a lot of good recipes to share with you all. More healthy comfort food for sure. I made vegan reubens last night and they were awesome (and I followed that up with a reuben salad today!). I also have a recipe for mocha chip muffins (probably gluten-free, though I know for sure I'll be doing some GF baking), sun-dried tomato pesto, and I'll be trying my hand at doing some Ethiopian cooking in my own kitchen. I'm seriously craving some Blue Nile right about now. Have a great night!

A Medley of Eats

So... I've been eating a lot of simple things for lunch/dinner lately, but they are hearty and comforting and that's what winter food is all about:

 

1. Roasted Vegetables with Kale

I simply roasted some cauliflower, sweet potatoes, garlic, onions, and baby Yukon Gold potatoes with a little olive oil and salt. I boiled some chopped kale for a couple minutes, then drained it and put it on the baking sheet with the veggies the last five minutes of cooking to crisp up a little. 

2. Grain and Veggie Salads

This one here is a packaged salad blend + romaine + baby spinach topped with cooked brown rice, steamed butternut squash, hemp seeds, and raspberry vinaigrette. A very tasty combination. I've also been drinking this Dark Chocolate Mate I found from the Republic of Tea (in the corner of the photo). I love yerba mate and this chocolate-flavored variety is no exception! It has as much caffeine in it as a really strong espresso (100 mg) so I generally limit myself to one cup before work. It gives a good boost!

3. Various Miso Soups

I've been loving the miso lately. For this particular soup I sautéed together some onion, shiitake mushrooms, and thinly sliced carrot. I also boiled some edamame and tossed it with some walnut and toasted sesame oil. At work, I combined together the sautéed veggies, the edamame, some leftover grain (red quinoa in this case), and water. After heating it up I added a tablespoon of white miso, some Bragg's, and baby spinach and stirred until the spinach was wilted. It made a real quick and easy lunch at work. I've been making lots of variations on this combination too (sautéed veggies + greens + edamame/tofu + miso).

4. Happy Herbivore's Chickpea Tacos

What an easy, tasty idea! The only thing I did differently was use one tablespoon of my jarred taco mix instead of all the spices she had listed (my mix has the same ingredients). I also used mashed avocado to help keep the beans in place in the taco. I then topped it with pickled onions from Viva Vegan (which really brought it together!) and romaine. Definitely a tasty lunch.

5. Nut Butter-Stuffed Dates

I don't have a picture of this one, but lots of other bloggers do! I had always seen almond butter stuffed dates but I was pretty "meh" about it. Sure, I like almond butter and I love me some medjools, but I doubted the combination as being anything special. 

At least, until I made my own almond butter stuffed dates! Alone, those two foods are tasty, but when you combine them, they are amazing! They complement each other perfectly, especially if you have those big, soft medjool dates.

Big Lots Find-O-The Month:

 Source

I found Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lara Bars at my Big Lots this month! And not as individual bars, either. They are being sold in a five-pack box for $2.80 (that's $0.56 a bar!!!). So if you have a Big Lots near you, check it out and you just might find yourself a box (or two or three!). I also found some Arrowhead Mills no salt almond butter there for $2.50 and that was what set me off on my date-stuffing marathon. 

Luckily, if I move to Georgia, the city I would live in also has a Big Lots. I don't know what I would do without that place! Lol.

Chickpea-Vegetable Miso Breakfast Soup

Inspired by my latest edition of Whole Living magazine, I decided to try something a little different for breakfast and I made a veggie-heavy miso soup. I know that miso for breakfast is popular in Japan (or so I'm told), but had never tried it out for myself. So, this recipe is pretty much the one from Whole Living, but I pared down the recipe to just make one serving, not four, and I reduced both the cooking time and the overall fat content.

This soup didn't take very long to make, which is good, because it is breakfast after all. I know that when I wake up I'm cranky, need coffee, and have grumblings in my tummy, so breakfast must be a fairly quick ordeal. I woke up on my day off, so I had a little extra time to spare to make this gem of a veggie soup. It took me about 25 minutes, which I wouldn't exactly consider quick (for breakfast anyway), so to speed up the process I would chop everything up the night before and have it in a container ready-to-go. I've made this recipe about three times already (that's how you know it's tasty!) and I also started sauteing the broccoli with the celery and onions which shaves off another five minutes or so. Instead of coffee though, I drank some hot lemon water with this.

The coffee came later, lol.
                           

Miso-Vegetable Soup For One:
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 Tb. yellow onion, minced (1/8 an onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
half a carrot, chopped
1/2 c. broccoli florets, chopped
1/4 c. chickpeas (rinsed if from a can)
1/4 c. vegetable broth (can use water instead, but I always have an open container around)
1 c. water
1/2 Tb. white miso
Sea salt, to taste

1. In a small saucepan sprayed with nonstick, saute the celery, onion, garlic, carrot, and broccoli for about 5 minutes, or until softened.

2. Add the chickpeas, vegetable broth, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes (you may have to simmer a little longer if you want your broccoli to be completely soft. I'm indifferent). Remove from heat.

3. Mix the miso with 1/2 Tb. cool water until blended, then stir into the soup. Add salt to taste, then serve!

This breakfast really is a nice change of pace, and I'm sure it will fit on everyone's diet/detox plan for this new year we've stumbled into. This meal will set you back only 1 gram of fat and 147 calories. Not only that, but you will gain 7 grams of protein, all your Vitamin A for the day, more than 3/4 your daily Vitamin C, and 8 grams of fiber. That doesn't even include the goodness you get from miso!

I don't really have any New Year's Resolutions other than to continue to eat healthy and stay active. Although, I would really like to juice more, so I'm going to work on that. Oh, and maybe one of these days I'll mess around with my camera long enough to figure out how to remove the date from each one of my photos... 

Anywho, I feel like this year will be kind of epic compared to the steady last couple of years I've had, so I guess we'll see how it all turns out!

Whole Foods Salad: Take One

Like a majority of others, I am completely obsessed with Whole Foods' salad bar. It doesn't matter what I put on my creation, it will always taste good. As long as they have some of my favorite items: marinated gigante beans (delicious!), toasted pumpkin seeds, and shredded raw veggies of some sort, I am a happy camper.

Unfortunately, I live almost an hour and a half from the nearest Whole Foods, so if I wind up going there it becomes quite an excursion. It always take a few hours, involves a giant shopping list, and of course, eating an amazing salad at the salad bar and drinking a kombucha from the tap.

After eating wicked amounts of sugar over the holidays, I have been mega-craving salads, beans, and other healthy foods. And since I'd much rather be feeling like my usual vibrant and healthy self than a sluggish mess of brain fog, I decided to go ahead and start afresh with my diet. Why wait until the New Year to start over if I can do it today and feel great now?

So, due to the fact that I yearn for some crisp, clean vegetables and whole grains and beans, I did my best to recreate my favorite Whole Foods salad:

Bascially, it's a layered salad made up of the following:
2 c. mixed salad greens and baby spinach
1 c. chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 c. steamed squash (delicata this time around, 10 min. to steam)
1/2 c. butter beans, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 c. cooked quinoa or brown rice
A heaping 1/8 c. raw beets, shredded
1/8 c. raw zucchini, shredded
1/8 c. raw carrots, shredded
1/8 c. daikon, shredded
2 Tb. low-fat raspberry vinaigrette
2 Tb. chopped green onion
1 tsp. shelled hemp seeds

The major difference between my homemade salad and the Whole Foods one is that I usually add a little bit of baked tofu and use pumpkin seeds instead of hemp on the WF one. Also, at Whole Foods I use the Follow Your Heart Oil-Free Tamari-Miso dressing. It is amazing! I will buy some the next time I down there.

Also, you might be thinking, "raw beets?? raw zucchini?? daikon??". These raw shredded veggies are a great addition to your salad. You don't really notice the flavor because they're shredded up so fine but they add lots of nutrition. Daikon tastes like a sweeter, milder radish when raw, and I like it a lot, but you could also leave it out. I just shred a good amount at once that way I have plenty on hand for awhile.

As for delicata squash, some people really like it, but I wasn't very impressed. I don't really like the skin on it (which is edible), so if I ever cook it again, I'll leave off the skin. However, that seems like a lot of work and I really love butternut (what can I say?) so I'll probably stick to steamed butternut for my salads. Although, I do have a carnival squash I have yet to roast and I'd still like to try a kabocha sometime this winter, if I can find one. 

Overall, this is a mega tasty salad. I will eat it until I run out of raspberry vinaigrette, then I will switch things up a bit!

Almond Joy Cake!

Alright! I baked a cake! I love baking those things! I wanted a cake for my graduation party, and since it was MY party and MY cake I make it the way I wanted. With coconut. Ha ha!

This cake had two layers of moist vanilla-almond cake, a dark chocolate-coconut-almond filling, and a fluffy dark chocolate frosting. It was then garnished with sliced almonds.

 CAKE. VEGAN LAYER CAKE. I win.

So actually, I suppose it's a Mounds cake... with almonds... but eh. I think Almond Joy has more name recognition. Lol. For the chocolate, I used Enjoy Life brand (which is gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free. Also, it's affordable). I think that it is a milder chocolate, so it's good for people who don't have as much love for the dark stuff. It also comes in the bag as mini chips so it's fairly easy to measure out and melt.

Almond Joy Cake:
For the cake:
3 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. turbinado sugar
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. coconut oil (warmed to liquid, then measured)
2 Tb. no-sugar-added applesauce
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/2 Tb. rice vinegar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure almond extract

For the frosting/filling:
2 c. vegan chocolate chips (12 oz., which is one full bag plus part of another)
1/2 c. plain coconut creamer (or soy creamer)
2 sticks Earth Balance, softened
2 c. powdered sugar (make sure there are no lumps, sift if you have to)

1 c. sweetened, flaked coconut
1/3 c. sliced almonds, plus additional almonds to decorate the top of the cake

FOR THE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare two 8" rounds by covering the bottom and sides with parchment paper, using a spritz of nonstick to help them adhere to the pan. Spray the bottom of each round with some more nonstick.

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, canola oil, coconut oil, applesauce, almond milk, vinegar, vanilla and almond extracts until completely combined.
3. Beat in half the flour on low speed.
4. Stir in last half the flour until combined.
5. Pour half the batter into each of the cake pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans about 5 minutes, then let them finish cooling on a wire rack.

FOR THE FROSTING:
1. Combine the chocolate and the coconut creamer in a bowl and heat in the microwave until the chocolate is melted. Stir it every 30 seconds or so until it is completely smooth. Remove it from the microwave and allow it to cool about 15 minutes.
2. Beat together the softened Earth Balance and powdered sugar until it's nice and fluffy, then add the melted chocolate.
3. Beat in the melted chocolate and whip the frosting together about five minutes, so that it is well combined. Set aside.

*It's IMPORTANT that the chocolate has cooled (until it's lukewarm to touch), otherwise it will melt the butter!!*

FOR THE COCONUT-ALMOND FILLING:
1. Remove about 1/3 the prepared frosting and place it into a small bowl.
2. Add in the flaked coconut and sliced almonds and mix completely. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
1. Remove the parchment paper and place it onto the platter/cake tray that you plan on serving it on.
2. Place one layer right side up, and cover the top of it with the coconut-almond filling.
3. Place the second layer UPSIDE DOWN so that the flat part is on top. This will give you a nice, smooth surface to decorate. You may need to cut off part of the top of the second layer so that the cake will be level (if you want).
4. Use the rest of the frosting to completely cover the sides and the top of the cake. It helps if you have a flat spatula to smooth it out with. I would frost the cake as soon as the cake is cool enough to handle frosting. Otherwise, it might harden. 

Makes a good breakfast...

Garnish with sliced almonds and flaked coconut! Also, I think that you should leave this cake at room temperature. It tends to harden up if left in the fridge. I also liked to eat my slices nuked in the microwave for about 10 seconds so that the chocolate got slightly melty.

This cake got a thumbs up from all who tried it... even those who didn't care too much for coconut!

Also, it is official. Now that I have eaten cake, I am a university graduate! I'll have an interesting announcement regarding that in February or so, and it may just change the direction my blog is headed... literally... like, the Midwest Vegan will probably be moving to Georgia this summer!

ANYWHO, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! My boyfriend got me a wok, a bamboo steamer, and the Happy Herbivore cookbook (he knows me so well!). Which is good, because I've really wanted to make steamed dumpling for forever. Also, I make a lot of stir-fry and the regular ol' skillet just ain't cutting it. And last but not least, I make some awesome vegan cinnamon rolls for Christmas for my family (who loved them!) and I shall post the recipe before New Year. After all, something-something New Year's resolutions something something, am I right?

(So yes, lots of healthy stuff coming from me in a couple of days!).

Pad Thai with Edamame!

Haha. My last few posts have been pretty centered on Asian ingredients and flavors and this one is no different! However, I do feel the winds of change a-blowin' and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to wander off into some Indian flavors for awhile. Well, I mean I'm at least gonna make some chickpeas and butternut squash (cooked in coconut milk) because I've been hoarding those two ingredients for awhile. I live with three other people and our pantry has started getting crazy! Must... clear... space!!

In a change of pace from my usual Korean and Chinese-styled lunches, I made something Thai-ish. It's something I've made for a long time, and each time I made it I tweaked it a little bit more. I believe it's finally done being tweaked with and is now ready for your own enjoyment! It's really not that authentic, but I did my best with what I had available, lol. I also used edamame (which is obviously not Thai) instead of tofu because I felt I was kind of in a tofu rut and I really liked it a lot. And I'm not gonna lie, boiling some edamame for a couple minutes is really super easy. Add the edamame to some packaged broccoli slaw, a touch of fresh ingredients, and some rice noodles, and you've got your self a very quick meal. It will definitely be on your table in 30 minutes.

 

This is what pad Thai looks like naked. Must... garnish...

I actually made up the sauce part the night before to save even more time. It worked just fine! You could also chop up all the garnishes beforehand too, if you know you're going to be in a pinch. Also, I don't have a picture of it all garnished and fancy. I forgot. All well. I'll be making this again!

Pad Thai with Edamame:
1 c. frozen shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions
1 pkg. broccoli slaw
1/2 c. minced shallots (about 2-3 shallots, can use onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tb. coconut oil

Sauce:
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
1 tsp. lime zest
3 Tb. Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)
1 Tb. brown sugar
1 tsp. tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
1/2 tsp. tamarind paste
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Rice noodles, cooked according to package directions, to serve
Chopped peanuts, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve
Chopped cilantro, to serve
Sesame seeds, to serve
Chopped green onions, to serve
Sriracha, to serve

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

2. In a large skillet or wok on medium-high, add the coconut oil and let it melt. Add the minced shallots and garlic and cook until softened and golden, about 3 minutes.

3. Add the broccoli slaw, cooked edamame, and sauce, and cook another 5-7 minutes, or until the slaw is crisp-tender and the sauce has thickened/cooked into the veggies. You can add more tapioca starch if necessary.

4. Serve the Pad Thai over the rice noodles, and garnish with the peanuts, cilantro, sesame seeds, green onions, lime wedges, and sriracha.

This makes your kitchen smell really good! And really, even if you don't normally add oil to your stir-fries, you should really add some coconut oil to this one. It gives it a little something-something. Same with the lime zest. I got a microplaner (zester) awhile back and I love it.

 

Photo from Amazon.com

I normally don't really promote kitchen gadgets or trinkets, but a lot of my recipes call for zest. The zest of a citrus fruit contains all the flavor and essence of that fruit, even more so than the juice does, due to the aromatic oils and other compounds located there. If you made Orange Tofu with orange juice once and you were extremely disappointed about the lack of oranginess, it's because it needed a boost from the zest. I use mine all the time (because we all know them box graters don't actually work with fruit!), and it's actually pretty easy to clean. It's literally one of my favorite kitchen devices. Best $12 bucks I ever spent!

Ok, shameless plug over with! Lol, and just so you know, I don't get any money from that. I just borrowed the picture and used the link so you could see what I was talking about. My blog will always be ad-free, and the other products/items/ingredients I mention are ones that I personally use on a regular basis!

Oh, and my next post will involve my Almond Joy cake. Yumz.

High Protein Lo Mein? Yes.

So, I've had mega cravings for all sorts of Asian inspired recipes lately and that's mostly what I've been eating. I pulled out a copy of 30 Minute Vegan's Taste of the East this past grocery day and I've picked out a couple of recipes to make from it. I'm definitely going to be making some Pad Thai (I have't had any of that in awhile!), and the Tofu with Lemon Sauce sounds glorious. The only little problem that I'm running into is that I can't find any Szechuan pepper. It's so ridiculous! I live in a CITY of 80000 people (yes, four zeros there) and none of our grocery stores carry any sort of Szechuan anything. I mean, I could understand if it was something obscure, like pomegranate molasses or berbere or something, but it's not!!! It's a famous Chinese spice blend. My HyVee carried it a couple months ago, but magically, when I want it, it's gone. Ok... rant over...

Le Sigh. I'm still hoping I can find it somewhere. I have one more place to look. If I can't find it, I'm not going to make Kung Pao anything (or Lemon Tofu anything). It'll just have to wait. And yes. I am that ridiculous. This is one of those occasions where a substitute will not suffice! I'm going to Whole Foods next week and I will definitely spend some time browsing the spice aisle (along with pretty much every other aisle...).

Anywho, when I was at the grocery store picking out my maple syrup fix, I looked over my shoulder to see some "soybean spaghetti" from a brand called Explore Asian.

Being intrigued, and deciding that soybean spaghetti might be quite alright, I picked up a bag. Vegan... Organic... Gluten-Free.... 20.5 grams of protein a serving?? For reals?? And I then proceeded to toss that baby in my shopping cart. Today, when lunchtime rolled around, I knew that this was what I would be crafting my meal around. The noodles are kind of thin, but I like them like that, and they would make a good gluten-free substitute for udon or ramen (even though they're not nearly as thick as udon). Since everything was getting all noodle-y up in my kitchen and I was running short on time, I decided to made a quick lo mein. When I opened the package, I thought they smelled a little different and it caught me off guard, but I mean, they didn't smell bad or anything, just like soybeans, I suppose!

My Lo Mein turned out perfect, even though I forgot to oil up the drained noodles and they wound up sticking to each other. The noodles themselves had a pleasant flavor and a good texture (actually, I liked the texture a lot. It reminded me of my beloved, much-missed ramen) and even though I ate lunch at 1:30-ish, I was still satisfied until 5:30. I work second shift and I usually take a "fruit break" (instead of a smoke break) around 4:00 when I start feeling a little snacky, but I wound up working through it because I wasn't ready for my fruit break yet! So, I guess these high protein noodles do a pretty good job of filling me up and keeping me satisfied! I will definitely be buying them again.

                   

Note: The spaghetti takes six minutes to cook, so brown the tofu first while bringing the water to a boil. If you add the chopped veggies to the tofu at the same time you add the spaghetti to the boiling water, everything will come out around the exact same time (just be sure to have the sauce mixed and the veggies prepped!).

High-Protein Lo Mein:

1/2 a tub (9 oz.) of firm or extra-firm tofu, pressed for 15 minutes, drained, and cut into cubes

1/2 a package of soybean spaghetti

1 tsp. walnut oil (or oil of choice)

1/2 yellow onion, cut into chunks

1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks

3 stalks celery, cut diagonally (just for fanciness)

1/2 c. sliced mushrooms (crimini, shittake, white, or a mixture)

2 c. baby spinach, packed

Sauce:

1 1/2 Tb. Bragg's liquid aminos or soy sauce/tamari (keep it gluten-free to make this recipe GF)

1 1/2 Tb. sherry (or mirin if you have it)

2 tsp. peanut oil (or oil of choice)

1 tsp. toasted seasame oil

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Big pinch of dried pepper flakes

2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped

1. Sauté tofu cubes in a skillet sprayed with nonstick over medium-high heat until golden brown.

2. Meanwhile, boil spaghetti according to package directions (it takes six minutes).

3. Once the tofu, is golden, add the onions, bell pepper, celery, and mushrooms and sauté about 5 minutes.

4. Drain the spaghetti and toss it with the walnut oil. Set aside.

5. Add the baby spinach and the sauce (already mixed together and ready to go) to the tofu mix and sauté everything together for another minute or two until the spinach is wilted. Turn off the heat and add the drained noodles. Toss everything together real good and...

...voila! You now have a quick and easy, high protein lo mein!

This recipe makes two servings. Each serving has about 450 calories and around 14 grams of fat (slightly dependent on how much oil you decide to use), almost 25% of your daily calcium (muy importante!), and 35 grams of delicious, clean, vegan protein. If you can find soybean spaghetti near you, I suggest you give it a try. It's a little different, all gluten-free pastas are, but I like it a lot. Enough to make it my long noodle-y pasta of choice!

Ok, and just to let you all know, I'm pretty much out of school, so be prepared! I have a lot of recipes that I've been piling on my "to make" list and now that I don't have to devote the front half of my day and spare time to school, I can FINALLY start cooking and baking delicious things again. And first things first, I've got a vegan, ALMOND JOY LAYER CAKE to make. My graduation ceremony is Saturday (the 17th) and I decided I wanted a nacho party (with all the fixins') and a cake at home with my family and boyfriend. I'll let you know how that cake turns out (and I hope to do another step-by-step layer cake tutorial, since I have a better camera to take pictures with this time).

Have a great afternoon!

Roasted Veggie Noms

I love vegetables, and one of my favorite things about fall cooking is working with lots of root vegetables. So behold, the root vegetables:

Aww. Look at that little lonely carrot.

As I was reading last month's issue of Vegetarian Times, I saw a roasted vegetable recipe that called for fennel. Suddenly, fennel sounded really good, which was super weird because I've had fennel before and I thought it was kind of "meh". But, since I'm on a veggie kick now, I decided I would try roasting the fennel to see how that would come out. My previous attempts were all sauteed.

I didn't use the recipe in VT, I just roasted the vegetables like I always do: a touch of olive oil and kosher salt, then finished off with some good balsamic vinegar. I also went crazy with the vegetables I had (note to self: stick to boiling turnips. They get kind of weird and crunchy went you roast them).

Anywho, I LOVED the roasted fennel. It tamed its anise-like flavor and became really sweet (in a good way). When mixed with the potatoes, onions, and cauliflower, the whole dish had a nice balance to it. I wanted to find a celery root to stick in here (since they're another root I'd like to try), but although I've seen them around town before, they're not here now. Maybe some other time? Also, I threw a carrot in there. I don't know why and it was only one carrot. Didn't really add much to the dish, lol (hence the lonely carrot in the above photo!). Feel free to add a carrot or two though, if you'd like!

Roasted Vegetables with Fennel:
1/2 a head of cauliflower, broken into florets
1 fennel bulb, end and top remove, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. baby potatoes (about 12), halved
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 Tb. olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
a few pinches black pepper
Preheat oven to 400F.

1. In a large bowl, toss together the cauliflower florets, fennel slices, baby potatoes, onion slices, garlic.
2. Drizzle the veggies with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
3. Turn veggies out onto a large baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper and roast at 400 for about 45-1 hour, or until the veggies are golden brown, soft in the middle, and crispy on the edges. I would give them a good stir every once in awhile, and rotate your pan if your oven is the devil, like mine is.

This recipe serves four as a side dish or two as a main dish.  For a main dish (half the recipe, and not including the single carrot!) you get 114 calories, 3.9 grams of fat, 3.9 grams of fiber, 3.1 grams of protein, and about half of your daily Vitamin C. Surprisingly, fennel and potatoes have a good amount of that vitamin in them.

See, there is literally one piece of carrot in there! Bwahaha!

Oh, and those purple things are potatoes. I bought a bunch of mixed colored ones to make it a little more interesting, but it pretty much wound up monochrome anyway! I meant to make a chickpea-orzo pilaf to go along with this, but I just wound up eating it for dinner all by itself. I know I'll be roasting more veggies in the future, so maybe I'll just save it until then. Lol.

Best way to serve leftovers? Warm. In a tortilla. With a hummus. Yeah. Roasted vegetable hummus wrap.
Have a great day!

Korean Stir-Fry For One

So, I realize "stir-fry for one" isn't exactly a recipe amount that is in high demand, but I remember when I was a new vegan. I wanted to try a lot of new things and I was only cooking for myself. What if I didn't like it? What if I had too many leftovers?

Heck, even now there are days when I just want to whip up something quick for just me. Don't get me wrong, leftovers are great, but sometimes a stir-fry just takes best as a crispy stir-fry the first time around.

This stir-fry is great. It's Korean-inspired (a personal fave) and full of spicy and savory flavor. I served it on top of some soba noodles with some kimche on the side and lunch was on my table in less than 20 minutes (I would say 15 but that might be rather bold. Lol).

It's so awesome it's bathed in an ethereal mist.

So this recipe makes enough stir-fry for one person (well, as in one average me), but feel free to double this goodness if you have more than one person to feed. As a note though, if you decide to double this for two people, I wouldn't double the sauce. I think it would be fine with the amount the recipe already makes. You don't want it to be too salty.

Oh, and gochujang is a spicy, fermented Korean chili paste. It doesn't really have a substitute since it has a flavor to it, but you could simply omit it for a less-spicy version. If you still want some heat, a pinch of chili flakes would be good.

And one last thing! Extra tofu can be stored in water, in the fridge, for a few days. Just be sure you change the water every so often.

Korean Stir-Fry For One:
Stir-fry:
1 serving extra-firm tofu (3 oz. or around 1/6 of a container)
1/2 a container shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 white button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 a red bell pepper, sliced
1 c. baby spinach, packed

Sauce:
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb. tamari
1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. liquid sweetener
1/2 tsp. gochujang
1/2 tsp. white miso

1. Press the tofu for about 15 minutes, drain the water, and cut it until little cubes. Spray a skillet with some nonstick and saute it until golden brown over medium-high heat, about 5-8 minutes.
2. Add the sliced mushrooms and red bell pepper and saute another 4-5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the sauce by mixing together the chopped green onions, garlic clove, tamari, oil, sweetener, gochujang, and miso until well-combined.
4. Once the mushrooms and bell pepper are done sauteing, add the spinach and stir-fry sauce and saute until the spinach is wilted and everything is coated with sauce, about another 1-2 minutes.

Serve over pasta or rice and enjoy!

The stir-fry (including sauce, but not any noodles) has 177 calories, 8 grams of fat, 12 grams of protein, and lots of Vitamin A and C! Add a grain and you get a nice calorie and fiber boost to make a healthy and satisfying lunch!

So remember my declaration of healthy eating this past Monday? Well, it's been going great. I've been eating a lot more vegetables and fruit, and a lot less sodium (you really wouldn't believe how much sodium them crystal noodles had. Lol. Way more than a person should ever eat, around 1200 mg a container... eek!). I haven't made it to the gym yet, but I'll work on that one again next week, lol. I've got deadlines!

Anywho, expect some roasted veggies (with fennel!), some stuffed poblanos, chickpea tagine, and carrot cake oatmeal in the near future. Have a great afternoon!