Tofu Scramble

Tofu Scramble

I have seen Tofu Scramble recipes in many different places.  I decided to combine the recipes and try it out for the family recently.  We all liked it, and I think it's great in place of scrambled eggs if we're ever looking for something a little different.  It's easily customizable and really easy to make!

I started by cook frozen corn and sliced shiitake mushrooms in a little olive oil until the mushrooms were tender.  I added in lemon juice and turmeric, then crumbled in the drained tofu.

 

I let it cook for about 10 minutes until the liquids evaporated and everything was well combined.

 

Then I added in a bunch of chopped romaine and served it hot.

I let everyone season theirs with sea salt, pepper, and hot sauces.

Some added the Tofu Scramble to warm flour tortillas and rolled them up for a breakfast burrito style dish.  I ate mine with warm crusty bread.  It's also good plain.

We had some leftovers that I tried the next day for lunch but I wasn't as fond of it then.
Fresh and warm may be best for this dish.

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Enjoy!

Barley Casserole

Barley Casserole

Straight away I have to tell you that this was not my favorite dish.  It wasn't the barley, I like barley dishes.  I think it was the tahini dressing.  Tahini (a critical ingredient in hummus) has a distinctive flavor that I don't even notice in hummus, but I did notice it in this dish.  I will certainly try it again, maybe reducing the tahini just a little.

This recipe comes from The Kind Diet, and Alicia Silverstone starts the recipe with this introduction:  "Get out your Birkenstocks!  This casserole is hearty, tasty, and deeply groovy.  Perfect for a family meal or to bring to a hippie potluck..."

So, you've been warned. 

Just kidding - actually, it's a simple dish and one that should really have more vegetables in it, in my opinion.  The little bit of celery and carrot (and onion if you are an onion-lover, we are not) are hardly noticeable in this dish.  I'd recommend adding more vegetables.

When I cook barley, I get the Pearl Barley variety.  I find it at Kroger in the healthy foods section.
This form of barley (also known as Whole Barley) has the three parts of the grain still in tact, and it's got more texture than processed barley.

I soak my barley in water for a few hours, then rinse and drain it well before cooking it.
If you don't have time, just rinse and drain it and get started.

I cooked the barley in boiling water that I then lowered to a simmer.  It was good and tender after about 45 minutes.

While it was finishing up, I heated olive oil in a large skillet and cooked the garlic, then the vegetables, soy sauce,  and dried herbs.  I transferred the drained barley to the vegetables and heated it through.  I added a little sea salt and then placed it in a baking dish.

I mixed up the tahini dressing, which is made up of tahini (found at Kroger), soy sauce, and a little garlic powder, paprika, dried basil, and dried oregano.  I combined it in with the grains and vegetables and baked it at 350* for 35 minutes. 

 

I liked the dried texture and the rest of the family liked it pretty well too.

Again, I think I'll add more vegetables and maybe reduced the tahini and see if I like it even more!

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Enjoy!

Penne and the Jets

Penne and the Jets

David Zinczenko has some great recipes, with even greater recipe names, in his cookbook - The Abs Diet Cookbook that my friend John loaned me.

Penne and the Jets calls for spinach, but I used chopped fresh kale instead and no one was the wiser.

I started by cooking penne according to the package directions.

While it was cooking I heated olive oil in a large skillet and sauteed garlic.  Then I added my kale and let it cook until it started to wilt.  Kale takes more time to cook than spinach I've found, so I just let it sit for a few minutes and wilt away.

**I have "no tomatoes please" eaters in my house.  Normally at this point you would add in chopped sun-dried tomatoes to cook with your greens, but you'll see I added them in later.**
 

Once the greens have wilted, you remove it from the heat and toss in your remaining ingredients:  fresh parsley and basil, kalamata olives, chickpeas and feta or Parmesan if you are using it.

 

Here is the version we placed on the table, for everyone to doctor up with Parmesan or crumbled Feta.

 

And here's my version with heated, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, which really make the dish in my opinion!

Everyone loved it and we'll definitely make again and again!

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Buon Appetito!

Sauteed Napa Cabbage

Sauteed Napa Cabbage

Sandy has the best recipes, and I am happy that she is willing to let me share some of them with you!  If you are in the area and would like to take one of Sandy's wonderful healthy cooking classes, please visit her website for more information, or let me know and I'll get you in touch with her!

I had a head of Napa cabbage that I decided to cook up with dinner one night.  I used Sandy's technique for sauteing the cabbage and seasoning it just right.

I heated olive oil in a large pan and added pressed garlic, scallions, and some red pepper flakes, letting it cook for a couple of minutes.  Then I tossed in the sliced Napa cabbage.

 

I let it sit for a couple of minutes without stirring, then added in the soy sauce, gave it a quick stir, and served it immediately.  It's a really tasty greens side dish with any dinner!

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Enjoy!

Classic Israeli Salad

Classic Israeli Salad

 

This is a delicious summer salad that comes from the June 2012 Vegetarian Times. 

I would like to tell you that it tastes great served the next day, but we ate it all in one meal, so I just don't know. 

 

I loved the freshness and flavors of this salad. 

You could serve it as a side dish, or even as a salad topping on a sandwich.

 

And it couldn't be easier. 

I used small Persian cucumbers.  If you're going to use a large one, you may only need 1/2.  The recipe calls for 4 small Roma tomatoes, but I only had 3.

 

Toss chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow pepper, and lots of parsley together.  Season with chopped green onion, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and salt & pepper if needed.

 

Fresh and delicious!

 

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בתיאבון

(Hebrew for Bon Appetit!)

 

Pineapple Puree

Pineapple Puree

Brennan chose this recipe from the You Are What You Eat Cookbook  and got the ingredients at the grocery store.  He was not to be deterred!

It was a great smoothie/puree that is easy to make and easy to customize.

We trimmed an entire pineapple and pureed it in the blender. 
Then we added two bananas and blended it again.

We chilled the smoothie before dinner and everyone really enjoyed the thick, sweet treat.
Instead of chilling, you could also add ice to the blender for a chilled treat.

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Enjoy!

Tuscan White Bean Soup

Tuscan White Bean Soup

I saw this recipe for Ribollita, or Tuscan White Bean Soup, in several places.
I combined them all together and made my own.

I took this soup to a brunch last week and it was a big hit.
I served it with warm bread.

I sauteed celery, onion, and carrots in olive oil until they were tender, about 5 minutes.  Then I added in crushed garlic and let it cook for another minute.

I then added in tomato paste, vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes and seasonings and brought the soup to a boil.  I added in rinsed, drained beans and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

I stirred in fresh basil right before serving.

All of the recipes I had were fairly similar. 

Other additions to this soup could be cooked elbow pasta, finely chopped leafy greens like spinach or kale,  and homemade croutons to top.

I just served it with extra red pepper flakes and warm, crusty Artisan bread.

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Buon Appetito!

Japanese Soba Noodles

Japanese Soba Noodles

This recipe is a variation on ones I've made before, that my family just loves. 

We like soba noodles, which are also known as buckwheat noodles. 

The sauteed vegetables and flavorful sauce make this a great one dish dinner.

This recipe comes straight out of Vegan Fire & Spice.

The ingredient list is long, but if you cook much Asian food then you most likely have many of these ingredients on hand.

I cooked the soba noodles according to the package.  I ended up using some dark soba noodles that I had left over and added in a new package of lighter soba noodles to get to 12 oz.  You can use whatever kind you have or find at the store.

While my noodles were cooking, I sauteed the vegetables - shredded cabbage, bell pepper, and scallions.  I think additions like like radish, carrots, mushrooms, and peas would also be great.

While the vegetables were cooking I mixed up the sauce of soy sauce, brown sugar, dry sherry, sesame oil, rice vinegar, minced ginger, garlic, and cayenne.  I then added in cornstarch to thicken it.

I added the sauce to the sauteed vegetables and let it thicken.

Then tossed in my drained soba noodles.

And garnished with toasted sesame seeds and parsley.

Delicious and really very quick!

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どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare)

Japanese for "Bon Appetit"!

Chocolate Thistles

Chocolate Thistles

My friend Maggie sent this recipe to me and we tried it last weekend. 
These dessert treats were delicious, and so easy to make.

You start by chopping up a chocolate bar into tiny pieces and then melting it in a double boiler.

Or, do like I did and use a microwaveable bowl, stirring the chocolate every 30 seconds and returning it to the microwave.  This took me 1.5 minutes.

Then you mix in All-Bran cereal (the twig shaped version) and 1/2 cup of chopped nuts or chopped dried fruit - whatever you like.  I used raw almonds that I chopped up.

Mound the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 10 minutes.

I made mine large, using a 1/4 c measuring cup to scoop and mound. 

Maggie's original recipe calls for a Tbsp amount.

Freeze and voila!

Definitely kid-approved delicious-ness!

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Enjoy!

Grilled Bread with Rosemary-Honey Drizzle

Grilled Bread with Rosemary-Honey Drizzle

I saw this recipe in the September 2012 Vegetarian Times and made it that very night with crusty bread I had just picked up to go with soup.

I wasn't grilling out, so didn't grill this bread - I heated it in the oven instead.  But I think it would taste great grilled!

I made the rosemary-honey drizzle by warming honey, rosemary, lemon zest, and sherry vinegar over low heat for 5 minutes. 

I toasted the sliced bread on 400* for about 4 minutes that I had spritzed with olive oil and sprinkled with a touch of Kosher salt.

I split the rosemary-honey drizzle into four little cups to serve each of us with dinner.

It was absolutely delicious!

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Enjoy!

Baked Apples with Raisin Compote

Baked Apples with Raisin Compote

This super easy, 4 ingredient dessert comes from the You Are What You Eat cookbook that I reference so often!

You could easily customize this dish in many ways.

You core your apples and slice them in half, stuffing the center with a mix of regular and golden raisins.  Then you drizzle the apples with 100% maple syrup and bake at 400* for 20 minutes.

The apples are soft and the raisins and maple syrup taste great!

Really delicious!

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Enjoy!

French Vinaigrettes

French Vinaigrettes

I have seen several articles lately on mastering the art of French vinaigrettes.

I like to make a vinaigrette for dinner with a simple salad.

I often like to make only what we need for that night because when I add fresh herbs, the vinaigrette is better if they haven't wilted in the dressing for days in the fridge.

So I have 3 different simple vinaigrettes to share with you.

They're all delicious on romaine or a mixed vegetable salad.

Vinegar-Based Vinaigrette (left) and Citrus Vinaigrette (right)

Herb Vinaigrette

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Bon Apetit!