Veggie Wontons

These were perfect on a day when I was really craving something crunchy and Chinese but didn't want to eat out. They were a meal for the two of us filled with tofu and some sauteed veggies.

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic sliced
4 scallions diced (white part and some green)
2-3 tablespoons of tamari soy sauce
1 block of firm tofu- rinsed, and patted dry
1 tablespoon canola oil plus canola oil for deep frying
2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used crimini)
1 cup of shredded napa or savoy cabbage
2 tablespoons sliced ginger or powdered ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
sriracha or chili sauce to your liking
1/2 package of wonton wraps





Instructions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a wok or large pot
Add tofu in crumbled pieces - cook for 3-5 minutes
Add mushrooms - cook for 3 minutes more
Add garlic and ginger and 1/2 the soy - saute
Add cabbage and cook until wilted

Remove from heat and toss with sesame oil, remaining soy, sriracha, vinegar,and scallions.
Allow to cool down a bit and flavors to meld.
Place 1/2 a tablespoon of mixture in the center of wonton wraps
Wet the perimeter of each wrap with a bit of water
Fold wraps over and press to seal

Deep fry dumplings in canola oil for 1-2 minutes
Drain on paper towels

Serve with dipping sauce of your choice and a side of bok choi or broccoli.

Yum!




The deer came back again but this time they checked us out from the back yard.

Sorry guys, no wontons for you!

Sweet and Sour Soba Noodles With Tofu

Tofu loves to be paired with spicy flavors. I love adding tofu to curries or in a stir-fry.

This dish is more of a Chinese/Japanese mix-up prepared by a Italian/Scandinavian mix-up for her Ukrainian/Polish crack-up!

I made it up on the fly and it worked.


My favorite kind of miracle.




Ingredients:

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
3 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 garlic cloves minced
1+ tablespoon catsup
1+ tablespoon hot chili sauce (like sriracha)
1 teaspoon ginger (fresh diced or in powder)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons canola or sesame oil
2 green onions diced (all of the white part and a bit of the green)
juice of half an orange

whisk all ingredients in a bowl and set aside

Veggies:

I used what was left in the fridge(not much):
cabbage (half a head)
onions (1 yellow and 1/2 red) sliced
garlic - 3 cloves sliced
ginger - 1 teaspoon
carrots - 2 shredded
green peas - half a bag of frozen
2-3 tablespoons of canola oil
1-3-4 oz. of soba noodles cooked as per package instructions
4 green onions diced

Instructions:
Heat the wok or pan with a little canola oil and crumble the tofu in. Cook the bite sized crumbles for 3-4 minutes then remove from wok.
Add another tablespoon of canola oil to the wok and saute the onion for 2-3 minutes then add garlic and ginger. Cook for another minute or so then add whatever sliced veggies you have in the fridge chopped or sliced into bite sizes. Add one veggie at a time - cooking each for a minute or two on it's own. Add a little tamari/soy sauce with each new veggie to layer the flavors. Cook veggies through 7-10 minutes.

Add the tofu back to the wok and toss with veggies. Add noodles and sweet and sour sauce and toss to coat.

Top with green onions.

Enjoy.

serves 2-4

Mock Egg-Salad Sandwiches

I needed an excuse to bake some bread.

These babies hit the spot.




I followed Lee's "Tofu egg salad" recipe from the PPK website but added a tablespoon more of country Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of chopped red onions, a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and a handful of chopped Italian parsley for more flavor. They were delicious. Creamy and tangy with a good "egg-y" texture from the firm tofu. I was really impressed.

For the bread I followed the recipe for whole wheat bread straight off the Bob's Red Mill website. I used Bob's Organic Whole Wheat Flour and I was really pleased with the taste and crumb of these loaves. Not as sweet as my beloved honey whole wheat bread (King Arthur Recipe) but I think for savory sandwiches like this one, the honey sweetness wouldn't be right.

This bread tastes great. It tastes just the way whole-wheat sandwich bread should taste and even better slightly toasted.


Now what sandwich should I make next?

Stir-Fry tofu with vegetables and fried brown rice

tofu
green peppers
brown basmati rice
onions
carrots
garlic
ginger
tamari
grean peas

Tofu Marsala with Zucchini

Okay, so eating tofu and veggies is becoming a bit of a habit here. But, the thing is we're saving a ton of money AND it happens to taste pretty good too.

I've turned to legumes and beans and tofu lately because we're in the middle of recording a new record which happens to take up a lot of time - without (yet) yielding the big dough (figuratively) and literally.


But, I really can't complain because the food has been delicious.


This meal is from last night. I got the Tofu Marsala recipe from http://www.veganmenu.blogspot.com - These folks know how to use their veggies.

I did alter the flour a bit- I used brown rice flour(instead of wheat flour) to coat the tofu and it was SO delicious with a perfect light crust. I need to pick up some more of that fine flour.

The zucchini were simply cooked with a bit of oil and garlic.

yum, yum!

4 bucks tops for the entire meal.

Rawk on.

Curry Tofu and Vegetables

This was pretty good last night. I was in an experimental mood.

The tofu were baked with a few tspns of curry spices and some orange juice for about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.


The veggies are: onions, delicata squash and peas all simmered in a curry/coconut sauce with a bit of Sriracha for heat.

I cooked the brown basmati rice while the tofu and the delicata squash baked in the oven.

Pretty good.

Tonight we're frying again for Chanukah: Zucchini Latkes!!

Chanukah - the good and the bad of it.

Baked Spicy Tofu with Lemon Brown Rice and Garlic Broccoli.

(The good)







Deep Fried Pumpkin Donuts

(the bad...but oh-so-good!)

mmmmmmmmm........