Vegan Huevos Rancheros (and a brief poll)

There's a brief poll at the end of this post. If you would be kind enough to give your opinion in comment form, it would be much appreciated (even if I don't like what you have to say...)


Ok, so no video today... My old Dell laptop (yes, it was old at the ripe age of 3) crapped out its hard drive, so I've been furiously trying to save files and import them to its replacement (an ACER Extensa 4420... at just over $400, this thing was a steal)...

But I digress.

Today's recipe is all about comfort food... you know, those meals that make things better, no how crappy your day has been. We've all got 'em... and since I'm still working through the batch of chili I made a while back, it was time to veganize one of my other favorite comfort foods...

Huevos rancheros.

I wasn't sure how to tackle this one, but it turned out to be fairly easy. About the worst thing I can say is that it takes several skillets, which is usually a no-no in my world. But hey, sometimes a bit of comfort food is worth it. So here we go...

Vegan Huevos Rancheros

2 corn tortillas
Olive oil
1/2 package Morningstar Farms Soyrizo
1/2 package firm tofu, drained, pressed, and crumbled
1/3 medium red onion, finely diced
1 roma tomato, diced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/3 tbsp cayenne pepper, ground
Fresh guacamole

Place tofu in a medium skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Heat for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

In a separate skillet, brown the Soyrizo in 1 tbsp olive oil.

Place 2 tbsp olive oil in yet another skillet, heat. Fry corn tortillas for about 1 minute on each side, transfer to serving plates.

Place a layer of Soyrizo crumbles on each tortilla, then top with tofu mixture.

Layer on onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, and cilantro. Top with guacamole.


Good for your body? Probably not (although much beter than the omni version).

Good for your soul? Boy howdy!


Speaking of "good for the soul", VeggieGirl did a post on yeast-free sweetbreads. Ah, the siren call of carbs run amok...


Ok, so here's the poll.

The Veggie Guy is kicking around the idea of adding a cookbook to his list of endeavors. Obviously, this would be a collection of vegan recipes, but I want to focus on meals that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. If I published such a book, would you most likely:

A) Buy it
B) Borrow it
C) Steal it
D) Recommend it to a friend
E) Roll your eyes and chuckle
F) Say, "Please, I have enough cookbooks already. I need room for groceries, hombre!"
G) Flat out advise me against such a hoopleheaded endeavor?

So let's hear it! If none of the above apply, make something up, or just say, "Meat."

Vegan Recipe: Spicy Marinated Tofu with Avocado Sauce

So tonight's entry went down something like this:

All day, I had it in my head that I'd like to try marinating tofu in adobo sauce. After all, you can buy jalapenos packed in adobo sauce, so I figured I must be able to buy the stuff in a jar by itself, right?

Nope. At least not at the Kroger down the street.

So I stood in the Mexican foods section, staring at the bottles and jars of things which, for the most part, I was entirely unfamiliar with. I found dry adobo seasoning, but I figured tofu wasn't really going to absorb the taste of that very well. Tofu is a rather recalcitrant substance, after all.

I realized I looked like some dumb tourist that had wandered off the beaten path in a Mexican village, and decided that I needed to come up with Plan B quickly.

So I grabbed a jar of something called "sofrito", gathered the rest of my groceries, and headed home, confident that I had salvaged my plan.

That is, until I tasted the sauce.

It turns out, sofrito has a pretty heavy green bell pepper taste. There aren't too many vegetables I don't like, but I absolutely hate green bell peppers. Bah.

So now what?

Clearly, it was time to improvise. So a quick scan of the pantry, a couple of irrational decisions, and a Hail Mary was launched to try to make this potential disaster work.

Amazingly, it did work. So here you go:

Spicy Marinated Tofu with Avocado Sauce

1 package extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed

1 tbsp olive oil

Marinade for tofu:

1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce

1/3 tbsp cayenne pepper

1/3 tbsp cumin

1/3 tbsp garlic salt

Avocado sauce:

1 avocado, peeled and sliced

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup plain soy milk

1 clove of garlic, peeled

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Garnish:

1 small/medium tomato, diced

1/4 cup fresh scallions

Mix all marinade ingredients in a flat casserole dish.

Drain tofu. Wrap it in a dishtowel and press out excess water. The more water you remove, the better the tofu will absorb the marinade.

Slice tofu into 8 pieces, cutting across the longer side of the tofu block (pieces will be about 1/2" thick). Place slices in marinade, making sure that the tofu is completely covered. If it's not, you'll need to turn it a few times while it is marinating. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Remove tofu slices from marinade and place in a large skillet with the olive oil. Turn several times during cooking. I pan fried the tofu for about 8 minutes, which seemed just about right. Any longer, and I think the tomato sauce would have started burning.

Place all of the avocado sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Transfer tofu slices to plates. Spoon avocado sauce over tofu, garnish with tomatoes and scallions.

Notes:

Not much to say, other than it turned out wonderfully, despite my trepidation. I really did use a lot of cayenne pepper in the marinade, but the cool, citrus taste of the avocado sauce balanced out the heat.

Oh, and it really is important that you wait as long as you can before making the avocado sauce - preferably until the tofu is almost done. Right out of the blender, it has a nice, vivid green color that compliments the deep orange-red of the tofu to create a visually appealing dish.

After dinner, though, I noticed that the leftover avocado sauce had turned an icky brownish green color - kind of like what it would look like if the neighbor kid rode his bike through your hostas right after a thunderstorm. About 12 times.

Anyway, the only thing I would change here is the side dish. I decided on baked tortilla chips (take tortillas, cut them like a pizza, bake on a nonstick baking pan at 400 degrees for six minutes) and fresh salsa... but that wasn't quite right. Not bad, just not right.

I'll have to ponder that. If you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to try them out.

On a completely unrelated note, I'll leave you with this picture I took of my daughter this morning as she was leaving for school. She was proud of her new dress, so I couldn't deny her a couple of pictures.

Vegan Recipe: Portabella Caps with Mustard Crusted Tofu

There really isn't much of a story to go with tonight's entry. I had no idea what to make for dinner, so I simply drove to the market, planted myself firmly in the produce section, and waited for inpiration.

Fortunately, the produce gods came through, by casting my gaze at two plump, fresh portabella caps.

The rest just fell into place.

I think Carla was a little concerned when she asked what I was making, and I responded, "I really have no idea."

Then I threw her out of the kitchen.

Anyway, this is a relatively simple dish (meaning few ingredients), and I think that with a little practice, it could make the coveted "under 30 minutes" category.

So without further prefacing, I give you a recipe that came out of the blue, but turned out wonderfully:

Portabella Caps with Mustard Crusted Tofu

2 large portabella caps, stems removed
1 medium tomato, diced
4 oz extra firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
White cooking wine
2 tbsp sweet and spicy mustard
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried parsley

Mix 1/4 cup white cooking wine, mustard, and sage in a large, shallow bowl. Add tofu and mix to coat.

Steam broccoli florets in a vegetabole steamer for 20 minutes, or place broccoli in a microwave safe bowl with 1/4 cup water and microwave for 4 minutes.

Pour 1/2 cup white cooking wine in a large skillet. Place portabella caps in skillet and cook on medium heat, stem side up, for 5 minutes. Turn portabella caps, sprinkle basil on top, cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add more white cooking wine as needed.

Place tofu and mustard in a medium skillet and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Transfer portabella caps to plates, stem side up.

Place tofu, tomatoes, and steamed broccoli in a bowl (I use one of those food storage containers with a lid) and shake to mix. Don't worry, you didn't miss a step - I didn't cook the tomatoes.

Spoon tofu and vegetable mixture over portabella caps. Sprinkle dried parsley on top.

That's it! As you can see, I served this dish with vegetable rice and french bread, and it all turned out quite nicely. The picture's a little fuzzy, but what can I say... I need a new digital camera.

And Carla, who had been watching from the living room, said she was quite pleased with my creation. Especially since she saw me mix white cooking wine and mustard together, and was convinced that dinner was indeed doomed.

Admittedly, it's a bit of an odd combination, but sometimes you have to experiment to get out of a food rut.

And sometimes, it even turns out well. :-)

Recipe: Teriyaki Tofu Vegetable Kebabs

I know, I know... I said the next several posts were going to be about sushi. But what can I say - I have the attention span of a three-year-old. I'll get back to it, I promise.

I've been distracted by the brief span of warm weather we've had here in Ohio (both days of it!), and when warm weather hits, my attention turns to... the grill!

My in-laws wonder why I still have a grill - they think it's just for burning up hamburgers and steaks. But vegetarians and vegans can do lots of great things on the grill. Here's one of 'em:

Teriyaki Tofu Vegetable Kebabs

1 package of extra firm tofu (the kind packed in water, not that icky "silken" stuff
1 red bell pepper and 1 green bell peopper, each cut into 1' x 1" (roughly) square pieces
1 package (8 oz) white button mushrooms, whole
1 zucchini squash, sliced into 1/2" thick rounds
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2" thick rounds
6 oz teriyaki marinade (no, I don't make my own)
4 bamboo skewers (you can get about a hundred of these for a dollar at any big-chain supermarket)

Step 1 (Optional, but recommended)

Toss the package of tofu in the freezer and leave it overight. Take it out in the morning and let the package set at room temperature until thawed. Freezing improves tofu's consistency, and gives it a (dare I say it!) meaty texture.

Step 2

Drain tofu. Press with paper towels or a clean dish towel to remove excess water. Cut tofu into 1" cubes.

Step 3

Load tofu, green/red bell pepper pieces, mushrooms, and zucchini/yello squash pieces onto each of the skewers in an alternating pattern. Leave 2" on each end of the skewer so you can turn it (and so stuff doesn't fall off). Place skewers in teriyaki marinade.

Step 4

Light grill and set to medium-high heat. Turn the kebabs in the marinade every few minutes to make sure they're covered.

Step 5

Place kebabs directly on the grill. You can use cooking spray, but I've found that if the kebabs are properly lubricated with marinade, they don't seem to stick anyway.

Turn kebabs about every 5 minutes or whenever you get bored with standing in front of the grill.

In about 20 minutes, you'll have piping hot, yummy tofu vegetable kebabs!

Fried Rice with Bean Curd

When it comes to cheap and easy vegetarian recipes, you can't do much better than fried rice. It's quick, simple, and versatile - you can add just about anything you want to a batch of fried rice, and it will be quite tasty.

Here's a tip for making fried rice - whenever you are making a rice based dish, cook an extra 1 1/2 cups of rice - this will make an extra 3 cups when cooked. Put the extra cooked rice in a plastic food storage bag and throw it in the freezer. That way, you'll always have a base for a fried rice meal - this can be wonderful for those nights when you just don't have much time to cook.

Here's just one of the endless variations of fried rice that you can throw together in under 15 minutes:

3 cups cooked rice
2 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp hot chili sauce
8 oz tofu (bean curd), cut into 1/4" x 1/2 inch pieces

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok. Add cooked rice, stir fry for 2 minutes. Add tofu and soy sauce, stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add remainder of ingredients, stir fry for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Serve with spring rolls or vegan hot and sour soup.