Tea-scented Tofu

 I tried an unusual way of "smoking" tofu from The Vegan Slow Cooker book.

Mix raw rice, loose tea (I had to open tea bags), and sugar.  Line the crock with foil and put the rice mixture in.  Put a vegetable steamer basket over that.

 Press and slice the tofu, and put it in the steamer basket.  The recipe said to put it single-layer if possible.  Next time I'd use my bigger Crock Pot.  Turn on high for 4-6 hours.  The longer it "smokes", the denser the tofu.  This method did create a slight smokey smell in the house.  Not something I was comfortable leaving.  You can also add other flavors and spices to the rice mixture.

The resulting tofu was fairly dense, and good to have on hand in the fridge to add to meals.

black bean burgers

As you can tell, I've been on break from blogging my vegan creations.  We were in the process of moving for a long time, and I just made up recipes from whatever ingredients we were trying to use up.  But now we're set up in a new house, and soon I'll have time to try and blog some new recipes.  We hope to grow some of our own veggies and herbs.  We have a few existing green bell pepper plants in the yard, and we started composting, which I think is really fun.

We've been wanting tor try our own veggie or bean burgers.  I think they are pretty simple.  There's a whole cookbook about making vegan burgers.  Here's one recipe I found on the Savvy Vegetarian website:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• 2 - 4 cloves garlic minced (depends how much you like garlic)
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup green or red pepper, chopped fine
• 1 large stalk celery, chopped fine
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dry ginger
• 1/4 tsp cayenne or chipotle pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
• 1 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (4 slices dry whole wheat bread crumbled into tiny pieces (hint: blender or food processor works great)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium low
2. Sauté garlic & onion in oil until soft
3. Add the celery & pepper, fry until softened and most of the liquid has evaporated
4. Mix in the herbs & spices and heat through
5. Mixing By Hand:
6. Puree half the beans with a pastry blender or potato masher - or a fork
7. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mash together with a pastry blender or your hands
8. Mix in tahini and/or liquid seasoning as needed for the mixture to hold together well
9. Add more breadcrumbs if the mixture seems too sticky
10. Mixing in a Food Processor:
11. Process all the ingredients except tahini and liquid seasoning until the mixture forms a loose ball. There should be recognizable bits of veggies and beans
12. Turn mixture out into a bowl. Mix in tahini and/or liquid seasoning as needed for the mixture to hold together well
13. Add more breadcrumbs if the mixture seems too sticky
14. Form the burger mixture into 10 equal sized balls, then flatten into patties 3 - 4 inches across
15. Cook on medium heat until brown, approx. 10 min per side
16. Fantastic with a little brown mustard, horseradish and sweet pickle

Lentil Loaf

From The Vegan Table.

I substituted ground Fritos for bread crumbs to make it gluten free.  It was delicious!  Especially leftover.  I forgot to take a photo until I was on the last crumbly serving.  It has ground walnuts, tomatoes, and thyme in it.  The ketchup on top made it extra yummy.

At first it looked too much like animal meat, so I gave half of it to a friend.  But as it sat in the fridge and freezer, it grew on me.  It was good cold on a warm day.

The big potato

Still vegan, and cooking a lot.  Mostly inventing or keeping it simple as we use up ingredients and get ready to move.

I got this big brown root at a local farmer's market.  My neighbor, who is Japanese, didn 't know what it was, but thought it might be like taro root.  I boiled it and made mashed potatoes (mashed with broccoli, garlic, and cilantro.)  Yummy, and had some interesting, uh, cleansing effects for the whole family.

Asian creation

A lunch bowl of leftovers: pho noodles, mung beans, red chilis & garlic, raw local greens.  I thought to take the photo after I started eating.  It was good.

oatmeal raisin cookies

This was a simple recipe I adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  I used a gluten-free flour mix instead of wheat flour, and added my own spices (nutmeg, cloves, cardamom.)  They would've been better with walnuts.  Next time!

farmer's market greens

This one tasted a bit like broccoli.  My neighbor said they call it "nanohana", which may mean something like "it is flower."  It's mustard flower in English.  I tastes delicious steamed.

I've been keeping my cooking simple, since we're moving soon, and I don't want to waste ingredients.  It's fun to get lots of in-season greens at the farmer's market.  Many of the greens I'll probably never have again.  Their spinach is delicious.

spinach-parsley-blueberry puree bars

A variation of my basic bars recipe.  For the fruit/veggie puree, I used fresh spinach, parsley, and frozen blueberries (maybe some banana.)  For spices: some cardamom and allspice.  Threw in some golden raisins.  I didn't use any flavor extract this time, but they tasted wonderful.

Japanese eggplant with mirin

I've been wanting to make this recipe for over 2 years, ever since my friend Eva posted it on Facebook. She has been a vegetarian role model and question-answerer for me.

I modified the recipe a little.  It turned out delicious and sweet.  Popular with toddlers and husbands.

Take a few Japanese egglpants (nasu.)  They are small.  Slice lengthwise into 1 cm slices.  Soak in salt water for a few minutes, rinse with cold water, and squeeze out extra liquid.

Saute in sesame (or other) oil for a few minutes until browned.

Add generous splashes of soy sauce and mirin.  Add minced ginger and garlic (as much as you like), and Sriricha chili paste or crushed red pepper.  Cook until tender and glazed.

Cambodian Pho

 My friend Tey hosted a Valentine's Day dinner with Cambodian Pho.  She set aside some water with lemon grass for me to cook my veggies and dip my noodles in.  The other cooking broth had fish and was used to cook seafood and other meat.  But just the raw veggies with noodles and Pho dipping sauce were good, and spicy!

gifts of food

Top left: peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from Bridget (from Peas and Thank You cookbook/blog)

Top right: Jamaican black bean soup (it has bananas and hot peppers - a real taste sensation), also from Bridget, from The Vegan Table cookbook

Bottom: tropical trail mix with maple syrup from Lauren.  Yummy!

mung bean soup and misc. curry

 I made up a soup in the Vitamix with kabocha squash, various veggies & garlic.  For the chunky part, I added lentils, sprouted mung beans (boiled briefly), and fu (a Japanese high-protein "crouton" made of wheat gluten.)

Getting better at dal.  This has Pav Bahji masala, turmeric, garlic, onion, plenty of veggies, and lentils.

tofu with garlic & ginger

Tastes better than it looks.  I had some soft (silken?) tofu from a Japanese market to use up.  So I sauteed some fresh garlic & ginger in mirin and soy sauce.  Scrambled in the tofu, and added some cornmeal and black sesame seeds.  Delicious and filling.  I might have used some sesame oil, but can't remember.

sprouting mung beans

My book, The Indian Vegan Kitchen, has many sprouted mung bean recipes.  Sprouting them was half the fun!

Mexican Brunch for Superbowl Monday

 In Japan, we watch the Superbowl on Monday morning.  We had tofu scramble and home fries from Lindsay Nixon's The Happy Herbivore (a gift from our friend Sandie!)

We also had refried beans with Rotel tomatoes & extra green chilis.  I made some tofu sour cream from silken tofu, garlic, lemon juice (recipe from Living Vegan for Dummies by Alexandra Jamieson.)

The meal was complete with extra chips & salsa, tortillas, and beer & lime.  We didn't watch much of the football game (we don't get the commercials here), but we did go out for a nice cold-weather run, and saw many neighbors out with their kids.

leftovers "pesto"

I had lots of parsley and things to use up, so I made up a dip/dressing that was very good and tasted like real pesto.  I used:

• fresh parsley (lots)
• walnuts
• fresh ginger
• fresh garlic ( 4 raw cloves)
• black sesame seeds
• balsamic vinegar
• bread crumbs (leftover from muhammara spread)

Blended it coarsely in the Vitamix.  Delicious with crackers or as a sandwich spread.

kale spaghetti sauce

Kale is a vegan wonder food.  You can eat it steamed, sauteed, blended raw into fruit smoothies, baked into kale chips, and in soups & stews.  I read about blending steamed kale with spaghetti sauce.  

I just put some sauce in a glass jar with steamed kale on top, and blended it with my immersion (stick) blender.  Voila!

Okay, it turned the sauce a little brown, but it was tasty.  My toddler loved it on her noodles.

healthy vegan puppy chow

2 C. dark chocolate chips (non-dairy like Ghirardelli semi-sweet)

1/2 C. non-dairy butter (Earth Balance or Smart Balance Organic)

1 C. peanut butter (or use almond butter if you like)

1 tsp. blackstrap molasses

1-2 Tb. ground flax seeds or wheat germ

1 box (~12oz.) Rice Chex cereal, or similar cereal

1 3/4 C. powdered sugar 

Melt butter, peanut butter, chocolate chips and molasses together over low-medium heat in medium sauce pan on the stove or melt in microwave safe bowl being sure not to burn it. 

Add flax seed or wheat germ and stir well.

Pour dry cereal in a large bowl and pour the chocolate mixture over it. Use a large spoon or spatula to gently stir while coating each piece.

Pour wet cereal mixture into clean paper bag (great way to recycle!) or use a sealable plastic bag. 

Sprinkle in the powdered sugar and shake, shake, shake!  

Spread on a cookie sheet to cool.

Mediterranean Olive Bread

Since I can't find the photos I took of my olive bread mini-muffins, I found this on the web.  It's from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's book, The Joy of Vegan Baking.  I made mine in mini-muffin tins to serve at a baby shower.  I didn't have fresh basil, so used fresh rosemary that grows in our neighborhood.

It has black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and walnuts.

spice labor cookies

These are fun to make for friends who are close to their due date.  Supposedly, they induce labor.  I first had them at a cookie exchange, and they were my favorite.  Something about the cayenne pepper was an unexpected treat.  I modified the recipe to be vegan and healthier.

Spice labor cookies (vegan version)

3 c. rolled oats ground to a coarse flour (in a blender)

1 c. brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. salt

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 mashed banana

1/3 c. molasses

Enough water or non-dairy milk (soy, almond, etc.) to make the dough stirrable.

Wheat germ (about ½ c.) to roll the dough in

Combine dry ingredients.  Stir in oil, banana, molasses.  If the dough seems really dry, add a little water.  Chill dough in fridge or freeze overnight.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls, and roll in wheat germ (you can coat your hands with flour to cut down on dough stickiness while rolling.)   Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 375 F.

Muhammara spread

Muhammara spread is the red dip.  The beige dip is hummus I made up with extra leeks and cashews.  I'd been wanting to try Muhammara from The Vegan Table.  It's mostly roasted red bell peppers and walnuts.  The recipe called for bread crumbs, but the next time I made it, I substituted chickpeas.

It also has cumin, lemon juice (I added the zest), crushed red pepper flakes, raw garlic, and agave nectar.  It is "the bomb."

For the photo above, I made it for a baby shower.  My friend suggested putting the dips in Tostito Scoops cups.  Okay, but they got a little soggy.  Next time, I made it for a Mardi Gras party, in a bowl drizzled with olive oil, pine nuts, and chopped parsley.  I served it with raw veggies and crackers.  It was a big hit at the party and in our house!

Black Bean Brownies

These are from page 209 of the Happy Herbivore by Lindsay Nixon.  This book was a gift from my friend Sandie!  It's full of good pictures and simple low-fat, healthy vegan recipes.

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ripe bananas
1/3 c. agave nectar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. raw sugar (optional, so I omitted this)
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 c. instant oats (I used quick oats, and they worked fine)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine all ingredients except oats in a blender and blend until smooth.  Stir in oats.  Bake in a greased 9-inch square pan (I just lined an old scratched one with parchment paper, no grease) for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely before slicing.

These looked delicious, but tasted a little weird on their own.  I thought they were better heated with soy ice cream.  Some variations Lindsay suggests are: extra cocoa for "dark chocolate", omit cinnamon and add mint extract, add cayenne pepper, add instant coffee.  She also says you can try these with chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and adzuki beans.

Tuscan White Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I admit I forgot to photograph this dish, so borrowed this photo from Cookies with Christel.  My beans turned out mushier than hers, and I didn't add zucchini and yellow squash (forgot to buy them, but used some fresh veggies from the farmer's market.)

This recipe is adapted from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  It's one of my favorite cookbooks because of the interesting recipes, thoughtful words, and beautiful photography.  Colleen said she and her husband ordered this dish often on a trip to Florence.  I made this recipe for an "Italian night" party.  I cooked it that afternoon and put it in a small crock-pot to carry to the party.  It got rave reviews, from my husband, too, and was great leftover.  I plan to make it again, adding the zucchini and yellow squash from Colleen's original recipe.  Because my sun-dried tomatoes were packed in oil, I think sauteing in oil was unnecessary.  The sun-dried tomatoes really made the recipe.

1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (I used Melissa's brand, which are packed in olive oil and herbs.  If using dry, you have to soak them first.)
1 tablespoon olive oil or water for sauteeing
1 large-size yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
3 cups fresh spinach (I had delicious fresh spinach from the farmer's market)
3 cans small white beans 15 oz (I used 2 cans Navy beans, and one can garbanzos)
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil  (since basil isn't in season, I used some dried basil and a fresh Japanese herb called mitsuba)

Heat oil or water in a large saute pan. Add onion and saute for approximately 5 minutes.  Then add garlic, spinach, beans, tomatoes, water, sage, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Add fresh basil or mitsuba just before serving.

tofu "cheese"

I read about this in Living Vegan for Dummies, which I'm slowly reading from cover to cover.  It's by Alexandra Jamieson, who was Morgan Spurlock's vegan girlfriend in the documentary "Supersize Me".  Anyway, she has lots of good advice, and quite a few recipes.  In her section about what to do if you miss cheese, she suggests ways to use nutritional yeast, mochi, nuts, and tofu to make "cheese analogues."

To make this tofu cheese:

1. Drain & press a block of extra-firm tofu.  I also tried the freezing & thawing method, which makes tofu spongier, but the pressed type works better.
2. Spread miso paste (fermented soybean paste) about 1/2 inch thick on a dinner plate.
3. Put the tofu on top, and frost it like a cake with about 1/2 inch thick miso paste.  Cover all parts of the tofu.  
4. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit refrigerated 8 hours, and up to 3 days, depending on how strong you want the flavor.
5. Take out of the fridge and scrape off the miso.  Save the miso for another use.  Rinse the tofu gently in cool water, and slice as needed.

The first time I tried this dark "hikari miso", but next time I tried white miso.  There are many kinds of miso paste.  Read the labels, because some misos contain dashi (a powdered flavoring made partially from fish.)  Miso pastes take up half an aisle in a Japanese grocery store!  I can't always read the labels well, but do my best.  I hear it's easy to buy in the USA, too.

This was excellent sliced and eaten on crackers!  With a beer.

Chinese Stir-Fry

My first Chinese stir-fry!  I used a recipe from Good Housekeeping Vegetarian Cookbook as my guide.

It was easy, as long as I took some prep time before-hand to press and cube the tofu, wash and chop the veggies, soak & cut up some dried shiitake mushrooms, and rinse & drain some canned veggies.  I doubled the amount of sauce because we had company to celebrate the new year.

Sauce:
1 cup cool water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
Whisk together in a bowl and set aside.

Sautee about 3 cloves garlic and 2 Tbsp. minced ginger in oil (I used peanut oil.)

Add veggies and tofu.  Stir.  Pour in sauce.  Stir.  Add nuts (I used peanuts and cashews.)  Stir.  The mixture can cook on medium heat about 8 minutes (I didn't cover it), and can stay warm on low heat.  The recipe said to add the sauce at the end and boil the mixture for one minute.  In my haste, I didn't read that part, but it turned out fine, and the sauce thickened. Serve with rice or grain of choice.  Offer crushed red pepper, Asian chili paste (Sriracha sauce), sesame seeds, and extra soy sauce as condiments.

The instructions were more detailed about when to add which veggies.  I had already steamed some chopped carrots, so they didn't need much cooking.  Broccoli and red bell pepper made it nice and bright.  Lotus root (renkon) made it pretty.  It's the round sliced veggie with holes in it.  Renkon tastes like potato.

For choosy eaters, they can help you make their custom-made stir-fry first, before the big batch.  It was really no trouble and fun to see what they chose.

Green Almond Bars

This is a variation on my Basic Bars recipe.  Spinach (and other green vegetables) make them green!  Almond extract and almonds give them flavor.  Oats and ground flax seeds make the healthy.

Mix these dry ingredients:
3 c. rolled oats, ground to a coarse flour in a blender
1 c. raw sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
about 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
about 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg (I just sprinkled in the spices)
1 box Jell-O Vanilla Pudding Mix

In a separate bowl, mix these wet ingredients:
1/4 c. ground flax seeds, whisked with 1/2 c. water (this is the egg replacer)
1 and 1/2 cups green veggie puree (I used spinach and winter melon from the farmer's market.  I think Japanese winter melon is similar to Chinese pumpkin - a light green color and watery texture.)
1/4 c. oil
1 TABLESPOON almond extract

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and add about 1 cup sliced or chopped almonds.

Bake in a 9x13" pan for about 30 minutes at 375 F.  Let cool in pan before cutting.

You could leave out the pudding mix and oil to make these healthier.  I think they'd be good with chopped dried apricots.

my kitchen and books

 I got a lot of produce at the grocery and farmer's market.  Amazingly, I get through it all by freezing, cooking, and making smoothies.

 My book collection.  The Kind Diet was the first vegan book I read.  I really like it.  Good recipes, info, and photos.  On the right is a Japan Vegan Restaurant Guide, written by a European guy who lives here.  It has tips in the back on eating vegan in Japan.

 Cookbook that came with our Vitamix blender.  Also, the Green Smoothie Revolution is good for smoothie-inventing ideas.  It makes you stop and think about how big animals like elephants, gorillas, cows, and giraffes get their calcium: from eating greens.

 A great book!  Love the pictures.

I need to delve into these more.  I have learned some things about spices and Asian ingredients.

 A raw book I picked up at the store, and Super Baby Food from Mom.  Both have easy ideas for nutritious veg eating.

 Baby daikon (white Japanese radish) greens from the farmer's market.  They're so buttery and yummy when steamed, but bitter raw.

Mikan (Japanese tangerines) are in season all winter.  Usually they're orange, but these greenish-yellow ones were discounted.  The orange fruits are regular oranges.  I got so many for smoothies.

Thai Pumpkin Soup and Potato Leek Soup

I've been cooking a lot, but forget to take pictures, and don't have much time to blog lately.  I did remember to photograph these two soups I made for a "soup & salad" social last month.  The first one is Thai Pumpkin Soup from the cookbook that came with my Vitamix blender.  After the first trial, I decided it was easier to cook it in a pot and use my immersion blender instead of transferring it to the Vitamix.  Supposedly the Vitamix can run several minutes and heat its ingredients into a warm soup, but my toddler won't let me run it that long.  Also, I added more lime and cilantro the second time I made this.

Ingredients were basically sauteed onion & garlic, canned pumpkin, ginger,green chile peppers, citrus juice (first time orange, second time lime), vegetable stock, tomato paste, coconut milk and coconut cream, salt & pepper.  When I served it for the party, I topped it with chopped peanuts and cilantro - yummy!

Potato-Leek soup from The Vegan Table.

I used potatoes from my Japanese friend's aunt's farm nearby, and "negi" (Japanese leeks.)  Now that I've practiced a few soups, I know they're easy, and fun to invent.

Potato-Leek soup with various leftovers, including ginger-garlic browned tofu cubes.