Showing posts with label tofu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tofu. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2016
McDougall's Medicine Clip - Tofu
This is for all those people on the forums and Facebook community who say tofu isn't allowed on the basic McDougall program. Pay attention specifically to the very first sentence:
Saturday, January 3, 2015
McVeggie Burgers
Mary McDougall's McVeggie Burgers have been around since the early days of the McDougall program, with variations of the recipe appearing in a number of newsletter and books. The Starch Solution is the latest place it appears, and there are a few small changes between that recipe and the one I used.
McVeggie Burgers
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Baking Time: 30 minutes
Servings: makes 16 burgers
20 ounces firm water-packed tofu, drained well
12.3 ounces silken tofu
10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
½ cup water
1 large onion, chopped
½ pound mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 cups quick oats
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place both kinds of the tofu in a food processor and process until fairly smooth, stopping several times to scrape down the bowl. Transfer processed tofu to a large bowl and set aside.
Drain the spinach well and press any excess water out with your hands. (Spinach should be very dry.) Set aside.
Place the water, onion, mushrooms and garlic in a large non-stick frying pan. Cook, stirring frequently until onion has softened and all liquid has been absorbed, about 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
Add the oats and the seasonings to the tofu mixture and mix well. Add the spinach and mix in well, using your hands. Add the onion mixture and continue to mix with your hands until all ingredients are well combined. Take a small amount and form into a ball shape (a bit larger than a golf ball), then flatten into a burger-sized patty about ¼ inch thick and place on a non-stick baking sheet. (If you do not have a good non-stick baking sheet, then lightly oil your baking sheet first.) Repeat this process until all the mixture is used. (It will help to lightly moisten your hands several times during this process.) Bake for 20 minutes, then flip over and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool on racks after removing from the oven. Serve in a whole wheat bun with your favorite condiments.
The tofu - In the McDougall Made Irresistible video, Mary says to use 2 1-pound blocks of firm tofu, squeezed dry. The written recipe says 20 ounces. I used 2 blocks of 14 ounces each. Next time I'll definitely use only 20 ounces.
The silken tofu - Nowhere on the recipe I used or the video did it was to let this drain dry in a mesh strainer, as it does in the Starch Solution version of the recipe.
Cooking time - Every incarnation except one says to bake 20 minutes then flip and cook an additional 10. The Starch Solution version has you baking them 20 minutes on each side.
How I did it:
I did squeeze my firm tofu a bit then blot with towels. Along with dropping down to 20 ounces I'll also squeeze each block in my TofuXpress tofu press for a while first.
I towel blotted the silken firm tofu. Next time I'll let this sit in the strainer for a while.
Spinach - I forgot to defrost mine earlier in the day so about a half hour before this I nuked up the package, then put it into my tofu press. A recipe like this one I'll wish I had more than one of these presses, if I ever make it again.
No problems frying up the onions, garlic and mushrooms. The house smelled heavenly during this phase. My son locked himself in his room and opened his window (his bedroom adjoins the kitchen) because he's not a fan of onions cooking, but my husband kept asking why I didn't have those ready when he was eating his lunch, he would have heaped a pile onto his sandwich. That's why I waited until after his lunch break! Sometimes having a work-at-home spouse can be a bad thing! LOL
Now comes the time to put everything together. The tofu mixture seemed to be a bit wetter than expected. Hmm, I guess I'll add more oats if I have to. Drain the spinach - that's a lot of liquid! Now to pick it out by hand piece by piece. This is getting sloppy!
Wash up then grab the spices. Oops, instead of a half teaspoon black pepper I put in a whole one. Oh, well, we like pepper.
Add the oats and start squishing by hand. Now I really wish I put gloves on first!
Ack! I still have to add the mushrooms and onions and my hands are full of tofu and oatmeal glop! Good thing my son's room is on the other side of that door! He came to my rescue and dumped the veggies into the bowl for me and I continued to squish away. I had him sprinkle a few more teaspoons of oatmeal, too, as long as he was there.
Time to start making the burgers. I'm glad I got a bowl of water ready by the mixing bowl. Be sure to remember this when making your own burgers, because you'll be rewetting your hands after almost every burger.
Time to call for the kid again. There is no way the 2 pans I have ready with parchment paper will be enough for this batch and he prepares a third baking sheet for me. I just made it, fitting 24 burgers between three pans. I wished I could make these burgers larger, but they're so wet and flimsy they sometimes fell apart in my hands and had to be reshaped. If they were any larger I would never be able to get them off my hand and onto the pan, especially when they're only 1/4 inch in height.
Here's a picture of them in the oven:
After the 30 minutes of baking time most of them were getting a little browned. Well, beige. Tofu doesn't really get too brown. They did firm up quite nicely.
How do they taste? To be honest, very bland. Tofu doesn't have much of a taste, oatmeal doesn't have much of a taste, spinch tastes like, well, spinach.
Luckily I put that extra pepper in there so at least they had some taste besides the onions.
I packed up 12 of them with bits of plastic cut from container tops separating them into a freezer bag and popped them into the freezer. The other 11 were similarly packed and put into the refrigerator, but I may pop them into the freezer later today if I can make the room. I just read on the page the recipe is on in The Starch Solution that these keep only 2 days in the refrigerator. Even if all three of us eat them there's no way these will be finished in just 2 days.
Those dividers? They were based on those divider discs that come with hamburger presses, like these:
Why pay for them when I can just cut them out of the tops of oatmeal or raisin containers! They're just as non-stick and food safe.
They were just okay, good enough as something to put on a roll and cover with onions, pickles and ketchup. It's healthy food in the tummy. I will make them one more time using the correct amount of tofu, maybe using extra firm instead of firm, and I'll drain the silken tofu, too. I'll also add some salt or a salt-free seasoning blend from Mrs. Dash, too, for some flavoring. If all that doesn't really help, it's back to Jeff Novick's Fast Food burgers. Much tastier and much easier to make.
McVeggie Burgers
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Baking Time: 30 minutes
Servings: makes 16 burgers
20 ounces firm water-packed tofu, drained well
12.3 ounces silken tofu
10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
½ cup water
1 large onion, chopped
½ pound mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 cups quick oats
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place both kinds of the tofu in a food processor and process until fairly smooth, stopping several times to scrape down the bowl. Transfer processed tofu to a large bowl and set aside.
Drain the spinach well and press any excess water out with your hands. (Spinach should be very dry.) Set aside.
Place the water, onion, mushrooms and garlic in a large non-stick frying pan. Cook, stirring frequently until onion has softened and all liquid has been absorbed, about 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
Add the oats and the seasonings to the tofu mixture and mix well. Add the spinach and mix in well, using your hands. Add the onion mixture and continue to mix with your hands until all ingredients are well combined. Take a small amount and form into a ball shape (a bit larger than a golf ball), then flatten into a burger-sized patty about ¼ inch thick and place on a non-stick baking sheet. (If you do not have a good non-stick baking sheet, then lightly oil your baking sheet first.) Repeat this process until all the mixture is used. (It will help to lightly moisten your hands several times during this process.) Bake for 20 minutes, then flip over and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool on racks after removing from the oven. Serve in a whole wheat bun with your favorite condiments.
The tofu - In the McDougall Made Irresistible video, Mary says to use 2 1-pound blocks of firm tofu, squeezed dry. The written recipe says 20 ounces. I used 2 blocks of 14 ounces each. Next time I'll definitely use only 20 ounces.
The silken tofu - Nowhere on the recipe I used or the video did it was to let this drain dry in a mesh strainer, as it does in the Starch Solution version of the recipe.
Cooking time - Every incarnation except one says to bake 20 minutes then flip and cook an additional 10. The Starch Solution version has you baking them 20 minutes on each side.
How I did it:
I did squeeze my firm tofu a bit then blot with towels. Along with dropping down to 20 ounces I'll also squeeze each block in my TofuXpress tofu press for a while first.
I towel blotted the silken firm tofu. Next time I'll let this sit in the strainer for a while.
Spinach - I forgot to defrost mine earlier in the day so about a half hour before this I nuked up the package, then put it into my tofu press. A recipe like this one I'll wish I had more than one of these presses, if I ever make it again.
No problems frying up the onions, garlic and mushrooms. The house smelled heavenly during this phase. My son locked himself in his room and opened his window (his bedroom adjoins the kitchen) because he's not a fan of onions cooking, but my husband kept asking why I didn't have those ready when he was eating his lunch, he would have heaped a pile onto his sandwich. That's why I waited until after his lunch break! Sometimes having a work-at-home spouse can be a bad thing! LOL
Now comes the time to put everything together. The tofu mixture seemed to be a bit wetter than expected. Hmm, I guess I'll add more oats if I have to. Drain the spinach - that's a lot of liquid! Now to pick it out by hand piece by piece. This is getting sloppy!
Wash up then grab the spices. Oops, instead of a half teaspoon black pepper I put in a whole one. Oh, well, we like pepper.
Add the oats and start squishing by hand. Now I really wish I put gloves on first!
Ack! I still have to add the mushrooms and onions and my hands are full of tofu and oatmeal glop! Good thing my son's room is on the other side of that door! He came to my rescue and dumped the veggies into the bowl for me and I continued to squish away. I had him sprinkle a few more teaspoons of oatmeal, too, as long as he was there.
Time to start making the burgers. I'm glad I got a bowl of water ready by the mixing bowl. Be sure to remember this when making your own burgers, because you'll be rewetting your hands after almost every burger.
Time to call for the kid again. There is no way the 2 pans I have ready with parchment paper will be enough for this batch and he prepares a third baking sheet for me. I just made it, fitting 24 burgers between three pans. I wished I could make these burgers larger, but they're so wet and flimsy they sometimes fell apart in my hands and had to be reshaped. If they were any larger I would never be able to get them off my hand and onto the pan, especially when they're only 1/4 inch in height.
Here's a picture of them in the oven:
After the 30 minutes of baking time most of them were getting a little browned. Well, beige. Tofu doesn't really get too brown. They did firm up quite nicely.
How do they taste? To be honest, very bland. Tofu doesn't have much of a taste, oatmeal doesn't have much of a taste, spinch tastes like, well, spinach.
Luckily I put that extra pepper in there so at least they had some taste besides the onions.
I packed up 12 of them with bits of plastic cut from container tops separating them into a freezer bag and popped them into the freezer. The other 11 were similarly packed and put into the refrigerator, but I may pop them into the freezer later today if I can make the room. I just read on the page the recipe is on in The Starch Solution that these keep only 2 days in the refrigerator. Even if all three of us eat them there's no way these will be finished in just 2 days.
Those dividers? They were based on those divider discs that come with hamburger presses, like these:
They were just okay, good enough as something to put on a roll and cover with onions, pickles and ketchup. It's healthy food in the tummy. I will make them one more time using the correct amount of tofu, maybe using extra firm instead of firm, and I'll drain the silken tofu, too. I'll also add some salt or a salt-free seasoning blend from Mrs. Dash, too, for some flavoring. If all that doesn't really help, it's back to Jeff Novick's Fast Food burgers. Much tastier and much easier to make.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
VeganMoFo Day 10 - Reuben Sandwiches
I haven't had a real Reuben sandwich in decades! These were a mainstay every Saint Patrick's Day and yearly at the local Irish Festival every September. Some years we would go to the festival, grab 2 sandwiches, eat while listening to the live bands, then take the light rail trains right back home and be gone less than an hour. This year, for the first time in over 2 decades, no festival. Not enough funds and too big a security risk (The site is less than a mile from Downtown Manhattan).
Corned beef has been relegated to the seitan version for a long time now
and Mary McDougall has her own version of a Reuben sandwich that relies on tofu. It's not quite the same, but close enough.
Reuben Sandwiches
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Servings: variable
sliced rye bread
fat free honey-mustard dressing,
baked tofu or tempeh, thinly sliced
sauerkraut, drained
sliced tomatoes
sliced onions
soy or rice cheese (optional)
Lay the bread slices out on your work space and spread both sides with a thin layer of the dressing. Place the tofu or tempeh on one side of the bread. Next add a thin layer of the sauerkraut, then the tomatoes and onions. Finish with a small amount of soy cheese, if you wish. Place another slice of the bread over these ingredients to make a sandwich. Repeat as many times as necessary to serve everyone.
Heat a non-stick griddle to medium-low. Place the sandwiches on the griddle, probably 2 at a time. Grill until browned on one side (about 1 minute) then flip over and grill on the other side. This usually takes only a very short time. Remove from griddle, slice in half and serve warm.
Hints: Baked tofu is sold in packages in most natural food stores, usually in various flavors. Look for the brands that are lowest in fat content. Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans, sometimes flavored, sometimes with other ingredients added. To marinate the tempeh before using, place about 1/3 cup of fat-free soy-ginger or teriyaki sauce in a bowl with the tempeh. Turn several times to coat. Drain, then briefly sauté in a non-stick frying pan. Slice either the baked tofu or the tempeh rather thinly crosswise, so you are working with larger thin sections rather than thin strips. Your natural food store should have both of these products available in the refrigerated section. Water-packed sauerkraut can also be found in the natural food store, usually by the canned vegetables or pickles. Use any fat-free dressing that you like on the bread, Tofu Island Dressing from the Quick & Easy Cookbook is also a favorite of ours.
Baked tofu doesn't exist in my area - tofu itself barely does - so I just sliced up a pound of store-brand extra firm and fried it up on a non-stick skillet with a few sprays of Bragg's Aminos on each side.
If I had remembered ahead of time I would have made my own rye bread in the bread machine. Instead I had to settle for a package of store-baked rye whose first ingredient was regular white flour. I'll be popping a fresh bag of organic whole grain rye flour in the cart next time I put an Amazon order in to be ready when I need rye bread again.
No-salt added sauerkraut! I haven't seen this in ages so picked up 2 cans. They're both dated 2017 so unless my pantry closet swallows it up (It has a habit of doing that with canned goods that I buy) I now have some for the next time I need sauerkraut.
My husband started to grab this lite honey mustard salad dressing but I pointed out it has oil in it. I used the Esselstyn 3-2-1 Dressing, instead. I always keep a batch of it in the refrigerator at all times because this is our "house" go-to sauce/dressing. Veggies and rice? 3-2-1 dressing. Salads? Ditto. A dry sandwich or some blah soup that needs a little "something" but sriracha sauce doesn't fit the flavors? Bring it on!
I know Dr. Fuhrman says raw onions are healthier, but he doesn't have to live with me after I eat them, so I always cook mine up a bit. It's no trouble to toss a handful on the griddle while frying up the tofu and saves my boys from a lot of fragrant agony in the evening (My guys don't call me "Puumba" for no reason.).
Here are 2 sandwiches side by side - one already grilled, one not.
Delicious! Messy, because the salad dressing does make the flimsy rye bread quite soggy, but quite tasty, none the less.
I have to remember to make these up more often.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Maple Glazed Tofu Ham
I found this recipe while roaming the Internet. Someone said ti resembles ham and made great "ham" sandwiches, so decided to try it today.
My changes:
First off, I pressed a 14 ounce package of Naysoya Extra Firm tofu for about an hour.
Instead of cutting it into cubes, I cut the pressed 'fu into 8 slices.
I dry-fried them until browned in a non-stick skillet and omitted the oil.
The marinade:
I just realized I forgot the mustard. Oops! Would have made a great addition, too.
I never have pineapple juice around but just this morning bought a package of 4,1/2 cup servings of pineapple chinks with a 50 cent off coupon. It took the liquid of 2 of those cups to make 1/2 cup of pineapple juice. I tossed all the fruit bits in, too, because pineapple goes great with ham.
Everything whipped up in a very short time. The tofu took about 10 minutes to brown on both sides, then I tossed in the liquid and fruit and let it boil away for about another 10 to 15 minutes. There was still a bit of liquid left, but by then my husband was drooling at the sight of it so went ahead and served the tofu and fruit onto whole wheat Kaiser rolls then took a spoon and poured a bit of the liquid over the tofu on each sandwich. Oops, I also forgot the sesame seeds. And I had them out on the counter, too.
Sorry, no photos, because we devoured these before I remembered I wanted a shot.
We moaned with delight at the taste of them, but after the first bite or 2 both of us were doing Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh) quotes about icky, sticky stuff that's only fit for heffalumps and woozles. The mustard would have helped cut the sweetness.
Another great meal that we will do again, but next time with all the ingredients.
Maple Glazed Tofu
Submitted By: doll
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 15 Minutes
Servings: 2
"A vegetarian alternative for ham."
Ingredients:
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 teaspoon soy sauce (optional)
2 tablespoons brown mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (8 ounce) container firm tofu, drained and cubed
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
Directions:
1. Whisk together maple syrup, pineapple juice, soy sauce, and mustard in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the tofu. Cook and stir until the tofu is evenly browned. Stir in syrup mixture and continue to cook until the glaze has reduced. Top with sesame seeds.
Printed from Allrecipes.com 4/13/2012
My changes:
First off, I pressed a 14 ounce package of Naysoya Extra Firm tofu for about an hour.
Instead of cutting it into cubes, I cut the pressed 'fu into 8 slices.
I dry-fried them until browned in a non-stick skillet and omitted the oil.
The marinade:
I just realized I forgot the mustard. Oops! Would have made a great addition, too.
I never have pineapple juice around but just this morning bought a package of 4,1/2 cup servings of pineapple chinks with a 50 cent off coupon. It took the liquid of 2 of those cups to make 1/2 cup of pineapple juice. I tossed all the fruit bits in, too, because pineapple goes great with ham.
Everything whipped up in a very short time. The tofu took about 10 minutes to brown on both sides, then I tossed in the liquid and fruit and let it boil away for about another 10 to 15 minutes. There was still a bit of liquid left, but by then my husband was drooling at the sight of it so went ahead and served the tofu and fruit onto whole wheat Kaiser rolls then took a spoon and poured a bit of the liquid over the tofu on each sandwich. Oops, I also forgot the sesame seeds. And I had them out on the counter, too.
Sorry, no photos, because we devoured these before I remembered I wanted a shot.
We moaned with delight at the taste of them, but after the first bite or 2 both of us were doing Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh) quotes about icky, sticky stuff that's only fit for heffalumps and woozles. The mustard would have helped cut the sweetness.
Another great meal that we will do again, but next time with all the ingredients.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
VeganMoFo Day 10 - Chinese Apricot Stir Fry
As mentioned previously, this is the day of the week we traditionally have what our son calls Chinese Rice, and luckily I found a recipe that fits the bill on the Fuhrman web site that's very similar.
This recipe comes from the book Cholesterol Protection for Life, a book that must have had a limited run because the only place to obtain a copy at a decent price now is to get it as an e-book directly from Dr. Fuhrman's web site. I've seen copies going for over a hundred dollars on Half.com and Amazon book vendors. Wow!
Here's the recipe:
Chinese Apricot Stir Fry
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 blocks of extra firm tofu, cubed into bite sized pieces
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
4 teaspoons apricot preserve (100% fruit, no sugar added)
4 tablespoons cooking wine
1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos
2-3 packages of frozen mixed oriental vegetables
1/2 teaspoon salt free Chinese seasoning
Instructions:
Place 2 tablespoons of water in a pan and add the tofu. Put on medium heat and once the pan is hot, lower the heat. Sprinkle garlic powder over tofu. Turn the tofu frequently at first to prevent sticking. Eventually, the water from the tofu will be released and it won’t have to be turned so frequently. In a cup, mix the VegiZest, apricot preserves, cooking wine, 2 tbsp. water and the Braggs aminos. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the tofu and continue to simmer. Defrost the frozen vegetables in a microwave or steam on stovetop. Once defrosted, add vegetables to the tofu. Sprinkle the remaining sauce over tofu-vegetable mix and add the Chinese seasoning. Continue to simmer until the liquid is largely cooked off.
~ ~ ~
As I mentioned in a previous post, the VegiZest is a powdered vegetable product used as a seasoning/soup mix and you can substitute any no-salt-added broth powder or seasoning, like plain Mrs. Dash if you don't have any.
I'm using only one 1-pound block of Nasoya Extra Firm tofu, pressed, because I've found this amount is more than enough for the two of us.
I don't keep any wine in the house so I use broth.
I'm using 2 different bags of stir-fry mix - one has broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas, carrots, celery, red pepper, onion and water chestnuts, and the other has broccoli, green beans, carrots, mushrooms, onions and red pepper. Between the 2 I get some G-Bombs and cruciferous veggies.
The closest I can figure the "Chinese seasoning" to be is the Chinese 5-Spice powder, which consists of Szechwan pepper, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, salt and white pepper. I had a jar of this once and didn't like the taste and tossed it out when it got a few years outdated, and don't plan on buying any more just for this dish. People who commented on the recipe on Dr. Fuhrman's site said they just omitted it, and so will I.
To make the sauce I put the ingredients in a jar and take my whisk to it to break up the preserves into tiny pieces and make sure everything is well mixed. That VegiZest does like to settle to the bottom if not kept in motion!
Served over brown rice, it's a delicious and filling meal for a cold, dreary day. The apricot sauce taste is similar to the packets of pinkish duck sauce (as opposed to the more yellowish ones that taste more like pears) you get when you order Chinese food delivery but without that cloyingly sweet taste. We used to use jarred duck sauce a lot years asgo when I made our weekly rice and veggie dish, but when it started to contain HFCS in larger and larger quantities we just gave it up and went more for the salty sauces, like soy and teriyaki (both low sodium versions). This is a nice home-made alternative that's quick and easy to make, and don't forget, much healthier.
Here's the recipe:
Chinese Apricot Stir Fry
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 blocks of extra firm tofu, cubed into bite sized pieces
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
4 teaspoons apricot preserve (100% fruit, no sugar added)
4 tablespoons cooking wine
1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos
2-3 packages of frozen mixed oriental vegetables
1/2 teaspoon salt free Chinese seasoning
Instructions:
Place 2 tablespoons of water in a pan and add the tofu. Put on medium heat and once the pan is hot, lower the heat. Sprinkle garlic powder over tofu. Turn the tofu frequently at first to prevent sticking. Eventually, the water from the tofu will be released and it won’t have to be turned so frequently. In a cup, mix the VegiZest, apricot preserves, cooking wine, 2 tbsp. water and the Braggs aminos. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the tofu and continue to simmer. Defrost the frozen vegetables in a microwave or steam on stovetop. Once defrosted, add vegetables to the tofu. Sprinkle the remaining sauce over tofu-vegetable mix and add the Chinese seasoning. Continue to simmer until the liquid is largely cooked off.
~ ~ ~
As I mentioned in a previous post, the VegiZest is a powdered vegetable product used as a seasoning/soup mix and you can substitute any no-salt-added broth powder or seasoning, like plain Mrs. Dash if you don't have any.
I'm using only one 1-pound block of Nasoya Extra Firm tofu, pressed, because I've found this amount is more than enough for the two of us.
I don't keep any wine in the house so I use broth.
I'm using 2 different bags of stir-fry mix - one has broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas, carrots, celery, red pepper, onion and water chestnuts, and the other has broccoli, green beans, carrots, mushrooms, onions and red pepper. Between the 2 I get some G-Bombs and cruciferous veggies.The closest I can figure the "Chinese seasoning" to be is the Chinese 5-Spice powder, which consists of Szechwan pepper, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, salt and white pepper. I had a jar of this once and didn't like the taste and tossed it out when it got a few years outdated, and don't plan on buying any more just for this dish. People who commented on the recipe on Dr. Fuhrman's site said they just omitted it, and so will I.
To make the sauce I put the ingredients in a jar and take my whisk to it to break up the preserves into tiny pieces and make sure everything is well mixed. That VegiZest does like to settle to the bottom if not kept in motion!
Served over brown rice, it's a delicious and filling meal for a cold, dreary day. The apricot sauce taste is similar to the packets of pinkish duck sauce (as opposed to the more yellowish ones that taste more like pears) you get when you order Chinese food delivery but without that cloyingly sweet taste. We used to use jarred duck sauce a lot years asgo when I made our weekly rice and veggie dish, but when it started to contain HFCS in larger and larger quantities we just gave it up and went more for the salty sauces, like soy and teriyaki (both low sodium versions). This is a nice home-made alternative that's quick and easy to make, and don't forget, much healthier.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
VeganMoFo Day 3 - Simple Everyday Meal
Simple Everyday Meal is one of those meals that needs no recipe. The only ingredients are a bucketload of cooked rice, a giant bag of frozen veggies cooked up, and a can of beans (drained and rinsed, naturally), all tossed together in a big pot or bowl with some seasoning spices and served. If you want a photo, click the link to Jeff's page for it.
I've been doing something similar for years, but in this house we call it Chinese Rice, which I first wrote about in VeganMoFo 2007. I make up a big batch of rice in my rice cooker, and while that's bubbling away I nuke 3 of those small bags of frozen peas and carrots in the microwave. Instead of beans I use either pressed, marinated, then fried (in marinating fluid) tofu or Soy Curls. The kid prefers his dish with just the rice and veggies with a bit of soy sauce, so after he's served I doctor the rest of the pot up with the cooked tofu and sometimes a can of sliced water chestnuts and a can or box of fresh sprouts. My husband douses his with either teriyaki sauce or low-sodium soy sauce, I use a lower sodium garlic ginger teriyaki sauce. My weight is usually up 2 or more pounds the next day from the sodium, because even low-sodium products are still pretty high in salt.
I know Dr. McDougall may not approve of the Soy Curls because even though it's not isolated soy protein it's still high in protein itself, being a processed soy product. It's still better than the decades I used TVP in meals. I used to buy that stuff all the time from The Mail Order Catalog, since the early 1970's at least. I still have some of the smaller unflavored "mince" type of TVP in a container in a closet here, and I really need to toss it out when I finally can dig it up (It's currently buried under some crafting supplies). I used to buy not only unflavored but also all the flavored ones - beef, chicken, sausage, even ham and pepperoni - in the tiny mince, and the larger chunks of beef flavor to add to stews, chicken flavor chunks and strips to add to stir fries, and even the larger chicken "patty" sized for chicken parmesan and even sandwiches. The beefy mince made great Sloppy Joes. Now I just use cooked lentils for that.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Ginger Peanut Tofu Salad
In my last post I mentioned I'm making that Cheezy Kale Soup to go with sandwiches for today's supper. I guess it would help if I also showed you where to find the sandwich filling recipe.
The Ginger Peanut Salad is form Julie Hasson's Everyday Dish TV web site.
You can find the video of Julie making it on YouTube:
This will be my first time making it so I can't comment on it. I just figured it's quick, easy, and COOL for this hot July day. I'll be serving it on whole wheat Kaiser rolls with Romaine lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Knowing my husband he'll also be very liberal with the sriracha sauce.
Monday, October 12, 2009
VeganMoFo Day 12 - New Toy
A few weeks ago I was making a tofu dish and was doing my usual pressing of the 'fu with paper towels, shallow plates, and a cast iron skillet. As usual, I had to keep returning to the kitchen because the "CLANG" as the pan slipped off the tofu and landed on the floor could be heard clear across the apartment. On that particular day my husband was home and was getting annoyed at the interruptions to his television watching (We both love grade Z horror and sci-movies and I don't begrudge him his brain candy on days off work - he deserves them) and asked if there's a better way to do the task.
"Well, yeah!" I replied, "but it's gonna cost ya about $40 with shipping," and I showed him the TofuXpress web site.
I've drooled over this handy dandy gadget the first time it was mentioned on the PPK during the summer but could never justify the cost. Come on! The shipping cost almost as much as the item itself!
He told me to go ahead and order it, that it'll be worth the price to not have to hear that cast iron pan fall onto the floor any more. So I did, and it arrived last week. Unfortunately, I had no tofu meals scheduled for last week. But luckily I did have one for today, Bryanna Clark Grogan's Breast of Tofu. Bryanna had done a blog post on this gadget a few weeks ago so I figured she probably used it for this recipe, so what better thing to try it out on, right?
Just like all those graphics above, after about an hour and a half there was as much liquid pressed out, volume-wise, as there was tofu. Cool! I sliced up the 'fu then whipped up the marinade and started to pour it into the same container the tofu was pressed in and realized it's not going to work - the marinade will fit but not the tofu slices. So, off the concoction went into the same Corningware I usually use when marinating tofu.
Tonight for dinner I'll do the breading as written in the recipe but bake instead of grill my 'fu. I already have a pot of veggie soup on (just a few spoons of Bryanna's non-chicken broth powder, a sautéed onion and garlic, and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables simmered for a few hours), and I'll toss some potatoes in to bake, make up a batch of stuffing and open a can of cranberry sauce. If I'm really energetic I might even toss a loaf of bread into the bread machine.
"Well, yeah!" I replied, "but it's gonna cost ya about $40 with shipping," and I showed him the TofuXpress web site.
I've drooled over this handy dandy gadget the first time it was mentioned on the PPK during the summer but could never justify the cost. Come on! The shipping cost almost as much as the item itself!
He told me to go ahead and order it, that it'll be worth the price to not have to hear that cast iron pan fall onto the floor any more. So I did, and it arrived last week. Unfortunately, I had no tofu meals scheduled for last week. But luckily I did have one for today, Bryanna Clark Grogan's Breast of Tofu. Bryanna had done a blog post on this gadget a few weeks ago so I figured she probably used it for this recipe, so what better thing to try it out on, right?
Just like all those graphics above, after about an hour and a half there was as much liquid pressed out, volume-wise, as there was tofu. Cool! I sliced up the 'fu then whipped up the marinade and started to pour it into the same container the tofu was pressed in and realized it's not going to work - the marinade will fit but not the tofu slices. So, off the concoction went into the same Corningware I usually use when marinating tofu.
Tonight for dinner I'll do the breading as written in the recipe but bake instead of grill my 'fu. I already have a pot of veggie soup on (just a few spoons of Bryanna's non-chicken broth powder, a sautéed onion and garlic, and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables simmered for a few hours), and I'll toss some potatoes in to bake, make up a batch of stuffing and open a can of cranberry sauce. If I'm really energetic I might even toss a loaf of bread into the bread machine.
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