Red Chard On Wheatberries, Tofu Stir-Fry Two Ways.

Simple meals: Vegetables solo or combined with others are quick and easy to prepare and full of flavour. A little tofu or tempeh can provide an interesting contrast of texture. We try to eat lots of greens.



RED CHARD ON WHEATBERRIES

This was a lovely twist on steamed greens. For this I used red chard, because it's so pretty (and was available at the market, let's face it!), which I cooked very lightly and treated with Japanese seasonings - rice vinegar, light soy, a little wasabi, a touch of pickled ginger and a few drops of sesame oil - all to taste. The seeds are just a scattering of sesame seeds more for appearance than anything else (although I love sesame).

This was all tossed together while the chard was still hot and placed on a bed of previously cooked (and hot) wheatberries - in lieu of rice.

Most successful, and to be repeated :)


Stir-fried vegetables with tofu are a stand-by when there's not much else hanging around the refrigerator and I lack the energy or time to make something inventive.



BUTTERCUP SQUASH STUFFED WITH TOFU AND STIR-FRIED VEGETABLES

Obviously the squash had been previously prepared and was waiting in the refrigerator to be discovered and made the centre of attention. While reheating the baked squash in the oven, I quickly chopped bell peppers/capsicums, onions, mushrooms, celery and whatever else I had lying around and stir-'fried' (okay, cooked in a little water) them together with cubed tofu, garlic, ginger and a little light soy sauce. These were kept pretty crisp, stuffed into the hollow part of the squash then returned to the oven while we had our salad course. This is tasty and the presentation, which is no trouble at all, makes it seem rather more special than just a plain stir-fry. You could serve this with rice or another grain, but we don't usually bother except to add sometimes some steamed spinach or kale.




GREEN BEAN AND TOFU STIR-FRY

Another simple meal. Left-over Chinese vegetables - bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, and if you have them handy some of those baby corn cobs (I didn't have them here), are added to green beans and some onion and quickly stir-'fried' (I try not to use oil, as you know) with the usual suspects - ginger, garlic, crushed chilies and light soy. There are a few walnut pieces on top for crunch and interest. Serve with rice, alone, or with some homemade bread (as below).




HOMEMADE RYE BREAD

In our house, it goes with whatever we're serving, although we have it much less often than we used to do. I usually save it for one of those evenings when soup seems the simplest and most obvious choice.

Getting lazy you say? Too right! LOL.

Dithering :) - Plus Some Food Pics

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS

Here was lunch today :) I did two of these - but we couldn't finish them at all - too much salad to start, I'm afraid. But oh my they were really good! I didn't write down all the ingredients nor do any real measuring, so I'll have to save the recipe for another time. However, there was long-grain brown rice, wild rice, mushrooms, some marinated tofu, onions and garlic and chilies, green peas, water chestnuts and I forget what else all steam-sauteed together in a pan then stuffed into the peppers with various herbs and spices (which is what made it all so very good) and put in the oven with a seasoned crumb topping.

We must have been in the mood for stuffed dishes lately, because the other day I made

CRANBERRY-STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH



This was a pale imitation of a recipe from Erin Dame's Vegan Done Light e-cookbook found here. Great as a side dish with a whole lot of things, I guarantee.

Somewhere along the line lately I made a couple of versions of stroganoff - one using faux beeef strips, one using portobello mushrooms, but somehow that photo has been lost while moving things from one computer to my new one :( (The photos in this post were still on the camera, however, so that's how these came about.) Never mind - it was good (if a bit bland for me) and I will be making it again and posting photo and recipe.

Meanwhile, I have been dithering, hence the title of this post, about to Raw or Not To Raw. I had decided, with help from the dh, that it was too difficult to do it the way we would like in the winter (this part of Canada is not all that far from Michigan, but a long way from California and Florida!) and, also, we weren't ready to forego our hot meals in icy weather. As a result, when I came to the end of the cookbook recipe testing, rather than going back on raw food (well, highly raw food) as planned we continued with the cooked variety, making all sorts of things again that had not been in the cookbook, especially things with soy in them. Around this season a lot of good food is tempting!

And now? Well, we looked at each other today and decided that as much as we think we'll be making a few cooked dishes during the week - and perhaps even a hot soup in the evening - we are going to slowly revert to our attempt to go raw. So satisfying! Now how's that for an about-turn!

NOT ANOTHER STIR-FRY!



My last photo is of the kind of stir-'fry' dishes I like to make now and then - no recipe really needed, perhaps, although I sometimes do do a twist on the usual ingredients. I may not be making so many of these, although the are wonderfully quick and easy, don't you think! Asian food lends itself so well to a vegan lifestyle, and spicy vegan food makes vegan eating a delight!

Cheers, everyone. And continued good wishes for 2009. Make it a good one!

Chinese Hawker-Style Noodles and More Catching Up

The thing about street food, in places like Singapore and elsewhere, is that it has to be cooked quickly over charcoal (at least originally - goodness knows what they use now, as it's been a over ten years since we have been there) and, therefore, in a modern kitchen is sinfully quick to prepare. Get your veggies chopped early, then heat your stock (I am usually in a hurry and use a powdered stock or cubes) with the spicy ingredients in there to add more flavour, then pop most of the stuff in the bowls as directed. Now this can all wait until you're ready to eat. Then cook the noodles, add them to the bowls, and pour on the scalding stock. Top with whatever you've chosen for garnish and you're done. A simple and easy lunch or supper, any time of the year!

HAWKER-STYLE NOODLES - BO MEIN

This is my basic recipe - one doesn't really need to write it down, but it's nice to have a base from which to work. Variations, two of which I have used recently, work just fine.

For two persons (and halve or double or treble etc. as needed).

3 - 4 cups Vegetarian stock
3 - 4 slices of ginger root or to taste, cut into matchsticks
3 chilies finely chopped (more or less to taste)
2 - 3 green onions, sliced crosswise very finely
1 tsp asian sesame oil
6 mushrooms, sliced (if you have time, soak a couple of dried ones too)
50 gr. (or so) medium tofu, sliced into bite-sized thin strips
NOTE: for the photos pictured above and below I used some vegan hamm.
100 gr. fine noodles (angelhair kind - often in 'nests' in asian groceries)
NOTE: for the photos you see I used japanese-style buckwheat noodes. Ya use what ya got!
2 - 3 handfulls bean sprouts
coriander, chopped, for garnish (optional)
peanuts, for garnish (optional) - I used raw cashews this time
soy sauce as needed

And here are most of the ingredients (I think!) just as I was ready to make the whole thing.



Heat your vegetarian stock together with the ginger root, the mushrooms and the chilies. (If you do use some dried mushrooms, add the soaking liquid to the stock.) Slice onions and divide between two large soup bowls together with the sesame oil and the tofu slices.

When stock comes to the boil, break the noodle nests in half and throw into the stock, separating the strands as soon as you can with a couple of forks or a spaghetti server. Noodles should soften very very quickly. Don't let them overcook. Remove from stock with spaghetti server, dividing between the two bowls. Toss the beansprouts into the stock, swirl around for a few seconds then divide between the two soup bowls.

Finally, divide the stock and any mushrooms, etc., that remain in the noodle pot between the two bowls.

Give each bowl a stir to bring up the flavours and ingredients from the bottom and disperse them through the noodles. Garnish and serve.

NOTE: The ingredients are barely cooked - the tofu heats from the hot soup, the beansprouts likewise. The mushrooms are still crisp. You can do variations on this, as I've noted above, but this is how we've eaten it for years. I have also made it using vegan chikken pieces instead of the tofu. Works fine too :)



AND for the rest of this 'catch-up' round?

Well, have a quick look at some photos I have on file.

Here are a few things we've been eating lately:



Above is STIR-FRIED TEMPEH WITH VEGETABLES (well, again, steamed). This is always a good and quick dish, with or without the rice. I like to make sure I always add some ginger root, garlic, onion, chilies and a little celery to give a good flavour to whatever else I'm using. And I generally marinate the tempeh in soy sauce and a little minced garlic and giner before adding to the rest.



And oh yes, above is my SPLIT PEA SOUP that I keep making again and again, enhanced this time with extra spices (mostly mexican style) plus some chopped vegan hamm and coriander and some dear little baby corns cut into coins AND cilantro. Very nice. You can do almost anything with split pea soup as a base. Actually, you can also do it more quickly with red lentils, but that's not what I used here :)



GINGERED CARROT-SQUASH SOUP (above) is exactly that - some onion (not too much) with carrot and squash and flavoured with fresh ginger root and varied herbs etc. Excellent. You can play with the ingredients and flavourings to your heart's content here and not go wrong!



An just above is of course a simple side SALAD. Gotta get your fresh raw veggies as often as possible, especially if you're having a touch week or month or year!

And here comes a favourite standby:



Variations on my STUFFED AVOCADO recipe abound. It doesn't really matter what you use in the way of stuffing as long as it tastes good to you and doesn't fight with the avocado. I usually base mine on carrot, celery and onion, then add all sorts of things like lime or lemon zest, lime or lemon juice, dark or light miso, a little Braggs, plus some seeds (generally pumpkin or sunflower) to give it texture after I've pureed the rest. Any stuffing left over makes a great spread for anything you've got a mind to put it on.

Take care now!

Bok Choy With Tofu

BOK CHOY AND TOFU



I'm putting this in as representative of all the quick and easy dishes to be made with bok choy - apart from just steaming it up, which is also delicious - and a package of medium or firm tofu. If we can find the very tiny baby bok choy, that's our favourite. They're so delicate and are just brimful of good things! Also, they don't take much time :)

For best results, I like to cut the tofu into manageable strips and gently press out any excess liquid between my palms before cutting into bite-sized pieces. Then I mix a quick marinade: a little Bragg's Amino or some low-sodium soy sauce, a little finely minced ginger and garlic (the jarred stuff works fine if in a hurry), a TINY shake of crushed chilies OR half a tsp or so of sambal oelek (a fiery Indonesian condiment which is mostly chilies but has other flavourings in it - excellent to keep in the fridge!). I stir this altogether in a bowl large enough to hold the tofu pieces (we use about a third of a package for two of us) and leave it to soak up the flavours while I do the rest.

Here I have taken a couple of big slices of onion, some sliced mushrooms and some finely chopped garlic and cooked them in a pan (large enough for the whole dish) with a little more soy sauce and some water. When the onions are soft, I am ready to add the rest of the ingredients.

While the above veg are cooking, I prepare the bok choy. I like to cut the tiny bunches in half lengthways and add them to the pan over medium heat again, turning them gently to coat them in the flavours of the mushrooms and onions.

Next comes the tofu with its marinade, turned gently so that all is mixed together and left just long enough to warm through. The bokchoy leaves will wilt, but the stems should remain nice a crisp.

Easy-peasy, as someone I know likes to say :) I usually serve with brown rice or noodles.

NOTE: If you like a thicker sauce, you can add a tsp of cornstarch to a little water and stir into the tofu marinade before you add it to the pan.

Somewhere I have other similar recipes photographed - perhaps using snowpeas instead of bok choy - or using a mix of vegetables that were in the fridge - anything other than those bags of frozen 'oriental' or 'stir-fry' vegetable mixes that one sees in supermarket freezers. They are limp before they even get started.

Vegan 'Chicken' with Yellow Peppers, Vegan 'Beef' in Chinese Black Beans

After telling the world (or at least all who couldn't escape me) of my dislike for the various fake vegan 'meats' on the market, I finally succumbed to trying them once again. Either they have improved amazingly or my taste buds have changed! Not that I'm suggesting for a moment that they are necessarily a gourmet delight or that they even vaguely approximate the 'real thing' (what a relief!), I found the PC (President's Choice) brand, which is all I could find in my local supermarket, very tasty indeed - tasty enough to try them more than once.

VEGAN 'CHICKEN' WITH YELLOW PEPPERS

This dish looked prettier on the platter than is apparent from my photography, and had a pleasing texture. It was a simple stir-fry (well, stir-steam) of all the usual things you'd expect to find in such a dish at your local Chinese restaurant, allowing for regional differences: onions, garlic, yellow bell peppers, probably some celery or bok choy stems, etc., the 'chicken' pieces (cut into thirds by me) added towards the very last, and all married in a light soy sauce and cornstarch sauce - enough to glaze the ingredients. I served with wild rice mixed with brown rice. There were no leftovers.

Next I tried the so-called 'beef' strips.

VEGAN 'BEEF' IN CHINESE BLACK BEANS

This 'stir-fried' dish had much the same composition as the 'chicken' dish above, except, as you see, for the substitution of green bell peppers for yellow and the addition of mushrooms. The sauce, however, was somewhat different in that Chinese preserved (salted) 'black' soybeans were used (not to be confused with the black turtle beans that are used in some southwestern USA and/or Mexican-style dishes!). After soaking a Tbsp or a little more of the beans in hot water and mashing them in with a few cloves (heh heh we LOVE lots of garlic here, although a couple of cloves is what this recipe usually gets) of garlic, the mixture was stirred into the pan with the vegetables, the 'beef' pieces (cut into bite-size bits) added towards the end.

This also had no leftovers, although imho the fake beef has a texture that is not as appealing as the chicken - but that might be a matter of mood.

[TECHNICAL SIDENOTE: I am still having trouble with adding photos to this blog, so I am doing it through Photobucket. If you encounter any problem whatsoever, please leave a comment to let me know. Many thanks!]