Tofu scramble and Banana Bread

The thought of catching up has been so overwhelming, so I have neglected this blog far too long. I have loads of pictures and recipes that I am slowly but surely going to get posted...

...starting with breakfast this morning! We were asked to join a group from John's office to hike in a National Park here in Denmark today. To get us started I made a tofu scramble and some banana bread - that also became a nice snack on the hike.

The tofu scramble was a modified version of this recipe. I have a huge batch of sesame Parmesan - that I have literally been eating with a spoon - so I added a huge sprinkle of that, along with dijon mustard, turmeric, salt, pepper, and oat milk.

The veggies were sauteed in olive oil with a sprinkle of dried tomato flakes, basil, fennel, salt and pepper.

And the banana bread...so good! I added walnuts, sunflower seeds, dark chocolate chips, and coconut. I sprinkled oatmeal on top. Note: I am not the "Courtney" as mentioned in the recipe. Sheer coincidence.

Scrambled Tortillas

Definitely comfort food! But, also healthy (well, maybe not if you and your husband eat the entire 'serves 4' in one sitting!)

The recipe calls for corn tortillas. I had originally planned to make my own, but I ran out of time and settled for tortilla chips instead. They totally worked!

Isa Chandra Moskowitz describes it as 'little morsels of heaven' and I couldn't agree more! She also says it does not photograph well. Don't let that stop you from trying it though!!!

Hoison-Mustard Tofu with Unfried Fried Rice

The original recipe for the tofu includes lettuce wraps. That would have been delicious, but we did not have the right lettuce. So, we just served it alongside the rice and were very happy!

Both recipes are from Appetite for Reduction (my other cookbooks have been getting dusty lately!)

The recipe for the tofu is here. I bought a huge jar of hoisin sauce from the Asian market a few weeks ago, so fortunately we really enjoy the flavor!

The Unfried Fried rice is nothing really special, just rice cooked with sesame oil, shallot, garlic, ginger, soy and green onion. We added carrot and snow peas.

Salsa Scramble

Tofu sauteed in olive oil with nutitional yeast, oat milk, yellow mustard, salt and pepper.

Potatoes roasted with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.

Roasted veggie and salsa.

Tortilla chips.

A fantastic breakfast!

Garlicky Mushrooms and Kale with Chili-Lime Rubbed Tofu

The tofu was great. The concept of "rubbing" the spices on saves the time of marinating. The mushrooms and kale were very tastey also. Both recipes are from Appetite for Reduction and there is a nutritional bit about kale that states it provides around 10% of our daily requirement in one cup. Because kale shrinks down so much, it is easy to eat 4 or 5 cups in a meal.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Grilled Tofu

So. Good. Another score from Appetite for Reduction. The salad is topped with a Peanut-Mint Gremolata that is heavenly. The dressing is sweet and spicy with soy and lime flavors. A combination of tofu, lettuce, vermicelli noodles, veggies, and mint made this salad such a satisfying meal.

Hodge-podge meals this week...

I have been in a slump so cooking has been very simple recently. John and I pooled our energy one night to make roasted veggies, tofu, and sauteed cabbage.

The veggies were coated in a mixutre of white wine, dijon mustard, oregano, and pepper and then (over)roasted. The green beans shriveled up a bit too much!

The tofu was cooked on the stove with olive oil and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.

The cabbage was cut into shreds and cooked on the stove with an onion, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

This is quinoa salad with sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and olives. The dressing is a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. 

And we had this for breakfast one morning. A tofu scramble consisting of red peppers, broccoli, spinach, garlic and a splash of soy. The potatoes are diced sweet potatoes roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Bhutanese Pineapple Rice with Red Thai Tofu

Both recipes are from Appetite for Reduction and both are delish! When I make each of them again it won't be together. They both use basically the same spices and flavors: garlic, ginger, red curry paste, etc. The green beans are simply roasted with salt and pepper and a light spray of olive oil.

I have been cooking many recipes from this cookbook and none have failed me so far. I have noticed a significant difference in the amount of oil that remains in the bottle since I brought the book home. One of my goals for this year with cooking was to reduce our use of oil...check!

Thanksgiving Dinner

 We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with delicious food, fun friends, and lots of wine.

To start, I made Pumpkin Hummus and toasted pita bread. The hummus was my attempt to make the version I had in Thailand earlier this year. It included: chickpeas, pumpkin, tahini, salt, garlic, toasted sesame seeds, and green onions.  I chopped up pita bread that I made earlier this week and toasted it in the oven for a few minutes. The hummus has potential but I think I will experiment a bit more before I call it a success.

Next, I made Onion Soup Gratinéed with Cream-Truffle Mashed Potatoes.

I also made a Kibbeh with Apples, Walnuts, and Fake Feta cheese. The recipe is in a magazine from a grocery store I used to shop at in Eugene, Oregon. It is vegetarian but easily made vegan. For the feta, I followed this recipe.

Joy made two salads that were fantastic. One consisted of couscous, apples, raisins, and almonds. The other was kale and shredded beets. If we are lucky, maybe she will post the recipes in the comments section for all of us to enjoy :-)

And finally, for dessert! Hannes made a yummie Apple Crisp and I made Sweet Potato Blondies.

And, here are the place mats and napkins that I made to decorate the table. I found nice quality fabric remnants at IKEA and put them to use.

Vegan MoFo: U is for Udon Noodle Stir Fry

John made dinner tonight because I was busy making placemats for the Thanksgiving table.

My original plan was to make homemade Udon noodles but I bought a pre-cooked package over the weekend as backup. They were a lifesaver!


John mixed the leftover Thai Peanut-Burgers, crumbled, and peanut sauce from last night's dinner,  into the pasta along with zucchini, carrot, onion, and orange pepper.

Vegan MoFo: T is for Thai Peanut-Burger Wraps

Here is a link to the recipe posted by another blogger. I forgot to put the cilantro in the burgers so we just stuffed it in the pita with the lettuce.

The burgers were so good. Lots of flavor, good texture, and the recipe says that it makes 4 large burgers but I ended up with a dozen! 

I did not follow the recipe for the spicy peanut sauce. Instead, I mixed equal parts of soy, agave, and peanut butter.

I made a batch of pitas. I am telling you! Homemade pita bread is mouthwatering!

Vegan MoFo: Q is for Quiche

I have made quiches before, but this quiche is the king of quiches. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to prepare, contains pricey and unique ingredients, and packed so many flavors in that I figured today was the perfect day to spend making it.

                           

While I was preparing the crust I was thinking, there are easier crust recipes out there. But, it really was worth the effort. I love the addition of flax seeds and chickpea flour. I used dried herbs instead of fresh.

For the sauteed filling, I used half a red and half a yellow pepper. And for the blended part, I used cornstartch instead of arrowroot, sesame parm, and one slice of Tofutti Mozzerella style cheese.

The crust got a bit too dark while baking but the center took longer to get firm than the 40 minute recommended bake time. It didn't taste burned though!

All in all, I would make this again for a brunch or other special occasion but probably not just for John and myself. Also, the 1 TBSP of red pepper flakes is too much for our liking; next time I will use a teaspoon. And finally, John tried to eat one of the baked lemons. This is not recommended!

Vegan MoFo: M is for Mac Daddy and Peas

This has been a very stressful week at work. 3,000 people were laid off at the company both John and I work for (fortunately, neither of us!) and this has caused me to feel emotionally exhausted. Nothing like a little comfort food to cheer me up!

This vegan version of Mac and Cheese is awesome. I did not have regular tofu, so I used olive and tomato flavored. It added a nice flavor. I also sprinkled peas on the pasta before mixing in the sauce. Here is the recipe.

Vegan MoFo: C is for Cauliflower and Caramelized Onion Casserole

This recipe popped up on my blog roll a few days ago and I knew it was perfect for day three: C. It is from a blog called Easy as (Vegan) Pie. I made a basic crust instead of using puff pastry. The crust consisted of flour, vegan butter, salt, and water.

I was feeling very lazy and have a headache so I ran the cauliflower through the food processor instead of taking the time to chop it. I still roasted the tiny pieces and think it was a fantastic move. The flavor was still there but the texture was completely different. The cauliflower blended more with the tofu mixture than I think it would have if it was in bigger chunks.

I also used flavored tofu: one package olive, one package vegetable. And finally, no cheese substitute. I just sprinkled paprika on top before baking. So many wonderful flavors in this casserole!

I also made a salad that consisted of lettuce, kalamata olives,  sun dried tomatoes, veggie chicken nuggets, pumpkin seeds, and for the dressing, a splash of the olive oil that the sun dried tomatoes were soaking in and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Vegan MoFo: B is for Bagel Sandwiches

I have always wanted to make the bagels from Vegan Brunch but never found the perfect excuse...until today! I didn't worry too much about the shape because I was so nervous about the dough. But, they came out so good and tasted exactly like bagels! I was worried they would just taste like round rolls of bread with a hole in the middle. Fortunately, that was not the case.

I roasted some tomato flavored tofu and added lettuce, fresh tomato, and dijon mustard to make bagel sandwiches. 

I also made some pumpkin, quinoa and veggie soup. I followed this recipe from the Fat Free Vegan blog. I did not add the lentils though. For the veggies, I included the fresh version of the following: carrot, celery, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, spinach, and green onions.

Mini Broccoli Quiches

We had brunch this weekend with our friends Hannes and Joy. They made fantastic Blueberry and Banana pancakes from the cookbook How it all Vegan and served fresh fruit. We made spicy roasted potatoes and broccoli quiche.

I do not have a pie dish so I made the quiche in a square casserole dish. It was fine, but more shallow than it would normally be. Therefore, I had a lot of leftover broccoli/tofu mixture. So, this morning I made mini quiches.

Pumpkin and Wild Mushroom Lasagna

The original recipe, from Vegan Planet, calls for butternut squash, not pumpkin. But, because it is Halloween and I was able to find pumpkin and not squash, I thought it would be a very creative and delicious swap. It was!

Here is the recipe. The tofu that I used had basil in it and I left out the vegan mozzarella completely. I used 2 cups of fresh, white mushrooms and 1 cup of a re-hydrated blend of wild mushrooms.

It seemed that there was too much of the tofu blend when I was assembling the dish, but after it baked I was not disappointed. We dug in before it had sufficient time to cool so the pieces didn't come out so beautifully!

Tofu Tikka Masala with Red Rice

During one of my latest trips to the Asian Market, I found a jar of Tikka paste and set my sights on Tikka Masala! Tikka means chunks of; masala means a mixture of spices.


There is a speedy recipe on the jar that calls for 500 grams of chicken, but tofu was the perfect vegan substitute. The tofu is marinated in the following for 2 hours: 4 TBSP Tikka paste, 1 TBSP soy yogurt, 2 TBSP vegan butter.

After marinating, pour the tofu and sauce into a pan, add veggies and cook to the desired vegetable consistency.

While I was in Thailand in August of this year, my absolute favorite Thai meal was served with red rice. I was extremely excited to find red rice in Denmark.

Breakfast Burritos

We ran into friends, Joy and Hannes today. Vegetarian, fans of Portland, stellar taste in music...all around our kind of people! The topic of brunch came up and made me so hungry for something brunch-like, such as breakfast burritos.

Actually, more like tacos. But, our intention was to make burritos! We didn't realize how tiny our tortillas were when we were rolling them out and cooking them but when it came time to fill them, it became very obvious! We also spent very little time worrying about making them perfect circles. Because this recipe is so fantastic, it has been easy to stick to my guns and not buy tortillas.

The burrito buffet included: roasted potatoes; tofu (pressed, then sauteed in olive oil and sprinkled with sesame parm); roasted veggies: carrots, red pepper, zucchini, red onion, and mushrooms; sauteed spinach and garlic (which I mixed with the roasted veggies after it was finished cooking); black beans mixed with salsa; fresh tomatoes and Sheese Mexican Style spread (great on tacos or other things with various flavors but too strong to eat on its own or as a dip).

Poppin' Popovers

I haven't used one of my newest cookbooks very much, The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes, but gave this recipe a go along with a pasta dish. John commented that I didn't bake them long enough, evident by the fact that they did not rise to their full potential. I will definitely make them again. The recipe says they make 6 but I stretched the dough out to make 12. I think these will make a fantastic addition to soup recipes this winter.