It is amazing how many people still think you cannot be vegetarian, or especially vegan and get enough protein. This breakfast recipe is one of my favourites, and it has lots of protein and calcium to start your day right.
I made this for dinner recently and a friend of mine who is decidedly anti-vegetarian commented how amazing my cooking smelled. I did my best to restrain myself from gloating while announcing it was a tofu dish!!
1/2 med onion chopped, 4-5 sliced mushrooms (I use canned for convenience)
splash of olive oil, 1pkg firm tofu, crumbled
salsa (to taste- I love spice so I load it on) splash of hot sauce (optional)
add /substitute veggies such as tomatos, red or green peppers,
Add onions, mushrooms and olive oil to pan and saute on med-high heat until onions are translucent.
Crumble tofu and add to saucepan with the salsa. Saute 10 min until moisture has evaporated.
I love President's Choice Herbed tofu in this dish, but you can add your own herbs, too or just keep it plain.
If you don't like salsa, you can add soy sauce, pepper, garlic and herbs, or make it Greek by adding oregano, olives and sundried tomatoes. I love this recipe on top of toast or putting it in a wrap as a breakfast burrito. Have fun with this and don't be afraid to play with this recipe!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Grilled Portabello Mushrooms
3 large Portobello Mushrooms
Equal parts olive oil & balsamic vinegar
pinch of pepper, garlic powder
Wash & brush the mushrooms gently with a vegtable brush. Place in container then add equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar to container. Close lid and shake to evenly distribute marinade. Let sit in fridge for up to one hour. Grill on each side for 5 minutes,or until mushrooms are tender.
***
Right now, I am feeling a bit sheepish when I consider the fact that I have always loved portabello mushrooms in restaurants, or when someone else has prepared them. It had never occured to me that it is actually not hard to grill them myself. I simply turned on my George Forman (knockoff) grill and placed the marinated mushrooms on it and that's it.
They had a wonderfully meaty texture for those of you who are missing meat, or having trouble giving it up. I am thinking next time I might try marinating them with a pepper steak sauce.
Equal parts olive oil & balsamic vinegar
pinch of pepper, garlic powder
Wash & brush the mushrooms gently with a vegtable brush. Place in container then add equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar to container. Close lid and shake to evenly distribute marinade. Let sit in fridge for up to one hour. Grill on each side for 5 minutes,or until mushrooms are tender.
***
Right now, I am feeling a bit sheepish when I consider the fact that I have always loved portabello mushrooms in restaurants, or when someone else has prepared them. It had never occured to me that it is actually not hard to grill them myself. I simply turned on my George Forman (knockoff) grill and placed the marinated mushrooms on it and that's it.
They had a wonderfully meaty texture for those of you who are missing meat, or having trouble giving it up. I am thinking next time I might try marinating them with a pepper steak sauce.
Friday, July 16, 2010
I want to be a Snooters Girl!!
Yes, I said SNooters! What were you thinking?
On June 19th, I had the privilege of being a volunteer at a wonderful little sanctuary for rescued farm animals called Snooters. About 60 of us animal lovers showed up to paint, shovel and generally help out.
We were greeted with a wonderful spread of vegan cupcakes, pastries and fruit. Chocolate cupcakes in the morning? Of course; this is ME talking, and they were AMAZING!
My chosen chore was to paint fence posts for the home of Ashi and Norman, the recently arrived, rescued veal calves. Below is Sherry and myself painting. This photo is very misleading, as I look clean. Truth be told, I finished the day with paint on my hat, ears, pants, hands-and who knows where else where!! I actually did save some paint for the fence post!!!
Once we completed the chores, we had the incredible experience of visiting with the rescued farm animals which included peacocks and pigs; both farm and pot bellied. However, I was smitten the second I set my eyes upon Norman and Ashli; the "veal" calves.
On June 19th, I had the privilege of being a volunteer at a wonderful little sanctuary for rescued farm animals called Snooters. About 60 of us animal lovers showed up to paint, shovel and generally help out.
We were greeted with a wonderful spread of vegan cupcakes, pastries and fruit. Chocolate cupcakes in the morning? Of course; this is ME talking, and they were AMAZING!
My chosen chore was to paint fence posts for the home of Ashi and Norman, the recently arrived, rescued veal calves. Below is Sherry and myself painting. This photo is very misleading, as I look clean. Truth be told, I finished the day with paint on my hat, ears, pants, hands-and who knows where else where!! I actually did save some paint for the fence post!!!
Once we completed the chores, we had the incredible experience of visiting with the rescued farm animals which included peacocks and pigs; both farm and pot bellied. However, I was smitten the second I set my eyes upon Norman and Ashli; the "veal" calves.
These adorable creatures have the sweetest faces, with big, beautiful gentle eyes that have the ability to just reach in and touch your soul. They basked in the attention and love they received from us and thoroughly enjoyed being petted. Norman reminded me of a puppy in the way he alternated between prancing around in play, then snoozing the next minute.
They came to be here when Susan, their rescuer, was alerted that they were on a dairy farm and were marked with a red X, for slaughter. These sweet little creatures were destined to become a jacket or a shoe.
For me, it is nothing short of horrifying to face the reality of that. This is the reason that I do what I do and eat what I eat.
My heart aches to think of what we humans do to the gentlest of God's creatures simply to satisfy our tastebuds or our vanity, when there are SO many wonderful alternatives!! It is my wish that all humans get the opportunity to meet and actually connect with these creatures and realize just WHO is on our plate , not WHAT.
For those of you who would love to support this amazing place, please visit http://www.snootersforeverhome.com/. They have really cool "Snooter's" shirts, hats, mugs, etc that are both stylin' and support this wonderful cause!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Well, that was cheesy!
Lately, I cannot even count the number of times I have heard the phrase "I could never live without cheese". It seems to be the automatic reponse of people who learn that I am vegan. Since I have yet to meet anyone who has has suffered from a cheese deficiency, I try to respond to that comment with limited eyerolling. (yes, only limited, I am not perfect).
I have tried a few vegan "melting" cheeses that were really not bad when melted over nachos,etc, but the answer to my prayers came by chance when Cody and I were wandering downtown Burlington and stumbled upon a new vegan Health food store and cafe called Kindfood.
I was meeting friends for lunch, so we decided to try their cafe. My friend and I both tried the "Oh my God Grilled cheese". This sandwich was appropriately named as that was the exact phrase that came out of my friend's mouth when she took a bite. It really was that good!!
The cheese they used is called "Daiya" and it is made in Canada and has absolutely no soy, for those of you are soy-adverse. Well, now that I am dying for Daiya (Hey, I wonder if I can sell that slogan to the makers of Daiya. They could pay me in cheese) I can go down to Kindfood and buy a tub of it and just live on grilled cheese. Maybe I will.
http://www.kindfood.com/
I have tried a few vegan "melting" cheeses that were really not bad when melted over nachos,etc, but the answer to my prayers came by chance when Cody and I were wandering downtown Burlington and stumbled upon a new vegan Health food store and cafe called Kindfood.
I was meeting friends for lunch, so we decided to try their cafe. My friend and I both tried the "Oh my God Grilled cheese". This sandwich was appropriately named as that was the exact phrase that came out of my friend's mouth when she took a bite. It really was that good!!
The cheese they used is called "Daiya" and it is made in Canada and has absolutely no soy, for those of you are soy-adverse. Well, now that I am dying for Daiya (Hey, I wonder if I can sell that slogan to the makers of Daiya. They could pay me in cheese) I can go down to Kindfood and buy a tub of it and just live on grilled cheese. Maybe I will.
http://www.kindfood.com/
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Barbequed Pizza
Well, it was my first time being a guest for dinner now that I am trying to be a full time vegan. Before, I would only eat cheese when eating out or as a guest.
My host, Hilary, was making barbequed pizza and graciously offered to make a portion of it without cheese. I will admit, as I saw the feta cheese going on their part.. my will power was weakening.. Would I feel completely deprived? Would I cave in and eat theirs? Tackle them and steal it from their hands? Well, that would have been rude, so I stuck to my guns and ate my cheese-less version.
My fears were completely unfounded! It was scrumptious! Here is how it was made:
Pre-baked thin pizza crust- A flat bread would work just as well. Instead of tomato sauce, a thin layer of apple butter was spread across the crust. Sounds strange, but was amazing!
The toppings were; grilled eggplant, zucchini, tomatos, olives, hot peppers.
It was then placed on the barbeque to heat up.
Pretty simple. I actually think the cheese would have taken away from the rustic flavour of this pizza.
My host, Hilary, was making barbequed pizza and graciously offered to make a portion of it without cheese. I will admit, as I saw the feta cheese going on their part.. my will power was weakening.. Would I feel completely deprived? Would I cave in and eat theirs? Tackle them and steal it from their hands? Well, that would have been rude, so I stuck to my guns and ate my cheese-less version.
My fears were completely unfounded! It was scrumptious! Here is how it was made:
Pre-baked thin pizza crust- A flat bread would work just as well. Instead of tomato sauce, a thin layer of apple butter was spread across the crust. Sounds strange, but was amazing!
The toppings were; grilled eggplant, zucchini, tomatos, olives, hot peppers.
It was then placed on the barbeque to heat up.
Pretty simple. I actually think the cheese would have taken away from the rustic flavour of this pizza.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Melanie's Caribbean Yummy-ness
I often, when by myself, throw together some odd concoction of food based on ingredients that I just happen to have in my fridge because I couldn't be bothered to plan something just for myself. This practice does sometime manage to blow up in my face. Not literally,as I have never exploded anything in my kitchen-YET. It just turns out less than desireable. This is not the case with my lunch today that I threw together last night. It was so good, I even gave my dish a name.
Melanie's Caribbean Yummy-ness
Boil sweet potatos until they are mostly done. I then lightly fried them in organic coconut oil until soft and added black pepper.
I placed them in a bowl and added black beans, chopped avocado, salsa and lime juice.
Thats it!! Super good. The coconut and lime flavours remind me of the tropics
Melanie's Caribbean Yummy-ness
Boil sweet potatos until they are mostly done. I then lightly fried them in organic coconut oil until soft and added black pepper.
I placed them in a bowl and added black beans, chopped avocado, salsa and lime juice.
Thats it!! Super good. The coconut and lime flavours remind me of the tropics
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Barbeque tofu
2 lbs firm tofu, pressed and diced
1.5 cups ketchup 3 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce (I used Braggs for low sodium)
1 tbsp cider vinegar 1 tbsp red pepper flakes 1tsp garlic powder black pepper
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hour
-----
Seems easy enough, but how much is 2 pounds of tofu? I don't have a food scale. I don't even have a bathroom scale!! After trying to consider the rest of the ingredients, I deemed all measurements irrelevant and cut off half the block of tofu and just started throwing stuff in the pot, based on what looked like a good amount. I also added a bit of tomato sauce I had left over. Hey, I wanted to live on the edge and break out of my comfort zone.....
After around two hours , I tasted it and it was ready. It reminded me of the spare rib sauce my mother used to make. So good, Easy peas-y. This will definitely become a regular in my home.
1.5 cups ketchup 3 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp soy sauce (I used Braggs for low sodium)
1 tbsp cider vinegar 1 tbsp red pepper flakes 1tsp garlic powder black pepper
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hour
-----
Seems easy enough, but how much is 2 pounds of tofu? I don't have a food scale. I don't even have a bathroom scale!! After trying to consider the rest of the ingredients, I deemed all measurements irrelevant and cut off half the block of tofu and just started throwing stuff in the pot, based on what looked like a good amount. I also added a bit of tomato sauce I had left over. Hey, I wanted to live on the edge and break out of my comfort zone.....
After around two hours , I tasted it and it was ready. It reminded me of the spare rib sauce my mother used to make. So good, Easy peas-y. This will definitely become a regular in my home.
Spicy peanut sauce
Recipe:
1 med. onion 4 cloves garlic 1tbsp olive oil
1cup hot water 1tbsp fresh ginger , grated 1cup natural peanut butter
3tbsp braggs or soy sauce dash of cayenne pepper
Saute onions & garlic in saucepan until onion is translucent. Stir in water, ginger, peant butter, braggs, and cayenne. Whisk together until smooth. Simmer for 5 min on high heat, stirring often.
Serve over noodles, stir fry or veggies
Ok, so I cheated. I used garlic powder instead of the real thing. I also added vegetarian chicken stock (from bulk barn)
So this turned out pretty well and tasted great, but I had to stir the peanut butter constantly and ended up scrubbing peanut butter off my stove top,cupboards, floor. Seriously, if i was a cartoon character, I would be Pig Pen; with nicer shoes.
1 med. onion 4 cloves garlic 1tbsp olive oil
1cup hot water 1tbsp fresh ginger , grated 1cup natural peanut butter
3tbsp braggs or soy sauce dash of cayenne pepper
Saute onions & garlic in saucepan until onion is translucent. Stir in water, ginger, peant butter, braggs, and cayenne. Whisk together until smooth. Simmer for 5 min on high heat, stirring often.
Serve over noodles, stir fry or veggies
Ok, so I cheated. I used garlic powder instead of the real thing. I also added vegetarian chicken stock (from bulk barn)
So this turned out pretty well and tasted great, but I had to stir the peanut butter constantly and ended up scrubbing peanut butter off my stove top,cupboards, floor. Seriously, if i was a cartoon character, I would be Pig Pen; with nicer shoes.
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