easy | Turning Veganese

Jan 26 2013

Brown Bag Vegan Lunch: Tofu & Tomato Salad

I’m really proud of myself, you guys, because I brought coffee, breakfast, and lunch to work everyday this past week. It’s a huge deal for me because I had grown accustomed to buying coffee and lunch everyday (I would buy coffee or soy lattes twice a day most days) and either skipping breakfast or eating junk from the cafeteria. So, here’s what I know about myself: while I don’t mind leftovers, I don’t want to eat the same thing for lunch and dinner for a week, which is pretty much what happened when I made the pasta bake, and I still had some left after that. In order to keep this up, my challenge will be to prepare and plan ahead so that lunch can be easy and not boring.

One of the lunches I brought this week was a tofu and tomato salad. It took minimal effort, but did require some planning ahead. Here are the ingredients I used:

1 block extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
dill (fresh is great but I keep a bottle of Litehouse Freeze-Dried dill which is the next best thing)
salt and pepper to taste

I’d like to note that if I was eating this at home, I would have added some onion, but I didn’t want to offend anyone with my onion breath. Also, hot peppers or red pepper flakes would be a nice addition to this.

First, I had to make sure to press a block of tofu. I put my tofu in the TofuXpress before going to bed one night. Then, the next night, I drained it, cut it into cubes, and put it in a bowl with the chopped tomatoes. Then I mixed in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dill, and salt and pepper. I then placed all of it in my lunch container and put it in the fridge. In the morning, I grabbed the container, put it in my reusable lunch bag, and took it to work. All I had to do when it was lunchtime was grab a fork and chow down!

Not only was this really easy and about as effortless as lunch can be, it was totally vegan, raw, healthy, and a perfectly substantial lunch. It was also a lot cheaper than anything I would have bought for lunch. Yay! –Melissa

Tagged balsamic vinegar, easy, lunch, olive oil, quick, raw, salad, tofu, TofuXpress, tomato, vegan

Jan 18 2013

The Other Lazy Vegans: TV Dinner 8

Today we’re going to be talking about shepherd’s pie. This is an easy enough dish to make at home but sometimes you just want to go straight to the eating part of making dinner.

The ingredients were unobjectionable, the nutrition was okay and as usual I wish there was less packaging but it’s a small price to pay for a easy meal.

This particular dish was definitely more flavorful than some of the other dishes we’ve tried. We barely had to do anything to it to get it to taste awesome.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

Tagged dairy-free, easy, egg-free, garbanzo beans, gluten-free, nut-free, potatoes, quick, shepherd's pie, turnips, vegan, vegetarian

Jan 16 2013

1 Comment

Lazy Vegan

The Lazy Vegan: Sweet and Sour Soy Curls

I was not a big fan of sweet and sour anything when I was growing up. Sure, I loved dipping egg rolls and chicken in sweet and sour sauce, but the actual “sweet and sour” dish from any Chinese restaurant was just blech. I do find myself craving it, though, and the last time I had sweet and sour chicken, it was excellent. The chicken was perfectly breaded and coated perfectly in a very light and tasty sauce. I was thinking about it today, which is why I made a quick version of it using soy curls. I was so lazy about it that it’s almost embarrassing.

I rehydrated and drained some soy curls and then heated them in a pan, seasoning them with garlic powder and Bragg Liquid Aminos. When they were heated through, I coated them with some sweet and sour sauce and then removed them from heat. After plating the soy curls, I drizzled some more sauce on them. You guys, this is very important: it’s all about the sauce! I bought some sweet and sour sauce from the store tonight (yeah, yeah, when I’m not lazy I’ll make my own sauce instead) and it was kind of super bland.

Even though this dish wasn’t exactly spectacular, it filled my craving, and it’s exciting to know that I can only improve on it. Next time, I think I will bake the soy curls instead. That was my original intention, but I was really hungry so I went down the path that would take less time. I’ll try to make the sauce or at least use a better brand next time.

Now, if only I had a fortune cookie… –Melissa

Tagged easy, lazy vegan, quick, soy curls, sweet and sour, vegan

Jan 11 2013

3 Comments

Cooking

Stock!

This post is about making stock for soup, mashed potatoes, French Onion soup, gravy, risotto or whatever you would normally use soup stock for and it’s crazy simple. Even if you like to compost (or have bunnies to ‘process’ your leftover veggies) this is a great way to get more out of your veggies before you throw them in your bin. Get yourself a big old freezer safe storage container. Every time you peel the skins off onions or garlic, cut the ends of carrots or celery, stems from parsley and other herbs, stumps from mushrooms or broccoli… really anything. I add lemon peel from time to time for certain recipes like pho and orange peel for zesty soy curls. Dump it into the container (I like to use a freezer bag) and store in your freezer.

When your container is full of veggie scraps, dump the contents into a pan, cover with water and simmer for at least 2 hours. Strain the liquid into a container and freeze for whenever. Now the veggies are extra mushy for composting or your sink disposal.

The stock will have no added fat or sodium and full of flavor. I like to store the stock in zippered freezer baggies too. If the bag is full enough for about 1/2 inch thickness when lying on its side, then you’ll be able to thaw it quickly.

This is Christie, signing off.

Tagged basil, chili, cilantro, Cooking, coriander, cumin, dairy-free, easy, garlic, ginger, gluten-free, health, healthy, lemon, lime, low-calorie, mushrooms, nut-free, nutrition, nutritional yeast, onion, recipe, recipes, soup stock, soy-free, tomato, vegan, vegetarian

Jan 10 2013

2 Comments

Main Dishes

Simple Black Bean Chipotle Burritos!

Brent and I wanted something simple and delicious as we were recovering from our flu and this was it. One of the bigger issues with our love of Texan and Mexican cuisine is the lack of a suitably large soft tortilla to wrap Tex-Mex delights in. Fortunately we recently discovered that gluten-free wraps exist!

These babies are about the size of your typical wrap and are pliable, unlike their corn counterparts (which often must be fried in order to bend without breaking). You’ll need the following:
6 large soft tortillas
1 tin of black beans, drained
1 tin of diced tomatoes (seasoned with chilis and/or lime works well, I like Muir Glen)
1 package of crumbled tofu (Marjon is great) or 1 cup of reconstituted TVP
1 cup of your favorite chipotle, mole, ranchero or enchilada sauce
1 large onion, sliced
flake red pepper to taste
Daiya (optional)
corn oil

I sauteed the onion until it was soft. Then I added the tofu crumbles (use seitan if you’ve got a soy allergy), beans tomato and sauce. I stirred it until it was a good burrito consistency, adjusted the seasonings and the let Brent at it.

We plopped a generous amount of the burrito filling onto our new favorite wraps and then microwaved them (on top of a paper towel so they don’t get soggy) to melt some pepper jack Daiya we sprinkled on top. We added spinach after melting the cheese but we ate them before I could get a picture. Cilantro would have been good too!

It was spicy, hearty and packed with good nutrients for recovering invalids need. I suspect that’s just an excuse and we’ll do it again soon. YAY!

This is Christie and Brent, signing off.

Tagged black beans, burritos, crumbled tofu, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, health, healthy, lime, mexican, nut-free, onion, quick, recipe, recipes, soy, texan, vegan, vegetarian, wrap

Jan 09 2013

1 Comment

Raw, Recipes

Raw Tofu & Avocado Salad

It’s 2013 and time for me to get excited about food again — in a healthy, vegan way. This easy-to-make raw salad is a good start!

My food preparation philosophy is pretty solid. As much as I aspire to be a more creative and fancy cook, I want things to be simple, to use as few ingredients as possible, and find several ways to prepare meals using items that I always have in my kitchen and pantry. I also don’t want to spend a lot of time preparing food. Thus, this recipe is a classic “Melissa” recipe. I didn’t even come up with it myself. It’s based on this recipe.

Raw Tofu & Avocado Salad

1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and drained and then cubed
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos — my first time using this in my own cooking!
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 avocado, peeled and cubed
scallions
fresh cilantro
sesame seeds

I placed the cubed tofu in a bowl. I added the lemon, Bragg Liquid Aminos, and sesame oil, and then mixed it very gently to coat all the cubes. I set the bowl aside and then prepared the avocado. I added the avocado to the bowl with the tofu but I didn’t mix it in. I topped everything with scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds. I also sprinkled some freshly ground black pepper onto everything.

I was a little skeptical, but everything melded together really well! There was the tartness of the lemony tofu mixed with the creamy avocado, and then final fresh kick from the scallions and cilantro. I experimented a bit by eating it in a whole wheat pita:

The pita unfortunately muted the flavors too much for my taste, but the rest of the giant pita was great to munch on in between bites of the salad.

Easy, quick, versatile, and no cooking necessary: a classic Melissa recipe, indeed! –Melissa

Tagged avocado, bragg liquid aminos, cilantro, easy, lemon, raw, recipe, scallions, sesame oil, sesame seeds, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Jan 07 2013

2 Comments

Lazy Vegan, Recipes

Super Easy Rice and Veggie Soup

In lieu of being sick and not wanting to cook, nor eat anything complicated, Christie devised a method of making single-serving soup that is souper easy to make!

See what I did there?

What you need are :
Vegan Bouillon
Instant Rice
Frozen Veggies
Water
Microwave

Put the instant rice and frozen veggies in your bowl, add the bouillon and fill with water. Microwave for about two minutes, stir, and heat again for two minutes.

Watch as I fix it for my sick self.

It seems like a ‘no, duh’ recipe as I write it out, but really it’s a solid recipe to have in ones repertoire. For when you feel sick, or lazy, this soup can have you fed — gluten and cruelty free — in about five minutes.

Hope you all are having a happy and healthy new year!

Peace out, my vegans.

Tagged dairy-free, easy, egg-free, fast, gluten-free, milk-free, nut-free, quick, soup, vegan, vegetarian

Jan 06 2013

3 Comments

Main Dishes

Pasta a la Fauxlognese

As a kid, spaghetti bolognese was a favorite. It’s a rich meaty sauce wth lots of tomato and onion served with whatever pasta you tend to fancy. In this case, we’re using shirataki noodles and no meat. Shirataki noodles are great for those who are concerned about gluten and calories. If you use regular noodles, your fauxlognese will be more attractive than ours but just as tasty. You’ll want the following

1 onion, diced

3.4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp oregano

1 16oz tin of diced tomato

1 cup of TVP (reconstituted with water) or soy crumbles (Marion tofu crumbles work well here), chopped mushrooms can be substituted for those sensitive to soy

1 cube of “beef bouillon”

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

salt and flake red pepper to taste

olive oil

Add a dash of olive oil and the onion and garlic to your pan and saute until the onion starts to carmelize, stirring occasionally. Add the tofu crumbles or TVP and the dry spices.

When everything is hot and fragrant, add the tomato. Mix it all up, stirring occasionally until hot and adjust the seasonings to your taste.

Your sauce should look deceptively meaty. Top with some vegan parmesan, shredded basil or Daiya or just serve as is.

This is a very kid friendly preparation of vegan fare, tasty and healthy to boot. I hope you get to try it!

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged basil, cheese, coriander, cumin, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, health, healthy, low-calorie, nut-free, nutrition, olive oil, onion, oregano, pasta, quick, recipe, recipes, tofu, tofu crumbles, tomato, TVP, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss

Dec 28 2012

1 Comment

Main Dishes

Chanterelles Sauteed in White Wine and Herbes de Provence

Sounds fancy, right? It tastes fancy…. and delicious! It’s also crazy simple and works with just about any mushroom including the button mushrooms and portobellos you’ll find at your supermarket. You’ll need the following:

1 tbsp vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)

1 tsp herbes de provence

1/2 cup of white wine (I like pinot gris for this)

and a pound or so of mushrooms

I’m using chantarelles because I love their texture and flavor. You’ll be able to recognize them by their straw color, trumpet shape and frilly looking edge if you see them at your market.

I added the butter to a pan and waited until it was melted over medium heat. I simmered these, stirring occasionally over alternating low heat and no heat until the volume of the liquid and the mushrooms was reduced by about 1/3. It took about 45 minutes. I saved the remaining reduction, salted my mushrooms to taste and munched away.

They’re soft, lightly meaty and have a delicate umame flavor that’s complimented by the buttery herbs and crisp musky wine. I didn’t share with Brent. It was that good.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged butter, chantarelles, dairy-free, Earth Balance, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, mushrooms, pinot gris, vegan, vegetarian, white wine

Dec 25 2012

The Other Lazy Vegans: TV Dinner 7

Apparently I’m dating myself by using the term “TV dinner” so I’ll just pretend it’s a play on the title of our blog. Whatever. We’re trying more Amy’s tonight because holidays are too cooking intensive for me to handle sometimes. This time it’s the brown rice and vegetables bowl.

This one looked pretty good right out of the box.

After microwaving it maintained a fairly attractive visage. The vegetable had a good texture: the broccoli was just on the brink of crossing from tender to mushy but I’ll forgive that fact given how little time I spent standing over the stove.

The flavor wasn’t anything special but certainly wasn’t offensive. It benefited greatly from the addition of some soy sauce (Brent) and teryaki sauce (me).

This is one I’d do again for the nutritional profile, ingredients and versatility of the flavors. It’s just too easy.

This is Christie, signing off!

Tagged amy's, bowl, brown rice, dairy-free, easy, gluten-free, organic, quick, vegan, vegetable, vegetarian

Turning Veganese

I think I'm turning veganese, I really think so.

Tag Archives: easy

Brown Bag Vegan Lunch: Tofu & Tomato Salad

The Other Lazy Vegans: TV Dinner 8

The Lazy Vegan: Sweet and Sour Soy Curls

Stock!

Simple Black Bean Chipotle Burritos!

Raw Tofu & Avocado Salad

Super Easy Rice and Veggie Soup

Pasta a la Fauxlognese

Chanterelles Sauteed in White Wine and Herbes de Provence

The Other Lazy Vegans: TV Dinner 7

I think I'm turning veganese, I really think so.

Tag Archives: easy

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