Tag Archives: nutritional yeast

Mar 29 2012
1 Comment
Main Dishes, Recipes

Tofu Burgers with portobello mushrooms!

I’ll make just about anything into burgers. I just like the format. In this particular case we tried using a beloved burger recipe as a stuffing for portobello mushrooms. Whether you want patties or stuffed ‘shrooms, all you need to do is gather the following:
12 oz silken tofu
2/3 cup quinoa flakes (rolled oats work too)
1 tbsp flax meal
2 small carrots, grated
2 small stalks celery, chopped
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
tamari or soy sauce to taste

I shredded my carrots and celery in my food processor. I put everything into a bowl with the tofu and then Brent went to work mooshing. Watch him showing this future burger mix who’s the boss. You can also use a food processor but Brent is an expert moosher. Add more quinoa flakes if you find they’re not firm enough.

Shape into patties. Heat a skillet or grill and grill the burgers until each side is crispy and golden brown.

We decided to use it as a stuffing for portobello mushrooms and that’s just another option. We baked some portobellos drizzled lightly with balsamic vinegar at 350C/180F for 10 minutes.

We then stuffed each mushroom cap with the burger mix and baked an additional 20 minutes.

We topped with cheese and baked another 10 minutes. This is Heidi Ho organics, chipotle cheddar. We liked that it was low calorie (about half that of dairy cheese) and it had a nice chipotle flavor but it wasn’t particularly cheesy and didn’t melt like some other vegan cheeses. This didn’t stop us from eating the entire block. It was tasty, just not cheesy.

These burgers were definitely a hit. We ate all three and then fried up the rest of the burger mix and dipped it in buffalo sauce. They came out crispy and tender. Double win! If you try it, let us know what you think. Until then, stay tasty!

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Mar 26 2012
4 Comments
Recipes

Pakora: chickpea fritters… basically.

Brent and I decided to try and recreate another of our favorite take-out dishes last night. This one was not quite as successful as our <a href=”https://turningveganese.com/2012/03/20/tofu-mahkani-quick-and-easy/”>previous endeavors</a> but we learned a lot so it’s okay. We were interested in making pakora so with some inspiration from <a href=”http://ellesite.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/guilt-free-pakora-vegan-indian-food-made-healthy/>Elle’s Diary</a> we decided to craft our own and bake them instead of traditional frying.

First I shredded 5 medium carrots and a large zucchini in my food processor. I added the folloring:
2 cups chickpea flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp gram masala blended spices
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter
soy milk

We mixed it together with the shredded veggies and added soy milk until the texture was like a thick batter. I spooned them onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. We baked them at 350C/180F until they began to brown at the edges and were firm to the touch, about 35 minutes.

While we were waiting, my handsome partner in criminally fun cooking prepared two sauces for dipping: mint chutney and tamarind. For the tamarind he combined:
maple syrup
thawed frozen tamarind
chili paste

For the mint chutney, he put the following in the food processor:

1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups fresh mint leaves
1 jalapeño pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water, or as needed
 
The dipping sauces were an enormous success. The pakora on the other hand, needed some work. I think the next time we make this dish we’ll add a shredded onion and maybe a potato or eggplant to the veggie mix. We’ll also add a little baking soda and use a cast iron skillet to bake them since sticking to the wax paper lined baking sheet was a problem. The flavors, however, were good and this high protein addition to a traditional Indian meal will be welcome even before we work out the kinks. We’ll be revisiting this particular awesome dish again and we’ll keep you posted.
This is Brent and Christie, signing off!
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Feb 23 2012
5 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes, Snacks

Easy Baked Eggplant

Eggplant is awesome. It’s purple… sometimes white or marbled, and versatile. This recipe is an easy addition to any meal: it’s low in calories, tasty and easy to prepare. Most of the calories in this recipe come from the almonds. Almonds are a great source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These two nutrients are often overlooked by vegans. Omnivores get them from fish along with such delicious contaminants as heavy metals mercury and lead or pesticides like DDT. Flax seeds and nuts are a great source of these nutrients that are vital for brain function. Your brain is the fattiest organ in your body! Weird, right?

For this recipe slice your eggplant into one inch thick pieces and ‘bread’ it in a mixture of the following:

1 cup of almond meal

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

a pinch of salt

Now place the pieces on lightly oiled tinfoil (I rest each on top of 3 almonds or sprinkle some corn meal for better air flow), cover with foil, and bake it at 375F/190C for 25-30 minutes.

After this you’ll remove the foil and poke with a knife every 5 minutes or so until they’re tender.

Just imagine this smothered with pasta sauce and melted soy cheese… Okay, I’m drooling.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Feb 17 2012
3 Comments
Main Dishes, Recipes, Snacks, Thoughts

Great big raw green dinner!

I am getting ready to go out of town and I wanted to make sure nothing in my kitchen spoiled. I had some weird foods: Spinach, kumquats, yellow zucchini and avocado. What am I supposed to do with that!? Because this was an experiment I didn’t take as many pictures as I would normally like but it was good I decided to share.

I decided to julienne the zucchini and mixed that with some sun dried tomato and mixed it with 1/3 of my avocado as a binding agent. I also added a pinch of sea salt and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast.

I mooshed it into a mold and put it into the freezer while I did the next part. I chopped up the kumquats, a big bunch of mint leaves, and again mixed that with 1/3 of my avocado.

Next I took the rest of the herbs in my fridge (parsley, basil, and dill) and put the stems and leaves into my blender with a generous tablespoon of tahini, the remaining 1/3 of the avocado, juice from 2 lemons and 1 lime, and a little bit of almond milk until the flavor was balanced as a dressing. I blended it until it came out nice and creamy.

I covered a plate in spinach, put my chilled zucchini mixture onto that and then spooned the kumquat mint relish onto the sides. I added a quick drizzle of my tahini herb dressing and sat down to a healthy raw vegan dinner.

The mellow flavors of the zucchini and sun dried tomato were a good base for the tangy, sweet mint kumquat relish. The herb tahini dressing was really good but I think it brought too many flavors into the dish. The avocado brought the whole thing together as a common element in all the parts and the spinach helped me get it into my mouth. I think if I do this again, I might try adding some raw garlic to the zucchini and save the herb tahini dressing for plain spinach salads.

Experimenting is probably my favorite part of being vegan. I hope you get to experiment a little. The more you do it, the more things will ‘work out’ instead of being composted. Good luck!

 

This is Christie, signing off.

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Feb 11 2012
9 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Vegan alfredo!

A few days ago, LuminousVegans posted a creamy alfredo recipe and reminded me how delicious creamy pasta sauces are. I’m making my own soy-based creamy alfredo which can be made nut free for those of you with nut allergies. If you’re sensitive to soy (or even if you’re not), definitely try LuminousVegan’s alfredo recipe. Her recipes are amazing!

The ingredients are as follows:
1 12 oz. box silken tofu (I like MoriNu)
1-2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1-2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch nutmeg
soy or almond milk as needed
garlic or sea salt and crushed red pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender, adding soy or almond milk as necessary until you get a rich creamy sauce. That’s it, you’re done making high protein, low-fat, low-calorie alfredo sauce. I do recommend heating it either by microwaving or in a skillet with some white wine but this isn’t necessary, it just helps to marry the flavors.

I tossed it with hot pasta and a sliced soy sausage that I browned with some garlic.

I also added some raw red and yellow bell pepper. I tore up some more fresh basil for presentation but it wasn’t pretty for long because I ate it.

I love the sienna with the red and yellow on the creamy backdrop and vivid green. I’m a sucker for food that’s beautiful as well as delicious and good for you. Food should nourish your mind and your body. I love the sweetness of the pepper, the spice of the soy sausage with the creamy tofu and savory nutritional yeast and pasta.

If you want creamy pesto instead, add a generous handful of raw basil, a dash of lemon juice and about half a bulb of garlic.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Jan 27 2012
4 Comments
Cooking, Recipes, Snacks

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Stereotypes about vegans often include the idea that they’re anemic. I’ve donated blood for years and I panicked after I went vegan, worrying that I wouldn’t be able to donate anymore. I’m a little more pedantic about my eating habits than most people so it’s probably not surprising that my iron levels were in the high end of the healthy range when I donated Thursday evening. There are a lot of reasons you might want to give blood. I’m including 2 links to scientific papers whose results suggest that regular blood donations can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, especially if you’re a dude.

My personal reasons for donating blood is that one out of every 4 people will need a transfusion in their life. Imagine 4 people you care about. Now imagine your life without one of them. Wow, that’s depressing. Anyways, there are benefits to donating blood other than patting yourself on the back for saving lives: I got a free movie ticket and a snack, I know my blood pressure and my blood iron levels are healthy and in a week I’ll know my cholesterol level. You’ll also learn your blood type which is a good thing to know if you’re ever seriously hurt.

Spinach is another one of my favorite vegan goodies. Spinach can help you prepare for and recover from donating blood. One cup has enough vitamin K to give 2 people their recommended daily intake of vitamin K. WTF is vitamin K? It’s a crucial nutrient for blood clotting. This is important for after you’re done donating blood to help you stop bleeding and reduce your risk of bruising.
So why is spinach better than beef if you’re thinking about donating blood? Beef has less than 2/3 the iron and almost 10 times the calories compared to spinach, ounce for ounce. Spinach also has 600 times the vitamin K of an equal weight of lean beef. (according to http://www.nutritiondata.com)
Did I mention I’m making spinach artichoke dip? Yeah. I’ve gotta recuperate the nutrients I donated (excuse to indulge). Assemble these ingredients.
1/2 onion, diced
1 generous bunch spinach, chopped (frozen is fine, one 12 ounce package should do it, just make sure it’s thawed and well drained)
1 tin marinated artichoke hearts
1 tsp olive oil
1 12 oz. package silken tofu (I used Mori-Nu)
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
3 garlic cloves
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp flake red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sautee onion, spinach and artichoke hearts in olive oil until onion is soft.
Blend together tofu, nutritional yeast, garlic, vinegar and spices in blender until smooth.
Combine all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a glass baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, after that, observe until lightly browned on top.
Garnish with some shredded basil. Serve warm with crackers, raw broccoli florets or carrots.
As I’ve written it, this recipe contains about 350-500 calories (depending on how much olive oil you sautee with and what sort of tofu you use). That’s about the number of calories in a blood donation. Coincidence? I think not.
This is Christie, signing off to go see that free movie.
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