Tag Archives: recipe

Aug 08 2012
5 Comments
Cooking, Thoughts

Help Wanted: Upo Recipes!

I’ve posted quite a bit about my Dad’s garden this summer and I have really enjoyed it. I am so appreciative of the garden. I can grab basil or mint right when I need it, eggplants go from garden to table in minutes, and it’s kind of amazing to see beans and bitter melon go from nothing to ready-to-eat within a day or two. It’s also been really nice and rewarding for my entire family to be able to share the harvest with our friends.

One of the weirder items that my Dad grows is upo aka bottle gourd aka calabash. Here’s a picture of the plant from about a month ago:

And here’s how it looked yesterday:

The ‘meat’ of upo is quite watery. We use it a lot in soups, or we simply stir-fry it. Either way, it requires flavor. Shrimp or pork are typically cooked with upo. So here is where I ask YOU for your help! Have you cooked upo? What vegan recipes can you share? Upo seems to be used in many different ways by many cultures. I’m looking for a little guidance, and I will gladly blog about whatever recipe(s) I try.

If you have a recipe or idea to share, leave a comment! Thank you!!! –Melissa

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Aug 06 2012
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Cooking, Recipes

Stuffed Bitter Melon (Ampalaya)

This dish originated from a craving for soy curl BBQ, believe it or not. One thought led to another, and next thing I knew, I was grabbing a bitter melon or ampalaya from the fridge and getting to work. I’ve eaten a lot of ampalaya and I’ve eaten it in many, many ways, but I’ve never had it like this.

I made this using one relatively small (6-7 inches) bitter melon, so adjust the recipe measurements as needed if you have lots of melons.

Stuffed Bitter Melon

1 bitter melon
1 cup soy curls (I use Butler)
1 tbsp plum sauce
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
olive oil
salt

I cut the bitter melon in half lengthwise, scooped out its guts, and then put it in a bowl of salt water and let it soak. This helps to remove some of the bitterness. I then took the soy curls and put them in a bowl of water to rehydrate. While the melon and soy curls were both soaking, I minced the garlic and ginger.

When the soy curls were ready, I chopped them into small pieces to facilitate stuffing the melon halves. Then I browned them in a pan for about three minutes. I have started sprinkling Butler’s Chik-Style Seasoning whenever I cook soy curls to give it a more meaty flavor. This is totally optional!

I removed the soy curls from heat, placed them in a bowl, and coated them with the plum sauce, chili garlic sauce, and minced garlic and ginger. While the flavors marinaded for a bit, I got back to my bitter melon halves and rinsed them very well to remove all the salt.

I placed the halves in a baking pan and stuffed them with the soy curl mixture. Then I baked them at 325 degrees in the toaster oven for 10 minutes and raised the temp to 350 for the last five minutes. If you use a regular oven, I would bake them at 350 degrees straight for 15 minutes. You may need to keep it in there longer if you want the bitter melons to be tender. I like my melons with a little crunch.

Oh my goodness. OH MY GOODNESS! This was so delicious. It was sweet, spicy, and subtly bitter. I ate it with some rice, but it’s yummy all on its own. I’m glad to report that this was omnivore-approved. If you don’t have bitter melon, bell peppers would probably make a good substitute.

Let me take a minute to praise Butler Soy Curls. This product has seriously upped my excitement for vegan cooking. You can buy them directly from Butler in bulk or from Vegan Essentials, which is a Turning Veganese favorite.

Soy curls stuffed in bitter melon. Who knew?! Happy eating and experimenting, everyone! –Melissa

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Aug 01 2012
3 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes

Mushroom and Tofu Tacos, Jr.

I got this eerie sense of deja vu as I was cooking this dish and then realized that it was because I had made something like it before. I panicked at first, thinking to myself that I was mentally challenged for not being able to come up with something new. But then I realized how much had changed since I last made mushroom and tofu tacos, and I suddenly felt this sense of pride.

Allow me to explain. I went from barely cooking to suddenly learning how to cook vegan meals for myself. Every time I would prepare something, I had to do “research,” figuring out how to prepare and cook things, what ingredients to use, even simply making sure that what I was making was actually vegan. When making this dish, I didn’t think much about it. I just got my ingredients and dove right in. I am not the same Melissa that I was a year ago!

This is a good variation on my original recipe since it’s “ground” tofu and mushrooms. You will need the following:

1 block extra firm tofu, liquid squeezed out, and then mashed with a fork for a ground meat-like texture
1/3 cup of mushrooms, minced – I used some dried mushrooms that friends from Thailand brought for us
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp chipotle chili powder (or ancho chili powder)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cumin
salt, to taste
olive oil for frying
ground annatto (optional)

Mix all but the olive oil and annatto together in a bowl. Fire up a frying pan and heat up the olive oil. Then, toss in the tofu/mushroom mix. Cook until heated through. I add some annatto halfway through to give the tofu some color.

Stick that stuff on a warm tortilla, put your favorite taco toppings on it, and stuff your face! –Melissa

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Jun 25 2012
5 Comments
Recipes

Thank Goodness for Mangoes and Blueberries… and RUM

I needed a cocktail today. Badly.

Disclaimer: I didn’t intend for this post to glorify the consumption of liquor. Please drink responsibly and remember that alcohol is not the answer to life’s problems!

I shall call this cocktail “My Heart May Hurt but At Least I’m Getting My Antioxidants”

1/2 a mango
1/4 cup blueberries
fresh mint (optional)
shot of rum

First, try the rum. Make sure it tastes good. Then, prep the fruit.

Stick the mango and blueberries in a blender or, if you’re lazy like me, in a mini food processor.

Take another sip of rum. It’s vegan. Stick the fruit mixture in a glass.

Add ice.

Add the rum, top with some mint leaves, stir and enjoy responsibly!

Goodness, I need a girl’s night out!! –Melissa

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May 26 2012
6 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Vegan Kalbi with Mustard Salad

I miss Korean BBQ. A lot. So I veganized it using soy curls.

Traditional Kalbi uses short ribs. The meat is thinly sliced, quite fatty, and can take a lot of work to get “right” because the meat will need to be tenderized quite a bit lest it end up tough. Soy curls are a lot easier to prepare. Soak them in some water for ten minutes, drain, and… well, that’s it. As a bonus, you don’t have to worry about icky stuff like e. coli. For this batch, I used about 3/4 cup of dried soy curls.

Kalbi marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2-3 cloves garlic, coarsely minced
sesame seeds
1 tsp turbinado sugar (optional)

I mixed everything but the sesame seeds in a plastic container and then added the soy curls. I mixed it around so the soy curls were covered. After I mixed it around, I sprinkled some sesame seeds on top.

Here are before and after shots of the soy curls. The photo on the right was taken about an hour after I added the curls to the marinade. My advice: don’t let them marinade for much longer than that. I baked the soy curls for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Okay, I totally burned them, but they still turned out yummy!

I had planned to go to the store to pick up veggies and seaweed salad to accompany the kalbi, but the store was CRAZY. If you’re in the Chicago area, I’m talking about Jerry’s. Oh, Jerry’s. Prices and product are so good, but I feel like I die a little every time I go there because it’s so crowded. Anyway, I asked my Dad to pick some fresh mustasa (mustard greens) from the garden for me and made it into a little side salad with lemon, olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper. The mustasa was in prime form and gave a serious mustard kick to the kalbi. It was delicious.

Here’s my niece, granting peace to all of you and posing with the food. She didn’t try the kalbi and opted to have cereal for dinner. I was glad I didn’t have to share.

It’s Memorial Day weekend and I’m spending it hanging out with family. I’ll be away from home most of the weekend, so I cooked the rest of my soy curls this morning so I would have something vegan to eat. I opted to cook them in a pan this time, mostly because I didn’t want to burn them again. It ended up looking more like bulgogi than kalbi, but regardless — this wins out over meat versions because look at the lack of fat and oil on the plate! Soy curls have the perfect texture for this. This is also where I learned that marinading soy curls overnight in soy sauce is probably not the best idea. It’s still good, though, and I am still amazed by the soy curl.

I am so happy that I can still have Korean BBQ! All that’s missing is one of those little grills that I can put in the middle of my kitchen table… Have a lovely Saturday! –Melissa

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Apr 20 2012
1 Comment
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

SunDried Tomato Mac & Cheese

This is a similar dish to the nacho mac and cheese that Brent and I concocted not long ago. This is sundried tomato mac. You’ll need the following:
1 14.5 ounce can of chickpeas, drained or 1 cup dry chickpeas, soaked
1 lemon
1 pinch chili powder
1/4 cup sundried tomato, minced
olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup chopped basil (optional)
8 ounces of vegan cheese (we used Ste. Martaen colby)

I started by sauteing the chickpeas with olive oil, lemon juice and chili powder. When the chickpeas started to steam and soften I added the onion, and dry herbs and stirred until the onions became translucent.

Add the cheese and tomato, then stir until it’s melty. When the pasta is ready, stir in the sauce and basil. It’s an incredibly simple meal and delicious.

The tomato gives this dish a richer color than it would have otherwise and it’s flavor is made to match. We love easy, quick decadent dishes like this one after an intense exercise session.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off.

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Apr 03 2012
8 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes

Nacho Mac&Cheese: Not your Ordinary Mac and Cheese.

This was an evening when the man-meat and I just wanted to chill out so we made something super fast. Brent prepared the pasta (as I’ve noted in previous posts, I can’t be trusted with parts of a meal that require patience) and I added a tablespoon of olive oil and about 2 cups of chickpeas (1 cup of dry beans, soaked or 1 can, drained) and fried them lightly with some chili powder.

To this I added a tin of diced tomatoes. I used a tin of “Rotel” mild with diced green chilis.

After this was looking and smelling amazing we shredded some basil (cilantro would have been better but we didn’t have any) into it and then added the cheese. You can also add some nutritional yeast for a flavor boost and nutrients.

This cheese is called “Ste. Martaen” and we used their pepperjack variety. I don’t like this cheese for eating: I find the texture disturbing. It’s great for cooking since the flavors are fabulous and it melts well. It’s made with an agar base (that’s a seaweed based gelatin, very sustainable and low calorie) As you can see, we’ve got a cheesy mass of chickpeas and tomato that’s still very low in calories, cholesterol free and high in nutrients like protein, vitamin C, and fiber and we haven’t even added the quinoa pasta yet!

This is the finished product. We devoured it and vowed to make it again. The creamy sauce was spicy and cheesy and the bite of the peppers was balanced by the smooth chickpeas and mellow tomato.

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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Mar 28 2012
3 Comments
Recipes, Snacks

The Lazy Vegan: Frozen Pizza and Ranch Dip

Confession: I eat pizza about once a week. Regular, dairy cheese pizza. I know, I know. That’s not very vegan of me. But it’s one of the few non-vegan eats that I will allow myself to enjoy, guilt-free.

I had seen Tofurky brand pizza in the frozen section of WFM. I stared at it during several visits before I finally decided to try it out. What really sold me on it was that they use Daiya ‘cheese’ in their products. When I first tried it, I was floored. I can’t help but associate Tofurky with, well, Tofurky, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Tofurky pizza is delicious! Yes, it’s easy to make your own pizza and we encourage it. But sometimes, you just need something you can take out of a box, pop into the oven, and then devour 15 minutes later. Tofurky pizzas come in three varieties: cheese, pepperoni, and Italian sausage with fire roasted veggies (above). I have tried all but the pepperoni, and that’s next on my list. I don’t know what the secret is to Tofurky pizzas (other than the genius use of Daiya ‘cheese’), but they are tasty and satisfying and need no other spice or sauce to be edible. Unfortunately, they’re not gluten-free. Sadface. In addition, the cost is a little absurd, but still very sensible in the grand scheme of things. Also, ZERO CHOLESTEROL. I love being able to brag about that.

Switching gears, I have recently had a serious craving for ranch dressing/dip. There are a lot of fabulous freshly tossed salads in our work cafe, but I can’t enjoy them because the dressing is ranch or ranch-based. I finally opened up my brain and decided to make my own dip. I have two versions. They’re both really easy to whip into shape, and I have no shame in admitting that I am guessing the proportions in the recipes below — the post is titled The Lazy Vegan, after all. Screwing these up is near impossible.

Vegan Ranch Dip #1, pictured above

1 c Tofutti Sour Supreme
1 tbsp garlic powder or granulated garlic
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsbp dill

Vegan Ranch Dip #2

1 c vegan mayo – I use Earth Balance
1 tbsp garlic powder or granulated garlic
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsbp dill
soy or almond milk, as needed for creaminess – I used about a tsp

Enjoy with veggies or chips! Oh, delicious. I’m going to go make myself some dip right now! –Melissa

 

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Mar 25 2012
2 Comments
Main Dishes, Recipes

Easy Enchilada Casserole is on a ROLL!

This is an easy thrown-together, fun to play around with variations on favorite in the Alldestroyers household. It’s basically decadent layers of cheese, beans, tomatoes, peppers and whatever else your heart desires baked up to bubbly perfection. Brent and I decided to start with 2 different kinds of beans: black and kidney.

We decided to make this a 2 layer casserole: cilantro lime black beans and soysausage chipotle red beans. It was that simple.

In the glass baking dish we made 2 layers of tortillas with a layer of Daiya in between to make serving easier.

We cooked the 1 cup of black beans (soaked overnight in 3 cups of water, we kept the water for this step) adding 1 minced jalapeño, juice from 1 lime, a splash of tequila and a handful of cilantro leaves.

The red beans got a similar treatment with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, a minced soysausage and that’s all she wrote. She being me, I’ll let you in on a secret… I’m going to write some more. We simmered the beans until they were mostly dry and then it was time.

We assembled the casserole by pouring the beans into the first layer of tortillas, pouring some enchilada sauce over it. You can make your own or buy it. We were feeling lazy after being all industrious with the beans so we bought cans of sauce. We poured the next layer of beans, the rest of the sauce and smothered it with more Daiya.

Thirty minutes and 350C/180F later the saucy adultery of the casserole began.

This is a great family friendly meal. We hope you get to try it and love it as much as we do… and the leftovers. I love leftovers.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Mar 22 2012
8 Comments
Cooking, Main Dishes, Recipes, Snacks

Stuffed Peppers and Creamy Chipotle Sauce

Stuffed peppers or chiles rellenos are pretty popular here in South Florida but I don’t like what a lot of them are stuffed with so I’m presenting you with a light flavorful version that’s vegan and gluten-free. Recognize!


The other half of my dynamic duo sliced 3 peppers in half and removed the seeds and white ribs carefully with a sharp knife.

Meanwhile I microwaved the following in a microwave safe dish:
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa (rice is fine too but cook the rice and bouillon separately from the rest of the seasonings and combine before stuffing)
5 sun dried tomatoes, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 stick of celery, diced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
1/4 onion, diced
1 cube of veggie bouillon
1/2 cup of chopped pecans (walnuts are fine but pecans are more “Southern” and the sweetness will help balance the chipotle cream sauce. Did I mention there’s chipotle cream sauce involved in this recipe? Yeah, awesomesauce. )

Microwave, stirring between 2 minute intervals until all the water is absorbed. Taste it and add salt and pepper to taste. When it’s ready, stuff your peppers with it! Bake in a 350C/180F oven for 35 minutes.

So I really like creamy sauces but don’t like the calories or indigestion that dairy so faithfully delivers so I use silken tofu for a lot of things that should be creamy. I combined the following in my blender for a spicy sauce that compliments the savory peppers perfectly.


1 box silken tofu (I use MoriNu)
juice from 1-2 limes
1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (this makes it REALLY spicy, like sweating while you’re eating it spicy. Most people will like the spice that 2-3 individual peppers plus a spoon of the liquid from the can.)

I blendend it until it was smooth and creamy and then plated it with some fresh cilantro, a dash of hot sauce, some smoked paprika and one of my peppers.

This is one of those really pretty dishes that’s almost too easy to make. It’s also high in protein and low in fat, hey whatcha think about that!?

This is Brent and Christie, signing off!

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