Tag Archives: tofu

Jan 02 2013
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Reviews

Alexian Earthy Mushroom Vegan Pate

I was browsing Vegan Essentials and saw vegan pate by Alexian. I just had to try it, of course! Alexian makes a lot of traditional pate so they’re not a totally vegan company, but I have to give them props for making a vegan-friendly version of a product they are experts at.

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One look at the ingredients and most vegans will think that I thought: this would be easy to make at home. I chose the Earthy Mushroom flavor for my first taste. It is made up of tofu, veggie broth, onions, mushrooms, celery, garlic, potato starch, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, carrageenan, parsley, salt, tarragon, and pepper. A serving size is 2 oz (there are 2.5 servings per package) and has 25 calories and 2 grams of protein.

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I ate the pate with crackers and white wine. It’s a good product and looks impressive, but it was kind of bland. That said, I didn’t feel any need to embellish it with more spices or even hot sauce. I think once I got over the idea that it would taste like real pate instead of being a tofu-based pate-like product, I was much happier. I also want to point out that it has a really good texture and stayed “in shape” while being easily spreadable. It definitely makes a great appetizer or fancy hors d’oeuvre.

I’m looking forward to trying the other flavors of Alexian vegan pate. I’m also thinking about trying to make some of my own some time! –Melissa

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Dec 21 2012
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Main Dishes

Tempeh ala King

It’s always nice when I can recreate a classic without the heart stopping cream and butter and even better when it tastes amazing. This is the story of my interpretation of chicken ala king. You’ll need the following:

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1 package of tempeh, I like LightLife (above)

1 small onion, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1 carton of mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced

1 carton of silken tofu or a cup of dry cashews soaked overnight, blended to a smooth creamy texture adding water as necessary

1 pinch nutmeg

1 pinch cayenne

1 pinch thyme

1 cube of veggie bouillon (chicken style works well here) dissolved in 1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of sherry or red wine

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Add some olive oil to a fry pan, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and put the tempeh in it and rub it around to coat the tempeh on both sides. Now apply heat, turn the tempeh to lightly brown each side.

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Set the tempeh aside on a plate. Let the pan cool for 2-3 minutes and then add the wine or sherry and mushrooms.

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The mushrooms will start to turn purple. Reduce them and then add the onion and mix well until the onion starts to soften.

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Add the bouillon and creamy tofu or cashews and mix well. Stir in the spices and adjust them to your taste. Reduce over low heat, stirring frequently. When you’re getting ready to call in your hungry self, friends or family put the tempeh and bell pepper and let it heat thoroughly.

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Brent made some rice pasta while I was cooking up the tempeh and sauce so we served this dish over linguini. Rice or mashed potatoes would be good too.

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Some chopped parsley or green onion would make an awesome garnish but it’s pretty all by itself and packed with flavor and good nutrition. Let me know if you get to try it and hopefully you’ll like it as much as we did.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off.

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Dec 19 2012
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Lazy Vegan

The Lazy Vegan: Amy’s Strikes Again, Another Giveaway Winner!

Yes, this is my second Lazy Vegan post in a row, but I choose not to feel too guilty about it because I know my time is spent doing other worthwhile things like getting ready for the holidays. Ho ho ho! Amy’s is a trusted brand among all of us at Turning Veganese. I stepped away from the frozen section (where I usually shop for Amy’s Kitchen products) and meandered to the canned section, where I found this lovely item:

chiliNow I know that making chili is really easy but I’m glad to know that there’s a vegan option out there for when I don’t have time or simply don’t want to make a giant pot of chili. Amy’s Organic Chili is a great vegan chili that consists of red beans and tofu (textured to look like ground meat). I tried the Medium spice level which wasn’t terribly spicy at all — it’s more tart/salty than spicy. The directions are simple. Maybe a little too simple: heat and serve. Um… how about a little guidance, Amy? I definitely didn’t want to have to wash a pot to I poured half the can into a microwave-safe bowl, heated it for 60 sec, mixed it around and then heated it for another 45 seconds. This seemed like a perfect amount of time. Warning: it will explode so make sure you cover the bowl before heating it.

The chili tasted good, but there’s a weird sweetness to it and I found that it improved exponentially after I added some raw onion and crushed red pepper. Cheese, such as shredded Daiya cheddar, would probably be a good addition as well. I found the beans to be a little mushy. It doesn’t compare to homemade chili, but I would definitely buy it again to keep in the cupboard when I’m looking for something comforting and easy on a cold winter night. I also think that this would work great on nachos or maybe even on fries or a vegan hot dog. At any rate, I am a big fan of Amy’s and have been so long before I turned veganese. I’m really happy to see more Amy’s products, including gluten- and dairy-free products, in my grocer’s freezer and canned food aisle.

On to the fun stuff!!! This week’s winner of a Bubble & Bee Lotion Stick is… Lle Schreiber! Woohoooo! Check out her blog, Living, Learning, Eating. There’s still one more chance to win a lotion stick as well as a chance to enter our TofuXpress giveaway. Get all the details here! –Melissa

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Dec 12 2012
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Cooking

Baked BBQ Tofu with Red Cabbage Slaw plus another Giveaway Winner!

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If you’re in the United States, you may be aware that McRib is back at McDonald’s. Wait, don’t go anywhere! There is a vegan point to this post! I used to be one of the many who love the McRib. It’s tasty stuff! Tasty, nasty, unhealthy stuff! Now that it’s back and I see the ads and the signs or read tweets about it, I MUST FEED MY MCRIB CRAVING! VEGAN STYLE!

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The Baked BBQ Tofu requires only two ingredients: 1 block of firm or extra firm tofu, cubed, and about 1/3 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce. Just mix it all together and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.

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I baked the tofu in my toaster oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, turned the pieces over and coated with some more BBQ sauce, and then baked for another 7 minutes.

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I made some red cabbage slaw to accompany the tofu. I mixed shredded red cabbage with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, about a tsp of balsamic vinegar, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I mixed it all up and let it sit in the fridge while the tofu was baking.

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I ended up making BBQ tofu tacos since I had tortillas. I adorned the tofu with only some onion since McD’s only puts onions and pickles on the McRib. I would have added a pickle, too, but I think that would have been a little much with the slaw. The tacos and slaw were a great combination! I was worried that they wouldn’t mesh well but the flavors were great. I did add some more BBQ sauce to the tacos for extra flavor.

Now, onto this week’s giveaway winner… our randomly selected prizewinner is theveganpennypincher! Whoohoo! Readers, be sure to visit theveganpennypincher blog. It’s excellent!

If you haven’t already, go here to enter our December giveaway. There are still two more chances to win a Bubble & Bee lotion stick as well as enter to win a TofuXpress. Yay! –Melissa

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Dec 10 2012
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Main Dishes

Pasta with a side of protein, please…

I like pasta. It’s easy to make and easy to request with no meat or cheese at restaurants. The problem with veganizing pasta (other than the obvious, which is doing your best to ensure that the actual pasta is vegan) is that it very often will lack a good amount of protein. I like having some Italian sausage or ground turkey or meatballs or chicken or fish with some pasta. I love hot dogs in my spaghetti! But I’m vegan now. I had a pressed block of tofu and some vegan spaghetti waiting for me in the fridge, so I had to get creative.

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I “ground” up the tofu with a fork and mixed it together with the following:

1/2 tsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
minced garlic
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

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I took my leftover spaghetti out of the fridge, put some on a plate, topped it with some of the tofu and heated it up in the microwave.

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Mix it up a little and it just looks like there’s some cheese in there! It was delicious on the pasta and also on its own. I’ll be making this tofu mix again. –Melissa

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Dec 06 2012
3 Comments
Main Dishes

Potatoes Au Gratin, VEGAN STYLE!!!

The holidays are upon us and there’s nothing better than something that’s easy, kid friendly (for your picky nephews), low fat (for your vain body-builder cousin), cholesterol free (for your crotchety aunt), easy (for your peace of mind) and cheap (because you already spent all your money on gifts). This recipe as written will serve 6-8 people as a side dish and doubles easily. It would be great for a departmental potluck.

You’ll need the following:

2 large white potatoes (sliced thin)

2 gigantic yams or sweet potatoes (sliced thin)

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Potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams are easy to find for around $1 per pound this time of year so I use them fairly often during the holidays. I cut mine with a big old knife. This is one of those times I wish I wasn’t averse to mandolines. The finger that I partially amputated using one always tingles whenever I think about working with one. If you’ve got a good food processor with a slicing blade, I’d recommend using that for safety’s sake, if you’re a fan of the mandoline, use that and be really really really really careful, otherwise use a knife and be really really really careful. I leave the skin on; you don’t have to.

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1 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

a pinch of flake red pepper

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

12-16 ounces of silken tofu

1 cup of soy or almond milk

4 tbsp almond flour

vegan mozzarella and/or parmesan (optional)

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Take the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, flake red pepper, nutritional yeast, tofu and half a cup of milk and blend it all up.

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Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of almond flour on the bottom of a large baking dish and make a layer of white potatoes on it.

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Then slather that layer with some of your tofu mixture. Now repeat the process with the yams or sweet potatoes: layer them on top and then add the tofu cream. You should be able to get 5 or 6 layers of potatoes. I then put the remaining milk into the rest of the tofu sauce and mixed it well before pouring it over the top of the potatoes. I added a few slices of Teese mozzarella (any vegan cheese will do) and sprinkled it with the rest of the almond meal and sprinkled it liberally with walnut parmesan.

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Bake it for an hour and a half at 400F/200C

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You should get a beautiful layered look and a delicious addition to any holiday meal. Hopefully your guests will be too busy enjoying it to notice the orange and white stripes.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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Dec 03 2012
2 Comments
Thoughts

Feeding Vegans Is Easy

Parties, especially formal ones, can be pretty tricky for a vegan, but I didn’t have to worry this weekend when my cousin Dan got married. I got hooked up with a dish that was delicious but so freaking simple.

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My dinner entree consisted of two blocks of tofu with grilled vegetables including red pepper, portobello mushroom, eggplant, and asparagus, sitting in a tomato sauce. It was filling and tasty and, most importantly, it was vegan! My only concern was making sure not to get sauce on my dress. In addition to the entree, I had a good helping of salad and fruit. The wine and the Yuengling (confirmed to be vegan-friendly) were flowing. And a good time was had by all!

Don’t forget to check out our December giveaways! The first prize will be drawn in two days. –Melissa

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Nov 20 2012
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Snacks

Potato Wedges with Aioli

Friends and family should be arriving soon so here’s a local and personal favorite for entertaining. We’ve got a lot of Spanish influence in Miami and something that they’ve created that’s right up my alley is Catalan Allioli or aioli. It’s a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, water and sometimes egg yolks. There won’t be anymore talk of eggs today.

I chopped some sweet potato (because it’s that time of year), yam and russet potato into wedges ranging from finger to thumb thickness and length. I tossed them in a mixture of the following:

2 tbsp corn oil (corn oil is important because it has a high flash point and won’t form carcinogenic substances as easily when baking at high temperatures)

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 generous pinch of paprika

1 pinch of nutmeg

garlic salt to taste

I tossed the potatoes until they were coated with the spice and oil mix and them laid them out on a metal baking sheet lined with waxed paper. I baked them at 375F/190C for one hour.

While you’re waiting on your potatoes, it’s time to make some dipping sauce. I made 2 sauces.

One was my chipotle lime sauce and the other is the aioli. Combine the following:

1/2 cup of vegenaise

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp olive oil

It is possible to mix this in a food processor or blender but I don’t recommend it: it can be very thick and you’ll forever be scraping sauce off the walls of your blending device. Mix these well using a fork in a shallow dish, prepare for dipping satisfaction!

This is Christie, signing off!

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Nov 15 2012
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Reviews

The Other Lazy Vegans: TV Dinner 3

Amy’s has been doing well so far with their tamales so we’re branching out to try some of their Indian dishes.

This is their Mattar Tofu. It’s vegan and gluten-free.

It looked good right out of the box and went into the oven for a quick easy meal. So check this out: after heating it looked appetizing and smelled even better. We didn’t do much to it as we were eating.

This is an improvement on the tamales. I added some flake red pepper but no extra salt needed. The rice was a good texture (even if it hadn’t been previously frozen) and the veggies weren’t mooshy.

The ingredients and nutrition were pretty good. Like the other dishes in Amy’s vegan and gluten-free offerings, it contained a modest amount of oil and was salty but it was tasty, easy and not terribly expensive. I’ll probably make my own next time but I might buy this again.

This is Christie, signing off!

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Nov 04 2012
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Snacks

NACHOS!

Brent and I like to play video games together. Nothing says “gamer” like junk food so that’s where this is headed. All you really need is tortilla chips and Daiya but crumbled seasoned tofu, olives, chopped jalapeño, diced tomato or onions, salsa, Tofutti sour cream and a lot of other things can help bring your nachos up a notch.

We baked ours in the oven to melt the Daiya after adding seasoned crumbled tofu, salsa, jalapeño, onion and salsa. A little fresh cilantro would have made this unstoppable but its absence didn’t stop us from devouring it.

I le recommend, especially if you’ve got a football game or a video game in your future.

This is Christie and Brent, signing off!

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