Vegan Southwest Tempeh Rueben

I love sauerkraut and my uncle makes the best I've ever tasted-it's just fermented cabbage and salt and I eat it right out of the jar, just thinking about it makes my mouth water!  Reuben sandwiches typically aren't vegan friendly, but this one is.  Yum!

On Cooking And Ingredients

Vegan Southwest Tempeh Reuben
Makes 3 sandwiches
1 8 oz package of tempeh
1 t vegetable oil
1 cup sauerkraut
6 slices of sprouted grain bread
6 tomato slices
1/2 of an avocado, sliced thinly
4T vegan mayo
1 chili in adobo sauce, chopped finely
1 T chopped cilantro

Slice the tempeh in half length-wise, then slice them into four pieces.  Heat the oil in a non-stick or cast iron pan to medium heat.  Add the tempeh slices and cook on each side until they are browned-about 5-7 minutes on each side.

While the tempeh is cooking, make the sauce.  In a small bowl, combine the vegan mayo, the chili in adobo, and cilantro.
Toast the bread slices.  Spread a little sauce on each slice (it is pretty spicy).  To 3 of the slices of toast, add 2 tomatoes, 2-3 avocado slices, 2-3 pieces of tempeh, and 1/3 cup of sauerkraut.  Serve right away.

Cucumber, Cabbage, and Tofu Chopped Salad

I share a community garden plot with my mom and she picked the first done cucumber and gave it to me, that was very nice of her:)  I used the cucumber and a small head of purple cabbage from the farmers market to make this yummy salad.......

On Cooking and Ingredients

Cucumber, Cabbage, and Tofu Chopped Salad

4-6 side dish servings

Tofu

1 15 oz block of tofu, drained, and cut into half inch cubes

1 T tamari (wheat free soy sauce) or 1 T Bragg Liquid Aminos

1/2 T olive oil

1 T brown rice vinegar

1 t maple syrup

Dressing

1 t grated ginger

1 t grated garlic

1 T tamari

2 T brown rice vinegar

1/2 t toasted sesame oil

1 t agave or other sweetener

Salad

2 c chopped cabbage

2 c cucumber chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

1 c tofu recipe 

Optional Garnishes

cilantro

dulse granules (seaweed that can be found by the nori or sushi supplies in your local natural foods store)

sesame seeds

Make the tofu:

On top of a plate, fold a kitchen towel so that it can cover the bottom and top of a block of tofu.  Put the tofu on it, then the other half of the kitchen towel, then a cutting board, and a heavy pan to weigh it down.  Drain in the refrigerator 3-4 hours or overnight.

When the tofu is done draining, cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.  In a roasting pan, mix the tamari, olive oil, brown rice vinegar, and maple syrup.  

Add the tofu and stir to coat.  

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Take it out of the oven and stir it, then put it back in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven.

It will be lightly browned.  Let the tofu cool for 10 minutes on the counter, then put it into a glass covered container and store it in the fridge to cool.  You want to put cooled tofu into the salad.  Also, this salad uses 1 cup of tofu, so you will have extra to use on another salad or in another recipe.  While the tofu is cooling, make the dressing. 

Make the dressing:

In a medium/large sized bowl, mix the grated ginger, garlic, 1 T tamari, 2 T brown rice vinegar, 1/2 t toasted sesame oil, 1 t agave, and mix well.

Assemble the salad:

To the bowl with the dressing, add the 2 cups of cabbage, 2 cups of cucumber, and 1 cup of the tofu and mix well.  Garnish with optional cilantro, dulse, and sesame seeds.

Zucchini Noodles With Pesto and Fresh Tomato Sauce

My friend told me that a few weeks ago at work, somebody brought a zucchini noodle maker and they were all eating zucchini noodles for lunch, that's so awesome!! That and lots of basil available in the garden inspired me to make this recipe.  It tastes best at room temperature, and when you toss the noodles with the pesto, you should eat it right away.  If you have extra, store the noodles, pesto, and tomato sauce all separate in the fridge until you are ready to eat the rest.  Also, the tomatoes I used were super sweet.  If you are using tomatoes that aren't, you could add a splash of balsamic vinegar to the fresh tomato sauce to sweeten it a little.  This recipe makes 2 servings.
On Cooking and Ingredients

Zucchini Noodles

4 Small/Medium sized zucchini

The tool I use to slice the zucchini noodles is like a peeler, but it has sharp little edges that cut the zucchini into noodle shapes.  There are also fancy vegetable spiral cutting machines that you could use if you have one.  I found this one at a kitchen gadget store.  Use the tool to slice the zucchini until you get to the seeds in the middle, you just want the outside part of the zucchini, not the seeds.  I had 2 small and 2 medium zucchinis and it made 4 cups of noodles.

When you are done cutting the noodles, put them in a colander and let them sit out for a few hours on your counter.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
2 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 small clove of garlic, grated
2 T fresh basil, chopped
salt
pepper

In a glass bowl, mix the tomatoes, garlic, basil, and salt and pepper.  If you are using tomatoes that aren't really sweet, you could add a dash of balsamic vinegar to sweeten them.  Let the tomato sauce set out on the counter for a couple of hours with the zucchini noodles.

Pesto
Makes about a cup
3 cups of basil leaves
1/4 c raw cashews
1/4 c raw pine nuts
1/4 c olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic
salt, pepper
1 T nutritional yeast (optional)

In a food processor, pulse the basil, nuts, and garlic until chopped finely.  Turn on the processor and add the olive oil slowly until combined.  Season with salt and pepper and nutritional yeast.

Assemble 

Take 2 cups of zucchini noodles and place them in a mixing bowl.  Add 4T of pesto and mix until the pesto coats the noodles, adding more pesto if needed.  Add half of the tomato sauce to the top and it's done.

Corn, Zucchini, and Tomato Salad

Just starting to see organic sweet corn available at the farmers market and also have just started harvesting some black cherry tomatoes from the garden.  This salad is a really simple, and really delicious side dish.  I made it to go along with lentil sloppy joes, yum!
On Cooking and Ingredients

Corn, Zucchini, and Tomato Salad
Makes about 4 cups

1 1/2 cups of sweet corn-it took 4 medium sized cobs to get this much corn
1 medium zucchini, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes sliced into quarters
small handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 T finely diced shallot

1 T white wine vinegar
1 t stone ground mustard
1 t agave or other sweetener
1 1/2 T olive oil
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Drop in 4 peeled cobs of corn. Remove them from the water after no more than 90 seconds, give them a quick rinse under cold water, cut the corn from the cob and place into a medium sized bowl.  Add the zucchini, tomatoes, basil, and shallot. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, agave, olive oil, and a dash of salt and pepper.  Pour over the vegetables and give it a stir.  Taste it and add more salt and pepper if you would like.

Grilled Tofu and Peanut Salad Wrap

This is a great clean out your fridge recipe-I had little bits of different green things in my fridge harvested from the garden to use and this was the result.  Pretty tasty:)

If you want to make the wraps bigger, you can add some brown rice pad thai noodles.  But it tastes great with just the greens, veggies, and tofu.  You can also use whatever veggies you have in your fridge that need to get used-carrots, jalapenos, pea pods, peas, green beans, pretty much any raw veggie you like.
On Cooking And Ingredients

Grilled Tofu and Peanut Salad Wrap

Makes 4 small/medium sized wraps or 2 really huge wraps

Salad

3 cups of greens torn into bite sized pieces (I used a little cabbage, a couple of collard leaves, and a couple kale leaves)

1 cup sliced veggies-any color sweet pepper, carrots, broccoli, carrots, pea pods, etc.

2 T sliced scallions, including green parts

2 T fresh herbs-cilantro, basil, or mint ( I had mint and basil on hand)

3-4 T prepared peanut sauce
a handful of sprouts

Tofu

1 15 oz block extra firm organic tofu

3 T peanut sauce

1 T high heat tolerating organic oil 

My tofu method

Fold a kitchen towel several times until there is enough towel to cover the bottom and top of a tofu block.  Place the towel on a plate, place the tofu on one half of the towel, fold the other half of the towel over the tofu, place a small cutting board on top, and weight it down with a heavy pan or pan filled with water.

Drain the tofu for 4-6 hours or even overnight in the refrigerator.  

Slice the tofu into thirds length wise and width wise so you have 9 slices of tofu.  Mix the 3 T of peanut sauce and 1 T oil and brush both sides of the tofu slices.  

Grill on medium to medium low for about 5 minutes on each side until tofu is slightly browned.  Check it during cooking to make sure it doesn't burn-the heat and time really depend on your grill.

Mix together the salad ingredients-the greens, veggies, scallions, herbs, and about 4 T of peanut sauce.  Divide the tofu and salad between each of the wraps you are using, top with sprouts, and serve.  

Zucchini, Sun Dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive TapenadeTart

It's been too hot out lately to use the oven, so dinner tonight was on the grill.  This tart is so easy to make if you use a ready made crust.  I have flopped one too many crusts in my life to attempt to bake one from scratch, so I used a ready made, organic, vegan cornmeal crust.  If you can't find one at your local natural foods store, use your favorite pizza crust.  When it's not so hot out, this tart can be made in the oven, just follow the instructions for baking the crust.  On Cooking And Ingredients

Zucchini, Sun Dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive Tapenade Tart
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil, just dried) soaked in water for 1-2 hours
1/2 cup kalamata olives cured in olive oil, drained
1 T chopped fresh basil
1 small clove garlic
1 8.5-9 inch vegan organic cornmeal crust
1 small zucchini sliced thin


Heat the grill to medium/medium low.  While the grill is heating, make the tapenade.


Sun Dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive Tapenade: In a food processor, pulse the soaked sun dried tomatoes, drained olives, basil and garlic until mixed well, but not pureed.  Makes a cup.

Assemble the tart: Spread the cup of tapenade on the crust.

Top with zucchini slices.

Place it on the top rack of the grill, or some method of indirect heat on your grill on medium to medium low heat.

Grill for 15-20 minutes, checking to make sure the crust doesn't burn.   The tart is done when the crust  and zucchini slices are slightly browned.

Grilled Very Herby Potatoes

This recipe sort of reminds me of french fries-white potatoes and oil, but baby reds from the farmers market have to be utilized once in a while.  I wouldn't call this recipe healthy, but these potatoes do taste pretty good and are nice to make outside on a hot day.
I looked up grilled potatoes on Food Network to find a method of grilling potatoes since I've never done it before, and this is a combination of methods, so thank you Food Network chefs!
On Cooking and Ingredients

Grilled Very Herby Potatoes
Serves 6 as a side dish

4 cups baby reds, cut into pieces that are no more than 3/4 inch thick at the thickest part
1/3 cup garlic infused olive oil
6 T fresh herbs, I used 2 T parsley, 2 T dill, 2 T chives
1-2 T canola or other high heat organic oil
salt, pepper

In a large pot, add the potatoes and just enough water to cover them.  Cover the pot, turn the heat on high and bring it to a boil.  After one minute of boiling, drain the potatoes and add to a large bowl.  Toss with 1-2 T of canola oil, salt, and pepper.

Place the potatoes on a grill heated to medium and cover.  Grill until the potatoes are browned and then flip.  My little grill took about 10 minutes on each side. 

While the potatoes are grilling, mix the garlic infused olive oil and herbs in a small bowl.

Remove the potatoes from the grill and drizzle them with the herbed oil and toss.  

Way Easy Roasted Veggie Sandwich with Basil Mayo

Mushrooms, red peppers, onions, and zucchini make up my favorite basic combo of veggies for roasted veggie sandwiches.  This combination tastes good topped with pesto, hummus, or olive tapenade.  This time I went the easy route and topped it with vegan basil mayo.

Way Easy Roasted Veggie Sandwich with Basil Mayo
1 medium zucchini
1 medium red onion
1 large red pepper
6 small or 2 large portabella mushrooms
2 t olive oil
salt and pepper
1/3 c of your favorite vegan mayo
2 T chopped fresh basil
1 t lemon juice
1 small diced garlic clove
 4 medium crusty bread rolls

Heat oven to 325.  Slice the zucchini, onion, red pepper, and mushrooms into 1/2 inch pieces.  Place the zucchini and mushrooms in one 13x9 inch pan and toss with 1t. of oil.  Place the red pepper and onion in another 13x9 inch pan and toss iwth the other teaspoon of oil.  Sprinkle both with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until veggies are tender.

Basil Mayo: While the veggies are roasting, in a small bowl, mix the vegan mayo, basil, garlic, and lemon juice.
When the veggies are almost done, cut the rolls in half and toast them lightly. Spread half of each roll with the basil mayo and stack a layer of each type of veggie on the other half.  Way easy and really tasty.