Baja Style Tofu Tacos

These turned out really yummy.  Most baja style tacos are made with fish.  The texture of tofu, and tossing it in lime juice and rice vinegar, makes it a great substitute for fish.   

Baja Style Tofu Tacos

1 package extra firm tofu, pressed (see instructions below) and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 T seasoned rice vinegar

2 T lime juice

1 T canola oil

10 oz shredded cabbage

1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 green onions, chopped including tops

1/2 cup Veganaise

1 t. diced chipolte in adobo sauce

12 small corn tortillas

Sriracha sauce 

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.  

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut the drained tofu into 1/2 inch pieces.  In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, mix together the rice vinegar, lime juice, and canola oil.  Add the tofu and toss.  Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for 10 more minutes.  Remove from the oven.

Tofu should be lightly browned.

While the tofu is cooking, mix the cabbage, pepper, corn, cilantro, and scallions.

There is more than enough cabbage mix for 12 tacos, so toss the extra with cilantro lime dressing for a side dish later in the week.

In a small dish, mix together the Veganaise and chipolte in adobo.

Warm a tortilla, add a little sauce, a little tofu, some cabbage mix, and top with Sriracha if you would like.

Vegan Puttanesca Sauce

I was looking for a simple dinner using kalamata olives and capers that I had in my fridge that needed to get used.  Non-vegetarian Puttanesca recipes I looked at use anchovies, but dulse flakes are a good substitute for the salty fishy flavor.  This sauce takes about 10 minutes of prep and less than 10 minutes to cook.  Very easy.

Vegan Puttanesca
28 oz can of diced tomatoes (try to use BPA free)
1/2 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. red pepper flakes (or more if you like spice)
2 T drained capers
1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
1/2 t. dulse
1 T olive oil
3/4 pound of your favorite gluten free pasta cooked to al dente (I did not salt the pasta water since there are salty ingredients in the sauce)

Add the olive oil to a pan heated to medium low.  Add the pepper flakes and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the dulse and cook for another 30 seconds.  Turn the heat up to medium.

Add the tomatoes, olives, parsley, and capers and mix well.

You may need to turn the heat up a little past medium to get the sauce heated through.  Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well.  Continue cooking for another minute until the pasta is heated through.  Add salt and pepper if needed.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This smoothie is so simple, I wasn't even sure that it should be a blog post.  But it's so yummy that my son never says no when I ask him if he wants one.  Smoothies can be made with any fruit you like, use a banana as a base, your favorite non-dairy milk,  then add whatever frozen fruit you like.  Using frozen fruit instead of ice gives smoothies great texture.  Also, frozen fruit seems to blend better than ice and you won't have little ice chunks.  I have a Vita Mix blender, which works amazing.  If you have a slower speed blender that doesn't work great, try to thaw the frozen fruit slightly before blending, but don't thaw it all the way.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Makes 2 cups

1 medium banana

1 heaping cup of frozen organic strawberries

1 c vanilla coconut milk

OR to control the amount of sugar:

1 medium banana

1 heaping cup of frozen organic strawberries

1 c unsweetened coconut milk

splash of vanilla

sweetener of your choice (agave, honey, etc) to taste

Add the banana, strawberries, coconut milk, vanilla, and sweetener to the blender and blend until the strawberries are smooth.  Taste and add more sweetener if necessary. If you use sweetened, vanilla coconut milk, omit the vanilla and sweetener.

Tofu Vegetable Scrambled "Eggs"

For a long time, I have preferred tofu "eggs" to chicken eggs.  This is a great recipe for any time of day.  It's also a great dish to bring to a brunch.  You can use any veggies that you have in your fridge.  I used potatoes, mushrooms, onions, tomato and spinach this time, but have used zucchini and peppers in the past.

Tofu Vegetable Scrambled "Eggs"
Serves 4-6
1 medium potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
sprinkle of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder
1 t oil

1 t oil
1/2 c chopped onion
8 oz pkg of mushrooms, sliced thin
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cups spinach, roughly chopped

1 15 oz package of tofu, drained and crumbled
1 t oil

1 t onion powder
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
3 T nutritional yeast

to taste: salt, pepper, nutritional yeast

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium roasting pan, toss the potatoes, oil, sprinkle of salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.

Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven, stir, and bake for 10 more minutes until potatoes are soft and slightly browned.  Remove from oven and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat 1 t oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes until mushrooms are brown and onions are soft.  Remove from the pan.

Add 1 t oil and add the tofu to the pan.  Turn the heat to medium high.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes, until the tofu is hot.  Add the onion powder, turmeric, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast.  Stir and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the tomato and spinach and cook for a minute, stirring gently.  Add the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and potatoes.  Mix gently. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast to taste.

Vegan Thanksgiving Stuffing

This year, we had a really small group for Thanksgiving and so we veganized it.  There was a turkey for the carnivores, but also a Tofurky:)  Veganizing Thanksgiving is pretty easy to do, just use non-dairy cream and butter substitutes.  The gravy recipe we used was so yummy thanks to Daphne Oz's recipe from The Chew, try it next year-you may never go back to turkey gravy again!

My favorite part is the stuffing, so here's the basic recipe that I've been making for several years.  The secret trick is to make a puree of celery and onion, and stir that in with the rest of the veggies.  I got the idea from a recipe I found somewhere years ago, but am unable to locate it to provide a link.  Also, you can cook the veggies and puree the day before, so on Thanksgiving day, you just have to mix it together and bake it.  The herbs used in this recipe were from a package of poultry mix, which usually includes sage, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram, that way you don't have to buy each one separately.  Here's a picture of our vegan dinner with the yummy stuffing:

Vegan Thanksgiving Stuffing
makes a really full 9x13 inch pan
12 cups of one inch dried bread cubes, use good artisan bread
2 T olive oil
1/3 cup water
4 c celery chopped, divided in half
2 c onion chopped
2 c chopped carrots
2 leeks, green parts removed, white parts cut into quarters, then sliced
1 8 oz package mushrooms, chopped in small pieces
1 stick earth balance (1/2 cup)
salt, pepper
3 T chopped fresh sage
2 T chopped fresh marjoram
2 T chopped fresh thyme
1 T chopped fresh rosemary
5 cups no sodium vegetable stock, divided
4 t Ener-g egg replacer

In a large covered pan, over medium heat, cook the 2 T olive oil, 2 cups of the celery, 2 cups onion, and 1/3 cup water for 10-15 minutes until really soft, but not browned.  Stir occasionally through the cooking time and keep the cover on when not stirring.  Remove from the pan and let it cool.

When cool, place into a food processor and puree until smooth, then set aside.

In the same pan you used for the puree, add the stick of earth balance, 2 cups celery, 2 cups carrots, and 2 leeks and season with salt and pepper.  Saute about 5-6 minutes over medium heat until veggies are slightly soft.

Add the mushrooms and herbs (sage, marjoram, thyme, rosemary) and continue to cook for 5 more minutes or until the mushrooms are brown.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

In a quart sized glass jar, add 4 cups of veggie broth and 4 t egg replacer.  Cover and shake well.

In a large bowl, add the dry bread cubes, celery/onion puree, and vegetable/mushroom mix.  Add 4 cups of the broth/egg replacer and gently mix it all together. Place into a greased 9x13 inch pan.

Cover and cook in a  350 degree oven for 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven, uncover and check to see if you need to add more broth.  Cover and return to the oven for about 5-15 more minutes or until the stuffing is moist and heated through in the middle of the pan.

Here's for you brother.