Cauliflower, Tofu, and Spinach... Yum!

Although it's New Year's Day, I couldn't sleep in due to the fact that I've been recovering from a nasty upper-respiratory 'thing.' So I'm leaving you with this wonderful recipe that Steve just conjured up from that many faceted brain of his. I'm not hungover at all, but I bet this recipe is well and good if you're feeling that way today.

Ingredients:
10 oz of Cauliflower, thinly sliced
8 oz Extra Firm Tofu, cut into thin long strips
2 Handfuls Spinach, chopped coarsely
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Pinches of Black Pepper

Combine olive oil, soy sauce, and pepper in pan. Turn to high heat. Add cauliflower. Stir and let cook, remaining on high. Cover for 5 minutes. Add tofu strips. Cover again and cook for an additional 3 minutes. When cauliflower begins to soften add spinach. Turn down to low heat and let spinach wilt. Stir.

Add salt to taste and serve (over bed of rice.)

Creamy Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas

Don't try this at home if you're vegan. At least not yet. This recipe is vegetarian but uses a lot of dairy. I will have to report back on the vegan version, that I haven't made yet. For now, I'm posting this recipe variation that I tried from Epicurious.com. The original recipe was too bland for me, so I decided to change it a little.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen peas, not thawed
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp of dried red-pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves smashed
3 cups packed baby spinach (3 oz)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp of lemon juice
1 pound of dried gnocchi
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan

Simmer peas with cream, red-pepper flakes, garlic, and 1/4 tsp salt in a 12-inch skillet or pan. Be sure to use smashed garlic. Peel and use the side of a large knife. Use your right hand to press down on the flat part of the knife. This will 'smash' the garlic. Simmer for about 5 minutes covered or until peas have soften.

Add spinach and cook over medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring until spinach has wilted. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and juice. I used a vegetable peeler for the zest by peeling the skin off of the lemon. I then chopped the peel into bits.

Meanwhile, cook gnocchi in a pot with 3 Tbs of salt per 6 quarts of water until the gnocchi floats to the top. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain gnocchi.

Add gnocchi to sauce with cheese and the pasta water. Stir. Add salt, pepper, and possibly more Parmesan cheese to taste. So good!

Ratatouille Style Spicy Sauté

Here we are again with the spicy dishes. This one is easy to whip up. All you need is a little eggplant, a tomato, and a handful of spinach.

Required: 1 Small Eggplant, 1 Large Tomato, Spinach, Turmeric, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Olive Oil

I was lazy today so I decided to use garlic powder instead of chopping some fresh cloves. Take your eggplant and chop into small rectangles. Do the same to the tomato. Tomatoes can be more triangular rather than square.

Heat up the pan with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Throw in the tomatoes first. Stir. Then toss in the eggplant. Stir in 2-3 tsp of turmeric and cayenne. Add 1 Tbsp of garlic powder. Add salt and pepper for taste. Keep stirring. After the eggplant gets nice and soft, add the spinach and cover for a few seconds. Uncover and stir again. Serve over rice.

The spice from the cayenne will add a nice touch to the eggplant and tomato!

Holy Crepe!

I made crepes for dinner this weekend. Even though it does take a little while to prepare, it's completely worth it. Crepes are extremely versatile because you can make sweet desserts or salty breakfasts. I took the crepe recipe from All Recipes.com. It's not vegan, however, there is a vegan version available as well. I'm going to try that this week and post a comparison. Thanks to guest chef Steve for helping me make this.

Now for the traditional crepe. Here's the recipe I used.

Required: 2 Eggs, 1 Cup of Soy Creamer (or just regular milk), 2/3 Cup All-purpose Flour, 1 Pinch Salt, 1 1/2 Tsp of Canola Oil

You can use milk if you don't have soy milk. Combine all of the required ingredients into a mixing bowl. I don't have a blender so I used a hand mixer, you could probably use a whisk too. Make sure you circle the bowl so that you can get the sides as well. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place in the fridge. You're supposed to let the mix sit. On All Recipe it says to place the bowl in the fridge for an hour. But, I think you could probably let it sit while you make the ingredients to go inside the crepe.

For the filling I used spinach, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and mozzarella cheese. Chop all ingredients including spinach. Use 1 Tbsp of canola oil. Sauté garlic, onions, and mushrooms first. Stir. Place cheese in next. Make sure the cheese starts to melt before throwing in the spinach. Toss in the spinach. Let it cook. Stir. Throw some salt in for taste. If the sauté is too watery you can use a little corn starch. The cheese may be enough to make it clump together.

Heat a well oiled skillet. On medium heat pour about 1/4 cup of the crepe mix into the pan. Make sure you coat a larger area of the pan. Enough to create a good sized crepe. Cook 2-5 minutes until golden brown. Turn once.

Place the filling in the crepe and fold in half. Serve. MMM!

Stuffed Mushroom and Carrots

Pictured here are some julienned carrots and a stuffed portobello mushroom. Thank you guest chef Steve for making the yummy carrots!

Julienned Carrots
Required: Carrots, Spinach, Canola Oil, Sugar, Salt, Soy Sauce, Black pepper

First you'll want to take your desired amount of carrots. We used baby carrots so it was easier to cut them. Julienne basically means to cut into long thin strips. Steve prepared this, by cutting the carrots first. Mix 1 1/2 of Tbsp of oil, 1 Tbsp of sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, salt, black pepper in a separate bowl. Make sure the pan is heated for a few seconds before placing the mix in. Place the carrots in the pan. Use high heat. The carrots should caramelize a little. Stir. Once the carrots look nearly blackened on one side, you'll want to put in some spinach. Carrots should be crunchy on the inside and sweet on the outside. Spinach goes into the pan last since it cooks very quickly. Add salt to taste.

Stuffed Portobello Mushroom
Required: Broccoli, Tofu, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Onions, Black pepper, Salt, Olive Oil, Garlic, Cayenne Pepper

For this dish, you'll need to preheat your oven at 350 degrees. Make sure you have a small oven tray or baking sheet to place the stuffed mushroom on. You could also use aluminum foil if you don't have either.

Prepare a mushroom or two by chopping off the stem and boiling for a little bit in a pot. For the stuffing, take a few pieces of broccoli and mince. You'll want to do the same to the onion. Use about half of a block of tofu. Smoosh with fork in a bowl. Oil your pan. Throw in the onions and a small clove of garlic. Stir. Cook onions until soft. Next throw in broccoli. Finally toss in the tofu. Continue stirring. Add some cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt for taste. I like it spicy so I put in a little more cayenne pepper than usual. Keep stirring.

Once your mushroom is cooked, place it on the baking sheet. Spoon in some stuffing. Top it off with a lot of cheddar cheese. It's better if you use more than you think you'll need. Take your baking sheet and place it in the oven. Cook until cheese is fully melted. I would give it a good 10-15 minutes depending on how quickly your oven cooks.

It sounds complicated, but this stuffed mushroom is really not hard to make at all. It does take a bit more preparation and it's a small and light meal. Don't expect to be very full after having one mushroom. Personally, I had a fun time making it and it was super yummy!

Portobello MMM-Mushroom

These portobello mushrooms complimented my asparagus recipe very well. Steve, my favorite guest chef, made the mushroom side and I made the asparagus side. (We stuck to the 30 minutes rule).

Required: Portobello mushrooms, Spinach, White onion, Cayenne pepper, Vegetarian oyster sauce, Canola oil, Salt, Corn starch

Optional: Asparagus (see asparagus recipe), Olive Oil, Garlic, Sea salt, Basmati rice

Slice 2 large portobello mushrooms into thin strips. Chop half of an onion into small pieces. After the basic preparation, place about 1-2 Tbsp of canola oil into a medium-sized skillet at high heat. Toss in all of the mushrooms first. Stir. Throw in the onions too. Stir. Add a pinch or two of cayenne and black pepper to taste. Also add in about 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce. Check consistency of sauté. If it's too watered down you'll want to add in some corn starch to absorb the liquid. Stir again. Save the spinach for last. Once you add the spinach you'll want to turn down to medium heat.

Be sure to keep moving and stirring the sauté.

If you get super ambitious, you can try cooking the asparagus while you make this mushroom dish. The two compliment each other very well. MMM!

Avocado Salad

Hot weather calls for salads. If you love avocado like I do, you'll love this yummy snack!

Required: Avocado, Baby Spring Mix (I got a pre-washed bag from Trader Joe's), Tomatoes, Almonds

Optional: Tofu, Spinach
Chop 1 tomato. Slice 1 avocado. Chop half of 1 packaged tofu into small cubes. Take the baby spring mix and throw some into a large bowl. If you have raw spinach you can mix it up by adding a little into the spring mix. Top the greens off with tomatoes, sliced avocados, and cubes of tofu. Throw in a few almonds (about 10-15).

For salad dressing, I used the Goddess Dressing from Trader Joe's. This dressing is tahini based... and it's vegan!

Spicy Italian Salad

Los Angeles was in the 80's yesterday (re: weather) and I couldn't bring myself to stand in front of my hot gas stove for the sake of cooked food. So the capers I bought at the store inspired me to make an Italian based salad.

Required: Spinach, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Capers, Black Pepper, Oregano, Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar

If your spinach is not pre-washed please wash before eating and mixing. Slice mushrooms. Cut tomatoes into triangular chunks (I used Roma tomatoes so they were easy to cut.) Take 2-4 Tbsp of capers and dice them. Throw the washed and dried spinach in a bowl. Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Top off with capers, Parmesan cheese and spices. The black pepper and cayenne pepper make this salad spicy. Put in less than you think you can handle.

Mix olive oil and Balsamic vinegar in a bowl. Spoon dressing over salad. Buon appetito!

Tofu Messy in Bed

I love making this tofu scramble because first, I love breakfast food, but also it's easy to make and yummy to boot.

Required: Tofu, Spinach, White/Yellow Onion, Sea Salt (or just salt), Black Pepper, Olive Oil, Garlic Powder

Optional: Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preparation: Take a block of tofu and place in a medium sized bowl. Take a fork and mash up the tofu. It's easier to use soft tofu, but I often wind up with firm. The firm kind is more clumpy whereas soft tofu tends to be softer (duh) and more watered down. Chop onion.

Ok now that you've got your mashed tofu and onion. Place 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Let it heat up. Then take the onion and saute until soft. Then take the mashed tofu and dump into pan. Stir. Add 4 tsp of garlic powder. Sprinkle with a little black pepper and salt to taste.

Add your pre-washed spinach! Remember spinach tends to shrink a lot, so you'll need to put more than it looks like you'll need. I placed two small handfuls in my pan then covered it so that the steam would shrink the spinach. Once the spinach shrank, I continued to stir.

In the above picture, I topped the scramble off with shredded cheddar and mozzarella soy cheese.

Baked Tofu Sandwich

You need bread, baked tofu, some kind of spread, mushrooms, and some kind of leafy green. In this picture I used buttermilk bread. First I prepared the mushrooms by slicing them thinly. Then I sliced the baked tofu into thinner slices. (It usually comes as a block.) I had a difficult time slicing the tofu as you can see from the picture. The bread had a thin layer of mayo before I added the raw spinach. Finally, I topped it off with the tofu and mushrooms! For those of you who are vegan, you can easily substitute mayo with mustard or hummus. You can also make variations using sprouts rather than spinach.

15 minutes to make, 15 minutes to eat. Mmm!