Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu Po' Boy

I can not say enough good things about this sandwich. I've never had a po' boy, but I doubt it stands a chance next to this bad boy. This recipe is basically a mish mash of a few recipes from Veganomicon, written by "mah grrrl Isa." Yes boys and girls, it's vegan comfort food at its finest.

Ingredients:
1 Recipe Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu
1 Recipe Creamy Coleslaw
Chipotle Mayo
2 loaves of french bread (or some kind of delicious sandwich bread)

Prepare the recipes of components (all given below). Toast bread if you'd like, cause I LIKE. Spread mayo on the bottom halves of the bread and place the tofu, and then the coleslaw. Spread some mayo on the top half of the bread, close the sandwiches, slice on the diagonal, and serve.

Chile Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu:

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil for frying
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 cup of soy or rice milk
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup cornmeal
2 Tbsp chile powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp grated lime zest
1 1/2 tsp salt

Slice the tofu widthwise into eight slices, then cut each of those slices in half diagonally if preferred. Set aside.
Combine the soy milk and cornstarch in a wide, shallow bowl. Mix vigorously with a fork until the cornstarch is mostly dissolved.
In another shallow bowl, toss together the cornmeal, spices, lime zest, and salt.
Frying:
Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. You can test the oil to make sure its hot enough by tossing a little batter in the pan. If it gets all sizzly then you're good.
Dip each individual tofu slice in the soy milk mixture. Drop it into the cornmeal with your dry hand and use your other hand to dredge it in the mixture, so that it's coated on all sides. Transfer the tofu to the skillet in two batches so as not to crowd the pan. Fry tofu for 3 minutes on one side, use tongs to flip over each piece, and fry two more minutes. Drain the fried tofu on a clean paper bag or paper towels.

Creamy Coleslaw

Ingredients:
1/4 Vegan mayonnaise
2 Tbsp plain soy milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of mustard powder
3 cups finely shredded cabbage

Combine mayonnaise, soy milk, lemon juice, pepper, and mustard powder in a large bowl. Add cabbage and any other veggies you may want in your slaw. Stir until dressing is evenly distributed.

Chipotle Mayo
Add one canned chipotle along with the sauce to 1/4 cup of veganaise and mash well with a fork. This is super spicy stuff so if you want it a little more mild only add half a can of chipotle.

Roasted Green Beans

I love finding ways to make vegetables go from delicious to epic; oven roasting green beans is where it's at. This is the easiest and most delicious way to eat green beans in the whole wide world.... I hope you like green beans, and they're on sale, because you won't be able to get enough.

Ingredients:
Lots of green beans
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic

Preheat oven to 400F. Clip all of the ends of the green beans and spread them out on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil evenly over entire baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until beans are tender. If you want to add garlic, just mix some in about 5 minutes before beans are done, so not to burn it.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

I love pumpkin, pumpkin EVERYTHING. As for pumpkin pie, I have been known to eat way to many throughout the holiday season. This one is pretty delicious not to mention easy as uhh...PIE and no super strange, intimidating ingredients, the only problem being it does need to set over night. I am keeping an eye out, though, so as soon as I find a better one I will be sure to post it.
Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cups canned pumpkin or puréed home-cooked fresh pumpkin (see note)
1 cup low-fat soymilk or rice milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar cane syrup
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 Tbs. dark molasses or to taste
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 premade crust, or use your favorite recipe


Preheat oven to 425F. In large bowl, mix all ingredients until smooth and blended. Pour into prepared crust and smooth top. Bake 10 minutes. 
Reduce oven temperature to 350F; bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Well that was easy!

Original recipe: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9598

Tofu Scramble

I used to eat eggs every morning. I love eggs, and honestly that was one of the hardest things to give up. I gave a few different tofu scramble recipes a shot and to be honest I thought a lot of them were awful. This one is the best I have found, and is from my favorite: Isa Chandra Moskowitz. If you like dry eggs I would suggest using extra firm tofu, but if runny eggs is your thing I've found vacuum packed firm silken tofu works great.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped however you prefer

2 Cups of your favorite mushrooms, I like portabella or cremini

2 to 3 cloves of minced garlic

1 green pepper chopped

1 pound of tofu, extra firm or firm silken, drained

1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Spice Blend:

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried thyme, crushed

1 tsp ground paprika

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onions for 3 minutes until softened; add the mushrooms, saute for 5 minutes; add the garlic, saute for 2 minutes. Add the spice blend and mix it up for about 15 seconds. Add 1/4 cup water to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom to get all the garlic and spices.

Crumble in the tofu and mix well. Don't crush the tofu, just kind of lift it and mix it around. You want it to remain chunky. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water if necessary to keep it from sticking too much. Lower the heat a bit if you find that the tofu is sticking. Add the lemon juice. Add the nutritional yeast and mix it up. If the mixture is sticking to the pan, add splashes of water. The moistness really depends on how much water the tofu was retaining before you added it.

Serve while hot, I like to put out salsa, hot sauce, and guacamole mmmmm.

Recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Super Simple Mexican Rice

What's Mexican food with out some rice huh? I tried out this recipe and served it with the tacos on my previous post. I was really impressed how simple this ended up being, and the flavor was great....much better than those icky Rice A Roni packages.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rice

1 15 oz can of vegetable broth

1 cup plain tomato sauce(if you don't have tomato sauce, tomato soup works just as well)

3 cloves finely chopped or minced garlic

1/4 of a medium onion

2 tablespoons oil

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the fresh garlic and onion. Saute for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add in dry rice. Stir for about 5 minutes until rice becomes a golden brown color.

Add in broth and tomato sauce (Slowly into rice, not directly onto hot pan). Stir it up and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

Original Recipe from http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/quickmexicanrecipes/r/SpanishRice.htm

Tacos the Easy Way

I am American...therefore I am lazy and love shortcuts. Now that I'm here in Columbia, and despite what these Southerners say, I have yet to eat some bomb Mexican food here. So as the strong willed woman I am I decided to take things in my own hands....domestic mini van mom style :)

I love Smart Ground. I think it is hands down the best ground beef substitution around. I usually use it in sloppy joes, and on rare occasion in spaghetti sauce...but bottom line: it's just freaking awesome.

For the Tacos:

1 package Smart Ground crumbles

1 packet vegan taco seasoning

12 hard or soft taco shells

Anything you like on your tacos. I like lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, salsa, and from time to time Tofutti vegan sour cream.

Brown the crumbles over medium-high heat for three to four minutes until thoroughly heated. Add 1/2 to 2/3 cup of water and packet of taco seasoning. Cook for another five minutes or until nice and brown. While you're browning your crumbles heat up your taco shells for about 7 minutes at 325F in the oven or 1 minute in the microwave. Make sure you have all your toppings ready and chopped up, I like to line them up in the kitchen buffet style so everyone can get in a line and get what they want.

Enjoy :)

Lentil Stew

My boyfriend's favorite food in the world is Beef Stew. Since the weather has been getting cold I have been poking around trying to find a yummy alternative that is just as satisfying and this is it! This recipe is yummy and warm, and can be easily adjusted to fit your more soupy or more stewy needs!

P.s. This is also a very simple recipe and is made from things you probably already have sitting around.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or minced

1 large onion, cut into chunks

2 celery stalks, diced

1 carrot, sliced

1 potato, cut into chunks

1/4 cup soy sauce

32 oz vegetable broth

2 tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks

1 1/2 cups brown lentils

2 slices of bread, cubed

Combine the garlic powder, paprika, salt, cumin, oregano, and basil in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a large soup pot (make sure it's big since you will be adding lots of liquid later) over medium-high heat, and add the garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and potato. Stir in half the seasoning mixture and the soy sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, for 7-10 minutes or until the onions are tender.

Add 5 cups of water, the broth, tomatoes, and lentils (You may want to add more or less water depending on your preference of consistency. I like a little more water so it's more soupy). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid askew for 30 minutes. Add the remaining seasoning mixture, and cook for 20 minutes longer or until the lentils are soft. Meanwhile, pan-roast the cubed bread in a dry skillet until toasted. Garnish the stew with those croutons and a nice drizzle of olive oil.

Recipe from The Kind Life by Alicia Silverstone