stuffing (our faces)

It's a veryveryvery vegan Thanksgiving! This year, we stayed home and had a our Thanksgiving as our family of 5.  We missed our friends who were traveling, but we'll get together over the Christmas Break.

Appetizer
 Creamy tomato soup

Slightly modified:
 24oz organic strained tomatoes (Bionaturae Organic brand)
 1 1/2 cup organic veggie broth
 1 cup organic raw cashews
 1 tablespoon onion powder
 2 tablespoons organic dried basil
 2 teaspoons dried minced garlic
 1 - 2 organic bay leaf

Put everything but the cashews and 1/2 cup of the broth in a pan.  Stir and heat.  But the cashews and the 1/2 cup of the broth in the blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add to the soup after it's cooked for about 10-15 minutes.

Note: You can re-blend the soup (pull out the bay leaf before you do!) if you want the garlic to not be chunky or if your cashew cream clumps when you add it.

You can kind of see the soup in the picture below.


Green salad
Romaine
Tomato
Cucumber 

Dressing of olive oil, dijon mustard, honey, balsamic vinegar, garlic.  We never measure. 

 




Home made Tofu-Turkey

We made our own turkey! I found that recipe and it sounded interesting. (Tia totally wanted to make a home made Tofu-Turkey or have some sort of "turkey.")

It totally broke--like people discussed in the comments on that other site. (And I almost dropped it when I was pulling it out of the oven, but I caught it! It was a precarious few seconds that felt like minutes.)  Oh, well.  It was very (veryvery) tasty!
Note, make 2xs the marinade.

We only used 4 tubs of tofus... (we got sprouted, and I was worried, but it came out okay.) We followed the directions on that other site. It was worth making and I'd make it again, but I might think about the way I put it together... A square pan?  I don't know... Maybe I'll try it again as the recipe suggests.  I'll let you know.


Tofu turkey on left, dressing on right.

Stuffing

3 baguettes diced into cubes the night before then toasted in the oven for a few moments (well, some were toasted longer 'cause we forgot they were in the oven and we preheated the oven for pies--oops.  All is well that ends well. The glass container they were stored in didn't break, and thank goodness they weren't in something plastic!)

1 cup (use more next year--1.5-2 cups) celery
1 medium onion (again, use more)
2 teaspoons (?) sage
1/2 bag (4 ounces) dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans broken up
4-5 cups of broth

(I didn't measure, and I liked the way it came out. Hopefully, I can recreate it.)

Brussel Sprouts
I found this recipe and since I've been on a Sriracha kick lately, I knew I had to make it!  (Everything about this recipe is the same as the original site.  I just put it here in case the web site goes away or something. They get full credit!)

1½ pounds brussels sprouts
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup rice-wine vinegar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons Sriracha, or more to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the base away from the brussels sprouts and discard. Cut the sprouts in half.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar, honey and Sriracha to combine. Add the brussels sprouts and toss until they are fully coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spread the brussels sprouts on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Pour any extra olive-oil mixture onto the pan and tilt the pan around to distribute it.
4. Roast until the sprouts are crispy on the outside and golden and caramelized on the cut sides, 20 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Mashed Potatoes

(From Forks over Knives, see link above for a picture on our site and then a link to their site.)

Gravy

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• ¼ cup garbanzo bean flour
• freshly ground black pepper

The gravy went well with the tofu turkey and dressing!  

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 bag of cauliflower
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup of cashew cream
• dash of unsweetened, unflavored plant milk
• freshly ground pepper
• Dash of sea salt

Pumpkin Pie 

I made my usual pie.


2 packages of 3/4 pound silken (soft) tofu
2  15 ounce cans pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2/3s - 1 cup brown sugar (we always go less sweet) (could be maple syrup)

This makes enough for 2 pies.  We always do one with crust and one with just chocolate chips (in the red silicone pan).  Soy whipped cream on top for the vegans!

The girls were awesome helpers and even took the lead cooking.  Kira made the soup and salad dressing, they all cut brussel sprouts, Tia made the salad and had the idea that we make a homemade "turkey," Natalie made the gravy, and best of all they helped in whatever way I asked! I couldn't have done it without them!  Nick was super helpful, too.  He helped keep things running smoothly and the kitchen clean!

(I have no idea why my pictures of the food are so fuzzy looking, but I'm guessing I had something on the lens of the camera. I wiped it off before I took the pictures of the pies so they are more clear.)

Baked breaded tofu!

I just learned about Hummusapien's blog. Awesome!  I was looking for a new idea for dinner and found her recipe for "Tofu Fingers." I've been wanting to try something new, and I had some tofu to use up, win-win!

I followed her recipe pretty closely... I'll put my version below, but give full credit to her for thinking of such a fun dinner!  Also, go look at hers for the pretty pictures!

1 pound extra firm tofu (I actually used this and didn't drain or press it since it is so water-free)
1/4 cup soy milk (you dip the tofu in this before you put it in the breading)

For the breading
1/4 cup almond meal (made it in the vita mix)
1/4 cup oat flour (made it in the vita mix)
1/4 cup corn meal
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika (I LOVE THIS STUFF)
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
(note, you can put the spices in with different proportions--this is how we liked it)

Mix all the ingredients for the breading. Cut the tofu, dip the cut tofu into the soy milk (or almond milk), then dip into the breading. Place carefully on a baking pan lined with a silicone liner or parchment paper.

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, flip and bake for 15 more.  Dip in your favorite dipping sauce!  (Next time I'll make some home made BBQ sauce!)



Here they are all breaded and about to go into the oven.

 
I forgot to take one after they were cooked 'cause we ate them so quickly--next time! (All 5 of us liked it.)

Back when I was starting to make things with tofu

I wish I'd had this guide! I had to read a lot of different websites to understand what she so nicely presents in a nice blog post.

Two new dinners: A mexican casserole and tofu ricotta stuffed rigatoni

We made this Mexican Casserole, with a few changes, of course. (See pictures on that site! Ours, despite the changes looked about like that, except I didn't make it in a glass container so I couldn't get as pretty of pictures.)

In a 9X9 pan

A layer of quinoa
A layer of salsa
A layer of kale ('cause I like it green!) (use as much as you like…it smashes down when you need it to and then it cooks down.)
A layer of Black beans (one can)
Tofu Ricotta (a layer--we only used half of what we made)
Corn (sprinkled on top of the ricotta)
More Salsa
Top with black olives (leave them off half if your husband doesn't like them) and use 1/2 cup of crumbled tortilla chips on top.

Bake in 350 degree oven until the casserole is hot all the way through (about 45-50 minutes)

Verdict, we liked it… Or at least 3 of us did. I needed to use a spicier salsa. I left olives off 1/2 the top, but my husband didn't notice and ate the half that them on, and he didn't like that. We'll make it again.

What we really liked was the tofu ricotta from that web site!

1 block of the extra firm tofu (I like it 'cause it's very dry)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon miso paste
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Since we only used 1/2 of it in the recipe, we used the rest to stuff some rigatoni and covered it with almost my Dad's spaghetti sauce, and baked it at 350 until it was hot and bubbly. Yum! (Credit to our wonderful friend and nanny for thinking of this!)

Square Pie? Pie Squared?

I decided I wanted to make a pie crust for our pumpkin pie that didn't involve flour. I'm not a huge pie crust fan. One of my daughters is though, so, on Thanksgiving, we'll have traditional pumpkin pie for her. For me and the two other little girls, we're trying some new things. Today, we experiment!

I took this recipe from Straight Up Food

&

this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie (this was for a very small amount of pie crust)

and combined them into:

15 dates (the 365 brand from Whole Foods that come in a bag, I don't know what kind)
3/4 cup of oats
4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
3/4 cup of walnuts
1 tablespoon soy milk (or as needed)

Process the dates and walnuts until pretty smooth, then add the cocoa and walnuts. After the mixture is processed determine if you need the soy milk (it should be pretty darn sticky). I needed about a tablespoon to get it to a good texture.

Press into a pie pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 350.

On the Straight Up Food blog, there are instructions on how to roll the pie crust out and transfer it into the pan. This method did NOT work for me. I rolled on a silicone sheet, but I couldn't get it to come off in one piece. It was okay; I just mashed the pieces back together in the pan. I was going to use my round glass pie pan, to make the pie, but I didn't think the crust would EVER come off of the glass since the mixture really stuck to the silicone. I opted instead to use my square silicone baking pan, instead and that's why we have a square pie (I'm buying a round silicone pan right now!)

For the pie filling, I made (mostly) this recipe from my blog; but of course, I changed it! No oil! Less tofu! Cashew cream!

Here's what I did this time:

1 package of silken (soft) tofu
2  15 ounce cans pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cashews
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cloves (optional)
2/3 cup maple syrup

(optional chocolate chips)

Add cashews, maple syrup and tofu to the blender. (Drain as much of the liquid from the package of tofu as you can (easily), but you don't need a tofu press or anything like that.)  Blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate chips, and blend! (I don't feel I can get a good texture from my mixer, so I just use the blender. Plus, if you're using cashews you need the blender and why dirty up more bowls/appliances?)





















Scatter chocolate chips on the crust. Here's what my scattered chocolate chips looked like:

Pour the filling on top.


Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Here are the nutrition facts for 1/12th of the filling (I think it would make 2 pies if I had pie pans.) Note, these nutrition facts do NOT include the chocolate chips or the pie crust. Often times, I make pumpkin pie with no crust. I always include the chocolate chips, but I lie to myself and tell myself that chocolate is medicinal and that calories don't count in medicines--but that's just me. 

The results?

The girls love it and I like it! I think it's a little too sweet and will do a version with less maple syrup. The texture was GREAT; I'm still debating about how I feel about nutmeg. The crust was good; definitely what I'd use for an "everyday" crust--lower fat, healthier, but I might try with more walnuts and less or no oats for Thanksgiving. Truthfully, I like pumpkin pie filling on top of chocolate chips best. 

(Despite the review, note, I've eaten a lot of this pie--going to spend some time on the treadmill. Heh.)

Currently, the plan is: one pie like this--er, with more walnuts and less oats in the crust; one pie with regular crust and no chocolate chips; one with regular crust and chocolate chips; one with chocolate chips, less sweet, and no crust. We'll see if we need more than 4 pies.

Edited to add:
I liked this crust, but am not sure I love it and I didn't end up making it for Thanksgiving.

French Toast vegan-style

Unfortunately, I gave myself an earworm on that title.  I now have Gangnam style going through my head.  Hopefully it won't happen to you.  (Heh, as if these first two sentences won't seal the deal and get it running through your head if the title didn't.)

Okay, for that introduction, this better be worth it, eh? 

OMG, it is!  I have been exploring Dreena Burton's website and I'm about to give her a genius award.  I loved her Banana Bread (linked off my post here) and now I love her French Toast!  I only liked french toast every once in a while, but my girls missed french toast. Two out of three loved it and so did the husband. I agree with her and think it was every bit as good as egg and dairy french toast, if not better--there you go.  

The recipe is on her site, and here's a copy in case her site ever goes away (doubtful, but who knows). 


1 cup vanilla non-dairy milk (I used almond)
2 tbsp flax meal 
1⁄2 cup silken firm tofu (I used Mori Nu)
1⁄4 tsp cinnamon 
1⁄8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I skipped this; not a big nutmeg fan)
1⁄8 tsp sea salt1 tsp neutral-flavored oil (I skipped this)
8 – 9 slices bread of choice (I used sourdough; see Dreena's site for a note for wheat-free/gluten-free)
2 – 3 tsp organic neutral flavored oil (or more, if needed, for frying)

Pour the non-dairy milk, flax meal, tofu, cinnamon, and salt in the blender  and blend until very smooth and thick (it will get thicker as it sits a little while and the flax absorbs some of the liquid). (My note, I added more almond milk as I was cooking when I thought it was too thick.) Make sure your pan is preheated. Dip a slice of bread in the batter. Turn over and let the bread get covered with batter, then place it in the pan to cook. I used a pan over medium heat.  I added a little oil for the first piece of toast and then my Green pan can do the rest of the toast without more oil added. Cook the toast about for 4 minutes each side, until lightly brown (try to flip only once so that the batter will set and brown nicely on the bread). Serve with pure maple syrup or eat plain... (I don't like to add maple syrup when it's not in a recipe. I love it in recipes.)


Here's a not so great picture of the french toast cooking... I couldn't take pictures after it was cooked 'cause the girls ate it too fast.  Someday, I'll get a nice presentation going. For now, you get the "just the facts" type of pictures.

It's a wrap!

Lunch is often a wrap.  Here's a picture of leftover tofu scramble with extra broccoli on a tortilla.  I like it green!

Scrambling

Sunday we were scrambling to get done everything! We woke up late (sleeping in is nice!), but then I was a little overwhelmed. We still managed to do pretty much everything on my list of things to do including put of the Christmas tree, make cookies, and make a yummy dinner! 

As I said, we scrambled all day--right through dinner!

Those aren't eggs! 

 

What I used:

2 boxes firm tofu
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp tumeric
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced (could be more if you like garlic)
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 bag of organic spinach leaves
a little olive oil in the pan

Here's what you do:  Press the tofu as best you can to drain.  I only had two plates for pressing.  (I'm totally thinking about adding a tofu press to my Christmas list!) Mix in the curry and tumeric spices (careful, they can stain) until it is the uniform color of scrambled eggs!  (Note, I used my RED spatula for stirring in a glass bowl to avoid staining.)  Set aside.  Saute garlic, then add the tofu, then tomatoes and finally spinach. Make sure everything is cooked the way you like it before you add the spinach.  Add a sprinkle of black pepper if you like. 

Two of the three girls liked this.  Kira ate it without the tomatoes and spinach, and Nat ate it with the tomatoes and a little spinach.  They both liked it on toast like an egg sandwich.  Tia tried it, but didn't love it.

The inspiration for this recipe, and almost all of the ingredients and instructions came from:
http://emilysegal.blogspot.com/2009/12/day-18-sand-yoga-babies.html

Next time I make it, I'll play around with adding more and different veggies.  

Italian "meatballs"

We go to a local vegan restaurant and all of the fake meats are listed in quotes... We order things like, noble broccoli with "beef," or spicy sweet potato curry with "chicken."  Today, I made Italian "meatballs."  Maybe we should put the Italian in quotes, too. Here's the recipe:


Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 piece of sourdough bread
1 16-ounce package of super firm tofu
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
2 tablespoons flax


Ingredients are listed in the order we processed them in the the food processor.  We put the walnuts in first and made them very smooth--almost a walnut butter.  (I told my daughter a "minute" and didn't realize she was literal.  No worries, we went forward; it worked out okay.)   We added the bread and made it all crumbly and then added the rest of the ingredients: tofu, spices, and flax.  We pulsed this again until it was still kind of crumbly.

Previously, I tried making "meatballs" using extra firm tofu, but in the food processor with the extra firm, the mixture became too wet.  The super firm seemed to be able to handle the food processor and all the pulsing me and my two helpers gave it.  It was a little smoother than I wanted, but next time we won't do the extra pulses and it'll be perfect.

We made 35 little balls and baked them in oven on a convection setting at 300 for 30 minutes.  (I rolled the balls over about 1/2 way through and kept checking on them.)  (They may only need 25 minutes...)

Here's a picture of the "super firm" tofu:

Here are a couple of pictures of our "meatballs":

After baking...

Soaked in sauce...  (It's good to let them soak for a few hours, just like real meatballs.)

They are super yummy on sandwich, too!

Next up, my Dad's easy sauce recipe!