Tofu Scramble!

. . .from a looonnngggg and busy week.
Helllooo my dears!

I used to scoff at scrambled tofu.  How could it even be the least bit tasty?  It should be said that I used to eat scrambled eggs almost every day, loaded with cheddar cheese, tomatoes and dill and cooked to perfection in lots of butter. . .   The idea that plain, crumbled tofu fried up with some veggies could make a comparable, let alone tasty, breakfast choice seemed outrageous. 

BUT I finally took the plunge.  Used up half a block of firm tofu that had been awaiting it's fate for almost a week and was SO impressed at how num num NUMMY scrambled tofu really is!

Served up with a pile of homemade hasbrowns, tempeh or tofu bacon and a bowlful of blueberries, I am sittin' pretty today, my friends!  Happy Sunday <3

Tofu Scramble
Ingredients:
-2 tbsp veg oil
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 block firm tofu
-2 cups (or more) of your favorite veggies (I used sliced mushrooms, broccoli and diced tomatoes)
-2 tbsp nutritional yeast
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-S&P

Heat the oil in a pan over medium high-ish heat.

Crumble the tofu up and add to the hot pan.  Brown the tofu a little bit and then add the garlic and veggies.  If you're using soft veg like tomatoes, wait to add them until a little later in the game, if you over cook them they will turn into mush. . .unless that's what you're into. . .Saute until the veg are nice and tennnder.

Sprinkle over the nutritional yeast and soy sauce and cook until they are absorbed by the tofu and veg.  Season with a teeny bit of S and a lot of fresh ground P. 

EASY PEASY!

Add what ever kind of herbs, spices, veggies, vegan cheeses, vegan sausage or diced vegan ham, hawt sauce, cooked beans, whaaaaaat evvaaaaaaaaaaaaa MUAH!

XOXO

V.V.

Sweet Potato Lentil Curry

Hey Dolls,

October has arrived and with it, the notion that cold weather is in our midst.  While I do find it sad that Summer has passed, cold weather = yummy cold weather comfort food.  One thing I find extremely comforting to eat is a big bowl of CURRY!  Warm, spicy and flavorful yumminess is just the thing I need on a chilly fall evening (and maybe a big mug of chai tea with vanilla soymilk, too!). 
Curries are super easy to make and you can put just about anything in them.  There are a gazillion different curry spice blends out there, but for this recipe I am just going to utilize simple, medium yellow curry powder.  We'll get to the green, red, tandoori, garam masala, phanaeng, and madras varieties another time :)  I find curry tastes even better the next day and it freezes beautifully, so make lots!

Sweet Potato Lentil Curry

Ingredients:

-2 tbsp veg oil

-1 large onion, diced

-1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

-3 stalks of celery, chopped

-6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

-1/2 a large head of cauliflower, chopped into bite sized florets

-1 tsp ground cinnmon

-1 - 2 tbsp curry powder (depending on how strong you like it)

-2 tomatoes, diced

-1 cup brown lentils

-S&P

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high-ish heat.  Add the onion, sweet potato, celery, garlic and cauliflower to the pot and sprinkle with cinnamon and curry powder and a bit of S&P. 

Cover with a lid and cook for about ten minutes, stirring often. 

 Add the tomatoes and lentils and cover with approx three cups of water, juuuuuust enough to barely cover the veg.



Bring the curry to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium.  Let the curry simmer until the lentils and sweet potatoes are very soft.  I like to reduce the heat to medium low once the lentils are just cooked, and then simmer the curry for an hour so the flavours become bff's.

Serve over brown basmati rice.  Maybe with some peach chutney or sliced banana or toasted almonds as a garnish :)

XOXO

V.V.

VEGAN RANCH DIP!!!!

Happy Friday!!!

I had the day off work today and chose to spend it sitting around watching documentary films (Generation Rx was outstanding and a must must MUST see, especially for parents) and eating snacks on my couch.  In particular, a halo of raw veggies and baked potato chips encircling a bowl of AMAZING VEGAN RANCH DIP!!!!!!!!!

This is good stuff, people.  Real good stuff.  And I whipped it up in under five minutes.  It's not exactly the mayonaisey goop you get in a bottle, it's more like homemade buttermilk-style ranch with lots of dill MMMMMM!!!!  It would be great drizzled on wedges of iceberg lettuce or for dipping pizza crust in or eating with a spoon. . . :)

Vegan Buttermilk-Style Ranch Dip and Dressing

Ingredients:

- 1 pkg soft/silken tofu

- 4 green onions, chopped

- 1 large clove of garlic (or two small), chopped

- 2 tbsp cider vinegar

- 1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 tbsp fresh or dried dill

- S&P

Put all ingredients into a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Season with S&P.  DONE!  BAM!  JUST LIKE THAT!  You can eat it now if you like buuuuuut it will be so much yummier if you let it hang out in the fridge for an hour or two. 

Happy weekend and happy snacking!

XOXO

Vivacious Vegan



Tomato Basil Soup with Rainbow Rotini

Hey Babes,


Typical Winnipeg - two days ago it was humid and and sweltering hot and today the wind is howling and the temperature barely makes it into the mid teens.


It's time for V.V. to post     yet    another  soup recipe!


Tomato soup is the easiest thing to make. EVER.


When ATM was home a couple  weeks ago, she found herself a touch under the weather (too many 'welcome home' cocktails the night before, perhaps?) and requested a bowl of tomato soup.  This is what I whipped up - I think it's my new favorite hangover cure ;)

Tomato Basil Soup with Rainbow Rotini
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 - 8 cloves garlic, chopped
- pinch chili flakes
- 1 can whole tomatoes
- 2 tomato cans worth of water OR veggie stock
- S&P
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 2 cups of cooked rainbow rotini
For garlic crostini garnish:
- sliced ciabatta bread
- olive oil
- 1 garlic clove sliced in half
 - S&P


Heat the olive oil in your favorite soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, chili flakes and a pinch of salt and saute until the onions are translucent, try not to brown 'em.

Add the can of tomatoes and two tomato cans full of water or veggie stock and bring the whole thing to a bubbling boil over medium high heat.

Once the soup reaches boiling point, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer it for ten minutes.  Puree the soup with an immersion blender (this method is waaaaay easier than doing it in a blender, go pick up an immersion blender at Superstore for just over ten bucks, it's wooorrrth it) and stir in the basil and rotini.  Season with S&P and simmer for an extra five to fifteen minutes to let all the flavours become bff's.

For the garlic crostini: Heat up your broiler and place the ciabatta slices on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of S&P.  Toast the ciabatta slices under the broiler until they are golden brown and then rub them down with the cut side of the garlic clove.  Serve the crostini afloat your bowl of deelish tomato basil soup :)

How easy was that?

XOXXOXOXOXOXO

V.V.

Reaffirmation

Hello my darlings,

I realized today that I haven't ever really talked a lot about why I feel passionately about a vegetarian lifestyle.  It's a really personal topic, and it can be particularily sensitive to discuss, but I feel that it is time for me to share some of the reasons I went veggie with you, my awesome V.V. readers:

Health was my number one concern when I orginally commited to this way of life.  A few years ago when I was living in Toronto, I reached for a package of *processed food product* and read the ingredients.  I found that there were a bunch that I couldn't identify (let alone pronounce) so I wikipedia'd and googled them and decided that fake, chemical food was not something I wanted to put into my body (ummmm aspartame, anyone?).  White sugar and processed foods were quickly eliminated from my diet and meat soon followed.  I can't even begin to tell you about all of the health problems caused by eating meat and dairy and the advantages of a plant based diet (they write whole books on that stuff ya know ;) ) but you can read more about it here. 

When I heard that it takes roughly 60 lbs of water to produce 1 lb of potatoes and about 12,000 lbs of water to produce just 1 lb of beef, I knew I wasn't doing the environment any favors by contributing to the meat industry.  The cattle industry alone is responsible for emitting 19% of global methane emissions (thats baaaaaaad stuff).  There are a toonnnnn more environmental reasons to go vegetarian, you can read about them here. 

More than one billion people on this planet are starving.  STARVING!  It just doesn't make sense to me that we use vast amounts of farm land to grow food. . .for our food.  When it could be grown for people.  And after we grow crops to feed our meat, the meat is consumed by less than one third of the planet's population.  That's no fair. 

Then there are the animals.  I think we as a society have completely lost the connection between animals and meat.  Animals are meat.  They feel joy and pain just as we do.  There is absolutely no beating around the bush - when you eat meat, you are eating the flesh of a dead animal.  I think that there are few people, who when faced with the task of killing their own 'meat', could actually go through it.  I realize that this issue can be particularily sensitive for some people.  But I urge you to please, watch this video and consider what you see. 

Many of you (my wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL V.V. readers) are not vegetarian.  That's OKAY!!!  You are still wonderful, wonderful WONDERFUL!  In the end, you have to do what you feel is best for you.  But I do urge you to question the status quo, step out of your comfort zone, and and least consider reducing your meat consumption.  You would be doing so, so, so, so many favours to animals, humanity, Mother Nature and yourself (and all will thank you!).

Big hugs and kisses,
V.V.

Southern Fried Tofu Sandwich

Baby come back,
you can blame it all on me.  I was wrong (for taking such a long hiatus), and I just can't be without you (my wonderful V.V. Blog readers).


It is a beautiful, sweltering hot August day and V.V. is ready to blog from her NEW APARTMENT (equipped with a/c, thank gaaawwwwd AND the most GORGEOUS KITCHEN) which she is sharing with her beeeeeeloved ATM (who returns home on Thursday from a month at work in Nunavut EEEE!!!!). 


I discovered my new faaaaave way to prepare good ol' tofu and I'm ADDICTED!  I slice it thin, marinate it for an hour and then coat it in nutritional yeast (don't be afraid of nutritional yeast!!!!) and frrrryyyy it up!  OMG OMG OMG vegan honey dill and some oven baked french fries would be amazing with the dreamy little slabs!  For this blog, I've stuffed the num num slices into a baguette with a red cabbage romaine slaw. 


ATM has decided to try vegetarianism on for size (woo!) and has been raving about the tofu sandwiches they serve at work, so, my dear ATM, this one's for YOU (and my wonderful V.V. readers, too!).

Southern Fried Tofu Sandwich

Ingredients:

-1 block of extra firm tofu

-lots of nutritional yeast (for coating the slabs)

-sunflower oil for frying

-baguette or crusty roll (toasted, if you like)

Marinade:

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1/4 cup Japanese soy sauce

-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

-1 tbsp nutritional yeast

-1/4 cup water

-lots of fresh ground peppa

Slaw:

-1/2 head of thinly sliced red cabbage

-1 chopped heart of romaine

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

- juice of 1/2 a lemon

-1 tsp Japanese soy sauce

-1 tsp nutritional yeast

-toasted sunflower seeds

-peppa!

Cut the tofu as if it were a loaf of bread into 1/4" slices.  Cut each slice on a diagonal to form two triangles and lay the triangles in a large baking dish.  Whisk all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and pour it over the tofu.  Marinate for an hour.

Meanwhile you can whisk all the slaw ingredients minus the cabbage, romaine and sunflower seeds in a bowl and let it  hang out in the fridge while the tofu marinates.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes onto a plate.  Dip each side of the marinated tofu triangles and coat them WELL with the nute-yeast.  Add more yeast to the plate as you run out.

Toss the thinly sliced cabbage, romaine and sunflower seeds with the slaw dressing and set aside. 

Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a pan over medium high heat and fry the tofu triangles on each side until they are golden brown (this wont take long at alllll so watch 'em!). 

Slice the baguette in half and lay the fried tofu triangles on it, each slice overlapping slightly.  Top with the slaw.  EAT!

This would be EXTRA NUMMY topped with sliced avocado or BBQ sauce or vegenaise or sliced pickles or whatever your little heart desires :) 

XOXO

V.V.



Vegan Black Metal Chef

Hey Babes!

I came across this amaaaazzzing video by Vegan Black Metal Chef for 'pad thai'.  I am not much of a metal head myself, but cannot get enough of this video and the chef's growling instructions ("Cruuuuuush the peanuts, shooow them no mercy!!!") and hillarious (and creepy) kitchen knife collection.

Enjoy :) . . .Or elllssseeeeeeee raaaaaaaaaaaawwwwrrrr!! 

XOXO

V.V.