Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Our son Arthur's has a wonderful Nana with a most excellent winter garden. Last week she brought over a mountain full of cauliflower. I made up this recipe and it was delicious. It makes alot and can go in the freezer for later. Enjoy!

Curried Cauliflower Soup

2 tbs olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbs curry powder
6 cups vegetable broth (no salt)
1 cup lite coconut milk
1 large cauliflower, cut into big chunks (you can use the whole cauliflower, it is completely edible) 2 carrots, sliced
2 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until soft. Stir in spices until mixture is coated. Add vegetable broth and coconut milk. Stir. Add veggies. Bring to a full boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until veggies are soft. Stirring occasionally. Let soup cool slightly. Transfer to a blender. Puree. Be careful when blending hot foods, the lid will shoot off of the blender. Once soup is blended. Transfer back to pot. Stir. Ladle into bowls. Serve with a crusty bread. As with any soup, it is much tastier the next day, once it has set over night.

Hope you enjoy it. We did!

peas and love....
Krys

Breast of tofu

Hi guys!

I've finally taken the time to upload pictures to my computer. So I marinated one block of tofu and managed to make 3 dinners (for two) with it. Unfortunately I only took pictures of the first dinner but I can tell it was delicious (and that's coming from a person who's not particularly fond of tofu). On the first occasion, I just fried the tofu in a non-stick pan and had it with coconut rice and topped the whole thing with sweet chili sauce. Here are the a couple of pictures:

The marinated tofu block...not too appetizing as such;)








Breast of tofu, coconut rice and sweet chili sauce








On the second occasion I made it; I fried the tofu with chopped garlic, the zest and juice of a lime, a chopped chili and some grated ginger. Really nice too:)

On the third occasion, I was totally tired and just wanted something NOW and didn't think it would turn out good but actually it did:) I fried the tofu and put it in a bun with avocado, pickles, tomatoes and had it with French fries. My non-vegetarian boyfriend loved it too.

This is definitely going to be a staple in my kitchen, I've already bought another package to marinate:)

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Classic Rye Bread

Sarah asked me to post my Rye Bread recipe. This is easy and it can be made in a bread machine. My favorite way to make it is in a round (that's the easiest way to make it as well).

1 cup + 1 T Soy Milk - at about 90 - 100 degrees F
2 cups Bread Flour
1 cup Rye Flour
2 T Turbinado Sugar or Molasses
1 t salt
2 t yeast

If you're using a bread machine add the ingredients in the order called for by your machine. Otherwise mix the two flours and the salt. I put the yeast and the sugar or molasses in the soy milk and stir it up good. Then make a well in the flour and begin kneading the liquid into the flour mixture. Knead for about 10 minutes. Coat with flour cover with a cloth and let rise about 1 hour or until doubled. Punch down, sprinkle with a little more flour and knead lightly again. Shape into a ball, coat with flour and plop it on the middle of a pizza stone - or cookie sheet - I don't use one, but I don't think you will need to grease the cookie sheet as the dusting of flour should keep it from sticking. Let it rise again until doubled about 1/2 hour. At this point you could brush the top lightly with some soy milk and sprinkle with caraway seeds if you like - but the flour makes a pretty bread too. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes until it sounds hollow when you tap it and the crust is nice and brown.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Lunch Today

We got another dusting of snow last night - so everything was pretty and white again but it was 17 below this morning so I decided it would be a perfect day to try the cheesy soup.

I used
1 cup soymilk - I make my own with a Soy Quick soy milk maker - this version was unsalted and unsweetened.
1 can (~15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 vegetable boullion cube - I used Rapunzel No Salt Added Vegan Bouillion
2 bay leaves
3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
3 Tablespoons oat flour - I didn't have any oat bran - this was my only substitution
a couple celery stalks, chopped
5 green onions (green & white parts), chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt - my boullion was unsalted if yours is salted you'll need less salt here
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Everything bubbling away - I tasted it at this point and it was so good and pretty that I almost didn't go on with the blending or adding the oat flour...

I didn't have any oat bran - so I put a 1/4 cup of Whole Oats in the food processor and made a sort of flour...

...I served it with homemade rye bread and apple slices - it was wonderful...

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Breast of Tofu

Ta da! I actually made the recipe AND took photos AND I'm posting! It's cold out so I decided to have a heavy supper to heat me up. I'd started marinating the tofu yesterday and had some for lunch with pasta, and breaded it for supper to eat cutlets with mashed potatoes and carrots. Have you tried this gravy? I get it at Whole Foods once in a while, and put it on everything for a few days. The only thing I did different from the recipe was that I put garlic chunks in the marinade. Easy, and it hit the spot.




Now go watch jPod!

Labels:

Monday, January 21, 2008

How bout some soup?

Maybe I'm a wimp, but the weather here is so nippy I just want to curl up with a book and sip--or spoon, I guess--something piping hot..so how bout some creamy tomato soup? This isn't especially vegan (or innovative), not an altered classic or meat substitute or anything. But it's quick and simple; I've made it a few times now and am really enjoying it. Maybe you will too! :)
"Measurements" are approximate; I tend to just toss things in until it tastes right. The amounts I'm giving make enough for about 3-4 bowls, I'd say. SO, gather up:

  • 1 cup "milk"
  • 1 can (~15 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1 vegetable bullion cube
  • a couple bay leaves
  • a few spoonfuls nutritional yeast flakes
  • a few spoonfuls oat bran
  • a couple celery stalks, chopped
  • a few green onions (green & white parts), chopped
  • garlic powder
  • salt & pepper

Bring the "milk" to a boil; make sure it doesn't scald or boil over. Toss in the bullion cube, reduce the heat. Add everything else except the oat bran. Let it all bubble and simmer for a while, about 30 minutes. Pick out the bay leaves and stick it in a blender. As it's pureeing, add in the oat bran a spoonful at a time until you get a good consistency. And that's it! I recommend eating it up with some "cheese" shredded on top and rye bread & baby carrots on the side. In fact, that's what I'm doing right now. :)

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Long time...no cooking?

Hi guys!
It's been such a long time since I posted here:( What with moving abroad and starting a new job and trying to find a car and a place to live; I haven't had much time to stop by and actually haven't cooked very much at all. I'm starting to feel the effects of my poor nutrition and really want to start cooking properly again. I wish I could have my own kitchen (and not have to cook and live at my boyfriend's parents' place.....but I'm not in a position to choose;).
Anyways, I've had some tofu stored in the freezer and I thought I should find a recipe for it. I find tofu and other meat substitutes to be ok but, to be honest, I don't eat any of these very much. I tend to get my proteins from beans instead as I find it easier to incorporate into my menu (not that I've had anything like a planned menu lately).
I really want to start to want to have tofu, not just make it and feel like it was only "ok". Anyways; here is a recipe that looks extremely simple, I have all the ingredients for it and it just might be nice;)
http://www.everydaydish.tv/Recipe%20Pages/Breast_of_Tofu_Recipe.html
Just got my tofu out of the freezer and shall start marinating it tomorrow. As soon as I've had any of it and taken a pic, I'll post my results.
Bon appetit!