Kimberly Steele's Blog, page 3

Daily Vegan Lunch for 25 December, 2013: Nametake Style Daikon Noodles and Enokitake

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 cups tofu, cut into large cubes and patted dry

2 cups fresh enoki mushrooms

1 cup shredded daikon radish, I used a julienne peeler

1.5 cups vegetable broth with 2 squares of kombu seaweed added

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sake

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon arrowroot or cornstarch plus 1/4 cup additional water

DIRECTIONS:

Combine enoki mushrooms, shredded daikon, and broth, kombu squares, soy sauce, and sake in a medium sized pan or pot at medium high heat.  Allow it to heat through until the mushrooms wilt and start looking like noodles.  Heat the tofu separately on a plate.  Mix the arrowroot and 1/4 cup of water thoroughly and then add to the pan with the enoki mushrooms, stir until a sauce is formed. Turn the heat off and wait for sauce to thicken.  Pour the enoki/daikon with sauce over the tofu.  Serve with steamed bok choy or other steamed greens.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 24 December, 2013: Tofu Cucumber Mint Chutney Cold Pita Pizza

INGREDIENTS:

1 pita round

1.5 cups cucumber, sliced very thinly

1 tablespoon prepared mint chutney or prepared pesto

1 tablespoon tahini

1 teaspoon garlic, minced (about one clove)

Salt to taste

3/4 cup firm tofu, drained

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, combine minced garlic, tahini, and salt.  Toast one pita round — I used my broiler on 400 for a minute — and spread it with mint chutney or pesto.  Add a layer of sliced cucumber and tomatoes.  Crumble the tofu and sprinkle on top, then drizzle with garlic tahini sauce.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 23 December: Japanese Hot Pot

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (1.5 cups reconstituted)

2 carrots (approximately 2 cups) peeled and chopped roughly

1.5 cups leeks, chopped

3 kombu seaweed squares

3 cups water

1/4 cup sake

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 cups cooked noodles — I used soba

1 tablespoon oil

1.5 cups tofu

DIRECTIONS:

Cook soba noodles or any other kind of long, thin noodles according to package directions, set aside.  You can use anything from tofu shirataki to ramen noodles to thin spaghetti or no noodles at all, it just depends on what you like.

Drain the tofu and cut it into thick slices.  Blot the slices with a paper towel or a clean towel to absorb excess water.  Cut the tofu into cubes.  In a medium sized pan that can withstand high heat (I used a cast iron pan) heat one tablespoon oil until it smokes.  Add tofu to the pan.  Toss the tofu around until it browns on all sides, about two minutes.  Take the tofu off heat and set it aside.

Soak the whole dried shiitakes in enough water to cover them (they will float) for 15 minutes in a bowl.  Reserve the soaking water.  In a medium sized pot, combine carrots, kombu squares, mushrooms and their soaking water, and three cups of water.  Let it come to a boil and then reduce to medium.  Allow it to simmer until carrots are slightly tender, about 7 minutes.  Add leeks, soy sauce, and sake.  Heat through, about one minute, then take off the heat.

Serve sukiyaki by ladling all the separate ingredients into bowls — carrots, leeks, mushrooms, tofu cubes, noodles — and then spooning broth over the whole thing.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 22 December, 2013: Seitan and Two Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)

2 cups onion, chopped

2 cups seitan, tofu, tempeh, or veggie meat, chopped finely

2 cups peeled, chopped sweet potatoes

2 cups peeled, chopped potatoes

1.5 cups celery, chopped

2 cups carrots, chopped

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

8 cups vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS:

In the bottom of a large stockpot, sauté garlic and onions in oil or in 1/4 cup of water to make a fat-free version.  Add broth, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, and seitan.  Bring to a boil on high heat; this will take anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes.  Once it boils, turn the stove down to medium heat and simmer until sweet potatoes and carrots are tender.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 21 December, 2013: Curry Fried Rice-Style Barley and Tofu

This is shown with some leftover okra and onions from a lovely vegan dinner at a local Indian restaurant that was one of the best meals I have ever eaten.  Thanks Shuba and Subu!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup barley, cooked (ends up as about 3 cups)

Water for cooking barley

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 carrot, chopped, or about a cup

Water for cooking carrots and peas

1 tablespoon oil

1 green onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon chili sauce or 2 teaspoons sriacha or tabasco

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1.5 cups firm or extra-firm tofu, cubed and patted dry

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse barley and put it into a medium pot with 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook until al dente and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Set it aside.

Pre-cook the carrots and peas.  In a bowl in the microwave, cover the chopped carrots and peas with water and cook on high heat until carrots are tender, about 2 minutes.  Alternately, cover the carrots and peas in water in a small pot on the stovetop.  Cook on high until carrots and peas are tender, about 7 minutes total.  Drain the carrots and peas and set them aside.

Cut tofu into slices and pat them dry with a paper towel.  Then cut them into large cubes.

Mix the hot sauce (chili, sriacha, or tabasco) with cumin, turmeric, and garam masala to make a paste.

In a large pan or wok, heat the tablespoon of oil until it smokes.  Add the tofu, quickly stir-fry and tossing around until they are slightly brown on all sides.  Add the rice, stir fry for about a minute, tossing so it browns but doesn’t burn.  Add drained carrots, peas, and spicy sauce, stir to coat all ingredients.  Finish by stirring in green onion and soy sauce.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 20 December, 2013: Lemon Bok Choy, Tofu, and Mushrooms

INGREDIENTS:

3 mini bok choys or one normal sized bok choy

1/2 cup dried black fungus, also known as cloud ear mushrooms

1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms

1 cup extra-firm tofu, cubed

4 cups vegetable broth

Reserved mushroom soaking water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 cloves garlic (about 2 teaspoons) minced

Half a lemon’s juice or to taste

1 – 2 teaspoons lemon rind (I used the same lemon I juiced)

DIRECTIONS:

Wash the bok choy and pre-soak the shiitake and cloud ear mushrooms in water until they expand, about fifteen minutes.  Once the mushrooms expand, cut the cloud ears in half and de-stem the shiitakes, slicing them into smaller pieces.  Cut the tofu into cubes.

Prepare the broth.  Combine veggie broth (you can also just use water and salt), soy sauce, and garlic in a large pot.  Add the bok choys, cloud ears, shiitakes, and their soaking water to the pot.  Bring to a soft boil at medium high heat and immediately turn down to medium.  Allow to simmer for about three minutes.  Add the tofu cubes.

Use a lemon zester or the fine side of a grater to make lemon zest (the yellow outside skin is the zest).  Squeeze the lemon and stir the strained juice into the pot.

Serve over cooked rice, ladling the broth over it and sprinkling everything with a little lemon zest.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 19 December, 2013: Curried Squash Soup

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (2 1/2-pound) butternut squash, which we will roast

6 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Salt to taste

2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Roast the squash.  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Poke holes in squash with a fork (you can also use an acorn squash or even a pumpkin or kabocha if you are so inclined, whatever!) lay the squash on a cookie sheet or foil, and let it bake for one hour.  Take the squash out, cut it in half, and allow it to cool for at least a half hour.  Scoop out the seeds and save them for roasting: there’s nothing nicer than squash seeds roasted in a 400 degree oven for 10 – 15 minutes in a scant tablespoon of oil with a sprinkle of salt.  Or I suppose you could plant them for more squashes.  Anyway… the squash skin will now come off easily and you can chop the skinless squash in cubes.  Set it aside and throw away the skins.

In a large stock pot, cook the onion and garlic in oil on medium-high heat until onion is translucent.  Add the optional sugar, cumin, turmeric, and garam masala.  Stir for 30 seconds.  Add the cooked squash cubes and broth.  Transfer to a blender (in batches if necessary) and blend until extremely smooth.  Add salt to taste.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 18 December, 2013: Seitan Fried Wonton Soup

You do not have to fry these wontons.  I kind of wish I had not fried them because this would have been a fat-free soup except for the optional dash of sesame oil.

MAKING WONTONS:

1.Take the wonton wrapper (watch out because some brands contain eggs.  These are the simplest kind from the Asian grocery store.  They have three ingredients: water, flour, and salt) and dab water on its four sides.

 

2. Fold wonton in half and pinch open sides shut.

3. Fold one corner over.

 

4. Now fold the other side to make a little envelope.

 

Voila!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 a package of wonton wrappers, about 25 – 30 squares

FOR THE SEITAN FILLING:

1.5 cups cooked seitan (I used yesterday’s recipe!)

2 legs celery, roughly chopped, about 1.5 cups

3 green onions, roughly chopped, about 1 cup

1 tablespoon soy sauce plus 1 teaspoon sugar OR 1.5 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce

FOR THE SOUP:

8 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Dash sesame oil

3 cups bok choy or baby bok choy (or any other choy, like ong choy, just buy what’s on sale) chopped

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms and water for soaking (save water to add to soup)

1 cup oil for frying wontons and a small, high-heat proof pan, I use cast-iron

DIRECTIONS:

Soak the mushrooms in at least 1 cup of water until they expand fully, about fifteen minutes.

In a blender or food processor, combine seitan, celery, green onion, soy sauce and sugar OR vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce.  Pulse the blender until the ingredients are finely chopped and almost pasty.

Now make the wontons as you see in the photos above.  Optionally fry them in oil by bringing the oil to the smoking point in a shallow cast iron pan and dropping them in for only about 20 seconds each side.  Get them out of the oil quickly or they will burn.

To make the soup, combine broth, sliced and de-stemmed shiitake mushrooms and their soaking water, soy sauce, and bok choy in a large pot on medium-high heat until choy starts to wilt slightly.

Add the dumplings.  If you did not pre-fry the dumplings, allow the dumplings to simmer in the soup for about 5 minutes.  Finish with a dash of sesame oil.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 17 December, 2013: Seitan Combo, Stuffed Tofu, and Pickled Plum Maki Sushi

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sushi rice (approx. 2.5 cups cooked) and water to cook

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup daikon radish, julienned

1/2 cup cucumber, julienned

2 cups green salad mix

1 tablespoon pickled plums (umeboshi) pitted and sliced very small

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1/4 cup black sesame seeds

6 fried tofu pouches — also known as abura-age (pr. Ah-boo-la-ah-gay) available premade from Asian grocers in the refrigerated tofu section

SEITAN INGREDIENTS:

1 cup vital wheat gluten

3/4 cup cold water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon tahini

1 teaspoon kombu dashi (squares of kombu seaweed ground up in the coffee grinder or blender/food processor)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

4 sheets nori seaweed

DIRECTIONS:

Make the seitan.  Combine vital wheat gluten, konbu dashi, and salt in a bowl.  In another bowl or large cup, combine water, soy sauce, tahini, and sesame oil, mix well.  Now combine wet and dry ingredients and a dough will form.  Bring enough water to cover the seitan to a boil and drop the seitan in gently.  Turn the heat to medium-high and allow the seitan to boil for 45 minutes.  Drain seitan, allow it to cool, and

Rinse the rice well.  Make the sushi rice by cooking rice according to package directions.  I use my rice cooker for this.  Combine the vinegar, sugar, and a teaspoon of salt.  Cook in the microwave or on the stovetop until the sugar melts, take off heat and set aside.  Once the rice is cooked, pour the vinegar mixture into the rice and stir it to incorporate the vinegar.

Lay the nori on a clean surface and spread with rice.  Then lay a row of vegetables.  I used two combinations for the rolls this time: pickled plum plus salad greens and sliced seitan plus daikon radish and cucumber, but you can use anything you like.  Just know that pickled plum are very salty so it makes sense to use them very sparingly.  I used about 3/4 cup of rice per nori sheet and 1/4 cup filling in a small row down the center to one side.

Roll away from yourself, trying to make the  roll tight by tucking under as you go with your fingertips.  Let it rest seam-side down on a flat surface so the moisture from the rice seals the roll.  Slice with a serrated knife, thickness is up to you.

As for the abura-age, cut them in half and stuff each half with a heaping tablespoon of rice each pouch.  Then gently dip the top in sesame seeds.  You can use two colors if you want to be fancy like me but it isn’t necessary.  I like to toast the seeds first in a dry pan on medium heat for about five minutes but it’s not a crucial step.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 16 December, 2013: Plantain in Coconut Milk and Veggie Sausage

INGREDIENTS:

1 overripe (very black on the outside) plantain

1 cup coconut milk

sprinkle of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix coconut milk (from a can) if it has separated and pour one cup over a peeled plantain in a casserole or oven-safe dish.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for 10 minutes.

I ate this with veggie sausage and a green salad.