Kimberly Steele's Blog, page 35

Daily Vegan Lunch for 28 February, 2013: Corn and Lentil Soup

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons brown lentils

4 cups vegetable broth (4 cups water and 2 veggie broth cubes)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

11 ounce can of corn or 2 cups of frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

3 Tablespoons Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry

3 Tablespoons vinegar (apple cider or rice vinegar works best)

1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

Hot sauce or cayenne pepper to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Wash the lentils in a strainer.  In a pot, combine veggie broth and soy sauce over high heat.  Add lentils.  Bring to a boil for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to low-medium and cover.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Mix cornstarch, vinegar, and cooking wine in a small bowl.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the pot on the stove and stir.  Add the corn and simmer until heated through.  Add vinegar, hot sauce (if using), and sesame seed oil.  Add black pepper to taste.

 

Daily Vegan Lunch for 27 February, 2013: Vegan Reuben Sandwich

INGREDIENTS

1-2 slices rye or pumpernickel bread, I used dark rye from the Whole Foods bakery

1 cup of sauerkraut, drained well

3-4 veggie meat slices, I used Field Roast deli slices. This was also good with a chopped Field Roast vegan sausage

Drizzles of French or other vegan salad dressing: I used a little soy mayonnaise mixed with some tomato-garlic dressing my husband bought

Build sandwich like this: bread, deli slices, drained sauerkraut, salad dressing. If I were taking it to work, I would keep the bread separate and assemble the sandwich just before eating it so the bread does not get soggy.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 26 February, 2013: Spinach Fake Bacon Chickpea Salad

Did you know that along with boosting immunity and clearing cholesterol, garlic actually REMOVES mercury from your system? The sulfur in garlic (also found in onions) binds to toxic mercury in your system and drags it out. Mercury is found in heavy concentrations in fish, especially salmon and tuna. It is also 50% of the makeup of old amalgam fillings. Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to man. Because of this, mercury amalgam filings are banned in several countries. Mercury causes memory loss, depression, and fatigue.

INGREDIENTS:

SALAD

8-10 cups organic spinach leaves

1 medium apple, chopped

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas (rinse if they are from a can)

DRESSING

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

1/2 an onion, chopped (lots, about 1.5 cups)

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar or 1 teaspoon agave nectar

1 tablespoon baco bits (soy bacon granules)

Assemble salad of spinach, apples, and chickpeas in a large bowl. Make salad dressing: Fry the onions in the oil in a small pan over medium high heat until they begin to caramelize (get very brown). Add garlic, let it fry for about 30 seconds and turn down heat to low-medium. Add sugar and vinegar and take pan off the stove as it sizzles. Stir well.

Pour salad dressing over salad, sprinkle with baco bits, and toss.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 25 February, 2013: Shiitakes and Tofu in Brown Sauce

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms

3/4 cup water

1/8 cup or 2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/8 cup or 2 Tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons sugar

1.5 cups firm tofu, sliced

DIRECTIONS

Soak mushrooms for about 20 minutes in 3/4 cup water. Do not throw away the soaking water! In a small bowl or large measuring cup, mix soy sauce, cooking wine, cornstarch, and sugar. Strain mushroom soaking water into the soy sauce mixture, mix again. Reserve for later.

Saute tofu very briefly in a frying pan over medium heat. I use a little oil but you don’t need to use any if you are watching fats. Add the mushrooms and lower to medium heat. Add the brown liquid and simmer until it thickens, which will be five minutes or less. Serve over rice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 24 February, 2013: Big Taco

INGREDIENTS

2 heaping Tablespoons veggie meat. I used Veggie Chorizo, you could also just leave out veggie meat

1/2 avocado, made into guacamole by mashing it with a teaspoon minced onion, salt, and a teaspoon of lemon juice

1 cup lettuce, chopped or shredded

2 tablespoons chopped tomato

1 large flour or corn tortilla or 3 small ones

DIRECTIONS

Microwave veggie meat in a small bowl for 30 seconds. Assemble the taco/tacos by putting all non-tortilla ingredients in the center, saving lettuce for last. Fold and eat!!

Daily Vegan Lunch for 23 February, 2013: Tofu Cutlets

INGREDIENTS

Makes 4 Tofu Cutlets

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 slabs firm tofu, about 1/3 of the tofu brick, do not pat dry

Oil for frying

Cooked rice

DIRECTIONS

Mix the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a shallow dish or on a plate. Bread the tofu by pressing each side of the slice into the mixture. Fry the coated slices at medium-high heat on each side until browned.

Serve them over rice. I ate them with pickled mustard greens and basmati rice.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 22 February, 2013: TBLT Sandwich

INGREDIENTS

2 slices wheat bread, toasted

1-2 teaspoons non-dairy mayo like Follow Your Heart Vegannaise

2 slices tomato or 6 grape tomatoes, chopped

2 leafs romaine lettuce, finely chopped or shredded

4 slices tempeh bacon or other soy bacon

DIRECTIONS

Chop the tomatoes on a cutting board and strain any excess juice. Chop lettuce. Fry the veggie bacon in a pan over medium high heat in a little oil. Toast the bread and spread a thin layer of mayo on one of the slices. Top with fried veggie bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 21 February 2013: African Red Lentil Tomato Stew

It’s 28 degrees outside… time for comfort food a.k.a. stuff with peanut butter in it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup red lentils

3 cups water

1 veggie broth cube

1 tablespoons oil for frying onions and spices

1/2 large onion, chopped

2-4 cloves minced garlic

2 cups crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, or sauce

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

SPICES:

5 cloves or 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Practical tip: if you start jasmine rice in the cooker now, it will be done by the time you prepare the stew. Just saying.

Put lentils and water in a pot, bring them to a boil. Stir a few drops of oil into the lentils and add a broth cube and whole cloves. If you are using ground cloves, wait until later. Bring the heat down to medium or medium low. Let the lentils cook as they absorb water. I usually set my oven or microwave timer at this point for every 7 minutes to remind me to stir.

Once lentils have absorbed the water, turn off heat on that burner and set them aside. Start onions frying in oil in a separate, large pan over medium-high heat. Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and all spices, stirring them a little as they become fragrant. Pour the tomato sauce into the large pan and add the peanut butter. Stir it until the peanut butter is melted and add the lentils. Stir well and let it cook until lentils are hot.

This was inspired by an African stew from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook, which I highly, highly recommend for EVERYONE, all the recipes are very healthy, low and no-fat, and inspired.

Serve the stew over rice, millet, quinoa, a bed of wilted greens/spinach, or noodles.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 20 February, 2013: Pesto Tofu Sandwich

PESTO INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh basil and 1 cup spinach leaves or 2 cups basil

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup walnuts

3 cloves garlic

Salt to taste

PESTO DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until basil is finely chopped and spreadable.

INGREDIENTS:

Bread

2 Tablespoons vegan pesto

2 quarter inch slices of firm or extra firm tofu, patted dry with paper towels

Vegan parmesan cheese sprinkles (to make your own vegan parmesan, put 1/2 cup sesame seeds, 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a a spice grinder or food processor and pulse a few times)

Spread bread with vegan pesto. Slice firm tofu and pat each one dry on both sides with a paper towel. Put some vegan parmesan on a cutting board and press the tofu into it so the parmesan coats both sides. Place tofu slices on top of pesto bread and make into a sandwich.

Daily Vegan Lunch for 19 February, 2013: Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese

I was the freaking unicorn: the only Midwestern child ever who despised Kraft macaroni & cheese. Overcooked white pasta in cow’s milk always gave me a gag reflex, I also never liked cheese casseroles or lasagna, though I ate them and often pretended to like them because I did as I was told. I love vegan “cheeses” because they don’t have the cloying heaviness of cow’s milk cheese and after eating them I feel good, unlike when I was a girl with chronic stomach upset. This macaroni and cheese has 5 grams of fat per serving, unlike Kraft mac & cheese which has a whopping 19 grams of fat per serving, all of it coming in the form of growth hormone-laden, cancer-causing, immune-destroying, artery-clogging, cow-hurting dairy.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked)

1 package Mori Nu (12.3 ounces) silken firm tofu

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 Tablespoon onion powder or flakes

1/2 cup water

1/2 a lemon’s juice

3/4 teaspoon turmeric, for happy yellow color

1 teaspoon of prepared yellow or Dijon mustard

DIRECTIONS:

Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions until al dente (still a little firm) drain it, set aside.

Put tofu, nutritional yeast, onion powder, water, lemon juice, turmeric, and mustard into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour sauce over cooked noodles. It seems like a lot of sauce at first but the noodles will absorb it. Heat on stovetop or in the microwave until it is warm. Technically, you can eat it cold if you’re freaky like that, it’s perfectly safe.