Chow Vegan

Sometimes I like to relax by trying out new recipes. I know it’s weird but if I have the time to relax, then I usually have the time to try cooking something new.

I’ve been eyeing the Zesty Orange Mojo Baked Tofu recipe from the Viva Vegan! cookbook. Since I’m staying at a resort with a full kitchen, it’s an ideal time to give it a go (I don’t have to clean the oven if it makes a big mess. Not that I’m going to make a mess on purpose or anything.)

It came out great, a bit differently than the actual recipe, seeing as I totally forgot about zesting the orange. I just squeezed it for the juice and threw the rest away. I only realize this as I’m staring at the remains of the orange in the trash, thinking I was suppose to zest that first.

And I had only bought one orange specifically for the recipe. Oops. So it’s just Mojo Baked Tofu. No zesty orange. Next time I try the recipe, I’ll be sure to have all of the ingredients plus extras.

On a side note, since I was traveling, I was only able to find super-firm tofu (all the other tofu was sold out). Super-firm is like the next step up from extra-firm. It’s very firm. When they say super-firm, they mean super-firm.

Stick to extra-firm to achieve that chewy outside, creamy inside kind of baked tofu. Super-firm makes it chewy all the way through.

Zesty Orange Mojo Baked Tofu
Serves 3 to 4
Time: About 55 minutes

1 pound extra-firm tofu
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Mojo Marinade
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Grated zest of 1 orange
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Slice the tofu into eight 1/2-inch-thick slices and dab the slices dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Press the tofu if desired. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a shallow glass 9 by 12-inch baking dish, combine the olive oil and soy sauce. Lay a tofu slice in the baking dish, pressing it into the sauce mixture. Flip and press again to coat with the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes; remove from the oven but don’t turn the oven off. The tofu will be bubbling and juicy.

2. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a small bowl and stir well.

3. Flip each piece of tofu and pour the marinade over tofu; the marinade will nearly cover the top of the tofu. Bake for another 30 minutes until the tofu is firm and any remaining marinade has thickened up a little bit. Bake longer if an even chewier texture is desired. Serve the tofu hot and topped with any remaining marinade juices from the baking pan.

From the book Viva Vegan! by Terry Hope Romero. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2010. www.dacapopresscookbooks.com

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon link, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on the link and make a purchase of anything.

Related Post
Corn Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie From Viva Vegan!

Gardein has been cranking out the new products like there’s no tomorrow. What a difference a year makes, I’ve reviewed their product back when they only had a few items and were called It’s All Good. Flash forward today, and one of their latest of many offerings is the Trio Fresh Meals.

Found in the refrigerated section at some Whole Foods, they’re very quick and easy to heat up in a microwave. You can be eating in 3 minutes.

Pictured above is the first one I tried, Burgundy Trio – beefless tips with veggies (carrots, onions and mushrooms in a burgundy sauce) and white basmati rice.

The flavor is okay, the chunks meaty. It’s enough to fill me up without a ton of calories, there’s 230 in one serving. The sodium is kinda high as it always is with packaged food. I attempt to mitigate the overall sodium intake for the meal by adding a side of vegetables cooked with little or no salt.

I also tried the Thai Trio – veggie stuffed chick’n with a thai flavored sauce. Of the two, I liked the Thai one better. Taking it out of the package, the one chick’n piece seems to be on the puny side. But with the basmati rice and sauce, it’s 250 calories.

When it first comes out of the microwave, the sauce seem kinda runny but let it sit for a few minutes and it’ll thicken up to just the right consistency.

The last flavor is the Sicilian Trio which I haven’t tried yet, it wasn’t on the store shelf when I bought the other two. Overall, I thought they were a easy, quick meal if you’re short on time or traveling. Made better with an addition of a side vegetable or salad.

After pigging out on donuts, I’m getting back on track with The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Dr. Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb. It’s the latest cookbook I’ve received for review from the publisher.

The first part of the book covers how a plant-based diet can improve your health and the science behind it. There’s also a section of inspiring stories of people reaping the many benefits of a vegan diet including weight loss, reversing diabetes and lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure.

The second part is a collection of simple, low-fat recipes and menu ideas using easy to find ingredients at the local run-of-the-mill supermarket.

I really like breakfast potatoes. So imagine my delight to see a recipe for Sweet Potato Hash with Peppers. But since I have a deep aversion to bell peppers, I replaced them with fresh shiitake mushrooms.

I also threw in fresh chopped parsley at the last minute. Quite tasty and so colorful, it’s a nice change from regular white potatoes (nutritional information is also provided with all of the recipes).

To get you started on healthier eating or back on track, whatever the case may be, I’m giving away a copy of The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook.

To enter, complete the following:

1. Subscribe to chowvegan.com via RSS reader or email.

2. Leave a comment in this post with your favorite breakfast food. It doesn’t have to be something healthy. Comment must be made by midnight PST on Tuesday, July 27th; one entry per person. Giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only.

One winner will be randomly selected from the comments received and announced on Wednesday, July 28th.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon links, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.

The cookbook I’m giving away is the copy I received from the publisher. I did not get any food on it.

I never knew Whole Foods had vegan donuts. I spotted them the other day in the display case over at the baked goods section. I haven’t had a donut in years.

I debated whether or not I should get one. I went to the gym earlier in the morning, so I could have one. Or two. Right?

Posh Bakery supplies the donuts to Whole Foods in the Bay Area. All-natural, they’re the cake kind with icing on top. There’s quite a few flavors to select from, I went nostalgic and got the Maple and Chocolate ones.

They’re actually pretty good, taste is just like a regular donut, slightly greasy and all. They seem fresh and they’re the right size, about three inches in diameter. Not too big and not too small.

Seeing as I won’t be making my own anything soon, it’s a totally affordable treat at .99 each.

I found a few Bumble Bars in the kitchen cupboard (leftover from a trip where I didn’t need to eat them). They’re organic, gluten-free, wheat-free, vegan and ethically sourced.

The main ingredients are sesame and flax seeds and comes in a variety of flavors. I finally got around to trying them, mostly because it was getting very close to the date printed on the package.

I hate to say it but when I first ripped open the wrapper and saw the bar, it kinda reminded me of birdseed, especially the Original flavor, the one that’s pictured below. The other two that I tried, look less like birdseed. But the taste is actually really good.

Sweet, like a candy bar but not too sweet. And not crazy chewy like some energy bars. Original definitely has more of a sesame taste with a few peanut chunks thrown in.

The Chocolate Crisp doesn’t have a strong chocolate taste. But because of the crisp brown rice, it’s a bit crispy. The Chunky Cherry has pieces of cherry and is a little sticky and gooey compared to the other two.

Who knew sesame seeds could pack so much energy? I only wish I tried them sooner.

A few weeks ago, I received a review copy from the publisher of the newly released Viva Vegan!: 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers by Terry Hope Romero.

Viva Vegan! is to Latin food what Vegan Soul Kitchen is to African American food – amazing cookbooks that open up and reinvent the culinary delights of their respective cultures using fresh ingredients to create healthy, tasty, vegan meals.

And if you liked Veganomicon, you’ll probably like Viva Vegan! too, it’s written in a similar style and format but focused solely on Latin cuisine.

Since I have a soft spot for shepherd’s pie, the Creamy Corn-Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie jumped out as one of the must-try recipes. It’s a twist on the Chilean comfort food “pastel de choclo” or corn pie.

Using fresh white corn from the farmers market, the creamy topping is a sweet contrast to the savory tempeh filling. It’s fairly easy to make too as it’s mostly assembly. To see for yourself, I’m giving away a copy of Viva Vegan!

To enter, complete the following:

1. Subscribe to chowvegan.com via RSS reader or email.

2. Leave a comment in this post and tell me what’s your favorite Latin food. Comment must be made by midnight PST on Saturday, May 29th; one entry per person. Giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only.

One winner will be randomly selected from the comments received and announced on Monday, May 31st.

Disclosure: In case you didn’t notice, this post is crawling with Amazon links. I get a few coins thrown my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.

The cookbook I’m giving away is the one that I received directly from the publisher. I did not drool on it.

I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had the time to cook much of anything. To stave off starvation, I turn to my time-crunch savior, Amy’s. On a recent Whole Foods trip, I had bought Amy’s new gluten-free, dairy-free rice macaroni with Daiya cheeze for just such a time. And it was on sale for $3.49.

Heating it up couldn’t be any easier, it takes just 5 minutes in the microwave and comes out as a nice, hot tray of creamy, cheesy goodness. I’m no mac-n-cheese connoisseur but Amy’s is pretty tasty. The smell is wonderfully cheesy, the texture and look is spot on.

Although my eyes did bug out when I glanced at the side of the package and saw the amount of sodium, 740 mg. Is mac-n-cheese normally so salty? It’s fairly high in fat and calories too. It’s a whopping 22 grams of fat and 520 calories! That’s like a whole meal for me right there in that one tray.

At least it’s filling and I wasn’t hungry for the rest of the day (good for the super busy). But as tasty as it was, I’m reserving it as an occasional treat only.

Remember Brendan Synnott from Survivor: Tocantins? It was the season that aired early last year. At the time, I had no idea he co-founded Bear Naked Granola which was later sold. He then went on to co-startup evol burritos.

After Brendan got booted off the show, he offered up free evol burritos to Survivor viewers. After all this time, I finally received a coupon for said burrito.

In their lineup of eleven, there’s two that are vegan. The first one I tried was the Tofu and Spinach Sauté – tofu sautéed with spinach, potatoes, black beans and tomato salsa in a whole wheat tortilla. It had a southwestern kind of flavor.

Inside, there was one big chunk of tofu and one big chunk of potato, mixed in with everything. I don’t know if that was just the one I got or if they’re all like that. Maybe it was because they’re handmade. But it was well-seasoned and the taste was good.

The other vegan option is the Veggie Fajita – sautéed peppers and onions, rice, black beans and salsa in a whole wheat tortilla (pictured above). It’s more colorful but not as flavorful as the tofu and spinach one. It just taste like peppers, rice and beans. It seems like it needs something.

For me, the real question is how does the evol burritos stack up against my favorite Amy’s burritos? There’s no contest between evol’s Veggie Fajita versus Amy’s Non-Dairy Bean and Rice. Amy’s kicks butt. Sorry Brendan.

But on the bright side, it’s a draw between the Tofu and Spinach Sauté versus Amy’s Indian Spinach Tofu wrap. They both have tofu and spinach in a whole wheat tortilla but each has a totally different taste and flavor. I could go for either one.