Chow Vegan

Since I still have a bit of lunchbox fondue left over from my last post, I thought it might go well with ravioli. Someday I would like to try to make ravioli from scratch.

But not today.

Today, I need something kinda quick so I’m pulling out of the freezer a package of Rising Moon Organics Butternut Squash Ravioli. It’s vegan, organic and tasty.

They also have quite a few other vegan ravioli options, so far I like the butternut squash the best. It tastes like a cross between pumpkin and sweet potato.

Cook according to the package directions. Toss the pillowy ravioli with a little vegan butter or olive oil, (basically so the raviolis don’t stick to themselves in a big clump), then serve on a bed of sautéed baby spinach, surrounded by the cheesy fondue sauce. Top with a few basil leaves, and voilà, dinner is served.

I love fondue. It’s one of those super fun things to eat, what with all that stabbing and dipping with extra long forks. And fire too. Well, a little tea light flame but it’s still fire.

I first saw the recipe for vegan fondue on Jennifer McCann’s Vegan Lunch Box, probably one of the first food blogs I started reading way back when. I was amazed and impressed at the innovation and thoughtfulness that went into those lunches.

Her cookbook Vegan Lunch Box: 130 Amazing, Animal-Free Lunches Kids and Grown-Ups Will Love! was released recently, which I received a copy from the publisher. It’s packed full of recipes and tips, useful not just for lunch but for any meal or snack.

Take the lunchbox fondue recipe for example - Jennifer packed it in a thermos for her son’s lunch, that in itself is such an inspired idea. But you can also serve it in a small crockpot or fondue pot. I used a fancy butter warmer alongside bread and roasted vegetables including red potatoes, carrots and shiitake mushrooms. So simple and easy to make and so cheesy and creamy to eat.

I’m so looking forward to trying many more recipes from the cookbook and maybe a few bento style lunches too.

Lately I’ve been roasting a lot of vegetables, basically whatever I find at the farmer’s market. It’s simple, delicious and super easy. With this method, there’s only one bowl and one baking pan that needs to be cleaned up. As usual, the lazy part of me is extremely pleased about that.

Roasted Vegetables with Crispy Rice Cake

1. Pick up whatever veggies of choice. I like to go with baby red potatoes, carrots, trumpet mushrooms, zucchini and even a couple of garlic cloves. Slice or cut them up to be around the same size.

2. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and dried rosemary. You can also go with just basic salt and pepper or add whatever herbs you like. Add enough olive oil to coat and not stick to the pan.

3. Spread out the veggies on the baking pan. Since I’m using veggies that are done cooking at different times, I like to separate out the mushrooms to one end so I can easily take them off and let the rest continue cooking.

4. Stick the pan in a 425 degrees oven, after 15 minutes or so, turn everything over. At this point, the veggies will have shrunk a bit so there’s more room on the pan.

5. Instead of heating up leftover rice in the microwave, I thought it would be tasty and crispy to just stick it in the oven too. After all, it’s already on. I just shaped the rice into a patty, plopped it down on the pan and seasoned it (I had leftover short-grain rice which sticks together and holds its shape by itself).

6. Ten minutes later, the mushrooms should be done and maybe the carrots if they’re thinly sliced, take those off and anything else that looks done. Flip the rest over including the rice cake.

7. And in another ten minutes, everything else should be done. Stick a fork in a potato to make sure. That’s it, a tasty autumn dinner is now ready to eat.

I’ve been fascinated by spices since I was a small child - all the different smells, colors and shapes. My mom has this one spice rack that’s been around for as long as I can remember, I’m not sure where it came from - she hardly ever used it (it was filled with spices atypical of Chinese home-cooking).

Nowadays, I have a carousel type of rack, I love to spin that thing around looking for various spices. One day while spinning it around and around, it occurred to me that it would be fun to use a bunch of these different spices in one recipe. That was the inspiration for the 11 Herbs and Spices Baked Tofu, along with a certain famous “secret” fried chicken spice recipe.

While it was tasty, I think I prefer my Crispy Baked Tofu the best, simpler is sometimes better. Another thing is you can change up the spices to whatever you like, tofu is more than happy to soak in whatever you throw at it.

11 Herbs and Spices Baked Tofu
Makes 14 pieces

1 pound firm tofu
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk

1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion granules
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the tofu into 1/4″ slices and wrap in paper towels. Place a weight on top for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a shallow bowl, combine the nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs and the 11 herbs and spices and mix well. Dip the tofu slices in the soy milk and then in the breadcrumbs mixture, coat well on both sides, place the coated pieces on a oiled baking pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes on each side.

Related Posts
Chicken Fried Tofu
Chinese 5-Spice Baked Tofu
Crispy Baked Tofu

I had no idea there was such a thing as fresh tofu noodles until I saw them at the local farmer’s market. They’re actually made by pressing firm tofu into thin sheets and slicing them into noodle-like strands.

I decided to combined the noodles with stir-fried snow peas, carrots and wood ear mushrooms, but really it would be great with any combination of veggies, cooked or raw. Toss the noodles with a no-cook peanut sauce and you’re set for a nice summertime meal.

If you’ve never heard of wood ear mushrooms, they’re a jelly fungi - dark colored mushrooms that look like ears growing on trees, hence their name. Also known as tree ear, dry black fungus, cloud ear or mook yee, they’re available dried and sometimes fresh at the Asian grocery store.

When rehydrated, the wood ear will swell to several times its size, so a little goes a long ways. The dried mushrooms will keep indefinitely in a covered jar.

Wood ear mushrooms have little flavor on their own and are used more for their crunchy texture and color. They’re thought to have a cardiovascular benefit in helping to prevent heart disease as they contain an anti-coagulant compound (blood thinner) that inhibits blood clots.

Soy Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Serves 2

1-2 tablespoons dried wood ear mushrooms
1 bag fresh soy noodles (about 8 ounces)
3 ounces snow peas
2 small carrots
1 teaspoon olive oil
Sprig of cilantro, chopped

Soak the wood ear mushrooms in water until softened about 2 hours. Drain and rinse off any dirt, then cut off any hard spots. Julienne the snow peas, carrots and wood ear mushrooms.

Heat a wok until hot, add the oil and swirl to coat. Add the vegetables and stir-fry 1 - 2 minutes. Add salt to taste and a splash of water if the wok appears to be too dry. Continue to stir-fry until the vegetables are tender crisp, about another minute or so. Set aside.

Tossed the noodles with the peanut sauce to taste. To serve, divide the noodles between two plates, top with the vegetables and garnish with cilantro.

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl, and mix until well combined and smooth.

I love sushi but I’m getting a little tired of the same ol’ avocado roll, the ubiquitous cucumber roll or a variation of pretty much the same vegetables in a combination roll. I have been to a few Japanese restaurants that do have innovative veggie rolls, but those are usually the exception.

It just seems like the possibilities for creating new and interesting veggie sushi is endless and really unexplored. So I’m going to venture forward and give it a shot myself.

For this first attempt, I didn’t have any sushi rice and knew better than to try to substitute it with long grain rice. I made a hand roll instead with king oyster mushrooms in a spicy sauce, avocado, cucumber and romaine lettuce.

I was very happy and pleased with this taste combination. It’s got a nice balance between the spicy and the cool, the chewy and the crunchy.

But I do need to work on my nori toasting technique - 1. I almost burned myself waving it around a flame 2. The nori did catch on fire (it was quickly put out) and 3. Now it smells all burnt-like in the kitchen.

Despite all that, I believe it’s a successful, good start.

I had some jackfruit leftover from when I made Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos. Instead of having more tacos, I made taquitos with the jackfruit. Taquito means “little taco”. They’re similar to tacos in that it’s a savory filled corn tortilla but it’s rolled up so it’s neater and easier to eat.

Baked until crispy and served with an avocado green sauce, it has a very satisfying crunch. The thin green sauce (it’s suppose to be thin) provides a creamy and refreshing contrast to the slightly spicy filling.

Jackfruit Carnitas Taquitos
Makes 5 taquitos

5 six inch corn tortillas
1 cup jackfruit carnitas filling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Soften the tortillas by microwaving for 30 seconds between wet paper towels so they’re soft and easy to roll. Spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the jackfruit across a tortilla and roll tightly. Stick a toothpick in the middle to keep it closed. Repeat with each of the tortillas. Place on a oiled baking pan.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes on each side until crispy. Remove the toothpicks and serve with Avocado Green Sauce for dipping.

Avocado Green Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

1/2 ripe Hass avocado, chopped
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients and blend until smooth. Chill for for 30 minutes to an hour if desired or serve immediately.

I had another can of jackfruit in the cupboard just begging to be made into something. Over the weekend, I decided to give Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos from The Urban Housewife a try.

I made a few minor changes to the recipe. I was out of the chile powder so I just left that out.

I don’t have a crock pot or slow cooker, so I cooked the jackfruit in my rice cooker on the slow setting, just like I did for the BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Sandwich. As I don’t feel comfortable just leaving the rice cooker unattended, I set it up on a morning when I knew I would be in all day.

I added all of the ingredients and set the cooker for 4 hours. I did have to add a bit of water a couple of times, since it looked like it was starting to get too dry and sticking to the bottom. But other than that, it came out great. It’s an easy recipe and the results are flavorful and a bit on the spicy side.