Smoothies

I have been a little slow on posting new recipes - One the reason is that I have a new Vitamix blender that we decided to invest in a couple of months back - trying out all kinds of new techniques and new recipes that came with the blender.  I love our Vitamix - besides helping us with our plant based whole foods way of eating, it is also great for making frozen drinks for parties.

I am making smoothies almost every morning for breakfast - delicious!  I usually throw in some plain soy milk, pomegranate juice, some fresh fruit, some frozen fruit, a little cinnamon, a tablespoon or so of ground flax seed for the Omega-3's and a handful of spinach or kale.  With all of the fruit flavors, I don't even taste the spinach or kale although it can give the smoothie a strange color overall.  This could be a great way to get more vegetables into the diets of finicky children (or adults) - masking the spinach or other veggies with the sweetness of the fruits.

Some of the best combinations I have discovered so far have been the following:

Smoothie #1:
Soy Milk
Orange
Banana
Spinach
Pomegranate juice
Cinnamon
Ground Flax Seed

Smoothie #2
Soy Milk
Banana
Strawberries
Blueberries
Spinach
Cinnamon
Ground Flax Seed

Smoothie #3 (this one is Tim's favorite)
Soy Milk
Banana
Strawberries
Cinnamon
Vanilla Extract
Ground Flax Seed

Smoothie #4
Soy Milk
Peaches
Blueberries
Kale
Cinnamon
Ground Flax Seed
Vanilla Extract

Crispy Tofu Stir-Fry

A lot of people don't like tofu and I blame it on lack of seasoning as
well as the texture.  Tim has always enjoyed crispy crunchy foods, like
many people so we have developed this process for making the Tofu both
flavorful and crispy in a stir-fry.

1 lb Tofu
1 Onion
3 Garlic cloves
1 16oz. bag Frozen Broccoli
1 small can water chestnuts
Olive oil
Granulated Garlic
Black Pepper
Crushed Red Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F - convection oven if possible.  Slice the Tofu
into approx 1/2" cubes.  Sprinkle Granulated garlic and grind black
pepper over tofu in a baking dish - bake in pre-heated oven for
approximately 30-40 minutes, turning every 15 minutes to ensure
crispness on all sides.

While tofu is cooking, chop onion, mince garlic.  Put crushed red pepper
in wok or frying pan with a small amount of olive oil.  Add the onions
and garlic to the pan.  Once onion is translucent, add broccoli and
water chestnuts.  Once broccoli is heated through, add the crispy tofu,
mix to combine, season with salt and pepper as desired and serve
immediately with brown rice.

Smoked Tofu

One cooking technique Tim and I really enjoyed before changing to a plant based diet was smoked foods.  We had a charcoal smoker and used to make smoked ribs, smoked salmon, smoked chicken.  The slow low temperature cooking with a variety of rubs and BBQ sauces was fantastic.  After determining the health benefits of a plant based diet are so important to us, we still want to enjoy the flavors and seasonings we have in the past.  I went out and found a small electric smoker - just the right size for smoking Tofu.

We still use the charcoal smoker to make food for cookouts for our friends and family.

Smoked Tofu
1 package Extra Firm Tofu
A mixture of the following seasonings:
Paprika
Jerk Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Chili Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Fresh ground Black Pepper
Salt
Sugar
Amounts and ratio depends on your tastes and how spicy you would like your tofu.



Slice Tofu into thin slices - approximately 1/4 inch thick.  Dredge in seasoning mixture.

Place in smoker for approximately 1 1/2 hours. 









Once the smoking process is complete, place the tofu slices into a preheated 350 F oven and bake for 20 minutes until slightly crispy. 








Brush on or dip into your favorite BBQ Sauce.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is based on one that a friend made a couple of weekends ago - it was excellent but somehow her version came out a bit spicier.  I think adding cayenne pepper or some jalapenos would not be a bad idea here.  The version below is what we make this past Sunday and it was delicious.  I am also thinking to experiment next time, I wonder how it would come out if we substitute silken tofu for the soy cream cheese - that might also give it the creamy texture - something to try next time.

1 Butternut Squash - peeled and cut into 1" cubes(about 6 cups)
2 Granny Smith Apples - peeled and cut into 1" pieces
3 medium Yellow Onions
1 Tablespoon Thai Red Curry Paste
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance
6 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 8oz. Package Soy Cream Cheese (I used Tofutti brand - better than cream cheese)

Melt the Earth Balance in a large stock pot, add the onions and saute until soft and translucent.  Add to the Onions the Squash, Apples, Curry Paste and mix until combined.

Add  the vegetable broth and simmer for about 1/2 hour until the apples and squash are softened.

Working in small batches - put approximately 1/4 of the soup into the blender at a time - puree until smooth - transfer into a bowl until all of it has been pureed and then return to the stock pot.

Return to the stove over low heat, whisk in the soy cream cheese until well blended.

Zucchini Bread

Even after the enormous stuffed zucchini, we still have quite a bit of zucchini left - I made this zucchini bread which came out very good - I froze one loaf and we will see how that does when we defrost it - I think it will be nice toasted once it is defrosted.  And now only another 2/3 of a very large zucchini left - not sure what we will do with that yet.....

Ingredients

6 egg whites
 (I used egg-replacer instead)

1/4 cup canola oil


1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce


1/2 cup sugar


2 teaspoons vanilla extract


1 1/4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour


1 1/4 cups whole-wheat (whole-meal) flour


1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoon baking soda


3 teaspoons ground cinnamon


2 cups shredded zucchini


1/2 cup chopped walnuts


1 1/2 cups crushed, unsweetened pineapple


1/2 cup raisins


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add the egg replacer, canola oil, applesauce, sugar and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture on low speed until thick and foamy.

In a small bowl, stir together the flours. Set 1/2 cup aside. Add the baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon to the small bowl of flour.

Add the flour mixture to the egg white mixture and using the electric mixer on medium speed, beat until well blended. Add the zucchini, pineapple and cranberries and stir until combined. Adjust consistency of the batter with the remaining 1/2 cup flour, adding 1 tablespoon at a time. The batter should be thick and not runny.

Pour 1/2 of the batter into each prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the loaves out of the pans onto the rack and let cool completely. Cut each loaf into 9 1-inch slices and serve.

Stuffed Zucchini

There must be at least 100 different recipes available for stuffed zucchini which are all good - I put this together based on what we had in the pantry and refrigerator.  The zucchini came from Tim's cousin Kelly's garden - and they told us these were small compared to some they had already picked.

1 very large zucchini squash (or 2-3 smaller zucchini)

2 cups garbanzo beans

1 large onion

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T. Olive oil

2 carrots, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 cup cooked quinoa

¼ cup vegan shredded “cheese”

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice the Zucchini lengthwise into two pieces.  Scoop out the insides of the zucchini, chop the portion which was removed into small pieces and set aside.

Chop onion, mince garlic and dice jalapeno pepper, add to a frying pan with olive oil.  Saute onions, pepper and garlic for about 5 minutes. 

Add carrots and zucchini pieces to frying pan, cook until zucchini and carrots are softened, about 15 minutes.  There will be some liquid coming from the zucchini as it cooks allow this to evaporate while cooking without a lid on the pan.

Add the garbanzo beans and quinoa to the frying pan and heat through.  

Add stuffing to the zucchini shells and place into 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes.  Add optional vegan shredded “cheese” and put back into the oven for 5 minutes to melt cheese.  Slice into servings and enjoy!

Jamaican Beef-ish Patties

We made these and brought them to a party - we had them in a tinfoil pan and heated them up on the grill - they were a big hit.  Depending on your preference you could make them more or less spicy, adding more or less of the habenero pepper.

Pastry:
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water
 
Filling:

2 tablespoon oil

1 Small white onion, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon Chopped Habanero pepper

1 1/2 cups Textured Vegetable Protein (we used beef-ish bits from Harmony House Foods) Boiling Water - enough to cover TVP to rehydrate

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Curry powder

1/2 teaspoon Dried thyme

1/4 cup Breadcrumbs

1/4 cup vegetable stock

For the Pastry:

Combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour with the turmeric and sea salt in a large bowl and mix well.  Set aside the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.  Add the coconut oil to the flour mixture and mix until it resembles fine sand.  You can use your hands to mix this, a food processor or a stand mixer also works well.

Combine the vinegar and water.  Add the vinegar mixture by the tablespoon, while stirring until the dough just comes away from the sides of the bowl.  flatten the dough and cover in wax paper and refrigerate for about an hour.

 

For the Filling:

Add boiling water to the TVP and allow to re-hydrate.  In a heavy skillet, heat the oil and sauté the onion and pepper until they become limp. Add the TVP, salt, pepper, curry powder and thyme and mix well. Simmer the TVP mixture for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the breadcrumbs and stock and combine all the ingredients well. Cover the skillet and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When all the liquids have been absorbed, the filling is ready. It should be moist but not watery. Remove the skillet from the stove and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

With the reserved flour dust a clean surface and roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into 6-inch circles.  We used a bowl which had a 6-inch diameter at the top to cut the circles.  Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling onto the center of one side of each circle leaving about 1/8 inch boarder.  Dip you fingers in water and run water around the edges of the circle.  Fold over, press to seal and make ridges around the edge with a fork.  

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake about 35 minutes until golden brown.  Serve immediately.