Vegan Recipes and Plant Based Cooking

I think tofu is one of the most misunderstood ingredients of all time. Most chefs don't understand it and the average person is repulsed by it.  But my experience with tofu is that if you know how to correctly manipulate it, it can help you create brilliant food that's packed with complete protein.  I enjoy making my own meatless meatballs. I've made black bean ones and red bean ones and various other beans.  So with the goal of incorporating more protein, especially more complete protein into my daily food intake, I tried to do some tofu meatballs.  The first attempt was pretty tasty. Nice texture. Still it, needed a little tweaking.  The second attempt was, to me, entirely successful.  Ingredients 1/2 a 14 ounce block of extra firm tofu, drained and chunked 1/2 a can of black beans, drained and rinsed 6 cloves garlic 2 jalapenos, mostly deseeded, chunked 1 serrano, mostly deseeded, chunked 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 3 tbls olive oil 2 tbls nutritional yeast 2 tsps Aleppo

  A good sauce is always an interesting challenge. There are already a million sauces out there floating around the internet. Not to mention all the classic sauces that have existed for who knows how long.  Nevertheless, there are all kinds of sauces that have yet to be discovered.  I don't know if this is one of them, but maybe it's new to some.  Ingredients 3 ounces arugula 2 small heels whole wheat bread 1 cup soy milk 1 tbl white vinegar 1 jalapeno, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbls olive oil 2 1/2 tsps salt 1 tsp black pepper In a medium pot, sweat the jalapeno and garlic in the salt and oil for 3 minutes.  Add the soy milk, black pepper and arugula. Cover and simmer on low until the greens are tender.  Add cooked ingredients, bread and vinegar to a blender and puree until smooth.  Let rest 5 minutes and it will thicken.  I first heard of the technique for using bread to thicken a sauce on Masterchef Professionals UK. It's a really simple way to do so. It also utili

It's been a long time since I've had mashed potatoes. The better pre-made ones contain milk and the plain flakes are just terrible. The classic method of making homemade is just such a messy hassle.  I don't like peeling potatoes. Who does really? Not only is it tedious, it wastes the best part of the potato. And the giant pot of water and boiling the potatoes is just a pain. So yearning for some mashed potatoes after years without, I suddenly had a potato epiphany. I could bake the potatoes instead of boiling them. Then scoop out the flesh. Plus I'd still have the delicious skins to eat. It was the perfect solution! I baked the potatoes at 450 F for 35 minutes and then left the inside the hot oven for another 20. I used ordinary russet potatoes from the 5 lb bag. Try to use ones that are similar in size so they cook at the same rate.  4 small to medium russets 1/2-2/3 cup soy milk 3 cloves garlic, minced  1 jalapeno, seeded and minced, I used roasted jalapeno (they coo

 Sauce time again. Who doesn't love a good sauce?  Ingredients 1 Italian Long Hot Pepper, seeded and chunked 2 Jalapenos, seeded, chunked 1 Serrano, seeded, chunked 3 cloves garlic, diced 3/4 cups water 2 tbls olive oil 2 tsps spicy mustard 1 wheat bread end piece 2 tsps salt 2 tsps dry basil In a small pot bring to a boil all ingredients except mustard and bread.  Reduce to simmer and let it go for 10 minutes.  Add pot contents and remaining ingredients to blender. Puree until smooth.  Refrigerate at least 3 hours to thicken.  It's not that hot since the peppers have been seeded. But it has a pleasing and nuanced warmth thanks to the variety of peppers used. 

Potatoes are interesting in that subjecting them to multiple cooking methods actually improves their texture and flavor. While you can certainly achieve great potatoes through a singular baking, a second cook will yield surprisingly wonderful results.  In this case I baked my potatoes and then I also pan fried them. Extra work to be sure, but a very strong return on investment.  There's also a really delicious, yet simple sauce to go along with it.  Wash your potatoes and poke some holes in them with a fork. This lets the steam escape so the potatoes don't burst.  Set oven to 425 F. Put the potatoes in there. No need to wait for it to preheat. You can place large potatoes directly on the oven rack. The rack should be at the center of the oven. If you have several small potatoes use a half sheet pan to make it easier.  Bake for 40 minutes. Then turn off the oven, but leave the potatoes in there and leave the door closed. The oven is still very hot. The potatoes will continue to

  One of my co-workers gave me a big bag of thai chili peppers. Awesome stuff. The grocery stores around here have jalapeno, long hot, serrano, habanero and poblano. That's it. So this fiery, foreign invader was an exciting thing to receive.  A really simple, yet extremely flavorful way to treat chilies is with an infused oil. You can then use that oil to dress any concoction of veg and beans.  Ingredients 2 tbls olive oil 2 bird's eye chilies, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tsps salt Add ingredients to a small bowl or ramekin. Microwave for 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight.  Pour over any combination of veg and beans. Add a splash of red wine vinegar.  Enjoy your stay in food paradise.  If you don't have access to fresh exotic chili peppers, dried versions will work in much the same way. Or you could attempt to grow your own.

  This is two ideas in one. We've got some really beautiful cauliflower and some nicely pan fried tofu.  I was wanting a different way to prepare tofu and I thought, why not coat it in a seasoned flour and shallow fry it. Has to be good, right?  Flour Mixture 1/4 cup flour 2 tsps salt 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp Italian seasoning 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp black pepper Tofu Drain, wrap in a towel. Place in an uncovered container. Weight with a water bottle laid on its side and leave in the fridge overnight.  Cut into squares. Coat in the flour mixture. Shaking off the excess, but making sure to coat all sides.  Shallow fry, browning on all  sides. The little cubes flip easiest using a spoon.  Sprinkle the Tofu Cubes with a little more salt after removing from the pan. Recently cauliflower has been relegated to the sad  status  as the thing that replaces unwanted carbs. It deserves better. It's a unique vegetable. Under the right conditions it can be transformed from a pale, un