Vegan Recipes and Plant Based Cooking

 Red peppers turn sweet when you cook them. Habaneros turn hotter. Garlic takes on a smokey, mellow quality. It's this triad of flavors that is the foundation for this vegan tofu sauce.  It's pretty easy to prepare and has only a handful of ingredients. However, it boasts a lot of flavor and a heaping dose of protein. I'm always on the hunt for more protein.  Tofu sauces and purees are a delicious and easy way to kick up the taste and protein on your meals.  Ingredients 1 large red bell pepper, large dice 1 habanero, large dice 5 cloves garlic 1/2 package soft tofu 1/3 cup water 1 tbl olive oil 2 1/2 tsps salt Instructions Add the red bell pepper and salt to a medium sauce pot. Bring to medium heat and simmer until the pepper begins to release its water.  Add the oil, habanero, garlic. Continue to cook over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant. About 5 minutes.  Add the tofu and water.  Simmer covered until the bell pepper is tender. About 7 minutes.  Remove the cover a

The quest for new ways to create tofu purees is never-ending. This is my latest idea.  I love the flavor of turmeric and if you do too, you'll like this.  The garlic in this recipe was roasted in the oven the day before while creating a broccoli salad. I roasted the whole head of garlic, unpeeled in the oven. I actually set the oven to preheat to 425 F and then just put the tray of veggies (which included the garlic head) in there right at the start. When the oven chimed to indicate it had reached temp, I turned off the oven, but left the tray in there for 10 minutes. That's my idiot-proof way to roast stuff without burning anything. It works great. It also saves time because you don't have to wait for the oven to heat up.  Aioli Ingredients 1/2 block soft tofu, plus 1/4 cup of the liquid 1 orange or yellow habanero, deseeded and diced 5 cloves roasted garlic, peeled and destemmed  1/4 cup frozen corn kernels 2 tsps ground turmeric 2 1/2 tsps salt Recipe Instructions To a m

There's always been a disconnect in my head between classic French sauce techniques and how to use them with vegan ingredients. That is how I arrived at some of my tofu based sauces. I figured I needn't worry about how to thicken them. The tofu would do that without any intervention on my part.  I've also used roux to make some vegan sauces using soy and almond milks with varying degrees of success.  Still, I've always suspected that the simple act of reduction might work on plant based milks. My logic, reduce the amount of water content and they will eventually thicken.  It takes some time and some patience, but it does happen. I found it easiest to just set it on the stove and do something else nearby for a while. If you stand over it, it'll feel like an eternity and you'll never let it go far enough.  Ingredients 1 1/2 cups almond milk 1 jalapeno, deseeded, minced 1 serrano, deseeded, minced 1 habanero, deseeded, minced 3 cloves garlic, minced 3 tbls nutritio

This one is hot. Layers of heat.  But it's also a little bit sweet thanks to the corn component.  The creamy smooth texture is deceptively innocent, but this one has some teeth.  My obsession with tofu puree started not too long ago when I realized that I could simultaneously multiply my protein intake and also make everything else I was eating taste that much better.  Tofu is a woefully misunderstood ingredient. In the wrong hands it's virtually inedible. However, in the right hands, it's anything you want it to be.  Ingredients 1/2 block medium tofu, plus 2 tbls packaging liquid 1 habanero, deseeded, chunked 3 cloves garlic 1 jalapeno, chunked 2 tbls white wine vinegar 2 tbls olive oil 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels 1 tbl nutritional yeast 1 1/2 tbl ssalt In a medium sauce pot simmer covered the tofu/liquid, peppers, garlic, oil, salt. Simmer 5-7 minutes or until the pepper begin to soften.  Add the corn and continue to simmer for 5 more minutes.  Add contents of pot, plus r