Buffalo Wings

Shown on a bed of romaine lettuce w/ ranch dressing (with avocado slices)! I have successfully made Buffalo Wings! Yay!

These rely on a couple of name-brand products. VegeUSA also makes vegetarian drumsticks and I'm sure they would be just as good. Frank's is the traditional hot sauce for Buffalo wings, so I make no promises if you use another brand.

1 pack Vegefarm Smoked Drumsticks
2 Tablespoons butter/margarine
3 Tablespoons Frank's Red Hot

Bake the drumsticks at 400F for 15 minutes, until golden. I didn't even grease the pan.
Meanwhile, melt the butter together with the hot sauce, stirring often. I ignored it a little too long and the butter separated, but was otherwise fine.
When the drumsticks are done, remove from the oven and dump the butter-hot sauce mixture over them. Step back and don't breathe the pepper fumes. Toss the drumsticks around in the sauce until most of the sauce has been absorbed.

Yay!

Tofu Scramble

There are probably as many recipes for scrambled tofu as there are people who make it... or more since some of us make a number of variations.

This calls for zaatar, a Middle Eastern spice mix. Lacking zaatar, you might be able to get the flavor by combining thyme, sesame seeds and a little cumin.

The veggies in this are infinitely variable. Zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, carrot. You can try them all. I usually like some tomato and some sort of onion and/or garlic, but nothing is set in stone.

If you would prefer this to look a little more like eggs, add a little tumeric for color.

2 tablespoons mushroom broth
2 spring onions, chopped
1/2 Roma tomato, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup (1/4 block) medium-firm tofu, hand squished
1 Tablespoon zaatar
3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

Simmer the onion and bell pepper in the mushroom broth over medium heat until the onion starts to go soft. Add zaatar, tomato and tofu. I usually just mash the tofu directly into the pan. Stir frequently and wait for it to return to a simmer. Add the nutritional yeast and stir to incorporate.

Depending on the juiciness of your tomato and the firmness of your tofu, this may end up a little watery. You can cook off the excess liquid or just drain it off.

Spicy Lemongrass Tofu in Coconut Milk

Thanh Son Tofu is a local tofu manufacturer who produces some cool and tasty tofu. I stopped at Great Wall Mall on the way home today and couldn't resist a pack of the Spicy Lemon Grass Fried Tofu.

I was a little worried about this dish, but it turned out exactly as I had envisioned it.

1/2 pack (4 oz.) Spicy Lemon Grass Fried Tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes
approx. 2 cups eggplant, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 cup fresh peas
1 14-oz. can coconut milk (I have a preference for Chaokoh brand)
3 lime leaves
Sriracha chili sauce to taste (1 tsp)

Simmer everything in the coconut milk until the vegetables are tender.

Frijoles de Olla y Espinaca

Frijoles de Olla

There seem to be almost as many recipes for this as there are people who make it, so I just sort of muddled through on my own. I used Flor de Mayo beans because they are purple in their uncooked state. Pinto or black beans would work just as well

1/2 cup dry beans
1/4 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 head of garlic, separated into cloves
3 chilis de arbol or equivalent whole chilis
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Soak the beans overnight. Drain off the soaking water and add 1.5 fresh cups of water. Add onion, garlic and chilis. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and simmer until the beans are soft (45 minutes to an hour, depending on your beans). Add salt to taste.

If you want refritos out of this dish, simply mash the now-soft cooked beans.

Espinaca

Means "spinach" in Spanish. I came up with this recipe while trying to make spinach enchiladas, but it's just as good on its own.

1 lb spinach (or 1 10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed), washed and coarsely chopped
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
juice of 1 lime
several tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Cook over medium heat until spinach is bright and wilted.

Corn and Tofu Soup

My roommate at university and I used to eat a lot of Corn and Crab Soup. It was simple and tasty and reasonably cheap to make.

Soup Stock
4 cups water
2 dry shiitake mushrooms
1 piece kombu
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Simmer all together until the mushrooms are soft, about twenty minutes.

The Soup
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tsp sesame oil
3-4 cups soup stock (see above), hot
1/2 lb tofu, cubed
1 14-oz can cream-style corn
Japanese sansho pepper or white pepper
additional salt and soy sauce to taste

Saute the onion and garlic until aromatic in the sesame oil. Add to the soup stock and return to a boil. Add the tofu, corn and pepper. Allow to simmer for ten minutes to let the flavors meld. Adjust the seasoning and let simmer another ten to fifteen minutes.

Can be served with fresh cilantro garnish.

Things I Want to Make This Week

Scrambled tofu - Not a new dish by any stretch, but a repeating favorite and one for which I have a periodic hankering
Vegetable Terrine - I had one gelled with agar-agar at Cafe Flora that led me to some creative thoughts
Frijoles de olla - Garlicky pinto beans to go with the avocado and spinach I'll be getting from Tiny's Organic
Grilled corn - My family used to make this when I was growing up and it remains the best way to cook fresh corn; might go with barbecued tempeh, which isn't a family tradition but is a personal favorite

Cuban Black Bean Soup (Vegan)

The smoked paprika is really what makes this dish interesting. If you can't find it, you might experiment with Liquid Smoke.

I used about 1 cup commercial vegetable broth and 1 cup water used for steaming asparagus. While some people have great luck with the vegetable cooking water as broth, I find that I typically want at least some commercial broth. Perhaps someday I will get better at making my own and stop needing the crutch, but for the moment...

1/2 cup dry black beans, soaked overnight in 1.5 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/4 tsp cumin seed
1 bay leaf
splash of red wine vinegar
salt & black pepper to taste

Pour off the soaking water from the beans. Combine everything but the vinegar, salt and pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking until the beans are soft (45 minutes to an hour). Any time the water level starts to look low, add more.

Once the beans are soft, add the vinegar, salt and pepper.

No picture today...

Bento

First bento ever.

The picture isn't so great but the upper box has sesame adzuki beans and edamame.

The lower box contains mixed salad greans, hickory smoked tofu and the puppy container is full of jerk sauce in lieu of dressing.

Sesame Adzuki Beans

1/2 cup raw adzuki beans
1/4 cup tahini
1/2 Tablespoon soy sauce

Soak the adzuki beans in 2 cups of water overnight. Drain off the water, transfer the beans to a saucepan, add another 1.5 cups of water.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer until the beans are soft (45 minutes to an hour). Drain off any leftover water. Add the tahini and soy sauce, stir until thoroughly mixed.

It isn't terribly attractive looking but it is tasty and reasonably healthy.

Pancakes for 1

1/2 cup flour (whole wheat)
1/2 cup sweetened soymilk
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 heaping teaspoon peanut butter (natural, crunchy)
1 - 2 tsp additional sweetener if you want it (I think it could use a dollop of something, but I didn't add any at the time and they are fine)

Mix together until smooth (everywhere always says not to overmix the pancakes, but I've never had any issue with it, so I'm skipping it). Fry in a little oil over medium high heat, about 1/4 cup per pancake. Flip when the raw side is bubbly and the edges look solid. (Or lift part of the pancake and check the doneness of the other side...) Serve when golden brown on both sides.

Makes two medium-small pancakes and could be cut in half again for even fewer pancakes.

First Thoughts

I blog elsewhere under another name, but this space is set aside for some pretty specific things. Food things. Vegetarian things.

I'm an old vegetarian. Not necessarily in years, but in training. I grew up with the idea that a vegetarian was a person who ate only plant products, that milk and eggs were known exceptions to this diet that a person sometimes chose to make for whatever reason. I continue to use that definition.

Anyway, here it begins...