Rice Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Rice Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Instant Vermicelli Rice Noodles - about half a container 

1 package of flax tempeh, chopped into small 1/2-inch cubes

1 Tbsp olive oil 

1 yellow onion, diced 

5-6 cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 large carrot, sliced

1 1/2 cups broccoli, chopped

Peanut Sauce (modified from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Roberston):

1/2 cup crunchy honey roasted peanut butter 

1/3 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 1/2 Tbsp light brown sugar

2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 tsp Asian chili paste

water

For the sauce, mix the peanut butter, Braggs, vinegar, and sugar. Add the oil, ginger, and chile paste and stir until smooth and well blended. Taste to adjust seasonings - we like it hot, so sometimes we add some cayenne pepper too. Add some water to achieve desired consistency - we like it to be fairly thick but wet enough to coat all of the veggies and noodles. 

Next prepare the tempeh - preheat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add the tempeh cubes and brown on each side. Set aside. 

Using the same skillet, heat some olive oil and add the onions. Cook until translucent and then add the carrot. Cook until tender, and add mushrooms and broccoli, cooking through. 

Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions. 

Mix a little bit of the sauce in with the rice noodles to coat. top with vegetables and more sauce. 

Cold Dinners For Hot Nights

Lately we haven't been making many heated dishes. We live in an un-air conditioned apartment and when we're feeling over-heated and tired from work, the last thing we want is a warm plate full of heavy foods. So on Saturday, I peered into the fridge and realized we still had two large containers of veggie stock and a bunch of containers collecting more veggie remnants to make yet more stock - what to do when you're over stocked! It's hot out; Yoga Soup is out of the question.

I remembered when I was growing up my mom used to make us vichyssoise (vee-she-swa) in the summer. Many of you are saying, "Vee-she-what-now?!" It's okay - I'll walk you through this one. Vichyssoise, as defined by Wikepedia is "a thick soup made of pureed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock" and is usually served cold. Apparently there's a debate over its origins - French or American - but Julia Childs calls it an "American invention" and at the very least, this vegan version is! 

I followed the VegWeb Hot Pepper Vichyssoise recipe posted by queen-o-hearts. After roasting the potatoes, leeks, pablano, jalapeno, garlic, and spices, I could have just eaten a bowl of the veggies. They were deliciously spiced and honestly, who doesn't love roasted veggies?! They'd taste great chilled and served over greens.

Roasted veggies

The soup was easy to make and tasted delicious warm and cold. Despite the heaviness of some of the ingredients - potatoes...soy milk - it was actually light and refreshing and had a slight after-kick. As I was making the soup, our furbaby Bob was trying very hard to distract me....

A cat's life is rough, man.

To accompany the soup, I made Spicy Tempeh with Asparagus, Ginger, and Chile from a new blog discovery, A Profound Hatred of Meat. I'm so glad I stumbled across this blog because blogger Carly Sitner has got some fabulous recipes - check it out! I modified the recipe a little using Lalibela Farm's Black Bean Tempeh, ground ginger (sad face, we were out of fresh), and chili flakes because we didn't have any fresh chiles. It came out pretty good, but Justin thinks we should use less rice wine vinegar when marinating the tempeh because it seemed to really take on the vinegary taste. I'll either cut that in half or eliminate it next time I try the recipe. 

Hot Pepper Vichyssoise, Tempeh & Asparagus, and Quinoa/Flax Seed Bread from Whole Foods

All in all it was a great dinner that was not too hot and heavy - perfect for a mid-summer's night! These two recipes are keepers, folks.

From Bagels to Tacos and Oatmeal to VLTs

Four recent discoveries on the streets of Portland, Maine:

1. Local Sprouts Cooperative - If you're in town and looking for a consistently good vegan lunch, look no further. Local Sprouts Cooperative has got more than one option for you - yes! more than one! My favorite sandwich is the VLT, their vegan take on a BLT. It's made on the most fabulous thick slabs of hearty wheat bread with strips of Lalibela Farm's tempeh, tomato and lettuce and the most wonderful veganaise I have ever had in my life. Seriously. I need their recipe. The consistency is more like that of a soft cheese and it has a nutty, sweet flavor. Mmmm! The sandwich comes with a little side of their daily salad - sometimes a slaw, sometimes pasta, sometimes just greens. All for $7, which seems pricey, but seriously, it's worth it!

2. I am a very open minded person and like to try new things. So when I heard there was a new restaurant in town called Gogi serving Korean tacos and that they had vegan options, of course I wanted to check it out. No brainer. Justin and I went for lunch last Friday and well, it's easier for me to just show you the review I posted on Urbanspoon:

"My fiance and I went for lunch. The restaurant was totally empty except for the owner and his children who stared at us the whole time we were there (the owner didn't bother saying hello). The interior really needs some TLC - it's a cross between country, Asian, Victorian and modern decorating. We ordered seaweed "tacos" and potato fries. The fries were ok....very soggy though. The "tacos" were a disaster. It was basically 4 sheets of nori wtih some tofu, cabbage, cilantro and lime thrown in the middle - and by some I mean 2 tablespoons, if that. You can't bite through 4 sheets of nori unless your teeth are serrated so the whole thing was a mess to eat and just totally unpractical. Needless to say, they did not make a good first impression at all and we will not be going back any time soon."


Beware of Gogi....at least until they get their act together. And seriously, I hope they do because Portland could use some more reasonably priced eateries with vegan options.

3. A quick breakfast out is so hard to find. I'm surrounded by coffee shops when I get to work, yet none of their baked goods - muffins, croissants, scones - are even close to vegan. My only option lately has been a toasted multi-grain bagel from Starbucks, plain with nothing on it. When I asked if they had jelly, the girl just blinked. When I asked if they had margarine or a non-dairy spread she blushed and apologized. Oh well. Dry bagels it is. Until I discovered that Starbucks offers oatmeal and they make it with water. Perrrrfect! Next time I need a quick breakfast (which doesn't happen often because I'm really good about making it at home) I'll try out CBD to see if they make their oatmeal with water too because I'd rather support local.

4. Speaking of bagels, Justin and I were at the Old Port Festival this past Sunday which was filled with booths of food food food and all we could smell was cooking meat. It made me a bit nauseous. On our way home, we stopped in at The Works Bakery Cafe for a snack. Now I had never been to The Works so I had no idea what I was going to find, and boy was I surprised. Guess what, friends? They have Tofutti! I had a sesame seed bagel with veggie Tofutti and it was fantastic. I had never tried the veggie kind and it was really smooth and creamy and actually had small bits of REAL vegetables in it. Mmmm, yummy!

Have you made any vegan discoveries in your town recently? Do share!

Caldo Verde

My boyfriend is away for the next two nights and I was home sick today so I thought it would be a good night to make nice comforting meal - soup of course! So I cooked up some Caldo Verde from Vegan on the Cheap, and it certainly did the trick.

The soup included Vegan on the Cheap's Smoky Tempeh Bits, though I didn't liquid smoke in my pantry to make it as the recipe calls for. I did, however, have a fresh package of Lalibella Farm's homemade tempeh in my fridge. So I modified the recipe. I'm not 100% happy with the results, mainly because I used the amount of soy sauce in the recipe without remembering to halve it (for some reason, all of the recipes in this book use an absorbent amount of soy sauce). 

So take the recipe and modifications and make your own changes and let me know what you come up with! Enjoy!

Caldo Verde - modified from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 lbs potatoes (the recipe calls for russet, but I used a mixed bag of gourmet which included red, purple, and yukon potatoes - and I must say make the soup look more colorful!)

8 cups veggie stock or water (make your own stock!)

1 tsp dried marjoram

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Salt to taste

1.5 cups cooked or 1 15.5 oz. can white beans, drained & rinsed

6 cups finely chopped kale

1/4 cup dry white wine

Pepper

1/2 cup Smoky Tempeh Bits (see recipe below)

In a large pot, heat olive oil over med. heat. Add the onion, and cook until softened, about 5 mins. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the potatoes, stock, marjoram, crushed red pepper, and about 1 tsp of salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Stir in the beans. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. (You might need to add more salt if you used water instead of stock.) Keep the soup at a low simmer. 

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add the kale and the wine, if using. Season with black pepper to taste. Add 1/4 cup of the stock from the soup. Cook, stirring until the kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir the kale mixture into the soup and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the flavors are well blended. 

When ready to serve, stir the tempeh bits into the soup. Serve hot. 

Smoky Tempeh Bits

8 oz. tempeh

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp water

1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 Tbsp olive oil

In a medium saucepan of simmering water, cook the tempeh over medium heat for 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Crumble or chop the tempeh into small bits and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, water, and liquid smoke (I didn't have liquid smoke so I used the soy sauce, water and added some Dijon mustard. I liked the mustardy flavor but the soy sauce was very over-powering, so I'll need to play with this next time I make it!). Set aside. 

In a med skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add the tempeh and cook, stirring until nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce mixture, stirring to coat the tempeh. Continue cooking until the liquid is absorbed and the tempeh is evenly coated. Remove from heat.

Cover and refrigerate or freeze what you don't use, until needed. Properly stored, it will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer 3-4 weeks

I know where my cabbage came from, what about you?

I am a huge advocate of the Portland Winter Farmer's Market. If you have access to local produce- USE IT! I took a little trip over last Saturday and, although it's mostly root veggies (and unfortunately a whole lotta animal products), I was still able to snag a few goodies. I ended up coming home with a delicious package of Lilibela Farm's black bean tempeh (which I used on Sunday in my Tropic of Tempeh dish), Hollis Honey, a GORGEOUS head of purple cabbage, butternut squash, 2 yellow carrots, & 2 purple carrots. The timing of the market is perfect because I create our weekly menus on Sundays, so of course I was able to incorporate almost everything I got into our menus so NOTHING goes to waste!

Last night my boyfriend and I made Korean Cabbage Salad with Tofu, a recipe from Vegan on the Cheap (yes, you're picking up on a theme, and yes, you should purchase Vegan on the Cheap!). We used the gorgeously vibrant purple cabbage which had an beautiful maze like pattern when cut in half and I marvelled over how something from nature can look so beautiful- like a piece of modern art. We also used the 2 yellow carrots and after shredding both the cabbage and carrots into a large bowl, the colors were just incredible, I had to stand back and admire it! I've actually learned to take the time to admire the beauty of food, which makes you really appreciate what you're consuming and the effort it took to not only prepare it, but for the farmers to grow it.

Needless to say, the meal was a winner and we will definitely be making it again. I hope you'll try this one out! It's crisp and tangy and very refreshing. Try it and let me know what you think!

Korean Cabbage Salad with Tofu from Vegan on the Cheap, with my modifications included
Makes 4 serves (or more depending on how you're using it)

1 lb. extra-firm tofu, drained & patted dry
1/2 cup soy sauce (I'd use a little less in the sauce next time)
5 cups shredded cabbage (she doesn't specify type- but purple looked beautiful and tasted great so I'd recommend using that. We just used the whole head and didn't measure)
2 medium carrots, shredded (We used 2 yellow carrots and one orange)
3 green onions, minced (I still can't find these at WF so I used 1/4 of a yellow onion, diced)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 1 and it was potent enough!)
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp Asian chili paste
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 Tbsp water

Preheat oven to 375 & lightly oil a baking sheet. Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch slabs and press to remove excess water (this is really important b/c it will crumble and just fall apart if you don't). Cut the slabs into 1/2 inch cubes and toss with 1/4 of the soy sauce. Arrange the tofu on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 mins. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, and onions. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine garlic, ginger, sugar, chili paste, remaining soy sauce (I'd use a little less than a 1/4 cup), vinegar, oil, and water.

Pour dressing over the cabbage mix and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Let the salad sit for 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Serve topped with tofu.