Tofu Salad

Here's a great lunch recipe for you! This is my own recipe that I have been making for probably... 4 years?! I have of course been adjusting it over time and I think it's pretty close to perfect (for me) at this point. I make this every year for the bluegrass festival I go to with my family to feed all of the vegetarians in our crew for lunch every day, and of course I also make it at home for myself! I usually just use this for sandwiches but I think it would be great on top of any garden salad or maybe even as a dip or on top of crackers. Today I made a "tofu salad melt" by toasting a few pieces of bread with a slice of Tofutti Cheese then adding a few good scoops of tofu salad and some lettuce. YUM! Also, I always make this recipe with two blocks of tofu because I find it just goes too fast when I only use one! Hope you like it!

Lasagna Stoup

This recipe is actually a Rachel Ray recipe that I (easily) veganized. I think it's a great recipe for households with vegetarians and non-vegetarians trying to live in harmony OR for omnivores who are looking for some healthy alternatives. I say this because I'm well aware that not all things that are vegetarian/vegan taste as awesome to omnivores - especially any kind of mock "meat" or "cheese". But I have found that veggie grounds (among many other things!) are an excpetion to that. Whether it's spaghetti sauce or taco salad or whatever, veggie grounds are SO easily disguisable that no one will have to be scared that they're eating something vegetarian... We all know how frightening it can be! AND it's super delicious. I make this pretty often because it's easy, yummy, and makes great left-overs. And as a side note, you'll find that your left-overs will no longer be "stoup" - the lasagna noodles suck up all the liquid and it kinda just becomes plain ol' lasagna - but still very good!!

East Coast Coffee Cake

This recipe is, of course, from one of my favorites; Vegan Brunch. Matt and I recently had a day off together, and this doesn't happen very often so I decided to make something special for breakfast. I didn't feel like going to the store and so I just flipped through my recipe books until I found something that I had all of the indredients for. I really don't have a lot of personal experience in making or eating coffee cake, but I figured it had to be delicious so I gave it a whirl! OF COURSE it turned out AWESOME and the two of us literally finished off the whole batch in less than 24 hours.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

This is another great recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. Anyone who loves the chocolate/peanut butter combo will love this decadent treat. This is definitely a "I can't believe it's vegan" recipe, but honestly, I think all of my dessert recipes are! Every time I've made this recipe I've doubled it because I've found that it just spreads way to thin in the 9 x 13 pan that the recipe calls for. Of course it makes the bars much more dense, but that's how I like 'em! I'd recommend doing the same or making the recipe as it is but using a smaller pan.

Herb-Scalloped Potatoes

Before I went vegan, I used to love those boxed scalloped potatoes. And up until I discovered this magnificent recipe, I was checking the ingredients on all of those creamy potato boxes hoping that maybe, just maybe, there would be a way to recreate it. It never dawned on me that it's possible to make scalloped potatoes from scratch! And then, Veganomicon came in to my life and I discovered a scalloped potatoes recipe that is just as delicious and creamy as the kind mom used to make. I make this side a lot, and I think if you give it a try, you will too! Mmm Mmm Mmm!

Creamy Vegan Casserole

I originally got this recipe from www.vegweb.com maybe a little over a year ago. Since then, I have been making this recipe about once a week with some adaptations and variations of my own. I finally have it pretty close to perfect so I thought I'd share this week-night favorite.

Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe With Rotelle

Here's another one from Veganomicon. Tonight is only the second time I've ever made this recipe but it was thoroughly enjoyed both times so I thought I'd share. Perhaps my favorite part of this recipe is the tempeh-fennel seed combination. It's awesome and it reminds me of the sausage on these frozen pizzas I used to eat way back in the day. I think I'll make a pizza sometime using tempeh prepared in the same way it is in this recipe. It's phenomenal!!

Ingredients

1/2 lb. spiral pasta

Spicy fennel tempeh:

1 15 oz. package tempeh, cubed

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. vegetable broth

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 tbsp. fennel seeds

1 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Broccoli rabe:

1/4 cup olive oil

5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

1 bunch broccoli rabe (1/2-3/4 pound), tough stems trimmed, chopped coarsely

2-3 tbsp. white wine, water, or vegetable broth

2 tsp. red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Boil water and cook pasta. Drain and toss with a teaspoon or two of olive oil. Keep covered in a large bowl or the cooking pot. While the pasta is boiling, prepare the tempeh and broccoli rabe.

Prepare the tempeh

1. Place the tempeh in a large, nonstick skillet. In a measuring cup, whisk together the broth, soy sauce, tomato paste, garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, oregano, and red wine vinegar. Pour over the tempeh, stir, and cook over medium heat until the liquid starts to simmer. Cover and steam the tempeh for 8 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

2. Transfer the tempeh to a bowl and crumble about half of the cubes with the back of the spoon.

3. Wipe down the skillet to remove any leftover tempeh sauce, return the skillet to medium heat, and add 2 tbsp. of oil. Add the tempeh and stir-fry for 4 - 5 minutes, until it begins to brown. Remove from the heat, add to the pasta, and keep covered.

Prepare the broccoli rabe:

1. Pour the remaining olive oil into the pan and add the garlic. When the garlic begins to sizzle, stir and cook it for about a minute. Add the broccoli rabe, stir to coat it with the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and cover the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp. of the white wine and steam for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the broccoli rabe is bright green and its stems are tender.

2. Remove the cover and continue to saute for an additional minute or two, until any excess liquid is evaporated. Pour the cooked broccoli rabe onto the tempeh and pasta, sprinkle with red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything to mix.

Quick Puff Pastry Pizza

This recipe is adapted from Donna Klein's Vegan Italiano. I made this last night for the first time and was sooooo pleasantly surprised at not only how quick and easy it was, but how incredibly delicious it was. I'm excited about this recipe because there can be so many variations to it. Really, it's not so much a recipe to me as it is the ingenious idea to use frozen puff pastry for pizza dough. YUM. Seriously.

Shepherd's Pie

This is not your typical Shepherd's Pie. It may even anger some people because of how non-traditional it is. But it doesn't anger me at all. In fact, just the opposite - it pleases me immensely. So I will continue to use this recipe and I will continue to call it Shepherd's Pie. The recipe is straight from Skinny Bitch In the Kitch. FYI, the Skinny Bitch books are not only filled with useful information, but they're also hilarious. I even find myself laughing out loud at recipes. It's nuts!

Anyway, this is what I made for dinner tonight. And it's awesome. I also made cupcakes and homemade applesauce because I'm a maniac. More on those tomorrow.

Savory Tofu and Vegetables Over Tomato Couscous

This is what I made for dinner last night. This recipe is awesome because not only is it soooo delicious, but it's super easy, cheap, and healthy. What more could you ever ask for?? I got this recipe from an issue of  Vegetarian Times probably over a year ago. I clipped it and pasted it to some construction paper and it's been with me ever since.