Tofu Taco Meat...

The name alone sounds good huh...(that was sarcastic)...I try not to put TOFU in the names of my recipes, because automatically people tend to turn their nose up at it.  BUT, I also don't want to try and fool somebody into thinking they are eating the REAL thing...because they are not.  That's not to say that the imitation can't be just as good, you just have to decided that you are going to do something that is healthier for you and enjoy it!!  SO....I think I will call it

'Taco Crumble and a whole lot more'

 

 

The 'whole lot more' part comes from me thinking that it would be good wherever you want a crumbled 'meat like' substance...anyway, here is where I originally found the recipe but I did change just a couple things.

 

Ingredients

• 1 block extra-firm tofu
• 1/8-1/4 c Braggs Liquid Aminos (soy sauce) 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3/4th tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano 
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 c water

Instructions

Freeze tofu overnight or until ready for use in its original package

On the day of, let tofu thaw in the fridge or on the counter, still in its package

When thawed, drain the tofu and press- this can be accomplished by placing the tofu in a tofu press or between two heavy plates- for about an hour

Crumble tofu and mix with 1/8 C soy sauce, and only add more at the end if you think it needs it!

Heat skillet over medium-high heat

Add olive oil and heat until it shimmers

Add tofu and saute until it is heated through and thoroughly crumbled, about 4-5 minutes

Add in spices and water, and simmer uncovered until most of the water has evaporated, about 10 minutes

Remove from heat and serve in taco shells

 

I found that the tofu was quite spongy, and decided to use my handy dandy chopper to crumble it.

 

Here it is crumbled, just before adding the Braggs.

Seasonings have been added...

...and mixed in!

 

It is really good!  When I tasted it, I was trying to tast just raw tofu, and couldn't...everything was seasoned very well and I can't wait till supper to have it on TACOS!!!

 

I will post more pictures after supper tonight, and you can see it all come together!!

 

 



Chocolate Syrup and Chocolate Milk

CHOCOLATE....I have been NEEDING chocolate, but don't usually have sweets around, so I have been making due with just chocolate chips!  Well...today I really wanted chocolate milk and THOUGHT I had chocolate syrup in the fridge, but I was wrong!  Right away I got on the Internet and let Google do it's magic!!  Here is the recipe I found for Chocolate Syrup. 

 

I didn't have a nice pourable container for my syrup so a quart jar will have to work!!

"Mommy, can I (s)mell it?"

He told me later that he was wearing gloves because 'Men' wear gloves when they work outside...I never get tired of his logic...or his pure taste buds!  He liked it!!

Morning Workout and a Complete Protein Breakfast

Good morning everyone!  Sorry it's been so long since I have posted, but my parents have been here, and while we have been eating great food, I haven't taken the time to post anything!!!

 

Last night I put together a whole grain cereal that cooked in the crockpot all night and was ready for us this morning.  It made a complete protein because it included beans and grains.  The inspiration came from a cookbook called Cooking By The Book.  I did quite a few things different, but it did give me the idea!

 

 

Here's me post workout...

 

...and here are the beans and grains that went into the crockpot last night.

 

Complete Protein Whole Grain Breakfast Cereal

 

1/2 C. whole millet

1/2 C. whole wheat kernels

1/2 C. pearled barley

1/2 C. brown rice

1/2 C. polenta

1/2 C. white beans

1/2 C. chopped dates

1t. salt

8 C. water

Stir together all ingredients and let cook in crockpot 6-8 hours...

...and this is what you get!!

 



Just before eating, add any nut, dried fruit and milk of choice for a VERY yummy complete protein breakfast!!

Nut Milk

My mom introduced me to this recipe last week at my sisters house and I really like it!!  For the most part we don't use cow's milk around our house, and we usually have soy milk on hand, but this is super easy and probably not that expensive!  Next time I go to the store I am going to price it out!!

Nut Milk (1 gallon)

1/2 C Raw Almonds
1/2 C Raw Cashews
1/2 C Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 t. Xanthan Gum
Maple syrup or other sweetener if desired

Rinse cashews and soak with almonds overnight.  In the morning, blend nuts and coconut with 4 cups of water.  Once well blended, strain 12 more cups of water through the pulp using a spoon to mix the pulp and help push the water through.  Once this is finished scoop out the pulp and remove the towel from the pitcher.  Now add the salt, xanthan gum and sweetener to the milk.  Mix well and chill before serving.  The xanthan gum adds a little thickness to the milk so that it feels less watery.  This is a lot of milk which we use pretty quickly so just half it if you don't want so much!!

If you make this nut milk, I would LOVE to know what you think of it!!

This is the pulp that I am straining the water through into the pitcher

Here is the finished gallon of nut milk.  I will use the pulp of the nuts in the bread I make today

Granola

So my Sister-in-Law wanted our granola recipe and I failed to get it to her in a timely manner so she found one elsewhere.  While talking about it, she said that her husband doesn't like coconut so she altered the recipe to have less, or none at all.  I am afraid she will have to alter this recipe too because my family likes coconut, and not only is there coconut in this recipe, I add coconut flavoring to give it a little more flavor!  Anyway, here it is...

1 2lb 10oz box old fashioned rolled oats
2 C unsweetened shredded coconut
2 C wheat germ
1 C whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1 C raw nuts of choice, chopped
2 C dried fruit of choice

Mix all of the above except the dried fruit in a LARGE bowl and blend the following in a blender till smooth.

1 C chopped dates
3/4 C oil
1/2 C honey
3/4 C water
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
1/2 t. coconut flavoring

Mix wet and dry ingredients together till well blended, and bake at 250 stirring every 20-30 minutes till lightly browned and dry.  Remove from oven and add 2C dried fruit.  Let cool, and store in airtight container.  If you add the fruit before it is done cooking, it has a tendency to dry out and become tough.  So adding it right after coming out of the oven still allows it to get warm and kinda stick to some of the other ingredients without it becoming too tough to chew!

Pita Pockets and Supper!!

We had Pita Pockets for supper with black bean patties, carrots, cucumber, lettuce and Greek olive oil lemon dressing.  They were SO good, I could have just kept eating them!!!

Pita Bread

1/2 C gluten flour

1 C all purpose flour

4 C whole wheat flour

1 1/2 t. yeast

1 t. sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

2 1/2 C warm water

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl combine water yeast and sugar and let sit for 10 min.  Once yeast mixture has bloomed, add to dry ingredients and mix till a nice dough is formed. Add all purpose flour if needed to create a tacky but not sticky dough and knead for 5-7 minutes.  Transfer dough to a greased bowl and let rise for 1 hour or till doubled in size.  Preheat oven to highest temp (mine was at 550 degrees) and roll out circles of desired size and put onto a sheet pan ready for the oven.  When the oven is up to temp, place sheet pan on the bottom rack and bake till puffed and just browning. (5-7 minutes)  Repeat this process till your dough is gone.  The recipe above made about 15 pockets!  See below for the filling and dressing recipe.

For the filling we used my black bean burgers, carrots, cucumber and a spring mix salad.  The dressing is simple, but makes these sandwiches go from good to GREAT!!!

1/2 C olive oil

1/4 C lemon juice

1 t. garlic granules

1 t. oregano

1/2 t. salt

Adjust lemon juice and salt to your taste preference.



Combine and drizzle over prepared sandwiches.

Aw-Some Coleslaw

I just used up another head of cabbage from our garden.  I made coleslaw for potluck at church tomorrow!!  I get a lot of my recipes off of allrecipes.com because I find that if they have good reviews and a lot of them, the recipe is pretty good and worthy of a try.  Again I was not disappointed.  This coleslaw recipe came off of that website and I think it will go into my recipe book!!  The recipe is posted below for quick reference and my substitutions are in ( )...

Aw-some Coleslaw

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Vegenaise)
1/3 cup white sugar (I used raw sugar)

1/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (I used lemon juice for this also)

salt and pepper to taste (I didn't add any)

9 1/2 cups shredded cabbage (I just used 1 large head)

1/2 cup grated carrots (I used 4 carrots)

1/4 cup minced sweet onion (I used 1t. onion powder in sauce instead)

Whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, milk, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Toss the cabbage, carrots, and onion into the dressing; mix well. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to overnight before serving.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Looking in the garden the other day, I realized that we have 6 heads of cabbage ready to be harvested NOW.  What are we going to do with 6 heads of cabbage? 

Well, that is where this recipe came from, and I said to my friend Sara today, "I don't know why I call it Chicken Noodle soup because I don't use chicken or noodles in it.  I use FriChik and Cabbage..."  So I really should rename this recipe Fake Chicken and Cabbage Soup...that just doesn't sound as appealing.  Anyway, here we go...

1 large Onion chopped

3 cloves Garlic minced

4 Carrots chopped

Saute above in oil then add:

1 head Cabbage chopped and water to just cover cabbage

10 pieces FriChik plus liquid

1 t. Onion Powder

2 T. Chicken like seasoning

Salt to taste

Let simmer till cabbage is cooked and enjoy!!

Very good and very easy!  The cabbage has a very good texture in this soup, and to me doesn't overwhelm of cabbage.  Don't be scared of this healthy version, just give it a try then you can judge.

Quick and Saucy

What do you do when you look at the clock and realize that you should have started supper already, and that your family is going to be hungry in T-15 minutes?  You look in the fridge, pull out whatever veggies you have and make up a quick spaghetti sauce. 

Here I sauteed 1 Onion, 3 Carrots and 1 Zucchini with half a package of Griller Crumbles.

Then I added 2 cans of tomato sauce with 1/4 can of water, 1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and basil, and let that simmer till slightly thickened.  

And finally put that over a bowl of whole grain penne pasta!

We also had some leftover bread from the previous post, and watermelon which I forgot to take a picture of.

It usually doesn't take too much planning for a quick meal as long as you have some staples like tomato sauce and pasta on hand.  I usually have some veggies that need to be used, and can often find some kind of veggie meat in the freezer.  The ingredients above, with a few variations, can be used to make several different dishes like pizza, and stir fry too! 

I challenge you to take a look at what you already have in your fridge and pantry, and see if you can come up with a quick and delicious meal for your family this week, and let me know what you come up with!!

18 Hour Artisan Bread

Last night I started the dough for bread that we are having for supper tonight and taking for lunch on Sabbath tomorrow.  It is SO yummy that I wanted to share it with you!!

Here is the link to the recipe that I used but I also made an herbed version that goes something like this...

Basic recipe

4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp yeast
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt

Optional ingredients for the herbed version

Dried onions
Dried garlic
Parsley
Basil

Mix all together and let sit for 18 hours.  Turn dough out onto floured parchment paper or silicone baking mat.  Let rest/rise for 1.5 hours.  At 1 hour, preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 35-40 min.  Let cool completely before slicing and enjoy!!



Black Bean Veggi Burgers

Ok, so this is the second time that I have made these burgers, and turned out GREAT again.  I got the recipe off of a website called  allrecipes.com.  I have come to like this website because there are also great reviews.  Check it out when you have a chance, in the meantime, here is the recipe and some of my pictures.

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pie

1/2 onion, cut into wedges

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 egg

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.               

In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.               

In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.

Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together.

Form into patties of desired size and cook on nonstick skillet or electric skillet till done.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!!

Spaghetti Sauce and Family Dinner

So, I just finished making spaghetti sauce this morning because my husband decided that it would be cheaper to make it than to buy it so he purchased the BIG cans of tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes from Costco and I made sauce this morning.  He also went out into the garden and picked fresh oregano, sage, rosemary and thyme for the sauce.  When he came in from picking herbs, he commented on how nice it is to be able to go out into the garden and pick stuff fresh to use in our kitchen.

Sauce

1 6lb 10oz can Tomato Sauce

1 6lb 10oz can Crushed Tomatoes

4 Onions Minced

6 Cloves Garlic Minced

1 T Garlic powder

Fresh Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage (to taste)

Let simmer for a couple hours and then can or freeze after cooled.

I also needed to make something for a family that we met about a month ago who just had a baby about a week ago.  I decided baked pasta would fit the bill since I don't know them that well and don't know what their food preferences are.  I think it turned out just right and I will let her bake it when she is ready to serve it to her family.  I am off now to make them a salad so that when Malachi wakes up from his nap, we can deliver the meal.

Baked Pasta

Pasta of choice (I used colored spiral)

Spaghetti Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Romano Cheese

Boil pasta till just done and rinse under cold water.  In a bowl, mix all ingredients until desired consistancy.  The more sauce the better since it will be baked again.  Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and you are ready to bake at 350 for 30 min or till bubbly and cheese is melted!

Happy Friday everyone and I hope you take time this weekend to spend making memories with your friends and family!

Crispy Polenta and Vegetable Ragout

Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be done with any vegetable you have in the fridge.  I got inspiration from a picture that I saw on Vegan Dad's facebook page but I couldn't find the recipe anywhere so I made my own!!  I especially like the sweet potato because of the subtle sweetness you get in every bite!!

Polenta
6 cups water
2 cups polenta
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt

Bring water to a boil and stir while adding the polenta.  Add basil, oregano and salt and turn down to simmer.  Cook till thick and no longer crunchy and spread out on a 10x15 sheet pan.  Let cool and set up for a couple hours before serving.  Cut into desired shape and size and pan fry in a small amount of oil till just warmed and crisp.  Serve with Ragout on top.

Vegetable Ragout
2 cups sweet potato diced
1 small head cauliflower diced
2 portabello mushroom caps diced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can tomato sauce

Roast sweet potato and cauliflower in 400 degree oven till soft and done.  Meanwhile, dice mushroom caps and add to a sauce pan with the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Bring to a simmer and turn off.  Once vegetables are finished roasting, add them to the mushroom and tomato mixture and combine.  Serve warm, on top of crispy polenta.