Orange Stir-Fry Sauce

 
I hadn't intended on posting this recipe.  I was just trying to use up a random orange I had in the fridge, but the stir-fry sauce was too good not to share.  It was also very, very easy, just the way I like it.  I used this sauce with tofu, kale, yellow pepper, and onions, served over coconut rice (recipe to come, once I actually measure everything).

Orange Stir-Fry Sauce

Makes 1 serving

• 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed juice from a naval orange
• 1 tbsp minced ginger (I always have a jar of minced ginger on hand)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

After sautéing your vegetables in a bit of oil, add the stir-fry sauce and allow to reduce for about 3 minutes.  Serve with rice.

Mango-Pineapple Tofu

This dish was inspired by Mango Sticky Rice, Boyfriend's favorite dessert.  He asked me to make it for dessert one night, but I suggested that I turn it into an entree.  I served it with coconut rice, which was also very good, but I plan to tweak the recipe a bit.  For now, here's the recipe for our new favorite tofu dish, which Boyfriend described as "the best Thai dish you've ever made."  I described it as "heavenly" (not to float my own boat or anything), and loved the way the warm mangoes melted into the dish.

Mango-Pineapple Tofu

Makes 2 servings

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice (can be from the can of pineapple tidbits )

• juice of 1/2 lime (1 tbsp)

• 1 tbsp minced ginger

• 1/2 tbsp chili oil

• 1/2 package extra-firm tofu (7 ounces), cut into bite-sized pieces (pressed if desired)

• 1/2 cup canned pineapple tidbits

• 1 mango, pitted, skin removed, and chopped

• 1/4 cup raw cashews, roughly chopped (roasted would probably work too, but not salted)

• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Mix together the pineapple juice, lime juice, and ginger, and marinate the tofu in the marinade for an hour.  Heat the chili oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat, then remove the tofu from the marinade and add it to the pan.  Stir occasionally.  When the tofu is browned, add the pineapple, mango, and cashews.  Add the brown sugar to the marinade and pour into the pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly absorbed or evaporated.

Fig, Blue Cheese, and Pistachio Salad Wrap

I don't think I had ever made a salad wrap before this week, but I've been making them every day for lunch recently. They can be put together so quickly, and are easy for me to take to campus when I don't have time to go home for lunch. Since my last post, I've come up with a better way to make the wrap, and that is to wrap it up in aluminum foil as I roll it. It allows me to transport the wrap without the salad falling out of one end since I like to keep one end open (which lets me put more salad in it). As I eat the wrap I peel the foil off in layers, and the wrap stays together beautifully.

This morning, right before I made the day's salad wrap, I told my roommate that I was developing an obsession with them, and her response was: "Eww!" But I explained that these are fancy salad wraps, not the Caesar-soaked lettuce wrapped in a tortilla that you'd find at one of our law school lunches. (That is, before the economy tanked and we stopped getting free food) She had to agree that lavash bread wrapped around spring greens, dried figs, blue cheese, and pistachios is an entirely different species of wrap.

If you have a Trader Joe's in your area, that would be a great place to get the main ingredients for your dish. They sell everything except the vinaigrette, and at great prices. If you don't want blue cheese, I think goat cheese and fresh mint would be a great substitution.

Fig, Blue Cheese, and Pistachio Salad Wrap
Makes 1 wrap

• 1 lavash bread
• a couple handfuls of spring greens
• 5 dried black mission figs, sliced
• 3 tbsp dry roasted pistachios
• 3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tbsp Champagne-Shallot Vinaigrette

Mix it. Wrap it. Eat it.

Exotic Salad Wrap with Champagne-Shallot Vinaigrette

This salad wrap and dressing was inspired by the Mixto Exotica Salad at Julia's Bistro in Houston, Texas. The Mixto Exotica is a bed of greens with mango, papaya, pineapple, diced red pepper, plantain chips, and a Tahitian vanilla-shallot vinaigrette. Even though I'm not a big fan of fruit, this was the best salad I've ever had. I made my own version of the vinaigrette which I first used on a salad of mixed greens, roasted beets, goat cheese, and mint. This time I went with a salad wrap that is a lot closer to the spirit of the Mixto Exotica.

Since I'm usually only cooking for myself and this dressing does take more effort than just mixing up some vinegar and oil, I make a batch and then freeze it. It is completely worth the little bit of effort required to make this light, sweet, unique dressing. I hope you'll give it a try!

Champagne-Shallot Vinaigrette
Makes about 1 cup

• 6 medium shallots, diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup champagne vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Dice the shallots and sauté them in 1 tbsp olive oil. Blend the shallots and the rest of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Exotic Salad Wrap
Makes 1 wrap

• 1 piece lavash bread
• a couple handfuls of spring greens mix
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 ounce plantain chips
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp Champagne-Shallot Vinaigrette

Mix the salad ingredients (everything except the lavash bread) with the dressing. Lay the lavash bread with the longest side running from left to right on a flat surface and top it with the salad mixture, leaving about two inches uncovered around the bottom and the right side. Roll up the lavash bread from left to right.

My first soy yogurt smoothie

Even though I haven't been eating vegan lately, I've been trying to buy fewer dairy products. When I decided to make Indian food, I bought plain soy yogurt instead of the plain yogurt I used to buy. To use some of it up, I made this smoothie with 1 cup soy yogurt, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, and 1 cup strawberries. I'm not a big fan of blueberries (I was just trying to use up some that Boyfriend had bought), but the soy yogurt is a winner! The smoothie ended up sweeter than if I had used silken tofu, and it didn't have that something's-not-quite-right-here taste that my silken tofu smoothies sometimes have. Silken tofu, you have officially been replaced.

Black Beans, Banana, and Quinoa

I admit I'm a bad vegetarian in that I eat very little fruit. You'll never find me snacking on an apple or having a banana with breakfast. When I eat fruit it's mixed into a salad or a stir-fry. I made this dish in an attempt to get myself to eat more fruit, and I think it worked because this is DELICIOUS and I will be making it OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

Black Beans, Banana, and Quinoa

Makes 2 servings

• 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 serrano chili, minced
• 1 cup canned black beans with liquid
• 2 medium bananas, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced 1/4"
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• salt, to taste

Combine the quinoa, water, cumin, and paprika in a pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid, about 20 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Sauté the chili in the olive oil for about a minute, then add the black beans, quinoa, and bananas. Continue to cook until all ingredients are heated through, making sure not to let the bananas get mushy. Add the salt to taste (it might not be necessary, depending on the canned beans you use), then add the cilantro into the mixture. Plate it, serve it, devour it!

Simple Tofruity Smoothie

I made a tofu smoothie for the first time recently. I had leftover silken tofu from a Vegetarian Times ceasar salad dressing, so I put it to use. The best bananas are overripe ones (with brown spots on the outside) that you peel and freeze in a plastic bag.

Simple Tofruity Smoothie

Makes 1 serving

• 1/3 package of silken tofu
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 frozen overripe banana
• 1/2 cup soymilk

Put the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth!

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Also, give Vegan Yum Yum's pot stickers a try! They're filled with ground seitan, mushrooms, and chilies. You can use any seitan, but I tried the seitan recipe Lolo used, and it was fantastic! (I found myself munching on slices of it while making the pot stickers) I made these using wonton wrappers and, since I was just cooking for myself, I keep the filling in the fridge and I fry up the pot stickers as needed. I'm glad I didn't make them all at once because they'd be gone quickly!

Sunny Stir-Fry

It's a beautiful sunny day here in Kansas City, so I thought I'd share a recipe that's bright and sunny as well. This is a dish I've made several times, and it uses one of my favorite low-fat methods of cooking tofu. When I say "press the tofu", what I mean is to wrap the tofu in paper towels, and then place a cutting board with weights (big bottle of olive oil, a few cans of soup, etc.) on top. Many recipes will tell you that you need to press the tofu for half an hour, but if you cut the tofu in several smaller, equal-width slices and put them side-to-side with the weights on top, you can press the tofu in a very short time.

Sunny Stir Fry

Makes 2 servings

• 1/2 package tofu
• Pam cooking spray
• 1 medium yellow potato, diced in 1" pieces
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 cup canned pineapple chunks with liquid
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced at an angle
• 1 habañero pepper, minced
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (I use lite coconut milk, but you can use regular)
• 2 tbsp Thai chili sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

Press the tofu to drain excess liquid and cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces.  Spray a nonstick pan with Pam and fry the tofu medium heat, spraying with more Pam if needed.Mix the coconut milk, Thai chili sauce, soy sauce, and minced habañero in a bowl.  Add the sauce mixture and potatoes to the tofu and let simmer, covered.  While letting the potatoes simmer, peel and cut the carrots, then add them to the pan to simmer.  Dice the pepper and add it to the pan as well.  Once the potatoes, carrots, and peppers are cooked, remove from heat and serve with brown rice or couscous.