Pad Thai with Tofu

We've had "Pad Thai Rice Sticks," AKA rice noodles, sitting around ever since making Asian Pesto with Rice Noodles.  Yesterday we put these noodles to good use by making Pad Thai with tofu for dinner.  I love Pad Thai and I always get noodle dishes of some sort at Thai restaurants (I'm not the most adventurous restaurant diner...), so I was pretty excited about this. 
  

Pad Thai -- I probably shouldn't have put it in a bowl to take the picture...

Unfortunately the picture doesn't do it much justice, but SPOILER ALERT: it was tasty! 

Recipe:
Pad Thai with Tofu

• 8 ounces rice noodles (we used "Pad Thai Rice Sticks")
• 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• about 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 pound extra-firm tofu, pressed
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup broccoli, chopped (we used frozen broccoli)
• 1 cup snow peas (we used frozen snow peas)
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

First, prepare the rice noodles according to the package instructions.  Keep them in a pot with a tight lid to keep them from drying out while you prepare everything else.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.  Whisk together the peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl and set aside.

Then heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium-high to high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the tofu and sauté until the tofu browns on most sides, turning the tofu every few minutes.  Sprinkle on salt and pepper while it's cooking. When the tofu has browned, move it to a bowl and set aside.

Lower the heat to medium-high and add a bit more canola oil (or water) to the same skillet.  Add the garlic, broccoli, and snow peas and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables become bright green.  Add the green onions and sauté for another minute or two.  Then, add the tofu, noodles, and sauce to that pan and stir to combine.  Cook until all ingredients are heated through.



Garnish with sliced lemons, chopped cilantro, or chopped peanuts if desired.  Yields 2-4 servings. 

Comments:
Taste:      

I was surprised at how close this tastes to restaurant-style Pad Thai.  The lime juice really makes the dish.  Unfortunately, our Pad Thai was a bit soupy/mushy.  We had trouble cooking the rice noodles correctly the last time we used them, and it was the same story this time.  Let me know if you have any tips on cooking rice noodles!

Accessibility:        

I wasn't able to find all of the ingredients I wanted to use in this dish.  I'd recommend adding 1 cup of bean sprouts near the end of the cooking time, if you can find them.  They'll add a nice crunch.

 Ease of Preparation:   

This dish isn't very difficult to make and involves minimal chopping, but the rice noodles take a pretty long time to prepare even before you start the real cooking.  The instructions on our noodle package said to soak them in warm water for 45 minutes.  We kept the water pretty hot by heating the pot of noodles over medium-low heat throughout the soaking process, but it still takes a while.        

Non-vegan friendliness:   

The Pad Thai had a great flavor, but between the somewhat mushy noodles and the tofu, it might not be a non-vegan's favorite dish.  Still, we all really enjoyed it. 

 One last note: I think it tasted better today (one day later).  Hooray leftovers!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Yesterday we picked up 10 ripe bananas from Simon's work that were going to spoil if left alone.  Instead, we put eight of them to a much better use--we made chocolate chip banana bread!   

Banana Bread Loaf!

Banana Bread Loaf and Banana Bread Muffin

Recipe:
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

• 4 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 1/3 cup vegan butter, melted
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a loaf pan (or muffin tins).  Then, mash the bananas using a fork in a medium bowl.  Add the butter, vanilla, and sugars and mix well.  Next add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix until combined (do not over-mix).  Stir in the chocolate chips and pour the mixture into the pan.  Bake for 45 minutes and then raise the oven temperature to 350 and bake for another 15-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (If you're making muffins, bake for about 22 minutes.)

Comments:
Taste:      

We all really liked this recipe.  Rachel and I were ready to give it a four-carrot rating.  The flavor is great and it's incredibly moist, while the hint of cinnamon and chocolate chips go perfectly with the banana flavor.  However, Simon dragged the rating down to a 3.5 because he thinks the bread is too cake-like. He likes his banana bread more bread-y. 

Accessibility:       

There's nothing fancy about this recipe.  If you can't find super ripe bananas at the store, just wait a few days and let nature do its magic.        

 Ease of Preparation:   

This recipe is very simple.  It does take a long time to bake, but it's definitely worth it.      

Non-vegan friendliness:  

I'd happily serve this to vegans and non-vegans, alike.  It's an incredibly moist, not-too-sweet treat. 

 Next time, I think I will try this recipe with a little less sugar.  It wasn't overly sweet this time, but I bet it would still be good with a little less. 

Enjoy!  

Wannabe Ful Mudammas

Originally, we had planned to make ful mudammas--an Egyptian fava bean stew--for dinner tonight.  Unfortunately, we had trouble finding fava beans at the grocery store.  Such is life.  We settled on a bastardized version of the dish made with a variety of beans and served with pita bread.  While I'm not sure how close this tastes to the real thing, it was still a good dinner. 

"Foule Mudammes" with pita bread

Recipe:
Wannabe Ful Mudammas

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 - 15 ounce can lima beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 - 15 ounce can butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 - 15 ounce cans Roman beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground corriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeri
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• more olive oil to drizzle (optional)

First, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes.  Add the bell and jalapeno peppers and cook for another 4 minutes.  Then add the beans, tomatoes, and spices and cook, stirring occasionally, for a few more minutes (the mixture should become thick)--as you stir, mash up the beans a little bit.  Finally, add the green onions, cilantro, and garlic and cook for a final 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

Serve with pita bread or rice.  Yields 4-6 servings. 

Comments:
Taste:      

I really enjoyed this dish.  None of the flavors were overpowering: it was neither too spicy nor too cinnamon-y.  Again, I'm not sure if this dish had any sort of authentic flavor to it, but it was good nonetheless.  The turmeric gave the dish a nice color, adding to the already colorful array of veggies involved, and it was also a nice change of pace to eat with pita bread rather than rice. 

Accessibility:       

The ingredients we ended up using for this dish are all pretty easy to find (it's funny how that happened).  There are only two drawbacks to this recipe in terms of accessibility.  First, it involves several spices, and second, it calls for a small amount of cilantro compared to the amount of cilantro that comes in a bunch.  If you don't have cilantro, you could also use parsley.      

 Ease of Preparation:   

Even though a fair amount of chopping goes into the preparation of this dish, it's a simple recipe to follow.    

Non-vegan friendliness:   

As Simon put it, it wouldn't make much sense for meat to go anywhere in the dish--and as far as I know, the traditional Egyptian dish lacks meat as well.  That said, Simon did put feta cheese on his.  I thought the pita bread went really well with the ful, adding something to bite on.  I would make this dish again! 

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Cookie Crust

Yesterday I went out and bought a springform pan.  And what does one do with a springform pan?  Bake a cheesecake, of course!

I've tasted both good and mediocre vegan cheesecakes, so I thought I'd take a stab at my own.

Recipe:
Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Cookie Crust

For the crust

• 1.5 cups vegan chocolate-covered graham cracker cookies
• 4 tablespoons sugar
  
• 4 tablespoons vegan butter

For the cheesecake

• 24 ounces silken tofu (the vacuum-sealed variety works best here: it isn't as grainy as refrigerated tofu) 
• 1 cup sugar
• 16 ounces (2 containers) vegan cream cheese (Tofutti "Better than Cream Cheese" is the best brand by far)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon vanilla pudding mix (I used Jello instant pudding mix -- surprisingly, it's vegan!)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

For the chocolate swirl

• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips/bars

First, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly oil a 9-inch springform pan.  Then, combine all
crust ingredients in a food processor and blend well.  Pour the crust mixture into the pan and use your fingers to press the crust down evenly onto the bottom of the pan.

Next, prepare the cheesecake filling.  First blend the silken tofu and sugar in a food processor until well blended.  Then add the remaining cheesecake ingredients to the food processor and process until very smooth.  Pour the cheesecake filling into pan.

To create the chocolate swirl, melt the chocolate (I microwaved chocolate chips for about 3 minutes at 50% power) and gently swirl it into the top of the cheesecake with a knife.

Bake the cheesecake for 75 minutes.  Cool completely, cover, and refrigerate overnight if possible.  Run a knife around the perimeter of the cake before unclasping the springform pan and removing the sides from the base.

Comments:
Taste:       

Unfortunately, we had a lot of difficulty finding the right ingredients for this cheesecake.  First, we couldn't find Tofutti cream cheese anywhere, so we used another brand which doesn't taste nearly as good.  I think this change significantly altered the taste of the cheesecake.  Second, we could not find enough silken tofu so we used a bit of soft tofu.  This probably affected the overall texture, but I actually thought the texture was quite nice.  In the end, the cheesecake tasted pretty good, but it just didn't taste a lot like cheesecake and it could have tasted much better.  The moral of this story: ingredients are important!

Accessibility:        

As I said above, we had SO much trouble finding the correct ingredients.  We did make the mistake of shopping late on Sunday evening when ingredients are surely most likely to be out of stock, but still, you would think that one of three grocery stores would have the correct brand of cream cheese!  For the record, we have purchased Tofutti cream cheese at Giant before, so it is available at large grocery stores, in theory.  We also had trouble finding the vacuum-packed variety of silken tofu, so we just used refrigerated tofu.  I have never tried to find vacuum-packed tofu before, though, so I'm not sure whether the stores ran out of it or just don't carry it.

 Ease of Preparation:   

This cheesecake is incredibly easy to prepare (though it does require a food processor or blender).  It takes a long time to bake and should be refrigerated overnight, though, so it doesn't quite earn a four-carrot rating.  

Non-vegan friendliness:   

I wouldn't be comfortable serving this to a non-vegan and calling it "cheesecake."  It didn't have the taste that would be expected, even though the texture was good.  I'll be sure to use the correct ingredients the next time I make this, as I'm confident that it would be much better that way.  I'll keep you updated. 

Chana Masala

On Tuesday, in honor of St. Valentine, Simon and I made some delicious Indian food.  (Never mind the regional incongruity...)

Cooking Chana Masala

We made a version of Chana Malsala, the tomato-based chickpea dish that I always order when I'm at an Indian restaurant. 

Recipe:
Chana Masala

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 - 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter

First, heat the oil and garlic in a skillet over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions become soft and begin to brown.  Next, reduce the heat to medium and add the curry and tomato paste.  Stir and simmer for about 2 minutes.  Then add the chickpeas, water, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Finally, add the crushed red pepper and margarine, stir and simmer for about 5 more minutes, and serve over rice. 

Yields 2 or 3 servings.

Comments:
Taste:      

I love this dish.  Simon rightfully points out that it's a pretty one-dimensional dish; but, while there may not be tons of ingredients involved, the flavor is still really nice.  The lemon juice brightens up the flavor so it's both spicy and light.

Accessibility:        

These ingredients are all pretty standard and inexpensive.       

 Ease of Preparation:   

This is a simple recipe to prepare.  It doesn't take long to make (especially when using canned chickpeas).  If you're serving it over rice, you should be able to start the rice first and prepare this dish while the rice is cooking.         

Non-vegan friendliness:   

This dish holds its own.  Compared to some other vegan dishes (or other Indian dishes), it has a pleasantly substantial mouthfeel.  You can really take a bite of Chana Masala, while that might not be the case with lentils, for instance. 

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Simon needed to make a dessert for work tomorrow, so he spearheaded the baking of Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Let's just say only some of the cupcakes will make it to the office...

Recipe:
Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting


For the cupcakes:

• 1.5 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer powder (or another egg equivalent)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1.75 cups soymilk
• 1/2 cup water, divided
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the frosting:

• 1/4 cup vegan butter, softened
• 1/4 all-vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cocoa powder
• 2.5 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons soymilk
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

First, prepare the cupcakes.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line muffin tins with muffin cups and set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer powder and 2 tablespoons water until well-incorporated.  Add the soymilk and 1/4 cup water and stir.  In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer (if possible) until light and fluffy.  Add the vanilla and the remaining 1/4 cup water and beat well.  In another separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add this and the egg replacer mixture to the butter mixture; beat until no large chunks remain.  

 

Fill the muffin cups evenly with batter--I like to use a 1/4 cup measuring cup when filling each cup to help with consistency.  Bake for about 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, first mix together the butter and shortening until well combined, using an electric mixer if possible.  Then add the cocoa powder and mix well.  Finally, add the powdered sugar, soymilk, and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Frost the cooled cupcakes using a piping bag or a rubber spatula/knife.

Yields about 18 cupcakes.

Comments:

Taste:      

The flavor of these cupcakes is really nice, but our cake came out a little bit chewier than I expect a cupcake to be.  (I think this was largely due to the fact that we didn't use an electric mixer, meaning the batter wasn't mixed as well as it could've been.  Rookie mistake.)   The frosting was noteworthy, with a deep cocoa flavor and a very fluffy texture.

Accessibility:        

If you don't have egg replacer powder on hand, you can use 1 teaspoon of baking soda along with 1 tablespoon of vinegar as an egg replacement.  Apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar work best.  In fact, I think I will use vinegar next time since I'm discovering that I like it best as the egg replacement in cakes and cupcakes.       

 Ease of Preparation:   

These cupcakes are pretty easy to make.  Yes, you'll get a lot of bowls dirty, but that comes with the territory.       

Non-vegan friendliness:   

With the couple alterations I suggested above--again, more careful mixing and swapping out vinegar for egg replacer powder--these cupcakes would garner 4 carrots.  This time they weren't up to par, unfortunately, but I know they'll be better next time.   

Hearty Vegetable Stew

Tonight's Hearty Vegetable Stew was perfect given the recent snow and frigid temperatures outside.  We also bought a loaf of fresh bread to dunk in the stew for extra comfort.
 

Dipping the bread was SO good.

Recipe:
Hearty Vegetable Stew

• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 medium-sized potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces 
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1.5 tablespoons barbecue sauce or 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients (except salt) in a large soup pot.  Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the bay leaves, salt to taste, and serve with bread for dunking.  

Yields about 6 servings.

Comments:

Taste:      

The stew was good but not great.  It had a pretty starchy taste (lots of potatoes), so I would add more vegetables and one fewer potato next time.  It needs something green--maybe peas or kale? 

Accessibility:        

We only needed to go out and buy a few ingredients for this dish.  Thank you, stew, for a low grocery bill this week.     

 Ease of Preparation:   

This was extremely easy to prepare.  It's a great one-pot meal.       

Non-vegan friendliness:   

Simon noted that this dish lacks the varied texture that beef or some other meat would add to a stew.  I thought serving the stew with crusted bread added a nice crunch to the meal, but I do think a meat-enthusiast might miss it in this meal.