Tofu Veggie Stir Fry

Most of the time, I try to grocery shop with a fairly solid menu plan in mind.  I like to buy veggies that can easily fit into a number of dishes so that I can stretch my budget while still having a variety of meals.  I have tried to do the "make a big pot of soup and eat it all week" thing, but I get bored easily, and John is even worse.  So instead, I am trying to make a couple of pots of different types of beans on Sunday (last week it was Tuesday) and use them throughout the week for different meals.  For example, this week, I did chickpeas and black beans.  The black beans made their way into a bunch of burritos, and a portion of the chickpeas went into the "tuna" salad, and I'll finish the rest tomorrow night.  

So all that is by way of saying, occasionally, I will see something that looks really good and get sidetracked, both in the grocery store and on my blog, apparently!  Last week, it was a napa cabbage.  I saw a really good one, and it made me want to cook up a veggie-packed stir fry.  I got it home and put it away, and then I promptly forgot about it for about 7 days.  I thought about it yesterday and realized it was about to be unusable, so tonight, it was stir fry time.  I am putting together my recipe here, but I would suggest using whatever veggies you have on hand that would hold up well in a stir fry.  

Tofu Veggie Stir Fry

1 tbsp canola oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped into half moon slices

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

3/4 cup carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias

1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms

4 cups napa or other cabbage

4 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your preference for heat)

1 block firm tofu, pressed and cubed

1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari

2 tbsp sugar or agave nectar

Garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Toasted sesame seeds and additional red pepper flakes for garnish

In large skillet or wok, heat oil over medium heat.  Add vegetables to pan in order listed, stirring for 30 seconds to a minute between.  After cabbage has been added, add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes and stir fry until cabbage has reduced by at least half.  Add tofu cubes and mix with vegetables until heated.   Pour in soy sauce and sugar and mix well.  Continue to fry for several more minutes until cabbage has reduced in half again.  Add other spices to taste.  Serve over cooked brown rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and red pepper flakes if desired.

Eat with chopsticks if you have them!

This made enough for us to have a couple of bowls each, and I'm going to make a teriyaki tofu burrito with the rest for lunch tomorrow.

On a very different note, please take some time today to honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. in whatever way seems most appropriate to you.  He was truly a great man and someone who was lost far too soon.  Interestingly, Martin Luther King, Jr. has a connection to veganism.  His son Dexter Scott King and his widow Coretta Scott King applied his philosophy of non-violence to animals, and both became vegans, he for more than twenty years and she for more than ten before her death.  Please enjoy some quotes below from this truly inspirational civil rights champion and philosopher of peace.  His words are just as powerful and appropriate today as they were when they were spoken over 40 years ago.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. "

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. "

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. "

"Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him."

"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality. "

Vegan Sunday Brunch

It's funny to think about it now, since weekend brunches are something I look forward to all week, but the meal I was most puzzled about as a prospective new vegan was breakfast.  I could see myself functioning without bacon or sausage, since I was never a pork enthusiast anyway, but I couldn't for the life of me imagine what I would be starting my day with if it wasn't eggs.  In addition, pretty much any other breakfast staple I liked, such as french toast or pancakes, generally included eggs or dairy among their ingredients.  As it turns out, the many genius vegans who have paved the way for me have found a way to veganize just about any food, so french toast and pancakes are a snap with a few substitutions.  And eggs are not as hard to replace as I thought they would be, thanks to the tofu scramble.  Probably every vegan has their favorite way to prepare this staple, and mine is certainly not revolutionary in any way, but I thought it would be a good thing to share, especially with my non-veg readers who are slightly mystified by tofu, much as I was a little over two years ago.  If I was teaching a class called "Introduction to Tofu," this would be my first assignment.

Georgia's Tofu Scramble:  A Photo Essay

 Scramble Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

3/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 small tomato, diced

1 block of firm tofu, lightly squeezed to remove water

1 tbsp Earth Balance margarine

Spices of choice:  black salt*, pepper, oregano, turmeric**, garlic powder, chile powder, red pepper flakes, nutritional yeast

*Black salt is a natural salt that contains additional minerals that give an eggy taste.  On its own, its taste exactly mimics boiled eggs.  Added to a scramble, it adds saltiness as well as a slight egginess.

**Turmeric is necessary here to naturally add yellow coloring to the tofu.  Its health benefits make it excellent for other reasons as well.

1.  Melt margarine in skillet over medium heat.  Saute onions and peppers until onions begin to turn translucent.

 2.  Add mushrooms and continue to saute, lowering heat slightly if onions are cooking too quickly

(Don't be alarmed if a mushroom accidentally falls into your mouth.)

3.  When mushrooms have started to brown, add tomatoes and stir several times, just to get slightly heated.

4.  Move veggies to one side, and add tofu block to pan.

5.  Break tofu block apart with spoon.  Should be in bite size pieces, but left slightly chunky, mimicking texture of scrambled eggs.

 6.  Add spices in desired quantities to tofu.  (I would recommend a couple pinches of each herb or spice listed above.)  Stir together with veggies and continue to cook over medium/low heat for five minutes, until spices are incorporated and mixture is heated through but not browned.

7.  Serve and enjoy.  Makes about 3 large servings.  Goes perfectly with breakfast potatoes and vegan-buttered toast.

As with my chili recipe, this tofu scramble is very open to substitutions and changes, depending on what you have on hand.  Sometimes I add kalamata olives, minced garlic cloves, or a handful of spinach.  Either way, it's a delicious and filling breakfast, and unlike its scrambled egg counterpart, if you have leftovers, you can refrigerate and eat it later, because it tastes just as good reheated.  It's also cholesterol free and much lower in saturated fat, so your heart will be just as happy as your tummy!

Turning Convenience Food into Comfort Food

So I didn't really intend to go all Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade on you tonight, but that is what I ended up doing for dinner, so here we go.  Truth be told, although I don't have a lot of respect for someone who uses that amount of processed food on her television show, I can see that this is something that a lot of folks probably do need to do in their everyday lives.  I am kid-free (by choice, maybe not permanently), pet-free (because of allergies), and I only have a 40-hour a week office job that I generally leave at the office, and there are still a lot of days when I end up depending on something from a can or a jar, so those of you who have additional challenges have a lot of sympathy from me.  We had a bit of a busy day today, ate a late breakfast, went back to the record store (someone in this house has a problem, and it's obviously catching because I'm getting infected too), went to three different grocery stores plus one liquor store, and once we got home, I had a pile of dishes to do before I could even cook.  So by the time I got started on dinner, it wasn't going to be something super-gourmet.  That's what Sundays are for!  But we did have something delicious and mostly home-cooked that really hit the spot on this snowy night: pasta & salad, dressed up just a little.

For the salad, I just used romaine, shredded carrots, and what passes for a tomato in New England in January.  John likes his salad dry and dressing is expensive, so I tried making my own tahini-lemon dressing.  It didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, so I'll post another time after it's been tweaked.  It worked well enough for me tonight though.  Cracked a bottle of Red Truck red wine (they aren't paying me, I just really like their wine, both the taste and the $7 price tag), I cooked a pound of rotini according to package directions, and tossed it with the following sauce.

Georgia's Semi-Homemade Marinara


1/2 large or 1 medium onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms (cremini or white button)
10 meatless meatballs (I used Trader Joe's)
1 jar pre-made pasta sauce of your choice (I used Muir Glen Cabernet Marinara)
1 pound pasta, cooked
Nutritional yeast (optional)

Spray skillet with small amount of oil or use water to saute onion and pepper over medium heat.  In the meantime, place meatballs in large saucepan.  Cover with pasta sauce, then fill empty jar halfway with water.  Place lid on and shake to get remaining sauce off lid and jar.  Pour sauce-water into saucepan, and stir.  Turn heat to medium to bring sauce to a simmer.  Back in the skillet, add mushrooms and saute until onions are translucent and mushrooms have browned and begun to shrink.  Add onion, mushroom, and pepper mixture to sauce and turn heat to low.  Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.  Toss with prepared pasta, and serve with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast, if desired.  Makes 6 servings.

Once again, a ton of leftovers, which we will probably eat for lunch tomorrow, or I will take to lunch early next week, since we still have chili from the other night, yay!  All in all, a great day.  I scored a Crowded House 45 single at the record store today.

Those of you who know me well are laughing.  I've been a mega Crowded House fan since I heard "Don't Dream It's Over" in the miniseries of Stephen King's The Stand when it was on TV back in the mid-nineties.  And I probably have 42 copies of "Something So Strong" already on different formats, but this one is a 45 single and it has "I Walk Away" as a B-side!  So it was worth a buck. (Told you I was catching the vinyl bug!)  If you haven't had dessert yet, go make a peanut butter banana smoothie in honor of Elvis's birthday today.

Elvis Smoothie


1 medium banana, frozen
1 tbsp natural peanut butter
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk of your choice)


Combine all ingredients and blend in high-speed blender until completely mixed. Depending on the sweetness of your banana, peanut butter, and non-dairy milk, you may need to sweeten to taste and re-blend.  I recommend stevia or agave nectar.

"Modular" Chili

Tonight for dinner, I made one of my favorite standby dishes for a busy night.  John and I both love chili any time of year, but in the winter, it's extra special because it's such a warming dish, and considering how chilly it was today, we needed it.  The reason I call it "modular" is because you can basically use a variety of ingredients depending on what you have on hand, and it always comes out good. As long as you have some amount of canned tomatoes, cooked beans, and basic chili spices, you are good to go.  Sauteed fresh veggies are also a good addition, as well as TVP or soy crumbles.  Then once you have it cooked, you can serve over baked potatoes, with tortilla chips, or just plain in the bowl, with Tofutti sour cream and vegan cheese, if you like.

My recipe from tonight follows below, but I strongly encourage you to make like a jazz musician and improvise.  I will only give approximations of the spices I used, because I don't really measure.

Three Bean Chili with TVP, Onion & Pepper

5 cups of mixed beans (red kidney, black, and pinto beans prepared from dried, pre-soaked and simmered with kombu*)
2-14 oz. cans of fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup TVP
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chile powder
2 pinches oregano
Dash garlic powder
1 tsp salt
Additional salt & pepper to taste


Remove kombu from bean mixture after beans have reached desired softness.  Mix in canned tomatoes and bring back to a simmer.  Mixture should not be soupy, but should not be too chunky either.  Add a cup of water if it seems too dry.  Once a simmer is achieved, add TVP to rehydrate in liquid.  Continue to simmer for 10 minutes.  In the meantime, heat 1/4 cup water over medium heat in a small skillet.  Add diced onion and bell pepper and saute until tender crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add onion and pepper to tomato and bean mixture and incorporate.  Add remaining ingredients and continue to simmer for the remaining 5 minutes.  Serve with Daiya vegan cheese and blue corn tortilla chips.

*Kombu is also known as kelp.  It adds some minerals to the beans and is rumored to aid in their digestibility.  You can buy it in dried packages in health food stores.

Another positive that I haven't mentioned yet is that after both of us had a good-sized bowl for dinner, there is still more than a quart left.  And it tastes better after the flavors have had time to soak in overnight!  I made it on a Thursday, but I highly recommend making this on a weekend so that you can take it to work for lunch a few times throughout the week.  It's an easy way to make sure you have a healthy, filling lunch on hand.  I am the farthest thing from a morning person, so having food that's ready to go out the door with me at 6:30 AM is a huge deal.  Happy eating!

Me & My Cookbooks, plus Red Lentil Artichoke Stew

OK, so I may have a slight vegan cookbook addiction.

This is pretty much all the vegan ones, not counting e-books.

This was definitely a post-vegetarian development.  Before November 2008, I had about 6 cookbooks, and I thought I was overloaded.  Now, I have around 27 vegan only cookbooks, plus 3 vegetarian, plus a few others that are omni but have a large vegan (or veganizable) selection of recipes.  This is also not to mention the myriad of absolutely phenomenal bloggers who are out there putting out great recipes, sometimes daily.  Some of them do have cookbooks out, or coming out (for example, I can guarantee that my next purchase will be The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon of www.happyherbivore.com, due out this month), but some of them don't, and you really need to explore the world of vegan blogging.  I have to admit I have only been a lurker and haven't commented (I am surprisingly internet-shy), but these people are my heroes!

Tonight's recipe is something I originally found in a flyer at Whole Foods about recipes under $40, all of which happened to be vegan.  It also appears in my newest acquisition, The Vegan Table, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  Although I made quite a few changes, I am not comfortable including the actual recipe (I'd rather err on the side of not stealing), but I did find another adapted recipe on another site that is practically the same, so I will link to it and tell you my changes.  Here is the link:  Red Lentil Artichoke Stew.

The spices in the recipe seemed to give more of a Middle Eastern or Indian flair to the dish, but I decided to go more Italian.  My changes:

• I am not a cumin fan, so instead of several teaspoonsful, I only added a dash.  
• I eliminated the coriander.
• I added about a teaspoon of basil.
• I added a dash of oregano (would have been more, but I ran out.  I am an oregano maniac.)
• For the salt/pepper to taste, I went with no salt (plenty from the tomatoes & artichokes) and added about 1/2 tsp of pepper.  
• I increased the red pepper flakes to 1/2 tsp.

Another quick note is that at the beginning, the onion should be sauteed in a bit of water.  This eliminates any need for oil, which is a great bonus, making this a low fat, high protein, whole food meal.  I served over brown rice, and we had a few glasses of Green Truck white wine, which I would highly recommend.  It's organic and vegan, and John said it's his favorite white wine ever.  Usually my heart belongs to red, but for this meal, the white was a nice match.  I don't know anything about wine pairing though, so don't kill me if I sound like an idiot.

This was SO GOOD.  Like, go make it now, in other words.  The great thing was, most everything was already in my pantry.  I had to go buy a lemon for the juice, but that wasn't a big deal.  We had a nice big portion each, and even with that, we both have enough for lunch tomorrow.

I am headed back to work tomorrow.  (GROSS.)   I have to say, it has been so wonderful to be off at the first of the year, starting things off right and having plenty of time to relax but still be able to devote time to my new project and to myself.

New Year's Day Beans & Greens

Today for dinner, I decided to make the traditional Southern New Year's dish of black-eyed peas and greens.  This dish is supposed to bring you luck and money in the coming year.  


Back home, the usual M.O. for cooking greens is to add in a hamhock or some bacon to give flavor.  Obviously, as a vegan, I have to find an alternative, but in this case, it's not too difficult.  The main components of the bacon flavor are smoke and salt, so I simmered my greens (I used turnip) in vegetable broth with a little bit of liquid smoke added.  


Simmered Turnip Greens


1 tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. crushed garlic
1 large bunch turnip greens, stems removed, chopped
1 quart vegetable broth
1 tsp. liquid smoke
Red pepper flakes, optional
Salt, to taste (depending on how salty your broth is)


Heat oil over low heat and add garlic.  Saute for up to a minute, just to release flavor, but don't burn.  Add in remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes until greens are soft.


Once your greens are done, layer brown rice, black-eyed peas (I just used a can with some pepper and garlic powder added), greens, more peas, and hot sauce, if desired.  I like Cholula because it is hot, but not deathly hot.  This made enough to feed 2 well, and with a whole grain, bean, and green combination, it's a hearty and healthy dinner.


Fun fact:  Leafy greens are a great source of calcium, and unlike dairy products, they are not so high in protein that they will leach as much calcium out of your body as they provide.  So eat your greens every day!