Cheatin' Curry Tofu

This is one of my favorite curry dishes that I make a couple of times a year, but I can't take full credit for it. I'm cheatin' with a box! However, I can't help myself because the end product is this saucy gravy concoction that I just love. The spice comes in three heat levels, and when I cook for the whole family, I use mild. I kick it up to medium or hot, if it's just going to be my husband and me. But, I'm well aware that anything beyond mild is going to send my uber-masculine husband into a hiccup fit. So, I just sit back and chuckle at him when that happens. You gotta give me a break, though - the man hiccups from eating slightly spicy mustard! The spice is called Golden Curry and is made by S&B. I hope you like it, too.

Cheatin' Curry Tofu

It looks like this in the beginning, and you break it into individual bars.

The end result, with a salad on the side.

Cheatin' Curry Tofu

Ingredients:

Brown rice
1 Tbs. canola oil
2 pkgs. extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into triangles

1 and 1/2 cups of veggies - we used:
2 medium zucchinis, sliced diagonally
2 celery stalks, sliced diagonally

1 green onion, sliced diagonally

1 pkg. S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix with heat of your choice

2 and 1/2 cups of water

Directions:

Cook brown rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tofu, and cook until partially browned, about 20 minutes over medium high heat. Stir occasionally. Add the veggies, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for another ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the water and bring to a boil. Break up the big bar into its smaller bars and add to the sauce. Turn the heat down to medium low, and stir constantly until the bars are dissolved. This will thicken up into a wonderful curry gravy. Serve the tofu mixture over the brown rice. A salad on the side rounds out the meal. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Caprese Salad and a bit o' other info - come and see!

This is a super simple salad that I like to make for my family. It's quick and easy and tastes great too! Hope you like it.

Also, just to give you a quick update on a couple of things: When my husband and I got back from our anniversary a few weeks ago, we started a "food plan" for chubby vegans, erk. Yes, I may like my food a bit too much. Thankfully, this is a perfect post to display a salad recipe! Anyhow, I'm incorporating a recipe of mine about once a week for my family to practice portion control with my recipes, and also to have something to blog about. :-) So, that's why I've been coming on weekly, instead of every three days. I hope you'll be patient with me during this time. When I'm fit and trim and where I want to be, I'll have more posts. If you're curious about the food plan, it's put out by http://www.vegfamily.com/ (an online magazine), and the website is http://www.veganweighdown.com/. I got lucky and am one of the testers, so I didn't have to pay anything, and I give feedback on recipes and the website. I don't know what membership costs.

Secondly, I'm going to be a tester for a blogger who just got a cookbook contract - yay! Kathy over at http://healthyslowcooking.wordpress.com/ has got just three months to come up with 150 recipes. I can't post her recipes on my blog, but I have permission to publicize her, like I'm doing now. How does this fit in with my food plan? Well, for the next couple of months, I'm going to have juggle both things and work on portion control. It doesn't seem like her recipes will be giving me problems with calorie-overload. So, all in all, it seems like my own cooking is sliding to the "back burner" (get it?), but I will post at least once a week. Thanks for understanding!

Now for the salad! Isn't it a purty picture?

Caprese Salad

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
Approximately 5 to 6 oz. vegan mozzarella cheese, cubed small
1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons (directions below)
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:

To cut fresh basil leaves into ribbons, simply stack the leaves on top of each other, five or six at a time, roll up and cut into thin strips. You'll have nice thin ribbons of fresh basil - yum. Toss these with the rest of the ingredients into a medium bowl and chill for at least an hour. Bring out and toss again before serving. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Garlicky Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I've been fiddling with this recipe for years to keep trying to make what I think is a really good hummus. This is probably going to be my final product for quite a while. Hummus is so versatile: you can use it as a dip or as a sandwich spread. And, it's healthy and tasty to boot! Hope you like this version as much as I do.

Garlicky Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

As a dip with fresh garden picked radishes, whole wheat pita chips, baby carrots, zucchini and celery. Yummy!

As a sandwich spread for a nice lunch or an easy dinner with chips and one of my mom's homemade pickles, of course!

Garlicky Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:

1 - 15oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained
1 Tbs. tahini
1 and 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 and 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers - I usually buy jarred peppers, unless I'm taking the time to roast them myself. A little liquid that clings to the peppers is all right.
4 or 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp. of salt

Directions:

Simply pour all the ingredients into a food processor (I hope you have one) and blend until it is a nice, smooth consistency. I like my hummus pretty smooth, so it may take a minute or more to achieve that. (If you don't have a food processor, soften the garbanzo beans and garlic by cooking them in water for a few minutes, then drain. Try mashing with a potato masher.) Makes a fantastic dip or sandwich spread. Feeds five hungry vegans.