Easy Coconut Curry Seitan Stir-fry

Here is a twist on the classic stir-fry using seitan.  I love whipping up a simple seitan for dinner as an option for our protein.  Even though you can make seitan itself as flavorful as you want, I like to keep it simple when I'm using it in a sauce.  That way there's no competing for flavors in the dish.  Because I was making a coconut curry sauce, I knew I wanted our seitan to be a simple one.  See below for that recipe as well as for the rest of the stir-fry. 

Easy Coconut Curry Seitan Stir-fry

Ingredients:

Prepared seitan (recipe below)
2 Tbs.canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 yellow onion, quartered and sliced
1/2 head of green cabbage, sliced
2 Tbs. fresh ginger, peeled and chopped small
1 Tbs. green curry paste
1 - 15oz. can coconut milk
1 bunch of cilantro chopped (w/out bottom stems), about one cup

Directions:

[For the seitan: 
2 cups gluten flour
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vegan Worcestershire sauce
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients well.  After it comes together quickly, knead a few times, just to make sure there are no dry spots.  Wrap several times in aluminum foil and steam for one hour.  Let cool a few minutes.]

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Slice the seitan in "thinnish" rectangles, about two inches long.  Add the seitan to the pan and cook for ten minutes, or until the seitan is browned on all sides.  Stir frequently.  Salt and pepper the seitan to your taste while sauteing.  Add the onion, cabbage and ginger, and cook for another five or ten minutes, until they are fork tender.  Move the seitan and veggies to the side of the pan with a spatula.  Drop the green curry paste on the cleared side of the pan.  Add the coconut milk to the paste and whisk well.  Stir back in the seitan and veggies into the curry coconut sauce.  Cook for two or so minutes, until it is heated through.  Add the cilantro and stir well.  Ready to eat!  Served over noodles, this makes a complete meal.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Savory Yellow Split Pea and Cauliflower Soup

Tis the season for soup, and this is a good one.  There are some uncommon partners in this soup, but they really work well together.  I like the combo of cauliflower and tomatoes and have been experimenting more and more with those these days.  You'll see another recipe coming up very soon with those two together again.  Also, the Napa cabbage is a nice contrast and mixes textures.  This will warm your tummy for sure.

Savory Yellow Split Pea and Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound dried yellow split peas
Water to cover
1 - 32oz. box Imagine No-Chicken Broth
2-3 cups of Napa cabbage, chopped
5 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 small head cauliflower, chopped
1 - 29oz. can diced tomatoes
1 - 15oz. can tomato sauce
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sort the peas for grit and place in a large pot.  Add enough water to cover the peas a couple of inches, and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes.  Add water during cooking time, if it's getting too close to the level of the peas.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook for another fifteen minutes.  So easy but good.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Bountiful Pasta Salad with Beans

In our home, pasta salads can be a side dish or, if they're full of enough goodies, be the main dish.  There are two main beans that I think go well in green and pasta salads: garbanzos and kidneys - although any kind of bean can be the basis for a good salad.  Sometimes in my pasta salads, I'll kick up the protein a bit by adding one of these beans.  In this salad, I used garbanzos.  I also love to fill my salads chock full of a variety of crunchy, flavorful ingredients.  This salad is no different.  Don't forget, when you add the raw veggies to hot pasta, they blanch just enough to be tender.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Bountiful Pasta Salad with Beans

Ingredients:

1 lb. small pasta (this time I used two seven oz. bags of small stars)
2 cups broccoli, chopped small
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup red cabbage, chopped small
1 can of quartered artichoke hearts, in water, halved lengthwise
1 15oz. can black whole olives, drained
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1 cup of  salad dressing - I like to use Italian style for this
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.  While pasta is cooking, prepare your vegetables and beans.  Drain the pasta and put in a large bowl immediately along with the veggies and beans.  Stir well.  Add the dressing and stir again.  Season to taste and stir.  Chill for at least two hours before serving, or if you're in a rush, you can serve this warm.  Be sure to chill in a non-breakable bowl.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Easy Vegetable Fried Rice

Here is an easy way to use up leftover rice.  I always make a big batch of rice because JK likes it for lunches, and I also like to use the leftovers in soups or other dishes.  The veggies in this dish are usually those that you may have on hand at any given time.  Enjoy!

Easy Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 head of green cabbage, chopped small
3 carrots, chopped very small
4 stalks of celery, chopped small
2 green onions, sliced thin
2 to 3 cups of leftover rice
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce or another favorite sauce; this time I used: OrganicVille Island Teriyaki sauce, which is also gluten-free

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add all the veggies and cook for five minutes or so, until fork tender.  Add the rice, and stir well, breaking up any clumped up, cold chunks.  Cook for another five minutes or so, until the rice is heated through.  Don't stir constantly, but let it sit for a minute or so to slightly crisp and brown, and then stir.  Once well heated, add the sauce and stir.  Cook for another minute or so, and then it's ready to serve.  Very tasty.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Glorious Green Salad

I like to have a lot of fun with salads for my clan.  Sometimes, we'll have big salads on individual plates, and I'll holler from the kitchen, "Who wants carrots?  Who wants garbanzos?," and so on.  I pretty much know by now who likes what and not, but sometimes my  Blessings have changing tastes, so it's good to be reminded.  Sometimes, I'll make one huge salad that's the meal itself, with maybe crackers or something to go with it.  That's when I really load up the toppings to make the salad as varied and crunchy as possible with a symphony of flavors to tease and please younger palates.  The one I made on this night was served alongside of homemade bread sticks and dipping sauces, and everyone was well pleased and full. Below, I've listed the toppings I heaped on, just to give you a new idea or two.  Having fun with your salads is the takeaway moral of the story.

Glorious Green Salad

Ingredients:

Romaine, chopped
Canned quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained
Red onion, slice thin
Canned garbanzos, drained
Tomatoes, cut in small wedges
Fresh spinach leaves, torn if large
Jarred julienned pickled beets
Carrots, shredded
Celery, chopped
Fresh parsley, chopped
Purple cabbage, chopped small
Raw sunflower seeds
Favorite dressings and oils and vinegars on the side

Directions:

In a big bowl, layer the ingredients, except for the dressings.  I do not like to toss my salads before serving because all the goodies get hidden under the lettuce.  Instead we scoop straight down in order to get equal amounts of everything.  Drizzle your favorite dressing on top - sometimes we sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top of that - and dig in.  Served with bread sticks or crackers or toast makes for a filling meal.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

Wok Tofu Stir-Fry with Sesame Oil

Hi, Everyone! I'm following a couple of tips I found on the forum, and I'll know when I view my post, if they helped me with my blogger problem. Update: Okay, I've just previewed my post, not published, and it looks okay. I've done everything in html. Apparently, viewing it in Compose loses all my coding. The problem is, and I'll deal with it, that now I have to enter in coding in html. I can't find an html code for underlining, so my recipe titles will be bolded until further notice. Next, I'll see how it publishes - I guess we all will. :-)

So, I don't normally go into a lot of detail about what's going on with me personally - I usually just stick with the food. But, I've got a running theme here at home that I thought might be of interest to you. We've set up a small infirmary in the living room for all the human patients. Hmm, where to start? Well, let's start with the four-legged creatures. Now, the pups aren't sick, but they are currently getting all their vaccines and preventative shots. No big deal. Then, you add in Sparkly, the cranky kitty, who is currently wearing a cone almost full-time due to a chronic ear infection and needs meds throughout the day to knock it out. In January, SR was pushed into a door by a bully that's been harassing her for over a year and a half. She's had two casts and is now wearing a brace indefinitely on her arm until her problem is resolved. We don't know what exactly is going on with her: she could have a torn cartilage, a wrist fracture, nerve damage, or just a "general pain experience" as her physical therapist suggested (until we know more, that is). On Thursday, G tried to mow the lawn, but mowed his big toe instead. We were in the ER on Thursday and two hospitals on Friday. He's lost some of the top of his toe, the front of his toe, his toe is broken, and the bone is exposed. He likes to say he's not going to be a foot model anymore, and he also likes to say that he got a pedicure from his lawnmower. But, seriously, the guy's in major pain. He's on pain meds and antibiotics, and I've got him on an antibiotic-resistant probiotic, an herb for crushed toes, and an herb for nerve damage. And, finally, yesterday JK got the flu. My little guy has been expunging out of both ends, and can't even keep water down. That leaves GR and me and our kitty, Charlene, left. Help?

So, can you believe I still find time to cook? Well, this was actually made before the toe incident; I've been taking it easy on the meals the last few days. I'm sure everyone has done stir-frys (is that the plural?), so I'm probably not offering a bunch of new ideas. I just have a tip for doing it in the wok. Woks are not meant to contain bunches of food at one time. So, if you have a large family, or if you're making a particularly large stir-fry, do it in batches. In my directions below, I outline how I did mine, and I hope this helps you. I actually took pictures of my method for making tofu triangles, due to many requests, but they didn't turn out, so I will try again in a later post.





Wok Tofu Stir-Fry with Sesame Oil

Ingredients:

Sesame Oil
2 pkgs. extra-firm tofu, drained and cut in triangles
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in half width-wise and cut into strips
1/4 head cauliflower, chopped
2 stalks of broccoli with florets - stalks sliced thinly, and florets chopped
1/4 head of Napa cabbage, sliced width-wise and sliced thinly
6 asparagus spears, sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of water
2 Tbs. corn starch
1 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced

Directions:

Have all your tofu and veggies chopped and sliced before you begin. Heat about a tablespoon in the wok over medium-high heat. After about a minute, test the heat with a piece of tofu. When oil is ready and simmers the tofu, add a quarter of the tofu (or 1/2 a block) to the wok. Cook for about three minutes, stirring fairly frequently, until tofu has browned. Remove to a large bowl. Add a little bit more oil to the wok and another quarter of the tofu and do the same thing as with the first batch of tofu. Cook the rest of the tofu in this manner. *[Next, you are going to cook the veggies in order from firmest to softest, or longest-cooking to quickest-cooking. You will add a bit of oil to each addition, as there won't be any oil left in the wok. The exception will be if you have a non-stick wok. I do not, so my food will burn. I have tried cooking with water in a wok, but that definitely did not turn out well. If you find that there is oil left on your food, drain on paper towels.]* Add the cauliflower and cook for about three minutes, stirring frequently. Add the bell pepper and broccoli to the cauliflower and cook for another three minutes, again stirring frequently. Remove to bowl with the tofu. Add a bit of oil to the wok and add the cabbage and asparagus. Cook for three minutes and stir. Add all the tofu and veggies back into the wok. Whisk together the soy sauce, water, corn starch and ginger. Pour over the wok goodies and stir constantly for about one minute, until it's slightly thickened. Serve over brown rice. Mm-mmm. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Big Salads with Soy Strips

I want to start off by saying "Thank You" to everyone who commented and wished us the best on my last post about our sweet dog, Earl. Tomorrow it will be one week, and our home and backyard just hasn't been the same. I was really moved by how many people took the time to send their thoughts our way - the online world can be very wonderful.

Well, it's time, I think, to post a new dish. Every now and then we love to have big individual salads for dinner. It's our only course, and so the salads are meals in themselves. They are chock full of wonderful, crisp, crunchy veggies. I have themes, of course, for them, and this one is with soy strips. I found a brand I really like, and in fact, I use them in several recipes. So, you can obviously change up the veggies any way you like. Below, is just our latest version, and it was delicious!



Big Salads with Soy Strips
Ingredients:

2 tsp. canola oil
2 pkgs. of Morning Star Farms Meal Starters Chik'n Strips
Your favorite veggies on hand. We had:
1 big head of Green Leaf lettuce, chopped
Red cabbage, chopped
Mushrooms, halved and sliced
Marinated red bell peppers, halved and sliced
Carrots, grated
Vegan cheese, finely grated (we used Vegan Gourmet, cheddar style)
Celery, chopped
Green onions, sliced
Your favorite salad dressing (one of mine is Annie's Naturals Shitake & Sesame Vinaigrette)

Directions:

Heat oil over medium heat in skillet. Add the strips and cook until browned, about five minutes or so. Once the strips have browned, let them cool a few minutes. Prepare the veggies while waiting and while the strips cool down. Chop the strips into small, bite-sized chunks. On individual plates, serve up the lettuce and the veggies and strips into whatever quantities everyone wants. Add a couple of tablespoons of salad dressing, and dig in! Very easy. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Chunky Miso Soup

This is one of my favorite soups; I serve this a few times a year. I actually got the start for this off a miso container lid. It was a miso soup recipe that I had never seen before. Anyway, over the years I've tweaked it just enough to make it mine. I really like this photo, too. See the steam still rising from the bowl? I have to put this away right after dinner, or else I'll literally be eating it all night long until bedtime. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Chunky Miso Soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. canola oil
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 small cauliflower, florets sliced
2 large carrots, grated
1/2 head of cabbage, sectioned and sliced thinly
4 cans of vegetable broth
4 cups of water
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and diced very small
1/3 cup of peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter)
1/4 cup miso

Directions:

In a large pot, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients and keep cooking for about another 20 minutes, until the peanut butter and miso have dissolved and been mixed in. A note on the peanut butter: it can be smooth or crunchy - I prefer the crunchy because I love to crunch the bits of peanut. Also, you can use cashew or almond butter, as well. They all work deliciously in this soup. Feeds five hungry vegans.