Orange Sesame Tofu – Eat, Drink and Be Vegan

I am extremely proud of myself for learning how to cook and eat an entirely new food group: tofu. I say food ‘group’ because there are lots of different styles and types of tofu. While I am not yet an expert in the tofu arena, at least I’m not terrified of it any more.  Yes, I was terrified of the harmless stuff just a few short months ago! Terrified, I tell you!

At first I had no idea what the scary stuff was let alone how to use it. I admit that I did not even know it was made from a simple soy bean. For you newbies, let me say that it’s not nearly as difficult as it seems to add this healthful food to your weekly menu.

 Zero dietary cholesterol and tons of protein. Plus it’s inexpensive! Find a simple recipe, like the one below and give it a try.  Hey, if Benjamin Franklin ate it back in the day and billions of people eat it nowadays, then it’s good enough for me.

I served this delicious tofu with Coconut Lime Rice (also from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan) and roasted broccoli with a garlic-chili paste dressing. A squeeze of fresh lime really brightened up everything. Excellent! 

Orange Sesame Tofu  (adapted from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton)

Here’s what you need:

2 t cornstarch

½ C freshly squeezed orange juice

1 t orange zest

3 T soy sauce

2 T maple syrup

2 T apple cider vinegar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T toasted sesame oil

1 pkg  (12 oz) extra-firm tofu, sliced and patted dry

Green onions and sesame seeds for garnish

Here’s what you do:

Zest the orange first. Squeeze the juice out of the orange. To this juice add the cornstarch and whisk until fully incorporated.  Add the zest, juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, vinegar, garlic and sesame oil to a 9X12 baking dish. Stir until well blended. Add the tofu slices and spoon each piece with the marinade. Allow to marinate for at least an hour or as much as 24 hours. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Carefully turn tofu over and spoon sauce over the pieces. Bake for another 10 minutes, uncovered. The sauce should be thicker and will continue to thicken as the dish cools. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Asian Salad with Coconut Curry Noodles - Vegan Month of Food

A path near my house. 

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Quintessentially American.
     Rugged New England.
         Mended fences and good neighbors.
                Little calves standing by their mamas.
 Horses that shake their harness bells on a snowy night.
       John Kennedy’s inauguration.
                 Robert Frost.

I think this might be my favorite poem: I love it for its simplicity. I love that it speaks truth to my heart. I love how it challenges me to live my life as I believe I ought, even in the face of pressure to conform. As I write these words I realize that one of my favorite Bible verses, really my life verse, is from the second chapter of Romans the 12^th verse. “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

“Way leads on to way,” and we can’t turn back time to re-live our lives. Make the most of every day….and serve your loved ones delicious and healthy food.

This salad is delicious. We ate it for dinner two nights in a row – the second time adding some teriyaki tofu.  And yes, the dressing has 16 ingredients. A simple poem. A complex recipe.

Here’s what you need: (adapted from Chris Scheuer at thecafesucrefarine.com)

For the coconut curry noodles:

1 can light coconut milk

2 T green curry paste

10 ounces long pasta noodles

2 t olive oil

For the salad:
6-8 C Bib or butter lettuce or Romaine

Cubes or slices of teriyaki baked tofu or other similar protein

1-2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced

1 -2 ripe mangos, peeled and sliced

½ C salted peanuts

For the dressing: Simple combine all the ingredients and mix well.

2 Cloves garlic – minced

1 T fresh, grated ginger

1 T red onion, minced

¼ C rice vinegar

1 t Dijon

1 1/2 T brown sugar

1 1/2 T honey

1 T soy

1 t sesame oil

1 t Sriracha sauce

2 T sesame seeds

2 T poppy seeds

1/3 C olive oil

¼ C Canola Oil

1 t salt

½ t pepper

Here’s what you do:

Combine the coconut milk and green curry paste in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, lower heat, simmer for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package. Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil over pasta and toss with two forks. Pour the coconut curry sauce over the pasta and set aside.

Prepare the salad by arranging the avocados, mangos and peanuts on a bed of lettuces. Serve the pasta in the same serving dish for a fabulous presentation. Drizzle the dressing over the lettuce part of the salad. 

(printable recipe) 

Sriracha Sesame Grilled Tofu

We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love.
It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.
W. Somerset Maugham

I have been reading a lot of Somerset Maugham this summer – both short stories and novels. Maugham was a master of the English language; he could completely capture a person’s character with words. It’s amazing to me how accurate (or inaccurate, I guess) words can be. I have found his characters to be the most interesting part of his writing which surprises me because I usually complain if a novel is too heavy on character development and light on plot. I prefer a fast moving plot with lots of twists and turns. Maugham leans toward a simple plot, but uses fascinating characters to make the story genuine. I feel as though I actually know the people he has created, or at least have known people like them.  

I also love this Maugham quote about change. I think it is true – or at least I hope it is true. How dull if we never changed. How dreary to remain in the same pattern throughout our lives. How dismal to reject anything new or challenging. Which brings me to this Sriracha Sesame Grilled Tofu recipe.

Someone recently said to me, “I would die if I had to eat tofu.” I think that’s being just a bit closed-minded, don’t you? If you are new to tofu (like I am), then this is the recipe to start with. It was so easy and super delicious.  Be a changed person. Do a favor to the earth and to the animals. Try eating something different. Expand. Grow. Live. Be. Change.

You can see that I used the chili-garlic version of
Sriracha. If you can find it, use it! Spicy.....

Here’s what you need:

1 pound extra firm tofu (note: EXTRA FIRM)

½ C soy sauce

3 T sesame oil

2 T maple syrup

2 T Sriracha chili-garlic sauce or plain Sriracha

2 T rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

Here’s what you do:

Remove the tofu from the package and drain the water. Carefully slice the block lengthwise into about 6-8 pieces. Gently place the tofu slices on a few absorbent towels and place a few more towels on top of the tofu. Then place a cutting board over the top. On top of the cutting board place a heavy object, Iike a cast iron skillet. Come back in about 30 minutes and see how much water has been squeezed out. Amazing! Now there’s plenty of room for your marinade to soak in.

Whisk the marinade ingredients together and soak the tofu for as long as 24 hours, flipping over once in a while. The longer you marinate, the more the tofu will absorb.

Spray a grill or skillet or other type of non-stick pan with a tiny bit of oil. Grill the tofu until you get the nice char marks. (By the way, char marks or burned spots on grilled meat can cause cancer. Char marks or burned spots on vegetables do not. Look it up if you don’t believe me.)

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times Magazine. 

Japanese Soba Noodles with Toasted Sesame Dressing

V is for Variety and J is for Japanese Soba Noodles

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

Getting sick of all the peanut sauces on every Asian noodle salad? Me, too.  I love those dressings, but I was ready for a change and I think I found it. This was especially great on a super-hot evening. I messed around with a few dressings and ingredients from various places and came up with this beautiful salad. Light and cold and refreshing. Totally satisfying. I will save the peanut butter sauces for winter when I crave something more substantial. No kidding, this was excellent.

Here’s the scoop on this great salad:

Japanese soba noodles (aka buckwheat noodles), cooked according to package. Drain and rinse them.

Grated carrots

6 ounces snow peas, blanched and cut in pieces on the diagonal

½ seedless cucumber, grated and wrung dry in a clean cloth

 Scallions, white and green part, sliced

Firm tofu (optional) (I used Wildwood Teriyaki Tofu), about 6 ounces, cubed

¼ C chopped fresh cilantro

For the dressing, whisk all this together.

¼ C rice vinegar

1 t sugar

1 T fresh ginger, grated

1 T honey

2 T soy sauce

1 T toasted sesame oil

2 t hot chili sauce 

2 T canola oil

Sesame Seed Chicken

Here’s a great way to liven up the ever-versatile boneless, skinless chicken breast. It’s my own concoction, loosely based on all kinds of recipes I have seen. You can tweak the sauce as much as you like to your taste, just be sure to stick with the basics of Asian food: both sweet and hot.

I served this last week on a bed of rice (how fancy!) with a side of cooked carrots and sliced cucumbers and radishes.

Here’s what you need:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about ½ inch thick

Lots of sesame seeds

Fresh ginger, grated or minced, to taste

Fresh garlic, mince, to taste

½ C dry white wine

2 T honey

1 C chicken stock (I think I used veggie stock)

½ t sesame oil

2 T hot Asian chili sauce

1 T hoisin sauce

Soy

Here’s what you do:

Dredge the pounded breasts in lots of sesame seeds. Saute them in a tiny bit of oil, turning only once until golden brown. Remove from pan.

To make the sauce, sauté the ginger and garlic for about a minute. You never want any garlic to brown because it will be totally bitter and ruined. Just let it warm up and cook through here. Add the wine, honey, chicken stock, sesame oil, chili sauce and hoisin sauce. Whisk until smooth and continue to cook for about 5 minutes until a bit thicker. Season with soy to taste.

Slice the chicken, serve over rice or couscous, with the sauce drizzled over all. 

Chicken Lo Mein – another quick work night meal

I don't know about you, but I am not real keen on going out for dinner. Oh, don't get me wrong.... if I get invited out to a high end restaurant, I'm there. Especially if someone else is paying! And perhaps on a Friday evening, after putting in 40+ hours, we might grab a pizza out somewhere. I do like to eat lunch out, but because I am a teacher, I usually eat in the cafeteria with 60 elementary and middle school students..... (no wonder I want to run straight home after work and never leave! ha)

No,  I'm talking about going out to eat at your average, local spot..... you know, maybe for soup and a sandwich. A burger. We have places here in town that stand up rather well to a home cooked meal, but I'd much rather stay home and do grilled cheese or bean burritos. Maybe it's just me? I like the food that comes out of my own kitchen.

Here's a perfect example of what I like to cook at home..... light, tasty, cheap, healthy, tons of leftovers and really not difficult. Try it and let me know what you think. 

Here’s what you need: (it’s a long list….. )

8 oz lo mein noodles (it’s worth it to search around your town to find these – makes a nice difference)

Oyster sauce

Soy sauce

Sesame oil

Chicken stock

Red pepper flakes

Sesame seeds

Vegetable oil

Some chicken breast – boneless, skinless

Some sliced onion

Some sliced carrot

Some sliced celery

Some sliced red pepper

Some sliced mushrooms

3-4 minced garlic cloves

Some snow peas
(note: I go way overboard on all the veggies cuz I love them. You decide what works for you.)

Here's what you do to make the sauce:

In a very large bowl, mix about 2 T oyster sauce + 4 T soy sauce + ½ C chicken stock + red pepper flakes + a few dashes of sesame oil. Sometimes I make even more sauce…. it’s delicious.

Here’s what you do:

Sautee the chicken in some veggie oil until no pink remains. Toward the end, add in the garlic and cook a bit longer. The kitchen will be smelling great right about now.  Remove from pan and set in the bowl with the sauce.

I do carrots and onions first. Then peppers and celery. 

Sautee the remaining veggies in batches, beginning with the hardest ones like the onions and carrots. Keep your skillet nice and hot! Keep going until everything is cooked (but not mushy !)

End with the mushrooms and snow peas. Make lots and lots of veggies. They cook down a bit and they are essential to the dish’s success. Keep adding them to the bowl.

In the meantime, boil the lo mein noodles according to the package. Drain and add to the bowl of goodness.  

Mix all together and determine if you need more sauce… I usually make more at this point.

Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil. Very good!! I recommend!

(printable recipe)

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