Red Bell Pepper Tofu

This was an experiment that occurred when I was cutting up a red pepper and it was really juicy. I thought "You know what would be good? Red pepper sauce with my tofu." So this recipe was born.

Ingredients

• 6 ounces medium or firm tofu
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• olive oil for frying
• rice vermicelli

Ingredients for the sauce

• The other half of the red bell pepper (kept whole)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons ketchup

Directions

1. Put a pot of water on to boil (for the rice noodles). Cook as directed on the package.
2. Heat up a pan on high with about half an inch of oil on the bottom.
3. Drain the tofu and cut it into cubes
4. Once the oil is hot, fry the tofu until golden brown (2 to 4 minutes on each side). Let drain on a paper towel.
5. Pour the oil into a jar and set aside.
6. Saute the bell pepper, onion, and garlic in the same pan. Set aside.
7. In a small pot, boil the other half of the bell pepper. 
8. Once boiling, add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir until incorporated.
9. Turn the heat back on under the bell peppers and onions. Add the tofu to heat it up (it'll most likely be cold).
10. Once hot, add half of the sauce to the pan.
11. Pour the other half of the sauce onto the vermicelli.
12. Serve with the tofu/veggies on top of the noodles.
13. Enjoy.

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Veganized New Joe's Special (Tofu, Mushrooms, Spinach)

Have you guys ever heard of New Joe's Special? It comes from a restaurant in California called Joe's.  Joe's became New Joe's after it burned down. The special at New Joe's was a dish with lots of spinach and ground beef and egg. My mom figured out the recipe, and made it all the time. I grew up eating it. But ever since I've gone vegan I've craved it. Not in the OH I NEED MEAT kind of way but in the "this is a comforting food from my childhood" kind of way. So I decided to veganize it. Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces tofu
• 6 cups of baby spinach
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 2 cups water
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Mix the flax seed and 6 tablespoons water in a bowl. Put in the fridge to gel.
2. Drain the tofu by putting it between two paper towels and pressing out the water. 
3. Chop the tofu into cubes. 
4. Fry the tofu in the oil in a large pan on high heat.
5. Once it has browned, add the mushrooms and garlic.
6. Stir until brown. 
7. Add spinach and stir.
8. Take the bowl of flax seed water out of the fridge and add the nutritional yeast. Stir in the rest of the water slowly until the nutritional yeast/flax is dissolved. 
9. Move the spinach/tofu/mushrooms mixture to one side of the pan and add the nutritional yeast to the other side.
10. Slowly incorporate the two sides of the pan. 
11. Stir until the nutritional yeast is no longer sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper and serve!

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Vegan Meatballs

I've never made vegan meatballs before, but I was really craving spaghetti so I threw some things together and voila! They turned out so well!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 2 cups bread crumbs 
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 teaspoon sage
• salt, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• half of a tomato, chopped into small pieces 
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 6 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 345 degrees fahrenheit. Start water boiling for pasta. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix flaxseed and water in a small bowl. Place in the fridge to gel while you make the meatballs
3. In a blender, blend chickpeas until smooth. It's okay if it is a little chunky.
4. In a bowl, mix together chickpeas, 1 cup bread crumbs (set aside the other cup), garlic, and spices.
5. Mix in tomato pieces. 
6. Put the rest of the breadcrumbs in a separate, smaller, bowl. Get the flaxseed/water from the fridge.
7. Form chickpea mixture in to golf ball-sized pieces (or smaller, if desired).
8. Coat balls in flaxseed/water, then breadcrumbs, and place on the baking sheet.
9. Bake for 15 minutes. Halfway through, roll the balls over to bake the other side. 
10. Heat pre made spaghetti sauce in a small saucepan. 
11. Serve meatballs over pasta with tomato sauce.

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Cashew Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe is perfect if you're craving Kraft mac n' cheese. Kids and adults alike, will love it. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashews (I soaked them for 12 hours but it isn’t necessary, just use more almond milk)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, depending on the consistency of the cashews
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt, to taste
• Steamed veggies of your choice (I used carrots and zucchini but I’ve used broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms before. They’re all good)
• Pasta of your choice. It really doesn’t matter what kind. I’ve used elbow, spaghetti, and the curly kind. Gluten free works too, but is optional.
• 4 to 8 ounces tofu (optional)

Procedure:

1. Start the water boiling for the pasta.
2. Start the vegetables steaming.
3. Blend cashews in a blender until smooth, adding almond milk, vinegar, and lemon juice as you go. (if you have an awesome blender this should be easy. If not—like me—you might have to only put in a few cashews at first, and add a few at a time. I have a crappy blender).
4. Add garlic, blend
5. Blend in mustard, nutritional yeast, and salt.
6. The water will probably have boiled at this point. Put in the pasta.
7. Cook tofu however you want. I fried it in a little bit of olive oil. You can bake or grill it if you’d like. 
8. Once the pasta is done, drain. Put the pasta in a large bowl (or back in the pot you cooked it in. Add the cheese sauce, veggies and tofu to the pasta, mix well.

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Chinese-Style Tofu Noodle Soup

This was ridiculously simple to make. It only took a few minutes. And Kate, my six-year-old cousin (who is rebelling against me by refusing all vegan food all the time) loved it. She kept going "Christy this is so good. Can you teach me how to make it? It's so good! Put it on your blog!" 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 16 ounces firm or extra firm tofu
• 8 ounces rice vermicelli
• 3 cups broccoli, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• Olive oil

Procedure:

1. Drain tofu and press between two paper towels to eliminate water.
2. Fry over high heat in a little bit of olive oil until gold brown.
3. Add garlic and ginger to the tofu. Set aside.
4. In a medium sized pot, combine broth, water, soy sauce, and vinegar.
5. Add tofu/garlic/ginger, broccoli and vermicelli to the pot.
6. Cook on high heat until vermicelli is soft, and broccoli is cooked. 

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