Poppers!

Well Vegan: Over 90 Mouthwatering Recipes for All Occasions calls it Crispy, stuffed peppaew peppers .

I don't know what a peppadew is, and the grocery store certainly didn't have any. They are smaller and the recipe calls for 8. I used a variety of larger peppers that included jalapeño, poblano and a mild banana pepper.

You can also easily play with the filling ingredients.

If you do not have plain yogurt on hand, slowly add your milk so the batter isn't runny (like mine was!).


Prep: 15 min
Cooking: 20 min
serves: 2

8 tsp vegan cream cheese
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
8 peppadew peppers, tops removed and seeded
1/2 C strong white flour
1/2 C (125 ml) rice or soy milk
1 Tbsp vegan yogurt
1 tsp arrowroot
1 tsp vegan bouillon powder
1 tsp finely grated lime rind
1 Tbsp coconut oil
sesame seeds for sprinkling

1.Oil a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 350F (180C)

2. Place cream cheese, garlic an parsley in a bowl and mix together thoroughly. Put a teaspoonful of the cream cheese mixture into each pepper.

3. Place flour, milk, yogurt, arrowroot, bouillon powder and lime rind in a small bowl or jug and mix well to make a stiff batter.

4. Dip each stuffed pepper into the batter to coat the outside, then place on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Sprinkle the peppers with the oil and sesame seeds, then bake for about 7 minutes. Baste, then return to the oven for a further 7-10 minutes, until crisp.

Mapo Dofu/ Mabo Tofu

This is the best I've ever had! And smells divine!
This dish is popular in China and Japan. Spicy and warm with the smoothness of tofu.



1 box silken-firm tofu
1/2 C beef-style crumbles (or TVP bits, slightly moistened)
3 Tbsp sesame oil
1 chili pepper, minced (or 3 Tbsp mild chili powder)
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch + 1/2C water

green onions for garnish

If you don't have silken, a regular tub of tofu is fine. Also reg oil is fine too, still yummy! Exactness is just for optimum results! Honestly, it's just as good without the crumbles.


1. Carefully wrap tofu in a tea towel or paper towels to soak up the excess liquid. Set aside.

2. Heat oil on medium heat and add garlic, onions and chili pepper. Fry until onions are soft.

***NOTE: To regulate spiciness, use chili powder. Start step #2 with 1 Tbsp of chili powder. Add an additional 1 Tbsp for every step until spiciness is desired.***

3. Cut tofu into about 1 cm squares while waiting (about 48 squares)

4. Add vegetarian "beef" crumbles until it darkens a bit.

5. Add soy sauce and sugar mixture.

6. GENTLY add tofu. Silken tofu is very very delicate. Lightly push everything around to mix.

7. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on med-low heat.

8. Add cornstarch and water mixture. Gently stir, it will thicken immediately.

9. Taste, and add chili powder/hot sauce to your liking.

10. If you like, garnish with green onions and serve alone or with a side of rice.

ENJOY!

If you are pressed for time or are lazy, you can buy a pre-made Mapo sauce pouch in varying spiciness at any Asian grocer. Usually vegan, but you always double check don't you my beautiful readers? Just add your own tofu and crumbles!

General Tso's Tofu

Well bite my ass and call me Sally! I had another recipe lined up for today, but last night was such an incredible success, I couldn't wait to share it. I figured out how to make restaurant-style General Tso's Tofu. Ready?



2 C dried bean curd skin/peel
2 C broth (1 bouillon cube = 2 C broth)
1 C cornflour
1 C General Tso's Sauce (recipe)
vegetable oil for frying
1 green onion, chopped (or regular onion)
some dried chili peppers (or slices of red pepper)

This makes 4 good portions.

(notes about ingredients following recipe)


Instructions:




You'll probably serve this with rice, so start it now to make sure it'll be ready

1. Boil 2 C of water and add bouillon cube. Stir until dissolved.

2. Put dried tofu in a bowl. Pour 1 C of broth over to cover tofu. Stir around.

3. Let sit for 10-15 minutes (whenever you don't feel any hard parts). You may need to add more broth as needed.

4. While soaking, chop your green onion/onion and dried chilis/red peppers. Place cornstarch in a tall bowl.

5. Heat 1/4" of oil in frying pan on Med/Med-High heat. Drop an onion chunk in. When it sizzles, it's ready. (BE CAREFUL OF NOT GETTING ANY LIQUID IN THE OIL!)

6. When tofu is ready, drain the excess broth.

7. One at a time, place about 10 soaked tofu bits in the bowl of cornstarch. Gently swirl it around to cover completely. They should look dry. If moisture is coming through, give them another swirl.

8. Gently place in the oil. Fry each side about 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to drain on a paper towel.



9. Repeat 7 & 8 in small batches until all gone (duh).

10. On your last batch, heat up another frying pan and on low-med sauté your onion and peppers.

11. When veggies are soft, add the fried tofu chunks and sauce. Mix around until sauce is heated.



Serve hot with a side of rice!



NOTES:
*Dried tofu skin is ideal. I bought mine at an Asian grocery store.

You could also rehydrate other types of tofu and have this still work I'm sure.

*Vegetarian chicken bouillon works the best.

*Save your leftover broth for another recipe, or for a base for a small bowl of soup.

*I use IRON CHEF brand General Tso's Sauce. It's got the right kick to it and it doesn't use high fructose corn syrup.

*OIL PRECAUTIONS! Make sure your pan is completely dry before adding oil. Make sure your hands and any freshly rinsed utensils are DRY. One accidental water drop in the oil will cause it pop and splatter! You or someone else could get burned or ruin your favorite shirt! No one needs that.

*It's very easy to half or double this recipe, so do as you please! =)

Mild Coconut Curry

From Vegan: Over 90 Mouthwatering Recipes for All Occasions.

I said I liked this book, and there is more to come!

This is really good. After always hating Thai food, within the past six months I have been slowly coming around to it. Coconut curry doesn't taste like coconut at all! But it gives it such a creamy taste, almost reminiscent of mac & cheeze.

NOTES: I had no Thai ingredients lying around, and in fact, what I made is completely different from the book.
I did NOT use: potatoes, lemon grass, lentils, coconut oil, cumin, green beas, peppers, or corn. I used lime juice from a bottle.
I DID use tofu, onions, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant. I used spinach instead of parsley. Goes to show, use what ya got!
I simmered the tofu in the coconut milk while the other ingredients were sizzling. I used a boat load of Yellow Thai Curry powder and salt.

2 med potatoes
1 lemon grass stalk
4 Tbsp Puy lentils
1 T coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
4oz/125g green beans
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped (courgette)
8oz/250g frozen sweet corn
1 (300ml) can of coconut milk
juice of one lime
1 Tbsp chopped parsley (coriander)

1. Put the potatoes, lemon grass and lentils into a medium saucepan and add enough boiling water to just cover the tops of the potatoes. Retuen to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion, garlic, mushrooms, turmeric and cumin until the onion is soft. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and stir well.

3. Remove the lemon grass from the lentil pan, then add the lentil mixture to the onion mixture.

4. Simmer everything for about 10 minutes, or until the lentils are soft, then add the chopped parsley.

5. Serve with brown basmati rice cooked with a few cardamom pods, plus warm naan bread.

YUM

Spicy Avocado Toast

The British love things on toast. Beans on toast. Spaghetti hoops on toast. "Fish" fingers on toast. And now (drum roll!) there is avocado on toast! Now you're talking!



From Vegan: Over 90 mouthwatering recipes for all occasions

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp roughly chopped avocado
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped (opt)
2 pinches of nutmeg
2 slices rye bread
4 tsp of hempseed oil or pumpkin seed oil
salt & pepper

Garnish:
1 sm spoonful of chopped parsley or seaweed flakes
2 slices of lime

1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan, then add the avocado, onion, chili and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Fry gently until onion is soft.

2. Lightly toast the rye bread.

3. Drizzle the hempseed oil on to the toast, then spoon the hot avocado mixture on top.

4. Arrange the toast on warm plates, sprinkle with parsley and garnish with the lime slices


EASY right? I took a lot of liberties with this recipe (whole avocado, leftover onion, chili powder, lime juice, etc). But that just proves how versatile and flexible this is! You can't really go wrong when it comes to avocado. Note it made more than what is shown in the picture.

The Ronin Returns

Loyal fans! I have survived the cloudy depths of the UK and emerged bearing incredible gifts for your taste buds future glee!

First of all, I possibly bought one of the most awesome cookbooks:


Vegan: Over 90 Mouthwatering Recipes for All Occasions

Made in association with The Vegan Society, this British food themed book is full of easy, delicious looking meals. I want to eat everything in it (sans beet soup. gross. sorry).

So stay tuned for recipes and pictures from it in the days to come.
I am trying to aim to update this everyday or every-other-day.


And now:
DELICIOUS FOOD THE REST OF THE WORLD IS MISSING OUT ON


Homemade phyllo parcel filled with mushrooms, leeks, chestnuts, onions, etc. Roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, peas.




Mixed mushroom and ale pie with minty mushy peas an chunky chips. Ginger tofu cheesecake with rhubarb compote. From Mildred's in London. (Go there, all veg, tons of vegan options).




Real Scottish Breakfast. Vegetarian haggis, potato triangles, baked beans & toast, fried mushrooms and baked tomato.




Vegetable curry baked potato with vegetarian haggis samosa.


Plus lots of other homemade stuff. It's all awesome. Go eat it.

Christmas Tree Cake

Made with the chocolate cake, chocolate icing and buttercreme frosting from The Joy of Vegan Baking. NUM NUM NUM And also some butterscotch chocolate stars!

I will be out ronining again.. umm in an hour so expect some magical foreign cookin' in the coming weeks!

Beancurd Fish

This is a fish made of bean curd:


This is the inside of a bean curd fish head:


This is pan fried bean curd fish:




How to coat and pan fry:
you need-
a bowl of flour
a bowl of seasoned breadcrumbs or panko (you can add your own Italian spices and paprika)
a bowl of soy milk with a squirt of lemon juice

MAKE SURE YOU DESIGNATE A "DRY" HAND AND A "WET" HAND
You don't want your hands gettin' all goopy!

1. Dredge 'fish' in flour
2. Dredge in milk
3. Dredge in breadcrumbs

Place in a PREHEATED oiled pan on medium heat. Pan fry on both sides until golden brown!

BONUS: Tartar sauce
3 parts Vegenaise
2 parts relish
equals yum!

Have a great dinner!


TIP: DO NOT EAT raw. Doesn't taste very good. But fine once cooked!

Homemade Tofurky

Homemade Tofu Turkey is WAAAYY better than that other stuff.

Recipe

HINTS

Press the tofu first, and then FREEZE it. Then let it thaw out the day before you intend to bake it.
After repressing, stuffing and turning it out in a dish, go ahead and take a brush to baste it. Let is sit maybe 30 min marinading in that BEFORE cooking. (If you put it on while cooking, it just makes a salty skin and does not absorb into the tofu)
Cook at 350 not 400. Bake 1 hour covered. take the cover off and baste again
(keep cover off). 30 min later baste again (should be the last of the marinade). 30 min later you're done!
Let's eat!

For this Tofurky I only used 3 blocks of tofu, so adjust your cooking time and marinade as needed!

QUICHE

The basic recipe to work off of is here.

Ingredients

1 ready made pie crust-pre cook for 10 minutes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 lb. your choice veggies (broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, red peppers, etc), cooked to just done
Any add ins like vegan ham or cheeze
1 lb firm tofu, drained
1/2 cup soy milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

Cook your veggie of choice until just soft. Cook onion and garlic until golden, and add veggie and heat through. In blender, puree tofu, soymilk, mustard, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and soy cheese, until smooth. Pour into large bowl and add the onion and veggie mixture. Combine well. Taste for seasoning. Pour into pre-cooked pie shell, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes or until quiche is set (you may need to put foil around the crust if getting too dark). After 25 minutes, brush top of quiche with olive oil to brown. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

HINTS FOR THE BEST

SHELL:
I use a pre-made pie shell. Follow the directions for baking and cook it empty for a little under its directions (ie- cook 12 min. you should only cook it 10).
Depending on your oven, you may need to add some foil or a pie ring around your crust to keep it from getting too brown.

QUICHE:
1. The BEST is 1 tub of water packed soft tofu (not silken though). If you can't get that, firm is still perfectly fine.
2. Press the tofu
3. Puree with the spices.
4. Fold in all the veggies.
Add some chopped up veggie meat and veggie cheese in it too. num num.


This was filled with portobello, spinach, onion, and broccoli.
I brought this baby to Lindy Loo's (of Yeah That "Vegan" Shit fame) big to-do. An omni couldn't tell it was vegan, so that's a sign of a great quiche. And you're lookin' at it!

Other photos:

Garlic Shrimp and angel hair

I like saying "shrimps" so shut it. Shrimps are cute, and I don't like saying "I ate shrimp," so I dub their new vegan name... 'Rimpies! Or maybe Shrimpens. Shrimplies? Shrimpy MaGee? Shirmples? You tell me.

I found these Shrimples in a large Asian supermarket.

1. Cook your angel hair pasta.

2. In the meantime, on med-low melt a bunch of butter in a skillet. Put in as much chopped garlic as you like and your THAWED shrimples. (Allow a few hours of defrosting on your counter top before using)

Oddly enough, as the shrimples cook, they do turn a little pink! Maybe it was my imagination, but I don't think so.

3. Drain pasta when cooked and tossed with garlic butter sauce, shrimpies, and a pinch of Italian seasoning.
(Salt for taste if you want to, you probably won't need it though.)

RESULT: They do smell like shrimp. My mom thought they were too chewy. But they taste fine and if you wait a few minutes after cooking, they soften up. AND they squirt delicious butter garlic sauce in your mouth when you bite into them! AWESOME!

Big Gluten Ball stir fry

I made my great return to the Asian Supermarket after a year and a half. And they got some new stock, including a myriad of veggie meats. I also bought some ramen packages with nothing other than a picture of a wizard* on the front. But I will save that for another time. Today, I focus on BIG GLUTEN BALLS!!!

This mysterious package laid eyes on me and new I was a sucker. And for 89 cents how could I say "no"?



I soaked the mysterious balls and stir fried them with mushrooms as directed by LimingXu. A little squishy, but not bad. I think I will stuff them next time!



*Punch teh Wizared

Gourmet gnocchi dinner with awesome marinara

This entry will be divided into three parts.

You will need:
1. fancy gnocchi
2. expensive mushrooms
3. sauce

equals this (plus extra ramblings!):

1. GNOCCHI
There is this store I have a love-hate relationship with. They have an excellent variety of gourmet and international goods. But because I am not a middle-aged woman with a giant SUV with an overpriced purse with a scowl on my face, I get treated like scum. (Hey, the reason I buy discount clothes is so I can buy fancy food! Jerks!) So I go in there with ripped jeans to mess with their heads. (Oddly, the cashiers are ALWAYS nice. And an older man stocking made conversation with me. Most of the staff acted like I wasn't even there though.) SO I bought basil gnocchi at this establishment. Put them in boiling water and as soon as they float they are DONE. Do not wait a second longer!

2. FANCY PANTS MUSHROOMS
Same store. The only reason I bought them was for the fact they were $300/lb.

I re-hydrated them with warm water and a splash of cooking sherry for about 30 min.
I simmered them very quickly in the liquid I had soaked them in. I used a separate pan and did it right before I plated the dish to keep the optimum flavor.
I will say, I'm totally sold. My taste buds have been opened to a whole new world of mushrooms. It was earthy but light. They were magnificent!

3. THE SAUCE
Most celebrated chefs hate vegetarians. I don't even want to know their opinion on vegans. I don't know if Heston Blumenthal is a hater, but he has one of the top restaurants in the world and his food science is fascinatingly mind-blowing. I knew if I were to make an amazing sauce... I would have to find a recipe of his.

I used this recipe.


I know it's for pizza sauce, but it still works since the video stops before it turns into sauce. I didn't use a pressure cooker, just boiled everything covered for a bit (make sure it doesn't burn to the bottom though!) Toss it with the gnocchi and topped with the mushrooms. All the simple flavors are divine.

I only used 4 large tomatoes. I used pre-chopped garlic an dried herbs minus the bay leaves. I pressed the tomato innards through the sieve and didn't use the seeds.

BONUS: When you finally open the oven door after a few hours (I did 200F for like 3-4 hours) the smell is amazzzinnngggg. I chopped up the cooked tomatoes before I put them in the sauce pan.


I know it's a lot of work for something you could make in a blender or by opening a jar. But Oh My Zeus, it is SO worth it. I've never had such a wonderful tomato sauce. Thanks Heston!



For dessert I got these giant spice-cake shaped pretzels dipped in chocolate from Germany. MMMMMM.

Tofu eggs

My mom has recently gone full blown vegetarian. Hurray! I came home the other day and she was eating a make-shift omelet for lunch and I decided I wanted one too.

I used silken firm tofu*, which really is the best texture for eggs. I pressed it and cut it into 4 thin slabs. I only used two (half of the box) here. Silken tofu falls apart very easily, so that's why it's all crazy looking.

I made a rub of turmeric and garlic and rubbed (duh) it all over the slices.
I heated some oil in a skillet (on medium) and added the tofu. I added a splash of soy sauce. After a few minutes, or until the other side looks yellow and slightly browned, carefully flip the tofu. At this point I added a slice of Follow Your Heart mozzarella to the top of the slabs. If there is room in the pan you can also add any veggies you want to sauté. Cover the pan with a big lid or foil until cheese is soft (about 4-5 min).

*The unrefrigerated kind in the small cardboard box.

TVP Rendang

I soaked some TVP in warm water with a dash of soy sauce for about 20 minutes.
I stir fried them with peppers and onions and padang (a spicy peanut) sauce until it cooked down. Viola!

I used to be really scared of peanut sauce and veggies. It just seemed wrong. But, I'm expanding my palate and as long as it is vegan I will eat it*!

*Except cucumbers because I'm allergic to them. And olives because they taste like butt.

Brussels Bites

So I had a remark that there is not enough "how-to" any more here. I guess I agree, so here we go! A completely original recipe.

Did you know it's Brussels sprouts, not Brussel sprouts? The more you know!

Brussels Bites
I know it's not a very good name, but suck it.

How to clean & cook Brussels Sprouts:
Rinse them well. Peel off the outside layer of leaves and chop off the stem. Make an X with your knife in the bottom of the stem (to cook better). Steam for about 5 minutes (until they are bright green). But for this recipe, maybe only 3 minutes.

Pan fry some Tofurky Beer Brat medallions with oil and garlic, and toss in the Brussels sprouts with it for a few more minutes.

Next, get some pre-made croissant dough. Depending on how many sprouts you have, you may have to put the precut pieces back together and then re-cut out how many pieces of dough you need.

Place one medallion and sprout in the croissant square. Then wrap the dough around the two, slightly patting it into a ball, trying to get the air out. Repeat with the rest. Try and work quickly if possible. Bake by the croissant directions (about 10 minutes until golden brown). Enjoy!

I also made standard mashed potatoes as a side, along with portobella and onion gravy. I've become awesome at making gravy from scratch. It involves browned flour, oil for the fat, water and soy sauce. Usually though in some mushrooms at the end.
Here is a good basic gravy recipe until you can get a handle on it yourself. Seriously, cooking it in that order is the key to good gravy.

Bibimbap

My first real taste of Korean food, from a Korean restaurant.
I had Bibimbap, minus egg and meat.
It comes out super hot, and you have to stir all the stuff around in the bowl before the rice sticks to the sides. So the rice gets kinda crunchy and good with all this other stuff mixed in. Good, but not amazing.

Kim-chi still may be one of the most disgusting things on earth.

Chocolicious bites

Somewhere between brownie and cake, with melted chocolate and a walnut!
It was as delicious as it looks.

Japanese food

Two seasonal autumn packages.



Tofu salad.


Cold grilled eggplant sushi with ginger on top.

THE lasagna

From top to bottom: topless, top on, sliced

Make it yourself, there is no going back!
Sometimes I will even just make the cheez to use on other things it's so amazing. I usually up the 'butter', 'mayo' and nutritional yeast. It just makes it tastier!! Silken tofu does work best texture-wise, but regular style is just as delicious.