VeganMoFo Day 5: Super Easy Pudding Pie

Chocolate Oreo Pudding Pie

This is a really easy desert idea. I use regular soy milk, but you can try low fat or another milk if you have it. I recommend using Cook and Serve pudding instead of instant, but it's more for texture than anything else. The instant pudding doesn't firm up, but it's still yummy, so go for it if it's all you've got. It'll just be messier.

1 box Jell-O Fat Free Cook and Serve Pudding
2 cups soy milk
3 or 4 Oreos
1 ready-made graham cracker crust

Prepare the pudding with the soy milk according to package directions. Break up the Oreos and add them to the cooked pudding. Pour into the graham cracker crust and let it cool. Is that easy or what?

VeganMoFo Day 4: Broccoli Chick'n Pasta

Today for MoFo, I tried this recipe from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. I wanted something quick and easy and I have some chicken-less strips from Trader Joe's to use up, so this recipe was just what I needed. I altered it a bit to make it a smaller serving (And I didn't want a ton of leftovers like with the stir fry a couple of days ago). Here are my amounts:

Broccoli Chick'n Pasta

3/4 cup whole wheat pasta (measured when dry)
1/2 a small bunch of broccoli
2.5 ounces of chicken strips
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp basil
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

The recipe instructions are the same, but instead of a whole cup of cooking liquid, I used about 1/4 cup.

Vegan MoFo Day 3: Must have kitchen tools

I didn't cook anything fun today (still have lots of leftovers from yesterday). Instead, I'm going to talk about some of my essential kitchen tools.

 My number one favorite object is my garlic press. I got it from Pampered Chef years ago and I use it every single time I cook. You can put a whole clove in there without even peeling it or anything and it all comes out perfectly. Unfortunately, we lost ours and can't find it anywhere! We have some other kind sitting in our drawer, but it sucks. Doesn't press a thing. I hope I find my beloved soon.

I got the Misto® oil sprayer in the beginning of September and it quickly became one of my most used kitchen tools. I love this thing because it cuts down on waste and cost. Just $10 and I won't have to buy another aerosol sprayer for years. Another benefit: no propellants. It's just straight up oil in there. No chemicals or anything. Yea! It holds about 1/3 cup of oil and that lasts for quite a while. All you need to do is pump it a couple of times before using it.

Cast Iron pans are also fabulous. Once it's well seasoned, it's more nonstick than a nonstick pan. I absolutely love it. I use it for practically everything. And mine isn't even fully seasoned yet. This is pretty much constantly on my stove top.

Vegan MoFo Day 2: Rice Vermicelli Stir Fry

Welcome to day 2 of Vegan MoFo! Today, I made a stir fry. Yum! The secret to stir-frying with very little oil, is to add little splashes of liquid periodically. The wok should be hot enough and the amount of liquid small enough that it sizzles and disappears very quickly, but it'll be enough to keep the veggies from sticking.

Rice Vermicelli Stir Fry
Note: This recipe makes a huge amount. Halve it if you don't want to eat leftovers for the next week.

15 oz extra firm tofu

Marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp chili sauce

2 tsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 medium scallion, sliced
1/2 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 head bok choy, chopped (separate the leafy part from the stalk)
2 cups bean sprouts

10 oz. rice vermicelli*, cooked

Cut tofu into small cubes; place in a small bowl. Mix together ingredients for the marinade and pour over tofu. Let sit while you chop all the veggies.
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a big wok over medium-high heat. Add the tofu (reserve the marinade) and stir-fry until browned. Remove from wok and set aside.
Heat remaining oil, add garlic and ginger and cook for a bit. Add scallion, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and bok choy stalks (save the leafy part for later since it cooks quicker). Drizzle in some of the leftover marinade. Stir fry until all the vegetables are tender, adding more marinade as needed to prevent sticking. Add bean sprouts and the rest of the bok choy. Pour in remaining marinade and continue to stir fry until the bok choy is wilted.
Finally, add the noodles and mix it all up. You might have to transfer to a bigger bowl/pan to get everything together.

*I used these thin rice vermicelli from my Asian grocery store (the brand...ahem...Golden Cock). You could use any other kind of noodle, I'm sure.

Welcome to Vegan MoFo!

Welcome to the fourth annual Vegan MoFo!!

I used to go through so much tofu all the time because I'd eat half a block (or more) worth of scrambled tofu for breakfast at least a few days a week. It didn't occur to me to add vegetables.  And even when I did consider it, I thought most vegetables didn't "go" with it. Finally, I spent a weekend at the Omega Institute for the Women and Power Conference. For breakfast, they had a scrambled tofu with all sorts of vegetables and it was so good! Now I make my scrambled tofu like this all the time, just using whatever veggies I happen to have in the fridge.

Quick and Easy Clean-the-Fridge Scrambled Tofu

This recipe uses the spice blend from Isa's scrambled tofu recipe in Vegan With a Vengeance. It cooks up quickly and it's so versatile--just use a bit of whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. I usually measure out several batches of the spices and keep the mix in an empty spice jar so I can just shake out a bit at a time.

2 tsp olive oil 

1 small onion, chopped  

1 clove garlic, minced

7 1/2 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled or cubed* 

1/4 cup zucchini, chopped  

3/4 cup broccoli, chopped  

1/4 cup red or green bell peppers, chopped

1/3 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 tsp ground cumin  

1/2 tsp dried thyme  

1/2 tsp paprika  

1/4 tsp ground turmeric  

1/2 tsp table salt

1 cup spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces  

1/2 cup plum tomatoes, diced  

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add tofu, zucchini, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms. Saute until the vegetables are tender. Add spices and mix it up. Cook for a few minutes, adding splashes of water if necessary to prevent sticking. Finally, mix in the spinach and tomatoes. Cook just until the spinach wilts. 

Serve with tempeh bacon, toast, home fries, or even on a bagel.

 *There's a great debate when it comes to scrambled tofu: cubed or crumbled? I do a combination. I usually cut the tofu into long strips and then tear small bits off. Best of both worlds.