How to be Vegan......and Other Musings

Eat bowls, like this:

The "bowl" is a vegan staple consisting of grain (or pseudo-grain, like quinoa in this case), steamed or lightly sauteed veggies, protein and sauce. Considering I typically have veggies and cooked grains almost all of the time, this quickly becomes a RFV* (really fucking vegan) meal in a jiffy. Well, not really a jiffy in this case, since I had to marinate and bake the tofu... but you get the idea.

For this one, I had steamed broccoli and kale and marinated & baked tofu and red peppers over quinoa flavored with salt, pepper and a pinch of saffron. The tofu was pretty tasty and the marinade doubled as the sauce!

Marsala Balsamic Tofu:

Marinade:
--1/4 c Marsala (or, if you are rich, fancy and tasty drinking wine)
--1/4 c (probably a little less) balsamic vinegar
--1 tbsp tamari
--1-2 tsp olive oil
--2 (or so) tbsp of coffee (this was left-over espresso-roast coffee in the press-pot. I had the idea to put it in   and it worked! I think that adding some cocoa here instead would also be good)
--Black pepper (lots)
--2 tsp dried thyme
--1 tsp dried oregano
--sweetener of choice, to taste. All I had was regular old sugar. I think that maple syrup would have been better.....

Directions:
1. Press tofu for 30 mins to an hour to get moisture out. Slice up red pepper into strips. (This is totally optional, I just had some left over that needed used)
2. Whisk together marinade. Slice tofu into desired shapes and put in marinade along with red peppers (flipping over or shaking up) for 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge
3. Bake at 350-375 for 45 minutes, with the marinade dumped into the pan, flipping once.

I don't use the Marsala wine I bought for one recipe very often....the flavor is quite strong and I don't always like it. However, I liked it here and will probably make a recipe like this again. Maybe sans wine though, so I guess I didn't like it that much.

Another thing to do to look really vegan is have your lunch look like the produce section neatly vomited into three compartments in your Tupperware container, like so:

The big compartment is a salad with spring mix, green cabbage, sliced green peppers, tomato and zucchini. I added some balsamic vinaigrette and it was good to go. The small orange compartment is baked yams with smoked paprika and S&P (slice yams, spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with seasonings. Bake, flipping/oiling/seasoning the other side, until crispy at the edges). The other compartment is a pretty tasty multicolor quinoa salad.

Fiesta Quinoa Salad

Dressing:
- 2-3 tsp cumin seeds, toasted in a pan
- juice of 2 limes
- 1-2 tsp Mexican oregano
-  1-2 tsp olive oil

1. Toast seeds in pan and drain seeds and the *small bit* of oil into a bowl
2. Add other ingredients and a bit of water (less than a 1/4 c) if needed to mix better

Beans and Veggies:
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 c frozen or fresh corn, drained (and thawed if needed)
- 1 small carrot, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 tomato, seeded and diced

Assembly:
1. Add the veggies and 1 cup of quinoa to a large mixing bowl/container
2. Pour dressing over and mix really well to get the cumin seeds distributed

All in all, a good lunch. I am taking virtually the same thing tomorrow, except the smallest container will have chopped bananas and kiwi pieces left over from my morning oatmeal.

Since I ate all of the chocolate avocado pudding I made yesterday while I was watching Battlestar Galactica last night (seriously, I cannot get more vegan than I am as I wrote that sentence), there is no picture to speak of. And it meant I wanted to do some running.

I usually just run outdoors and do interval sprints on a treadmill; however, the apartment gym was closed and I did not feel like the usual run around the same route. Instead, I decided to take advantage of the 3-4 minute intervals that my iPod list gives me and alternate walk/run until I felt like coming home.

Walk/Run Playlist (run songs are in bold):

That's When I Reach for my Revolver- Mission of Burma
Academy Fight Song- Mission of Burma
Shining- Lustre
Fifteen- Lustre
No. 84 Vs. SL/A- Inch
Kermit the Hostage- Inch
50-yard Dash- Huffy
Chopper Pilot- Huffy
Genius Boy- Outhouse
Familiar- Outhouse
Belong- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

I think that I might start doing this as an alternative to a regular run on days when I am (a) pretty damn tired but still want to get some exercise in; or, (b) have time to spend (since this takes a while to really get in more than a handful of songs).

Tomorrow, I am planning a big meal that I have been wanting to make since I first bought Appetite for Reduction: coconut squash rice, blackened tofu and roasted veggies (I am going to do zucchini).... Pretty damn excited!

Sunday Dinner- Pan Roasted Asparagus, Tofu and Quinoa Pasta

Well, well, well..... I want to have a place to archive these recipes (again!), so back to posting I go- this way, I will save the time of having to write these all down and put them in a recipe book (although, in all honesty, I would like to write recipes down and be able to put them in a cute little recipe book, maybe this is something I need to purchase).

I made a bunch of more complicated things for the week (pictures and recipes to follow as I eat them), but I was in the mood for something quick, tasty and unusual. This fits the bill for me, since I rarely eat pasta. I feel like a "vegan dinner" I hear about all of the time is some combination of greens/veggies, protein and pasta, but I have just never jumped on the train, I guess. This is actually pretty tasty, so I might just make something similar again.

It is also unusual because I don't really eat asparagus. I like it- I just never buy it. I was getting my haircut on Saturday and noticed it was the first day of the Boulder Farmers Market. I was always under the impression that farmer's markets were supposed to be affordable ($6 for a bunch of asparagus that I am eating in its entirety in the pasta & $3.50 for some field greens of some sort for a salad), but I guess not here. In any event, I guess I should be a GBL (Good Boulder Liberal) and support some local farmers. The asparagus, being that it is in season, is delicious. I would have loved it even more grilled, but alas, there is no grill to be found.

Since the chili-annatto tofu was already made, this was super fast.

Chili-Annatto Oil (for the tofu and whatever else)

-1/4 c peanut oil (sesame would be good too!)
-Red pepper flakes to taste
-1-2 whole chile de arbol pods
- 1/4 tsp annatto seeds

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a skillet or saucepan until warmed, but not smoking
2. Add in the annatto seeds and heat the oil until it turns deep orange. Fish out the annatto seeds and throw them away
3. Add in the red pepper flakes and chile de arbol pods. Turn off heat and let oil cool.
4. Using a funnel, transfer oil from pan to container.

Chili-Annatto Tofu:
2 blocks extra-firm tofu (drained and pressed for 30 minutes)
Chili-Annatto Oil for coating
1 tsp Mexican Oregano, crumbled between fingers
1 tsp tomato paste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Stir marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Toss the tofu to coat and spread on baking sheet/pan
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip, then bake for 15 more minutes (you may need to add more oil).

Pan-Roasted Asparagus
1 large bunch asparagus, chopped into small pieces
4 cloves of garlic, smashed/chopped
1 tbs. coconut oil

Directions:
1. Heat the coconut oil over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds, or until fragrant
3. Add in the asparagus and saute over medium until desired doneness.
4. At the last few minutes of cooking, add-in tofu to warm.

To Assemble:
1. Cook the pasta according to directions, and drain. Add the asparagus and tofu mixture.
2. Whisk together the juice of 1 lemon, lots of black pepper and pour over pasta.

First Post!!

Ok, so based on the suggestions of friends, family, and one handsome boyfriend, I have decided to start a vegan cooking blog. 

Since I have been overwhelmingly busy these past few weeks finishing and defending my thesis, writing lectures for my summer course, and doing a HUGE project for my former professor-current mentor I have not been taking many food photos.

So, this first post will just be a description--sans photo--of what I am eating today. 

Given that I am spending upwards of 7 hours per day in the UT library doing this project, I need food that travels well, doesn't taste horribly soggy and gross after sitting in my purse for 3 hours, and reheats quickly so I can go back to the project.

My solution??? Red beans and rice.

I ordered Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen (a-freakin-mazing, by the way) and decided that the red beans and rice would be a slightly different version of my old stand by, gallo pinto. The original called for red-wine simmered seitan (which sounds totes delicious, but would mean that I would have had to go out and buy red wine and seitan last night, which after staring at a computer and copy-and-pasting for 6 hours I just wasn't down with). So, it's just rice and beans--just delicious rice and beans, that is!

Here's the rundown of the ingredients:

--2 c. cooked rice (I used anatto-infused oil to add some nice color to mine).

--1 1/2 c. cooked red beans (cooking method below)

-- 3 cloves minced garlic

--1 c. diced green bell pepper

-- 1 diced serrano chili, seeds removed

--salt and pepper to taste

--red pepper flakes

--cumin

--1/4 (or more) cup of either bean liquid or stock (use stock if using canned beans)

Cooking the Beans:

1. Dump as many sorted dry red beans (kidney, small red beans, wevs) into a large pot. 

2. Add 1 strip of kombu and 2 bay leaves and add cold water (enough to cover the beans by at least 4-5 inches).

3. Bring to a boil, then simmer, on med-low to med. heat for about 1 hour, or until beans are soft and much on the roof of your mouth when placed on your tongue.

4. Drain the beans, remove the kombu and bay and save the bean cooking liquid*.

*trust me, it's not like that salty yuck-fest that comes along w/most canned beans. It adds nice flavor to dishes and should definitely be saved!

For the rice and beans:

1. In a large skillet or saucepan, saute the garlic in 3 tbs. of oil (the original recipe calls for olive, I used peanut, use whatever you like) until the garlic is fragrant (about 30 seconds)

2. Add the peppers and spices (note: the original calls for diced onion, but my roomie is allergic so I generally leave it out--it adds great flavor and I totally recommend chopping/dicing one large onion and adding it to this dish)

3. Add the spices and saute for around 5-7 minutes (you may need to add a little bit of water if it starts to stick). 

4. Add the cooked rice and beans and anywhere from 1/4-1/2 c. of either vegetable stock or bean cooking liquid. Heat until warmed through (between 5-7 minutes)

Eat up and Enjoy!

Since rice and beans stays well in the refrigerator for days, and carries easily in purses and bags to the library, it is perfect! Plus, it has whole grains, iron, fiber and peppery-goodness. What more can one ask for? I know I love rice and beans probably far more than the next vegan (or non-vegan for that matter), but this is still yummy, healthy, convenient and CHEAP!