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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Resolution Recipe No. 4: Winter Pear and Stilton Salad, “Favorite Brand Name Vegetarian Cooking.”

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LeeLee and I have had this cookbook, humorously (to us) named Favorite Brand Name Vegetarian Cooking, for more than 20 years, and it has yielded a great many good meals for us over those decades. Despite the cookbook’s name, we actually rarely use any of the recommended brand-name ingredients; store brands carry us just as far!

This winter pear and stilton salad, however, was a recipe we’d never tried before. It served as the perfect accompaniment to a main course we enjoyed last week – a chik’n pot pie – and was just so downright hearty in the middle of a polar vortex! The flavors melded beautifully and provided a wintertime motif unlike any other.

I did make a few modifications to the recipe as pictured: Namely, we had no stilton, and who has the budget to just rush out for random fancy cheese in this day and age anyway, so I pulled some plant-based Babybel rounds out from the fridge and sliced those up instead. I dare say the salad was improved for the substitution! Also, instead of the sherry wine vinegar, I used a Neopolitan Herb vinegar we got last year at Una Bella Salute in Berlin, Md. – a lovely shop, and a wonderful vinegar! 

We knew at once that the final result was a total keeper of a recipe. I didn’t even have to ask LeeLee (though I did, for posterity). We loved how the sweetness of the pears melded with the mixed greens, and the mild flavor of the Babybel married beautifully with the sweet-and-tangy dressing. We ate the whole bowl’s worth – and then enjoyed another round of it later in the week!

:)

Baked Tofu.

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This was one of those recipes that was borne out of necessity: I was looking to make a stir-fry and when dinnertime rolled around – GASP! – there was no store-bought baked tofu in the fridge when I was just SURE that I had an extra pack sitting in there waiting! Alas. I did, however, have regular old plain firm tofu, and as I poked around the pantry some more I realized I had plenty of seasonings and sauces. So, 20ish years into being vegetarian, it was time to bake some teriyaki-style tofu.

The recipe came together in a snap and can be customized to your liking – any sauce or seasoning I used can be added, subtracted or plain old omitted without hurting the dish in the slightest! For me, I cut the firm tofu into cubes about an inch apiece (but nobody look too closely, OK?) and plunked them gently into a zip-top bag. Then I added in a quarter-cup of hoisin sauce, a generous dousing of soy sauce, a dash of garlic powder, a dash of ginger and more chili sauce than I really needed. I patted the bag a bit to ensure everything coated the tofu evenly and then put the whole lot in the fridge for about half an hour to marinate (but the longer the better!).

Then it was simply a matter of baking it up – this is baked tofu, after all! I sprayed a baking sheet with cooking spray and then let the tofu tumble out in a single layer. Then I simply baked the tofu at 375 degrees for 20 minutes and dinner was served!

The beautiful thing about this dish – other than its ease – is how dang versatile it is. You can serve it in a stir-fry, as I did, or you can use it as protein to top a salad, or serve it over rice, or alongside noodles, or just eat it all by itself. And it keeps beautifully in the fridge for a few days, so don’t hesitate to make extra just so you can have leftovers.

You’ll never go back to store-bought baked tofu again!

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Baked Tofu.

You’ll never go back to store-bought again with this quick and easy method for baked tofu!

  • Author: KitchenRecessionista
Scale

Ingredients

1 container of water-packed firm or extra-firm tofu

¼ cup hoisin sauce

3–4 tbsp. soy sauce

1–2 tbsp. chili sauce

½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. garlic powder

Any other sauces or seasonings you fancy

Instructions

First, cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and place them in a zip-top bag. Next add each sauce and spice one by one and then gently press the bag a bit to ensure the ingredients have coated the tofu well. (Don’t press to hard or you’ll crush your poor little tofu!) Set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to four hours.

 

Shortly before you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 and coat a baking sheet with a light coating of cooking spray.

 

When the oven is ready, pour the tofu out of the bag and onto the sheet, ensuring the cubes are in one layer. Put the sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, adding an extra five minutes on at the end if the cubes aren’t firm enough for your liking.

 

Next, serve with your favorite stir-fry, salad, or other favorite meal, and enjoy!

 

:)

Tofu Scramble Taco Salad.

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tofu-scramble-taco-salad

It’s Taco Tuesday around here again! Tonight, I used the remaining taco salad shells from last week while cooking up some tofu scramble – normally reserved for weekend brunch – to serve as the salad’s anchor. Then I topped each bowl with plenty of lettuce, tomato wedges, sliced black olive, vegan pepperjack cheese, sour cream, and salsa, and we sat down to eat.

It’s amazing how quickly this meal comes together! From beginning to end, the cooking time took less than 20 minutes, and we had a hearty, healthy, flavorful meal to show for it by dinnertime! LeeLee and I chowed down with gusto, mowing down our crispy bowls in no time flat and then adding a few tortilla chips to sop up the rest of the scramble (and its allies). We left not a molecule on either plate and aren’t a bit ashamed!

We’ve been at the beach for a few days, enjoying our annual summer vacation, and it’s definitely time to get back into good dietary order. This taco salad was just the ticket we needed to get back on the on-ramp to good health!

:)

Taco Salad.

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vegan-taco-salad

Today marks the beginning of Week 2 of Ironman training (did I mention that I’m training for an Ironman triathlon? Yes, well, I am), and also served as the first two-a-day workout of the week. So by the time I got home from work, my stomach was rumbling and my patience for lengthy cooking times was … short. To say the least.

Enter: Taco salad!

We gave the cat her kidney fluids and then I got straight to work on dinner. In one pan: A package of cubed seitan, seasoned with adobo seasoning and cumin. In my trusty pot: A can of refried beans brought to a simmer. And in the oven: Two crispy taco-salad bowls, ripe for the filling!

As everything heated up, I went out back and plucked some lettuce leaves from the garden, then came back in and washed them off, setting them aside until Go Time. Once the shells were heated through and the seitan was fully cooked, I turned off all the eyes to the stove and got to work on the assembly line.

First, I heaped a generous portion of refried beans into each bowl. Then I topped the beans with plenty of seitan (but not all), and then the lettuce from the garden. Next I added the rest of the seitan and then some cherry tomatoes, sliced black olives, and Daiya pepperjack vegan cheese. We finished our salads off with some hot sauce from She Peppers and then the dressings of choice (I’ve been in LOVE with Daiya’s Ranch dressing lately!), and then we dug in!

There’s something so fresh, so filling, about a dinnertime salad, and LeeLee and I both ate our fill and felt perfectly satisfied after the fact. That’s not to say we didn’t pine for more – our appetites extended far beyond our hunger! – but all in due time. We’ve got two more taco bowls left, after all, and who’s to say what the rest of the week’s meals will bring?

:)

Vegan Pepperoni Pizzadillas.

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vegan-pepperoni-pizzadillas

So, we’ve had rain for 13 straight days – a record if you listen to the local weather guys, and sometimes I do. I actually really like the rain, love snuggling in bed and sleeping in when I hear the drops on the metal roof. I appreciate these rainy days that water my peppers so I don’t have to lift a finger. And I love using my rain gauge and watching the total tick up, up, up.

That said, 13 days in a row of rain in some form or fashion is a bit much if you ask me. I knew today’s record called for a celebration of sorts, and just felt so clear in my heart that vegan pepperoni pizzadillas were just the ticket!

I’ve written about these pizzadillas before, and I’ve got to tell you, they’re a family favorite around here. What’s more, they make copious leftovers – three additional pizzadillas out of a package of tortillas! What’s not to love?

Along with the pizzadillas this time around, we also enjoyed a salad that I quickly christened our Jumbo Special. Sporting larger-than-life cherry tomatoes from Twin Springs Fruit Farm and colossal black olives that LeeLee chose at the grocery store, it certainly lived up to its name. To wit:

jumbo-salad

At any rate, we mowed down the salad and pizzadillas with record speed and are reveling in the fact that we’ve got quite a few more to get through over the next week. Let’s hear it for another rainy day!

:)

Nacho Salad Supreme.

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nacho-supreme

Now, as y’all might recall, last night I enjoyed a plate of good old nachos for dinner. With the caveat, of course, that I could certainly not do that every night lest I become as big as a house. So tonight I classed things up a little bit, taking the best and healthiest portions of last night’s meal (with some new add-ons, as well) and making a salad that is certainly worthy of being called a Nacho Salad Supreme!

I’ve written about this idea before, and as advertised in my previous post on the subject, it’s an incredibly versatile dish that can generally withstand any and all ingredient substitutions. Good thing, too: Tonight’s end result was quite different from prior iterations, but just as good.

I started out with a (thin) layer of tortilla chips and then added a hearty helping of lettuce, then half a can of cooked, seasoned black beans (drained), then two Gardein fish filets, then a handful of grape tomatoes, and some leftover olives from this weekend’s snow-day bloody Mary bar. Then I dusted the top with a little leftover shredded cheese and gave it a hearty dollop of salsa, and we were ready to eat!

To be sure, this salad makes a full meal in itself, and after a helping and a half (more lettuce and other veggies for us both!), we were stuffed and ready to … clean the basement. Well, I was, anyway; LeeLee was ready to finish the day’s work. The salad fortified us both in the end, and now the basement is half an hour’s worth of work cleaner and LeeLee has hung up his work hat (so to speak) for the night. All in a day’s work!

:)

New Recipe: Vegan Tuna Salad.

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vegan-tuna-salad

Growing up, tuna salad was a mainstay in our house. And the way my mama made it, it was a full meal – no need to put it on a sandwich, or serve it with a side. Mama always made it so hearty and so wonderful that one helping simply wouldn’t do! And since I’ve been vegetarian – for, what, 15 years now? – I haven’t had anything like it.

I remember the last time I had her tuna salad, actually. It was right after I’d cut out red meat and chicken but still ate fish, and I came over to my parents’ house after work for dinner, as I did most Wednesday nights when we lived in the same town. I remember mowing down several servings of the salad that night – I might have even brought some home for LeeLee, I can’t recall – and savoring all of the flavors. It must have been autumn, but Florida autumn, which is to say not hot as blue blazes anymore, but not chilly, either. I remember that night so clearly. Food’s funny that way.

But shortly after that evening, LeeLee and I cut out fish for good, and I knew that my tuna salad days were over. Until tonight!

I’ve written quite often about using Sophie’s Kitchen’s vegan “toona” for all sorts of wonderful dishes. I’m pleased to say it fit the bill in this salad as well! The recipe’s below, but suffice it to say, it worked wonders when mixed with pasta shells (well, actually, tonight, we used pipe rigate because I purchased said shells at the Whole Foods – pardon me while I play the grand piano!), celery, relish, vegan mayo, and just a hint of lemon juice, served atop a bed of lettuce and ringed with some cherry tomatoes. And me being me, I topped my plate with a little nutritional yeast, because why not? The creaminess of the mayo – even though I didn’t use a ton – held the meal together and offset the tang of the relish and the pungent Toona. And the crunch of the celery really gave the dish a fresh flavor. Who doesn’t love an extra veggie or two?

As in years past, LeeLee and I each went back for seconds – and maybe a tiny little spoonful’s worth of a third helping for good measure. And we’ve still got a ton left for lunch tomorrow! I can’t wait.

I think Mama will be proud of this take on her classic recipe. And who knows? Maybe she’ll give it a try herself sometime soon (hi, Mom!). I feel certain that she’ll make it shine more than I ever would. So how ’bout it: Will the maestro approach the podium?

VEGAN TUNA SALAD

Serves 4

What you’ll need:

1 box pasta shells
2 cans vegan tuna
4 tbsp. mayo, or to taste
2 stalks celery, diced
2 tbsp. pickle relish
1 lemon
4 cups lettuce
25 cherry tomatoes

Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Once you’ve drained it, pour the shells into a big bowl and combine with the tuna, mayo, celery, and relish. Juice the lemon and add the juice to the bowl, stirring to combine. At this point, you can either continue preparing the meal to serve it right away or put it in the fridge to wait until later.

Right before serving, divide the lettuce equally across each plate and line the lettuce with the tomatoes. Next, scoop a goodly amount of the tuna salad out of the bowl and place it atop the lettuce on each plate. Gobble it up and go back for seconds!

:)

Taco Salad.

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veg-taco-salad

The first part of this week has been hectic – I dare say even more hectic than usual! Between a company retreat on my part to several late-night meetings on LeeLee’s, we’ve been running around like crazy. So tonight, while I knew I wanted to eat at home, I also knew I wanted something healthy and easy to make. Taco salad definitely fit the bill.

When I got home, I pulled a can of refried beans out of the pantry and opened it to heat atop the stove (in a pot, you know, not in the can!). As it warmed up, I put a bag of vegetarian ground “beef” into a nonstick skillet coated with spray and seasoned the crumbles with adobo seasoning and a bit of ground cumin for fun, then heated it on Medium. Finally, I’ve had a package of taco-shell bowls waiting in the cabinet for just such an occasion, so I got them down and heated two up in the oven for 5 minutes or so until they were golden.

And that, dear friends, was the hard part.

Once everything was heated and cooked, it was time to assemble the salads! I put each bowl atop a separate plate, then added refried beans, then crumbles, then lettuce, and cherry tomatoes, and pickled jalapeno slices, and just a smidge of cheddar cheese left over from the weekend. Next we added our favorite salad dressings – ranch for me tonight, a balsamic vinaigrette for LeeLee – and a bit of nutritional yeast for me, and we were ready to dive right in!

I must admit, there were no leftovers tonight, save for some extra lettuce leaves and two remaining taco bowls. We both came to dinner hungry and mowed down our helpings with gusto and aplomb. What wasn’t to love? The refried beans were almost creamy, they were so smooth; the taco “meat” had just enough of a kick to be interesting. And who doesn’t love tearing apart the sides of one’s taco bowl? It was a fitting meal for a busy day.

:)

Taco Thursday: Vegan Taco Salad.

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vegan-taco-salad-fish

True confession: This wasn’t supposed to be tonight’s meal. No, tonight was going to be a slow-cooker extravaganza with a chili I’ve been meaning to try, but then I woke up and got a whiff of the beautiful weather and thought to myself, “Let’s save the chili for another day. This is salad weather, people!” Granted, I don’t mean “salad” in the form of “iceberg wedge with lemon slice.” I think y’all know me a touch better than that these days. No, this weather called for a substantive dinner salad, one with vegan fish and refried beans and cute little tortilla bowls.

And it’s the perfect meal to enjoy after a day out and about! I took a personal day from work today to catch up on some appointments I’ve been putting off, with some errands tucked in between them, and by the time I came dragging back home – just as tired as I am when I’ve worked in the office a full day! – I knew a salad would be the perfect restoration indeed.

Indeed, this taco salad has protein, and fresh veggies, and some festive fun besides – who doesn’t love a salad masquerading in a tortilla, I ask you! And it’s easily customizable no matter what you’ve got hanging out at home. For us, tonight, we enjoyed a layer of refried beans, topped with a serving of Gardein fish filets, then plenty of romaine lettuce, then some cherry tomatoes fresh just today from our friends at Great Country Farms, then some black olives, and some beets, and finally just a hint of nutritional yeast (for me). We topped the whole shebang with some vegan sour cream and salsa, then a little homemade dressing, and were off to the races!

This is admittedly an easy sell in our home. There’s never a time when we’re not up for Mexican, and we both love the salad-for-dinner route. So vegan taco salad is never a difficult situation for us to be in! And it’s so incredibly easy to make, there’s no reason not to enjoy it often.

As it happens, we’ve got a couple of extra taco shells hanging around now that dinner is over with. There’s only one thing to do next: Have them for brunch this weekend! Tofu-ranchero bowls, perhaps? Stay tuned!

:)

Vegetarian Gourmet Spinach Salad.

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spinach-salad

Well, I must confess to you that this weekend was not my caloric finest hour. I know, I know, a week ago LeeLee and I had gotten back on the straight and narrow, but we were led astray this weekend by a housewarming party, an evening out to eat to watch the Ronda Rousey fight (which we ended up abandoning before it even began because we didn’t know said fight was actually going to start after midnight!), and a picnic of epic proportions yesterday evening to see David Sedaris with about a dozen friends. Big Fun all the way around, mind you – but not calorically virtuous.

So tonight we decided to start the week off on a healthy foot! I pulled out an old favorite – the Pioneer Woman’s spinach salad recipe – from my arsenal and got to cooking. First, I boiled two eggs, and as they cooked I chopped up an onion and plunked it into a pan that was coated with cooking spray. I heated the pan to Medium and cooked the onions until they were translucent and slightly brown.

Next, I put a generous helping of baby spinach leaves on both of our plates, then added a layer of fresh sliced white button mushrooms. Then I went outside, clipped some dill from the garden, and added it to a bowl along with some Just Mayo, lemon juice, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper, and whisked like a madwoman to make a fresh salad dressing.

By the time I was done with the dressing, the eggs had boiled, and I took them off the heat and let them cool while I heated up several strips of veggie bacon. Then I peeled the eggs, sliced them into five slices apiece, and put them on our plates, topping them with the onions, the bacon (cut into pieces), and, as the cherry on top, some leftover cheese curds from our picnic yesterday (we used them in a beet salad).

Then it was time to chow down! LeeLee and I mowed down every shred of our spinach (to say nothing of the toppings!) and left nothing on our plates to show for it. And when we finished our meal, we reveled in our good dietary choices! We’re back on the Road to Fitness, people. And we’re putting the pedal to the metal!

:)