MY HUNDREDTH POST, YOU GUYS!

March 7, 2013
by eatafood
comments 2
news

It’s been just over a year since I started this blog and i’m 100 posts deep. I started it shortly after my 27th birthday and wasn’t sure I would stick with it but i have! and quite frankly i’m a little proud of myself. i’ve been stoked on cooking my entire life, but only in the last couple years have I been trying to do more with it than just make dinner. this blog is one big part of that!

200

highlights of the last 100 posts!

These beet burgers are one of the tastiest things i’ve made, and i got to use the beets i grew! Just the other day I decided to try to make a waffle sandwich, a thing i’d never eaten or seen a recipe for. Now that I’ve eaten one there is NO TURNING BACK. Other highlights: the closest thing i’ve had to a sunny-side-up egg, delicious pierogies that i ate nonstop for a week, hot and sour soup,  discovering sea asparagus, and an old standby: baked vegan poutine.

One word to describe the last year in food? OVERAMBITIOUS! jumping it with both feet and my eyes closed. remember when i offered to make a wedding cake for 150 people, with no experience? or started having secret restaurants in my house, one time for 25 people? and a new secret thing will be starting up soon….

NOW I’M GOING TO RUN AWAY TO HAWAII FOR A WEEK! lots of recipes upon my return!

french toast

March 5, 2013
by eatafood
Leave a comment
breakfasts / sweet

vegan french toast! it is easy.

IMG_3463

1 loaf of good bread, sliced (i used a grain rye bread)

a pint of strawberries, topped and sliced

zest of 1 lemon + a squeeze of juice

1 tsp sugar

1/2 c. almonds, roasted and chopped

1 c. almond milk, or soy, or coconut-almond (coconut almond is so good)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp flour

1 1/2 tsp Vegg

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

pinch of cinnamon

earth balance for frying

Preheat your oven to 250.

In a serving bowl, combine sliced strawberries, sugar and lemon zest and a small squeeze of lemon juice. Stir and let sit while you make the french toast.

Heat a non stick pan, and melt a tsp of earth balance in it. Then in a shallow bowl, whisk together almond milk, vanilla, flour, Vegg, cinnamon and nutritional yeast.  Once the Vegg powder hits the liquid it will get really farty in your kitchen for a second, but don’t be alarmed, it tastes good and it’ll go away. Perhaps capitalize on this time to do your own farts, no one will know. dip your bread quickly in the mixture, shaking off any excess then fry in the pan until golden. Flip and cook the other side until also golden. Continue like this, adding more margarine as needed. As you go, put the french toast in the oven to keep warm.

Serve with strawberries, chopped almonds and maple syrup.

dragon bowl-z with soba

March 4, 2013
by eatafood
Leave a comment
avocado / carrot / cauliflower / kale / meals / mushrooms / noodles + pasta / salad / salads

i’ve been making variations on this dish for years now, usually with quinoa or brown rice. lately though: soba! the noodles with the thinness of the vegetables works really well. this is a good dish to make extra of and assemble later. i’ve been doing that quite a lot lately. i eat it for lunch then make it for dinner at work or for the next day. delicious times. it’s super filling and has lots of different fresh vegetables, and a good helping of protein.

also it’s very adaptable, you can use what you have on hand and make your own version.

IMG_3472

for 2 large portions (or 3 lighter ones)

COOKED

2 bundles of soba noodles

1/2 block medium firm tofu, cut in cubes

8 crimini mushrooms, sliced

*3 shitake mushrooms soaked in 1/4 c. water for at least an hour, sliced fine

* 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped small

1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

spread cauliflower on a pan with a drizzle of olive oil. roast at 400 until browned (15-20 minutes), flipping occasionally. meanwhile in a non-stick pan, saute crimini mushrooms until they start to brown. squeeze liquid out of shitake mushrooms, add to rest and cook for another couple minutes. set aside. in the same pan, add a bit of oil and your tofu browning on all sides. remove from heat and drizzle with bragg’s and toss with sesame seeds.

get a pot of boiling water ready and cook soba according to package instructions (usually 4 min). drain and rinse.

 

RAW

1 large carrot, ribboned (i use a vegetable peeler)

half a handful of pea shoots

2 scallions, sliced

2 kale leaves, veined and chopped fine

a handful of sliced purple cabbage, sliced as finely as you can slice

1/2 avocado per serving, diced

 

SAUCE

1 heaped tbsp miso paste

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp black vinegar

squeeze of lime

*reserved soaking liquid from shitakes

2/3 c. water or broth

1 tbsp chili paste

1 tsp sesame oil

1 inch nub of ginger, grated fine

3 cloves garlic, grated fine

dollop of hoisin

thin out miso with a small amount of hot water or broth. then stir everything else all together. if you are using the soaking liquid from the mushrooms, then use less broth or water.

ASSEMBLE

portion out the soba into shallow bowls. pour 1/4 of the sauce over each bowl of noodles (if making two portions). arrange everything on top, then the remaning sauce. if you are making food for later, keep the raw and the cooked separate until you’re about to eat.

*optional

 

crusted, panfried tofu

February 26, 2013
by eatafood
comments 3
meals / snacks / tofu

firstly i have some news to share: I GOT A JUICER AND IT IS BLOWING MY MIND.

i juiced a small watermelon with 2 limes and a bunch of mint. it was incredible. then i used it as mixer with hendrick’s gin. NOTHING WILL EVER BE BETTER.

IMG_3425

moving on, here is a solid food recipe!

i’ve always been stoked on breaded tofu. it’s just so good. here, i crusted the tofu with a combination of nuts, seeds and breadcrumbs for fancier times. you can use this recipe in a lot of different ways. it’s good on it’s own, it’s good with roasted vegetables and gravy, it’s good with rice and tonkatsu sauce, it’s good in a sandwich! it’s endless.

you can use a firmer tofu if you want, but i think medium-firm is ideal. it holds it shape but the inside is almost creamy.

IMG_3348

NUT-CRUSTED TOFU

1 block organic medium-firm tofu

1/2 c. walnuts

1/4 c. sesame seeds

1/2 c. nutritional yeast

1/3 c. breadcrumbs (panko ideally)

salt

black pepper

flour for dredging

roughly 1/3 c. almond milk

2 dashes cayenne pepper

Press tofu and wrap in a clean dishtowel while you prepare your coating. In a food processor, mix walnuts, sesame seeds, nutritional yeast and panko. pulse until broken down well, but not dust. season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside in a wide bowl. In another bowl, combine almond milk and cayenne. Heat a large pan with a bit of oil.

Cut tofu into triangles (or whatever your desired shape is) and dust with flour evenly but lightly. then quickly dip in almond milk, then coat evenly in the nut/breadcrumb mixture. press lightly to coat and make sure all sides are covered. shake off excess then cook until golden, flipping once (and on the sides if you cut it thick), adding oil as necessary.

wafflewich with bbq tempeh and kale

February 25, 2013
by eatafood
comments 2
breakfasts / comfort / kale / meals / sandwiches / savoury / tasty trash / tempeh

who is the bossy jerk who says sandwiches need bread? would you choose bread over other things? like waffles? WAFFLES? i wouldn’t. and i didn’t. and my life is better now because of it. bonus points: you can match your waffles to your filling! what?! magic.

this recipe makes 3 waffle sandwiches, but i recommend serving each half as one serving.

IMG_3412

BBQ TEMEPH + TOPPINGS

1 block tempeh

BBQ sauce

1 tomato, sliced

lacinto kale, veined and massaged

vegan sour cream

cut your tempeh into 3 sections, then slice each section into 4 so you have 4 flat thin slices for each section. brown slightly in a pan with olive oil on both sides then put aside. season with 2 tsp bragg’s or tamari. meanwhile, in the same pan make your BBQ sauce! I used the same one as at the link (minus soy curls, of course), but witha few extra shakes of liquid smoke and instead of using 1 1/2 c. broth, i used 1 c. water just to thin it out enough for this. you don’t want it too thin. turn down medium low and add your tempeh slices make sure they are covered and let cook until your waffles are ready. start your waffles!

CORNMEAL WAFFLES

pretty  much taken from Vegan Brunch with a couple small changes

1 c. cornmeal

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

black pepper

2 c. almond milk

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 c. veg oil (i used melted earth balance)

1/3 c. shredded daiya

Combine milk and vinegar and let curdle. then whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper. Once your almond milk has sat for a minute, add the sugar and oil and then add to dry ingredients. whisk until just mixed. fold in daiya. cook by 1/3 c. full, for me this made 6 waffles, if your waffle maker is bigger then just keep an eye on your batter to make sure you end up with 6. keep warm in the oven on the lowest heat setting. you can put them right on the rack so they don’t get soggy.

TO ASSEMBLE

lay out 3 waffles and dollop a few spoonfuls of sour cream on each. then lay out 4 slices of tempeh per waffle, making sure it covers the surface. then tomato slices, then kale. then i added a couple spoonfuls of remaning BBQ sauce on top of each one. add your top waffle to each sandwich, and using a bread knife, cut each sandwich into 2.

gorge yourself

IMG_3414