Citrus Chili Panko Crusted Tofu

While I was out shopping, browsing around bottles of sauces, I spied this -  

It looked like a sweet chili sauce, which I very much like, so I threw it in my cart. I got home and thought "What am I going to do with this now?" 

I got out a block of tofu, and sliced it 

Then to seem a bit more fancy, I cut it into triangles 

Brushed it with some of the Citrus Chili Sauce

On a plate, I mixed up a panko crumb mix to use as a coating

Carefully turned the tofu so all of the sides were coated with crumbs 

I laid the triangles out on a parchment covered baking sheet, because who wants to have to scrub pans any more than they have to. Certainly not me. 

After these were baked, I served them with some more of the chili sauce and with some Easy Aioli from Celebrate Vegan. 

These were crispy with a little bit of sweet heat. 

I opened a bottle of this Spanish wine which went very nicely. Spanish wines are a favourite of mine. Usually reasonably priced, they are very often passed over for more "popular" countries. 

The chili and the little bit of cinnamon in the crust worked well with this Garnacha (also known as Grenache). These wines are generally, soft with low acidity which makes them very easy to drink with a wonderful flavour and will compliment a wide array of foods. 

The recipe for the coating, was inspired by a posting on Oh She Glows which in turn was inspired by Cornmeal Tofu from Veganomicon 

Citrus Chili Panko Crusted Tofu

1 14-16 oz. block firm or extra firm tofu
½ cup panko crumbs
¼ cup cornmeal
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. cinnamon
few shakes of salt
½ cup Citrus Chili Sauce (or other sweet chili sauce)

Drain tofu and press if necessary. Slice into 6 slabs, then cut the slabs diagonally in half so you end up with 12 triangles. Pat pieces dry with paper towels. 

In a bowl, mix together remaining ingredients, except for the chili sauce. Pour a small quantity of the crumb mix onto a plate and shake to evenly distribute. 

Working one piece at a time, brush chili sauce on each triangle, making sure all sides are coated. Place the tofu piece onto the plate with the crumbs and coat all sides with breading. Place on parchment covered baking sheet in a single layer. 

Bake in a 350°F for 15 minutes. Turn over and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. 

Serve with some of the chili sauce for dipping or any other sauce of your choice. 

Kale Pie

I love pie, so when my friend, Dynise said she was writing a new cookbook all about pie I couldn't wait to get my mitts on it.

This is a beautiful book. There are colour pictures of every recipe, chapters on classic pies, sweet pies, savoury pies, raw pies, pies that aren't pies, different crusts, tarts and so on. I tested a few of the recipes for this book and everything I made was fabulous. I was so excited to see all of the other pies that I wanted to make.

I scored some kale at Goodness Me! for $1.49! Can you believe it? The regular stuff was $2.99 at the grocery store. I'd gotten some a couple of weeks before that at $1.69 which I thought was a deal. This just blew the other out of the water. 

I found a recipe in Dynise's book for kale pie that sounded magically delicious. I had all of the ingredients on hand, so my dinner dilemma was solved (for that day anyway). I started by following Dynise's intruction for a grain crust. She suggested millet, but I didn't have any in the pantry, so I did a brown rice crust. 

Then I got to work on the filling which included nuts and raisins. I love the sweet-savoury combo of pretty much anything. 

Just a little time in the oven and voila! (sorry the colour is weird in the photo. My camera settings were off) 

North African-Inspired Kale Pie

I quite liked this. I had a big slice for dinner and it kept well in the refrigerator for a couple of days and was easily heated up in the microwave, which makes it great for transporting to work for lunch. The filling stayed moist, and the crust didn't get soggy. Soooo.....what should I make next?  

Want to get your own copy of  "Pies and Tarts with Heart"? Click here.

Field Roast Came To Me

For years now, I've been reading about Field Roast products. My American veg*n friends and fellow bloggers have been raving about this company, extolling the virtues of it's tastiness and even though I scoured what stores are available to me when I cross-border shop, I never found Field Roast products. Not to worry, they came to me! While browsing in Goodness Me one day, I spotted them - dogs, sausages, roasts - I think I actually squealed out loud a little bit. A little orange sign said "New" and a little yellow sign said "Special" - meaning 'on sale'. Yes! I decided on the sausages and chose "Smoked Apple Sage"

Even on sale, these were a little pricey. I got a package for 4 for $5.99 and I couldn't wait to try them. On that same shopping trip, I also scored on another sale - 

Silver Hills hot dog and hamburger buns 2 for $6, so of course, I got one of each. Jim is a white bread lover. As much as I try, I can't get him to embrace the lusciousness of whole grain bread. I've brought home different brands, different seed and grain types but he still goes for white. The best I could hope for was the unbleached kind - until now. He will eat these! I think it's because they have a familiar texture and he can't see the "stuff". 

Last year, President's Choice introduced a line of condiments, some of which we tried and thought were very good. The zucchini relish is outstanding. I was super excited to see this 

And look - no weird, funky ingredients. 

Here's my sausage hot off the barbeque with some fried onions and smothered in maple mustard. Yummy! Although these were tasty - the price is a little steep. Tofurky sausages are about $2 less a package, and I really like Tofurky's Kielbasa and Italian ones. Granted, Field Roast has some different flavours.....what a conundrum! I'll be watching for the sales and checking out Wegman's  (again!) when I do some cross-border shopping. 

Recipe Testing

I'm recipe testing again! WOOT! WOOT! I've done this numerous times and I really enjoy it. Not only does it help me decide "what's for dinner" some nights, it gives me a chance to help out the author with a crucial part of the cookbook writing process. That being - can the masses make this successfully? We can all follow a recipe, but not everyone cooks exactly the same. Hell, my own cooking sometimes varies from one time to the next. During the testing process, I find it fun to compare notes with the other testers. Sometimes, a recipe will get tested that I don't have the slightest interest in, but another tester will give it such rave reviews that makes me wonder what I'm missing. So, I'll give it a try and discover a new favourite.

These recipes are for Dreena Burton's new cookbook that is due to be released in late 2014 or early 2015. It sounds like quite a long time away, but I know there is so much work that goes into writing, organizing, editing, and all of the other tasks involved in getting a book published that the time is certainly needed. I can't share any of the recipes with you, obviously, but I will occasionally post some photos of what I've tested just to get you geared up and excited for this new book! This is what I've made so far:

Blueberry Lassy Muffins

Apple Lentil Dahl

Gingerbread Granola

Oven-Baked Chickpea Ratatouille

Looks awesome, eh? And this is just the start. Check back for more. 

Mama Mia!

Once we were off the cleanse and had slowly re-introduced "forbidden foods" it was time to indulge a bit. We hadn't had any pasta for quite some time and we hadn't had spaghetti and "meatballs" for ages and ages so I got myself to work.

I've tried many different recipes for home made "meatballs" over the years with varying success. Some had great flavour, but the texture was too mushy. Some were firm, but didn't taste that great. Then one day, I made a terrific batch and they've been my "go to" ever since. They're from Bryanna Clark Grogan's book, "Nonna's Italian Kitchen."

At first I thought it would be a lot of work because these meatballs are a combination of Byanna's burger-mix recipe and her Italian sausage recipe. But everything basically got measured and dumped together. The balls are shaped and steamed first. I did up to this point earlier in the day and refrigerated the balls for frying later.

After a few rolls around in the frying pan to get some colour on them, these puppies were ready. These are so flavourful and have a nice firm, "meaty" texture. They'd be good for making a "meat"ball sub and of course, they're great with pasta which I served with my standard marinara-type sauce that I zinged up a little. Delizioso!

Try as I might, I couldn't find the meatball recipe on-line and don't want to post without the author's permission. I can share my recipe for the sauce though!

Carrie's Pasta Sauce

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup dry red wine

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. brown rice syrup (optional)

Pepper

½ cup fresh basil or to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute or two until garlic is really fragrant. Pour in red wine and let the alcohol boil off as you stir up all browned bits from the bottom (called deglazing). When the wine had reduced, add tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, salt and pepper,  and optional brown rice syrup. (This little bit of sweet helps to cut the acid of the tomatoes and really brings out the flavour. It’s not necessary by any means, but if you find your sauce tastes a bit acidy then try it! I’ll sometimes add it, sometimes not). Simmer for 30-45 minutes until sauce has thickened. Turn off heat, stir in fresh basil. Let sit for 5 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings.

For a bit more kick to your sauce, making it more or an arribiata type – add  ¼ - ½ tsp. red pepper flakes to the onions just after they start to turn translucent.

Coming Off The Cleanse

We survived the cleanse and after 12 days, we both felt a lot better. I had more energy and was sleeping better. Jim also had increased energy and noticed an easing of his arthritis pain. Now it's time to slowly re-introduce the things that were stricken from out diet during the cleanse. At first we gleefully thought sugar! It just makes things taste a bit better. OK, it makes things taste alot better. But when actually thinking about it, sugar doesn't really add any nutritional value so we decided to hold off on that for now. After careful consideration the thing we decided that would make the biggest impact on us right now was yeast. Surprised? Let me explain.

If we introduce yeast first, we are now able to eat oranges, grapefruits, peanuts, grapes, those wonderful things that have naturally occurring yeast on their skins. Plus we can have all of those things in the 'feremented' category that we weren't allowed. Yeast must be present for fermentation to take place which is why we weren't eating anything fermented. Now we can have vinegars, soy sauce, pickles, olives, black tea, DIJON MUSTARD. Can you hear the angels singing?

While I was looking through cookbooks to decide what to make for dinner, the page that fell open when I opened Let Them Eat Vegan! was "Chickpea and Artichoke Bliss in a Dish". When I was doing recipe testing for Dreena this was one of my favourites. It's consistently good. 

There's balsamic vinegar in there and olives....the full recipe contains raisins, but I had to leave those out this time around. Dreena was kind enough to post the recipe on her website. You can find it here. If you make it, I highly recommend adding the raisins. Those angels are really singing now. 

While we were "cleansing" I tried making a couple of different salad dressings, and they were just OK. Something seemed to be missing. Oh yes - that vinegar "punch". Now I could make a proper dressing. One that I really enjoy is from Dynise Balcavage, that I also did testing for.  

Here is 'Dijon Vinaigrette' from The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine.  It's got dijon mustard in there and vinegar. Simple, classic, a winner! 

It really livened up our salad. A plate of greens never tasted so good. Now the entire choir has joined in. 

Lemony Herb Tofu

To accompany the rice in the previous post, I made up some tofu to get cooked on the barbecue. We barbecue year round - yes, even in the snow - but outdoor cooking and summer are made for each other. Not only does it keep the heat of cooking out of the house, it's just another reason to spend more time out in the sunshine. Outdoor cooking is much more enjoyable in the summer than in the winter. Just ask Jim - HA!

Since vinegars or sweeteners are not allowed while on the cleanse, I improvised with what I could use. The results were better than expected. 

Lemony Herb Tofu

1 (14-16 oz) block extra firm tofu
½ cup lemon juice
1-1½ tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. Italian seasoning
5 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper

Press the tofu to squeeze out any extra water. Cut into 6-8 slices, depending on how thick you like them. Place tofu slices in a single layer in a small shallow non-metallic dish. 

In a small bowl, wisk together all of the remaining ingredients. Take out a couple of tablespoons to reserve for brushing while cooking. Pour the rest over tofu slices, turning to coat all sides with marinade. Wrap dish with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. 

Lightly oil grill and preheat to medium. Cook tofu slices, brushing lightly with reserved marinade, about 4-5 minutes per side or until nice grill marks appear on surface.