Category Archives: Vegetarian Cuisine

Brown Basmati Rice with Cinnamon, Cumin and Orange…

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Geek Baker| 2 Comments

I thought I would just be putting my coconut tempeh on plain old brown rice. But that was before I spied this recipe in Terry Walters’ Clean Food. The cinnamon, cumin, and orange flavors are subtle enough to work with many different types of main dishes and sauces, yet are potent enough to be something special all on their own with just a side of plain steamed veggies.





Brown Basmati Rice with Cinnamon, Cumin and Orange


adapted from Terry Walters’ Clean Food




Ingredients –

  • 1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice (Did you know its best to store this in the refrigerator?  It is.)
  • 3 cups water or veggie stock
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon see salt
  • Zest of one orange
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 cup cashews (I left this out because I didn’t have any on hand.  But I bet it would be delicious in it.)

Directions –

1. Soak rice for 1 hour in a bowl with enough water to cover all the rice.

2. Drain rice and place in a rice cooker of large pot with water (or stock), cinnamon stick, cumin, salt and orange zest.  Turn on rice cooker, or if using stove-top, bring water to a boil, cover, and reduce heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed (about 25 minutes).

3. Remove rice from heat and discard cinnamon stick.  Fluff with fork, toss with sesame oil and cashews and serve.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Grainy - rice, cous cous, quinoa....., Vegetarian Cuisine

My first dance with tempeh….it was definitely a tango

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Geek Baker| 2 Comments

My weekend could have been horrible.  A sick family member, 38 miles needing to be ran, another weekend with friends out of town….  But said family member is doing much better, those 38 miles went surprisingly well, and I entertained myself with good phone conversations and good food.

Let’s move onto the food, shall we?

Here’s a definition from Wikipedia (yes, I, a librarian, am using Wikipedia….I’m at home far from the reference collection ;) )

Tempeh, or tempe in Indonesian, is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. (Sounds gross, tastes amazing.) Tempeh is unique among major traditional soyfoods in that it is the only one that did not originate in China or Japan. It originated in today’s Indonesia, and is especially popular on the island of Java, where it is a staple source of protein. Like tofu, tempeh is made from soybeans, but tempeh is a whole soybean product with different nutritional characteristics and textural qualities. Tempeh’s fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamin. It has a firm texture and strong flavor. Because of its nutritional value, tempeh is used worldwide in vegetarian cuisine; some consider it to be a meat analogue.

If you don’t like tofu, you should try tempeh.  I used Light Life’s 3 Grain Tempeh and fell in love with the texture and taste.  Its nutty and is much heartier than tofu.  I’m even dreaming about simple grilled tempeh “hamburgers.”   mmmmmmm……….

This tempeh recipe from 101cookbooks.com is just what I needed after a long, loooong run.  SO. GOOD.  Nay…PERFECT.  A quickly seared tempeh in this crazy good orange-spice glaze.  It would be great just with veggies, but I paired mine with brown rice and some raw spinach.  (I still haven’t gotten to a place where I’m completely comfortable with cooked greens….) The only change I’ll be making next time is to double the sauce.  Its that good.





Orange Pan-Glazed Tempeh

adapted from 101cookbooks.com, original content belongs to Jude Blereau



Ingredients –

  • 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (~ 3 large juicy oranges)
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 2 teaspoons tamari (or soy sauce)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 small garlic cloves, crushed
  • roughly 10 ounces of tempeh (I used an 8oz package)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds – lightly toasted
  • 1/2 lime

Directions -

1. Put the orange juice in a small bowl.  Squeeze the grated ginger over the bowl to extract the juices, then discard the pulp.  Add the tamari, mirin, and maple syrup, ground coriander, and garlic. Mix together and set aside.

2. Cut the tempeh into thin-ish, bite-sized piece.

3. Put the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the tempeh and fry for 5 minutes, or until golden underneath.  Turn and cook the other side for another 5 minutes, or until golden.  Pour the orange juice mixture and sesame seeds into the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced to a lovely thick glaze.  Turn the tempeh once more during this time and spoon the sauce over the tofu from time to time.

4. Serve the tempeh drizzled with any remaining sauce and a squeeze of lime over your choice of vegetables or grains.





→ 2 Comments

Posted in Vegetarian Cuisine

Tofu Country Captain

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Geek Baker| Leave a comment

I’m not sure what drew me to Epicurious’ Country Captain recipe, but something about tomatoes and cauliflower sounded really good to me.  So I swung by my local market for some tofu and cauliflower and headed home to try my hand at a vegan version of the dish.  (This dish traditionally will have chicken, butter, and bacon in it…so I knew mine was going to have a completely different flavor, but I still wanted to give it a go.)

The finished dish was surprisingly tasty (no matter how ugly it looked). I always hate spending so much time on a dish that doesn’t look lovely, but while this may appear to be plain ole’ tomato sauce and veggies, I assure you, its not. There are a lot of flavors going on here that meld wonderfully. Mine also looks a lot different from epicurious’ because I chose not to add extra fluid as the cooking process went on as they suggested. I knew I wanted a thicker sauce to serve over grains.




And now, a little history on Country Captain from whatscookingamerica.net:

  • Country Captain Chicken – A curried chicken dish. The chicken is browned and then stewed in a sauce of tomatoes, onion, garlic, and curry powder. At the end, golden raisins are added. The dish is served over rice sprinkled with toasted almonds. As with all chicken recipes in the South, Country Captain Chicken varies with the cook. Some recipes call for a long cooking time and other use quick-cooking chicken breasts. One thing is always certain about this dish; it is perfumed and slightly spiced with curry.
  • This delicious dish, known throughout Georgia, dates to the early 1800s. It is thought that this dish was brought to Georgia by a British sea captain who had been stationed in Bengali, India and shared the recipe with some friends in the port city of Savannah, Georgia. Savannah was then a major shipping port for the spice trade. The dish was named for the officers in India called “Country Captains.”




(I forgot to garnish with almond and coconut before taking my picture.  Luckily, I remembered before eating it…they add a nice touch to the finished dish.)




Tofu Country Captain

Adapted from Epicurious.com


Ingredients –

Spice mixture:

  • 1/2 teaspoons coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1.2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Chicken:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into 1-inch florets ~ about 4 cups
  • 1 cup carrot strips
  • Sea Salt
  • 14 oz package of extra firm tofu
  • 1 bunch green onions, dark green and white parts chopped separately
  • 3/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 tablespoon garlic (I added more to taste later….adjust all the spice amounts to your own personal taste.)
  • 1 1/2 cups (or more) veggie broth (I made my from Better Than Bouillon)
  • 2 cups crushed tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoon peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen petite peas (9 to 10 ounces; do not thaw)
  • shredded coconut and almond slices, both lightly toasted for garnish

Directions –

For spice mixture:

1. Simply mix all the spice together well in a small bowl and set aside.

For chicken:

1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat.  Drain and wrap tofu with paper towels.  Press down to squeeze out the excess moisture.  Repeat this step a few times until the tofu no longer feels wet to the touch.

2. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices.  You can then cut these slices into the size tofu you would like.  (You can see in my picture that I cut each slice into 4 triangles.) Place tofu slices into dry skillet over medium heat, making sure not to crowd the pan.  (I had to do my tofu in 2 batches.) Let tofu cook undisturbed until it begins to brown (take a peek after a few minutes).    Flip and brown other side.  Set cooked tofu aside.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large deep pot over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower florets and carrots strips; sprinkle with salt and sauté until beginning to soften and brown in spots, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl.

4. Add white parts of green onions, ginger, and garlic to same pot; reduce heat to medium and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground spice mixture; stir 15 seconds. Stir in 1 1/2 cups veggie broth and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add crushed tomatoes; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

5. Stir in dried cherries and peanut butter.  Return tofu and the cauliflower/onion/carrot mixture to the pan. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, adding more liquid as needed to get desired consistency.

6. Serve over rice or other favorite grain and garnish with toasted almonds and coconut. You can also garnish with cut green portion of green onions.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Tofu, Vegetarian Cuisine

Protein Packed Mac & Cheese

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Geek Baker| Leave a comment

I got this recipe off of Stonyfield Farm’s website.  It was certainly not your usual thick, creamy, buttery mac & cheese but it did satisfy the craving I had in a much healthier, protein-packed fashion.  I like the idea of using yogurt in this dish, but I think it needs some tweaking before its truly make-again-worthy.  (Maybe even just the addition of some milk?)  Next time I’m going  to try this vegan version of mac & cheese.

Healthy Mac & Cheese

Adapted from the Stonyfield Farm website

Ingredients -

  • dash of pepper
  • 2 tbs. butter
  • 1 tbs. flour
  • 10 oz elbow macaroni, cooked and drained according to package directions
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 cups Stonyfield lowfat plain yogurt
  • 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I would suggest mixing up the cheese here and using some higher quality, more complex tasting cheese like Gruyère or Emmental)
  • 1.5 cups broccoli (I pureed mine in a food processor.  Feel free to leave this out if broccoli is not your favorite.  I just had a bunch to use up!)
  • Onion and garlic powder to taste

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter on medium heat, add broccoli, flour, pepper and spices.  Stir until mixed.  Add yogurt and lower temperature and cook until it reaches a slow boil, stirring occasionally. Add cheese and stir until melted.
3. Stir in macaroni and transfer into casserole baking dish. In a small bowl melt the remaining butter and stir in crushed bread crumbs. Spread bread crumb topping over dish and cook uncovered for 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Noodles, Vegetarian Cuisine

Tofu and Collard Green Stuffed Shells with Tomato White Wine Sauce

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Geek Baker| 1 Comment

I really wanted to love this, but I just didn’t.  None of the parts where quite perfect and the sum of them all left me wanting.  Now, its a healthy vegan version of a dish that is usually laden with fat and calories so it gets bonus points merely for coming in at 300 calories for a decent sized portion.  But there just wasn’t enough flavor for me and the texture of the tofu/collard greens mixture wasn’t amazing.  (Though, this could have been completely my doing since I suspect I slightly over-cooked the tofu drying it out too much.)   This dish just needs a little something extra……maybe after looking at the recipe you can tell me what it is!









Printer-Friendly Recipe

Tomato White Wine Sauce

Adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe

Ingredients -

  • 20 Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup finely diced onion
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano leaves
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme leaves
  • 1 cup white wine (I thought this was too much considering you don’t cook it down.  The wine flavor was over-whelming instead of adding a subtle clean taste like I had hoped.  Though it tasted fine after baking on the shells.)

Directions -

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. In 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans place tomato halves cut side up. Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, and herbs. Bake tomatoes for 2 hours. Check the tomatoes after 1 hour and turn down the heat if they seem to be cooking too quickly. Then turn the oven to 400 degrees and bake another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and process tomatoes through a food mill on medium dye setting over a small saucepan. Discard skins. Add white wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.



Baked Stuffed Shells

adapted from Terry Walters’ Clean Food

Ingredients -

  • 8 oz large pasta shells
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup mirin (I used white wine)
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1.5 lbs fresh firm tofu (I used one 14 ounce package)
  • 2 bunches kale or collard greens, chopped (I used 2/3 of a large bag of collard greens pulverized in the food processor.  I don’t like chunks of leaves…)
  • 4 cups of tomato sauce (see above for recipe)
  • 1 cup grated soy or rice mozzarella (All the recipes in the book are vegan.  If you are not vegan, feel free to use regular cheese.)

Directions -

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees.

2. Cook shells according to instructions on package, drain and set aside.

3. In a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until soft (about 5 minutes).  Add mirin, basil and parsley and stir.  Wrap tofu in paper towels and press to remove excess liquid.  Crumble tofu into pot, mix with other ingredients and cook 5 minutes.

4. Fold greens into tofu mixture and continue cooking until soft.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, remove from heat and set aside until cool enough to handle.

5. Stuff shells with filling and place in 9 x 12-inch lasagna pan.  Cover stuffed shells with tomato sauce.  Sprinkle top with cheese, cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.

6. Remove foil and bake uncovered 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let set 5 minutes before serving.

Its just a hair over 300 calories for 1/9 of the pan.








Just a recent pic from random downtown ramblings…

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Noodles, Vegetarian Cuisine