by Robin Robertson
on June 3, 2008
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I love tofu. In fact, I often find myself craving it. That’s what happened the other day when I also happened to be craving my favorite vegetable, asparagus, which is becoming unaffordable again as its season wanes. I decided to have one last asparagus fling, so I teamed it with some tofu in a quick-and-easy stir-fry from my book, Vegan Fire & Spice and served it over some brown rice. Cravings satisfied!
Spicy Tofu and Asparagus Stir?Fry
I prefer using thin asparagus for this stir-fry, because it cooks quickly and doesn’t require paring. If all you have are thick spears, be sure to pare them near the bottom. (This recipe is from Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes © 2008.) Leave out the red pepper flakes if you’re not a heat-seeking vegan like myself.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1 bunch asparagus, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
12 ounces extra-firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sesame oil, water, cornstarch, and sugar. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, heat the canola oil over medium?high heat. Add the asparagus and stir?fry for 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
In the same skillet, add the tofu, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until the tofu is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Return the asparagus to the skillet along with the red pepper flakes and stir?fry until the asparagus is just tender. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir?fry a minute longer, or until hot.
Serves 4
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by Robin Robertson
on June 3, 2008
>I love tofu. In fact, I often find myself craving it. That’s what happened the other day when I also happened to be craving my favorite vegetable, asparagus, which is becoming unaffordable again as its season wanes. I decided to have one last asparagus fling, so I teamed it with some tofu in a quick-and-easy stir-fry from my book, Vegan Fire & Spice and served it over some brown rice. Cravings satisfied!
Spicy Tofu and Asparagus Stir?Fry
I prefer using thin asparagus for this stir-fry, because it cooks quickly and doesn’t require paring. If all you have are thick spears, be sure to pare them near the bottom. (This recipe is from Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes © 2008.) Leave out the red pepper flakes if you’re not a heat-seeking vegan like myself.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1 bunch asparagus, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
12 ounces extra-firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sesame oil, water, cornstarch, and sugar. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, heat the canola oil over medium?high heat. Add the asparagus and stir?fry for 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
In the same skillet, add the tofu, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until the tofu is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Return the asparagus to the skillet along with the red pepper flakes and stir?fry until the asparagus is just tender. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir?fry a minute longer, or until hot.
Serves 4
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by Robin Robertson
on June 3, 2008
I love tofu. In fact, I often find myself craving it. That’s what happened the other day when I also happened to be craving my favorite vegetable, asparagus, which is becoming unaffordable again as its season wanes. I decided to have one last asparagus fling, so I teamed it with some tofu in a quick-and-easy stir-fry from my book, Vegan Fire & Spice and served it over some brown rice. Cravings satisfied!
Spicy Tofu and Asparagus Stir?Fry
I prefer using thin asparagus for this stir-fry, because it cooks quickly and doesn’t require paring. If all you have are thick spears, be sure to pare them near the bottom. (This recipe is from Vegan Fire & Spice: 200 Sultry and Savory Global Recipes © 2008.) Leave out the red pepper flakes if you’re not a heat-seeking vegan like myself.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon organic canola oil
1 bunch asparagus, cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
12 ounces extra-firm tofu, well drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 scallions, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sesame oil, water, cornstarch, and sugar. Set aside.
In a large skillet or wok, heat the canola oil over medium?high heat. Add the asparagus and stir?fry for 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
In the same skillet, add the tofu, garlic, ginger, and scallions, and stir-fry until the tofu is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Return the asparagus to the skillet along with the red pepper flakes and stir?fry until the asparagus is just tender. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir?fry a minute longer, or until hot.
Serves 4
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by Robin Robertson
on May 27, 2008
I’ve gotten into the habit lately of making a seitan pot roast in my slow cooker just about every Sunday (see March 7 post). The benefits are many:
1. it’s easy to put on to cook and walk away until serving time
2. the amazing fragrance fills the house all day
3. it makes a great “comfort-food” dinner, and
4. there are always enough leftovers for other terrific meals later in the week
Which brings me to the point: this week I used my “leftover” seitan to make a scrumptious sauté of seitan and mushrooms with a port wine sauce. The luscious sauce is absorbed by both the seitan and the mushrooms for an out-of-this-world flavor. I served it over brown rice and accompanied it with roasted broccoflower. So good. Here’s the recipe.
Pan-Seared Seitan with Mushrooms and Port
I adapted this from the recipe in Vegan Planet that uses cremini mushrooms, shallots, and red wine.
1 pound seitan, cut into 1/4-inch thick strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 scallions, finely minced
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 to 3/4 cup port wine
3/4 to 1 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Brown the seitan in the oil in large skillet over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. Remove the seitan from skillet and set aside on a plate.
2. In the same skillet, add the scallions and cook for 2 minutes to soften. Add the mushrooms and wine. Simmer, stirring, to cook off the alcohol and reduce the liquid slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms from the skillet and set aside with the seitan.
3. Add the stock to the skillet, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. For a thicker sauce, stir in a cornstarch slurry (about 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water).
4. Transfer the seitan and the mushrooms back to the skillet, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer over medium heat until hot. For a more pronounced port flavor, add an extra splash of port while heating the seitan.
Serves 4
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by Robin Robertson
on May 22, 2008
I’m so happy to see that Oprah is going vegan—for 21 days, at least — in what she’s calling a “21-day cleanse as a way to jump-start an inner makeover.” In this plan, she has eliminated animal products from her diet and has invited her fans to join her. How cool is that?
Helping her to do this (by cooking amazing vegan meals for her) is my good friend, vegan chef extraordinaire, Tal Ronnen (in photo). Way to go, Tal! (See his
bio on Oprah’s blog.)
Best of all, it actually seems like Oprah “gets” the reason why many of us are vegan. In her blog, she writes: “How can you say you’re trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?”
I also think it’s great that Erik Marcus at Vegan.com is pitching in to help those who are taking Oprah’s vegan challenge and are new to veganism. During the next three weeks, his VegTalk podcast is going to offer daily guidance and support to new vegans. On the May 21st podcast, Erik recommends his three favorite cookbooks for new vegans and I’m honored to report that two of them were my own Quick-Fix Vegetarian and Vegan Planet, along with that other bastion of vegan recipes, Veganomicon.
Here’s hoping that Oprah’s 21-day vegan challenge is a catalyst for getting more and more people to go vegan and the beginning of a new era for veganism and all that it represents. What do you think?
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by Robin Robertson
on May 17, 2008
First I want to thank everyone who entered the Creative Couscous Cake Contest. I was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and creativity of the submissions. Every one of you is a winner — which presented me with the nearly impossible task of picking a grand prize winning cake among all the delicious-looking contenders. To that end, I brought in an independent panel of judges to help with the voting. We all agreed it was like having a pastry cart wheeled in front of you — how can you choose just one? The judging resulted in two-way ties for both first and second place, as well as a very close third place winner. The Honorable Mention winners are other terrific entries that got lots of votes and deserve recognition.
I hope you will join me in a round of blogospheric applause for the wonderful variety and talent of this amazing group of contestants. Since most of the entrants have posted their recipes on their own blogs, you can go to the blogs indicated to check out the actual recipes. The two Grand Prize winners will each receive a copy of either Quick-Fix Vegetarian or Vegan Fire and Spice. I wish I could send prizes to everyone who entered — many thanks to all of you for making this contest a success.
Tied for First Place are Grand Prize Winners:
and
Tami of Vegan Appetite for her Lemon Berry Couscous Cake
Second Place goes to:
Maggie of
Magpie707 for her Asian Pear and Date Couscous Cake
and
Bex of
How to Feed a Vegan for her Coconut Vanilla Bean Couscous Cake
Third Place is awarded to:
Sharon at To Live and Eat in LA for her Apple Pie Couscous Cake
Here are the judges other favorites that are awarded an Honorable Mention:
Kim’s Chocolate-Almond-Cherry Couscous Cake
Katie’s Cherry-Strawberry Layered Couscous Cake
Lea’s White Chocolate Cherry Couscous Cake
This last set of photos are additional entries from some of our winners — and the photos were just too pretty not to share.
Maggie’s Strawberry Coconut Couscous Cake
Paulina’s Pina Colada Couscous Cake
Tami’s Cherry-Berry Couscous Cake
So, what do you think? I’d love to hear your opinions about the cakes, the contest, and if you agree with the choices of our esteemed panel of judges. Thanks again to everyone who entered this contest — I hope you enjoyed this contest as much as I did!
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I love tofu. In fact, I often find myself craving it. That’s what happened the other day when I also happened to be craving my favorite vegetable, asparagus, which is becoming unaffordable again as its season wanes. I decided to have one last asparagus fling, so I teamed it with some tofu in a quick-and-easy stir-fry from my book, Vegan Fire & Spice and served it over some brown rice. Cravings satisfied!
