MOFO Day 2 - Soy You Think You can Dance

Soy has been touted as the greatest protein source since sliced bread by many nutritionists and health advocates. Lately it has come under fire because of its estrogenic effects. Personally, I feel that the natural estrogenic compounds found in soy are a lot less harmful than the synthetic hormones, anti-biotics and sub standard feed forced upon the poor animals that end up on the plate; not to mention the increase in food borne illnesses caused by the unsanitary and unhealthy practices the mass meat producers use in their factory farms.

It pays to do your reasearch when you are in search of good sources of soy protein. Highly processed food are generally not the best for you, soy products included. That said, it is best to try and find organic, non-GMO minimally processed soy products for the best health benefits. Definitely stay away from any label that includes hydrolyzed soy protein or soy protein isloate or concentrate as much as you possibly can. Stick with products that are minimally processed like organic tofu, tempeh, miso and edamame. I do use soy milk and soy creamer in some of my recipes, but I tend to stick with the four I mentioned and Tamari or Shoyu sauce for flavor and saltiness (I'm a bit of a saltaholic).

Tofu is probably the most commonly known soy product to the average Joe or Joanne. Rarely do I meet someone who hasn't at least heard of it. Most have either turned their nose up to the innocent 'fu or had it improperly prepared and vowed to never eat it again.  Hopefully many people are lucky enough to have an open mind and mouth and a darn good tofu recipe to try. There are some great vegan cook books out there that can provide you with the tools you need to make a delicious soy based meal.

I was never a big fan of the 'fu myself. But I have really grown to appreciate it's adaptability and flexibility for many recipes. Today's recipe includes tofu in, what I believe, to be its most common form: firm block tofu. This time I used a type I haven't used much in the past. I tried out Wildwood Brand's Tariyaki marinated tofu. It was not bad, but I much prefer to press and marinade my own to get just the flavor I want. More about pressing tofu (and about the many varieties and uses of tofu) in another post.

The recipe I bring to you today was a combination of "what do I have in the fridge?" and "how many proteins can I put in one dish?". Well to answer that I would have to say lots! First we have the soy group: tofu, edamame, miso, and tamari. Lets look at some of the other ingredients. Sesame seeds provide 4.8-6 grams of protein per ounce (toated/raw). If you get the unhulled variety you will gain a good dose of calcium as well. Each serving of soba noodles contains 10g of protein. Many vegetables contain trace amounts of protein as well.

According to Livestrong.com's MyPlate application, each serving of The following recipe boasts 34 grams of protein!!! That is well over half the RDA for men or women. Not too shabby for one delicious meatless meal!

Soba - Tofu Protein Packed Awesomeness

2 tablespoons sesame oil divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 large cloves garlic minced
1 cup edamame, thawed
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces, about 1 cup
3 green onions, sliced at an angle white and green parts separated.
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch bok choy, cut into bite sized pieces, about 3 cups
Miso Sauce (recipe below)
6 oz soba noodles, cooked according to package directions, rinsed with cold water to stop cooking.
2 tablespoons un-hulled sesame seeds (you can use regular if that is what you have)


Make miso sauce first. In large wok or saute pan heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium heat. Saute ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium high. Add edamame, snow peas bell pepper, white and light green parts of green onion. Saute for about 3-4 minutes until peas and pepper are very slightly soft and turn bright colors. If veggies start sticking and pan is too dry, add a touch of water. Add remaining tablespoon of sesame oil and sliced mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms just start to release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Add bok choy and saute until the bok choy is al dente. Gently toss in rinsed soba noodles and miso sauce. Stir until just combined and heated through.

Garnish with sesame seeds and green parts of green onions.

Serve immediately.

Miso Sauce

1/2 cup low sodium vegetable broth or water
3 tablespoons red miso
1 tablespoon low sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon 5 spice powder
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

In bowl, combine all ingredients until miso is dissolved. Can store for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge.

Tune in tomorrow when I will be talking a bit about how to get your protein on the hiking trail!!

MOFO - Day 1 - But...Where Do You Get Your Protein?

Once again I find myself feeling guilty and apologetic for neglecting you, my faithful blog followers! I never seem to find the time to sit down at the computer at home these days. I can't even begin to tell you how much I have been missing my kitchen and computer time!

Well that should all change today. Once again the crazy folks over at the PPK (Post Punk Kitchen for those of you who may not know) are bringing on Vegan MOFO (month of food). This is a challenge, for us blogger types, that is designed to encourage us to blog about vegan food yumminess. Each year I try to come up with a fun and interesting theme. This is my 4th year participating! Last year I think I blogged just about every day. I am hoping to get close again this year.

Of course, at this time of the year, I start going down blog-memory lane. The first year, 2008, I didn't really have a theme. But I had a lot of fun trying to blog every day. I remember being in Montana on vacation hunting down a computer at the hotel where we were staying. Fred should have realized how bad my obsession was back then, but he married me anyway. The second year I was a little more organized. The theme in 2009 was veganizing favorite family recipes. I loved this theme. It was fun to get my readers, friends and family involved. Last year my theme was chilis and chiles. It was a hot and spicy month in our kitchen. It's hard to pick a favorite theme! They were all so fun.

This year I have decided to answer the age old question posed to all vegans and vegetarians..."But where do you get your protein?" While many of my veg readers may already know the answer to this question, the answers may surprise a lot of you, because there are a lot of plant sources of protein all around us. This month is dedicated to bringing you lots of ideas and information on these building blocks of nutrition. Each week will feature a different group of proteins. To get you primed for our month of protein I found this very informative and handy chart that provides protein content of many different types of food. Some very interesting factoids on this list!

Week 1 - Soy You Think You can Dance. More than just tofu, this week will feature some familiar and not so familiar soy products that make eating veg even more interesting!

Week 2 - Seitan is not the Devil. Seitan is a meat replacement that is made from vital wheat gluten. It contains lots of protein and not a lot of fat. You can find this in stores, but it is super easy and cheap to make (and much better in my opinion). I love this stuff in all its forms. I hope you will too!

Week 3 - That's Just Nuts (and Seeds) - This week will feature some nuts and seeds that are familiar to all of us and a few that are not so common.

Week 4 - Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit. A musical homage to the mighty bean. This week will feature a variety of beans and lentils. These little guys are not only a great source of protein, but they are also very high in fiber.

There will be a few give-aways during the month. It will be easy to win, you just have to be a follower of the blog and post something the day of the contest. I don't have all of the prizes lined up yet, but I do know that the first one will be a copy of The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet by Joni Marie Newman.  Just click on join this site to become a follower. Then make a comment on the October 7th post. On the 8th I will randomly select a winner! Good luck. Good eats and Good Day!!

PPK Cook Book Challenge '11 - Isa and Terry - VwaV

I love cook book challenges. For that matter I like any excuse to have a food type theme. It also gives me motivation to pull some books out I haven't used in a while. This week we could choose from any book written by Isa Chandra Moskowitz or Terry Hope Romero. It is always a hard choice because their books are so great! I decided this week to go back to the beginning. Vegan with a Vengeance was the very first vegan cookbook I ever bought. It was the book that helped me realize vegan food could be fun, delicious, easy and satisfying. I am forever grateful. You will be too if you bust out a copy. The recipes are all pretty inexpensive too!

This time around I made a few recipes I hadn't tried before. First up was the Tempeh and White Bean Sausage. It was a pretty simple recipe. It was a bit more crumbly than I normally like something called "sausage" to be, but it was pretty tasty.

As an accompaniment I chose the Sweet Potato Hash with Watercress and Five Spice. I didn't have watercress, so I subbed spinach and added a touch of white pepper. I really liked the hash. I love greens and sweet potatoes. The touch of five spice was awesome in this. Yum.

Tonight Fred made dinner. I chose the Stewed Tofu and Potatoes in Miso Gravy for him to make. I was up for some comfort food goodness. I know Fred likes gravy once in a while. It has been some time since we had anything like that. So it was a nice treat. We both loved this dish. The miso gravy had the perfect amount of saltiness and earthiness to complement the mushrooms. The tofu was perfectly tender and juicy. Oh and the potatoes...heavenly. This would be a great dish in the middle of a cold winter. MMMMmmmm.

Next week the featured cook book will be Tami Noyes' American Vegan Kitchen. I so love this book, so I'm excited to try some new stuff from it.

Oh Tomatoes - How Do I Love Thee?

Yesterday was the official first day of fall. While the temps are still in the 105 range here, this reminded me that most of you in other parts of the country are clinging on to the last few weeks of summer produce. The tomato is the epitome of summer to me. I love just picking them off the vine and eating them like an apple when they are juicy and perfectly ripe.

This past week I hit the jackpot at Whole Foods. Their organic heirlooms are usually crazy expensive at $4.99 per pound or more sometimes. I guess I am de-sensitized, because I thought $2.99 a pound was a great bargain. They had many great colors and varieties. I decided to go for three different kinds this time. It was a warm up for the tomato plants I put in 2 weeks ago. I planted like 6 different varieties. We are trying fall tomatoes with the hopes we will have better luck with them than we did our summer tomatoes. In the mean time, I am indulging in the fruits of someone else's labor. Behold - the regal tomato platter.

Pastarama - A Pantry Searching Creation

Tonight was a "I don't have any urge to eat dinner" kind of night. However, Fred worked his tail off getting the 3 garden beds ready for fall planting. He was out there for hours. The boy needed some fuel. What to make? It needed to be substantial, fairly healthy and not too tough to make. The pantry had some promising items. I found a couple of partially used packages of fusilli pasta. There was that yummy pesto from the other day. I had one Fieldroast Italian sausage left and some jarred goodies. I thought, "I can come up with something pretty tasty with this stuff."

Here is what transpired:

Silli Fusilli

Makes 2 really big servings OINK!!

8 oz fusilli pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 link Field Roast Italian sausage (or you favorite vegan Italian sausage link), sliced about 1/4" thick
1 small white onion, slivered
1 large roasted red bell pepper, cut in half and sliced into strips
4 oil packed sun dried tomatoes, sliced into thin strips
10 or so pitted Kalamata olives, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 cup vegan basil pesto
2 tablespoon parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.

While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in large iron skillet or saute pan over medium high heat. Add sliced sausage in a single layer. Saute until golden brown and slightly crispy, approximately 3-4 minutes. Turn slices, move to one side of the pan (on the cooler side of the pan) and brown the other side.

After turning the sausages, add sliced onions. Reduce heat to medium. Saute until the onions are nicely browned, about 5-7 minutes. If sausage is getting too browned, you can remove them from the pan and set aside on a small plate. Add the roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes and olives. Saute until they are heated through, about 3-5 minutes.

Add cooked pasta and stir until combined and heated through. Add pesto and toss until pasta is well coated. Saute for another 2 minutes or so until the pesto is warm.

Serve immediately. Garnish with chopped parsley. Yummy with a nice simple salad and garlic bread.

Another Look at the Conscious Cook

For quite some time I had been reading and hearing about what a great book the Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen was. Truth is, I had kind of put a moratorium on buying new cook books and I hadn't bought this one yet. Thankfully, Tami Noyes over at Vegan Appetite chose his book for two of our Vine and Dine cook alongs giving me my first taste of Tal Ronnen's talent.

I've only made three recipes from the book so far, and I have to say each one was very, very good! I love hard cover cook books, so I was pleased when this one came in a hard cover version. The publisher includes some beautiful pictures of the food. There is a very nice section giving a little information on becoming vegan and some banter from guest chefs. The recipes are easy to read and understand. He is all about Gardein, which I am on the fence about. But it is easy enough to substitute your own home made seitan and proteins. This one is definitely worth considering for your cook book collection. I'm sure excited it is part of mine! I look forward to making more yumminess from it soon. I have my eye on the free form pasta!!!

Vine and Dine - Mushroom Bouillabaisse

This week's featured recipe came from Horizons: The Cookbook: Gourmet Meatless Cuisine. This is a favorite of our hostess Tami Noyes over at Vegan Appetite. I've only made a couple of things from it so far and I can see why it is a favorite.

This week's recipe is far more difficult to spell than to make. I chose to use a good variety of wild mushrooms: cremini, portobello, Maitake and trumpet mushrooms. The mushrooms looked so good at Whole Paycheck this week. I'm so glad I did a variety as it really added some fun texture to the dish. I chose to follow the recommendation of grilling the mushrooms first. I do think it was a good choice as it made the mushrooms soooooo tasty.

This was a nice one pan meal (minus the croutons). I liked that it was not a heavy dish. The touch of fennel made it remind me a bit of my mom's chicken cacciatore recipe for some reason.

 

I used a basic french baguette sliced very thinly and then baked until crispy for the crouton. I very much liked the red pepper mixture on the bread. However, I didn't think it did anything to enhance the bouillabaisse.  It didn't hurt either, just meh for me. I thought the tomato, mushroom and fennel combination was divine. This will be a summer favorite for us!!

Here is Fred's review of this week's wine selection.

The quest for easily found vegan wines continues. I have a bigger list but so many of them tell me most of the wines that come from a certain winery are vegan friendly, they just don't tell me which ones. I did find a vegan wine labeled 50% cab, 50% malbec from Chili. "Nuevo Mundo" makes organic, vegan, sustainable, and certified carbon neutral produced estate bottled wine. This was a very good middle of the road red wine, one that I would introduce to someone that was just starting to drink wine. It was very pleasant on the tongue after opening up for ten minutes.

Kim's dish was loaded with mushrooms so I think it needed a more exciting, stronger, spicier, wine to compliment it. The malbec grape seemed to match the dish to much, being kind of earthy itself. This wine would please everyone in a crowd but just didn't have enough pop for our dinner tonight, perhaps it would be nice with a spicy, tomatoey dish. I will definitely by more of this brand as it is so earth friendly and kinda good in it's own way.