Not Chocolate Mousse

Yeah. It’s Valentine’s Day. Fun times. Didn’t make the Sweet Melissa Sundays recipe selection for the week–Easy Chocolate Mousse. And it’s easy! I’m leaving for Mexican beaches at the end of the week and I wasn’t going to eat it (I’m going to be living in a bathing suit for a week!).Cookies I can bake and stash in the freezer; mousse not so much.

Instead, this is a yummy and healthy vegan recipe. Stir-Fried Sesame Asparagus with Tofu and Ramen. So easy, so delicious. The recipe for the asparagus comes from 1,000 Vegan Recipes–an awesome cookbook of almost every imaginable vegan recipe. Everything I’ve made from it has been delicious. I added tofu, which I baked in the oven at 350° F for 20 minutes and served it over ramen noodles.  I also upped the garlic and ginger in the recipe. It would be tasty over brown rice or any whole grain as well.

Stir-Fried Sesame Asparagus

Adapted from 1,000 Vegan Recipes

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1. Heat canola oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus and stir-fry for twominutes. Add garlic and ginger and stir for one more minute.
2. Add soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir and cover for 3 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Sitr in sesame seeds.
3. Serve immediately.

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Korean Sesame-Crusted Tofu

My tofu cubes didn’t stay sesame-crusted!  They looked so nice when I first rolled them around in the sesame seeds, so pretty and professional looking. However, my tofu cubes preferred to be naked. The sesame seeds came off when I stir-fried them. No sense of modesty for these guys.

It didn’t matter, because this stir-fry was perfect for Vegan Tuesday. It was spicy, crunchy, and a complete meal. The recipe comes from the July/August issue of Vegetarian Times and is full of vegetables, garlic, and chile. Perfect over rice.

From Vegetarian Times

• 1 16-ounce package of extra-firm tofu, drained
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
• 1 pound bok choy, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 15-ounce can baby corn, rinsed and drained
• 8 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bird’s eye chiles or other small chile peppers, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Press tofu between two cutting boards lined with paper towels with heavy pot or can on top of the top cutting board for 10 minutes. Cut tofu into bite-size cubes.
2. Coat tofu with sesame seeds in small bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add tofu and sauté for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to plate.
3. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil  in wok over high heat. Add bok choy and bell pepper. Stir fry for 4 minutes. Stir in corn, green onions, garlic, and chiles; stir-fry 2 minutes more. Stir in soy sauce and then fold in tofu.

Serve over rice. Serves 4.

Please visit Michele over at Veggie Num Nums to see what she made for Vegan Tuesday.

A Vegan Breakfast and Dinner

This week for Vegan Tuesday I made something for breakfast: Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa from 101 Cookbooks. Instead of cow’s milk, I used oat milk. I also used a mix of blackberries, blueberries, and pomegranate instead of just blackberries.

You can find the recipe HERE.

I also made Stir-fried Vegetables with Lemongrass from the May 2009 issue of Food & Wine. No substitutions were needed as it was already a vegan recipe. This recipe was included in a section called “Speediest Stir-fries”. The problem with a lot of stir-fries is that there is a lot of prep. Once you start cooking, you’re done in a snap. The selling point for this recipe was that it didn’t involve a lot of prep and chopping. NOT true! I know my knife skills are not the best (major understatement) and I’m super slow (again not exaggerated), but it still involved a lot of chopping and prep.

You can find the recipe HERE.

This week Mare of Meet Me in the Kitchen joined the fun. Click HERE to see what she made. Also head over to Veggie Num Nums to see what Michele made.

Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry

This week I made a Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry for my Vegan Tuesday. The thing about stir-fries is that they take a lot of preparation, but once you are prepped they come together quickly. Because knife skills are not what I’m known for, the prep took a long time. I try to use proper technique. I really do, but I’m slow as heck. And I absolutely have to concentrate on what I’m cutting. There was this running joke among my friends that they were going to have to buy me steel-mesh gloves for Christmas. I am happy to report there were no injuries in the making of this dish. 😛

I got the recipe from one of my new-to-me cookbooks, Veganomicon. Not only is there chopped pineapple in this dish, the quinoa is cooked in pineapple juice which takes the flavor to the next level.  Overall, the stir-fry was very delicious and I definitely will make it again. YUM!

Adapted from Veganomican.

Quinoa:

• 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed and drained
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

Stir-fry:

• 4 ounces raw and unsalted cashews
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 habanero, sliced very thinly {the original recipe calls for a hot red chile, I used habanero b/c I like the heat}
• 1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, rolled and sliced into thin shreds
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
• 10 ounces fresh pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons water {the original recipe calls for vegetable stock, I didn’t have any on hand}
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• Lime wedges for garnish

1. Prepare quinoa first: combine quinoa, juice, water, and soy sauce in a medium-size pot. Cover and place over high-heat, and bring to boil. Stir a few times, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 12 to 14 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and quinoa appears plump and slightly translucent. If you’ve never cooked quinoa, it’s totally cool. When it’s done little white tendrils escape from the grain. Uncover, fluff, and let cool. For best results, refridgerate quinoa overnight. Fluff with fork when ready to use.
2. Use a large non-stick skillet or wok. Place the cashews in the dry pan and heat over low heat until lightly toasted–4 to 5 minutes.
3. Remove cashews, increase heat to medium and add peanut oil, scallions, and garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle, add the habenero and ginger. Stir-fry for approximately 2 minutes, then add bell pepper and frozen peas. Cook until peas are bright green and bell pepper is tender. Add the basil and mint, and stir for another minute before adding the pineapple and quinoa.
4. In a measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, water, and mirin. Pour over quinoa mixture. Stir to incorporate completely and coat the quinoa. Continue to stir-fry for 10 to 14 minutes, until quinoa is very hot. Add toasted cashews and stir for one minute.
5. Serve with lime wedges and additional soy sauce. Enjoy!