Thursday, February 12, 2015

21 Day Souper Awesome Vegan Challenge- Kimchi Soup

Disclaimer:  The lovely and amazing Olivia Lane asked me to post a recipe back in December and I am late. I teach theatre and got caught up in festival one-act plays. I am inspired by Olivia's motivation and am growing in this department. Now that the show is over and was successful... I present to you my version of Vegan Kimchi Soup.

Soft tofu is often presented in this dish, but I am tend to add in easy baked tofu for most dishes. ( See recipe below) You can definitely add seitan to sit in for the traditional pork version, but I am do my best to add less gluten in my diet to attack digestion issues.

Also, Olivia will tell you that I am not by the book and go by taste. It is okay if ingredients aren't exact- just don't stray too far from it.

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 3-4 clove of garlic (sliced or chopped)
  • 1 small white or yellow onion (sliced in moons)
  • 6-8 cups water or vegetable stock
  • 1 small white potato (cut in small cubes)
  • 1 tablespoon Korean red pepper paste (gochujang)*
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of tamari, Bragg’s, or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon mirin
  • 1 teaspoon of white miso*
  • 1 oz. Wood ear mushrooms (Soaked in water for at least 30 minutes) *
  • 6 scallions, chopped (I add more as green onion is my favorite in Asian soups and nothing beats it sweetness)
  • 1 1/2 cups kim chi, chopped
  • 8 ounces of easy baked tofu (see recipe below), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1/2 cup short grain white rice (Sushi)
  • Couple handfuls of fresh spinach, kale, or any greens that floats your boat.
  • Fresh crushed black pepper
  • Optional: Shitake or Cremini mushrooms, shredded carrots,

       *You can purchase these items at specialty food stores or Asian markets.

Make sure your wood ear mushrooms are already soaking and your tofu is baked or baking. Heat the sesame oil in your soup pot at a medium heat. Sauté onion moons and garlic. Be sure not to burn them. Add your vegetable stock and potatoes. Add your Korean paste, soy sauce, and vinegar. Let simmer until potatoes are almost done. At this point you can prepare your sushi rice as it cooks pretty quickly. (I am lazy and throw the rice into the soup to cook to save time. Traditionally, it is served on the side.) Add your green onion, tofu, and mushrooms. Make sure your rice is cooked through and add greens and miso.


Easy Baked Tofu

15-16 oz. of Tofu

2 tablespoons of Oil (coconut, peanut, olive, or canola)

2 tablespoons of tamari, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, soy sauce


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Press, drain, slice up your tofu. Add the tofu to a baking sheet that has a bit of oil to prevent sticking. Add oil and sauce and make sure all the tofu is coated. You can use a spatula.

Bake the tofu for 15-20 minutes, turning the tofu at least once to make sure it is baked evenly and not sticking. Check your tofu. I tend to bake it until it has a tougher texture.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Back to life...in Brooklyn


My blog has been given another life... and now from the Vegan capital of the world or at least in my eyes... Brooklyn, NY
Uploads may be a bit easier than resizing, but I will attempt all kinds of photos...
I'm not going to lie... a simple recipe for moments when certain ingredients have run out.... and blueberries are $1.49 for a pint of berries. The markets are incredibly inexpensive here.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Breaking for Food

So my friend Genevieve is about to jump on the patience boat, because she agreed to assist me with guitar lessons. I tried it out years ago, but learning right handed didn't do it for me. So I begin the left way. I have two sewing classes this week and a free raw food class at Whole Foods tomorrow- so let's cut to the belly....

Feeling that Steak-finger Plate



Candle's chipotle bbq sauce
Whipped garlic-y mashed potatoes with scallions
Panko-crusted seitan strips
Steamed Kale

Sunday morning kind of love...

Pancakes with Potatoes and Sauteed Cabbage

PPK batter
Candle's potatoes
Cabbage lightly dressed with red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt/ pepper

I always feel the need to balance the meal with some kind of lightly starched veggie...


And finally...

Yesterday, I was looking for a quick fix at Whole Foods after an early morning presentation...I picked up their english muffins, 365 sausage patties, and began to plan for today...oh yeah, I ended up with a soy latte, banana, and vegan donut...

So this morning, I whipped up V-con's cheesy sauce, fried "eggs", heated up the muffins and sausage and through in a few sliced tomatoes...

Breakfast Veg-Muffin


Different ...3.2 stars...

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Back in February...

I have been a busy bee...and am currently flunking at keeping up with my vegan blog...was thinking that I should take my camera out to locals food joints so that one my know the "variety" that is out here...but not now...

Some sweeties came together to honor the blessed child of a favorite couple...Melanie and Charlie...because I haven't been given the rights to post Sam's photo...I can only show you half my contribution...

Picture it, an early Saturday morning...not sure what to prepare in the little time that I had...I had a few veggies and figured that some kind of biscuit casserole would do...checked out my library and came across Veganomicon's Cauliflower and Mushroom potpie with black olive crust.

Now I don't remember too many details other than I substituted broccoli, didn't have too many kalamatas, and threw in red bells...I remember thinking that the veggie portion was too much, so I didn't use as many veggies...BIG MISTAKE...everything cooked down...it was still yummy and everyone loved it despite my personal criticisms....I also made a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, but I wasn't impressed with my lack of decorating skills.

Veggie Potpie with Star Biscuits



Three weeks ago, I awoke to a massive allergy attack. Everything hurt. After sleeping off some of the pain and gathering enough energy to text my supervisor, I found the opportunity to experiment with tofu quiche. I had come across a recipe through Happy Herbivore a few weeks ago. Again, I added a few extra veggies, but have any fresh basil. I think the texture didn't come out right and while the flavor was there...this is something I would only prepare for a big gathering.

Crust-less Quiche




I admit that I once fell for Morning Star's buffalo wings, but they just didn't do it for me...Green, San Antonio's ONLY vegetarian restaurant, has a tofu version, but they aren't for me as well. I have a love affair with seitan...that is my right in this world. While tofu and I go way back...seitan is the ultimate meat substitute...well, maybe 60%-40%...whatever...

Ross, from Vegans Rock Austin, posted an easy recipe a few years ago and that has always been my stand by.


I have messed with it to fit my tastes...i.e. adding veggie stock and holding back on some of that soy sauce. But enough about the seitan.

Seitan Buffalo Wings


-Seitan- as much as you want to fit the bellies of you and those around
-Panko bread crumbs- enough to coat
-Agave
-Hot sauce
-Non-dairy butter- start with a tablespoon
-Cayanne pepper
-Freshly crushed pepper
-Egg replacer - a few egg portions
-Water
-High heat oil...I used Safflower

I battered up the seitan by dipping it in the egg replacer and bread crumbs mixed in with the pepper. I then fried the seitan in med-high heat to a golden brown and drained on a paper towel. Let sit or preferably if someone else is around you...

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the hot sauce and agave and let the sauce thicken a bit. Add cayanne to taste. Should be have a nice amount of heat with a cooling sweetness. WARNING: I purchased the organic 365 hot sauce at Whole Foods, but it was spice-less.

When sauce is ready, add in a few nuggets and coat them. I didn't bother with any vegan ranch, but I did a break out a few pickles- that is just the Texican in me.

Next time I make these- I will pay attention to the amount of ingredients used...otherwise I am an eye-baller at heart.

More Yum Yum-ness

Tried a vesion of Lolo's mac n cheeze leaving out the carrots, potatoes, and bread crumbs. YUMMY!!!!

So good, I think I will make some today as well.

Yummy Mac N Cheese




And sometimes a couple of margaritas on the rocks accompanied by chips and roasted salsa can make a girl happy.


They make me appreciate the trees that much more...



El fin...para ahora.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Kitchen Therapy and Cat Recovery


My boy, Knot, is recovering from a ruptured bladder. He is doing better and I found myself at home a lot more this week.


Since running across Emmie's dolmades, I slowly collected all the ingredients and compared various online recipes...still working on my ultimate recipe, but these did just fine. They are better served warm. In terms of adding pine nuts- I would give them a light chop. Next time- chopped seitan or TVP.

It was really cool to eat them after such little effort. Rolling them was quite a quick process. Methinks I may never go down the street to the neighborhood Greek restaurant for a fix again.

Dolmades
On Monday, I realized I had to be at work in the afternoon and had about an hour. Sauteed peppers, mushrooms, kale, garlic, ginger, and green onion. I hit it with a few dashes of tamari, rice wine vinegar, Asian crushed pepper, and sherry. Tossed in a bit of cooked udon noodles (which cook fast) and there you go...

Oh and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seed oil and actual seeds.
Fast Udon Noodles with Veggies


I know the photo isn't the best, but it was worth mentioning.

Finally I found a recipe I had printed out for chili a while back. Didn't bother taking a photo, but it will be mentioned in the future. Perfect opportunity to bake corn bread. Using Colleen Patrick- Goudreau's recipe with a huge, roasted jalapeno- it was awesome. Sweet and spicy.

All the dried goods...

Jalapeno Corn Bread

Love me some kitchen time.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

A Sea of Sushi

How i miss my little camera...just found these and realized they were never given recognition...

Vegan Sushi






Avocado
Shitake mushrooms sauteed in sesame oil
Red bell
Cucumber
Baked sweet potato
Green onion
PPK's spicy tempeh recipe

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Because they're good....

Finally got around to trying Isa's version of Le French Toast and it was yummers. I would only add a bit of spice to the batter next time... but that's just me...
"Fronch" Toast

And I do love my rice bowls...I believe it to be Candle's marinade for the tofu and various veggies and a dash of sesame seeds...

Tofu Rice Bowl


It's always fun to play "restaurant" and imagine what I would pay for the dishes...