Black Bean Noodles

So much going on here lately. The battle to keep our community school open continues . . . hard to say if we are making progress. I also broke my KitchenAid mixer, which means I had to close down the bakery. I was planning to stop when the baby came in June, so this just hastened the inevitable. There was no way to knead everything by hand and still make money. It's still sad, though, because I really enjoyed baking for the neighbourhood. But, there is still plenty of other things to do, which means quick and easy meals like this are always welcome.

INGREDIENTS

The amounts are up to you, depending on how many mouths you have to feed.

- noodles (I use an eggless chow mein noodle)

- broccoli, but into small florets

- minced garlic

- tofu, cut into cubes

- black beans, rinsed and drained

- black bean sauce

- hoisin sauce

- green onions, sliced

METHOD

1. Cook noodles as per the directions given.

2. While noodles are cooking, heat a wok over high heat. Add a few splashes of water along with the broccoli. Stir fry broccoli in the water for a few mins, until it gets tender but is still bright green (add more water when needed).

3. Add garlic and tofu and fry for a few mins, adding more water, if needed.

4. Add cooked noodles to the pan, along with the beans. Add enough sauce to your liking. Heat through. Add sliced green onions, stir well, and serve.

Channa Saag

This is something I put together in my quest to get more kale into my diet. As far as I remember, channa is the hindi word for chickpeas, and saag means spinach. This dish is packed with all sorts of nutritional goodness, and even though they protested at first, the boys ate all their greens.

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced

- 1 large garlic clove, minced

- 1" piece of ginger, minced

- 4 large tomatoes, chopped

- 1 tsp garam masala

- 1 tsp coriander

- 1/2 tsp cumin

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tbsp chili powder

- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

- 3 cups chopped kale (though stems removed)

- 3 cups chopped spinach

- juice of 1 lemon

- 1/4 cup plain soy yogurt

- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Heat oil on a large pot over medium heat. Saute onions for 12-15 mins, until nicely browned. Add garlic and ginger and saute for 2 mins.

2. Add tomatoes and spices and bring to bubbling. Cook for 5-7 mins, stirring regularly, until tomatoes have reduced to a paste.

3. Add chickpeas and kale and cook for about 5 mins, until kale is tender. Add spinach and cook 2-3 mins, until tender. Stir in lemon juice and yogurt.

4. Season to taste with salt and pepper, adjust spices to your liking, and serve.

Creamy Dijon Dill Potatoes

Just a quick post tonight. The past week has been absolutely insane. First, the trustees are trying to shut down the boys' school--the oldest continually operating elementary school in northern Ontario. We have hosted several meetings (with plenty of vegan baking to go around), and have spent a lot of time organizing, writing letters, etc. Here is the website dedicated to saving the school if you are interested. In the midst of it all, our basement flooded with all the melting snow. That was fun. Of course, today we had a snow storm and the temperature has dropped below zero. Ah, spring. And then there are the stacks of essays to grade . . . . There is no better time for fast and easy food. I made these potatoes to accompany the maple barbecue tofu.

INGREDIENTS

- 1 lb baby yellow potatoes, halved

- 2 tbsp margarine

- generous tbsp Dijon mustard

- 2-4 tbsp plain soy milk

- 1/2 tsp dill (or more if you like the dill)

METHOD

1. Boil potato halves in salted water for 8-10 mins, until softened but not mushy. Drain.

2. Heat margarine in a frying pan over med-hi heat. Fry potatoes for 5-7 mins, until golden. Add mustard, 2 tbsp of soy milk, and dill and mix well. Add more soy milk until desired creaminess is reached. Serve.

Maple Barbeque Tofu

A few weeks ago I installed the Canadian Living app on my iPod, hoping it would provide some good recipe ideas. To my surprise, I have been bookmarking just about every recipe of the day. Today's recipe is based on a pork recipe, and it caught my interest because it used maple syrup. I was a little disappointed that the maple syrup flavour did not come through in the end--it would be cheaper and just as tasty to use brown sugar. This is very simple and very tasty.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 pkg of extra firm tofu, cut into triangles

- oil

- 1/2 cup chili sauce

- 1/4 cup maple syrup, or packed brown sugar

- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

- 1/4 tsp chili powder

METHOD

1. Heat thin layer of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Pan fry tofu about 5 mins per side, until golden.

2. While tofu is cooking, whisk together remaining ingredients. When tofu is done, add sauce to the pan and bring to bubbling. Cook for about another 5 mins, until sauce has thickened and coats the tofu.

Maple Garlic Tempeh Balls

Spring is slowly coming to the North which means it is maple syrup time! Of course, we had to pack up the kids and head out to the local sugar shack. We hiked through the forest, checked out the 70 kms of piping bringing sap to the shack, made maple syrup taffy, bought maple sugar candy, and loaded up on syrup. There is nothing like breathing in the sweet air of the sugar shack while being surrounded by dozens and dozens of bottles of syrup. We left on a serious sugar high. Tonight's recipe is a take on honey garlic meatballs. Some recent comments on my tempeh meatballs made me rethink the recipe to make them a bit firmer.

INGREDINETS

Makes 25 tempeh balls

- 1 8.5 oz pkgs tempeh

- water

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp Montreal Steak Spice
- 1 small onion, coarsely grated
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated

- 1/3 cup instant oatmeal

- 1/3 cup vital wheat gluten

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

- 1 tbsp instant tapioca

- 1 tsp ground fennel seed
- 1 tsp sage
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp parsley

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 2 tbsp HP sauce, or BBQ sauce

Sauce

- 1 1/4 cup water

- 1/3 cup maple syrup

- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- dash of hot sauce

- salt to taste

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

- 2 green onions, finely chopped

METHOD

1. Cut tempeh into 4 pieces and place in a sauce pan. Add enough water to cover the tempeh, along with the soy sauce, salt, and steak spice. Bring to bubbling then simmer for 10 mins. Remove from water and let cool.

2. Grate tempeh and mix with onion, garlic, and the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well with your fingers and knead for 1 min.

3. With wet hands, form into 25 balls. Let rest for 5 mins to firm up.

4. Heat a thin layer of oil in a non-stick frying pan over med-lo heat. Add meatballs and cook for 15 mins, turning regularly, until browned all over. Remove from pan.

5. Whisk together sauce ingredient and add to pan. Bring to bubbling and simmer for 5 mins, letting sauce thicken and garlic cook. Add meatballs and turn to coat. Cook for a few mins more to heat through. Right before serving, sprinkle with green onion.

Sap on its way to the sugar shack.