Happy Birthday Son #2

Yesterday was Son #2's birthday and so that meant cake decorating for me. As you know, I always let the kids pick whatever cake they want and I make it. This year was the first time I used one of those character cake pans--I felt a little less creative but I can't argue with the results. The cake was a double recipe of Isa and Terry's basic vanilla cupcake batter with buttercream icing. Yes, vegan kids can have fun birthdays too.

Thai Tamarind Chili Tofu and Cashews

Hopefully you've already made your tamarind chili paste and are ready to put it in a tasty dish for dinner. Keep in mind that you can alter this recipe to suit your tastes, making it sweeter or hotter as you see fit. None of my cooking is really all that precise, so take these recipes as a guideline. I have baked to tofu for this dish--I like my tofu to have some toothiness and this is a way to get a firm texture without frying.

INGREDIENTS
Golden Baked Tofu
- 1 pkg tofu, cut into cubes
- 1-2 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 shallot, halved and sliced
- red curry paste to taste
- 6 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 red pepper, cored and seeded, thinly sliced
- 4 green onions, angle cut into about 1" pieces
- 3-4 tbsp tamarind chili paste
- 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or water)
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp mushroom soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- salt to taste
- cilantro for garnish

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss tofu cubes in enough oil to coat, add salt. Place sheet in the oven and bake for 20 mins, or until golden, turning cubes regularly to evenly brown.
2. While tofu is baking, prep your veggies. Heat oil in a wok over med-hi heat. Add shallots and fry for 1 min, then add garlic and curry paste and fry for 30 seconds. Add red pepper and fry for 1 min more, until it begins to soften. Add green onions and fry 1 min more.
3. Add tamarind paste, stock, sauces, and sugar and mix well. Season to taste. Add cashews and tofu and heat through.
4. Garnish with cilantro and serve over jasmine rice.

Top Chef Masters: Vegan Challenge!

You know from my past posts that I love cooking shows, and Top Chef is one of my faves. I have been watching Top Chef Masters this summer--not as good as the "real thing" but enough to sate my appetite until Season 6 starts next week. The 8th episode started with a burger quick fire challenge (snore), but the elimination challenge was to make a vegan 5 course meal for actress Zooey Deschanel. It is the challenge I have been waiting for! Not only is Deschanel vegan, she has gluten and soy allergies, so it was a true challenge indeed. The food looked amazing, and besides a few stupid comments from the judges, the episode is a great example of the diversity of vegan food. You can see the episode here, and here are the recipes from Rick Bayless, Michael Chiarello, Hubert Keller, Anita Lo, and Art Smith.

Chili Tamarind Paste

I mentioned in my last post that I finally found some tamarind here in ye olde North. Huzzah! I decided that a good way to make of its unique flavour was to make a paste to add to Thai and other Asian dishes. A little work goes a long way here because you can keep this in a glass jar in the fridge for a few months and just add it as you see fit. You can make this as hot or as mild as you want--I kept it pretty mild for the kiddies.

INGREDIENTS
Makes about 2 cups
- generous 1/2 cup dried shitake mushroom pieces (i.e. break up the shrooms a bit to get more into the cup)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and sliced
- 3 shallots, sliced (about 1 cup)
- dried red chiles to taste, or red curry paste
- 3 tbsp of tamarind pulp
- 1/4 cup hot water (more if needed)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp mushroom soy sauce
- 1 cup veggie broth (more as needed)

METHOD
1. Put mushroom pieces in a bowl and cover with hot water. Soak until soft (about 15 mins). Place tamarind in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of hot water. Set aside.
2. While the mushrooms are soaking, heat oil in a saucepan over medium/med-hi heat. Add garlic and fry for about 1 min, until golden but not brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon.
3. Add shallots to the oil and fry for 1 min. Add chiles and fry for another min (if using curry paste, then skip this step). Remove from oil with a slotted spoon. Remove pan from heat.
4. Mash tamarind pulp with a fork until a thick paste forms. Add more water, if needed. Press through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon. Discard fibres and seeds left behind.
5. Drain mushrooms. Place in a food processor along with garlic, shallots, chiles, tamarind paste, sugar, and sauces (and curry paste if you are using that). Begin to process. With motor running add the oil you fried the garlic in. Then slowly add veggie broth. If the mixture is too thick, or not smooth enough, add more broth.
6. Pour mixture back into saucepan and heat over medium heat until bubbling. Cook for 10 mins, sirring regularly, or until sauce darkens and thickens (should be like the consistency of pudding). The oil will separate out, but don't worry, you can stir it back in later.
7. Pour into a glass jar and let cool. Store in the fridge. When cold, stir to mix the oil back in.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

We have been eating like kings now that summer is unleashing its bounty upon us. Grilled tofu or veggie burgers have been flanked with fresh local corn and potatoes, as well as peas, beans, lettuce, and tomatoes from our garden. Ontario peaches and blueberries, along with our raspberries, have made for the most wonderful fruit salads. While all this has been awesome its not particularly blog-worthy, so I thought I would regale you tales of dishes that didn't quite make it.
First up: my attempt at a roasted Sunday dinner. I made this back in the early spring when the weather was crisp and cold (and snowy) and I was in the mood for that sweet taste vegetables get when they are roasted. I loaded everything into a clay baker and topped it with some tofu that had been quickly fried and coated in balsamic vinegar. The end result was disappointing. I didn't season the veggies enough and I think the whole thing needed a gravy of some sort. I will revisit this in the fall.Next up: I was going to call this Shaked and Baked Tofu. It was good, but not much different from other recipes I have made (like baked tofu for kids). Calzones with white beans and white sauce. This was actually very tasty but was such a minor spin on this recipe that I didn't think it warranted its own post. Just use white beans instead of seitan, and use a simple white sauce instead of spaghetti sauce. Lastly, Thai noodles with baked tofu. This one I want to rework very soon. First, I let my noodles soak too long and they broke up in the wok. Secondly, I finally found some tamarind but I squandered it in this dish. I would like to make a nice tamarind chili paste and come back to rework the flavours.