General Tso's Tofu and Orange Ginger Stir Fry

Today was an insanely busy one of sifting through footnotes and saying unrepeatable things about a certain law journal's editorial board under my breath. That meant dinner needed to be fast and easy. This is by no means my finest culinary moment (every time I use sauce from a bottle a little part of me dies), but it tasted pretty good and the kids liked it. Actually, the whole experience made me want to look into making my own sauce a la General Tso.

General Tso's Tofu
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pkg tofu, drained and cubed
- cornstarch
- vegetable oil
- 1 bottle VH General Tso's sauce

METHOD
1. Toss tofu in constarch and fry in oil over med-hi heat. Remove and drain.
2. Heat sauce to bubbling in a wok. Add in tofu and and mix well. Serve over rice.

Orange Ginger Stir Fry
A modification of this recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup finely minced ginger
- large handful snow peas
- 3 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2-3 tsp soy sauce
- 6 green onions, sliced

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a wok over med-hi heat. Stir fry ginger for 1 min. Add snow peas and fry 1 min. Add mushroms and fry 1 min.
2. Add 1/2 of the orange juice and bring to bubbling. Cook veggies for about 5 mins, until mushrooms are cooked.
3. Dissolve cornstarch into remaining orange juice and add to wok with soy sauce. Add green onions and mix well. Serve.

Cannelloni

Huzzah for penicillin! My strep throat is getting better very quickly, which meant it was time to get back into the kitchen tonight. Italian food is Vegan Mom's favourite food, so tonight it was cannelloni. I used oven-ready pasta to cut down on time--definently worth it. If you have every experienced the pain and suffering of boiling, then cooling, then stuffing pasta tubes without breaking them, you know what I am talking about.

Marinara Sauce

INGREDIENTS

- 4 large cloves of garlic, lightly crushed

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 2 28oz cans chopped tomatoes

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 bunch basil leaves, roughly chopped

METHOD

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 3-4 mins, until golden. Press occasionaly with the back of a spoon to release some of that garlicky goodness into the oil.

2. Add in tomatoes (juice and all) and salt. Process briefly with an immersion hand blender. The sauce should still be a bit chunky. Add in basil and simmer while you make the ricotta filling.

Ricotta Filling

INGREDIENTS

- 1 pkg firm tofu, drained

- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

- 1/2 tsp salt

- freshly ground white pepper

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- 1 1/2 tbsp soy creamer

- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder

METHOD

1. Squeeze tofu by hand to drain as much of the liquid out as possible. Mush by hand until it resembles ricotta cheese. Stir in parsley, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and oil with a fork.

2. Dissolve arrowroot powder into soy creamer and mix into the tofu mixture.

Cannelloni

Makes 14 cannelloni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Lightly oil a large casserole dish. Put down a later of sauce.

2. Fill 14 oven-ready canneloni tubes with tofu mixture. Place in the casserole dish, about 1/4" apart to allow them to expand. Cover with the remaining sauce. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 mins. Uncover and bake for 15 mins.

Strawberry Mango Shake and Orange Julius

I have managed to contract a nice case of strep throat. So, everything I eat tastes like sand. Needless to say, I have not been eating a lot but I have been looking for nice cool drinks to soothe my throat. This mango shake is awesome and has a strawberry milkshake texture and taste without any dairy. The Orange Julius is bright and refreshing. Do they still have Orange Julius stores in the mall anymore? I have not seen one since the 80s. I have yet to figure out a good way to photograph a beverage, so here is a stock photo of mangoes.

Strawberry Mango Shake

INGREDIENTS

- 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped

- 12-15 frozen strawberries

- plain soy milk

- sugar

METHOD

1. Place mango and strawberries in a blender. Fill 3/4 of the way with soy milk (about 4-5 cups). Add sugar to taste and blend until very smooth.

Orange Julius

INGREDIENTS

- 1 tray of ice cubes

- 2 cups orange juice

- 2-3 cups plain soy milk

- sugar to taste

METHOD

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

It has been a very busy weekend of research and writing for me which meant there was very little time to make food. Actually, I had no time at all to make food and Vegan Mom was busy juggling 3 kids. Fortunately, we just joined a food co-op that has all sorts of reasonably priced vegan convenience food like Yves frozen veggie balls (and Silk soy creamer! Huzzah!). The veggie meat balls were pretty good, but perhaps a tad bit mushy. But, they certainly are faster than making your own. If I didn't mention it before in a previous post, spaghetti sauce is a great way to get veggies into kids who usually resist them. Process carrots, pepper, mushrooms, onions, etc., in a food processor and cook with the sauce. We also add in red lentils for extra protein since they dissolve when they are fully cooked.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is great because you can throw just about anything into a baking dish and add mashed potatoes. So, feel free to experiment with whatever you have hanging out in your fridge. Vegan Mom made this version, which was the best tasting pie we have had yet. This recipe is a bit weird because it makes use of the leftover mushroom mixture from last night's tacos--you don't have to make the same mixture, but I do think the mushrooms add nice flavour to the whole dish

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 1/2 cup TVP

- 1/2 recipe of this mushroom mixture, finely chopped

- 2 tbsp HP sauce

- 2 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 1/4 cup water

- 1/4 cup ketchup

- frozen mixed vegetables

- 8-10 potatoes, cooked and mashed with margarine and soy milk

- 1/2 cup bread crumbs

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over med-hi heat. Saute onions for 5-6 mins, until softened and translucent. Add in TVP, mushroom mixture, HP sauce, soy sauce and mix well. Add water and cook until absorbed and TVP is soft. Stir in ketchup and remove from heat.

2. Spread 1/3 of the mashed potatoes in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish. Add a layer of mixed vegetables, and 1/2 of the TVP mixture. Repeat. Top with a final layer of mashed potatoes, sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

3. Bake for 45 mins, until top is golden.