Eating Clean - The Simple Salad with Baked Tofu

One of the most practical slices of dietary advice I've ever heard was from the Chef teaching the vegetarian culinary arts course I took last year.

She said that to occasionally indulge is human, and even healthy (mentally) in the long term, as long as its followed by eating extra clean for two to three days following said indulgence.

As I've been known to indulge a time or two, I decided to try to put this rule into practice and see what happened.... I think it works! Usually, if I scarf down a high sugar, high fat dessert or too much creamy-sauce pasta or have an extra glass of red wine, I have a reminder of it the next morning on that annoying electronic gizmo that I reluctantly step on in the bathroom, the scales.

So, on day one, two, and three after said indulgence I now pass by the scales, skip the processed food, and opt instead for healthy fruit and veggie snacks and properly portioned healthy homemade soups or salads for lunches and dinners. My next date with the scale usually shows no evidence of any dietary transgressions! Based on this very unscientific study, I've adopted this practice into my usual eating patterns.

Last night I attended a friend's birthday party and partook of several yummy b-day desserts that were on offer without guilt because I knew today would be eat-clean day number one.

Dinner -
The Simple Salad

Ingredients:
4 cups mixed salad greens
2 green onions, chopped
1" english cucumber, thinly sliced

Dressing
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 T lemon juice
2 T extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Assemble salad greens, cucumber and green onion in a large salad bowl.

For dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, and salt and pepper until combined. Slowly add olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Drizzle desired amount over salad.

You can use any veggies you have on hand, such as thinly sliced red or yellow peppers, zucchini, red onion, or diced tomato. I just happened to have cucumber and green onion so that's what I used today.

The salad can be served with or without topping. Today I had leftover baked tofu so I topped the salad with it. Here's the recipe, from one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, The Artful Vegan, Fresh Flavors From The Millennium Restaurant (I've abbreviated the method slightly but the recipe is unchanged):

Baked Tofu

Ingredients:
1 pound firm tofu
1/4 cup tamari
1 tsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Slice the tofu in half lengthwise and then in thirds across the widths, making slices about 1/2 to 2/3 inch thick.

Combine the tamari, maple syrup and sesame oil in a medium bowl, dip the tofu in the marinade and place on a baking sheet. I sprinkled sesame seeds over the tofu to make it look pretty and add a crunch, but that's not part of the original recipe....go ahead, make it your own!

Bake for 20 minutes, turning the tofu over to brush with any remaining marinade and bake for another 20 minutes or until tofu is caramel brown. Remove from oven, cool and serve.

Suzi Eats! A Day in the Life of a Herbivore

This Easter Sunday, it was just me, my hubby, and our kitty Mia. No big family gatherings. It turned out to be a pretty typical Sunday for us, actually, so you'll see this is more of a "day in the life of a herbivore" kind of walk-thru rather than actual recipes here. More recipes coming soon!

So, we kicked off the day with our usual organic, fair-trade Kicking Horse coffee and some oatmeal pancakes (also affectionately known as "oak" pancakes due to a now infamous typo).

Our favorite pancake recipe is from the first vegetarian cookbook I ever owned, Laurel's Kitchen. Its not vegan, but probably could be veganized pretty easily with an egg substitute and soy/almond milk. Sometimes I use gluten-free flour to make it gluten free, but today I used whole wheat flour. I never use pancake mix to make pancakes...it's just way too easy to make from scratch!!















Oatmeal (Oak) Pancakes
1 1/8 cups milk or milk substitute
1 cup rolled oats
2 T oil
2 eggs, beaten (or egg substitute)
1/2 cup whole wheat or gluten free flour
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the milk and oats in a small bowl and let it stand for at least 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine oil and eggs, whisking well. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the two bowls of wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Let stand for 15 minutes, then ladle the mixture onto a hot grill, turning when bubbly. Makes 6-10 pancakes, depending on how big you like to make your pancakes.















I like to serve my pancakes with real Canadian maple syrup along with a fruit sauce made with a handful of frozen mixed berries heated on the stove top with a bit of sugar and lemon juice until reduced by half and thickened. Today, we used blueberries and sliced strawberries. Sometimes I like a scoop of flavored yogurt alongside the berries and some Yves' veggie breakfast "sausage"...they look and taste so real don't they?!

After breakfast it was on to the relaxing and some more reading about how to use my new camera. Hmmm, my Exposure book has already jumped at light speed to shutter speed but I'm not ready to leave aperture yet. I must try to resist flipping ahead and just trust in the author's intentions.

Although breakfast was quite satisfying, its not long before I'm craving my usual weekend smoothie. My smoothies typically include: 1 1/2 cups of almond milk or soy milk, a spoonful of Greens+ or spirulina powder, a scoop of vegan protein powder, one small banana, and my frozen fruit of the day. Today's frozen fruit was peach, melon, and strawberry.

Sometimes I'll add a pinch of cinnamon and a bit of sweetener, especially if it is a mango-banana smoothie. YUM!!

Since today's a holiday, it seemed like a good day to go to the local mall parking lot to practice for my next driving lesson. Me and all the 16 year olds!! Haha! But not until after lunch!

Mini-pizzas on Greek pita bread.
Greek pitas are thicker than regular pitas and don't have a pouch in the center. They make great pizza crusts! Just throw a package in the freezer and thaw as needed. These are so quick and easy to make.

Top each pita with a few tablespoons of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, sprinkle with a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper and pile on your favorite toppings...today was veggie pepperoni, sliced mushrooms, red peppers and onions. Then add your fav cheese. Mine included mozzarella, cheddar, and goat cheese, ya, decadent...but it's a holiday! Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and throw it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400F until the cheese is all nice and bubbly.

After lunch, its off to the mall. We had the parking lot all to ourselves until just before leaving. We were joined by a young teen out learning how to drive his family's huge mini-van with his dad (why are these things called "mini"??). We kept our distance from each other, both still anxious about sharing the road with other moving vehicles. One more of these sessions and I might be ready to hit the roads of a local, quiet neighborhood. All this driving around in circles and attempting to stall park is beginning to wear out my oh-so-patient co-driver!

I knew just the thing to unwind my husband...slice up five onions for tonite's dinner's caramelized onion tart and roll out the puff pastry! Good thing he used to be a catering cook and has a sharp chef knife...he finished with the onions in seconds!!

Rustic Caramelized Onion Tart with Sauteed Collards and Asparagus
This tart makes a great main for a vegetarian meal, served with a side of collards and asparagus, and it's easy to boot!

While my husband sliced five onions and rolled out the thawed puff pastry, I sliced a cup of cremini mushrooms and browned them in 2T olive oil, 1 T butter with 4 whole, peeled garlic cloves. I added a sploosh of red wine at the end simmering until completely reduced.

To caramelize the onions, heat 2T butter and 2T olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat, and add the onions and salt and pepper, sauteeing, stirring often, for about 20-30 minutes, until soft, sweet and golden brown. In the last 5 minutes, add 2-3 T of balsamic vinegar and cook until thickened. Add the mushroom mixture to the onions and let it cool for 5 minutes, then place the filling onto the puff pastry, leaving a 1" border. Dot with 4oz soft goat cheese and fold the edges around the mixture to prevent leakage. Brushing the edges of pastry with milk will help the pastry brown nicely. Bake at 450F for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden.















To saute the collards, I used a traditional Mediterranean recipe. Chop the collards into bite sized pieces, removing tough stems, and boil for 10 minutes or until tender. Heat 2T of olive oil in a large skillet and add 3 chopped garlic cloves and a pinch of red pepper flakes and infuse the oil on low heat for 5 minutes, making sure you avoid browning the garlic. Add the collards, stir and sautee for 3-5 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. I also added cubes of smoked tofu, which stand up well to the collards.

Oh, and I almost forgot the asparagus! Saute the asparagus in 1T of olive oil until tender, about 3-5 minutes, then sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1-2T lemon juice. Enjoy!!

Tofu "Fish" Sticks

Even though I've been vegetarian for many years, I still have cravings for some of the meat and fish dishes I grew up with. Who didn't have those frozen deep-fried fish sticks growing up? They were one of my favorite meals as a kid! Throw in some french fries and some coleslaw and that's one kid-friendly meal. Here's my take on a vegan version of those fish sticks.

Ingredients:
1 block of extra firm tofu (350g), frozen, then thawed and excess water gently squeezed out

Tofu marinade--
2 T tamari sauce (or good aged soy sauce)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T lemon juice

Breading--
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
1T lemon zest
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Vegan tartar sauce--
3 T vegan mayonnaise
1 T sweet green relish
1/4 tsp dried dill

4T sunflower oil
1 lemon

Method:
Place marinade ingredients into a medium wide-bottomed bowl and whisk until combined. Cut tofu in half across width and then cut diagonally. Slice triangles into 1/2" thick slices. Place tofu triangles into marinade and soak until all marinade is absorbed by all the tofu. Be gentle when swooshing marinade over the tofu, being careful not to break the triangles.

Set up a breading station: take 3 pie plates and fill one with the flour, one with the soy milk and one with the breading ingredients. Mix the breading ingredients until evenly distributed. Dredge the tofu first in the flour, then the soy milk and then the breading. Set aside.

Cover the bottom of a heavy bottomed frying pan with sunflower oil and heat to medium high. When hot and rippling, place the breaded tofu into the oil and brown on both sides until nice and crispy, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Combine the tartar sauce ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Cut up the lemon into wedges for sprinkling on the "fish" sticks when serving. Serve the tofu "fish" sticks with the vegan tartar sauce and enjoy!!

Asian Noodles in Spicy Peanut Sauce

One of my favorite mid-week meals, this is so fast to make and very tasty! I've even entertained with this on a weeknight after work. This is inspired by a recipe from an old cookbook of mine called "Best of What's For Dinner?" by Ken Kostick. I've tweaked the recipe to suit my tastes and style of cooking.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb medium rice noodles
2T sunflower oil
1/2 block of firm or extra firm tofu, chopped into 1" cubes

2-3T sunflower oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced cremini and shitake mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (I include seeds and ribs 'cause I like it hot but you don't have to!)
2 T peanut butter
1/4 cup tamari sauce (or good aged soy sauce)
2 T vegetable stock or water
1 T balsamic vinegar

Method:
Put pot of water on to boil and cook rice noodles according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed skillet, on medium heat, add first 2 tablespoons of oil and brown tofu cubes on each side, about 5 minutes in total. When browned on the outside but still soft on the inside, set aside to drain on a paper towel.

In a wok or large skillet with high sides, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil on medium-high heat and add onion, mushrooms, red pepper and garlic all at once, stirring often until softened, about 5 minutes.

Make a hole in the centre of the stir fry ingredients and add all the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Heat until bubbling and add more stock or water to thin, if needed. Mix the sauce together with stir fry ingredients and add the cooked rice noodles and the browned tofu, cooking for 1-2 more minutes so noodles soak up some of the sauce and the tofu is warmed up.

Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with some cilantro or flat leafed parsley. You could even sprinkle with some chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

Serving suggestion: this goes well with my mango-lime salad recipe ;-)

Vegan Chocolate "Mousse"

So, it's Valentines Day and that special meal you are preparing for your significant other just needs the perfect decadent chocolate finale. Here's a recipe for a super-luscious chocolate mousse that you can whip up in minutes! This recipe is adapted from one of Chef Harrel's tofu classes at the culinary school here in Toronto. You'll want to make this again and again, and your guests will never know it has tofu in it!


















Ingredients:
6 oz (6 squares) of vegan semi-sweet chocolate
10 oz/300g silken tofu
1 small ripe banana
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T chocolate or hazelnut-flavored liqueur

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1 T fresh mint, chopped
1/2 tsp sugar or light maple syrup

Method:
Melt the chocolate in a large bowl over a pot of simmering water, stirring just until melted. Remove from heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes.

Place melted chocolate with tofu, banana, vanilla and liqueur in a blender or small food processor and process until very smooth. If it's too thick to blend, add 1-3T of soymilk. Pour into individual serving cups and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Mix strawberries, mint and maple syrup and sprinkle on top of each cup just before serving.

Vegan Caesar Salad

The caesar salad is my all-time favorite salad. No matter what salad phase I'm in at any given time, I still always crave a good caesar. It must be all the garlic and the salty-creaminess of the dressing combined with the garlicky-crunchiness of the croûtons. So, of course, I HAD to try to come up with a vegan caesar dressing so I can continue to indulge my cravings without having to turn to mayo and cheese!! So, here it is... my take on a vegan caesar. Maybe this will satisfy YOUR caesar cravings, too! :-)

Caesar Salad
vegan

Salad
1 romaine heart, chopped

Assemble chopped romaine in a salad serving bowl

Croutons
2 slices of your favorite crusty bread, chopped into cubes
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grate garlic into olive oil, stir and drizzle over cubed bread. Toss until well coated and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until desired crispiness. Alternatively, you can also pan fry the cubes in 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil until browned on the outside but still nice and chewy on the inside. Add to romaine lettuce in bowl or reserve until salad is dressed and then sprinkle on top to keep them from getting too soggy.

Dressing
1/3 container of silken tofu (150 grams)
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced (about 1/4 cup)
1 T capers
1tsp tamari sauce
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove, pressed or grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all dressing ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour desired amount over salad, toss well and enjoy!!

Carrot Apple Soup with Ginger

It's my favorite time of year...soup season! In honor of the season, here is one of my recently developed creamy soups, Carrot Apple Soup with Ginger. I tend to prefer pureed, creamy soups, although some broth soups are wonderful, too. I created this recipe to satisfy a craving I had for a creamy carrot apple soup earlier this Fall. The smooth texture is enhanced by the silken tofu added to the puree stage. The tofu adds no flavor so don't worry, if you think you don't like tofu give this a try.

Tip: don't forget to remove the centre plug from your blender's lid and cover it with a kitchen towel before blending...you don't want to get hot liquid everywhere!!

Carrot Apple Soup with Ginger
Vegan

2T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1T fresh ginger, grated
2 cups chopped carrot
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 apple, peeled and chopped
Pinch hot pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup white wine
4 cups vegetable stock
½ cup silken tofu

In a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat add olive oil and onion and sauté until translucent, for about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, carrot, potatoes, apple and seasonings and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 more minutes.

Add the white wine and simmer 1-2 minutes, stirring to make sure any browned bits come up off the bottom of the pan and until the alcohol is cooked off.

Then add the stock. Turn heat to high and bring the soup to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes or until all vegetables are softened.

Remove the bay leaf and pour all ingredients into a blender and add the silken tofu. Puree until smooth. Add small amount of stock, if necessary, if the texture is too thick. Add back to pot to re-warm and serve.