Easy Rice Rolls with Dipping Sauce

I have been told that I need to start snacking. More important that I need to have protein in my snacks. Eating the same thing can be a tad boring, or it is for me. To alleviate my boredom (don't get me wrong I love a crisp apple with almond butter!) I started to experiment with ingredients I am unfamiliar with. Rice wrappers are inexpensive and super easy to use. Plus they have the added bonus of being a vehicle for lots of tasty ingredients!

3 rice wrappers (individually soak in warm water until they are pliable and want to stick together)
Carrot pieces
Tofu pieces
Lettuce pieces

Dipping Sauce
Soy sauce
Dash of sesame seed oil

Prepare one rice wrapper at a time and lay flat on a plate or board.  Place a few piece of each ingredient in the centre of you rice wrapper. Then fold in all four ends (they should stick together). Repeat process with other two rice wrappers.

For dipping sauce place both ingredients in a small bowl and stir together.

Super easy and quick when you are needing a small snack to get to through your afternoon.

Enjoy!

M

Calling all Salad lovers!

I have been eating a ton of salads lately! It is a bit intense, but good if you mix it up. The best part you can add as much or as little of each ingredient depending on how much you have or how much you like each ingredient. They are superego easy, quick to make and very satisfying!

Miso Salad

Lettuce/spinach mix
Nori pieces
Sweet potato (cut in rounds and cooked)
Tofu strips (cooked)
Snap peas

Delicious Miso Dressing
1 tsp white miso
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp rice vinegar
Dash of molasses (for sweetness)
1 tsp coconut milk (if you feel it needs a little more liquid)

Throw ingredients in a small bowl and whisk with fork. Pour over salad:)

Hodgepodge Salad

Lettuce
Nori pieces
Pear
Coconut Curry Tempeh (4 pieces, cooked)
Sweet potato pieces (leftover from Easter dinner)
Walnuts
Miso dressing

You can put anything you like into your salad. Experiment! You never know what awesome combo that you will stumble upon.

Enjoy!

M

Tex Mex Scrambled Tofu

I have been meaning to post a couple things lately, however I recently got an adorable puppy. She is great, but as you can imagine she takes up a lot of my time! Even without a new pup I find this time of year many people don't have the time to cook elaborate meals. Have breakfast for dinner is the perfect solution -- at least in my book! It is quick, easy and delicious. Scrambled tofu is tasty and versatile. \You can keep it simple by just putting your favourite spices in with mashed tofu or add veggies that you have in your fridge. Anything goes! I create this recipe to satisfy my craving for Mexican. It is easy and quick, which is perfect for those cold winter nights you don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

Oil
1 block firm tofu (you can also you medium depending on your preference)
Mustard
Turmeric
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Place a pan on medium heat with oil. Place tofu in a medium sized bowl with mustard, turmeric, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You can use as much or as little of each spice as you like.

 Mash the tofu with a fork and mix all ingredients together. Place the tofu and spice mixture into the frying pan. Cook until the tofu lightly browned.

Add some vegan sausage or bacon, toast, and kale or spinach and you have a terrific and fast evening meal or breakfast!

Enjoy!
M

Stir-fry with Miso Dressing

I love stir-fries. They are easy, versatile, and tasty! You can use whatever veggies you have in your fridge. This evening I used bok choy, green peppers and tofu. To top it off I made an easy and great tasting miso dressing.

Stir-fry Ingredients
1 package of firm tofu
3 bok choy
1 green pepper
(You can use any combination of vegetables you like or need to use up in your fridge)

Miso Dressing Ingredients
2 Tbls white miso
1/2 Tbls sesame seed oil
1/2-1tsp garlic powder

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl with a little bit of water to thin out dressing.
Stir till smooth and set aside.

Heat skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil.  Add tofu and cook until browned.  Add green pepper an cook with tofu for 3-5 minutes.  Add bok choy to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.

Once the vegetables cooked add the miso dressing and cook until sauce is heated.  This is a tasty, yet fast dinner that can be eaten with rice noodles, brown rice or in a pita.

Enjoy!

M

I made a delicious dinner of roasted tofu, potatoes, onions, carrots with quinoa and a side of swiss chard.  My boyfriend was worried about roasting the tofu.  He was paranoid about it getting too dry without marinating it first.  But since I am I always one to try something new I just wanted to go for it.  And this way if it didn't worked out I would know for next time.  Thankfully, it worked out! We had ourselves a delicious improvised meal of influenced by Indian and Moroccan spices! 

Recipe:
1 block of firm tofu, cut in slices then in half
2 medium potatoes, cut into cubes
3 carrots, cut into pieces about same size as potatoes
1 medium onion, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cinnamon
1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp chili flakes (depends on how much spice you want)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the tofu, potatoes, carrots and onion pieces onto a baking sheet.  Mix the olive oil and spices in a small bowl and drizzle over tofu and veggies.  Mix the oil and veggies with your hands to make sure they are well coated.  Put in oven until veggies are cooked. Serve on top of quinoa, rice or couscous.

I served this with swiss chard that I washed and cut into strips.  I then cooked it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  If using the stems be sure to cook them for a few minutes before you throw in the rest of the chard.  It is a nice light compliment to the spices on the tofu and veggies. 

M