Tasty Fake Rice - yes, Cauliflower

 

You know what it looks like. Boring made good. This is oven roasted from a bag of frozen cauliflower rice that had been thawed. Tossed in a medium sized bowl with a little olive oil and a tablespoon each of minced ginger (from a tube) and chopped garlic (from a jar).  

Roasted at 350 degrees spread out in a thin layer on a foil wrapped sheet pan, 20 minutes. DELICIOUS.

When is the roasting done? Not sure. Heated through? Brown at the edges?

Next time, I’ll try roasting at 375 degrees a little longer just to see if it will brown some more around the edges.  I think if I used more oil, it would get crispy or put it under the broiler for five minutes.

Served this with pan sautéed Cod and roasted Brussels Sprouts. Lovely.

Baked Tofu - Delicious Morsels!

This recipe is easy for tasty oven-baked tofu morsels.

Simple to make, each cube looks golden as if deep fried. One package of firm tofu provides 40 grams of vegan protein.   A great protein addition to stir-fries, soups, salads, stews and more. 

Recipe:

1 package firm tofu, cut into cubes

make the dip:

1 Tb - 2 TB canola oil

1 Tb any flour, including gluten free 

1 Tb soy sauce - low sodium or gluten free

1 Tb water

1 TB seeds - chia/flax/hemp

Freeze:

I freeze Tofu instead of squeezing to remove some of the moisture. If I'm short on time, 30 minutes in the freezer for the tofu cubes, arranged in one layer (use a plate or foil pan) is sufficient. 

Toss:

Use a large mixing bowl for the dip.  

Coat all of the tofu by gently tossing in the mixture.

Bake on parchment paper at 425° for 20 minutes.  When the tofu turns golden brown and looks crispy, it's done. 

vegan low carb crumbles with an asian flair

vegan low carb crumbles with an 

asian flair

1 package Lightlife Smart Ground Plant-based Crumbles

1 bag pre-shredded cole slaw mix

½ cup broth or more

1 TB soy sauce

1 TB garlic powder

1 TB ground ginger

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp salt, taste before adding salt, if needed

3 servings

Add Crumbles to hot skillet, sprayed with oil. Add seasonings.

Brown, 7-8 minutes. Add broth. Stir well.

Simmer on low for about twenty minutes until slaw mix is thoroughly cooked.

Wonton chips

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

cut egg roll wrappers into strips and brush with oil.  

Bake for 4-5 minutes until bubble and brown - watch carefully not to burn them

Let chips cool before serving with the crumbles and slaw.

⅓ serving of Lightlife Crumbles (4 oz) = 160 calories, 3g Fat, 700mg sodium, 10g Carbs, 22g protein  

You'll think it's tender beef strips, just perfectly sliced

This was really good and so simple.  This photograph was at the moment that the frozen soy - looks- like-beef strips were added to the vegetables and left to simmer for a long time.  I didn't follow the package directions which would have been 1-2-3 simple and fast cooking.  I wanted the vegetables to build flavors and enhance the one dish meal. Served with baguette slices for dipping into the flavorful sauce.

Ingredients:      serves 2-3 hungry diners

1 TB olive oil
minced garlic to taste
1 pint roughly cut whole mushrooms
1 very small eggplant, any variety, about 1/2 lb, diced
1 Vidalia onion - small chop - diced
1 pkg. vegan beef-like strips (I used Wegman's Don't Have a Cow meatless strips)
1 can organic 15 oz diced tomatoes with the juice
salt to taste
pepper - fresh ground - to taste

Heat up the frying pan to medium heat and saute the minced garlic with olive oil. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the chopped onion and cook a few minutes until the onion is translucent.  Add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms and onions are brown, raise the temperature to high and add the diced eggplant.  When the eggplant is brown, lower the temperature to low and add the can of tomatoes with the juice and the frozen soy-based meatless strips as in the photo.  Cover the pan and let simmer for 30 minutes making a nice sauce to cover the tender beef-like strips.

Options: 
Vary the spices by adding Italian dry herbs or other spices.  Serve with a baked potato, rice or pasta.