Quick and easy Tempeh Stew

When it comes to tempeh, german blogs keep astoundingly quiet. To me this is completely incomprehensible,  given that tempeh is delicious and easy to afford at the same time. I confess that I prefer tempeh over seitan...that makes me the outcast of the vegan scene, I guess...

Tonight's dinner was probably not the best tempeh dish ever, but for something thrown together in 5 minutes it was quite tasty.

 

 

 

Quick and easy Tempeh Stew

2 servings:

1/2 box tempeh

2-3T soy sauce

1T olive oil

1 can tomatoes

2 handful of frozen spinach, thawed and pressed

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 small onion

1t curry

salt and pepper

 

Heat oil in a pan. Dice onions finely and fry until translucent. Ground tempeh and add to pan. Fry for 2 minutes, then add the soy sauce and pressed garlic.

Cut spinach in small pieces and add to the tempeh. Puree the tomatoes together with the juice and add to the pan.

Mix well. Add seasons, stir and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes.

 

Goes well with rice or pasta.

 

 

Oven-braised bell peppers with kraut and seitan

 

Oven-braised bell peppers with kraut and seitan

 

two servings:

2 bell peppers(different colors when possible)

1 big onion

2T olive oil

2t pimento, otherwise 2t paprika

1,5 cups kraut

Seitan (optional)

salt and pepper

 

Dice peppers and onion coarsely.

 

 

Put in a sealable bag and cover with oil and spices. Make sure, that all vegetable pieces are smothered with oil.

 

 

Let rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime preheat oven to 390°F. Put peppers in a small oven-proof dish.

 

 

Bake for 20 minutes.

Dice seitan and add along with the kraut to the form. Bake another 5-10 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

 

Tofurella!

If there ever will be a movie about vegan food blogs, it will sure be named "Not another lasagna receipt".

 

In my dairy-eating days I would put mozzarella in nearly every pasta dish, partly because I could eat at least half of it when slicing it. I don't really miss the taste (ok, mozzarella isn't known for its strong flavor), but sometimes I long for its mouth feel.

 

So today, when inspiration struck, I couldn't resist to make Tofurella and add it to the lasagna. If it is old had for you, I apologize, to me it was a revelation - well, not an real revelation, but you get the point...

 

 

Tofurella

1box silken tofu

boiling water

 

Use a tablespoon to form small tofu heaps. Put in a colander and pour the boiling water over the tofu. Let drain and stuff between the noodle layers.

 

 

Cooking the blogs!

 

I love reading other vegan's blogs and I also love re-cooking receipts. Since the start of this MoFo I am in a state of panic, thinking I will never manage to cook all the delicious things that are posted with an enormous frequency.

So yesterday I combined two receipts, the Vegan Roast Dinner Lentil and Mushroom Loaf with Savoury Potato Filling from Jenni Treehuggers "heathen and vegan" and the "classic cashew gravy" from Tofu-Mum@tofu-n-sproutz.

Both receipts were tasty on their own, but also went together well.

Only the filling of the lentil roast (my first lentil roast ever btw.) was a bit overwhelming, but that might have been due to my excessive usage of sage.

 

 

Pasta salad with zucchini and pine nuts

Pasta salad with  zucchini and pine nuts

 

500g (1lb) farfalle
1kg (2lb) zucchini
20 dried tomatoes in oil
2 red onions
1 bunch of basil 
3/4 soy cream 
3T pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper

 

Cook pasta according to package and drain. Put in a large bowl.

Dice onions finely, grate zucchini. In a pan heat 2T of the tomato oil and cook onions until glossy. Add zucchini and pressed garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.

Put zucchini-mixture into the pasta bowl.

In a dry pan roast pine nuts. Add to the pasta along with the chopped basil and the dices tomatoes.

Pour cream in bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Chill at least for 2 hours before serving.

 

 

Don’t judge the cake by its picture!

I promised you pasta salad and I give you cake – well, it could be worse.

 

My first try on vegan (or general) home-made lemon cake turned out way better than I ever imagined. Therefore the motto for today is: “Spread the love and share the cake”!

 

 

Juicy lemon cake

 

for 28cm cake tin:
3 oranges
2 lemons
300g (0,66lb) flour
250g (0,55lb) sugar
200ml (0,85c) oil

1 package baking soda

confectioners sugar

 

Preheat oven to 350F.

Press one of the oranges. In a big bowl cream juice with sugar. Add zest of both lemon along with the flour and the baking soda to the bowl. Mix well.

Press the other two oranges and one of the lemons. In  a separate bowl mix juice with the oil. Add to the big bowl and mix. If the batter is too stiff, add some more lemon juice.

Grease the baking pan and fill in batter.

Bake for 55 minutes, but make sure to cover the cake after 40 minutes.

Let cool. Coat with a simple icing made of lemon juice (you should have at least half a lemon left) and confectioners sugar.

 

 

Tagliatelle with mushrooms and nuts

I'm not feeling very talkative (or blogative?) right now, so this simple receipt will have to do for today. Simple as it is, it was still very tasty. The nuts provide the little extra.

Tomorrow we will be attending the last barbecue of the year, for this special occasion I am planning to bring my favorite pasta salad.

There is only one catch: I never cooked this salad myself, let alone in a vegan version. At least veganizing it shouldn't be that difficult, since it contains no salami or pork sausages, as most of German pasta salads do. We'll see.

 

 

Tagliatelle with mushrooms and nuts

serves two:
0,5lb tagliatelle
1/2c hazelnuts, peeled
3T dried mushrooms (mixed or shiitake)
0,5lb button mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1T olive oil
1/2c white wine
1/2c soy cream
fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

 

Roast nuts in a pan till slightly browned.

Soak dried mushrooms in boiling water for about 15 minutes.

Cook noodles according to package, drain and set aside. Wash button mushrooms and slice not too finely.

Heat oil in a pan, fry mushroom slices along with the pressed garlic on medium heat for some minutes. Deglaze with wine.

Drain dried mushrooms and add to pan. Let cook until wine is nearly evaporated. Add cream and turn up the heat.

Season with salt and pepper.

Chop nuts and add along with the pasta to the man. Mix well and let reheat (takes about a minute).

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

 

Aelplermagronen with applesauce

This receipt is one I already posted on my German blog some weeks ago. Since I spent nearly 11 hours at college today, I am too tired to cook anything new and exciting and will probably stick with a beer for dinner.

"Aelplermagronen" is not a traditional German receipt but one of our closer neighbors, the Swiss. Probably my version is mutilating one of their culinary national sanctuaries, but it takes fantastic nonetheless. No low carb for me! ;)

 

 

Aelplermagronen with applesauce

serves two hungry eaters:
300g (0,65lb) potatoes
250g (0,55lb) elbow macaronis
200g (0,44lb) smoked tofu
1T oil
1 cup soy milk
1 big onion
1/2t ground sage
1/2t ground rosemary
1 pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
3 apples
1-2T sugar
1 dash lemon juice

 

Cook potatoes in salted water. Let cool, peel and dice not too finely.  Cook pasta according to package.

 

Peel apples, remove core and dice coarsely. Add the lemon juice and mix. Heat about 3T water in a small pot, add apple dices and sugar. Bring to the boil, lower heat and cook covered for about 25 minutes. Remove excess water and mash.

 

Dice tofu and onions. Heat oil in an pan, fry onions on medium heat until glossy. Add tofu and continue with frying.

 

Turn up the heat, add potatoes and pasta and fry, constantly stirring. Pour soy milk in the pan and season with nutmeg, sage and rosemary. Let soy milk thicken.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Serve with the applesauce.

 

MoFo #10

 

I won’t waste any time (neither yours not mine) pretending that I came up with a super innovative receipt for wraps. To be honest I merely stuffed the wrap with all vegetables in sight and added falafel. Like a wise man said: "A day without a falafel is a day lost".

This quick dinner makes also a nice pastime after eating, because if you are just somewhat clumsy as I am, blobs of sauce and vegetables will be everywhere and long for the attention of your cleaning supplies.

 

Sesame-Sauce

150g soy yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, presses
1t lemon juice
1t tahin
1 handful mint

 

mix and put on top of the filling.

 

Roll wrap as good as you can and tug in!

 

 

 

Baked Bowtie Pasta with zucchini and mint

Baked Bowtie Pasta with zucchini and mint

2 servings:
2 medium zucchinis
2 garlic cloves
3T broth
2t white balsamic vinegar
3T olive oil
1 handful fresh mint and parsley
salt and pepper
bowtie pasta

 

Wash zucchini and slice finely. Mix with 2T olive oil and put in oven-proof dish. Preheat oven too 400 F and bake zucchini for 20 minutes or till slightly brown.

In the meantime cook pasta according to package.

Mix last T oil with vinegar, parsley, mint, pressed garlic and broth. Season with salt and pepper.

When time is up, fetch zucchini from oven and mix with the oil-vinegar-mixture. Serve over drained pasta and sprinkle with walnut parmesan.

Hot pepper stir-fry

Hot pepper stir-fry

2 servings:
2 bell peppers (red + yellow preferred)
150g tempeh
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 can tomatoes
150g pasta
2T soy sauce
1t tabasco
1/2t chile pepper
1/4t cayenne pepper
1/2t marjoram
1/2t caraway
salt and pepper

Peel onion and cut in 8 parts. Dice tempeh finely. Heat oil in a cast iron pan, fry onion on medium heat until transparent. Add tempeh and fry for 3 minutes. Add pressed garlic and soy sauce, mix well.
Wash peppers and dice finely too. Add into pan and fry, occasionally stirring. Add tomatoes and spices, cover with lid and let cook for 30 minutes on low heat.

Cook noodles according to package, drain and serve with stir-fry.

 

Coconut-crusted tofu with pumpkin and mango-sauce

How I hate it, if you look forward to a dish and it turns out ok, but the pics are just crappy. Gnah!

Coconut-crusted tofu with pumpkin and mango-sauce

2 servings:
200g tofu
3T soy sauce
1 small piece of ginger
1 garlic clove
1/2t sambal oelek
1 can of mango
1t turmeric
2T sherry
2T coconut flakes
1T bread crumbs
2T wheat
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 lb. pumpkin (Hokkaido preferred)
salt and pepper
1/2t curry powder
1/4t chili flakes
1 1/2t lemon juice
2T oil

Grate ginger and press garlic. Mix with soy sauce, sherry, 4T mango juice, turmeric and sambal oelek.
Slice tofu and put in concealable box. Let marinate overnight.

 

Peel pumpkin and dice. Cook in salt water alongside with the peas for 15 minutes. Drain excess water. Set aside and keep warm. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2t lemon juice

Drain tofu. Mix coconut flakes with bread crumbs and wheat with the double amount of water, until the wheat-water-mix has an egg-like consistency. Turn tofu slices in the wheat, then coat with breadcrumbs and coconut.

 

Heat oil in a pan and fry tofu on middle heat from both sides.

Puree mango with the rest of the juice. Heat in a small pot, but don't bring to the boil. Season with lemon juice, curry und chili flakes.

Arrange on plates in portions and serve with rice.

 

Picture sucks, I know....

Pumpkin-spelt-muffins with streusels

Sometimes a whole pumpkin is just too much, even if you it a pumpkin-related dinner twice in a row. Therefore I am always glad if I find a way to use up the remnants.

Pumpkin-spelt-muffins with streusels

for the batter:
ca. 1/2 lb pumpkin, Hokkaido or butternut
225g (1 3/4 + 1/8 cup) spelt wheat
1/2t baking soda
1/2t baking powder 
75g (2/3 cup) brown sugar
1/4t nutmeg, freshly grounded
1 small piece of ginger
a pinch of salt
ca. 150ml (3/4 cup) soy milk
1t lemon juice
for the streusels:
100g (3/4 + 1/8 cup) spelt wheat
60g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1t cinnamon 
3T molten margarine (measured before melting)

Remove the seeds from the pumpkin and grate not too finely.

Add ginger and nutmeg. Mix with wheat, sugar, baking soda and baking powder.

Blend soy milk with lemon juice and add to the flour. Mix well, using your hands.

For the streusels mix the streusel ingredients coarsely with a fork.

Fill 12 muffin forms with equal parts of batter. Spread streusels on top.

Preheat oven to 350° F and bake for 25 minutes.

Food loop

Though I was planning to introduce you to “Coconut-Tofu with pumpkin and mango-sauce” today, an unexpected guest thwarts this plan.

Now I am a bit in a hurry and had to throw something easy and filling, as we need a solid base for the beers to come. ;)

So, again, I present a gratinated ciabatta, only today it is an slightly different one:

Gratinated Ciabatta topped with tempeh-chilli.

 

 

Tomorrow there will be tofu!

Nut-crusted parsnips

 

 Nut-crusted parsnips

6 parsnips
1T oil
3T margarine
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup hazelnuts, chopped
4T breadcrumbs
salt
nutmeg

 

Peel and slice the parsnips. In a large pot heat the oil, add parsnips and let cook for 3 minutes.

 

Add broth and cook for 10 minutes. Drain.

Grease a small oven-proof form and put parsnip slices in it. Season with salt and nutmeg.

Mix nuts and breadcrumbs.

 

  Melt margarine in a small pot and blend with the nut-mixture.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange nut-mix on top of the parsnips. Bake for 5 minutes. Serve.

 

Weeknight food

Some days, when coming home late from college, I don’t feel like cooking something experimental.
For these days I have, as everyone of you probably has, some standard dishes, of which the ingredients mostly slumber in the freezer.

One of these dishes is Ciabatta with some vegetables and/or tofu on it, gratinated with a white wine sauce. I love cooking with wine, it often gives the taste that little kick.

This time in the end there was a

Ciabatta topped with spicy Tempeh, peppers and tomatoes 

Looks fairly delicious, but sometimes one cannot trust the looks.

Mediterranean potatoes

 

 Mediterranean potatoes

2 servings:
1,5lb potatoes
1 zucchini
4 tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
5 black pepper corns
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cup broth
1 small onion
1 heaped T tomato paste
10 olives, any kind you like
1T olive oil
1/2-1t chili flakes
1/2t sugar
1T balsamic vinegar
1 handful fresh basil
salt, pepper

Peel potatoes and garlic cloves. Dice potatoes

 

Bring broth along with the bay leave and the pepper corns to the boil. Add potatoes and cook ca. 17 minutes. Drain potatoes but make sure to collect the liquid.
Dice onion, zucchini and tomatoes. Cut the olives in rings.

 

Heat the oil in a pan and fray the onion dices on medium heat. Add tomato paste and the zucchini dices. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally .
Add tomatoes and about half of the cooking liquid together with sugar and chili flakes. Cover and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add potatoes. Mix well.

 

Turn up the heat and let liquid reduce. Add the vinegar and sprinkle with basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve!

 

Potato-Kraut-Pancakes

 

Potato-Kraut-Pancakes with Caraway-Sauce

makes about 10
2lb potatoes
1lb Kraut
1 onion
1T corn starch
2T salt
2T oil
1/2 cup plain soy yoghurt
1t lemon juice
1/2-1t caraway seeds
1T chopped parsley
salt and pepper

Peel potatoes and grate coarsely.

 

Place potato grates in a large bowl, mix with the 2T salt and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
In the meantime blend yoghurt, lemon juice, caraway and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Put sauce in the fridge and let it chill until needed.

Place kraut in a colander and press firmly, till most of the liquid is drained.

 

After the 30 minutes rest period, drain the potato and pour away the potato liquid. Grate the onion and mix with potato grates and the kraut. Add the starch and some pepper. Mix well.

Heat two cast pans with 1T oil each. Add the potato-mass portion-wise to the pan. A heavily loaded tablespoon should equal an average pancake.

 

Press flat and fry at medium heat for 20 minutes, turning the pancakes occasionally. Serve with caraway-sauce.