scrambled tofu sauteed in garlic and tomatoes

i took a simple egg dish that my dad used to cook me for breakfast and veganized it. it's an easy recipe to make!

ingredients:

8oz of firm tofu
2 green onions, sliced
handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

directions:
1)  heat olive oil on medium heat and saute tomatoes and garlic for about 3-4 minutes.
2)  add green onions and crumble in tofu into pan.  add salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 5 minutes in order for tofu to soak up all the flavors.  be sure to mix tofu while cooking to prevent it from burning.  enjoy!

** i served the dish on a fresh bed of spinach and a side of whole wheat toast with vegan butter.**

tofu and french bean quinoa with heirloom tomato cucumber salad

quinao, pronouced keen-wa, originated in south america and was a staple food of the ancient incas. although quinoa may resemble a grain, it is actually the seeds of a leafy plant. quinoa is a complete protein that consists of 12%-18% protein. below is a recipe that i concocted in my kitchen tonight. for the side dish, i made an simple heirloom tomato cumber salad inspired by a tomato salad i had at lucas in oakland. to your health!

quinoa ingredients:
1/2 cup quinoa (i used trader joe's organic quinoa)
1 cup of vegetable stock
7oz tofu (cubed and browned in canola oil)
french green beans (cut in half)
salt and pepper

directions:
1) place quinoa and vegetable stock in a small quart pot and bring to boil. reduce to simmer and cover. cook for 10-15 minutes.
2) steam french green beans.
3) in a large bowl, toss quinoa, green beans, and browned tofu. add salt and pepper to taste.

tomato heirloom cucumber salad ingredients:
1/2 lbs of heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/2 lbs of cucumbers, sliced
1/4 of sliced red onions
3tbs red wine vinegar
2tbs of white vinegar
2tbs olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

directions-
1) whisk red wine vinegar, white vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.
2) in a larger bowl, combine cucumbers and tomatoes. add vinaigrette mixture to the cucumbers and tomatoes. toss all ingredients together and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.

vegetable filipino empanadas

Empanada is a bread or pastry that is stuffed with a meat and vegetable filling  The origin of this dish is said to come from Arab countries and introduced to Spain and Portugal.  Literally, the term empanada comes from the Spanish and Potugese verb empanar, which means to wrap and coat in bread.  I'm pretty sure emapanadas were introduced to the Philippines when Spain colonized us.
 source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empanada

Filipino emapanadas are usually baked and filled with seasoned ground beef or chicken, onions, vegetables, and raisins.  Although, the empanadas in Ilokos Norte are huge, fried, and filled with mongo beans (mung beans), chorizo, and an egg.  This empanada is usually eaten with Jufran or garlic vinegar.  I've tried these particular empanadas at a street cart vendor near my dad's home town and personally, I like the Ilokano version better.  I have yet to try making the Ilokos Norte empanada version... maybe I'll be inspired when Dime and I head back to the Philppines next summer.  Yum... can't wait.

Last weekend, my mother in-law showed me how to make her version of empanadas....I just veganized her recipe.   I made two versions- vegetable empanadas and pineapple emapanadas.  I'm actually not going to publish the pineapple recipe...this was my mother in-laws own creation and I think I'm just gonna keep it in the family. haha.

tofu sizzling sisig

sisig is a filipino dish that is made of minced parts of a pig's head (ears, nose, cheek, etc.) that is seasoned with calamansi juice and chilli peppers.  it is usually served on a hot sizzling platter and eaten as a pulutan (appetizer).  anthony bordain actually tastes sisig when he does an episode of No Reservations in the phillippines....check it out on you tube.

i was inspired to make this vegan version of sisig after i had the tofu version at Intramuros in South San Francisco.  here's my version of sisig.

vegan puto (filipino rice cake)

puto is a steamed rice cake that is popular in the philippines.  it is usually eaten as a desert but is also eaten with many filipino dishes like pancit malabon and dinuguan.  puto comes in many variations ranging from different flavors, shapes, sizes, and colors.

i went ghetto and made my own version of a steamer.  i bought a cheap $10 roasting pot and all i did was add a baking rack on top.  instant steamer!

granny's pancit bihon...veganized (filipino noodle dish)

pancit is a filipino noodle dish that has many different variations depending on the way it is cooked, the ingredients, vegetables and the type of pancit or "noodles" used.

the dish i made today is made with thin rice noodles, also known as bihon.  pancit bihon is usually cooked with soy sauce, chopped pork, chicken, shrimp, chinese sausage, and vegetables.

today i cooked my granny's pancit.  i love her way of cooking pancit bihon.  there's something about the way she cooks it, that really brings all the flavors together.  in this recipe, i used vegan chicken and vegan shrimp.

vegan snicker doodles

 

 ingredients

• Cookie Dough
• 13/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 stick (4 oz.) vegan margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla soymilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
•  
• Cinnamon Sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbs. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 nutmeg (optional)   

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. To make Cookie Dough: Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in bowl. Beat margarine in separate bowl with electric mixer until soft. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in soymilk and vanilla extract 30 seconds or until smooth. Add flour mixture, and beat 30 seconds or until smooth.
3. To make Cinnamon Sugar: Combine sugar and cinnamon on large plate.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in Cinnamon Sugar, and place 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies look dry on tops and are lightly browned on bottoms. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Store in airtight container. 

recipe adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10369