Red kale and broccoli sauteed in coconut oil and miso (I invented this recipe!). Smoky marinated tempeh (from Veganomicon). Jasmine rice.

Tofu, baby broccoli (from the farm box), carrots, onions, white basmati. So simple, so yummy.

hikergirl:

For burger lovers who want to cut back on meat, vegetarian burgers can be a tasty and healthful way to recreate the burger experience. In this week’s Recipes for Health, Martha Rose Shulman offers five ways to create vegetarian burgers at home. She writes:

I wanted to work on veggie burgers because I have never had a commercial one that I liked. They all taste overprocessed to me, with no fresh flavors. I’ve had much better luck making burgers from Lukas Volger’s excellent cookbook “Veggie Burgers Every Which Way.” I especially like his bean and vegetable combos.

Puréed beans make a great binder for grain and vegetable burgers, and an egg added to the mixture will help to hold it together. (If you want to keep them vegan you can, though you have to be careful when you flip the burgers over because they tend to fall apart.) I found that all of these burgers somehow tasted better a day after they were assembled ― the flavors had gelled, the burgers held together better, and a burger that seemed a bit dry to me right after cooking did not seem so dry the next day when reheated. I can’t tell you why.

Like Mr. Volger, I found the best way to cook these vegetarian burgers was to brown them on one side in an ovenproof frying pan, then turn them and stick the pan in a 375-degree oven for 10 minutes. Turning can be tricky, but if the burgers do crumble, just patch them back together with your spatula, apply a little pressure and put the pan into the oven.

Here are five new recipes for homemade veggie burgers.

Beet, Rice and Goat Cheese Burgers:Make these ahead for quick meals through the week and reheat in a medium oven or a frying pan.

Curried Lentil, Rice and Carrot Burgers: Indian spices liven up these burgers. The turmeric offers bonus antioxidant health benefits, but even without it, they’re in abundance in this recipe, with all the carrots and ginger.

Quinoa and Greens Burger: Rainbow quinoa is a great choice for this recipe — because it’s pretty, and because the red, black and golden quinoa grains all have slightly different textures.

Quinoa and Vegetable Burgers With Asian Flavors: This vibrant burger is made with both cooked and uncooked vegetables.

Mushroom and Grain Cheeseburgers: Barley is a traditional hearty partner for mushrooms, but brown rice is just as tasty in this burger.

Photo: Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

(via Vegetarian Burger Recipes for Health - Tara Parker Pope, NYTimes.com)

Veggie “B”LT with avocado. I like the tempeh bacon better, but the Morningstar stuff gets nice and crispy.

theboredvegetarian:

Buffalo Tofu with Blue Cheese Sauce

I’d never watched a full football game until I was living in Boston circa 2005 and the Seahawks made it to the Superbowl.  They lost (as Seattle teams tend to do) but I found an appreciation for Superbowl snacks.  Speaking of Boston, Christopher’s in Porter Square makes great buffalo tofu.  

1 container Extra Firm Tofu
1 cup Hot Sauce
1 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Paprika 
Cooking Oil

1 cup Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup Blue Cheese

Cut block of tofu into about ten thick rectangular pieces.  Place on a few paper towel sheets and cover with more paper towels.  Place something heavy (I used a big pot) on top for about 20 minutes to drain the tofu.  Prepare three bowls: In the first, a 1/2 cup of flour; the second: hot sauce; the third, mix remaining flour, breadcrumbs, salt and paprika together. Take each piece of tofu, coat it in flour, hot sauce and then breadcrumb mixture.  Repeat with hot sauce and breadcrumbs a second time.  Set aside and continue with remaining tofu.  In a pan, heat oil on medium/high.  Add tofu to the pan and fry each side, rolling until entire piece is brown.  Remove from pan and drain on brown paper to absorb excess oil.

For blue cheese sauce, warm greek yogurt in a saute pan over low heat. Add blue cheese and stir until incorporated.

theboredvegetarian:

Vegetarian Wontons

I’d been trying to plan a dinner party with my friends Whitney & David for a few months now and we finally got it together over the weekend.  We decided on a dim sum theme (David wanted to do a “seance” theme, but we’re holding off until we know exactly what he means by that) which happened to fit with the Chinese New Year.  I made these wontons and some disastrous semi-congee.  They made everything else - and my lord it was delicious.  Thanks to Loryn, Laura, Jodi & Eric for joining in the festivities. A lot of sake was consumed.  A lot of 90’s music was played.  

1 package Extra Firm Tofu
2  medium Carrots, peeled and shredded
1 can Water Chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh Bok Choy, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Scallion, thinly chopped
Salt to taste

1 package square Wonton wrappers (typically contains 50-60 wrappers) 

Drain tofu. Slice 1 inch thick and layer between paper towels on a plate.  Place weight (canned goods perhaps?) on top and allow to drain moisture for around 20 minutes.  Chop into cubes and add to a medium-sized bowl.  Add carrot, boy choy, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and scallion. Mix well.  Salt to taste.

To roll the wonton (I found this video very helpful), lay wonton wrapped on a flat surface.  Spoon a small amount of tofu mixture into the middle of the wrapper.  Wet the edges of the wrapper with water.  Fold up lengthwise (again, the video!) and seal the edges - they should stick together.  Wet the bottom two edges and fold upward to meet each other, sealing again.  It will look like a little nurse’s cap!  Continue with remaining tofu mixture & wontons.  It’s back breaking work!

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Poach wontons a few at a time for 2-3 minutes.  Drain and serve hot with soy sauce.   

The rest of the spread (apologize for rushed photos.. I was ready to eat!)

 

tonight’s dinner in progress: Vegan Brunch Red Flannel Hash (beets, taters, onions, S&P, liquid smoke), Veggie Tofu Scramble (romanesco, onions, mushrooms, red bell), and smoked tempeh (which is marketed as “”tempeh bacon” but I don’t really care for those faux meat naming conventions). We ated it all. Yum.

summersumz:

Last night I made some vegetarian chili for a chili cook-off at work (it’s part of the holiday food drive kick-off). I tried to get more creative than usual and there was smoked paprika, espresso, chocolate, and stout involved. Off the bat it was horrid tasting, bitter and just yuck and I was manic and I’m sure no fun to be around. But time and salt and agave nectar mitigated the would-be disaster and it came out pretty ok. I don’t think it would win any national contests, but it is edible and maybe even good. However, I kind of wanted to win, so we’ll see what the competition brings in.