Sunday, August 15, 2010

6 - A day off deserves a great meal!

LONG TIME NO SEE!! First off, I must apologize life's been pretty krazy lately but fortunately I think I'm getting the hang of it all again (let's see if I can say that when school starts up again real soon...) but here I am alive and well and today I got an awesome meal planned for you!

This meal takes a little more planning ahead than the previous few I've posted here but, it's one of my favorites and I think you definitely will not be disappointed with the results!!

Broiled Tempeh + (vegan) Mashed Potatoes AND Steamed Broccoli!!


That's like 3 for the price of one!! Like I said this is one that takes a little planning ahead so it's perfect for a special occasion you know that's coming up ahead of time (a birthday or anniversary) or that day off from work you've been looking forward to all week (like I said the meal takes planning, that DOESN'T mean its hard!) or in this case I made it for my girlfriend who was flying back home to the bay after a vacation with her family. And as such this meals completely vegan on its own but I can show you where you'll be able to substitute a couple of items depending on what you have! okay let's get started...

So first off, "what the heck is tempeh?" Tempeh (pronounced "tem-pey")is a natural (originally from Indonesia) fermentation process of soy beans that forms them into a nice cake for a awesome hearty meat-substitute-y goodness... (How's that for a definition eh? I should be writing dictionaries...) You can find it at your local health food market like Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Sprouts or similar places, usually right next to the tofu section (them bean products gotta stick together right?)

There's a few different brands and things but usually they look something like this...



(this was the first time I used the Trader Joe's brand and it was quite nummy, I have no complaints)

So this first part is all the things you need to prepare the previous night or if you can't do it a night ahead of time you're gonna want to do it in the morning when you get up so the tempeh gets a lot of time to soak up the yummy marinade you're gonna make...

first thing is you gotta cut your tempeh 'loaf' into whatever shape you want the end product to look like I like to do triangles like below but do whatever works for you, also on a side note this recipe (the broiled tempeh) would be an excellent and creative burger alternative, different from your usual veggie burgers for sure, you'd just have to cut it into a square patty size :)



The thing about tempeh is that it has a naturally bitter taste to it before you prepare it so to combat this you're going to need to boil it in a little bit of water for about 10 minutes on each side of it. So if your tempeh had ankles you'd put it in a frying pan with the water up to it's ankles like so...



Then put the stove on high and the water to a boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes then flip the tempeh pieces and give it another 10 minutes



When you've given both sides a go in the 'jacuzzi of love' the water level will be down (and possibly gross looking/tasting) and your little tempeh guys will be beefed up and fat with love like so...


Now while you're letting the tempeh boil for a little while is the best time to prepare your MARINADE OF AWESOMENESS. There's a lot of different ways to make a marinade and even pre-packaged ones you can buy at the store but if you ask me (which, I mean... who's blog are you reading right now?) this is the perfect time to flex those creative muscles of your own and get a little experimenting in under your belt!


As you can see pretty much anything you want to throw in your marinade can be awesome from sauces, whole onions, garlic, ketchup, spices pretty much whatever you think is going to add to the flavor of your meat substitute soy-patty!

I will say that a personal favorite of mine is the A1 Steak sauce (especially since this is a broiled meat-like recipe) I'd save the excess amounts of soy or teriyaki sauces till you want to do an asian stir-fry or something, and I'd say don't forget the spices! Salt, peppers, paprika all that stuffs gonna soften your 'meat' nicely and make it that much more delicious when dinner rolls around! When you're done don't forget to stir well and you'll have an nice black lagoon (minus the creature) like so...


Theres a couple of different ways you can get let your foods sit in a marinade I know some people who put them in a bowl or container and then add enough water to the marinade so that it sits completely engulfed over night, but the thing that's always worked for me is to get a giant plate with a rim and then lay out your food and put marinade over the top of it and if you can't spare the counter space all day (or you have cats!) you can just put some Seran wrap over the top and just put it in the fridge all night or day. You're gonna want to flip them a couple times on each side throughout the process if possible so that both sides get to be just as awesome tasting! You're gonna want to marinade for at least a couple hours and more like 8 hours or over night for best taste!


OKAY now on the everyone's favorite part... POTATOES!
My girlfriend and I are huge fans of mashed potatoes, probably one of the greatest things on earth and making them from scratch isn't too difficult either! (Just don't eat them too often otherwise you won't be able to keep up your sexy veg form :D) Just repeat after me "SPECIAL OCCASIONS." Now on to the good stuff...

This part may be a little vague on exactly amounts and ratios because A) it's kind of a preference/eye-balling it thing and B) because my girlfriend and I love it so much we make A LOT of mashed potatoes haha... (and even then it doesn't sit for too long haha)


So how many potatoes you choose to prepare is your call, how much mashed potatoes do you want?
Peel x-amounts of large brown potatoes (is there a name for them?) You can get a giant bag of them for (lol...) dirt cheap at probably any market, at any time of the year...

Once you've got a large pile of peeled potatoes that meets your fancy you can cube them (usually into like 4ths) and drop them into boiling water and let them COOK!



Let them boil there for a good 20-30 minutes until they easily break in half with a poke of the fork!


Then while they're still really hot you're going to want to drain the water and then put the potatoes immediately in a large bowl and if you've got a food processer or mixer this is is where you're gonna want to blend the potatoes or if you're kool like me (and poor like me) you're gonna have to mash, mix and blend the potatoes by hand! (put on a sweet song and just have fun with it!)



add some soy milk (or rice milk) and non-dairy butter to smooth it out (cause dairy products are lame, and highly overrated) My favorite butter alternative is Earth Balance and you can find it at the above mentioned heath food stores... http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/ but I must warn you, one you try it you may never go back it's so damn good!

Go back and stir/mash it for another 5 minutes or so and then go back and add more butter and milk and repeat untill you have a texture you like and salt+pepper to taste and you're all set!


Then to balance out your meal you need some GREENS! And what better than my favorite some steamed BROCCOLI!!

Talk about easy, you just have to get some fresh broccoli from your local market or even better your local Farmer's Market! Put it in a pan with water up to it's ankles and a little bit of either olive oil or earth balance and blast it on high with a top over it


Now whats gonna happen is that little amount of water in there will boil and turn into steam (magic!) and with your cover on it it will steam the veggies and after 10 minutes or so you'll know when they're done cause they're BRIGHT green! This means they're awesomely ready but if you like your veggies a little soggy-er you can leave them in a little longer! (it's all about what you like... you're the chef! duh.)


NOW BACK TO THE DRAMATIC CONCLUSION OF THE TEMPEH AWESOMENESS.

No joke this next part is so simple you're gonna wish you've known this recipe for years... You just preheat your oven to the 'BROIL' setting on the dial and let it heat up then put the nicely marinated tempeh pieces on a baking sheet (preferably something with a lip)and then save that marinade and just drip it on top of the pieces which are laid out on the pan... then pop it in the oven for only like 10-15 minutes this will cook the tempeh super fast and give it that burger-like broiled texture! Then pull it out again, flip the pieces to get the other sides and drizzle some more marinade on top... and give it another 10 and you're all set! It may not look that pretty (that's the broccoli's job) but oh boy does it taste GOOD.


INGREDIENTS:
-Tempeh packages, (1 package is good for about two people)
-Various Sauces/spices (your choice!)
-Large Brown Potatoes
-Soy or Rice Milk
-Non-dairy butter or Earth Balance
-BROCCOLI
-and Salt+Pepper to taste!

(how freaking easy is that?!!)




And the last step? ENJOY! :D

Okay hope you have as much fun cooking or reading this as I had writing it, I hope to be more active in the future (the goal is at least one recipe a week!)

So until then eat up and See you guys soon!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

5 - The easiest meal you'll make all week!

Taco salad is one of the few meals my mom used to make when she was short on time AND I absolutely LOVED it!





Now that I'm a vegetarian I find myself still short on time (imagine that!) and still loving Taco Salad! (woot!) So here ya go it's the easiest/tastiest thing you're gonna make all week!


Here's your ingredient list! Should be pretty self explanatory...


Start by laying out a layer of tortilla chips (like I said, EASY.)


Next plant your bed of greens, tomatoes and onions


Here's my meat substitute (sorry about the lame photo) but it's a soy based completely vegan ground beef substitute that I get at either Safeway (vons!), Trader Joes, or Whole foods for just a couple of bucks! Here's the site for the product I use but there's lots of other ones that other companies offer too!


Heat the soy meat in a pan or nuke it for a few seconds in the microwave! This stuff is great I don't even add anything to its just wonderful out of the package! In fact, don't tell my little brothers but this is what my parents (who aren't vegetarians) use when they make tacos back home just cause it's so easy and tastes so great!


Top it off with Salsa or Ranch to your taste and olé! Enjoy!

(I'm using a Mango Salsa from TJ's that I got from a friend so that's what gives it the pretty yellow color and if you want this vegan don't add the ranch! easy enough!)
:)

Friday, January 8, 2010

4 - I'll take 'The Special' ~

Sorry about the long time with out post-idge I've been rather busy and on top of everything done a couple 400 mile drives up and down the coast and spending a lot of time away from my apartment... It's nice to eat out and try new foods once in a while but when you're doing it too often you miss cooking for yourself! So yes, I've been around a bit and got a lot more ideas for recipes to try!!

Tonight's dish is the one dish that easily was prepared the most in the year 2009 by my roommate and myself in our new apartment, so what better way to start 2010 than by preparing this delicious dish in your home!



So it's called 'The Kos-Pee (cos-peh) Special' through the combination of my roommate's and my names, because it's the first dish we made together in our new apartment and it was kind of an accident, it really just came into being by both of us bringing our different cooking skills and knowledge(s?) together and going "ooh how about we add this!" haha and as you should know all the best things are the result of accidents!



Okay so the main ingredients you're gonna need are:
-1 whole yellow Onion
-2 Tbsp of Garlic
-1 Jar of Alfredo Pasta Sauce
-1 Package of Linguine Pasta Noodles
-8 oz (1 Package) of fresh Mushrooms (I prefer the precut, saves you time and it doesn't usually cost anymore)
-16 oz of mixed frozen vegetables (from the freezer isle of your supermarket)




First put a pan on medium-high heat and cut the whole onion into 'forkable' sized pieces, add some olive oil to the pan and then throw the onion in stirring occasionally just so it doesn't burn. You want to wait till the onions turn to almost a clear transparent state and then throw in your two table spoons of chopped garlic in (oh boy now it smells delish eh?)This right here is a very basic start that I often use in many of my recipes, so if you follow this blog you might see me start quite a few recipes this way...



Next you add the cut mushrooms in and once again stir occasionally. You want the mushrooms to get kind of a soft feel and let them get to a neutral gray or tan-ish color. About this time I like to add some spices and this I think is all up to you! I often add some parsley, oregano, thyme and (a bit of) salt & (a ton of) pepper to taste! About this time you're also going to want to fill a medium/large sized pan half-full with water and bring it to a boil for the noodles.



Next you add your frozen veggies! Keep stirring occasionally and let the whole mess cook for a while and just defrosts to the point where it just soaks together and just smells delicious!



Once your other pan comes to a boil you can turn down the heat a bit and add the entire package of dry noodles. You can add a couple pinches of salt here to make sure the pasta all cooks evenly and some olive oil to the water too for flavor and so that the noodles don't stick!



Back over to the first pan, once your veggies have all defrosted you can finally add the sauce! Let that just all cook together for a bit (I usually add some more pepper/spices here) while you're waiting for the noodles to cook.




The noodles should take 10-15 minutes depending on how hot of a temp you're cooking at. I've done this so much I just gauge when it's done by how it looks... but you can always taste test a single noodle to see how it is or the old Boyscout method is to throw a noodle against the wall... and if it sticks then its ready!



All you gotta do now is strain the noodles under cold water give the noodles a few flips and flops then throw them back in the pan and you're all set! To serve add some noodles to a bowl and then pour your vegetable sauce over the top and then mix it all together with a fork and you're good to go! Invite friends over or just impress yourself with your new found ability to prepare a quick and easy (and delicious!) meal!! Serves 4-6, enjoy!