Sweet and Spicy BBQ Stir-Fry

This dish includes a recipe for an amazing homemade BBQ stir-fry sauce - I make a big batch of the sauce and freeze it in portions big enough for dinners for 2. It's not really a thick BBQ sauce in the traditional sense, rather a sauce that is great for a sweet and spicy BBQ flavored stir fry. This recipe is great as it is with onions, broccoli, and seitan, but really you could substitute anything in there. I like red bell peppers, broccoli, water chestnuts and white onions.

Once again Isa Chandra Moskowitz hits the nail on the head!

http://www.theppk.com/2011/02/seitan-broccoli-with-pantry-bbq-sauce/

Sweet and Spicy BBQ Stir-Fry

Ingredients for the BBQ Sauce:
-1/2 cup vegetable broth
-2 tbsp pure maple syrup
-2 tbsp molasses
-2 tbsp tomato paste
-2 tbsp peanut butter
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1 tbsp Dijon mustard
-1/2 tsp liquid smoke
-1/2 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (or more if you want it!)

Ingredients for the stir-fry:
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 small onion, thinly sliced
-Big pinch salt
-1 lb seitan, thinly sliced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-Fresh black pepper
-3 to 4 cups broccoli florettes and peeled and sliced stems
-If you prefer, instead of seitan you can use other veggies, or tofu

Method:

Mix all of the BBQ Sauce ingredients together in a bowl.

Preheat a large pan over medium high heat. Saute the onions in oil with a big pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the seitan and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until seitan is browned. Add garlic and black pepper and saute for about a minute, until fragrant.

Add a tiny bit more oil if needed.  Mix in the broccoli and cover the pan to cook, lifting intermittently to stir, until softened (about 5 minutes.)

Add the sauce, toss to coat, and cook for about 5 more minutes. Sauce should become thick and bubbly. Taste for salt and seasoning and serve.

The Most Filling "Salad" Out There

This "salad" is less of a salad in the traditional sense and more like a huge pile of filling things that taste amazing together, with some greens tucked in there somewhere.  Make a big batch because it keeps in the fridge for a couple days.

Grain and Veggie Salad Bowl

Ingredients:

-1 cup green lentils

-1 cup brown rice OR wheatberries

-1 tbsp. olive oil

-1/2 red onion, chopped

-2 garlic cloves, minced

-1 red bell pepper, chopped

-1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

-1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

-3 cups fresh baby spinach

-1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

-salt and pepper

-1 lemon, zested - 1/2 of it cut into wedges and set the other half aside

-sunflower seeds

-your favorite salad dressing (something lemony works great here)

Method:

Cook lentils and rice/wheatberries according to package directions. Drain well and set aside.

In a big skillet or wok over low-medium heat, heat olive oil and saute the chopped onion and minced garlic for 5 minutes. Then add bell peppers and tomatoes and saute for another 7 or 8 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and saute until tender. The stir in the lentils and rice/wheatberries, squeeze the 1/2 lemon you set aside over the whole thing, and simmer for another 2-3 minutes until everything is warm. Remove from heat and stir in minced parsley.

Sprinkle with sunflower seeds, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with dressing of choice and a sprinkle of lemon zest and lemon wedges for garnish.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate

These cookies are really more like mini cakes - they aren't the crunchy, crumbly cookie type, but more like a chewy and moist cookie.  They have an amazing pumpkin flavor!  I made these large, so the recipe yielded about 22 cookies, but if you make them smaller I think it would yield about 30.

Nuts would also taste great in here - though I left mine without.




Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Dark Chocolate

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 cups wheat flour
-3/4 cup oats
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. nutmeg
-3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not canned pie filling, which has lots of spices in it - real pumpkin puree!)
-1 cup sugar
-1/4 cup coconut oil
-1/2 tbsp. ground flax seed
-1 tsp. vanilla
-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Stir together flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl.  

In another bowl, stir together pumpkin, sugar, coconut oil, flax seed, and vanilla.  Then combine wet and dry ingredients.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Spoon out dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  

Curried "Chicken" Salad with Grapes and Cashews

This "chicken" salad is made with smoked tofu, vegan mayo, and all my favorite chicken salad ingredients.  You can eat it on top of a green salad or inside a pita or whole wheat wrap.  
(I was asked to start uploading some photos so here is my first try... sorry if they don't look so great!)

Curried "Chicken" Salad

Ingredients:
-1 package firm smoked tofu
-3/4 cup vegan mayo OR plain soy yogurt
-juice of 2 limes
-1/3 cup chopped cilantro
-2 tsp. curry powder
-2 scallions, thinly sliced
-2 ribs celery, finely diced
-1/2 cup grapes, halved if they are large
-1/3 cup cashews
-cracked pepper, to taste

Method:

Cut the tofu into small cubes.  Bring 6 cups of water to a boil, add 1 tsp. salt, and turn off the heat.  Lower the tofu into the water and let sit for 2 minutes.  Strain the tofu into a colander, then rinse under cool water.  Shake off the excess moisture and spread out the cubes onto paper towels to dry.

Combine all remaining ingredients.  Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more lime or pepper if needed.  Add the tofu and gently toss.  Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.  The flavors will get even better the next day for leftovers!  

Banana Nut Muffins Loaded with Additions!

Sometimes it is hard to tell if an individually-sized baked good in a little wrapper is technically a "cupcake" or a "muffin."  I usually go by the sugar content and whether the treat has frosting/icing.  So I would generally put these suckers in the "muffin" category because they are not adorned with frosting.... except for the fact that they are pretty sweet.  Either way, they are great and a huge hit when I bring a batch to work.  Easy, too.

Easy Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients:
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-2 cups sugar
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 pound unsalted vegan butter/margarine, melted and cooled
-2 egg replacers, prepared (either ground flax seed mixed with water, or egg replacer powder and water)
-3/4 cup soy milk
-2 tsp pure vanilla extract
-1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)
-1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana) (optional)
-1 cup small-diced walnuts or pecans
-1 cup granola
-1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (optional)
-1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 24 large muffin cups with paper liners. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add the melted butter and blend with electric mixer. Combine the egg replacers, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour-and-butter mixture and mix with wooden spoon. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don't over-mix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, chocolate chips and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one near the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan and serve.

Spicy Puttanesca Sauce

I fiddled with this one until I got it just about right.  It's great over any kind of pasta you like.

Puttanesca Sauce

Ingredients:
-1 can cherry tomatoes or roma tomatoes
-3 tbsp. good olive oil
-4 tbsp. tomato paste
-1/4 cup whole, washed basil leaves
-1/2 small white onion, diced
-2-3 cloves garlic, mashed into a paste or finely diced
-1 tsp. salt
-1-2 tsp. sugar, to taste
-black pepper to taste
-3 tbsp. capers
-1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
-1 tbsp. dried chili flakes (or adjust to taste)

Method:

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes or so until hot.  Add chili flakes and let fry for 10 minutes or so.  Add garlic, capers, olives and onion and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Add tomato paste and stir until combined, then add canned tomatoes.  Stir and mash it a bit if the tomatoes were big and held their shape.  Add in salt, pepper, and sugar, and turn heat down to a low simmer and cover the pot.

Simmer as long as possible - I have even turned off the heat and let it sit like this covered on the stove overnight.  The longer the better but it will still be good even if you don't have a lot of time.

Uncover and add the basil leaves.  Stir and let simmer for another few minutes, taste to see if sugar/salt/pepper needs adjusting, and serve over your favorite pasta!

Sundried Tomato Basil Risotto

This is a recipe from the Sneaky Vegan that I followed precisely and it was so flavorful and filling - just the way a risotto should be.  This recipe requires constant attention, not a lot of downtown.  But you really only need one hand to stir the whole time so if you bring over a book or magazine you can use one hand to read or talk on the phone or whatever while you stir with the other.  Multitasking!
PS.  Don't let anyone tell you a risotto is creamy because of cream.  Real risottos are creamy because of the starch in the rice.

Thanks to Sneaky for the recipe:
http://sneakyvegan.blogspot.de/2011/05/sun-dried-tomato-basil-risotto-with.html

Sundried Tomato Basil Risotto with Balsamico

Ingredients:
-5 cups vegetable broth
-2 small tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)
-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
-1 yellow onion, finely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
-1-1/2 cups (250g) arborio rice
-1 cup red wine
-4-5 sun-dried tomatoes (about 3 oz), cut into bite size pieces
-1-1/2 tbsp GOOD balsamic vinegar
-3 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
-salt & pepper to taste
-20 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips (chiffonade)
Method:

Pour the veggie broth into a saucepan and add the chopped tomatoes. Bring to simmer and reduce to warm, but don't take it off the heat. It's important that the cooking liquid is always hot to facilitate the starch release.

While that's happening, warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion with a teaspoon of salt - this will soften the onion and keep it from browning. Then add the garlic and saute until soft.

Next, add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon until the rice is thoroughly coated and becomes translucent. Nicely toasted rice is another secret to great risotto.

Add in a cup of red wine and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Then add a cup of the broth and tomatoes and stir. And stir. And stir some more.

When the broth has been absorbed, add another cup and keep stirring until the liquid has again been absorbed.  Whatever you do, keep stirring.

Continue adding the broth a cup at a time. When the rice starts to soften (test a couple of grains after 2-3 cups), stir in the sun-dried tomatoes then continue adding rest of the broth (a cup at a time) and stir-stir-stirring until the rice is al dente (tender but slightly firm in center).

When the rice is nice and creamy, stir in the last cup of broth along with the balsamic vinegar. When these have been mostly absorbed, remove from heat, add the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. The traditional texture is all'onda (wavy). It should spread out easily, but not have a watery perimeter so be sure not to cook the liquid out completely.

Risotto should be served and eaten immediately or it will continue to cook itself in its own heat which will dry it out and make the grains too soft. (Aside: we had leftovers which I reheated in the following days and they were pretty good too!)

Spoon onto individual plates or bowls, garnish with the basil chiffonade.