Loafing

Occasionally, we all get strange, unexplainable cravings and I have had one recently for 'meat' loaf. I know, I know: very retro. And it's evil twin? Lentil loaf? A favorite of aging hippies everywhere. You can buy a good loaf from a couple of the natural food purveyors in the frozen food section, but I wanted to make my own. After doing some research, I combined several different ideas into something delicious, but pretty darn good for you! Tofu, lentils, oats and flax all come together with spices and vegetables to create a savory dinner perfect with roasted veggies...but next time I'm serving it with mashed potatoes!

Recipe: Lentil-Tofu Loaf
For the loaf:
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
14 oz. tofu, drained, patted dry
4 oz. mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1 16. oz. can lentils (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 tbsp ground flax
1/3 cup vegetable broth

For the glaze:
3/4 cup ketchup
2 tsp. cumin
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. spicy mustard
Dash of Tabasco or other pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 375℉.

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent; loosely crumble the tofu into the skillet and sauté until it begins to lightly brown. It will crumble into smaller pieces as you cook it. Add the mushrooms, garlic and spices and continue to cook until the mushrooms have softened and their juices have cooked off. Add the carrots, soy sauce and liquid smoke, then cook for two more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the glaze, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, mix the ground flax seed and broth to make a 'flax egg,' set aside.

In a food processor, process one cup of the lentils and one cup of the oats until coarsely ground. Spoon into a big yellow bowl. Add the cooked onion/mushroom/carrot mixture, remaining lentils and oats. Add the flax egg and 2/3 cup of the glaze. Mix to combine. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust seasoning.

Line a 9"x5" loaf pan with non-stick foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon the lentil mixture into the loaf pan and press into the pan. Spoon about half of the remaining glaze on top of the loaf.

Put the loaf pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, tent with foil and allow to cool for ten minutes.

Vegaquiles

In a follow up to my post on the difference between migas and chilaquiles, I offer another option: vegaquiles!  Or, I guess you could say vigas...

I try to follow a vegan diet at home, but I say try because it isn't an absolute sort of thing.  Rather, a way to eat more veggies and less animal products.  I'm not changing the name of this blog to 'Vegan at Home' or anything.  It's still about delicious eats, but as I think a lot of people can tell you, the ideas of 'vegan' and 'delicious' are not in contradiction.  Take for instance this recipe for vegaquiles...

Idea: Vegaquiles
The basis of this recipe is the wonderful recipe for tofu scramble provided by Post Punk Kitchen and published in Vegan Brunch, one of my favorite cookbooks for a variety of reasons.  I made a few subtle changes to the recipe to make it more appropriate for the vegaquiles.

1. Omit the thyme and use oregano or Mexican oregano.
2. Add 1 tsp. each of onion powder and garlic powder to the spice mix.
3. Use 4-5 tbsp. of vegetable broth in place of the water.  You want a little more liquid for for the vegaquiles to come together.
4. Move the scramble to a plate while you fry up the chips; use a new skillet or clean out the scramble skillet well.  If you don't, you'll end up with a bunch of burned spices coating your chips.
5. Otherwise, proceed with the directions in difference using stale tortilla chips, pico and your favorite salsa.  Lucky me, I had leftovers from Rosa's again!  How did that happen?

I topped mine with red and green salsa (Christmas style!) and a mix of Daiya cheeses.  Delicious way to start a Sunday morning...

Tuna-less salad

It's been more than fifteen years since I've eaten tuna salad, so I make no claims that this tastes 'just like' the original. What I will say is that my vegan version of the classic sandwich spread is delicious whatever you want to call it. I love it on lightly toasted wheat bread, crackers or just with some celery sticks. I've worked out the basic proportion of the tasty spread, so you can make as little or as much as you like--although I never make less than a double batch!

Recipe: Tuna-less Salad
Per 16-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
1 tbsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp Tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp Vegenaise
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 tsp dulse flakes*
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 tsp spicy or Dijon mustard (optional)
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced (omit, if you intend to serve the salad with celery sticks)

The most important thing here is texture, so it may take you a batch or two to get it to where you like it. The trick is to use a potato masher, which splits the chickpeas into small flakes. You might be tempted to break out the food processor, but I've tried that technique to try and speed up the process and you only end up with pulverized chickpeas.

Place the chickpeas in a big yellow bowl, add the vinegar and Tamari--the liquid helps the mashing process and fully incorporates it with the beans. Mash with the potato masher until there are very few whole beans--although a couple certainly don't hurt. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined. It's delicious right away, but even better after sitting in the fridge overnight, all of the flavored melding together.

*What the heck is dulse? It's a form of seaweed that has been dried and coarsely crumbled into flakes. It has vitamins and minerals in it, plus adds a salty or briny flavor to the salad. You don't have to use it, but it does add flavor and nutrients to the dish.

Recipe: Chinese Quinoa Salad

Recipe: Chinese Quinoa Salad

Yes, I am jumping continents and countries to pull together these flavors, but the end result is fantastic. If you haven't tried quinoa before, this is the place to start. It's the superfood grain of the Incas and is a perfect protein. But does it taste good? Um, yes. It has a nutty flavor and a great texture, a brilliant alternative to rice or other grains. Mixed with some roasted veggies and a delicious Chinese-inspired peanut vinaigrette and you have a great light supper or lunches ready for a several days.

For the vinaigrette:
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup rice-wine vinegar
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vegetarian fish sauce
freshly ground tsp pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

For the salad:
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
5 carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces
Spray olive oil
Salt
1 cup quinoa (I used red quinoa)
4 green onions, cut into 1/4-inch slices
8 oz. Baked tofu, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/3 cup of slivered almonds

To make the vinaigrette:

In a blender, combine the ingredients from the unsalted peanuts to the crushed red pepper. Process until the peanuts are pureed into the liquid, although you may have a few little bits of nuts left which is fine. Add the canola oil and the sesame oil, process until combined. Set aside.

To roast the veggies:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On cookie sheet lined with foil, arrange the carrots and broccoli on separate sides. Spray both with the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. of salt. Toss with your hands to combine and ensure they are coated with the oil. Roast for about 20 minutes and check the texture. The carrots may take a few minutes more than the broccoli, so you may need to removed it from the pan.

Cook the quinoa according the package direction.

To assemble the salad:

In a big yellow bowl, combine the quinoa with the veggies, tofu, green onion and almonds. Toss to combine. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad, add freshly ground pepper and toss to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper. This salad can be served at room temperature or you could warm it in the oven.

Vegi Wokery

Vegi Wokery--all vegan versions of your favorite Chinese food. BBQ 'pork' and Peking 'Duck.'

Restaurant: Spiral Diner & Bakery, Dallas

I made a quick trip to Dallas, TX last weekend to see family and friends, but also to do a little work. The weather was crummy and my trip was cut short due to complications at home, but I still managed to eat some wonderful things.

Top of the list was dinner at Spiral Diner and Bakery with Gabrielle and Kristina. Spiral Diner is a Fort Worth, TX institution that has opened a second location in the quickly gentrifying Oak Cliff neighborhood. Spiral Diner is vegan, but not in a bad way. On the trip there, I kept hinting for tacos and sure enough, they were on the menu and aptly called Bryan's Bodacious Tacos. Stuffed with spicy seitan and served with beans and guacamole, they were delicious. We also had extra guacamole with some chips to start and I sipped on watermelon cream soda from the fountain. Okay, I guzzled three glasses of it. It was good!

After, we headed to Sprinkles of Beverly Hills for cupcakes, more about that in the next post.

Spril Diner and Bakery

1101 N. Beckley

Dallas, TX 75203

214-948-4747

Level 5 Vegan

Food Fight, an on-line vegan grocery store out of Portland, Oregon, sells all kinds of wonderful things. They have vegan caviar (pretty good, I put it on buckwheat pancakes with sour cream), vegan haggis (haven't tried this and don't really want to) and all manner of other vegan treats. They also have a new button that says Level 5. What is a level 5 vegan? The highest level of compassionate eating--someone with a nearly perfect attainment of vegan goals. Here's a full description. I think I'm going to convert...

Mangez!