Baked Ziti

I have just been so neglectful of my little blog. I could make excuses about how busy life has been but really, I eat every day so how can I make excuses? I made some awesome foods for Thanksgiving so expect some new posts coming soon. Now onto the ziti!

I grew up in a town with a very large Italian population, so suffice it to say that going out for Italian food was a common occurrence in my childhood. I really missed stuffed shells until I found Rising Moon and ravioli until I found SoyBoy. I never found a store bought baked ziti so I had to find a way to make my own. Ok well I don't eat any of those very often but it is a special treat when I get some good old Italian pasta dishes.

This dish isn't necessarily fast but it's pretty easy. I make a big batch of vegan ricotta and use it for different dishes over the next 1 1/2-2 weeks.  That is probably the most time consuming item to make, aside from bake time.

For 2-4 Servings of Baked Ziti:

1 1/2-2 cups (dry) of cooked ziti pasta
8 oz Tomato Sauce (store bought or homemade)
6-8 oz Vegan Ricotta (see recipe below)
4 oz Daiya Mozzarella Cheese (or any brand that you like)
2 Tbsp Vegan Parmesan Cheese (1 part ground sesame seeds, 1 part nutritional yeast)



*Preheat your oven to 375F.
*Cook the pasta as directed on the package. Drain well and place in a medium mixing bowl. add in the tomato sauce, vegan ricotta, and vegan mozzarella. Mix well using a rubber spatula.
*Lightly grease/spray a baking dish and place the mixture into the dish.
*Sprinkle the vegan parmesan on top and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Vegan Ricotta 
1/2 cup Raw Cashews (soaked for a minimum of 2 hours to overnight)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (slightly less if bottled)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 lb of Firm Tofu (I like the texture of Nasoya Light Firm Tofu for this recipe)
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp salt

*In a food processor add the cashews, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Blend until creamy.
*Add remaining ingredients to food processor and blend until creamy again.
How easy is that?!

Savory Casserole

Tonight I just experimented in making a casserole, not measuring terribly carefully, and it turned out to be tremendous. I was not expecting that. So I will give you my approximations for measurements but I don't think it matters all that much. Aren't casseroles really just about throwing things you like, that go together, in a dish and baking it?  Also, in case you haven't noticed I really love mushrooms and onions. Like, a lot.
P.S. I'm noticing a pattern in my foods looking not so attractive but they taste so good.

Chopped Onions - approx 1/3 cup
Portobello Mushroom Slices - approx 1 cup
Tofu - approx 1/4 block
Nutritional Yeast - as much as you'd like, I used probably about 2 Tbsp
Vegan Cheddar Cheese - I used approx 1.5 oz Daiya
Dash of Salt for flavor
Seasoned Packaged Tofu Meat substitute - I used Field Roast Tomato Flavor slices (2) but it would work well with any "deli" slices, fakin bacon, or soysage just for a little flavor.

In frying pan with either nonstick spray or oil, saute the onions. After a few minutes add in the mushrooms and saute for a few more minutes. Crumble the tofu and toss into the pan along with the nutritional yeast, salt, and meat substitute. Saute for another minute or two. Toss in the vegan cheese, stir in quickly and move it right to the casserole dish. Sprinkle some vegan cheese on top if you like. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes.

Go Nuts

(just be glad I didn't make a Peas in a Can joke)

Pecan Crusted Chick'n Cutlets

The first time I had pecan crusted tofu was at Blossom in NYC. It was served with a cashew cream sauce and it was so good I didn't know what to do with myself. The skies opened up, sunbeams shone through the clouds onto the plate and angels began to sing (or whatever it is that angels do). So I ate the whole thing.

Ever since then I have been obsessed with pecan crusted tofu which just so happens to be a staple at health food stores, in my experience anyway. I buy it on occasion but this is the first time I made it myself and it tasted much better than the stores but not quite at Blossom level (although that could be due to the lack of cream sauce).

It sounds complicated but really the whole thing took about 10-15 minutes excluding defrosting time.

Here's how I did it...

Ingredients
2 defrosted chick'n cutlets (I used Gardein, I would imagine you could use seitan or tofu as well)
1/3 cup of unbleached-all purpose flour
1/4 cup of soy milk (I used Lite Silk)
          (Option: egg replacer or flax powder mixed in water should work as well)
1/4 cup of pecans
1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs (I would think any unseasoned bread crumbs would work)
Dash of nutmeg (optional)
Pinch of salt and pepper
1-2 Tbsp olive oil for pan frying (next time I make this I'm going to try baking it)

• Crush the pecans finely. I crushed them by hand in a mortar and pestal but a coffee/spice grinder will work too.

• Then I laid out one plate and two shallow bowls/dishes.
• Spread the unbleached-all purpose flour on the plate.
• Pour the soy milk one of the shallow bowls/dishes.
• In the last bowl/dish, mix the crushed pecans, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper until well incorporated.
• Take your cutlets and dredge in the flour until it is fully covered. Then dip in the soy milk until the whole cutlet is covered in both the flour and soy milk. Finally press the cutlets into the pecan/bread crumbs mixture, ensuring that the entire cutlet is fully covered in the mixture.
• Heat your oil in a pan and place the cutlets in the pan.
• Flip after a few minutes when each side is browned.

Serve up this nutty goodness on a special occasion or as a well deserved treat.

Enjoy!

Remember Those Weird California Cow Commercials?

Veggie Burger

The easiest meal and a staple in any busy vegetarian's diet is the veggie burger. Add a side salad or side vegetable dish and you have yourself a nice quick and easy meal.

You would think that veggie burger producers would make their veggie burgers vegan but most aren't. So, read those ingredients carefully. Generally with veggie burgers you just have to watch out for milk and egg ingredients.

But I digress...for one of my favorite veggie burger combos, cook your personal favorite veggie burger as indicated on the package.  Toast up a whole wheat bun. Top your burger with a little vegan cheese and some avocado for a fresh tasting veggie burger. Other options would be to add lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, and a condiment such as an awesome vegan ranch dressing that you will be seeing a recipe on very soon...

Healthy Chick'n and Rice

This is one of my staple dishes. It's low fat, high protein, and the right kind of carbs.  Pair it with your favorite steamed veggies and you have a great, healthy meal that cooks up in just minutes.  The recipe below is for one serving, you can easily multiply it by the number of servings that you need.

For each serving:

1/8 cup wild rice DRY (approximately 80 calories)

     - Of course you can use brown rice but I would stay away from white rice because it has little (if any) good nutritional value.

     - Cook the rice according to the directions on the package. I tend to start this as soon as I get home from work because in general, the longer it takes to cook the rice as stated on the package, the better the rice is for you.

Ingredients:

1 Chick’n cutlet of your brand of choice 
    - (I use Gardein chick’n scallopini – 90 calories, 2g fat, 14 g protein)

¼ vegetable bouillon cube or approximately 1/3-1/2 cup of vegetable stock

1 tsp vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)

    - This adds about 3 grams of fat to the dish. In my opinion it is well worth it but you can leave it out if that is a major concern for you.

Splash of lemon juice

Dash of garlic powder

Optional: Lightly flour the chick’n cutlet.  Fry in a pan with about a tablespoon of oil. Of course it is tasty but I usually leave this part out when watching my waist-line. It’s a nice option if you’re cooking a special dinner for people.

Take the chick’n cutlet and place in a nonstick pan, flipping to heat each side. If you want you can add some olive oil to the pan to cook the cutlet in. When cooked through, set the cutlet aside on a plate.

Use the same pan and pour in your vegetable stock – or – ¼ bouillon cube + ¼ cup of water.  Boil the stock/cube down until the water has mostly disappeared and you’re left with a thicker brown “sauce”.

Turn the heat down to low. Add in your margarine, dash of garlic powder and a splash of lemon juice.

-        A note on garlic powder: most people are appalled that I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. Aside from it being easier…no cutting, no extra knives and dishes to wash, etc…garlic burns so easily. It tastes nice if it’s sautéed in oil but that’s just extra fat and calories, and of course extra effort!  So it’s not the worst thing in the world if you get home from work and want to use powder,  instead of fresh, that requires no effort, really, it’s not.

In a few seconds the margarine will be melted. Mix everything in the pan so that it is all incorporated well. Put your cutlet back in the pan and let it sit on each side for a little bit (maybe 30-60 seconds) to get some flavor into the cutlet.

This whole process (aside from the rice) takes about 10 minutes.

Take your fully cooked rice and place it on your plate. Take the cutlet and place it on top of the rice. Pour the remainder of your sauce over the chick’n and rice to let the rest of the sauce absorb a little bit into the rice.

Eat and enjoy!

Vegan Pizza

Having grown up in the suburbs of NYC, giving up pizza was hands down the toughest part of becoming vegan. Now that Daiya cheese has hit the market and is growing more widespread every day, I no longer miss pizza cause I make my own...and it's super easy. Here's my totally sweet vegan pizza recipe...

(note: the crust has a long standing time. ie. start early)

Pizza Crust
1/2 tsp yeast
1/4 cup warm water

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp granulated vegan sugar
2 tbsp warm water
2 tsp olive oil
1 c flour (I use 1/2 c whole wheat or quinoa and 1/2 all purpose unbleached)
(optional: corn meal)

In a big bowl mix the yeast with the 1/4 cup warm water. Set aside for a few minutes. In a small bowl mix the salt, sugar, and 2 tbsp warm water. Add the salt/sugar mixture and olive oil into the big bowl. Stir to combine as well as possible. Add in flour and knead. If all of the flour isn't sticking you may need to add more water. A little water goes a long way. Cover the bowl with a wet dish towel or piece of saran wrap. Let stand for about an hour.

Once dough has risen, roll out on a flat surface. Turn up the edges to make a crust.
*Best option: Use a rolling pin on a rolling mat or pizza paddle. Sprinkle corn meal on the mat before rolling. 
*GTFOH, I don't have fancy schmancy equipment option: Use your counter (clean it first), cover the dough with wax paper or saran wrap and roll with a bottle or can of anything (non-toxic) in your kitchen. Sprinkle extra flour on the counter before rolling.

Now the easy part...
*Optional: brush the crust with olive oil.
*Spread some of your favorite tomato sauce onto the rolled out dough.
*Cover the sauce with your favorite soy or rice cheese. IMHO, Daiya (see below) makes the best cheese for pizza.
 *Add your favorite topping. I like fresh basil personally.

I have a pizza stone which I cook my pizza on, however, I'm sure you can put it on a cookie sheet or maybe even directly into your oven.  Set your oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes. Watch it after a few minutes the first time you make it as every oven cooks differently.

Slide it out of the oven carefully and cut. A pizza cutter (pictured below) is best but a sharp knife will do the trick in a pinch.

On Daiya: You can buy it online or in stores at Whole Foods or Wild by Nature. There are probably other local supermarkets or health food stores that you can buy Daiya at.